Wars and Religion - Research Paper Example

to be submitted A look at history’s wars that were fought for religion. Religion is just about as oldas man’s ability to reason. Ever since the time of our ancestors, we have been looking for things, beings, or ideas to believe in. This is why there is evidence of ancient races worshiping things like the sun, or rocks and trees, animals or other objects, and even certain people. We have also used religion to explain certain things in the past that we as a people could not explain, understand or accept, such as the ancient Greeks using their gods to explain how the sun rises and sets, or how Zeus used lightning. Not everyone believes in the same deity, in fact not all religions and beliefs have only one deity. Some have many gods, like Hinduism or Ancient Greek and Roman beliefs. Other beliefs do not have deities but instead, are about worshiping ancestors or objects. And for some reason, weather it is because of a lack of understanding, conflict of belief, and other factors, wars have been fought over religion. Religious wars have been part of man’s history almost as long as religion its self, and our history books are filled with conflicts, persecutions, wars that have been waged in the name of religion. This paper’s purpose is to take a look at some of these religious struggles and discuss happened in the events and provide some feedback about them. This paper will focus on certain wars and struggles throughout history that have had significant effects on our civilization as a whole. There will be some key points about these conflicts that will be stressed in this paper namely; how the conflict began, who were included in the conflict, some main points about the conflict such as political effects and justifications, and finally, how it ended. This paper will focus mainly on known and historical wars and conflicts and break them down with the key points mentioned above. It will attempt to make brief, concise and objective comments and analysis of these wars. The wars and conflicts that will be discussed and analyzed in this paper are as follows: • The persecution of Christians in the Ancient Roman empire • The crusades • The Islam – Hindu conflict in India • The Jewish state of Israel and its conflicts • The attacks of September 11 on the United states • Conclusion The persecution of Christians in the Ancient Roman Empire. For those who are not very familiar with history, it may be hard to understand that there was a persecution of Christians in Rome, since we now know of the religion known as “Roman Catholic” but despite the confusion, there was a mass persecution of Christians in ancient Rome. Before Rome became a Christian symbol, it first was a place of pagan religion. An article by mariamilani.com provides us with a bit if insight as to what happened during this time. The growth of the Christian church during this time meant that the Christians were also Roman citizens and because of the speed at which they multiplied, they were, as the article says “more than a religion amongst many but rather like a state within a state”. Now at first, the people of Ancient Rome were liberal and fine about the idea of worshiping different deities depending on their needs, and Rome its self was alright with its citizens worshiping whichever deity they please as long as they do not go against the state. As for the treatment of Christians, it was not at all that bad at first. Some places were very neutral of Christians while other places even celebrated it. The problem came when the emperors of Rome began to follow a more oriental style of rule being that they were to be considered living gods that ruled over Ancient Rome and in order to pay respect to the state, a citizen would have to worship the Roman emperor. This now, was very much against the Christian belief since they have a monotheistic belief. Added to this is that fact that, according to the article, “they were following a law which had a point of reference which was not Roman law” as well as their threatening status of being a growing state of their own. These factors were what made up the status of the Christians in Rome that pointed to them being traitors to that state, and to the holy Emperor. They gained a bad image with non-Christians at the time due to the fact that their mere presence was thought to have angered the pagan gods, according to the article. They also became convenient scapegoats for politicians, which further heightened the start of their persecution The Christians in Rome then began be the source of rumors and hearsay. Non-Christians began to say things about Christians that were not true. The article provides us information such as: “the Christians were capable of cannibalism (the Eucharist) and incest (they called each other "brothers" and "sisters").” The problem only worsened when the authorities wrongly confirmed these rumors and the Christians became the reason for all the problems of the empire. They began to be persecuted in the Roman state. The article also states another political reason for the persecution which is money. The Christians at the time, included some very wealthy Romans, and persecution meant confiscating their assets. Years of persecution meant that the Christians could no longer worship in public. This continued for years and types of suffering included being tortured, or killed. The article even notes that the Colosseum was built specifically for Christian killing, although this is speculation. The suffering for Christians