Killing for God: An Analysis of Conflict in the Abrahamic Religions 1793616469, 9781793616463

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Killing for God

Killing for God An Analysis of Conflict in the Abrahamic Religions

Stephen Schwalbe

LEXINGTON BOOKS

Lanham • Boulder • New York • London

Published by Lexington Books An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.rowman.com 6 Tinworth Street, London SE11 5AL, United Kingdom Copyright © 2020 The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available ISBN 978-1-7936-1646-3 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-7936-1647-0 (electronic) ∞ ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

This book is dedicated to my daughter, Sophia

Contents

Acknowledgmentsix Abbreviationsxi

Preface xiii Introduction1 1 Concepts of Religious Conflict

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2 Man-Made Religion

47

3 Religious Polities

79

4 Conclusion131 Bibliography135 Index145 About the Author

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Acknowledgments

This book completes a quest after discovering a gap in the literature regarding conflict and religion while teaching at the Air War College in 2007. It offers students and interested citizens a review and an assessment of conflict among the three Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It also reviews the related religious conflicts around the world as well as identifies groups that are still propagating religious conflict. I would like to thank Phillip Bernhardt-House for reviewing my manuscript and offering his keen insights, as well as my wife, Ingrid, for all her assistance and patience while researching and writing it.

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Abbreviations

AOG AQAP AQI AQIM AMISON AWC BCE CDF CE DRC FEMA FIFA IS ISAF ISI ISS ISWAP JDL KKK LRA MB MbS NATO OPEC PA PKK PLO

Army of God al-Qaeda in the Arabia Peninsula al-Qaeda in Iraq al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb African Union Mission to Somalia Air War College Before the Common Era Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Common Era Democratic Republic of Congo Federal Emergency Management Agency International Federation of Association Football Islamic State International Security Assistance Force Islamic State of Iraq Islamic State of Somalia Islamic State in West Africa Province Jewish Defense League Ku Klux Klan Lord’s Resistance Army Muslim Brotherhood Muhammad bin Salman North Atlantic Treaty Organization Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Palestinian Authority Kurdistan Workers Party Palestinian Liberation Organization xi

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SPLA UN UNICEF U.S. YPG

Abbreviations

Sudan People’s Liberation Army United Nations United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund United States Kurdish People’s Protection Units

Preface

I have always been interested in religion from an analytical perspective, specifically its history and impact on people. (For the record, I am agnostic and do not participate in any established religion.) I served in the U.S. Air Force for thirty years, mostly as an intelligence officer. I retired in 2007. During my final assignment at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, I was a professor in the International Security Studies Department of the Air War College (AWC). During my final year at AWC, I prepared an elective course on religion and conflict motivated by the increasing religious conflicts around the world, specifically involving Islamic terrorism. Once the goal of the course was established to meet curriculum requirements, I needed to identify a textbook around which I could orient the course. I began my search for such a textbook in the Fairchild Library on Maxwell Air Force Base. Then, I searched numerous online websites. The problem was that most religious books were focused on either a specific religion; about various religions in a region of the world; or about a religion during a particular time period. None of these would be suitable for a generic religion and conflict course. I was looking specifically for a book that would analyze the three main Abrahamic, monotheistic religions1 regarding various aspects of conflict, such as sacrifice, revenge, and terrorism. Such a book also needed to review the schisms within each of these three religions and how these schisms also caused conflict. Finally, it would need to review the relevant ongoing religious conflicts around the world. I selected the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as these involve around a third of the current population of the planet and are responsible for the majority of the religious killing over the past two

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millennia. This is not to imply that Eastern religions (e.g., Buddhism, Hinduism, and Shintoism) have not experienced conflict, because they have as well.2 According to the U.S. Department of Defense, as of 2019, the United States has lost over 4,000 military and civilian men and women and spent over $760 billion in Afghanistan on Operation Enduring Freedom alone. It is important for interested taxpayers to understand why the United States expends the resources it does for national security, especially when conflicts involve religion. As such, the intended audience for this book is the general public who may be interested in why the United States is fighting in religious wars overseas. Another key group this book would be useful for is military members—especially those enrolled in professional military education programs. As such, this book is an academic analysis of religion and conflict, not a theological or historical analysis. This book provides a brief background, history, and analysis of conflict among the Abrahamic religions as well as the countries affected by religious conflict. It also reviews the non-state groups that advocate religious violence around the world. The sources used are preeminent scholars and experts in their fields. For anyone, to do this research on their own would likely take a lot of time and effort, hence, the motivation for this book. CASE STUDY To begin, I will analyze specific aspects of conflict to highlight what is different between the three religions and why that may be so. As an example of the analysis, let us consider a non-conflict case study. The 4th Commandment provided by the Hebrew God3 to Moses on Mount Sinai states: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). The Sabbath day was first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 2:2-3 stating, “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made: and he rested on the seventh day from all of his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it . . . .” Hence, the Sabbath day of the week was designated a holy day of rest. Historically, religious Jews observe the Sabbath day on Saturday of each week, customarily starting at sundown Friday evening. In contrast to Judaism, most Christians observe the Sabbath day on Sunday of each week because the Roman Emperor Constantine I changed it with a civil decree in 321 CE, stating, On the venerable Day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country, however, persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain-sowing or for vine-planting;

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lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost. (Given the 7th day of March, Crispus and Constantine being consuls each of them for the second time [A.D. 321].)4

Constantine I was a sun worshipper prior to his converting to Christianity. In 313 CE, Emperor Constantine I made Christianity legal in the Roman Empire. With the Edict of Thessalonica in 380 CE, Emperor Theodosius I declared Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire, with Sunday as the Sabbath day of the week. This change was not made to recognize Jesus’s resurrection on Sunday as is often alleged.5 In contrast to the Saturday Sabbath of Judaism and the Sunday Sabbath of Christianity, Islam celebrates its “Sabbath” on Friday. According to the Qur’an sura (i.e., chapter) 62, “O ye who believe! When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday, hasten earnestly to the Remembrance of Allah, and leave off business. That is best for you if ye but knew!” Further, Abu Huraira reported the Prophet Muhammad as saying, The best day of the Sun rises over is Friday, on it Allah created Adam. On it, he was made to enter paradise, on it he was expelled from it, and the Last Hour will take place on no other day than Friday. On every Friday the angels take their stand at every gate of the mosques to write down the names of the people chronologically according to the time of their arrival for Friday prayer.6

As one can see, the Hebrew Bible directed that Saturday be the Sabbath day of the week. Roman Emperor Constantine I determined the Sabbath should be on Sunday likely to suit his belief in the Sun. And the Prophet Muhammad changed it again possibly to distinguish Islam from Christianity and Judaism. Moving forward from this analytical example, this book will be presented in three chapters: “Concepts of Conflict,” “Man-Made Religion,” and “Religious Polities.” The “Concepts of Conflict” chapter will include fundamentalism, proselytization, sacrifice, revenge, and terrorism. “Man-Made Religion” chapter will analyze how famous philosophers perceived religion, who the messengers of God were, how the sacred texts came to be, and the treatment of slaves, women, Jesus, myths, and traditions within the Abrahamic religions. Finally, “Religious Polities” chapter will cover religious schisms, nations, and groups. NOTES 1. Monotheism is defined as the sole worship of one god and the negation of all other gods. 2. Reza Aslan, God: A Human History. (New York: Random House, 2017), 98.

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3. Stephen Prothero in God Is Not One offers a discussion of why it is methodologically sound in a discussion of religious studies to distinguish between the Abrahamic conceptions of their gods. 4. Codex Justinianus, lib. 3, tit. 12, 3; trans. in Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol.3, 5th ed. (New York: Scribner, 1902), 380, note 1. 5. Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016), 272. 6. Abu Huraira in Sunnah, Book 7, Chapter 27, https://sunnah.com/muslim/7/27

Introduction

IN THE BEGINNING To begin, let’s first examine how religion in association with violence evolved in human history. Early on, many things occurred in nature that people could not explain, such as lightning, solar eclipses, earthquakes, and fire. To account for the various unknowns, societies developed myths and beliefs. Religion evolved from the associated culture of these myths and beliefs.1 Pascal Boyer, an anthropologist known for his work in the science of religion, outlined the development of religion as motivated by emotional needs, a basis to accommodate death, the foundation of societies, socialization, and to account for misfortunes.2 For humans to survive as a species, they needed to hunt animals and eventually farm for sustenance. As humans became more territorial, this naturally led to disputes. Karen Armstrong, a religious scholar and renowned author, noted that violence lay at the heart of social existence in most ancient cultures. Moreover, while warfare had become a fact of human life in ancient times, it tended to also have a religious dimension.3 It seemed the more religious a society became, the more it was prone to violence.4 Hendrik Vroom, a professor at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, noted that violence does not emerge from religion, but rather from its misuse or misunderstanding. He wrote, “[A]s long as people have faith, religion will be misused.”5 Often these early beliefs resulted in human characteristics being ascribed to their god or gods, to include appearance and action. Given the amount of violence in human history, it is not surprising that various gods would represent war. Peter Partner, a professor at Winchester College, observed that ancient religions all possessed gods of war that would require the faithful to fight. “The violence men do, they seek to justify. To turn to God or to gods is 1

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Introduction

only one way of justifying war. Holy war is one that God requires the faithful to fight.”6 In late antiquity, churches/synagogues evolved to provide order to societies, to include serving as the de facto government. Armstrong determined that ancient peoples would have found it impossible to decide on where religion ended and politics began.7 She pointed out that early on there was no abstract concept of religion, as the governing of society was religious; hence, no word was needed to distinguish between government and religion. She wrote, [B]efore the 18th century, it would have been incomprehensible even to European Catholics. The words in other languages that we translate as “religion” invariably refer to something vaguer, larger and more inclusive. . . . The Hebrew Bible has no abstract concept of “religion”; and the Talmudic rabbis would have found it impossible to define faith in a single word or formula, because the Talmud was expressly designed to bring the whole of human life into the ambit of the sacred. The Oxford Classical Dictionary firmly states: “No word in either Greek or Latin corresponds to the English ‘religion’ or ‘religious.’”8

Most wars were not fought for just religion reasons, but for political reasons as well. Government or religious officials would cite sacred texts to justify and sanction acts of war.9 Jacob Neusner, a Bard College professor, claimed that religion had assumed a central place in global politics primarily because it served as the ultimate authority of any political system.10 Mahatma Gandhi stated, “Those who say that religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion means.”11 Religions were generally founded on fear of the future. The Book of Proverbs (9:10) advised Jews that to fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. In 2 Corinthians (5:11), it advises that “Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.” As such, the common belief was that if one did not follow religious guidance while on Earth, one may not go to heaven after death. Marc Gopin, a George Mason University professor, determined that “great violence in monotheistic history can be positively correlated with the increased obsession with the future.”12 Another factor related to religion and conflict is the different ethnicities of people. It is natural that different ethnic groups would develop different religions over time. As well, religious beliefs often reinforced ethnic-religious barriers between people. Scott Appleby, a professor of history at the University of Notre Dame, found that “ethnoreligious concerns drove more than half the world’s civil wars. The proportion increased to 3/4ths from 1960-90 and accelerated again with the end of the Cold War.”13 Unfortunately, religious violence is the most deadly of all conflict in that combatants are fighting on behalf of their gods. As such, there can be no compromise. Dan Benjamin, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and

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International Studies, and Steven Simon, a senior analyst at RAND Corporation, characterized the nature of religious conflict as “different from any other kind of warfare—there is no compromise about the sacred. Tolerance is not an intrinsic part of any of the monotheistic religions.”14 Armstrong concluded that “[O]nce a conflict becomes holy, violence will know no bounds and compromise becomes impossible.”15 Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, a University of Saint Thomas professor, went further and attributed the nature of religious conflict as emanating from their sacred texts. These texts are used to justify violence, hatred, and war, hence, can encourage human violence.16 According to Andrew Kille, an author and pastor, sacred texts were recontextualized to codify violent behavior.17 He identified five factors that would indicate the propensity for religiously based violence: (1) absolute claims to truth; (2) blind obedience by followers; (3) the ideal time to attack; (4) ends justify the means; and (5) declaring holy war.18 However, just as guns do not kill people, religious texts do not kill people—they just facilitate it. Julia Ioffe, a journalist, determined that “no religion is inherently peaceful or violent, nor is it inherently anything other than what its followers make it out to be. People are violent.”19 Now that we have briefly reviewed the evolution of religion as it relates to society and violence, let’s turn to the relationship of violence involving the Abrahamic religions that serve as the case study for this book. There are well over 4,000 recognized religions in the world today. However, over 80 percent of the world’s population follows one of the following top-ten religions: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto, Judaism, Jainism, Sikhism, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism. Of the top-ten religions, three are directly related: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. They all share a common history, starting with the Hebrew Bible (also known by Christians as the Old Testament). Christian and Roman Empire leadership canonized aspects of the Hebrew Bible and created the New Testament within their own Christian Bible. Finally, the Prophet Muhammad, upon receiving guidance from the Archangel Gabriel, corrected the Bible and called it the Qur’an. While these three religions share much in common, there are also distinct differences between them, particularly regarding violence and conflict. To begin, let’s briefly review the three Abrahamic religions before assessing how each accommodates conflict.

JUDAISM The religious belief of the Jewish people is referred to as Judaism, likely referring to Abraham’s great grandson, Judah, who led one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Jewish people worship in synagogues, and their spiritual leaders are called rabbis. Jews believe in one God who is universal and without

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Introduction

human characteristics. God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. God selected Abraham and his children to be his chosen people, referred to as the Jewish Covenant. The Hebrew Bible describes God’s dealings with the Jewish people as well as the trials and tribulations of the Jewish people in the Middle East during the time of Moses. CHRISTIANITY Christianity is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. (“Christ” is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word “Messiah,” which was the title of a king recognized as the deliverer of the Jewish people.) Jesus taught that there was only one God who made the universe and everything in it. However, this singular God is defined as a trinity (i.e., the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) with the Son being Jesus. Because of the sins committed by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, all humankind is alleged to be born with sin and therefore needs divine redemption for its own salvation. To be judged holy by God only requires faith in the sacrifice and work of Jesus. The Bible’s New Testament is an account of the trials and tribulations of Jesus and his followers living under Roman rule in the Middle East 2,000 years ago. Christians worship in church and their spiritual leaders have many titles including priests, chaplains, bishops, preachers, pastors, and deacons. ISLAM Islam is another monotheistic religion, which believes in one God, known as Allah, who is merciful and compassionate, among many titles.20 The Qur’an was recited to the Prophet Muhammad by the Archangel Gabriel in Mecca around 600 years after Jesus died.21 It was also an accounting of how one should live as well as a recounting of the history of the Arabs in the Middle East during the early seventeenth century. According to the Prophet Muhammad, the Qur’an served as the final update of the Bible from God.22 The Qur’an recorded how the Prophet Muhammad, a keen politician, warrior, and strategist, rose to power in Medina and Mecca.23 “Muslims” are those people that follow or submit to Allah’s will. They worship in mosques, and their spiritual leaders are often called imams. RELIGIOUS CONFLICT Conflict and violence are inherent in all religions, just like they are in every society. Most religions recognize conflict as a course of last resort only to be

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used in “just” situations (e.g., self-defense). Each of the Abrahamic religions views conflict differently, primarily based on the environment the religion emanated from. In Judaism, the tradition requires the eradication of evil, sometimes using violent means. The expression Milchemet Mitzvah refers to conflict that is invoked in defensive wars when vital interests are at stake. Oliver McTernan, a visiting fellow at Harvard University, noted, “Religious ambivalence towards violence is nowhere more marked than in the Hebrew Bible. On the one hand there is an unequivocal condemnation of killing in the Ten Commandments; on the other, the sword and the bow are sanctioned as weapons that enable the Israelites to fulfill the divine plan to conquer their neighboring tribes and to occupy their lands.”24 During the many conflicts elaborated in the Hebrew Bible, kingdoms would fight one another, with the more powerful god guiding its followers to victory. The more victorious a king was in battle, the more powerful the god was, resulting in more followers. As McTernan observed, “If Israel won, they believed it was simply because God wanted their victory and gave them the supremacy in war to achieve it.”25 Even in the modern era, the scale of Israel’s conquest over its neighboring Arab countries in the Six-Day War in 1967 was attributed to divine intervention.26 The monotheistic religions believed that there was only one God who did not die or disappear due to any battlefield defeat. In Christianity, the New Testament is more about conflict resolution than actual conflict, as is common in the Hebrew Bible. While the New Testament is focused more on peace and love, its interpretation by the Catholic Church’s leadership allowed it to legitimize extreme violence throughout Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages. The Catholic popes (notably Urban II and Gregory VII) recognized Christian knights as conducting holy war to secure sacred sites in the area around Jerusalem. As such, these knights had papal blessings with a promise to go directly to heaven if killed in battle. According to McTernan, “The only two ways of receiving forgiveness until then were either to enter a monastery or to go on an unarmed pilgrimage. The church was now offering a third way; warriors could gain remission for their sins by killing or being killed in God’s name.”27 Finally, Islam has been assessed to be a religion associated with much violence, as that characterized the Arab culture at the time of the Prophet Muhammad. Nelson-Pallmeyer concluded, “The problem of Islam . . . is rooted in the overwhelming preponderance of passages in the Qur’an that legitimate violence, warfare, and intolerance. Violence in service to Allah is both justified and mandated by Allah or Muhammad under sanction of divine threat.”28 While some parts of the Qur’an only authorize force in self-defense, the use of force in Islam has a historical basis. The Qur’an recognizes the human

