Context-bound Islamic theodicies: The tsunami as supernatural retribution versus natural catastrophe in Southern Thailand

Merli, C.

doi:10.1016/j.religion.2009.12.003

Context-bound Islamic theodicies: The tsunami as supernatural retribution versus natural catastrophe in Southern Thailand

Merli, C.

Authors

C. Merli

Abstract

After the tsunami of 26 December 2004, local discourses in the prevalently Muslim Satun province in Southern Thailand were characterized by religious interpretations of the disaster. The range of Islamic interpretations varied, and was far from homogeneous. Statements are framed in plural theodicies and ultimately impute disasters to human responsibility, in apparent contrast to both scientific explanations and other Islamic tenets. The aim of this article is to present the range of theodicies associated with the event and to analyze their use in relation to the specific socio-historical and ethno-political context, in the words of people belonging to the Islamic and Buddhist religious élites. In these examples religious discourses leave behind the theological universalistic explanations of the existence of suffering and evil to become context bound commentaries on the state of morality of local communities, with the aim of defining social boundaries.

Citation

Merli, C. (2010). Context-bound Islamic theodicies: The tsunami as supernatural retribution versus natural catastrophe in Southern Thailand. Religion, 40(2), 104-111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.religion.2009.12.003

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Apr 1, 2010
Deposit Date	Mar 15, 2010
Publicly Available Date	Jul 14, 2014
Journal	Religion
Print ISSN	0048-721X
Electronic ISSN	1096-1151
Publisher	Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	40
Issue	2
Pages	104-111
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.religion.2009.12.003

Files

Accepted Journal Article (447 Kb)
PDF

Copyright Statement
NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Religion. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Religion, 40, 2, 2010, 10.1016/j.religion.2009.12.003.