POS 435 - Gandhi and Bin Laden

Credits: 3

Mohandas K. Gandhi and Osama bin Laden are two extremely polarized representatives of religion and the use coercive political force. Gandhi’s was a nonviolent pursuit of “truth force” while Bin-Laden’s has been the practice of terror through “jihad.” Troublesome and important questions emerge from this comparison: which is stronger, the appeal to Gandhi’s non-violent satyagraha, or the compulsion to jihad? What political contexts produced these religious movements, what gave them their popular appeal and power, and why? Nonviolence in this course will be examined in the context of Martin Luther King Jr., Abdul Ghaffer Khan, and Gandhi, and contrasted to the terror tactics of Osama bin Laden. The comparison-contrast will suggest basic questions about the nature of religion, human beings, and the pursuits of politics and morality. This course is cross-listed as INT 435 and REL 435.