Killing the Heirs of the Killers: Collective Memory, Religion and Violent Conflict

This chapter considers the role of collective memory within the frame of
religious traditions for the justification of violent conflict. In the first
paragraphs, the relevance of the concept of cultural memory is explored in
order to understand the way religious traditions relate to current situations
of conflict. It is argued that these traditions are chains of memories and
archives of symbols that are persistently referred to in texts, places, and
rituals and are lived and interpreted through time. Parts of these chains are
narratives, places, and rituals that provide insight about the opponents in
tense situations where a religious group was endangered. These archival
opponents can work as frames to deal with current situations. As a result,
current conflicts may become religiously significant or meaningful as they
are charged with the ‘religious memory’ of the group. The last paragraphs
explain the Iranian Revolution where Reza Pahlavi was charged with the
evil deeds of Yazid during the Iranian Revolution of 1978-1979 and with
the killing of Copts by a group alleged to be IS, who were charged with
the traumatic meaning of the word ‘crusader’ in 2015. In both cases, the
negative frame of the archival opponent is projected on current opponents
who become the ‘heir’ of the past opponent. Violence against this current
opponent becomes justified based on frames of collective memories.