ended when Emperor Constantine was converted into Christianity. He then declared an edict of Christian tolerance which allowed for the Christians to worship freely again. In the end, Christianity triumphed, or at least survived this persecution and now, the state which once tried to eliminate them is now the seat of Christian faith. This shows a great deal of fortitude on the part of the Christians at the time and despite many of them suffering and dying, they did not let go of their faith. After centuries of suffering and death, Christians experienced an era of peace and prosperity under emperor Constantine who not only allowed the Christian religion, but gave many of his own riches to Christians. The crusades In this conflict, the Crusades, the Christians were ordered to take back Jerusalem, the holy land, from the Muslims. The crusades, according to kyrene.org began in 1095, and ended in 1271. There is a bit of argument as to how many campaigns there were, some saying 7 or 9, but this article stated a total of 9 crusades. The first crusade was initiated by Pope Urban II, who at the time announced that the holy land was taken by the Muslims and that God willed them to take it back. He had promised the remission of sins to those who would serve in the crusades. This meant that many of the knights going to these crusades were, in their minds, marching themselves to forgiveness, rather than to battle. The crusades were a back-and-fourth ordeal in that neither the Muslims nor the Christians won for long. Before the crusades even began, Muslims had already controlled the holy land for years but this was not an issue for Christians since they were still allowed to have pilgrimage to holy places in Jerusalem. The problem may have started when a group called the Seljuk Turks began to take over most of the Byzantine Empire’s lands in Asia minor and began to creep toward the capital of the Byzantine empire. They also began to be a problem for Christian pilgrims. Now the Byzantine Empire, who was one of the few seats of power of the world at the time, began to worry over this growing threat. They wanted to regain control, but were unable to do so by themselves. The emperor of the Byzantine Empire at that time, Alexius I reached out to Pope Urban II, and told him about the atrocities faced by Christian pilgrims at the hands of the Muslims in Jerusalem. He went so far as to tell the pope that the Muslims were raiding their holy lands. Now, this may or may not be true but the pope at the time only needed so much prompting since evidence suggests that he had some political reasons to back the crusades. One reason was that he saw this as an opportunity to reconcile the 2 divisions of the church, the Greek and the Latin church, and unite them under one seat of power. It was also seen, according to the article, as “ a move to cement the power of the papacy, which was on the rise due to the Gregorian Reform movement of the mid-1000s”. Due to feudalism, there was a surplus of knights which meant plenty of hands to call to arms. The pope called this war the will of God and promised forgiveness of sins. After preparation, troops were sent out in 1095. It was basically a mob that was going on a rampage that did not stand a chance against the Turks. This may have worked in the Christians favor because when actual troops were sent from France, they were underestimated by the Turks, and subsequently won. This continued for years and popes continued to call for crusades. Initially, the crusade was used to take back the holy land but after time, its purpose changed into being a tool to battle threats to the church. This went on until the Muslim community gained a leader in Saladin and they themselves began a holy war against the Christians. This ended in a treaty of Peace between Saladin and Richard I or Richard the lion heart, which was worth around 3 years of peace. A Fourth crusade was launched, which had very political origins, and did not fulfill the original purpose of the crusades, and instead went on attacking even Christian settlements including the Byzantine capital. This, along with the division of the east and west churches in the second crusade meant a total split in power. Effects of the crusades ranged from political, to economical and even religious, due to the split in the Greek and Latin Church. The decline of the crusades came after the Children’s crusade. There were minor crusades after this but in the end, the final Christian settlement in Jerusalem fell to the Muslims in 1291, and ended the constant warring in the area. Looking at this information, we can asses that the crusades, although were said to be in support of, or driven by religion, actually have very political core origins. This is not to say that most knights were not fighting for God, because many believed that they were, but the people who orchestrated the crusades had very political intentions in mind when they ordered them. This now shows us a different outcome. The initial aggressors of the war, the Christians, did not prevail in the conflict. The Islam – Hindu conflict in India The conflict between Hindus and Muslims in India are more recent that the other conflicts but it has been long running and has its roots back in history. According to hyperhistory.net, this struggle “is probably the bloodiest story in history.”, mainly because of the orders of the Quran to Muslims regarding people who do not believe in their faith. Such things said as "Slay the infidels, wherever ye find them and prepare them for