ACTA UNIVERSITATIS UPSALIENSIS Studia Historica Upsaliensia 264
ACTA UNIVERSITATIS UPSALIENSIS Studia Historica Upsaliensia 264 Utgivna av Historiska institutionen vid Uppsala universitet genom Margaret Hunt och Maria Ågren Cover Photo: Nyamata Church, Rwanda Photographer: Ben Curtis, Associated Press Cover Layout: Kerri Sandell Olov Simonsson God Rests in Rwanda The Role of Religion in the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda Dissertation presented at Uppsala University to be publicly examined in Geijersalen, Thunbergsvägen 3P, Uppsala, Friday, 14 June 2019 at 09:15 for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The examination will be conducted in English. Faculty examiner: Professor R. Scott Appleby. Abstract Simonsson, O. 2019. God Rests in Rwanda. The Role of Religion in the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda. Studia Historica Upsaliensia 264. 312 pp. Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. ISBN 978-91-513-0655-1. This study analyses the role of religion in the Rwandan genocide, providing new explanations to the complex dynamics of devaluation and victimisation processes in genocidal violence. The thesis explains how religion was used in different contexts prior to, during, and after the 1994 genocide. The following questions guide this study: What kinds of religious concepts and arguments were used in the context of the Rwandan genocide, and how? Why were they used and what did these concepts and arguments mean? Finally, did the meanings of the religious arguments change over time and between different contexts, and if so why? Texts from three sources were analysed: the Hutu extremist propaganda in Kangura magazine and in RTLM broadcasts, and testimonies from the ICTR trials. The analysis was guided by Roger Dale Petersen’s theory on Fear, Hatred, and Resentment, as well as theories on devaluation, social identity, self-victimisation, and competitive victimhood.
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