Sectarian violence
From Free net encyclopedia
Sectarian violence is violence or confrontation/conflict inspired by sectarianism, that is, between different sects of one religion. In contrast, religious violence (or inter-religious violence) is between separate and distinct religions. In many cases, sectarian violence is caused not only by sectarian differences but is often also a result of a power struggle or has social, economic, or nationalistic aspects — as is, likewise, frequently true of inter-religious conflicts. Examples of sectarian violence include that between:
- Christians - Catholic and Protestant
- Muslims - Shia and Sunni
The distinction between "religious violence" and "secterian violence" is extremely unclear, as there is no easy way to determine why a certain religion should be termed a sect and another a religion. To illustrate, was the 19th century conflict between Mormons and other Christian groups in the United States an example of sectarian or religious violence?
An unfortunate consequence of these two labels, and the ignorance of the distinction among the general public, is that the news media currently constantly refer to "sectarian violence" instead of "religious violence." It is likely that many who hear or read such news stories do not adequately assimilate that the violence is in fact between religious factions.
Sectarian Violence is also the name of a Los Angeles based band of questionable quality. [1]
Sectarianism in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland has seen inter-communal conflict, particularly in the period from 1969 to 2002 known as "The Troubles". Nearly all the people living in Northern Ireland identified themselves as belonging to either the Protestant or the (Roman) Catholic community. People of no religion and non-Christian faiths are still considered as belonging to one of the two "sects" along with churchgoers. In this context, "Protestants" means essentially descendants of immigrants from Scotland and England settled in Ulster during or soon after the 1690s; also known as "Loyalists" or "Unionist" because they generally support politically the status of Northern Ireland as a part of the United Kingdom. "Catholics" means descendants of the pre-1690 indigenous Irish population; also known as "Nationalist" and "Republicans"; who generally politically favour a united Ireland.
There are organizations dedicated to the reduction of sectarianism in Northern Ireland. The Corrymeela Community of Ballycastle operates a retreat center on the northern coast of Northern Ireland to bring Catholics and Protestants together to discuss their differences and similarities. The Ulster Project works with teenagers from Northern Ireland and the United States to provide safe, non-denominational environments to discuss sectarianism in Northern Ireland. These organizations are attempting to bridge the gap of historical prejudice between the two religious communities.
Sectarianism in Scotland
Scotland suffers from a spill-over of Northern Irish sectarianism due to the many people with links to both communities living in the country, particularly in the West. The Old Firm of Celtic and Rangers football clubs have provided a focus for this, with Rangers being the Protestant and Celtic the Catholic icon. Rangers had for many years a policy of not signing Catholics; the July 1989 signing of Mo Johnston was controversial among a small but vocal number of their fans for ending this policy.
Although both teams subscribe to government initiatives like the Nil by Mouth campaign, progress is slow and there are still some fans on both sides who sing sectarian songs and display slogans and images related to the conflict in Northern Ireland. Celtic recently wrote to every season book holder banning sectarian behaviour at Celtic Park. Rangers' equivalent anti-sectarian policy is called Pride Over Prejudice [2].
Deaths and serious injuries still take place after Old Firm matches. [3]
Sectarianism in Islam
In Islam there are many examples of sectarian violence between Shia and Sunni Muslims. One example was in Afghanistan during the rule of the Taliban. This can also be seen in nearby Pakistan where conflict has led to bombings, and in post-2003 invasion of Iraq where there are elements of conflict between the majority Shia and the previous ruling Sunnis.