Abstract
Although pacifism as an absolute commitment to abstain from the use of armed force remains a minority position in all religio-cultural traditions and an unpopular concept in many of them, the idea of moral power and spiritual presence has much broader resonance. When applied cross-culturally, a reconstructed conception of pacifism understood as active peacemaking driven by nonviolent forms of power can enable profoundly meaningful dialogue and different interpretive traditions. In this chapter, we explore examples of what might be called ‘nonviolent social hermeneutics’ as experienced in different historical and contemporary religious and cultural individuals and communities; especially reflected in Hinduism, Islam and Buddhism.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Appleby, R. S. (2000). The ambivalence of the sacred: Religion, violence, and reconciliation. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Chappell, D. W. (1999). Buddhist peacework: Creating cultures of peace. Boston, MA: Wisdom Publications.
Combs-Schilling, M. E. (1994). Sacred refuge: The power of a Muslim female saint. Fellowship: Islam, peace, and nonviolence, 60(5–6), 17.
Combs-Schilling, M. E. (2008). Lalla Aziza. http://lallaazizasante.unblog.fr/. Accessed 20 October 2008.
Cooper, S. E. (1991). Patriotic pacifism: Waging war in Europe, 1815–1914. NY: Oxford University Press.
Cortright, D. (2008). Peace: A history of movements and ideas. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Desai, V. G. (1958). A Gandhi anthology (Books I & II). Ahmedabad, India: Navajivan Press.
Easwaran, E. (1984). A man to match his mountains: Badshah Khan, nonviolent soldier of Islam. Petaluma, CA: Nilgiri Press.
Gandhi, M. K. (1960). Discourses on the Gita. Ahmedabad, India: Navajivan Press.
Gregg, R. B. (1935). The power of nonviolence. Canton, ME: Greenleaf Books.
Guergour, Y. (2008). Ibn Qunfudh. In H. Selin (Ed.), Encyclopedia of the history of science, technology and medicine of the non-western world. New York: Springer.
Izutsu, T. (1983). Sufism and Taoism: A comparative study of key philosophical concepts. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Johansen, R. (1997). Radical Islam and nonviolence: A case study of religious empowerment and constraint among Pashtuns. Journal of Peace Research, 34(1), 53–71.
Korejo, M. S. (1993). The frontier Gandhi: His place in history. Karachi: Oxford University Press.
Lewis, F. D. (2000). Rumi, past and present, east and west: The life, teachings and poetry of Jalal al-Din Rumi. Oxford: Oneworld Publications.
Merton, T. (1964). Gandhi on non-violence: A selection from writings of Mahatma Gandhi. New York: New Directions Publishing.
Nhat Hanh, T. (1967). Vietnam: Lotus in a sea of fire. New York: Hill & Wang.
Nhat Hanh, T. (1993). Interbeing: Fourteen guidelines for engaged Buddhism. Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press.
Nikam, N. A., & McKeon, R. (1978). The edicts of Asoka. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Queen, C. S. (2007). The peace wheel: Nonviolent activism in the Buddhist tradition. In D. L. Smith-Christopher (Ed.), Subverting hatred: The challenge of nonviolence in religious traditions (pp. 14–37). Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.
Ricoeur, P. (1974). The conflict of interpretations: Essays in hermeneutics. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.
Schimmel, A. (1992). Mystical dimensions of Islam. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press.
Sharify-Funk, M. (2018). Ibn al-‘Arabi and the virtues of ‘Holy envy’ in Islam. In H. Gustafson (Ed.), Learning from other religious traditions: Leaving room for holy envy (pp. 37–52). London and New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Sharp, G. (1973). The politics of nonviolent action. Boston, MA: Porter Sargent Publishers.
Shastri, S. Y., & Shastri, Y. S. (2007). Ahimsa and the unity of all things: A Hindu view of nonviolence. In D. L. Smith-Christopher (Ed.), Subverting hatred: The challenge of nonviolence in religious traditions. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.
Smith, D. W., & Burr, E. G. (2007). Understanding world religions: A road map for justice and peace. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Tendulkar, D. G. (1967). Abdul Ghaffar Khan: Faith is a battle. Bombay, India: The Times of India Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sharify-Funk, M. (2019). Toward a Global Understanding of Pacifism: Hindu, Islamic, and Buddhist Contributions. In: Kustermans, J., Sauer, T., Lootens, D., Segaert, B. (eds) Pacifism’s Appeal . Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13427-3_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13427-3_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-13426-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-13427-3
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)