The Origins of Religious Conflict in the Middle East - Term Paper Example

The Origins of Religious Conflict in the Middle East The Origins of Religious Conflict in the Middle East Religion can be defined as the collection of worldly views, belief systems and cultural systems which unite human beings to spirituality (Fitzgerald, 2000). The Middle East is considerably recognized for the historical origin of the main religions in the world. The Middle East is the region which encompasses part of the Northern African region and Western Asia. It is clear that the Middle East region has diverse religions. All these religions are a result of the varied doctrinal understandings. In this region, Islam is the fastest growing religion followed by Christianity and Judaism (Fitzgerald, 2000). Furthermore, there are other minor religions that are also acknowledged in the Middle East including Druze, Mandean, Shabakism, Gnosticism, Zoroastrianism and Yazidi among others. This paper will discuss the origin of religious conflict in the Middle East. Religious conflicts and wars began even before oil and other resources were discovered in the Middle East. During the reign of Emperor Theodosius, Christianity was adopted as the official religion in the Roman Empire (Fitzgerald, 2000). In fact, most of the Jews deserted the location and Christian pilgrims started migrating from Europe to the Middle East. Various doctrines were accepted while others were declined by the Eastern Orthodox Church. Most of the churches in the Middle East declined renouncing of these doctrines, hence, separating them from the Eastern Orthodox Church. Therefore, the renouncing of these doctrines triggered religious conflicts in the region. Further analysis proves that the conflicts resulted in significant destruction and other massacres (Walker, 2008). In the Middle East, reports concerning politics, honor, land and terrorism are some of the crucial factors which mainly contribute to religious conflicts. This proves that most of the individuals did not consider the thoughts and perceptions involved with religion. For instance, Christianity is a religion based on the principles of love and tranquility, while Islam is a religious conviction that teaches about peace. In addition, the religion of Judaism usually advocates for equality, tolerance and peace (Walker, 2008). One of the major origins of conflict was triggered by the Muslim conquest. The Islamic region was founded in Arabia by Mohammed in the early 17th century. Mohammed told the people that he was the last prophet who was sent by Allah. He led the Arabians into the war against the Persian community among other tribes, which were easily defeated. By 700, Arabic had become the most common language in the Middle East and most of the areas were under control of the Muslims. The individuals who were conquered were forced to convert to the Islamic religion. However, in 762, the Arabic influence in the Middle East declined significantly (Walker, 2008). This was because the area was ruled by the Persians, but internal conflict rose amongst them as well. This led to division in the faith of the Muslims. As a result of the interference of the Turks with the Christian pilgrims, the troops of the crusaders were formed. In 1097, the first ever crusaders arrived in the Middle East, and they held their first crusade in the region. This crusade took place at the Syrian coast. On the contrary, the Muslims were slowly reclaiming their territory while the crusaders were also establishing strategies they were to employ in order to stop the enemies from possessing it. It was simply clear that the crusaders were greedy after they turned against most of their neighboring colonies and took their treasure. They also managed to throw out the Europeans from their land (1261) (Walker, 2008). Muslim supremacy in the region was also a crucial factor in the Middle East. After the Europeans were eradicated, the Muslims regained most parts of the Middle East through the assistance of leaders such as Saladin (Fox, 2001). Additionally, they destroyed the seaports of the crusaders and redirected their trade. The Ottomans in that period absorbed the Byzantine Empire and the Seijuks. Further analysis in the field of religious conflicts shows that religion has indiscriminately invaded the political world. This influence is revealed through the political leaders who use various signs and symbols for their political power in order to beseech their “god”. Some of the countries that employ the use of these signs include Israel, Palestine, the Islamic states and the United States among others. These religious factions have tremendously disrupted the peace in the political arena (Fox, 2001). Moreover, the signals were also used in the military department, especially by soldiers during wars. These military leaders mostly pray to their god for protection so that they can kill their enemies. These religion-oriented factions also trigger military conflicts in the Middle East. There are seven critical factors that are correlated to religious conflict, especially in the Middle East. They include tyranny, economic bias, political bigotry, sovereignty of a minority, cultural inequity, political protests and revolt. It has been