Problems in Understanding Religious Radicalization in South Asia

Book excerpt: Published in association with the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies in Sri Lanka, this study identifies that the term "radicalization" has often been used pejoratively when talking about security. The contemporary radicalization discourse unfurls against tensions and negotiations between the nations in terms of counter-terrorism and national security needs. A major dilemma at the heart of this discourse is the fundamental gap between radicalization as a cause of terrorism and the actual acts signified by the term radicalization. This study shows that radicalization does not appear to be a necessary condition for terrorism, and a discussion on South Asian Islam and Hinduism reveals a complex set of relations among the religious and the politics of identity. Finally, this study also shows that it would be far too simplistic to say that radicalization is caused by the absence of democracy."