Islam's bloody borders?

In one infamous line in his seminal 1993 article, Samuel Huntington stated that "Islam has bloody borders." Separatist conflicts in which Islam plays a major role are sometimes seen as justifying this statement. This thesis looks at three of these conflicts in order to determine how Islam is used to justify separatist actions. The role of Islam, including its structures and ideas is examined in Xinjiang, Chechnya, and Kashmir in order to identify any patterns between these cases in which Muslims are attempting to separate from primarily Orthodox Christians, Hindus, and Atheists. Several variables are studied for their impact on the level of violence in each conflict. This thesis concludes that Islam is hijacked by various groups within the separatist cause and is manipulated to justify violent actions. Oftentimes, this misuse of Islam occurs by Muslim co-religionists who are not part of the indigenous population of the separatist group.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Grantor

Baylor University.

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Page, Justin.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Marsh, Christopher, 1969-

• Separatist movements -- History -- 20th century.
• Islam and politics.
• Political violence -- China -- Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu.
• Political violence -- Russia (Federation) -- Chechni︠a︡.
• Political violence -- India -- Jammu and Kashmir.

Statement dc:rights

• Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2104/13541

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/13541