noted that in most cases, religious conflicts mostly arise from the Muslim party (Fox, 2001). The Arabs or the Muslims are intolerable individuals in the society. According to empirical research, the main factor that led to the disagreement in the Middle East was the scarcity of water. In normal circumstances, all individuals require water in order to perform various tasks. Therefore, the scarcity of water in the Middle East made people fight due to the rational rain fall. Later on, this led to a massive war that was majorly influenced by religious groups (Fox, 2001). Also, terrorist groups were also formed in the Middle East. All these changes have a considerable effect on the present condition of religious relationships. According to the most recent news, it was discovered that the churches are still fighting with each other. There was an Egyptian Revolution that took place recently, hence, leading to the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak (Fox, 2001). This movement was supported by several Egyptian people irrespective of their backgrounds. This was one of the historical days in the country since individuals were able to hold hands together and pray for their revolution. During this era, there were several incidents of religious conflict that were reported. In fact, the number of deaths amounted to 13 people and over 100 individuals were injured. Later on, the Coptic Church was also burnt down after a fight by Muslim relatives. Afterwards, during the burial of the three individuals, some of the crowd members were allegedly suspected in planning to burn the church (Fitzgerald, 2007). This clearly portrayed that the conflict was majorly based on religious factors. Recently, various studies prove that the government in some of the countries in the Middle East advocated for the discrimination of the Copts (Burton, 1984). There was a certain former minister of Interior affairs who had organized an attack in one of the Coptic churches in Middle East. These factors have substantially stimulated the religious conflict, especially between the Muslims and the Christians. The disagreement in the Middle East instigated as a religious conflict that was entirely based in the holy land of Jerusalem. According to the Holy book, Jerusalem is identified as a holy city to the three religions. This has substantially attributed to several wars that have been fought over Jerusalem and the territories which are around it. In fact, this includes the Crusades war that is described above. Nowadays, this conflict is still evident in the Middle East and the neighboring countries. These wars are mainly caused by religion and political issues (Ceadel, 1987). As a matter of fact, most of the individuals who were involved in the fighting are the Jews who are located in the Middle East countries (Fakhouri, 2011). The religious conflict has substantially become a challenging aspect to other nations globally. For example, the United States has tried to solve this issue because it imports its petroleum products from the Middle East. Therefore, it is factual that the United States cannot make enemies with any of the states because they substantially rely on them for the provision of oil and other petroleum products. An exemplary case is Israel, an industrial, democratic nation that is supported by the United States since they are allies. This asserts that the United States is significantly affected by the conflict in the Middle East. Furthermore, the United States has made numerous attempts in order to settle the conflict (Ceadel, 1987). In conclusion, the religious conflict in the Middle East is an exceptionally litigious predicament. As a result of the conflict, many areas of the continent have been adversely affected. The political, social, and economic fronts have all been retarded as a result of the senseless conflict that has lasted years. As explained above, the United States has substantially attempted to negotiate the Arab nations through making peace agreements. On the other hand, the United States has failed to settle this conflict among the countries. Some of the prominent approaches to resolve the conflict include Oslo Accords, Camp David Accords which were set between Israel and Egypt and the “Road Map to Peace” that was established by Bill Clinton (Ceadel, 1987). Until recently, none of these strategies has stopped the religious conflict in the region. References Burton, J. (1984). Global Conflicts, the Domestic Sources of International Crisis. Maryland: Wheatsheaf Books. Ceadel, M. (1987). Thinking about peace and war. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Fakhouri, H. (2011). Middle East today. Retrieved from http://mid-east-today.blogspot.com/2011/03/family-disputes-leading-to-religious.html Fitzgerald, T. (2000). The Ideology of Religious Studies. New York: Oxford University Press. Fitzgerald, T. (2007). Discourse on Civility and Barbarity. New York: Oxford University Press. Fox, J. (2001). Are Middle East conflicts more religious? The Middle East Quarterly. Retrieved from http://www.meforum.org/135/are-middle-east-conflicts-more-religious Walker, J. (2008). Religious beliefs and violence in the Middle East. Retrieved from http://www.nobeliefs.com/religiouswars.htm Read More