Notes on Contributors Introduction Part 1: Does Religion Cause Violence? 1. Girard and the Myth of Religious Violence William T. Cavanaugh (De Paul University, USA) 2. The Complex Relationship Between Violence and Religion: A Response to William T. Cavanaugh's "Girard and the Myth of Religious Violence” Petra Steinmair-Pösel (University of Vienna, Austria) 3. Why Is God Part of Human Violence? The Idolatrous Nature of Modern Religious Extremism Joel Hodge (Australian Catholic University, Australia) 4. Love Your Enemies: God's New World Order Anthony J. Kelly (Australian Catholic University, Australia) Part 2: Violence and Deterrence in the Modern World 5. "The War to End All Wars": Mimetic Theory and "Mounting to the Extremes" in a Time of Disaster Sandor Goodhart (Purdue University, USA) 6. The Sacred is Back—But As Simulacrum Jean-Pierre Dupuy (École Polytechnique, France / Stanford University, USA) 7. Forms of the Sacred and the Texture of Hope Sarah Bachelard (Australian Catholic University, Australia) 8. The End of Politics? Chris Fleming (Western Sydney University, Australia) 9. Rites of Expulsion: Violence Against Heretics in Early Modern Catholic France Carly Osborn (University of Adelaide, Australia) Part 3: Islamic Terrorism: A Case Study of Contemporary "Religious Violence" 10. Islam and Violence: Debunking the Myths Asma Afsaruddin (Indiana University, USA) 11. Violence, Religion, and the Sacred: In Dialogue with Asma Afsaruddin's "Islam and Violence: Debunking the Myths" Paul Dumouchel (Ritsumeikan University, Japan) 12. Religion, Radicalization, and Violent Extremism? Julian Droogan (Macquarie University, Australia) and Lise Waldek (Macquarie University, Australia) 13. Religious Extremism, Terrorism and Islam: A Mimetic Perspective Wolfgang Palaver (University of Innsbruck, Austria) 14. The Jihadist Current and the West: Politics, Theology, and the Clash of Conceptuality Jonathan Cole (Charles Sturt University, Australia) Appendix: René Girard at a Glance Glossary of Key Girardian Terms Further Reading Index

[The] essays in the volume offer something that is often lacking in scholarship in the area: a sustained interrogation of the question of religion and violence anchored in a theoretically rich thinker … [A] thoughtful and critical engagement on the relationship between religion and violence through dialogue with the life works of René Girard.

Critiques and problematizes the connection between religion and violence in modern critical theory, and analyses contemporary manifestations of so-called religious violence, focusing on Islamist terrorism.

‘Violence, Desire, and the Sacred’ is a series dedicated to the global development of mimetic theory. It includes historical and theoretical studies aimed at reconstructing the human sciences—addressing new issues, seizing interdisciplinary opportunities, and tackling global problems. It also sets about demonstrating the practical relevance of mimetic theory. This series breaks new ground, especially as a vehicle for the emerging second generation of Girardian scholars. ‘Violence, Desire, and the Sacred’ is an initiative of the Australian Girard Seminar, which was inaugurated in 2010 and has become a vigorous international contributor to Girardian studies.