Associate Professor, Concordia University
André Gagné is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Arts (Department of Theological Studies) at Concordia University, as well as a Digital Fellow of the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (MIGS). He specializes in questions related to religious violence (Jewish, Christian and Islamist), radicalization, and the use of sacred texts and traditions by extremist groups and individuals. He is regularly consulted by the media and invited to lecture on global terrorism, countering violent extremism, and the prevention of radicalization through education. Dr. Gagné recently co-published The Global Impact of Religious Violence (Wipf and Stock, 2016) which examines why individuals and groups sometimes commit irremediable atrocities in the name of their faith, and offers some solutions on how to counter religiously inspired violence.
The Québec City shooter may not be charged with terrorism-related crimes but extremist thinking behind such acts is a serious threat that needs to be better understood and combatted, writes André Gagné.
What the so-called ‘lone-wolf’ attacker in Nice, France, tells us about
the new norms of jihad and how ideology is key to understanding this
phenomenon.
Was this week’s attack in
Orlando part of ISIS’ plan? André Gagné explains how such violence differs from
the group’s ‘domestic’ approach in Syria and Iraq and why it matters.