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Introduction

propensity for conflict and provides permission for defensive jihad. However, some Muslim clerics, such as Sayyid Abul A’la Mawdudi and Sayyid Qutb, claimed it also allows for the proselytizing of Islam by force, as necessary.29 SACRED SCRIPTURE As religions evolved from oral traditions to written text, conflict expanded exponentially. Now sacred scriptures existed that one could reference to legitimize violence. Unfortunately, most people could not read in the early days, so it was up to holy men, such as priests and imams, to interpret the sacred scripture for the masses. Often, these interpretations were inaccurate or intentionally skewed. Nelson-Pallmeyer found that sacred texts encouraged human violence, stating, “Parties in any given conflict can call upon competing ‘sacred’ text . . . to justify violence, hatred, and war.”30 Louay Fatoohi, an Iraqi author and publisher, concluded, “There is no text that God could have revealed that people would not have misinterpreted to suit their ends. This is not only about the Qur’an, but all books.”31 ANALYSIS Fear of the future, as noted earlier, has always played a key role in the evolution of the Abrahamic religions. People naturally feared death and what would happen to them after they died. Most people believed in an after-life of some sort, be it in heaven or hell. As such, religious leaders exploited this fear over the millennia in numerous ways, from raising money to fighting wars. Many philosophers, such as Thomas Hobbes, believe that most people’s basic nature is generally not good.32 In a world of limited resources, this inclination leads toward violence and conflict. Religions also evolved to manage and mitigate people’s violent nature. Almost all early civilizations had societies ruled directly or indirectly by religious leaders. There was no separation of state and religion in ancient civilizations. Neither the Greeks nor Romans had ever separated religion from secular life.33 As such, if there was ever conflict between societies, religion would necessarily be involved. Hence, religion without war and war without religion were inconceivable.34 Today, despite more government secularization and fewer theocratic governments in the world, religion and conflict still have a close correlation. However, the holy text references regarding conflict and violence within Abrahamic context tend to be from the Qur’an and not the Hebrew of Christian Bibles. The countries currently involved in religious conflict are mostly Muslim.

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A key problem is that some scholars and politicians tend not to include religion as a primary cause of conflict in the world today. McTernan observed, “The problem one encounters when trying to access the role of religion in conflict is the lack of data. Facts and given conditions are just not there because of the consensus among political scientists that for the past two hundred years or so religion has ceased to be a cause of conflict.”35 Given that McTernan is correct in believing that religion is still a key part of conflict around the world, it is worth exploring the relationship between them. To begin this discussion, let us next consider five concepts that lead to conflict: fundamentalism, proselytizing, sacrifice, revenge, and terrorism.

NOTES 1. Note that from a religious perspective, religion articulates the relationship between people and what society considers to be its deities or various spirits. Religion serves to provide meaning to the lives of many people who seek it. 2. Pacal Boyer, Religion Explained (New York: Basic Books, 2001), 19. 3. Karen Armstrong, A History of God (New York: Ballantine Books, 1993), 32–43. 4. For the purposes of this research, violence is considered people injured or killed by other people. 5. Jerald Gort, Henry Jansen, and Hendrik Vroom eds., Religion, Conflict and Reconciliation (Amsterdam: Editions Rodopi B.V., 2002), 33. 6. Peter Partner, God of Battles (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997), 1, xvi. 7. Karen Armstrong, A History of God (New York: Ballantine Books, 1993), 6. 8. Karen Armstrong, “The Myth of Religious Violence” (February 17, 2019), https​://ww​w.the​guard​ian.c​om/wo​rld/2​014/s​ep/25​/-sp-​karen​-arms​trong​-reli​gious​-viol​ ence-​myth-​secul​ar. 9. Peter Partner, God of Battles (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997), 1–2. 10. Jacob Neusner ed., God’s Rule (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2003), 1–2. 11. R.K. Prabhu & U. R. Rao, eds. “The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi” (Navajivan Trust, 1960), https​://ww​w.mkg​andhi​.org/​momga​ndhi/​chap1​8.htm​. 12. Marc Gopin, Holy War, Holy Peace (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 98. 13. Scott Appleby, Ambivalence of the Sacred (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999), 62, 58. 14. Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon, The Age of Sacred Terror (New York: Random House, 2003), 420. 15. Karen Armstrong, Fields of Blood (New York: Anchor Books, 2014), 249. 16. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, Is Religion Killing Us? Violence in the Bible and the Quran (New York: Continuum, 2006), 10, 16.

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17. J. Harold Ellens, ed., The Destructive Power of Religion. Vol. 1 (Westport: Praeger, 2003), 55–62. 18. Ellens, The Destructive Power of Religion, 71. 19. Julia Joffe, “If Islam Is a Religion of Violence, So Is Christianity” (Foreign Policy, June 14, 2016) forei​gnpol​icy.c​om/20​16/06​/14/i​f-isl​am-is​-a-re​ligio​n-of-​viole​ nce-s​o-is-​chris​tiani​ty/. 20. Allah has ninety-nine names attributed to him in the Qur’an: https://99 namesofallah.name/. 21. Huston Smith, The World’s Religions (San Francisco: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991), 232. 22. Smith, The World’s Religions, 233. 23. Ibid., 229–230. 24. Oliver McTernan, Violence in God’s Name (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2003), 52. 25. McTernan, Violence in God’s Name, 52. 26. Ibid., 113. 27. Ibid., 61. 28. Ibid., 84. 29. Niaz Shah, “The Use of Force Under Islamic Law,” The European Journal of International Law, Vol. 24. No. 1, 343–365, http://www.ejil.org/pdfs/24/1/2386.pdf. 30. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, Is Religion Killing Us? Violence in the Bible and the Quran (New York: Continuum, 2006), xv, 16, 10. 31. Louay Fatoohi, “Myths about the Verse of the Sword.” (March 2014), http:​// www​.paki​stanc​hrist​ianpo​st.co​m/opi​nion-​detai​ls/20​00. 32. Huston Smith, The World’s Religions (San Francisco, Harper Collins Publishers, 1991), 164. 33. Karen Armstrong, Fields of Blood (New York: Anchor Books, 2014), 141. 34. J. Harold Ellens ed., The Destructive Power of Religion. Vol. 1 (Westport: Praeger, 2003), 208. 35. Oliver McTernan, Violence in God’s Name (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2003), xi.

Chapter 1

Concepts of Religious Conflict

INTRODUCTION Let’s begin by defining terms, then applying them to each of the Abrahamic religions, and finally analyzing the differences between them. If one were to conduct an internet search for “Concepts of Religious Conflict,” none of the retrieved items listed would specifically address this query. The hits displayed all tend to migrate to religion and conflict and not about the various concepts thereof. The concepts of conflict to be discussed here include (in order): fundamentalism, proselytization, sacrifice, revenge, and terrorism. SECTION 1: FUNDAMENTALISM Religious fundamentalism can be defined as the belief of an individual or group of people in the absolute authority of sacred scripture or in the teachings of a spiritual leader, prophet, or god. It is a natural reaction to changes incurred by modernization. Change can cause anxiety and fear in some people. From her research, Armstrong determined that “Every one of the fundamentalist movements I have studied is rooted in fear—the conviction that modern society is out to destroy not only their faith but their entire way of life.”1 In general, Appleby considered religious fundamentalists to be “absolutist, irredentist, dualist, and apocalyptic in cognitive orientation.”2 Fundamentalists tend to reject most aspects of modernity, especially religious pluralism and secularism (i.e., separation of church and state). In the RAND Corporation publication “Exploring Religious Conflict,” the participants described religious fundamentalism as: 9

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[A]n orientation to the world, one that inheres both a cognitive and an emotional dimension. Its ethos is one of protest and outrage at the secularization of society - that is, at the process by which religion and its spirit have been steadily removed from public life. It is important to note that very few individuals who are accurately branded as “fundamentalist” actually participate in acts of terror and violence . . . . Fundamentalism’s advantages are certainty and sacrifice; both of these advantages give it the edge during crises. This also suggests that its leaders will try to define moments as scary and classify them as apocalyptic crises, arguing that religion is the answer.3

Fundamentalists also tend to be selective regarding the scriptures they adhere to and their mode of interpretation.4 Regarding religion and change, fundamentalists tend to fall back to what they believe or have interpreted to be the original religious tenets of their faith for security and peace of mind. Fundamentalists often tend seek a return society to the golden age of their respective religions. Ruthven identified these mythical periods where fundamentalist traditions were still prevalent and modern ills, such as drug abuse, were not. For Jews, this would have been the era from David to Solomon (builder of the first temple in Jerusalem). For American Christians, the golden age would be during the 1950s. And, for Muslims, the golden age would be the era of the Prophet Muhammad.5 Religious fundamentalist movements (and even religions) normally coalesce around male charismatic leaders who provide the vision and religious moral legitimacy for action.6 These men have the ability to convince people to follow them even when it requires significant sacrifice on their part. We see this occur throughout humankind’s history. Sometimes religious fundamentalists would seek to convert an entire society to their beliefs, by force if necessary. They might try to undermine a government through various means (sometimes violent) in an attempt to stop progress or even to reverse it. Religious fundamentalism has spread around the world and is now a security issue for many state governments. Armstrong warned that “[F]undamentalism is now part of the modern world. It represents a widespread disappointment, alienation, anxiety, and rage that no government can safely ignore.”7 Ruthven determined that religious fundamentalism has been a significant source of conflict since the late 1980s and early 1990s.8 Modern religious fundamentalism appeared in the United States between 1910 and 1916 with the publication of a series of books known as “The Fundamentals.” These books were written for Protestants and advocated the fundamental doctrines of Christianity. They were disseminated by the millions for free around the world. In 1920, Curtis Lee Laws, an editor of a northern Baptist newspaper, coined the term “fundamentalism” from these books.9 The term

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“fundamentalism” was then used to describe the Protestant Christians who rejected modernity. It is important to point out that there is a difference between fundamentalists and extremists. Where fundamentalists are worried about the influence of progress on their religion, extremists tend to take action to counter this perceived influence. Vexen Crabtree, a British author on religions, explained the difference, writing, “The phrase religious extremism describes faith-based actions that are deliberate attempts to cause harm to other people . . . . Most justifications for religious extremism are fundamentalist in nature, based squarely on religious doctrine, strictly interpreted.”10 So, while extremists are all fundamentalists, not all fundamentalists are extremists. Appleby explained, “Nothing in the definition of fundamentalism suggests that it promotes extremist violence and intolerance.”11 However, Armstrong found that “Whenever a fundamentalist movement is attacked, either with violence or in a media campaign, it almost invariably becomes more extreme.”12 Though the most extreme fundamentalist groups today are primarily Muslim, we will begin the discussion with Judaism. Judaism Though Judaism today does not have a reputation as being fundamentalist, extremist, or intolerant, there are Jewish factions that still would qualify as such. The conservative, traditionalist branch of Judaism is known as Orthodox Judaism. It is defined as those who follow the Torah, both oral and written. “Torah” refers to the first five of the twenty-four books of the Hebrew Bible (known as the Pentateuch in Christianity). Naturally, Orthodox Judaism also advocates a strict adherence to Jewish law, known as Halakha, which emanates from the Torah, and Jewish traditional customs and practices. Moreover, it is the largest Jewish religious group with over four million adherents worldwide. However, it is the ultra-conservative Orthodox Jews, known as Haredim, that can be perceived as true Jewish fundamentalists. Haredim reject modern, secular culture prevalent in the West. They consider themselves as the most religiously authentic group of Jews, and as such, aggressively try to enforce their customs on other Jews in Israel, to include the practice of segregating genders, dictating a strict rule of dress, and banning access to the Internet. Moreover, Haredim do not serve in the Israeli military. Today, around 10 percent of the Israeli population is Haredim, and they are growing fast (due to their larger-than-average families).13 In the past, there have been a few fundamentalist Jewish political groups in Israel, to include Gush Emunim (“Block of the Faithful”), a right-wing activist movement intent on annexing Israeli occupied territory, and the Kach

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political party. In 2019, there was only one orthodox religious political party left in Israel—the Shas (which stands for “Torah-Observant Sephardim”). It is currently the third-largest party in the Knesset with eight members out of 120 total delegates. It was founded in 1984 by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef to represent the interests of Haredi Sephardic Jews. Since its founding, Shas has been a part of every governing coalition. As of 2019, Shas members sit with the Likud Party in the Knesset. Christianity We cannot discuss fundamentalism in Christianity as a whole as it primarily applies to Protestants. While Catholic individuals and groups may characterize themselves as fundamentalists, there is no real fundamentalist “movement” as all Catholics already are, by definition, fundamentalists. The leader of the Catholic faith is the pope, who represents Jesus on Earth. His proclamations are policies that all Catholics should follow. Michael Cook, a professor at Princeton University, confirmed this stating, “Catholic fundamentalism is a contradiction in terms. A Catholic recognizes the binding character of the authority of the church . . . . Catholicism and fundamentalism are mutually exclusive.”14 Ruthven even posed the rhetorical question, “Can Catholics be fundamentalists?”15 The answer is yes! They all are. As discussed earlier, the Protestant fundamentalist movement began in the United States in the early 1900s as a result of a modernist movement that interpreted the Bible from a modern perspective. This modern perspective raised doubts about the accuracy of the Bible, which some Protestants rejected. In 1919, there were some conferences in New York City and Philadelphia to discuss modernist theories, resulting in the establishment of the World’s Christian Fundamentals Association with a set of planks setting the foundation for the fundamentalist movement. These core beliefs included: (1) the inerrancy of the Bible; (2) the direct creation of the world and humanity; (3) the authenticity of the miracles in the Bible; (4) the virgin birth of Jesus, his crucifixion, and his bodily resurrection; (5) Jesus’s atonement for mankind’s sins; and (6) Jesus’s return to judge mankind and rule over the world.16 In the 1920s, the disagreements between Protestant modernists and fundamentalists became most pronounced among American Presbyterians. The fundamentalists’ denunciation of contemporary education (e.g., evolution versus divine creation) caused many outsiders to perceive fundamentalists as opposed to science and culture (see Scopes Trial of 192517). By the end of the 1920s, the Protestant fundamentalist movement had lost control of the major denominations and began to focus on the question of pre-millennialism or post-millennialism, the timing of Jesus’s return to earth.

