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Writing Sample (Analytical): 2
Religion and Globalization: #ISIS
Searching on twitter under hash tag ISIS, individuals anywhere in the world with
internet connection and without internet censorship can read tweets that say,
“#AmessagefromISIStoUS we are in your state, we are in your cities, we are in your
streets”, “I’m fed up. My iPod doesn’t work anymore here. I have to come back”, “The
best and fastest way is vehicle bomber @FBI @CIA”, and “#Kobane revenge for real
fighters”. With much debate about globalization coming down to either an ultimate
outcome of greater homogeneity or heterogeneity, the question of religious violence and
or tolerance holds supreme significance. The irony persists as the more things change the
more they look alike. Accordingly, there is a paradoxical, somewhat contradictory,
relationship between religion and globalization as globalization somehow flattens cultural
and spiritual differences. However, at the same time, religious actors often act in strong
opposition to globalizing forces. Religion and globalization can work as partners for
change sharing strategies or work against each other in opposing forces. University of
Virginia’s Advanced Studies in Culture’s academic journal, The Hedgehog Review,
comments on this dichotomy as “religious faith persists in a complex interaction within
the structures of the modern world and that complexity has only intensified under the
conditions of contemporary globalization” (The Hedgehog Review 2002). Two trends
perpetrate post-Cold War world order. Firstly, an unprecedented economic integration
and cultural homogenization and secondly, rather contradictorily, an unprecedented
cultural and religious fractionalization represent fundamental paradigms of modern
political interaction. While Western political theorists formerly believed that modernity
would lead to secularization, globalization has actually played a unique role in affecting
religion both by increasing pluralism with inter-faith dialogue and promotion of religious
freedoms and at the same time aggregating fundamentalism and causing fractionalization.
Conversely, religion has also altered the tactics for globalization spread. Thus remains a
complex dualistic relationship between religion and globalization, and contemporary
political theorists should fully realize the intricacies of this relationship to better
understand global actors such as ISIS, which has utilized twitter to recruit rebels.
Here, globalization is defined as the networking and expansion of once local
products, ideas, practices and institutions into universal products, ideas, practices and
institutions, often through the means of technology. Whereas religion is a personal and or
institutionalized set of attitudes, beliefs and practices relating to or manifesting faithful
devotion onto an acknowledged ultimate reality or deity. According to Gallup, 82 percent
of the world’s populations say, “religion is important in their daily lives” yet 70 percent
of the globe’s population is restricted in some form from living out their faith (Pew
Research 2012). Thus, it seems inconceivable that religion will not shape and be shaped
by globalization (Hertzke 2013: 327). The mobility of thoughts and ideas associated with
globalization has shattered the surety in individual’s identities; thus, religion has played a
role in reshaping modern identities. One of globalization’s major side effects has been the
accelerated revival of religious and cultural identities. Accordingly, the indication that
religions can evolve and reinterpret their missions takes on a special significance in an
era of globalization showing the importance of religion in global political interactions.
Fittingly, Scott Appleby reasons, “the unique social location, institutional configuration,
cultural power, and remarkable persistence of religion commends attention” (Appleby

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2000). The meaning of religion, with its comprehensive and even universal mandate to
create an ideal society on Earth, is a major source of tension in the modern world (The
Hedgehog Review 2002). International order has been and will be shaped by religious
identity with globalization being utilized in different ways to spread and limit religion.
In this globalizing world, it is no longer expedient, or even possible, to explain the
world without reference to religious identifications. Whereas power politics do explain
sizeable mechanisms of globalization, international theory scholars fail when they ignore
the role religion takes. While previously understood largely in terms of an economic
world structure, “the economic content of international contact has thus been emphasized
at the expense of cultural flows” (Ahmed 1994: 2). Most view globalization through the
driving force of economic influence, as the hegemonic empire of the United States and
capitalistic West play a primary role in democracy promotion for economic gains. The
exporting of capitalism and democracy saw the promotion of ideals of the protestant
work ethic and of social contracts expanding the principles of trust. However, the
increased exportation of Western ideals-economic, social, and political-across the globe
also influences religious associations.
Some argue the increased interaction from globalization has created an
environment of mutual understanding. As religion becomes a topic discussed across the
globe, religious pluralism seems to be a growing field. In religious pluralism each
religion contains some truth, but none has the whole and entire truth. This opens the
religious scope and allows for integration. In The Future of Religious Freedom, Allen
Hertzke explains that the critical element of ensuring policies favorable to religious
freedom is the continuation of religious pluralism (Hertzke 2013: 108). “This is
somewhat paradoxical, if not ironic, given that religious liberty is crucial in cultivating
denominational pluralism, yet without such pluralism there is very little political
incentive to guarantee freedom” (Hertzke 2013: 108). The collaboration of ideas brought
about by globalization has cultivated a greater recognition of religious pluralism. “With
the momentum of globalization, countries and cultures are being drawn closer
together…creating a world that is becoming ever interdependent. As such, not only
peaceful coexistence but active cooperation between Christians and Muslims, who
together comprise about 55% of the Earth’s population, is a necessary component” (Volf
2010: x). Evidently, the continual promotion of religious understanding and dialogue will
remain central to future political collaboration.
In his address to the Muslim community in Cairo, President Barak Obama
outlined the, “tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy
debate…in the relationship between Islam and the West (that) includes centuries of co-
existence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars (Obama 2009).
Accordingly, Obama emphasized the use of religion, not secularization, in addressing
issues of international tensions stemming from religious difference. Obama stated, “Islam
is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism – it is an important part of
promoting peace” (Obama 2009). Religion as a social institution has been transformed
during the era of globalization and some say it represents a harmony between tradition
and progress. Regardless, religions have transformed because of the changes brought
about by globalization as religions seek new self-understanding and orientation to their
evolving world.

