A lecture entitled “Religion and Terrorism” by Dr. Margaret Gonzalez–Perez was the latest installment of the history department’s Then and Now lecture series. The lecture, while focused on Islam and its relationship with terrorism, touched on a wide variety of topics, including liberation theology, the different “names” of Islam, disputed issues within Jihadism and the decentralization of Islam plus the problems caused by its decentralization.
Perez wasted little time delving into the subject of liberation theology.
“Liberation theology is kind of an off-shoot of Catholicism,” said Gonzalez-Perez. “What happened was that, from 1962 to ’65, the Vatican held an international conference called the Second Ecumenical Council. What they were trying to do was revitalize the Catholic Church and make it more appealing to people in developing nations of Asia, Africa and Latin heretics.”
After discussing liberation theology, Gonzalez-Perez touched on the radicalization of Islam, bringing up three key points: Ibn Taymiyyah, Wahhabism and Islam in the 20th century. She then dove into the different types of Islam, including Fundamentalist Islam, Political Islam, Radical Islam and Jihadism, with Jihadism being the most closely linked to terrorism, according to Gonzalez-Perez. During her discussion of Jihadism, Gonzalez-Perez pointed out its differences with traditional Islam.
“Another issue is the idea of civilians as targets,” said Gonzalez-Perez. “That’s what terrorism is. It’s attacking civilians. If you’re attacking military, police or a prime minister, forces of the government, that’s guerrilla warfare. I’m not saying it’s a good thing, but it’s a different thing. If you’re attacking these people, then you’re attacking civilian targets. The Quran prohibits targeting PMRC.” Burns will discuss the history of the “Parental Advisory” sticker that appeared on records in 1985 in Pottle Auditorium at 1 p.m.
More information on upcoming Fanfare events can be found on the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts website.