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Pre-millennialists believe the Second Coming will occur on a millennial year and be followed by a 1000-year reign on earth. It is based on the literal interpretation of Revelation 20:5-6 in the New Testament: “The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.”18 On the other hand, post-millennialism, also based on Chapter 20 of the Book of Revelation, saw Jesus’s Second Coming as occurring after a time in history in which peace and prosperity prevails around the world. Ruthven claimed, “Most American fundamentalists are pre-millennialists,” and that the number of pre-millennialists is estimated conservatively to be at eight million people worldwide.19 The Protestant fundamentalist movement lost its momentum until the 1970s, when televangelist Jerry Falwell became well known. In 1979, Falwell founded the Moral Majority, a civic organization that campaigned against modern movements, such as abortion rights, women’s and gay people’s rights, banning school prayer, and not teaching creationism in schools. Since then, the fundamentalist movement has again subsided as many of the televangelists were caught up in scandals and discredited, to include Jim Bakker, Oral Roberts, Jimmy Swaggart, and Pat Robertson. Protestant fundamentalism in the United States is most prevalent within the so-called Bible belt, primarily the rural areas of the South. These American fundamentalists believe the Bible to be accurate, comprehensive, authoritative, and transmitted to humanity by God through prophets, patriarchs, and apostles.20 However, when confronted with evidence of editorial changes, multiple authors, and even mistranslations in the Bible, Ruthven noted that these fundamentalists become defensive.21 Islam Islamic fundamentalism began to evolve in the twentieth century and has expanded ever since. It is based strictly on the Qur’an and Hadith (the sayings and customs of the Prophet Muhammad). According to religious scholars, such as Appleby and Cook, fundamentalism is most prevalent within Islam as a reaction to modernization and Westernization.22 Qamar-Ul Huda, an American religious scholar, defined Islamic fundamentalism as movements in the Muslim world that “represent an attempt to affirm Muslim identity in the face of rapid social changes that threaten the traditional social organization of the society, as well as a reaction to the boundary problems created by intrusions of colonialism, new technology, consumerism, and economic dependency.”23 Huda noted that due to these conditions, “many Muslims are resentful toward

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the West and thus are easily influenced by aggressive and radical interpretations of Islamic beliefs and core values.”24 Modernization and Westernization (similar, but not identical concepts) have spread rapidly in the Middle East, primarily by Europeans and Americans. According to Neusner, “Although the Muslim Brotherhood and Jamaat rejected Westernization, they did not reject modernization. In fact, they incorporated modern methods and means into their institution building, provision of services, and even proselytizing.”25 For example, one of the more prominent technologies exploited is the Internet and its social media platforms. These are used to recruit new members and direct actions. One of the leaders of the Islamic fundamentalist movement and Muslim Brotherhood in the twentieth century was Sayyid Qutb. He was an Egyptian scholar and Islamic theorist who became a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1950s and 1960s. Many scholars consider him the founder of Sunni fundamentalism. Qutb was arrested for a failed assassination attempt on President Gamal Nasser in 1954. It was his experience in Egyptian prison that convinced him that separation of church and state was not compatible with Islam, and that the followers of secularism and those of Islam could not peacefully coexist in society. Qutb believed that men were not more qualified than Allah (as revealed in the Qur’an) to govern. Furthermore, Armstrong observed that “Qutb always insisted that the armed struggle for God would not be an oppressive, coercive campaign to impose Islam by force.”26 Qutb’s writing provided the ideological framework for Wahhabism. The most fundamentalist sect of Islam today is Wahhabism, the national religion of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. According to Armstrong, Muhammad ibn abd al-Wahhab believed in an extremely reductive form of Islam that envisioned a return to Islam of the days of the Prophet Muhammad during the seventh century and repudiated Shi’a, Sunni, Sufism, and Falsafa.27 Wahhab (1703–1792 CE) was a religious leader in southern Arabia who sought to return Islam to the “golden age” of the Prophet Muhammad. Wahhab joined with Muhammad bin Saud in 1744 to create the beginning of Saudi Arabia, where Wahhab was responsible for religious matters and Saud was responsible for political and military matters. During King Faud’s reign (1982–2005 CE), it is estimated that Saudi Arabia spent over $75 billion to spread Wahhabi Islam throughout the Muslim World, to include 200 Islamic colleges, 210 centers, 1,500 mosques, and 2,000 schools.28 Neusner noted that Muhammad al-Wahhab “asserted the absolute equality of all believers in the eyes of God, so that no one enjoyed special status or a favored position except through piety.”29 Armstrong characterized Wahhabism as fundamentalist and supportive of conflict in the name of Islam, contrary to Qutb’s teaching.30 Related to the Wahhabi movement is the Salafi movement. It is a fundamentalist faction within Sunni Islam that developed in Egypt in response to

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European imperialism in the late nineteenth century. It advocated a return to the “salaf” traditions, those of the first three generations of Muslims, and an adherence only to the Qur’an and Hadith. Salafism looks back to the “golden age” of the seventh century to understand how the contemporary world should be ordered. The majority of the Salafi Sunni reside in the Persian Gulf, particularly Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. Salafism is notable because it is the form of Islamic fundamentalism that Osama bin Laden followed.31 Ayyan Hirsi Ali differentiated Muslims based on their beliefs. She identified the first group as “Medina Muslims,” those Muslims who are fundamentalists that envision a regime based on Sharia law. Medina Muslims see the imposition of Sharia law using militant jihad as their religious duty, following the example of Prophet Muhammad when he was living in Medina. The Islamic philosophy followed by this group aligns closest with Wahhabism.32 Ali identified the second group as “Mecca Muslims,” who are not inclined to practice violence or intolerance. This would be following Prophet Muhammad’s policies while living in Mecca. Finally, Ali identified an emerging group of Muslims, the “Modifying Muslims.” These Muslims believe in the evolution of Islam to accommodate change as well as in separation of religion and government (i.e., secularism).33 Islamic fundamentalism is the most easily identified and influential fundamentalist movement in the world today. One reason that it is prevalent within Islam is that many Muslims may not be familiar enough with the Qur’an and Hadith to know the difference between them. Fatoohi noted, “Fundamentalist Muslims whose ignorance of Islam developed into extremism or terrorism have contributed in a big way to this unfounded presentation of Islam.”34 Analysis Fundamentalism has affected each of the Abrahamic religions differently primarily due the varying influences of modernization. Modernization affects societies around the world differently. Modernization occurs primarily in the Western world, which is dominated by Christians. As a result, the fundamentalist movements in Judaism and Christianity are fairly benign, at least as far as international politics are concerned. Until the discovery of oil in its deserts, the Arab World had been relatively unaffected by modernization. With Western influence dramatically changing their way of life, Muslim fundamentalists in the Middle East, already imbued with a culture of conflict, often turned to violence to slow or even to stop the inevitable change. As Judaism has had relatively few followers and is now primarily located within the United States and the small nation of Israel, the Jewish people tend to be more conservative-oriented and security-conscious. Orthodox Judaism

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is one of the largest factions within the religion. Within this group evolved the ultra-conservative Orthodox Jews, the Haredim, who are considered the religious fundamentalists. Because the Haredim are not politically motivated, they are generally not prone to violence. However, there has been some violence related to Palestinian-inhabited areas, particularly in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, that fundamentalist Jews believe rightfully belong to Israel. As J. Harold Ellens, a church theologian and Christian journal editor, noted, “Fundamentalist Jews tend to side with the aggressive right-wing politics in Israel today and demonize Palestinian activists.”35 On the other hand, there are over one billion Catholics and close to one billion Protestants in the world today. Regarding the Catholics, the pope leads the religion, setting policies, and holding ecumenical councils. As such, Catholics are basically fundamentalists. The focus of Protestant fundamentalism has been the second coming of Jesus. As dates are predicted and nothing happens, the related movements became more discredited. The remaining Protestant groups, such as the Amish, Quakers, and Jehovah’s Witnesses, are generally passive and not political, hence, not known for violence. Finally, there are more fundamentalist movements within Islam than any other religion.36 Note that there are close to two billion Muslims living around the world today, with the most residing in Indonesia. Appleby believes Muslim fundamentalists often resort to violence due to their harsher introduction to modernity.37 Islamic fundamentalism has been associated with some of the world’s most deadly and destructive terrorist attacks. Robert Pape, a University of Chicago professor, conducted an extensive study of Islamic terrorism and found that Islamic fundamentalism was associated with around half of the suicide terrorist attacks that occurred between 1980 and 2003.38 As progress cannot be halted, the existence of Muslim terrorist groups will continue in the Arab World. While fundamentalist movements within religions can be a source of conflict, there are other sources of conflict to consider. The next source to be discussed is how and when religions are proselytized around the world, which is the subject of the next section. SECTION 2: PROSELYTIZATION For any religion to survive, it needs as many followers as possible. Recruiting new adherents to any faith using persuasion is called proselytizing. The Oxford English Dictionary considers proselytism as a synonym for conversion.39 One way to proselytize a religion is by word of mouth. Another common way is by force, where one religious group assaults the territorial ecclesiological integrity of another religious group.40 Let’s examine the

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success the three Abrahamic religions have had with proselytizing over the years and how it involved conflict. Judaism Given how little Jews spread their religion over the millennia, many scholars consider it remarkable that Judaism survived as well as it has. Huston Smith, a former professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Syracuse University, observed that Jews have continued their existence despite incredible odds over three thousand years. He claimed, “The continued existence of Jewry down the centuries is rationally inexplicable.”41 Beginning with Abraham, allegedly God made a covenant with the Jewish people that could be interpreted to include a missionary aspect to it. Ancient Israelites promulgated their religion among the nations they encountered or conquered. According to the Gospel of Matthew (23:15), Pharisees (members of an ancient Jewish sect) were directed to proselytize “across land and sea.” David Berger, a professor at Yeshiva University, noted that to become Jewish “is to join a people, not just a faith.”42 On the other hand, he also observed that “a locus classicus in the Talmud . . . instructs Jews approached by a gentile expressing an interest in conversion to suggest that the prospective convert urgently seek out a psychiatrist.”43 By the first century CE, approximately 10 percent of the Roman Empire were Jewish (close to eight million people).44 However, in 198 CE, Roman Emperor Severus issued a ban against proselytizing by Jews. In 329 CE (after Christianity had become the official religion of the Roman Empire), Christians were banned from converting to Judaism. Between 395 and 408 CE, Byzantine Emperor Arcadius issued decrees prohibiting proselytizing by Jews. In 538 and 548 CE, the Third and Fourth Councils of Orleans also prohibited Jews from proselytizing. In 628 CE, the Prophet Muhammad proclaimed the death sentence to any Jew who proselytized to Muslims. Moreover, if Muslims did convert to Judaism, all their possessions would be confiscated. In 717 CE, Caliph Omar II, leader of the Muslim World, forbade Jews from proselytizing to Muslims. In essence, proselytizing by Jews actually became dangerous beginning in the first millennium. On the other hand, Jewish leaders did not make it either easy or enticing for anyone to convert to Judaism. First, many Gentiles (the most likely group to convert to Judaism in early times) perceived Jewish leaders as responsible for the death of Jesus. Further, the rituals to convert were extensive and difficult. For example, only after three requests to convert to Judaism might a person be considered eligible to begin the process of becoming Jewish. A rabbi must sponsor a candidate, and that person must successfully pass a Jewish council

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interview about Jewish history, culture, and traditions. Moreover, for all males, they must be properly circumcised (or re-circumcised). With all of this to consider, one can see why proselytizing Judaism may not have been more successful over the millennia. Christianity The issue of proselytizing Christianity has a varied past. Certainly, Jesus Christ and his disciples and followers preached to the Gentiles in the Holy Land, though it was not necessarily to convert any of them to Judaism. Paul the Apostle evangelized in much of Asia Minor and in Europe, particularly in Rome. Because of his work and that of other missionaries, early Christianity spread rapidly along the trade routes of the Roman Empire. As noted, the strife caused by Christians within the Roman Empire over the centuries eventually convinced Emperor Constantine I to legalize the Christian faith in 313 CE if only to end the civil conflict. (Once Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, then the Bible became the most important book in the world.)45 The Crusades during the Middle Ages served to spread Christianity throughout Europe and the Middle East. The source of the Crusades started when the Catholic Church moved to install Rome’s highest bishop as the pope, Jesus’s representative on Earth (even though Jesus never indicated there was to be such a representative).46 In 538 CE, Emperor Justinian issued a decree proclaiming the pope to be supreme in religious matters in the Roman Empire. White a founder of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, noted, “The accession of the Roman Catholic Church to power marked the beginning of the ‘Dark Ages.’ Faith was transferred from Christ to the pope of Rome. People were taught that the pope was their earthy mediator and none could approach God except through him. As such, he was to be implicitly obeyed. Any deviations would result in severe punishment of body and soul.”47 In 1066 CE, Pope Gregory VII decided to increase the power of the papacy by unilaterally proclaiming the power to anoint and dispose of any emperors or kings. As one of his first actions using this new authority, Pope Gregory removed King Henry VII from the German throne and excommunicated him from the Church and the Holy Roman Empire.48 However, the ultimate key to the pope’s power was his inherent ability to pardon people for their sins. As noted earlier, people’s fear of the afterlife is a key component of all religions; this power to forgive sins was enormous and served as the foundation of the Crusades. At almost every level of the Catholic Church, officials would charge members of their congregations for official pardons. In 1071 CE, Turkish forces defeated Byzantine forces and captured the Byzantine Emperor, Ramonos IV, at Manzikert in eastern Turkey.49 In 1095

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CE, Byzantine Emperor Alexius I asked Pope Urban II for mercenary troops to confront this Turkish threat. Pope Urban II called for the First Crusade in a sermon at the Council of Clermont. One of Pope Urban’s aims was to guarantee pilgrims access to the holy sites in Jerusalem that were under Muslim control. (A pilgrimage to the Holy Land was one of the paths toward personal salvation.) In return for their participating in such a Crusade, Crusader knights would be guaranteed a place in heaven as they would be fighting a holy war for God. All past, present, and future sins would be forgiven. Another key benefit was that these Crusades also spread Catholicism across Eastern and Southern Europe and into the Middle East.50 The majority of Muslim, Jewish, and other religious denominations that were captured were forced to convert to Christianity or die. In fact, during some Crusades, the Crusaders decided Jewish faithful should be put to death because their religion was responsible for the death of Jesus.51 Armstrong observed, “The Crusades made anti-Semitic violence a chronic disease in Europe. Christians would attack Jews first at home. When bishops tried to protect the Jews, the less affluent townsfolk joined the Crusaders in the killing.”52 The advance of Christianity slowed after 500 CE. In 285 CE, the Roman Empire was split in half because it was too large to manage from Rome. The Western Empire was governed from Rome and the Eastern Empire from the city of Byzantium. The Eastern Empire became known as the Byzantine Empire, and it existed until it was overrun by the Ottoman Turks in 1453 CE. The Holy Roman Empire was not related to the West or East Roman Empires, and it existed primarily in central Europe. The Western Roman Empire disintegrated and essentially ended in 476 CE. In the seventh and eighth centuries, Arab invasions established Islam as the dominant religion in about half the area in which Christianity had been dominant. During this time, however, Irish and British missionaries spread the faith in western and northern Europe, while Greek missionaries proselytized in Eastern Europe and Russia. Christianity was also spread throughout the world during the colonial era beginning in the fifteenth century by European powers, though not always in a peaceful way. Lloyd Steffens, a professor of religious studies at Lehigh University, concluded, “There is no doubt that Christian missionary activity colluded with colonialism and participated in heinous activities to include enslavement, warfare, murder, rape, and exploitation.”53 However, from around 1350 to 1500 CE, Christianity suffered a setback in the number of its followers. Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II defeated an army led by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI to conquer Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire in 1453 CE. This marked the end of the Byzantine Empire. In Europe, the Hundred Years War between France and England (fought between 1337 and 1453 CE) over who should rule France caused the loss of many Christian faithful: approximately three million Europeans were

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killed, not including those who died from the Bubonic Plague in Europe at the same time.54 During the sixteenth through seventeenth centuries, European ships sailed around the world in search of new trading partners and trade routes. One of the consequences of this trade expansion was the continued spread of Christianity. Beginning in the mid-sixteenth century, the Catholic Church sent missionaries into the newly discovered or conquered territories of three Catholic empires: Spain, Portugal, and France. As a result of the exploration from these countries, Christianity was established in Central and South America, in the Caribbean, and in the Philippines. With the Protestant Reformation in Northern Europe in the early sixteenth century (to be discussed under Schisms in chapter 3), both Catholics and Protestants increased the number of their followers. Catholicism was spread to South and Central America, Africa, China and Japan. Protestantism was spread to Europe, North America, and Africa. Beginning in the eighteenth century, there were three “Great Awakenings” within Christianity as a result of Christian revivals. Each awakening led to an increase in Christian followers. The first one took place among the Protestants within the British colonies in North America and within Germany, England, and the Netherlands. The Second Great Awakening took place in the early nineteenth century and involved the emergence of many religious groups, including the Mormons, the Millerites (eventually forming the Seventh-Day Adventists), the African Methodist Episcopal Church, various utopian movements such as the Oneida and Shaker communities, and reform movements within the Baptist, Methodist, Congregationalist, and other Protestant groups. The third awakening occurred during the latter part of the nineteenth century in North America.55 Islam Though many modern Muslims claim otherwise, Huston Smith declared that Islam was spread primarily by the sword and was upheld by the sword.56 Similarly, Cook wrote, “Muhammad was the only one to use warfare to advance his cause.”57 To put this into historical context, Bruce Lawrence, a professor of religion at Duke University, noted that Muhammad did not embrace violence as a way of life, but only as an expedient to a higher end.58 Of course, many Muslim scholars would take issue with this position, believing Islam to be more peaceful than militant (e.g., Qamar-Ul Huda59). However, Fatoohi noted that historically the people of the Arabian Peninsula had always been violent. He claimed, “Raids amongst tribes were a common way of increasing both wealth and social standing. In that bloody environment, vengeance and retaliation were major drives in people’s lives.”60

