The Image of Violence and the Study of Material Religion, an Introduction

Abstract

This article studies the intersection of religion, materiality and violence. I will argue that pictures of violated bodies can contribute substantially to imageries of religious bonding. By directing attention towards the relation between pictures of violence, religious imagery and materiality, this article contributes to current research on religion-related violence and on material religion, two disciplinary fields that have not yet been clearly related. By focusing on the picturing of (violated) bodies as both sacred and communal objects, I will make clear how pictures of violence relate to social imageries of (religious) communities. Two short case-studies show how pictures of violence are recreated in the imagery of communities, causing new episodes of violence against anonymous representatives of the perpetrators. This article develops a perspective on the role pictures play in framing religious conflicts, which is often neglected in studies of religion-related violence. The study of religious matter, on the other hand, could explore more deeply the possibilities of studying the medialization of contentious pictures of human bodies in the understanding of conflicts as ‘religious’.

Material Perspectives on Religion, Conflict, and Violence

“…These research fields strongly intertwine notions from different disciplines from the humanities and social sciences. Still, these fields rarely explicitly engage with one another (see also Van Liere 2020b). Conflict studies often uses specialized analytical terms to focus on (discourses of) violence, exclusion and marginalization, identity-formations, authority structures, and -most conspicuouslyconflict actors such as states, institutions, and insurgent groups.…”

“…Another branch of research that we deem important for creating possibilities to include materiality in the analysis of religion-related conflict are studies on the visuality of conflict and the mediatization of violence. For example, Meral asks attention for the role of media and shows how the spread of violence, in contexts such as Nigeria and Egypt, is for a substantial part related to the broadcasting of visuals, allegations, and rumors about violence (Meral,21,79; see also Sampson 2012, 123-4;Spyer 2002;van Liere 2020b). The notion that mediatization of violence impacts understandings of enmity, encouraging hatred and revenge, has been part and parcel of propaganda machines throughout the 20st century (see Keen 1988).…”

“…Interestingly, to my knowledge, the picture that was widely published in the Middle East was the photograph in which a scared prisoner was driven into a corner by a guard and a black dog. Osama bin Laden commented on this photograph at length, 'seeing' the true powers of 'America' revealed in the impurity of this dog (see van Liere 2020b).…”

“…In treating violence with religion as a variable, the first port of call for analysis has been religious beliefs, doctrines, theologies, and macro-narratives, while materiality has been undermined (van Liere 2020). However, materiality, rather than being peripheral, is central to the motivation for engaging in conflict and violence.…”

What’s in That Picture?

“…'Abu Ghraib' (seevan Liere 2020a;2020b). The crooked power balance emitted by the pictures was not only articulated in dress versus naked, high versus low, but also and maybe even especially so by the guards shown relaxed and laughing over their prisoners.5 5 This article is not the place to discuss humor and violence but this relation and how humiliation that is guided by the visible pleasure of perpetrators causes fierce responses remains largely underexposed in academia.Lucien van Liere -9789004523791 Downloaded from Brill.com09/20/2022 02:13:30PMvia Universiteit Utrecht…”