'Guardians of God' receives honorable mention

DIIS senior researcher Mona Kanwal Sheikh will be extended Honorable Mention at the Religion and International Relations Reception at the ISA Annual Convention in San Francisco in April 2018.

The decision is made by the Book Award Committee of the Religion and International Relations Section, which recognizes books that excels in originality, significance and rigor in the broadly defined field of Religion and IR.

Sheikh’s book was nominated by Professor Isak Svensson (Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University) and Associate Professor Desirée Nilsson (Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University).

Extract from the nomination letter:

“Guardians of God is an extraordinary book exploring the world-view of the Pakistani Taliban movement. It provides a unique inside perspective on the religious mind-set of the movement, its religious and political justifications for the use of violence and the role of religion in the narratives of violence. As such, it is a nuanced analysis which neither over-emphasize nor neglect the role of religion in conflict, but shows precisely how religion provides legitimization to violent movements. The book has therefore much wider applications beyond the Pakistan context – it shows how spiritual ideas and practices, including religious imagery and myths, can shape the frame of belligerents’ understanding of wars and provide the basis for mobilization in violent conflicts.

Guardians of God is also an exceptional example of how conflict-sensitive, religiously informed, fieldwork can be conducted in high-risk environments. The book is written in an intriguing way, which tells the story of the author’s encounters with the spokespersons of the Taliban movement. Thereby, it provides guidance and inspiration for other scholars of how to conduct fieldwork in order to study the religious dimensions of armed conflicts.”