all kind of ambush" set the tone for the relations between Hindus and Muslims. Hinduism is a polytheistic religion, while Islam believes in only one God, Allah, with Mohammed as his prophet. Add to this the apparent order of violence toward non believers of Islam in the Quran, and you have a very volatile situation brewing. According to hyperhistory.net, the conflict may be considered to have a center in the territory of Kashmir. After the Islamic invasion of the 600s, relations took a downward spiral, and along with this is the differences of both religions that made it seem impossible for them to co-exist in peace, which according to hyperhistory.net, was this way despite Mahatma Gandhi’s efforts. This conflict was not only fueled by differences in religion but also in political views. This is seen when in 1906, Muslim delegates in the Indian congress left and formed the Muslim league. There were several factors that prompted this move, one of them being a dispute in the location called Bengal which ended badly for the Muslims in 1911. After this, bit the Muslim league and the Indian congress worked toward independence and with the Arrival of Mohandas Gandhi, they worked toward this. Due to Gandhi’s efforts, the British gave India a law making body, but this was just in theory as the British were still in control. This failed to satisfy the Indian congress and the Muslim league. In the Indian government, since Muslims were the minority, they were not represented properly and this added to the issue. Hindus did not like their Muslim counterparts either and according to the article, felt that “there was no room for Muslims” and passed rules like not allowing mosques to be built. Then came World War 2 and the Indians used this to force their independence. The British awarded a separate Muslim state at the end of the war, which became Pakistan. This move, which they though would bring peace, brought about more problems than expected. People on the wrong side of the divisions made haste to move to the correct side, and of course, violence occurred. This, coupled by the death of Gandhi brought India’s conflict into a downward spiral. According to hyperhistory.net,“. Within a year of gaining independence, India and Pakistan were at war in Kashmir”. Bloodshed was only one of the effects of the separation and conflict. Both sides experienced issues with their economy. Pakistan as well, had internal issues that ended in the separation of East Pakistan and turning into Bangladesh. The disagreement between he 2 parties continues and they both accuse each other of several issues, which they both decline to be parts of. Violence has sparked up from time to time, specifically in Kashmir, but in recent times, it has cooled down. It is hard to determine how, when and if the 2 sides would ever co-exist, but being as though they have other issues to deal with, a shaky peace maybe good enough for now. Looking at this information, we can definitely see a political influence, but the main conflict stems form the difference in their religious beliefs. The conflict is that their beliefs contradict each other, so much so that violence is the result. Until now, no resolution has been established yet, but an unstable peace is in effect, but for how long, no one really knows. The Jewish state of Israel and its conflicts A key figure in recent history is the State if Israel. It has played an important, albeit mixed role in the Middle East for decades. Many opinions have been tossed around regarding Israel and its validity, and many issues have been presented as root causes of their issues. They have had struggles with Palestine as well as some other Arab nations, and issues presented range from land separation, land grabbing, and religion. Many have commented that the issue between Palestine and Israel stared from the State of Israel being formed on Palestinian land. This issue has biblical or religious backgrounds. According to an article discussion by biblebell.org, there is some biblical information on this conflict. During the time off the bible when God promised the land that the Palestinians are on to the Israelites, or the descendants of Abraham, Palestine did not exist. Palestine was not a country yet. God gave this land to Israel and told the Israelites to stay there and live there. The article also said that when God gave the Israelites the land of Canaan, now modern day Palestine and Israel, he carefully laid out the boarders of that land. The article also has some information on where the Palestine people came from. Based on the information in the article, Israel became a nation in 14BC. In about 12BC, Philistines invaded a “strip of land by the Mediterranean Sea along the southwest coast of Israel.” After this, apparently the Roman Empire conquered Israel, and turned the people of Israel into subordinates. Next to this is the Roman destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. This dispersed the Israeli people. According to the article, this is when “Rome then renamed Israel as "Palestine" -- a name derived from the ancient name, "Philistines." Of course, a portion of the Sate of Israel was returned in 1946, but they still fight for what they believe to be theirs in the first place. We cannot deny that their conflicts are the result of an issue on land but that in its self has roots coming from religious beginnings. Another connection of this issue to religion is that there is violence caused by religious extremists, while peaceful religious groups try to call for