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In the early seventh century, the Prophet Muhammad had become a master politician and negotiator. Armstrong noted, “Muhammad was one of the few leaders in history to build an empire largely by negotiation.”61 Geoffrey Parrinder, a professor at King’s College in London, examined Muhammad’s tactics and observed that “Muhammad’s principal method of extending influence was forming a complex system of alliances with various tribes, to include arranged marriages.”62 When he was unsuccessful proselytizing Islam in the city of Mecca in Arabia and was expelled from the city for attempting to do so, he moved his Muslim followers to nearby Medina (formerly known as Yathrib), where he was successful in negotiating with the tribal leaders there. Muhammad ruled in Medina for ten years. Despite his best efforts, Muhammad was unsuccessful convincing the Quraysh tribe in Mecca to convert to Islam. As such, he resorted to military action. Muhammad mounted sixty-five military expeditions—both offensive and defensive—in the Hijaz region.63 He planned thirty-eight battles and led twenty-seven military campaigns.64 According to Cook, on nine occasions Muhammad was engaged in actual combat to the extent of being severely injured in one battle.65 The first major battle between Muslims and Meccans occurred at Badr in 624 CE. In this battle, though Muhammad and his followers were greatly outnumbered by the Meccans, they were still victorious—allegedly due to Allah’s blessing. The Battle of Badr became a sacred symbol for Muslims.66 In 630 CE, Muhammad conquered Mecca with around 10,000 men without any significant fighting (the Quraysh capitulated). Subsequently, Bedouin tribesmen from all over Arabia pledged their allegiance to Muhammad.67 The majority of the Meccans converted to Islam and became part of the Muslim community, recognizing Muhammad as both prophet and political leader. Shortly thereafter, Muslims controlled most of Arabia.68 As the number and strength of this initial Muslim community grew, its rulers engaged in both offensive and defensive activities. Offensive activities were launched in the name of Islam, although primarily driven by a desire for political expansion and economic gain.69 Though Islam claims to be defensive, in the Arab culture, the conventional thinking is that a good offense is the best defense. Once Arabia had been converted, Muslims began conducting military expeditions into neighboring areas. However, they were in fact mainly for plunder, a time-honored tradition of Arabs, and not specifically to proselytize Islam.70 The first Muslim expeditions were conducted in Syria and Palestine in 634 CE. In 637 CE, Iraq came under Muslim control, followed by Egypt in 639 CE.71 When Islamic expansion ended around 720 CE, it extended from the Himalayas to the Pyrenees—the largest empire the world had ever seen. Most of the conquered people converted to Islam and learned to speak Arabic.72

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The spread of Islam across the planet was unprecedented in scope and speed. Partner believed that “Muslims set themselves from the beginning the task of Islamizing the whole world by force of arms.”73 He also noted, “Wars after the death of Muhammad overturned the Persian Empire entirely and took half the lands of the Roman Byzantine Empire.”74 The unique factor about these conquests was their permanence. Parrinder concluded, “Except for Spain and Sicily, all territories have continued Muslim domination until the present.”75 He found that Muslim holy war had as its top priority to defend Muslim territory, then secondarily to convert natives to Islam.76 It was also not uncommon for mercenaries to fight with Muslim armies, except when the conflict was between Islamic centers in Arabia.77 Overall, it appears that Islam expanded at the expense of Christianity. According to Cook, “The pre-modern expansion at the expense of Christian societies is extensive. The record of Christian conquest of comparable Muslim societies is much more limited.”78 Muslim empires that were created included the Abbasids, Fatimids, Almoravids, Mughals, Seljukids, Ajuran, Safavids, and Ottomans. Islamic expansion also occurred in South and East Asia to include India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and China. Analysis Proselytizing of the three Abrahamic religions could not be more varied. Jews tended not to proselytize as much as other evangelists and they made it difficult to convert to Judaism. Yet, Judaism is still a force on the world stage. Catholics tended to proselytize early on, primarily using the Crusades in Europe and the Middle East. Those people who survived contact with Crusaders tended to convert to Catholicism. With the advent of Protestants, Christian proselytizing has been primarily through missionary efforts, particularly during the colonial era. Much like Christianity, Muslims began proselytizing by conquering countries across the Eastern Hemisphere. However, once the initial growth slowed down, the subsequent growth came about primarily from trade and exploration. While proselytizing religion is a macro view of potential violence, sacrifice is a micro view. Sacrifice includes suicide and martyrdom, and it is the subject of the next section. SECTION 3: SACRIFICE All three Abrahamic religions include aspects of sacrifice which have varied in intensity over the millennia. The word “sacrifice” comes from the

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Latin word sacrificium meaning to perform an action to render something sacred. The action is usually “giving something up” to divine beings for their reciprocated benevolence. As such, sacrifice can be the ritual killing of a living being (animal or human) as part of a religion to appease a god or gods. Some religious scholars believe that spiritual sacrifice was required for humankind to survive its own killing tendencies. Armstrong observed, “Civilization demands sacrifice . . . . It seemed like an iron law that aristocrats would exploit their peasants as the Sumarians did . . . . Unpalatable as this may seem, by forcing the masses to live at subsistence levels, the aristocracy kept population growth in check and made human progress feasible.”79 However, one thing all three religions have in common is that suicide is forbidden. Pape explained, “The mainstream understanding of martyrdom in all world religions still prohibits a person from killing oneself.”80 Veronica Ward, an associate professor at Utah State University, concurred, explaining that “voluntary death is acceptable only when God so commands. Otherwise, one is a self murderer.”81 Rene Girard, a Stanford University professor, studied sacrifice in societies over time. He noted that in many societies and religions, sacrificing humans for religious purposes evolved into a business. By selecting one citizen to sacrifice to a deity, that person becomes both a perceived savior of society and an unfortunate scapegoat.82 Girard wrote, “The miracle of sacrifice is the formidable economy of violence that it realizes. It directs against a single victim the violence that menaced the entire community.”83 However, the divine benefits of one sacrifice in most societies do not last forever, so it needed to be repeated periodically. Moreover, the more the process of sacrifice is repeated, the more ingrained in the culture it becomes. One key concept related to sacrifice is martyrdom. Martyrdom is when a person sacrifices himself or herself for a religious cause in hopes of a divine reward. Charles Davis, an Appalachian State University professor, wrote, “The Martyr willingly embraces pain and suffering as a path to redemption for himself and others.”84 Ward observed that martyrs believed that the benefits awaiting them in heaven were more rewarding than a lifetime of suffering. Moreover, if the suicide is conducted with the intent to serve God, then the martyrdom is pure. It is the intent of the person killing oneself that determines the difference between suicide and martyrdom.85 Juergensmeyer summarized martyrdom as follows. “The word Martyr comes from a Greek term for ‘witness’ . . . also as a performance of a religious act, specifically an act of self-sacrifice . . . as the most fundamental form of religiosity: sacrifice. It is a rite of destruction that is found, remarkably, in virtually every religious tradition in the world.”86

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Finally, with twenty-first-century suicide terrorism, such religious sacrifices also have political motivations beyond the religious ones. Armstrong noted, “Martyrdom was not just a pious deed, but a revolutionary political act,” oftentimes in response to foreign aggression.87 Judaism Judaism forbids human sacrifice, though it is common in the Hebrew Bible. As a result of child sacrifices to the Canaanite god, Moloch, both Leviticus 20:2 and Deuteronomy 18:10 outlaw such practices for Jews. However, regarding animal sacrifice in the Temple in Jerusalem, Exodus 13:2-12; Exodus 22:28; and Exodus 34:19; Numeri 3:1; and Deuteronomy 15:19 all indicate this is an acceptable practice over human sacrifice. In early Judaism, human sacrifice was commonly practiced on a regular basis. According to Ron Hassner, a professor at University of California at Berkeley, and Gideon Aran, a professor at Hebrew University, “The ritual slaughter industry in Jerusalem was vast.”88 In the Hebrew Bible, it appears that God asked Abraham to sacrifice his eldest son to atone for his sins. This willingness to sacrifice serves as a model for Jewish martyrdom.89 However, some scholars do not believe Abraham actually agreed to sacrifice Isaac. According to Jack Miles, a regents lecturer at the University of California, “Abraham never agreed to sacrifice his son and it is unclear whether he would have gone through with it.”90 In Judges 11:31, a judge named Jephthah made a vow to God in gratitude for his help in a successful military battle against the Ammonites that “whosoever cometh forth from the doors of my house to meet me shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.” Unfortunately, his daughter appeared, and he was committed to sacrificing her. Simon John De Vries, a professor at the Methodist Theological School, pointed out, “Exodus indicates human sacrifice within early Israel was practiced.”91 Donald Capps, a Princeton University Theological Seminary professor, indicated that children were sacrificed because they were motivated by the fear of what God might do to their society if it was not done.92 De Vries concluded, “Earlier, animal sacrifices were sufficient. After societies became strong, and where human captives were eaten, such captives could serve as human sacrifice.”93 (It should be noted that it was not until 374 CE that infanticide was declared to be murder in the Roman Empire.94) One of the more famous acts of non-religious suicide occurred at Masada around 73 CE. According to Josephus, a first-century Jewish Roman historian, the Sicarii, an extremist Jewish splinter group, captured the Roman outpost at Masada. After a brief period of time, the Romans launched a military expedition to recover the fortress. Before the Romans breached the Masadan

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fortifications, the 967 Sicarii men, women, and children inside committed suicide so as not to be executed or be taken as prisoners.95 With so few Jewish people around the world, it did not make sense for them to practice martyrdom. Ward noted, “Jews faced with annihilation were urged to embrace life.”96 Christianity An early example of Christian martyrdom were the Zealots, considered by the Roman Empire to be terrorists who undermined authority, law, and order. Hassner and Aran defined Zealotry “as religious violence aimed against those who are perceived as opposing the divine will.”97 According to Partner, thousands of Zealots were crucified by the Romans because they refused to deny their Christian faith (i.e., martyrs). Even Jesus, whom some scholars (e.g., Baigent and Gardner) believed was also a Zealot, was crucified along with two Zealots.98 Given Jesus’s crucifixion, Christians embraced martyrdom as an aspect of their allegiance to God and wrote extensively on it.99 Christians consider the crucifixion of Jesus as a self-sacrifice, making him a type of martyr. According to the New Testament, Jesus was arrested by the Temple Guards of the Sanhedrin, a gathering of Jewish leaders, following the Last Supper (which was highly unusual as the Sanhedrin did not normally meet at night). The Sanhedrin charged Jesus with healing people on the Sabbath; threatening to destroy the Jewish Temple; and claiming to be the Messiah and Son of God. Upon finding him guilty, the Jewish rabbis took Jesus to Pontius Pilate, the governor of Roman Judea, to be tried as the self-proclaimed King of the Jews (a treasonous offense according to Roman law). While Pilate did not find anything to convict Jesus on, he allowed a Passover crowd to declare Jesus guilty. As such, Pilate sentenced him to death by crucifixion. Ward found that “all future martyrs can harken back to Jesus’s own sacrifice and death as justification for their own actions,” and that “salvation for many Christians came through martyrdom.”100 J. Denny Weaver, a professor of religion at Bluffton University, characterized the events of Jesus’s martyrdom from three different perspectives: 1) The death of Jesus as the God-man was then necessary in order to satisfy God’s honor and restore the order of the universe. 2) Jesus’s death satisfied the divine law’s requirement that sin be punished. 3) God demonstrated love to sinners by giving his Son to die for us.101 Candida Moss, a professor of theology at the University of Birmingham, researched the persecution of Christians beginning with Jesus, the first

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martyr to be persecuted.102 Martyrs become powerful representatives for the church.103 In Christian terms, if one was being persecuted, then one must be doing something right.104 Moss found that this Christian history of martyrdom and persecution is needed for the survivability of Christianity.105 However, such persecution and martyrdom were not unique to Christianity. The ancient Greeks told stories about their martyrs. The Romans saw self-sacrifice of generals as a good thing. Jews in ancient Palestine accepted death before renouncing their faith.106 However, Moss concluded that this perception of Christian persecution and early history of Christian martyrdom was, in fact, mistaken. She found that Christians were not persecuted, hounded, or targeted by the Romans as is commonly believed today. In fact, very few Christians died, and when they did, “they were often executed for what we in the modern world would call political reasons.”107 On the Roman side, there is very little historical or archaeological evidence for the widespread persecution of Christians. In fact, most of the stories about early Christian martyrs were written long after the events they described—much like the Bible and Qur’an.108 There are sixty-eight volumes of early European manuscripts to describe the earliest stories of Christian martyrs. Interestingly, there were only a handful of stories in these texts that were historically reliable. For the first 250 years of the Christian era, there were only six martyrdom accounts that can be treated as reliable. The bottom line here is that scholars of early Christianity generally agree that there is very little evidence for the prosecution of Christians.109 Many of the stories about Christian martyrs were perpetuated by the Church for entertainment, for moral instruction, or to encourage people.110 Although Christians may not have been persecuted as much as widely believed in the early years, they still rebelled against Roman rule to the extent that Emperor Constantine felt the need to adopt Christianity in order to quell the uprisings throughout the Roman Empire. Islam To begin, sacrifice in Islam primarily deals with martyrdom. According to Partner, “The Islamic martyr (shahid) was one who died in fulfillment of his duty in the way of Allah.”111 To execute an act of self-martyrdom in Islam requires a religious decree known as a fatwa, which is only supposed to be issued by a mufti (a Muslim religious leader).112 Early on, Islam separated into two separate sects: Sunni and Shi’a. Shi’a Islam has a 1,400-year legacy of martyrdom.113 It differs slightly from Sunni jihad in that a Shiite imam is required to lead any acts of martyrdom. Despite this long history, it is the Sunni who are more well-known for suicide terrorist

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attacks. Ward determined, “The discussion about martyrdom is largely among Sunni, not Shi’a.”114 The general concept for fighting in Islam is jihad. Jihad means to struggle or strive in Arabic. Jihad refers to the Qur’an’s requirement to struggle to live a virtuous life on earth and to defend Islam. As such, there are two types of jihad: greater and lesser. Huda defined the greater jihad as follows; “Jihad has been interpreted as striving and struggling to live according to principles of faith . . . . Different sects in Islam have emphasized that there are several levels of jihad . . . and that jihad in the sense of struggling with oneself is the most difficult to achieve.”115 As for the lesser jihad, Neusner explained, “The external level of jihad—or lesser jihad—refers to the struggle to defend Islam and the Muslim community, whether by words or by taking up arms. God promises blessings upon those who strive to achieve his will.”116 Ellens described jihad as a military struggle where if one dies as a martyr, one automatically goes to heaven.117 Once a fatwa authorizing a jihad is successfully executed, the jihad is over.118 Some scholars, Muslim leaders, and the Hadith (i.e., sayings and customs of Prophet Muhammad) consider jihad to be the “unofficial” sixth pillar of Islam.119 Neusner wrote that “Jihad is mentioned in both the Qur’an and the Hadith and is often referred to as the sixth pillar of Islam, although it has no such official status.”120 Fatoohi observed that while armed jihad is a struggle for freedom and human rights, “It is not obligatory for Muslims to do armed jihad.”121 In fact, armed jihad in self-defense was not even authorized by the Prophet Muhammad until fourteen years after the revelation of the Qur’an. While there are many places in the Qur’an proscribing violence, such as sura 2:190 (“Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress”), there are also places where the Qur’an gives permission to Muslims to fight for justice, such as sura 4:74 (“So let those fight in the cause of Allah who sell the life of this world for the Hereafter. And he who fights in the cause of Allah and is killed or achieves victory - We will bestow upon him a great reward”). In reality, jihad is used in both defensive and offensive fighting. Abdullah Muhammad al-Shafri’i was a Sunni Muslim theologian in the ninth century who led one of the four schools of thought regarding Islam. Al-Shafri’i was the first Muslim scholar to authorize jihad to be used in offensive fighting.122 Jihad is also related to just war theory in that a just war is one where a community has been attacked and therefore has a right to defend itself against aggression and oppression (analogous to defensive jihad). A holy war entails converting non-Muslims to Islam by force, territorial expansion, or other means (analogous to offensive jihad).123 Lloyd Steffen, a professor of religious studies at Lehigh University, identified the three just war criteria as: legitimate authority, just cause, and right intention.124

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The concept of jihad lapsed within Islam until Muslims began resisting the Crusaders. According to Bruce Lawrence, a professor of religion at Duke University, “It was not until 1187 with Saladin’s conquest of Jerusalem that jihad was revitalized.”125 As such, the Crusades triggered the jihad concept as we know it today.126 The father of modern militant jihad is considered by many scholars to be Sayyid Qutb (1906–1966). Remember, Armstrong considered Qutb to be the founder of Sunni fundamentalism.127 Qutb was an Egyptian author who had 24 books published on various aspects of Islam. He advocated for violent, offensive jihad. As such, he was an inspiration for terrorist groups—such as al-Qaeda. Jihad was archaic and irrelevant in Muslim countries until recently when extremists began to reference Qutb to legitimize their terrorist attacks against the West and the United States.128 The discussion up until now has dealt with suicide attacks targeting nonIslamic nations and non-Muslims. However, the practice of declaring Muslims to be non-believers and proclaiming that their lives can be forfeited is known as “Takfirism.” Traditionally, takfiri has been used most often by Shi’a Muslims against Salafis and Wahhabis. Interestingly, according to Anthony Celso, associate professor at Angelo State University, “Al Qaeda’s . . . leader Ayman Zawahiri justifies collective takfir based on a utilitarian calculus that permits slaughter of innocents to advance the jihadist cause.”129 The United States declared a “War on Terrorism” in 2001 after nineteen members of al-Qaeda conducted multiple suicide terrorist attacks in America on September 11, 2001. Armstrong made a keen observation regarding these suicide terrorists when she wrote, “Saudis who attacked the U.S. on 9/11 had limited knowledge of Islam, but had Wahhabi training.”130 Osama bin Laden, the founder of al-Qaeda, the group which executed the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, issued two illegitimate fatwas (as he was not considered a mufti) authorizing an offensive jihad against the West and the United States. The 1996 fatwa objected to U.S. military forces being stationed in Saudi Arabia. The 1998 fatwa, which added the Western blockade of Iraq and U.S. support for Israel as additional justifications, authorized Muslims to kill Americans and Jews everywhere.131 Analysis It is curious that Judaism witnessed child sacrifice to appease God, while Christianity and Islam witnessed adults killing themselves instead of children. The difference between Christianity and Islam is that Christians tended to kill themselves rather than renounce their beliefs. Muslims tended to kill themselves in the process of killing as many others as possible for religious and political reasons. The motivation of Muslim suicide terrorists is knowing

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that their sacrifice would be characterized as martyrdom, and as such, they would be rewarded in heaven for their actions. In the twenty-first century, the concern is no longer about infanticide by Jews, or Christians dying for their beliefs, but continued suicide terrorist attacks by Muslim extremists.

