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Odin vs. Allah: The "sacralization of violence" of the Far-Right and Global Jihad

Miriam Müller-Rensch, University of Erfurt

The analysis of political radicalization and political violence regularly excludes notions of "the religious" or "the sacred" as motivation, justification or objective of this kind of violence. This can be traced back to the Enlightenment project's mutual exclusive conceptualization of "religion" and "ideology, with the latter being cre.ated as the secular antipode to the former. Based on a processual understanding of social belief-systems located on a spectrum between the ideal types of "religion" and (secular) "ideology", this paper aims to put "the religious" back into "political violence" ‐ as both, the ultimate reason and final authority for the exertion of violence. Jihadi Salafists and Far Right Extremists present themselves as archenemies. However, their relationship is a complex one of both mutual rejection and need, oscillating between hate and admiration. Also, they have more in common than their contempt for democratic values: Among many shared traits we can identify the ultimate justification of their own actions by a higher cause and power. Understanding Jihadi Salafism and the Far Right as global social movements, from which various local and global groups emerge and reemerge, this paper tentatively explores the religious aspects of violence as displayed in narratives and actions of these groups.

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