Introduction

Summary

Church “capture” of the state, a phenomenon most usually associated with mediaeval Christian Europe and thought safely consigned to history, has proven to be alive and well. Having confidently established itself in the Middle East, it is currently surging through the African continent, destabilising societies from the Caucasus to the Urals and posing a clear and present danger to ostensibly secular regimes in a range of countries including Turkey, Pakistan, India, the Philippines, Indonesia and Egypt. The ISIS campaign – aspiring to lead a global jihad against non-Muslims – is one that pitches religion against states. The obverse of the same phenomenon can be seen in the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar and the suppression of the Uighurs in China, both providing evidence, if that were needed, of the state’s willingness and ability to crush religion.