SECTION 4: REVENGE To begin this section, let’s first define “revenge.” Revenge is the action of inflicting harm on someone who inflicted harm first. A synonym for revenge is retaliation. In many medieval societies around the world, it was considered one’s duty to seek revenge—as necessary. For this analysis, revenge will also encompass genocide, as that could be a form of total retaliation. (Examples of genocide within each of the Abrahamic religions will be discussed at the end of each section.) Revenge is common among the three Abrahamic religions, particularly within Judaism and Islam. While not supported in the New Testament, revenge was common among Christians, particularly during the Crusades. One of the biggest problems regarding revenge is that the tit-for-tat attacks may never end. Generations of families could be attacking one another for past acts that no one remembers. De Vries observed that in the Hebrew Bible, “The ultimate problem with revenge is that it tends to breed revenge upon the avenger.”132 This perpetual conflict could be made even more permanent if religion becomes a factor. According to Nelson-Pallmeyer, “In this context of never-ending spiral of violence at the heart of violence-of-God traditions, God becomes an instrument of human revenge.”133 Moreover, with the modernization of weapons, revenge can quickly become disproportional. Regarding genocide, it is defined in Article 2 of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (adopted 9 December 1948), [G]enocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. . . . Genocide only has real meaning if a government intends to destroy an entire group of human beings.134

We have begun to see more instances of genocide beginning in the twentieth century. As such, it needs to be discussed here.

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Judaism In both the Hebrew Bible (e.g., Leviticus and Deuteronomy) and New Testament (e.g., Matthew), the Rule of Talion is followed regarding punishment. The Rule of Talion, developed in early Babylon and present in both Roman and Islamic law, established that criminals should receive punishment in the same manner as was inflicted upon their victims. This is commonly referred to as the “eye for an eye” principle. While this concept may seem cruel at times, it was better than the traditional alternatives—death or excommunication. However, while the Rule of Talion may be appropriate for individuals, it does not really apply to entire communities or societies. Though de Vries noted, “Genesis does not attempt to limit the taking of revenge.”135 A classic example of this was in the first Jewish Great Revolt in Jerusalem in 66 CE. After Jews protested excessive taxation from Rome and attacked Roman citizens, Roman Governor Florus raided the Second Temple in Jerusalem claiming the money was for Emperor Nero. This sacrilegious raid and the arrest of many senior Jewish leaders led to a wide-scale rebellion, resulting in the Roman military garrison in Judea being overrun and seized by Jewish Zealots. The Jews soon established a provisional government in the Judea Province. As a result, a Syrian army was sent to put down the uprising. When the Zealots defeated this Syrian army, resulting in 6,000 Romans being massacred, Emperor Nero ordered General Vespasian to crush the rebellion—which he did. According to Armstrong, “The Zealots capitulated in 70 C.E. and the Romans burned Jerusalem and the temple to the ground . . . . The Romans killed 580,000 Jewish rebels and countless civilians.”136 Clearly, this event is contrary to the Rule of Talion. (The reason the Romans overreacted is likely to send a message to the Jews and other minority groups not to further challenge the Roman Empire.) In general, the Lord in the Hebrew Bible (referred to as Yahweh in Hebrew) could be characterized as a “warmonger.” Reza Aslan, an Iranian-American writer on religious studies, wrote, “Yahweh was a blood-soaked Man of Wara jealous deity who slaughtered anyone who did not worship him.”137 Miles noted, “Jewish revolts were put down with exceptional violence.”138 Jews were also punished by God for not worshipping him exclusively. For example, God killed 41,700 Israelites during the “golden calf episode,” to include the Earth opening up and swallowing thousands of Jews alive. Moreover, during the Jewish exodus from Egypt, God killed 40,000 Israelite sinners!139 However, the Israelites often asked for assistance from God when going to battle in ancient times. According to Miles, “[T]here are very few Psalms that do not allude to a fight in progress and ask for God’s assistance in winning it.”140 With God on their side, when the Jews were successful in battle, they tended to be brutal as well.

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Moreover, though these actions seem excessive and ungodly, there were also indications of genocide in the Hebrew Bible. According to Miles, “[T]he genocide Israel inflicts on its enemies at the start; and the genocide its enemies inflict on Israel at the end. Both are at the will and work of the Lord.”141 For example, under Joshua, Israelites inflicted genocidal slaughter on thirty-one Canaanite cities.142 As well, during their exodus from Egypt to Canaan, the Jews encountered the nomadic Amalekites in the Negev Desert. According to Exodus 17:8-13, the Jews camped in Rephidim. Once there, the Amalekites launched an unprovoked attack against them. As a result, God declared that the Amalekites should be exterminated (analogous to genocide). According to 1 Samuel, 15:2-3, God commanded, “Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women; children and infants; cattle and sheep; camels and donkeys.” Miles concluded, “The Lord, now that he has defeated Pharaoh, becomes genocidal. By blotting out the memory of Amalek, we are to understand nothing less than extermination.”143 When writing about the practice of herem in the Hebrew Bible’s Deuteronomy (i.e., the total destruction of the enemy), John Collins, a professor at the Yale Divinity School, observed that “the slaughter has a sacrificial character, the victims are offered to the god.”144 As such, no material objects or animals could be kept by the victors. The purpose of “total destruction” is that it eliminates any room for judgment, and it eliminates the potential for plunder or exploitation.145 Moreover, if survivors were allowed, they might cause problems or plant seeds of doubt in their captors. As such, herem is also “a precautionary measure against false worship.”146 The important caveat here is that God may have been genocidal in many myths within the Hebrew Bible, but that should not imply that is an approved solution for all time. Fast forward to twentieth-century Germany, Adolf Hitler, an anti-Semitic Nazi Party leader, had over six million European Jews (as well as millions of other Europeans) put to death. This “Final Solution to the Jewish Question” during World War II was premeditated and systematic—hence, genocide. It evolved as a result of racism and anti-Semitism, where some Germans believed they were in competition with Jews for world domination. This operation subsequently became known as the “Holocaust” (a word formerly used to describe a sacrificial offering burned on an altar).147 Christianity Jesus had a completely different approach to revenge, primarily because the Gospels indicated that he lived under dominant Roman rule. According to de Vries, “The New Testament took an opposite path from the Hebrew Bible with regarding to retribution eschewing violence and leaving vengeance to God.”148

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In essence, Jesus did not believe in the Rule of Talion. Instead, he preached that one should love one’s enemies.149 From the Gospel of Matthew (among others in the New Testament) Jesus said, “You have heard that it was declared, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist a wicked person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.”150 However, the New Testament did not always reflect reality, particularly during the Crusades. Revenge for those Crusaders killed on the battlefield, and revenge for the Muslim conquering of Christian lands became common themes throughout the Crusader era.151 Yet, in most cases, the participants in the Crusades were in it primarily for the money or for the opportunity to fight. McTernan wrote, “Crusaders were motivated more by a lust for violence and loot than any sense of religious idealism.”152 According to Partner, “The western expedition was intended neither to ward off Muslim aggression nor to spread Christian faith. It had to do with the traditional greed for booty.”153 Following the First Crusade (1096–1099 CE), there were six major Crusades and numerous less significant ones. After the last Catholic outpost at Acre in the Kingdom of Jerusalem fell in 1291 CE, there were no further Crusades. The Crusades set the stage for the creation of several religious military orders, to include the Knights Templar, the Teutonic Knights, and the Knights Hospitaller. These groups of knights essentially served as the pope’s armies. An Islamic study of political violence estimated the death toll due to the Crusades to be around one million people.154 In the end, Steffen determined that the Crusades had failed in their goals, and even split the Western and Eastern Christians further apart.155 Religious genocide appeared again early in the twentieth century in Armenia. The Armenian people, who were Christians, had made their home in the Caucasus region of Eurasia for over 3,000 years. Eventually, Armenia became part of the Muslim Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman officials accommodated minority societies and allowed Armenia to maintain some autonomy as Christians (i.e., “people of the Bible”). However, Armenians were still perceived as infidels and subject to unequal and unjust treatment, such as additional taxes. Suspicions that the Armenians were working with the Russians as the Ottoman Empire was crumbling during World War I led Turkish Sultan Abdul Hamid II to resolve the “Armenian question” by slaughtering as many as 900,000 Armenian people. Most historians classify this event as a genocide—a systematic campaign to exterminate an entire people.156 Islam In Sharia (Islamic law), Qisas is the Islamic term for the Rule of Talion. Qisas provides for the punishment analogous to the crime—for Muslims only. However, this does not apply to revenge. According to the Qur’an and Hadith, the preferred response to an attack of some sort is forgiveness because

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revenge only increases the problem (analogous to the New Testament). The Qur’an states, “And the retribution for an evil act is an evil one like it, but whoever pardons and makes reconciliation—his reward is due from Allah. Indeed, he does not like wrongdoers.”157 During Prophet Muhammad’s era, the Arab cultural tradition was one of tribal hostilities, ongoing for generations. Muhammad employed mediation for tribes to overcome these long-running feuds. However, there were many revenge killings during Muhammad’s reigns in Medina and Mecca. As for genocide of Muslims, one example is on the Island of Sicily in the thirteenth century. The Normans conquered the last Muslim outpost on Sicily by 1091 CE. The remaining Muslims lived together in isolated, segregated areas on the island. Organized and systematic reprisals against the Muslims began during the twelfth century. When King Frederick II forcibly moved the Muslims to Lucera in southern Italy, it represented the last stronghold of Muslim presence in the country. Charles II of Naples then destroyed the Muslim settlement in Lucera, killing or enslaving as many as 20,000 Muslims. This action could be classified as genocide. Analysis Revenge is human nature. Moreover, while both Christianity and Islam preach against retaliation, it still occurs within both religions. Revenge killing to the extent of genocide was common in the Hebrew Bible, but not evidenced in either the New Testament or the Qur’an. However, in reality, all three religions witnessed and were subjected to religious revenge and genocide at some point. In Judaism, the Rule of Talion (i.e., an eye for an eye) was the common practice of society, primarily serving as a retaliation deterrent for committing crime. As Christianity and Islam evolved, the Rule of Talion gave way to forgiveness and loving one’s enemy. However, in reality, this did not happen. Just and holy wars were justified by religious leaders and scholars, but the issue of proportionality arose. It seems that revenge could include an element of punishment. The Crusades represented holy wars against the Muslims in Europe and the Middle East. On the flip side, Muslims considered their defense of the Holy Land against the Christian Crusaders as a just war. Even today, we still witness revenge attacks and genocide killing among both Christians and Muslims, albeit not necessarily for religious reasons. Related but different from revenge and genocide is terrorism, the topic of the next section. SECTION 5: TERRORISM As usual, let’s start with a definition of “terrorism.” Unfortunately, there is no universally agreed upon definition, likely because the term is so politically

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and emotionally charged. Remember, as Nelson-Pallmeyer noted, “A terrorist may be a freedom fighter in somebody else’s eyes.”158 In the United States, terrorism is defined in Title 22 Chapter 38 U.S. Code § 2656f as: “premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents.” The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) defined terrorism as: “The use of force or violence against persons or property in violation of the criminal laws of the United States for purposes of intimidation, coercion, or ransom.”159 Armstrong defined terrorism as: “Any use of violence against innocent people with the aim of intimidating them or others into a course of action they would not otherwise have taken . . . . Terrorism is fundamentally political . . . . It is always about power.”160 The shortfall of most definitions is that they do not discriminate between a violent crime and what is commonly perceived as a terrorist attack. Juergensmeyer made this distinction when he wrote, “These creations of terror are done not to achieve a strategic goal but to make a symbolic statement.”161 He described terrorist attacks as “performance events” to get the public to change their minds about an issue, policy, or the government itself.162 Terrorist targets are often selected because of their symbolism, vulnerability, and likelihood that many people would be in the area when affected.163 Juergensmeyer observed that “the timing of the events often ensured that the maximum number of people would be gathered at the target sites.”164 Osama bin Laden, founder of the terrorist group al-Qaeda, also distinguished between good and bad terrorism, with only jihadist terrorism being the good kind.165 Robert Pape characterized terrorist attacks into three categories: demonstration, destructive, and suicide. Demonstration terrorism is political theater as much as a violent attack. Destructive terrorism focuses on maximizing damage and loss of life. Finally, suicide terrorism is the most destructive form of terrorism, normally twelve times more deadly than the other types.166 Of course, terrorist attacks could be classified in more than one of these categories. Pape also found that terrorist suicide attacks occur as part of an organized campaign that is directed toward a strategic objective.167 As well, he determined that a primary goal of suicide operations is to gain control of territory.168 To legitimize terrorist attacks, most groups base them on religious beliefs. Juergensmeyer concluded that “religion is crucial for terrorist acts, since it gives moral justifications for killing and provides images of cosmic war that allow activists to believe that they are waging spiritual scenarios.”169 However, Pape claimed that there was little-to-no connection between suicide terrorism and religion.170 Instead, he claimed that the connection was for nationalist reasons and not religious ones, to include Islam.171 On the other

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hand, Michael Horowitz, professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, determined based on a survey of the literature that there was a positive correlation between religion and the adoption of suicide bombing.172 The majority of terrorism scholars have determined that there is a connection between religion and terrorism. As for recruiting potential terrorists, the motivation has been generally the same over the centuries. Juergensmeyer cited a list of potential grievances used to recruit terrorists, to include inequality, religious intolerance, poverty, illiteracy, political repression, social injustice, and unemployment.173 However, Armstrong cited the two most compelling reasons people became terrorists: “[T]he denial of people’s right to national self-determination and the occupation of the homeland by foreign forces has been the most powerful recruiting agent of terrorist organizations.”174 As well, Pape identified two main characteristics of suicide terrorists: a willingness to die and a willingness to kill innocent people.175 So, who are the people most likely to become terrorists? The social makeup of terrorists is not exclusively from the disadvantaged or poorer people. Juergensmeyer indicated that the poorer people in society “are too politically passive in their own eyes to revolt.”176 Instead, he noted that “many suicide terrorists are middle class or higher and highly educated.”177 Many terrorists come from middle-class backgrounds or even from wealthy families (such as Osama bin Laden).178 In 2004, Pape found that suicide terrorists have been college-educated, married, women, socially integrated, and as old as fiftytwo years.179 Suicide terrorists automatically receive the status of martyrdom, which includes public recognition for the killers and financial compensation for the killers’ families.180 The sustained presence of American combat forces in Muslim countries has caused the number of suicide terrorist attacks to increase over the past few decades.181 Pape found that “overall, from 1980 to 2003, suicide attacks amounted to 3% of all terrorist attacks, but accounted for 48% of the total deaths due to terrorism.”182 Pape also found that “Islamic fundamentalism is associated with about half of the suicide terrorist attacks that occurred between 1980 and 2003.”183 Moreover, the main reason for the steady increase in suicide terrorism is because it is effective at least half of the time.184 Most scholars point to Hezbollah’s 1983 truck bombing of the Marine compound at the Beirut airport which killed 241 American service personnel as the beginning of modern era of suicide terrorism.185 Pape’s analysis of the database allowed him to reach the following conclusions regarding terrorist suicide campaigns. They are more likely when: (1) a nation is occupied by a foreign power, (2) the foreign power is a democracy, and (3) the foreign power is of a different religion.186

