Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Refugee Crisis and Religion: Secularism, Security and Hospitality in Question (Critical Perspectives on Religion in International Politics)

The current refugee crisis sweeping Europe, and much of the world, closely intersects with largely neglected questions of religion. Moving beyond discussions of religious differences, what can we learn about the interaction between religion and migration? Do faith-based organisations play a role within the refugee regime? How do religious traditions and perspectives challenge and inform current practices and policies towards refugees? This volume gathers together expertise from academics and practitioners, as well as migrant voices, in order to investigate these interconnections. It shows that reconsidering our understanding and approaches to both could generate creative alternative responses to the growing global migration crisis. Beginning with a discussion of the secular/religious divide - and how it shapes dominant policy practices and counter approaches to displacement and migration - the book then goes on to explore and deconstruct the dominant discourse of the Muslim refugee as a threat to the secular/Christian West. The discussion continues with an exploration of Christian and Islamic traditions of hospitality, showing how they challenge current practices of securitization of migration, and concludes with an investigation of the largely unexplored relation between gender, religion and migration. Bringing together leading and emerging voices from across academia and practice, in the fields of International Relations, migration studies, philosophy, religious studies and gender studies, this volume offers a unique take on one of the most pressing global problems of our time. Review The current displacement crisis requires new and creative responses - responses that address the diversity of needs within the refugee population; responses that encourage all of us - political leaders, media commentators, policy makers, ordinary citizens - to recognise our common humanity across religious, political, economic, ethnic and cultural divisions. This book is an essential resource for developing such creative, inclusive responses.--Nic Coombs, Foreign and Commonwealth Office The theoretical framework of post-secularism as elaborated here is a useful resource for that--with the premise to take greater account for "religion and rights"--as the universal Kantian principle of right that has been fundamental to the thought of Habermas. Secular right and religious motivation should not oppose, but support each other in order to control anger and to raise awareness.-- "Journal of Church and State" This is a timely and valuable collection for anyone wishing to think seriously about the refugee crisis beyond the banal and dangerous claims about "religious terrorism" and "civilizational incompatibility." An excellent Introduction by the editors articulates the questions, theoretical and practical, that underlie the contributions. The Refugee Crisis and Religion should be required reading for all who respond to people in need of humanitarian assistance.--Talal Asad, Emeritus Distinguished Professor, Graduate Center of the City University of New York By bringing together religion and migration, this volume addresses - as Wilson and Mavelli aptly put it - the most obvious dimension of the so-called migration crisis and the biggest elephant in the room. The religio-civilisational divides through which migration is perceived are subject here to intense scrutiny from post-secular perspectives. The result is both incisive critique and refreshingly human stories of endurance, hospitality and faith as much as hardship, hostility and prejudice. The volume achieves this unusual breadth by combining academic voices with those of migrants, advocates and activists. Drawing from diverse frontlines of crisis and critique, this edited collection will inspire and provoke those of us grappling with the contradictions, the hopes and the horrors that are bound up with the intersection of religion, secularism and migration.--Anne McNev