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Most religions seek to become global in effort to create a widespread network of
believers with the expansion of transcendent ideas. The technology incorporated into
traditional religious practices represents a perplexity in the relationship between
globalization and religion. From audio-visual media, podcasts, twitter, and cell phone
applications, the religious sphere has benefited greatly with technological advances that
allow for the spread of their spiritual message easier and more efficiently. iPhone
applications that set prayer reminders and use GPS technology to point in direction of
Mecca, the translation of the Bible in in over 2,500 languages with help from Google
Translate, the Muslim Brotherhood’s use of social media to facilitate transnational
organization campaigns, and other technologies and strategies commercialized by
globalization have allowed religions to expand their global interactions. However, the
fluidity and expanse of religious thought has also grown dissent, with the present fervor
of conflicting arguments about religion, atheism and religious indifference has surly
grown. Therefore, as religions have utilized modern technologies and global social
movements to increase followers, religions have imitated globalization strategy.
On the other hand, Akbar Ahmen also claims “the western media are largely seen
by Muslims as a negative influence” (Ahmed 1994: 9). The modern era has seen a retreat
to fundamentalism in the Middle East, as Islamic extremists return to dogma, receding
further into fundamentalism and closing their ears to all else. This intolerance is
instrumental in the perpetuation of any religion and the sustenance of its dominion (De
Blij 2009: 53). In The Power of Place, Harm De Blij explains:
“Religion’s global geographic variation…is changing. Even as Christian
evangelicals challenge major denominations in their historic redoubts and Sunni
and Shia Muslims compete in the Islamic domain, religious conservatism also
referred to as fundamentalism…is rising worldwide. As a result, religion is
turning into a countervailing force, roughening rather than flattening the
landscape” (De Blij 2009: 54).
Here, in the realm of fundamentalism, religions seem to be pushing back against
homogeneity. In contrast to religious pluralism and the globalization of religions by
means of openness with religious freedom, the phenomenon of globalization has also
increased religions traditionalism. Scott Appleby, co-chair of the Chicago Council on
Global Affairs' Task Force on Religion and the Making of U.S. Foreign Policy, argues
that “religious freedom” is perceived by many peoples around the world not as a
universal human right, but as a superpower-charged means of advancing hegemonic US,
aka Christian, interests (Appleby 2000). While President Obama proclaimed that there is
a “disturbing tendency to measure one's own faith by the rejection of another's,” he
addressed the notion of fundamentalist religion inhibiting globalization spread (Obama
2009). In summary, some globalized actors are pushing for religious freedom while
others want a return to traditionalism; however, in any case, “the evidence is
overwhelming: religious actors and ideas have returned to the world stage, and, for better
of worse, they are having an enormous impact on matters” (Hertzke 2013: 333). Thus, the
complex relationship of religion and globalization perpetuates as they shape one another
and the world.
Additionally, some argue that religion is eroding the forces of globalization. The
instability caused by religious conflicts seen in the Fertile Crescent epitomizes the
opposition to globalization and its open nature. Just as piety has accompanied political