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Judaism A case could be made from this section’s introduction that the Lord in the Hebrew Bible could be characterized as a terrorist. The first mythic evidence would be how the Lord managed the Egyptian Pharaoh and his subjects regarding the Jewish slave population. According to Exodus, once Moses failed to secure the release of all Jews from Egypt, the Lord decided to inflict as many as ten plagues to terrorize the Egyptian Empire, to include turning the Nile River red with blood; infesting the Nile with frogs; turning dust into lice throughout the empire; unleashing excessive flies throughout the empire; infecting all animals and livestock with the plague; spreading burning soot across the land to burn people’s skin; causing thunder, lightning, and a hail storm potentially killing anyone outside; spreading locusts throughout the empire so that all plant life (to include trees) were eaten; causing darkness for three days so that no one could see anything; and, finally, the Lord killed all first-born children and animals throughout Egypt. With this last curse, the Pharaoh capitulated and let the Jewish people leave Egypt. However, he subsequently changed his mind and sent his army to recapture them. It was at the Red Sea that the Lord committed his final terrorist act against the Pharaoh. The Egyptian army crossed into the Red Sea in pursuit of the Jews when the tide was out. After the Jews had reached land, the tide returned, drowning most of the pursuing army. The second mythic evidence was when the Lord promised Canaan to the Jews, even though the Canaanites had lived there for many generations. Because they worshipped a different deity, the Lord afflicted them with “pestilence.” According to Miles, “God afflicts Canaanites with pestilence and terror as he did the Egyptians.”187 As well, when moving into Canaan, God directed the Jews to “utterly destroy them” (meaning the killing of all of the Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites).188 The Hebrew Bible is filled with such tales of terrorism, to include mass slaughter and genocide, by the Lord against the enemies of the Israelites as well as against the Jews themselves. For example, there is Noah’s flood which allegedly eliminated most of humankind. Or, the destruction by God of Sodom and Gomorrah—both towns destroyed by lightning and hailstones. According to 1 Chronicles 21: 1-17, when King David conducted an illegal census, God gave him a choice of three punishments. He selected the plague, resulting in the innocent death of 70,000 Israelites. As well, various Jewish groups conducted terrorist attacks throughout history. According to Pape, “Zealots, assassins, and kamikazes all sought to coerce their political opponents—to remove military forces from their homeland.”189 McTernan noted that messianic hopes also motivated these Jewish terrorists; “Their goal was to speed up the process by causing a level

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of mayhem. They saw themselves as being engaged in a war that would end all wars.”190 Moreover, the efforts of Jewish terrorists continue to this day. For example, the Jewish Underground was a relatively new radical right-wing organization considered to be a terrorist group by the Israeli government. Its creation was motivated by the Camp David Accords and the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979, and its desire to increase Jewish settlements in the West Bank. One of its two primary objectives was to blow up the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.191 According to Armstrong, blowing up the Dome of the Rock with twenty-eight precision bombs would activate events in heaven forcing God to enact the Messianic redemption. However, the Jewish terrorists could not find a rabbi to bless their terrorist operation. This act was intended to motivate Palestinians to flee their homeland and to pave the way to build a third temple. However, it likely would have caused a war between Muslims and Jews.192 Christianity As discussed previously, the Zealots of Israel were considered terrorists by the Roman Empire. There were many things that tied Jesus to this group. According to Martin Hengel, a professor of religion at the University of Erlangen, many religious scholars associated Jesus with the Zealots, and that Jesus had a pro-Zealot attitude.193 According to the Gospels, Jesus was of the House of David and his mother was of the line of Aaron—the high priest. As such, Jesus qualified as a double Messiah.194 Hence, he could have been expected to lead the Zealots to overthrow Roman rule in Judea.195 Hengel cited a Zealot revolt in Jerusalem that failed, resulting in three Zealots being crucified together— Jesus being one of them. Michael Baigent, a British author specializing in the history of Jesus, concluded that the three who were crucified together were considered by Rome to be terrorists.196 Hengel noted, “Jesus was executed by the Roman government as a revolutionary.”197 Baigent also noted that Jesus resided in Galilee, a hotbed of revolt against the Roman taxes and rule. Judas, a possible leader among the Zealots and one of Jesus’s apostles, came from Galilee.198 The City of Qumran, near the Dead Sea, was also another Zealot center (where the Dead Sea Scrolls were buried).199 There are also indications of terrorist acts by God in the New Testament. According to Revelation 9:4-6, “And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. They were not allowed to kill people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads, but only to torture them for five months. During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.”

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Since Medieval times, Christian terrorism has ebbed and flowed. In 1605 CE, there was a failed terrorist attack by English Catholics against the Palace of Westminster as well as an assassination attempt against King James I—a Protestant. After the American Civil War, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was created to reestablish Protestant values in America using primarily terrorist tactics. In the 1990s in the United States, a group of four men known as the Phinehas Priesthood became known for criminal activity in the Pacific Northwest. The Priesthood is an extreme offshoot of the radical Protestant right. They took their inspiration from Phinehas, a Jewish zealot who personally executed Zimri, an Israeli man, and a Midianite woman while they were making love in the man’s tent. According to Numbers 25, Phinehas ran both of them through with a spear, resulting in the end of a plague sent by God to punish the Israelites for sexually and religiously intermingling with Ba’al worshippers. This story legitimizes terror for American right-wing extremists.200 The term “Phineas action” is used by white supremacists in America to describe attacks on interracial couples, Jewish people, and other non-white ethnic groups. Islam The beginning of Islamic terrorism can be traced back to the seventh-century Kharijites, a group of Muslims that opposed both the Sunni’s ulema-approach (an ulema is a council of tribal elders) as well as the Shi’a’s hereditary— approach to selecting a new caliph to succeed the Prophet Muhammad. The Kharijites did not believe that Muslims had any special status in Islam (hence, their belief in takfir). A Khariji assassinated Ali ibn Talib, the fourth caliph (656–661 CE) while he was praying in the Great Mosque of Kufa. (Ali ibn Talib was also the Prophet Muhammad’s cousin who married Muhammad’s daughter.) For the next few hundred years, the Kharijites terrorized the Caliphate.201 Part of the motivation behind extremist actions is the belief in Islamic supremacism (cited in the Hadith: “Islam is exalted and nothing is exalted above it”). With the Prophet Muhammad claiming to be the “Seal (last) Prophet” offering the final correction to the Bible from God through Archangel Gabriel, this made Islam the “approved” religion for all humankind. While terrorist attacks have occurred around the world throughout history, they became more common during the latter half of the twentieth century and early twenty-first century. The increase in terrorist attacks is directly correlated with the growth of Muslim terrorist groups. According to the Global Terrorism Index, 74 percent of all deaths due to terrorism in 2015 came from just four Islamic terrorist groups: Islamic State, Boko Haram, the Taliban,

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and al-Qaeda.202 (These terrorist groups and others will be discussed in more detail in chapter 3.) Islamic suicide targets now range the entire planet and include both Muslims and non-Muslims.203 Analysis Terrorism is endemic to each of the Abrahamic religions with varying degrees of intensity over time. It was prevalent with the Zealots during the ancient Israelite era, as reflected in the Hebrew Bible. Then, as it waned in Judaism, it surged in Christianity as reflected by the centuries of Crusades. Moreover, while there are still remnants of terrorism in Judaism and Christianity in the modern era, it is now most prevalent within Islam. One reason for the surge in terrorism among Muslims is the coexistence of its competing Sunni and Shi’a sects. However, even if or when these two sects of Islam reconcile in the future, that does not necessarily mean the end of terrorism as there will likely always be extremist factions within each religion who will find issues to fight about. One way to overcome these extremist factions is for adherents of each religion to be more familiar with its Holy Scripture to better counter radical leaders’ tendencies to cherry-pick passages to legitimize aggressive actions. This concludes a review of the major concepts of conflict within the three Abrahamic religions. At this point, it is useful to consider all of the aforementioned discussion and ask “Was all of the killing regarding religion worth it?” The next chapter focuses primarily on the Bible to demonstrate its shortcomings regarding being the word of God. If Christians (as well as the faithful of the other Abrahamic religions) can be swayed to believe that the Bible or Qur’an is the word of humans inspired by their faith in God or Allah, then perhaps the killing on behalf of religion would subside. NOTES 1. Karen Armstrong, Fields of Blood (New York: Anchor Books, 2014), 303. 2. Scott Appleby, Ambivalence of the Sacred (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999), 88. 3. Gregory Treverton, Heather Gregg, Daniel Gibran, and Charles Yost, Exploring Religious Conflict (Santa Monica: RAND Corporation, 2005), https​://ww​w.ran​ d.org​/cont​ent/d​am/ra​nd/pu​bs/co​nf_pr​oceed​ings/​2005/​RAND_​CF211​.pdf 4. Malise Ruthven, Fundamentalism: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), 9, 40. 5. Ruthven, Fundamentalism, 28–29. 6. Ibid., 87, 95.

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7. Karen Armstrong, The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam (London: Harper Collins, 2000), 364. 8. Ruthven, Fundamentalism, Preface/3. 9. Michael Cook, Ancient Religions, Modern Politics (Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2014), 371. 10. http:​//www​.huma​nreli​gions​.info​/extr​emism​.html​ 11. Appleby, Ambivalence of the Sacred, 86. 12. Armstrong, Fields of Blood, 305. 13. https​://ww​w.ou.​org/c​ommun​ity/f​i les/​2013/​03/Or​thodo​x-Jud​aism.​pdf 14. Cook, Ancient Religions, Modern Politics, 431, 439. 15. Ruthven, Fundamentalism, 45. 16. Ruthven, Fundamentalism, 7, 43. 17. The State of Tennessee v John Scopes was held in July 1925 to determine whether or not human evolution could be taught in any Tennessee-funded school. Scopes was found guilty of teaching human evolution and fined $100 (equivalent to $1,400 in 2018). However, the verdict was overturned on a technicality. 18. Holy Bible, Revelation 20:5–6. 19. Ruthven, Fundamentalism, 9. 20. Ibid., 11. 21. Ibid. 22. Appleby, Ambivalence of the Sacred, 104, and Cook, Ancient Religions, Modern Politics, 441. 23. Qamar-ul Huda, ed., Crescent and Dove: Peace and Conflict Resolution in Islam (Washington, DC: US Institute of Peace Press, 2010), 25. 24. Qamar-ul Huda, Crescent and Dove, 185. 25. Jacob Neusner, ed., God’s Rule (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2003), 168. 26. Karen Armstrong, A History of God (New York: Ballantine Books, 1993), 241. 27. Armstrong, Fields of Blood, 369. 28. Michel Ibrahim, “The Mideast Threat That’s Hard to Define,” http:​//www​ .cfr.​org/r​eligi​on/mi​deast​-thre​at-s-​hard-​defin​e/p47​02. 29. Neusner, God’s Rule, 162. 30. Armstrong, The Battle for God, 40. 31. Robert Pape, Dying to Win (New York: Random House, 2006), 106. 32. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, “Islam Is a Religion of Violence” (Foreign Policy, November 9, 2015), https​://fo​reign​polic​y.com​/2015​/11/0​9/isl​am-is​-a-re​ligio​n-of-​viole​nce-a​ yaan-​hirsi​-ali-​debat​e-isl​amic-​state​/ 33. Hirsi Ali, “Islam Is a Religion of Violence.” 34. Louay Fatoohi, Jihad in the Qur’an (Birmingham, England: Luna Plena Publishing, 2009), 47. 35. Harold Ellens ed., The Destructive Power of Religion, Vol. 1 (Westport: Praeger, 2003), 7. 36. Appleby, Ambivalence of the Sacred, 104. 37. Ibid., 103. 38. Pape, Dying to Win, 103–105.

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39. David A. Kerr, “Christian Understandings of Proselytism,” International Bulletin of Missionary Research, January 1999, http:​//www​.inte​rnati​onalb​ullet​in.or​g/iss​ ues/1​999-0​1/199​9-01-​008-k​err.p​df 40. Kerr, “Christian Understandings of Proselytism.” 41. Huston Smith, The World’s Religions (San Francisco: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991), 309. 42. David Berger, Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations (Pendle Hill, PA: Reflections on Conversion and Proselytizing in Judaism and Christianity, 2006), https​ ://ej​ourna​ls.bc​.edu/​index​.php/​scjr/​artic​le/do​wnloa​d/150​2/135​5/ 43. Berger, “Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations.” 44. Geoffrey Barraclough, ed., Spectrum–Times Atlas van de Wereldgeschiedenis (The Times Atlas of World History, 1918), 102–103. 45. Published in 1611 CE, the King James Bible spread quickly throughout Europe. Eventually, the Bible became the all-time, best-selling book ever. The Bible gave Christianity and Judaism extensive legitimacy. 46. Ellens, The Destructive Power of Religion, 51. 47. Ellen White, The Great Controversy (Nampa, Idaho: Pacific Press Publishing, 2005), 55. 48. White, The Great Controversy, 57. 49. Mark Jugensmeyer, Margo Kim, and Michael Jerryson, eds., Violence and the World’s Religious Traditions (Oxford University Press, 2017), 123. 50. Peter Partner, God of Battles (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997), 77–78. 51. Partner, God of Battles, 65. 52. Armstrong, Fields of Blood, 212. 53. Jugensmeyer, Kim, and Jerryson, Violence and the World’s Religious Traditions, 128. 54. Matthew White, “Twentieth Century Atlas—Historical Body Count.” Necrometrics. 55. Jugensmeyer, Kim, and Jerryson, Violence and the World’s Religious Traditions, 145. 56. Smith, The World’s Religions, 255. 57. Cook, Ancient Religions, Modern Politics, 246. 58. Jugensmeyer, Kim, and Jerryson, Violence and the World’s Religious Traditions, 146. 59. Qamar-Ul Huda believes that Islam is essentially a peaceful religion. He pointed out that “Conversion by force, which would make Islam a proselytizing religion, however, was not imposed as a policy, by either the ulama or the rulers.” Huda cited the Qur’an to support his belief that Islam is not a militant religion. Huda noted that Qur’an sura 2:256 states categorically that “there is no compulsion in religion.” There is no scriptural warrant, therefore, for waging war (or employing other means) to compel non-Muslims to accept Islam. Next, he cited Qur’an sura 22:39-40 that “…..Permission [to fight] is given to those against whom war is being wrongfully waged.” Huda believes that “When both just cause and righteous intention exist, war in self-defense against an intractable enemy may become obligatory.” 60. Fatoohi, Jihad in the Qur’an, 30.

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61. Armstrong, Fields of Blood, 183. 62. Geoffrey Parrinder ed., World Religions (New York: Hamlyn Publishing Group, 1971), 469. 63. Jugensmeyer, Kim, and Jerryson, Violence and the World’s Religious Traditions, 145. 64. Ibid. 65. Michael Cook, Ancient Religions, Modern Politics (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014), 218. 66. Neusner, God’s Rule, 134. 67. Parrinder, World Religions, 469. 68. Neusner, God’s Rule, 135. 69. Ibid. 70. Neusner, God’s Rule, 475. 71. Ibid., 476. 72. Armstrong, Fields of Blood, 189. 73. Partner, God of Battles, 38. 74. Ibid. 75. Parrinder, World Religions, 476. 76. Ibid., 42. 77. Ibid., 50. 78. Cook, Ancient Religions, Modern Politics, 24. 79. Armstrong, Fields of Blood, 26. 80. Pape, Dying to Win, 91. 81. Veronica Ward and Richard Sherlock eds., Religion and Terrorism: The Use of Violence in Abrahamic Monotheism (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2013), 24. 82. Rene Girard, Sacrifice (East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2011), 27. 83. Girard, Sacrifice, 27–32. 84. Ellens, The Destructive Power of Religion, 43. 85. Ward and Sherlock, Religion and Terrorism, 21. 86. Mark Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence, 3rd ed. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003), 170. 87. Armstrong, Fields of Blood, 351, 363, 152. 88. Jugensmeyer, Kim, and Jerryson, Violence and the World’s Religious Traditions, 86. 89. Ibid., 88. 90. Jack Miles, God: A Biography (New York: Vantage Books, 1995), 59. 91. Ellens ed., The Destructive Power of Religion, 103. 92. Ibid., 169. 93. Ibid., 107. 94. Ibid., 170. 95. Elizabeth Sloane, “Did the Jews Kill Themselves at Masada Rather than Fall Into Roman Hands?” Haaretz, May 16, 2017, https​://ww​w.haa​retz.​com/i​srael​-news​/ MAGA​ZINE-​is-th​e-mas​ada-t​radit​ion-t​rue-1​.5472​686 96. Ward and Sherlock, Religion and Terrorism, 28.