peace. This clash of goals and conflicts is heightened by the fact that, according to ifamericaknew.org, “The State of Israel officially discriminates in favor of Jews and against non-Jews in many domains of life, of which I regard three as being the most important: residency rights, the right to work and the right to equality before the law.” This means that Israel its self chooses in favor of Jews. Other countries or organizations that the State of Israel has had issues with are Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq. These countries along with others, have declared war on Israel in the past but these have been resolved. Despite a multitude of opposition and war, Israel has held on to the belief that the land they are on is theirs according to God and they are determined not to budge in the face of adversity. In spite of the conflict’s recent turns and updates, it does have some origins in religious matters. The attacks of September 11 on the United States We all know of the events that shook the western world on September 11, more than 10 years ago. This even changed the face of western society and gave it a new direction. It also came to be known as the main starting point of one of the most discussed, most controversial, and most argued on topics of the new millennium. Many have theorized about this event and many have had different views on what happened, and why. The angle that this paper focuses on is the religious angle of the conflict. First, we must define what happened during the attack of 9/11. We need to look at this event in a way that qualifies what happened. We can consider this terrorism because it was aimed at a major center of the US. We may consider this as politically driven as well. However, the one important thing it is, is a suicide bombing. Although not the first, it was a major event in suicide bombing history. Another thing to consider is that, for Muslims, a death brought about by fighting for your religion would guarantee you a place in paradise. This is one of the ways that Islamic extremists encourage people to become suicide bombers. The reason for this is their interpretation of messages and words inn their holy book, the Quran. As previously mentioned in this paper, there are passages in the Quran that order violence on non-believers of the Islamic faith. Often, Muslim extremists use suicide bombings as weapons of aggression towards their enemies when they wage a jihad or holy war. The down side is when they misinterpret writings regarding a jihad. According to an article by meforum.org, “Muslim self-justification of suicide bombing lies in interpretation of jihad” The article states that there are some passages in the Quran that do describe jihad and how to do it correctly. There are lines that describe aggression and violence  toward non-believers but these lines are often either misinterpreted or quoted in an inaccurate manner. Other sources used in justifying a jihad include the Hadith. But the question now becomes, why wage a jihad against the United States? An article by guardian.co.uk may be able to shed light on this question. In the article, there is a letter that was found to be from Osama bin Laden himself and it addressed 2 questions. The one question he addressed that this paper will concentrate on is “Why are we fighting and opposing you?” The summary of Osama’s reasons mainly focus on the fact that the US has supported many of who he considers to be enemies in world conflicts. Examples given range from supporting Israel in the issue between Israel and Palestine, as well as supporting India against its issue with Pakistan. This is Osama’s alleged justification for his ordered attack on US soil. This explanation may be plausible since most of those countries and groups that we did not support either are part of the Islamic world, or have ties with Islam. Osama then used religion as a catalyst in order to urge his people to attack the USA. Many people died during this attack, and all because of misinterpretation and untoward aggression. Despite his alleged support by God, Osama was captured and killed recently which, although cannot bring back the people who died in his attack, It may be able to give them some form of justice. Conclusion Looking back at all the information that this paper has assessed and analyzed, there are different types of religious conflicts such as those fought to change another person's religion, those fought to defend one’s religion, a clash of 2 irreconcilable religions, conflicts that use religion as an excuse to advance other agendas, conflicts rooted in religious history and others. The part that must be highlighted above all else is that religion normally teaches about respect, love, forgiveness, compassion, understanding, kindness, and fellowship. Its teachings are about peace and peace is what religion has been promoting for centuries. We must see that despite irreconcilable differences, religion’s main point, the point that should override the violence and other agendas, is peace. This should be the priority that man takes an initiative to follow intently. Communities should foster care, support and love for their fellow man instead of challenging their faith that differs from you. They may differ I the processes and names or actions, but the fundamentals are nearly the same. Religion was meant to teach us to fear and respect a higher power and to love your fellow man, not love your fellow man that meet certain criteria. 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