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struggle in such emerging countries, “religious fervor intensifies, worsening social
divisions and countering progress toward the flatter world of globalization” (De Blij
2009: 80). For example, the current proselytization zeal of Pentecostal evangelical
Christians in unstable states, seen in sub-Saharan Africa, has added to strife and hostility
towards global openness. “By seeking to implant their creeds through proselytism in
areas dominated by other beliefs, they complicate an already tense cultural mosaic and
drive the world toward the cataclysm some of their own scriptures anticipate” (De Blij
2009: 80). Often, under this paradigm local audiences oppose the forces of globalization
that have brought in other religious ideals with the intensifying winds of globalization.
Moreover, religions have seldom operated in static blocs with set beliefs; they
have thrived by being adaptable and in flux, shaped by and shaping their surroundings.
As globalization facilitated open trade and stimulated economic activity, the overall
material wealth of the globe has increased. Also, religions presently enjoy better funding
than they have in previous generations. With increased funds for growth, almost all major
religions have used proselytizing missions to scatter their seeds of religious truth across
the Earth. With Indonesian Muslims, Chinese Christians, and Buddhist monks in Florida
routinely practicing their faiths, evidently, religion is a globalized force. Fulfilling their
general purpose to spread their disciples all over the world, religions seek to globalize.
Accordingly, the focus on mission work in China remains relevant to studying Chinese
politics, as by 2050 Christians in China will be 16 percent of its total population of an
estimated 1.4 billion. Currently, mostly concerned with its economic development, China
tacitly allows established religions like Christianity and neo-Confucianism to operate
relatively freely, “believing that they can promote social harmony amid rapid social
changes” (Thomas 2010). This proposed domestic tranquility from implicit religious
activity may or may not be the case for China. In any case, religion will definitely play a
large role in shaping the sociopolitical environment of China as it continues to operate in
a globalized economy.
Additionally, the events that occurred in the wake of the Arab Spring “reflect the
interplay and interchange of ideas between Islam and the West” (Ahmed 1994: 2). These
demonstrations and protests to combat Internet censorship, particularly the events that
transpired in Tahrir Square dissenting President Mubarak and the later ousting President
Morsi through protests over the Islamist-backed constitution exemplify the power of the
convergence of globalization and religion. From Hezbollah in Lebanon, to Hamas in
Palestine, or the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the Abrahamic faiths and multitudes of
opposition organizations that exist in the Middle East all essentially seek peace, security,
and legitimacy in their own accords. Accordingly, from the streets of Cairo to the war-
torn boulevards in Kobane, Syria, social media use during the Arab Spring was not only
sharing the news but also driving it.
In The Future of Religious Freedom: Global Challenges Allen Hertzke notes
Douglas Johnson’s theory about religion being the missing dimension of statecraft, as
religion is a causal factor in international conflict and can play role in fostering positive
change nonviolently and preventing or resolving conflict (Hertzke 2013: 315). ISIS
leaders would agree that religion in fact is the missing dimension of statecraft. ISIS, the
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria also known as ISIL Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant,
seeks to create a worldwide caliphate. Almost ironically, this fundamentalist group,
which seeks to promote a global network of Muslim followers who adhere to extreme

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interpretations of Islam that endorse religious violence especially in regards to infidels, or
those who do not agree with their interpretations, uses the contemporary and public
medium of social media. ISIS has proved fluent in YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr,
Internet memes [see: #catsofjihad] and other social media outlets, and it has adopted the
vocabulary of western news channels, reality shows, and even music videos in an effort
to gain and recruit supporters (Steve 2014). While ISIS supports ethnic cleansing and the
beheadings of journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff in the name of creating a
monocultured Islamic state, it uses on Western techniques of advertising and marketing
to gain international attention. In the age of YouTube, Twitter and smartphones, ISIS has
used modern technology to aid in enlisting 376 French residents to become rebel fighters
in Syria. In a recent expose, the emails of the French ISIS rebels read, "I'm fed up. My
iPod doesn't work any more here. I have to come back” and "They want to send me to the
front, but I don't know how to fight" (Alexander 2014). Consequently, the US
Department of State launched its‘Think Again, Turn Away’ twitter page in an effort to
use social media to enter the war of ideas and provide the jihadists with alternatives.
Regardless, the contradiction in ISIS’s ideals and motives exemplifies the complex
relationship that globalization has formed with religion.
In conclusion, specific religions, and even religion as a whole, have become
qualitatively different in this new globalized world. And, while religions take advantage
of communication and transportation technology, at the same time religions seem to be
the source of globalization’s greatest resistance by acting as a haven for those standing in
opposition to its power. Just as the increased connection and almost unavoidable contact
of globalization can breed tensions, misunderstandings and violence, it can also bring
cooperation, understanding and openness. It is yet to be determined whether globalization
will bring about increased tolerance, tension, or a mix of both; however, it is certain that
globalization will not create an entirely secularized society. While Fareed Zakaria, author
of The Post-American World, speaks some truth when he claims, “foreign policy is a
matter of costs and benefits, not theology”, he fails to understand a world that is shaped
by globalized religious forces. Within the scope of foreign affairs, religious actors do
make a difference in the current world order, and in fact the world is not as secular as it
may seem. Thus, the assumption that religion is not simply epiphenomenal to the process
of globalization, which creates a more unified and yet more fragmented world, must be
maintained. The task remains for international policy theorists to recognize and utilize the
worldwide religious resurgence in determining new worldviews.

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to come back'”. The Telegraph Online. World News: Islamic State. 2 Dec 2014. Web. 2
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come-back.html>.
Appleby, R. Scott. The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion, Violence, and
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Blij, Harm De. The Power of Place: Geography, Destiny, and Globalization's Rough
Landscape. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009. Print.
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Zakaria, Fareed. The Post-American World. W.W. Norton Company, New York. 2009.
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