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97. Jugensmeyer, Kim, and Jerryson, Violence and the World’s Religious Traditions, 90. 98. Partner, God of Battles, 24; Michael Baigent, The Jesus Papers (San Francisco: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006), 25. 99. Neusner, God’s Rule, 42. 100. Ibid., 24. 101. J. Denny Weaver, “Violence in Christian Theology.” Cross Currents, Vol. 51, No. 2, (2001): 150–176, http:​//www​.cros​scurr​ents.​org/w​eaver​0701.​htm 102. Candida Moss, The Myth of Persecution (New York: Harper Collins, 2013), 6. 103. Moss, The Myth of Persecution, 19. 104. Ibid., 250. 105. Ibid., 7. 106. Ibid., 17. 107. Ibid., 14. 108. Ibid., 15. 109. Ibid., 16. 110. Ibid., 259. 111. Partner, God of Battles, 51. 112. Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God, 78. 113. Appleby, Ambivalence of the Sacred, 95. 114. Ward and Sherlock, Religion and Terrorism, 28. 115. Qamar-ul Huda, Crescent and Dove, 82. 116. Ibid., 135–136. 117. Ellens, The Destructive Power of Religion, 270. 118. Fatoohi, Jihad in the Qur’an, 24. 119. According to the Hadith, the five pillars of Islam are as follows: (1) Faith (Shahada)—only one God and Muhammad is his messenger; (2) Prayer (salah)—five prayers daily; (3) Charity (zakat)—donate 2.5 percent of earnings annually; (4) Fasting (Sawm)—obligatory during the month of Ramadan; (5) Pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj)—required at least once during lifetime if able. 120. Neusner, God’s Rule, 135. 121. Fatoohi, Jihad in the Qur’an, 32. 122. Ibid., 49, 50. 123. Ibid., 19. 124. Jugensmeyer, Kim, and Jerryson, Violence and the World’s Religious Traditions, 120. 125. Ibid., 150. 126. Ibid., 120. 127. Armstrong, The Battle for God, 239. 128. Partner, God of Battles, 237. 129. Anthony N. Celso, “Jihadist Organizational Failure and Regeneration: The Transcendental Role of Takfiri Violence” (Manchester: Political Science Association, April 2014), https​://ww​w.psa​.ac.u​k/sit​es/de​fault​/file​s/con​feren​ce/pa​pers/​2014/​ PSU%2​0pres​entat​ion.p​df

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130. Armstrong, Fields of Blood, 381. 131. Ibid., 379. 132. Ellens, The Destructive Power of Religion, 81. 133. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, Is Religion Killing Us? Violence in the Bible and the Quran (New York: Continuum, 2006), 54. 134. United Nations Human Rights: Office of the High Commissioner, “Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide” (UN General Assembly, January 12, 1951), https​://ww​w.ohc​hr.or​g/en/​profe​ssion​alint​erest​/page​s/ cri​meofg​enoci​de.as​px 135. Ellens, The Destructive Power of Religion, 84. 136. Armstrong, Fields of Blood, 145–146. 137. Reza Aslan, God: A Human History (New York: Random House, 2017), 136. 138. Ellens, The Destructive Power of Religion, 157. 139. Miles, God, 135–136, 143. 140. Ibid., 145. 141. Ibid., 157. 142. Ibid., 154. 143. Ibid., 117. 144. Ellens, The Destructive Power of Religion, 13. 145. Ibid., 14. 146. Ibid., 15. 147. Conan Fischer, The Rise of the Nazis: New Frontiers in History, 2nd ed. (Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2002). 148. Ellens, The Destructive Power of Religion, 80. 149. Ibid., 255. 150. Holy Bible, Matthew, 5:38–39. 151. Partner, God of Battles, 81. 152. Oliver McTernan, Violence in God’s Name (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2003), 62–63. 153. Ibid., 80. 154. Naveed Sheikh, Body Count (Jordan: Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, 2009), https​://ri​ssc.j​o/doc​s/bod​ycoun​t_fin​al.pd​f 155. Jugensmeyer, Kim, and Jerryson, Violence and the World’s Religious Traditions, 125. 156. Ibid., 125. 157. Qur’an, 42:40–43. 158. Nelson-Pallmeyer, Is Religion Killing Us?, 9. 159. FEMA Handbook, Chapter 4 “Terrorism,” https​://ww​w.fem​a.gov​/medi​a-lib​ rary-​data/​20130​726- 1549-20490-0802/terrorism.pdf 160. Armstrong, Fields of Blood, 343–344. 161. Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God, 125. 162. Ibid., 126–127. 163. Ibid., 133. 164. Ibid., 123. 165. Cook, Ancient Religions, Modern Politics, 229. 166. Pape, Dying to Win, 6, 10. 167. Ibid., 4, 11.

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168. Ibid., 27. 169. Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God, xi. 170. Pape, Dying to Win, 363. 171. Ibid., 21. 172. Michael Horowitz, “The Rise and Spread of Suicide Bombing,” Annual Review of Political Science, Vol. 18, May 2015, https​://ww​w.ann​ualre​views​.org/​doi/ f​ull/1​0.114​6/ann​urev-​polis​ci-06​2813-​05104​9 173. Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God, 123–125, 155. 174. Armstrong, Fields of Blood, 354. 175. Pape, Dying to Win, 90. 176. Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God, 125. 177. Ibid., 124. 178. Ibid., 239. 179. Pape, Dying to Win, 17, 18, 23. 180. Pape, Dying to Win, 29. 181. Ibid., 6. 182. Ibid., 28. 183. Ibid., 17. 184. Pape, Dying to Win, 61–65. 185. Ibid., 14. 186. Ibid., 80. 187. Miles, God, 117. 188. Holy Bible, Deuteronomy, 20:16–18. 189. Pape, Dying to Win, 33. 190. McTernan, Violence in God’s Name, 54. 191. The Temple Mount is located in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is considered a holy site within Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Jewish tradition foresees the final Temple of God being constructed there. For Muslims, the al-Aqsa Mosque is located on the Temple Mount and is considered one of three Sacred Mosques in the world. The Dome of the Rock is also located there and is considered the location of Prophet Muhammad’s ascent to heaven. 192. Armstrong, Fields of Blood, 355. 193. Martin Hengel, Was Jesus a Revolutionist? (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1971), 6. 194. Baigent, The Jesus Papers, 39. 195. Ibid. 196. Ibid., 25. 197. Hengel, Was Jesus a Revolutionist?, 7. 198. Baigent, The Jesus Papers, 32. 199. Ibid., 36. 200. Ward and Sherlock, Religion and Terrorism, 46. 201. Cyril Glasse, The New Encyclopedia of Islam (California: Altamira Press, 2001), 255–256. 202. Global Terrorism Index 2016 (Sydney: Institute for Economics and Peace, 2016), 4. 203. Mona Siddiqui, “ISIS: A Contrived Ideology Justifying Barbarism and Sexual Control.” The Guardian (August 23, 2014).

Chapter 2

Man-Made Religion

This chapter will discuss what some of the historic philosophers thought about religion, in general; provide some insights on messengers of God (such as prophets); consider the veracity of the Bible and the Qur’an; and finally share some historical realities involving Jesus, slaves, women, myths, and traditions. The purpose of this discussion is to assist readers when contemplating the killing done on behalf of an Abrahamic religion. To review, one reason religion evolved may have been from a human need to socialize with one another. One reason to join a group is a shared belief, such as those within a religion. Boyer noted that “humans seem desperate to join some group and to demonstrate loyalty to it.”1 He explained how religious groups work: “The very fact that people in a group share this religious ideology and perform important rituals together sharpens their perception that they are indeed a group with clearly marked boundaries.”2 Richard Dawkins, a well-known British biologist, found that “[Religion] gives consolation and comfort. It fosters togetherness in groups. It satisfies our yearning to understand why we exist. . . . Natural selection builds child brains with a tendency to believe whatever their parents and tribal elders tell them. . . . Organized religions are organized by people: by priests and bishops, rabbis, imams, and ayatollahs.”3 The bottom line here is that there may not actually be an almighty presence in heaven, but just a shared belief in one as a matter of faith. Once in a group and following a religion, things naturally change over time. With evolution, modernity, and globalization, religion cannot help but be affected. It tends to change accordingly if just to remain relevant to society. Appleby observed that religious traditions are constantly changing; “Gaps between dogma and ideology are found in every religion. Religious traditions are inherently dynamic.”4 47

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Over the past several centuries, it seems we have witnessed changes for the worst regarding religion and conflict. In fact, it seems that conflict can accredit religion, as we witnessed during the Crusader era. Juergensmeyer claimed, “This is one of history’s ironies, that although religion has been used to justify violence, violence can also empower religion.”5 Finally, Huston Smith reflects what many scholars had concluded regarding the ever-diminishing role of religion in society today when he wrote that “the more the universe seems comprehensible, the more religion seems pointless. . . . If anything characterizes ‘modernity,’ it is the loss of faith in transcendence.”6 This is in alignment with what most modern philosophers believe, which is the discussion in the next section. SECTION 1: PHILOSOPHERS Jack Miles, philosophizing about how God is portrayed in the Hebrew Bible, wrote, “If God is good, then he is not God. If God is God, then he is not good.”7 This section is a review of the thoughts of well-known philosophers over the millennia about religion, and religion and conflict in particular. The first political philosopher is acknowledged to be Plato of Athens in the fourth century BCE. Plato believed that human nature causes us to look for something greater, to seek spiritual purpose in life. He believed in the immortality of the soul and in an afterlife. However, regarding religious violence, Girard noted, “Plato condemns all literary representations of religious violence.”8 The next well-known philosopher to be discussed is Thomas Hobbes, an Englishman who lived in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries CE. Most historians concluded that Hobbes believed in the existence of God, but not much more than that. He thought that those people who believed that God had spoken to them in some manner were delusional. Hobbes wrote the Leviathan in 1651 CE. In it, he discussed the predicament of a citizen following two masters—the sovereign and God. However, he resolved this quandary by citing Jesus as saying that the Kingdom of God will not appear until the end of time. As such, until the end of the world, Hobbes advocated that citizens must obey the civil sovereign in the present.9 Moreover, he did not believe in the reported miracles described in the Bible, except to point out that the definition of a miracle was different at that time compared to the present. (In the ancient days, it meant “unusual.”) As for the Catholic Church, Hobbes believed that the state should control it and not the other way around to maintain peace.10 Next, John Locke was an English political philosopher of the late seventeenth century who is commonly known as the Father of Liberalism. Locke believed in God and the Bible. He believed that religious liberalism meant religious tolerance, separation of church and state, and the right of individuals to use their own rational faculties in the interpretation of Holy Scripture.

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He was against atheism as he believed it could undermine the social order. In accordance with Hobbes’s position, Locke also thought that mixing religion with government was dangerous.11 Oliver McTernan summarized nineteenth- and twentieth-century philosophers’ beliefs about religion as follows: “Marx, Freud, and Durkheim . . . saw the gods as nothing more than an objectification of human needs and desires . . . . Religion, they and others argued, is a social construct, the product of particular social conditions. . . . The reality behind religion was not God—but society.”12 Starting with the first philosopher cited by McTernan, Karl Marx was a German philosopher of the nineteenth century who viewed religion as the “opium of the people” that gave workers false hope. Next, Sigmund Freud was an Austrian psychoanalyst of the nineteenth century who viewed God as an illusion based on the human need for a father figure, and religion as necessary to contain the violent impulses of mankind. Finally, David Durkheim was a French sociologist in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century who is viewed as the architect of modern social science. He wrote the book The Elementary Forms of Religious Life published in 1912 that analyzed religion as a social phenomenon. He attributed the development of religion as part of the human emotional need for security and socialization (as discussed previously). In conclusion, Smith offered an assessment of philosophy and religion over time; “Philosophy has found itself with less and less in common with religion.”13 As humankind discovers more and more how nature works, there is less and less of a requirement for religion to explain the unknown. As people tend to socialize more and more over the Internet (e.g., social media), the need for groupings in person has evaporated. Given the time constraints of the modern world, people tend to have less and less time to devote to religious duties, such as physically going to church. If it were not for religious holidays and significant family affairs, such as Christmas and Eid al-Fitr,14 weddings, and funerals, many people would not be in a house of God at all. However, this does not mean there is no purpose for religion. As footnoted previously, religion serves to provide meaning to people’s lives who seek it. SECTION 2: MESSENGERS OF GOD To begin, what is a messenger of God? They are referred to by various names, to include prophet, angel, seer, sage, soothsayer, clairvoyant, diviner, mystic, and oracle, to cite a few. Of note, they are all self-nominated. For example, according to the Hebrew Bible’s Book of Kings, Elijah was both a prophet and a miracle worker in Israel during the ninth century BCE. However, according to Huston Smith, “Elijah was not a priest. He had no formal authority for the terrible judgment he delivered. The normal pattern of the day

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would have called for him to be struck down by bodyguards on the spot. But the fact that he was speaking for an authority not his own was so transparent that the king accepted Elijah’s pronouncement as just.”15 In the Abrahamic religions, a prophet is a person who is perceived by oneself and others to be in contact with a deity. He or she was allegedly chosen to disseminate the word of the Almighty in the form of a prophecy. The prophecy is a message communicated to the messenger by God that usually involves a revelation of God’s will. Smith noted that in the original Greek language, a prophet is someone who “speaks” for someone else or “one who speaks to God.”16 Moreover, messengers are informed of their selection from heaven. As Smith described it, “A voice falls from heaven saying, ‘You are the appointed one.’”17 (Note that there are never any witnesses to this significant revelation.) Philosophers, such as Hobbes, did not believe an almighty being would communicate directly with any human. Miles noted that the messenger is most often not speaking their own words, but the words of God. But, then, he provided the following caveat: “However, the various messages contradict one another freely and frequently.”18 This would be likely to happen as most prophets were not educated, and, hence, were not able to take dictation or write down any prophecy. As such, they would have to remember what God told them word for word—which is unlikely. As a result, Miles determined that most of what prophets prophesized had, in fact, not come true.19 Miles also noted that in the Hebrew Bible, there were only a total of fifteen prophets, with Malachi being the last one.20 As a point of reference, there were hundreds of prophets in Islam. As well, prophets came from all classes of society. They found meaning in their selection as serving God.21 Besides being referred to as prophets, messengers of God are often called “angels.” Gardner observed, “There is nothing spiritual or ethereal about the word angel. In those days in those languages it meant no more than a messenger. . . . Notwithstanding, the angels of the New Testament were all men.”22 According to the Qur’an, angels were intermediary messengers between Allah and the prophets, to include the Prophet Muhammad. So, the Archangel Gabriel relayed Allah’s revelations to Muhammad in a cave near Mecca for twenty-two years. Qur’an sura 42, Verse 51 states, “It is not for any mortal that God should speak to them, except by revelation, or from behind a veil, or by sending a messenger to reveal by his permission whatsoever He will.” Bible In the Hebrew Bible, there are severe warnings by God against false prophets. In the Hebrew Bible’s Book of Ezekiel, Chapter 13: 2-4, the Lord said, “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination: Hear the word of the

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Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!” In Ezekiel 13:9, the Sovereign Lord declared, “My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations.” Then, in the Hebrew Bible’s Book of Zechariah, Chapter 13:2-6, the “Lord Almighty” declared, I will remove both the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land. And if anyone still prophesies, their father and mother, to whom they were born, will say to them, “You must die, because you have told lies in the Lord’s name.” Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies. On that day every prophet will be ashamed of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment of hair in order to deceive. Each will say, “I am not a prophet.”

Qur’an Prophets and prophecy are central to Islam.23 Prophets are exceptional people who share a prophetic lineage, advocate monotheism, teach the faith of Islam, and share what they have received from Allah. Muhammad was first approached by Archangel Gabriel while meditating in a mountain cave (called Hira) in 607 CE. Fatoohi claimed that while Muhammad was meditating in the cave, he was also hiding from Meccans seeking to do him harm.24 Smith noted that Archangel Gabriel appeared in the form of a man.25 So that there is no confusion between the cherub angel depicted in religious paintings and an adult male, Parrinder recounted what happened during Archangel Gabriel’s first visit to the Cave of Hira. “While Muhammad was alone in meditation in a cave, an angel appeared and commanded him to recite in the name of God. He refused. So, the angel seized him by the throat and shook him until he did so. He was choked into submission.”26 Archangel Gabriel then recited to Muhammad for over twenty-two years until Muhammad died from the flu. Moreover, if there was any question about any extraordinary power of a messenger, the Qur’an states that when people asked Muhammad to perform a miracle to demonstrate his holiness (much like that asked of Jesus and his followers many times), Muhammad stated, “The signs are only with Allah, and I am only a plain warner.”27 Clearly, messengers are just mortals—not angels from heaven, and with no superpowers. SECTION 3: HOLY TEXTS Up until now, we have read that many modern philosophers do not support a supreme being, and that the messengers of God were only humans who believed they were chosen to serve as his voice to humanity. Now we turn to the holy texts, allegedly recited by God to humankind. Coming from

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God, these texts are, by definition, perfect. According to McTernan, “In the Abrahamic faith traditions especially, religious extremists are vehemently opposed to anything other than a strictly literal explanation of their sacred texts. . . . [T]he belief was that the words as written in the text were divinely inspired.”28 However, it is interesting that the Prophet Muhammad claimed he was not only the last prophet, but that the Qur’an was the final holy text from God that corrected the Bible. However, if God is perfect, then why would the Bible need correcting? Muslims believe the Bible was partially corrupted in its transmission to humankind (which could always happen again).29 As to how holy texts become sacred in the first place, Davis noted, “The various sacred books became scripture through their impact on the life of the community and the process of canonization. Hence, interpretation creates scripture.”30 Of course, even when recited to a messenger who is human, that human has inherent biases that cannot help but be reflected in the writing or translation of holy text.31 Bart Erhman, a distinguished professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina, observed that the followers of Jesus were uneducated, lower-class, rural peasants. Yet, scholars agree that the gospels were written by highly educated, Greek speaking, Christians living in urban areas who were not eyewitnesses to the events they described.32 Erhman also noted that the oral tradition was used by the authors to write the gospels. Oral traditions have now been studied extensively and shown to be inaccurate over time. He concluded that oral traditions “change all the time, each and every time, always in little ways and quite often in massive ways.”33 Then, there is the issue of translation. As most people know, a lot can be left out or changed when translating any text. To begin, languages are not constructed the same way, which can make translating challenging. In the case of the Bible, it reportedly has been translated into 3,350 languages.34 Consider that the Hebrew language (used to write the Hebrew Bible) only has 8,000 words compared to the close to 30,000 words in the English language. Moreover, Hebrew (like Arabic) only uses consonants (i.e., no vowels) and has no tenses (these are determined from context). As translators select the appropriate vowel, it can change the meaning of the word if they get it wrong. Finally, every language has idioms that are difficult to translate. As such, it is apparent that the translated versions of the Bible are not the same as the original versions, and in some case significantly different. A. E. Knoch, founder of the Concordant Publishing Concern (1909), was an expert at identifying the many issues inherent in translating the Bible. For example, regarding the Hebrew Bible written in Hebrew, Knoch noted that neither Hebrew nor Greek “tolerate the thought of infinity.”35 Moreover, neither language accommodates the meaning of “hell.”36 He determined, “The word ‘hell’ has become so corrupted by human error that it no longer has any claim to a place in the divine vocabulary.”37 As well, to highlight

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the misunderstanding of the word “death,” Knoch found that the Hebrew meaning of death is closer to “death-doomed” (i.e., meaning not dead yet).38 He found that the meaning of the word “destruction” was closer to “lost” than being “destroyed.” For example, when sheep were destroyed without their shepherd, they were in reality just “lost.” It is something easily lost in translation, which we can be confident happened more often than not when translating the Bible.39 John Barton, a British Anglican priest and professor at the University of Oxford, found that in ancient times, “it was common to write a book by transcribing existing material, adapting, and adding to it from other documents as required, and not indicating which parts were original and which were borrowed.”40 He determined this by noting the inconsistencies within publications; from varying styles of writing, to a preference of words or phrases and peculiarities of grammar and syntax.41 Judaism Beginning with the Hebrew Bible, it consists of three sections: the Torah (the first five books of the Bible, allegedly attributed to Moses), the Prophets, and the Writings.42 The Hebrew Bible was written many decades after the events occurred, over a very long time span, by many unknown writers, and filled with inconsistencies and mistakes. No one began to record the events that occurred until well after Jesus was crucified around 33 CE and after Muhammad died in 632 CE. Regarding how long it took to complete the Hebrew Bible, Miles wrote, “The Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) was produced by countless literary hands over many hundreds of years.”43 Parrinder claimed that the entire Hebrew Bible actually took over a thousand years to complete.44 Timothy Lim, a professor of religion at the University of Edinburgh, defined the Hebrew Bible as “a collection of authoritative texts of apparently divine origin that went through a human process of writing and editing.”45 However, not every authoritative religious text was included in the Hebrew Bible. According to Hassner and Aran, “Several of these Jewish books were excluded from the scriptures due to theological resistance or because they were completed after the sacred writings were sealed. Some of these texts have been lost.”46 As for who really wrote the Bible, enlightened European scholars in the latter half of the nineteenth century believed that Moses did not write the Pentateuch, and that King David was not the author of the Psalms.47 Another example of multiple authors writing Holy Scripture is the Dead Sea Scrolls. Baigent alleged they were written by Jewish Zealots during the time of Herod the Great and stored in Qumran for safe-keeping.48 Mark Elliott, author and pastor, observed, “The sheer number of scrolls, the diversity of copyist hands,

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the wide spectrum of writings suggest the collection originated from a wide movement in Judaism that lived in Palestine over a lengthy period of time.”49 There is even a difference between the Christian Old Testament and the Hebrew Bible. While the contents in both holy texts are essentially identical, the arrangement of books at the end is different. Christian editors moved the prophet books to the end of the Hebrew Bible to emphasize the prophecies referenced in the New Testament. This is what is now known as the Hebrew Bible.50 Miles noted that the books of Ezra and Nehemiah originally followed Chronicles but were moved in the Hebrew Bible for editorial reasons. They were written partly in Aramaic and partly in Hebrew and contained Persian documents.51 Perhaps editing of the Holy Scripture in the early centuries was not considered as significant as it would be today. There is an ongoing discussion about authors, editors, and redactors regarding the Hebrew Scriptures. Editors and redactors were responsible for the collection and transmission of traditional lore, with no regard for coherence or consistency. Jean Louis Ska, a professor at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, believes redactors had a significant influence on Hebrew Scriptures, while John Van Seters, a distinguished professor of religion at the University of North Carolina, believes that authors were more common than redactors.52 De Vries noted that Israelite redactors often changed the Hebrew Bible for unknown reasons. He cited one of many examples, in this case regarding the storing of booty from a battle within the Temple of Yahweh, “which, of course, did not exist for another 350 years or so.”53 In any case, there may have been many reasons that religious texts were modified, from being easier to understand to being more compassionate.54, 55 It is also essential to understand the culture of the era when this material was written down. One case is the frequent changing of names, which can lead to confusion. Oftentimes people’s names were changed to reflect spiritual rebirth or renewal. Gopin explained, “In Judaism, the tradition of changing one’s name begins with the founding patriarch himself, whose name is changed by God from Abram to Abraham, according to the Genesis story.”56 According to Genesis 32:28, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and men and have prevailed.” When discussing the co-rule of Zerubbabel and Joshua, it seems Zerubbabel was edited out, and was never heard from again. Miles noted that “Historical critics believe that the text has been altered and the name Joshua substituted for the name Zerubbabel. Why was the change made?”57 This practice becomes more relevant when dealing with ancient historical places (e.g., Mount Sinai versus Mount Horeb). To add to the aforementioned confusion, numerology has always been popular in the Middle East, among other places. For example, for Jews, seven is a lucky number. The world was created in seven days, and it is the length

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of famine (from 2 Kings 8:1—“Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, ‘Arise, and depart with your household, and sojourn wherever you can, for the Lord has called for a famine, and it will come upon the land for seven years’”). The number 12 usually means “a complete set” (not the actual number 12). So, twelve apostles meant “the right number.” Twelve is also the number of Israel’s tribes. And, the number 40 meant “a lot.” No reason to count more than forty thieves or days of rain during the Great Flood.58 Some of the stories in the holy texts are simply myths that have not been substantiated from other writings or archaeological discoveries. The most important myth is regarding Moses. It is possible that Moses may not even be a name. In Hebrew, it means “deliver,” and in Egyptian, it means “son.” The modern scholarly consensus is that Moses was a mythical figure as no Egyptian sources mention him or the events of the Jewish Exodus. Close to 1,000 years passed before “Moses” was referenced in any publication. In fact, the first non-biblical writings about Jewish history with references to Moses first appear between 323 and 146 BCE. However, Moses was purportedly born in the late fourteenth century BCE, and the pharaoh portrayed during the Exodus narrative most closely fits the characteristics of Ramses II, who reigned from 1279 to 1213 BCE. As well, the 430-year sojourn in Egypt is inconsistent with the genealogy of Moses (the great-grandson of Levi).59 As such, it is possible Moses was manufactured for the Hebrew Bible. Finally, David Strauss, a German scholar, wrote a book in 1835 entitled “The Life of Jesus Critically Examined.” In it, Strauss claimed the gospels were full of myths—defined as true stories that did not happen. Because the myths discussed truths that people appreciated and wanted to believe, they became reality for many Christians. Strauss’s theory about the gospels is widely accepted today among critical scholars of the New Testament.60 The bottom line here is that the meaning of words, numbers, and myths changes from language to language and from era to era. As well, there were government and even religious authorities to be concerned about when publishing anything. Finally, what is eventually published must meet the approval of the applicable religious leaders of the time. As such, changes to the holy text are to be expected; however, it was not done by God, but only inspired in human writers by God. Bible History The Christian Bible consists of two testaments: old and new. The Hebrew Bible was originally written in Hebrew and serves as the foundation of

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Judaism, while the New Testament was originally written in Greek and serves as the foundation of Christianity.61 The New Testament consists of twentyseven books, to include the four gospels, Acts of the Apostles, twenty-one epistles (letters), and Revelation. The Council of Rome in 382 CE under Pope Damasus I was the first to approve the twenty-seven books as the New Testament. It was subsequently reapproved by the Council of Hippo in 393 CE and the Council of Carthage in 397 CE. Note that there are no surviving original copies of the New Testament.62 Gardner observed, “The centuries delay in arriving at an official collection of Christian texts calls into serious question the Christian belief that every word in the New Testament is from God.”63 He also noted that no official records from Pontius Pilate, the fifth prefect of the Roman Province of Judea, Herod the Great, the Roman-appointed King of Judea, or, Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish philosopher living in Egypt, even mention Jesus.64 The core of the New Testament is its four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.65 In Greek, gospel means “good news.” So, the primary intent of the Bible was to spread the word of Jesus Christ, not to record Jewish history. According to Dawkins, “The gospels are not reliable accounts of what happened in the history of the real world. All were written long after the death of Jesus and also after the epistles of Paul . . . . All were then copied and recopied, through many different generations by fallible scribes who, in any case, may have had their own religious agendas.”66 Ehrman offered two explanations for the many inaccuracies found in the New Testament: (1) there are abundant discrepancies among the stories, and (2) a number of the stories can be shown to be historically implausible.67 Content These four gospels were selected by religious leaders from many early gospels.68 Baigent noted that there were many religious documents eligible for inclusion into the Bible. He wrote, “By the end of the century, we have hundreds of documents representing many different texts from the Gospels to various Acts.”69 The Church leaders set out three criteria for selecting which gospels to include and exclude in the Bible: (1) it was a gospel written by an apostolic authority; (2) it was congruent with Christian tradition; and, (3) it was acceptable by the Catholic Church.70 These criteria are fairly vague and leave a lot of subjectivity in the selection of gospels to include in the Holy Bible. It essentially ended up being “a survival of the fittest.”71 However, according to Charles Davis, a professor at the University of Southern California, the New Testament became scripture by the end of the second century CE after a struggle within the Church over the correct interpretation of these texts. It is natural that competing interpretations of what constitutes the New

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Testament would occur, to include between the traditional factions of “orthodoxy” and “heresy.”72 In the 50s CE, Paul wrote many of the epistles about Jesus, a man he had never met. Paul likely was trying to put the resurrection of Jesus in a new context (thereby creating a new religion—Christianity) with his many letters that were included. According to Baigent, “Not surprising that one strain attempted to dominate—that based upon the work of Paul. Paul’s letters in the New Testament are very different from the Gospels.”73 Without Paul’s epistles in the New Testament, Christianity may not have flourished as it did. The first three gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) include many of the same myths about Jesus. According to Robert Funk, an American biblical scholar, and Roy Hoover, professor and emeritus of religion at Whitman College in Washington State, “The authors of the gospels are all anonymous, attributed by tradition to the four evangelists, each with close ties to Jesus.”74 The Gospel of Mark was written in Rome around 66 CE, thirty years after Jesus was crucified. It became the reference source for both the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.75 Matthew and Luke were written between 70 and 90 CE. This is in contrast to the Gospel of John, which was written in Samaria probably after 100 CE. The Gospel of John focused on Jesus’s miracles. As such, the first three gospels are referred to as the “Synoptic Gospels”—meaning “to view the same.”76 Note that while Matthew and John were allegedly apostles, neither Mark nor Luke were.77 The complete Christian Bible was written over a period of 1,000 years by at least forty different authors.78 Moreover, having so many authors and translators creates a situation where consistency and accuracy issues likely occurred. As discussed earlier, Evely, a Methodist pastor, noted that “many translation errors of the Bible can be attributed to the theological biases of the translators.”79 Translations of the Bible are often made easier to read, which can also lead to errors.80 Evely went further regarding imperfect translations of the holy text, indicating that church leaders were the interpreters, teachers, and dispensers of truth. Evely concluded that “When the Bible is translated so haphazardly and inconsistently, God’s word becomes distorted.”81 Lee Strobel, a journalist and award-winning author, in his interviews with thirteen scholars on Jesus and the New Testament, found that much of the Bible was changed over the years. Craig Blomberg, a professor at the Denver Seminary, cited one study that, in the ancient Middle East, “anywhere from ten to forty percent of any given retelling of a sacred tradition could vary from one occasion to the next.”82 While the gospels may not meet any current literary standards, such as leaving out names and places, textual variants, and different spellings, they are consistent with one another by “ancient standards.”83 In fact, parts of gospels are left out, such as from Mark and John,

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but that is acceptable to Blomberg and Strobel because it does not change the overall story.84 Finally, Edwin Yamauchi, a professor at Miami University, indicated that when confirming the existence of Jesus, there were “some interpolations.” He explained to Strobel that “[E]arly Christian copyists inserted some phrases that a Jewish writer like Josephus would not have written.”85 Of course, these guidelines also likely applied to the Christian interpolators of the Holy Bible. It should be noted that scribes were not photocopiers so no two manuscripts were exactly the same. Not only were scribes asked to copy texts, but also to interpret them, to include biblical texts. Paul was the first of the New Testament authors to write anything down, sometime in the 50s CE. Armstrong observed, “The Bible gospels were written in an urban milieu decades after the events they describe.”86 Considering that only 25 percent of the men during the Roman Empire lived more than forty years (probably fewer in the outlying areas, such as the Middle East), it seems likely that the gospel authors did not have firsthand accounts to reference.87 Bruce Metzger, a professor at Princeton’s Theological Seminary, indicated that the gospels were the best sources of Jesus’s history.88 Yet, Jesus is shown in the canonical gospels to have favored Mary Magdalene above all other disciples and confided in her more than the others.89 So, why is the Gospel of Mary not included in the Christian Bible? What about the Gospel of James, Jesus’s brother? Or, the Gospel of Peter, the first pope? Modifications Gardner observed that some events in the gospels were altered to conform with ambiguous prophecies, such as Isaiah who predicted the birth of Jesus 700 years in the future to Ahvaz, King of Judah, when Judah was under threat from Syria. This information was completely out of context for what Ahvaz was looking for.90 One of the more interesting edits regarding Jesus may be the claims that the Messiah must suffer, and the suffering Messiah is God Incarnate. However, from comparisons with the Dead Sea Scrolls, these claims may have only emerged around the time the Gospel of John was written—sometime around 100 CE, long after the crucifixion of Jesus.91 Next, ecumenical councils are meetings of bishops from around the world convened by either a Roman emperor or the reigning pope to discuss matters of Church doctrine and policy. They often changed parts of the Bible, in part to resolve policy and theological differences within the Church. Douglas Pratt, a professor of religion at the University of Waikato, wrote that religious sanctions were also necessary to keep the Church politically unified.92 To resolve divisive theological issues, Roman emperor Constantine I convened the first great ecumenical council in Nicaea in 325 CE. He convened this Council to proclaim the divinity of Jesus, which was done by a vote (217-3).

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(Interesting that Pope Benedict XVI in the twenty-first century declared, “Truth cannot be created through ballots.”93) The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (i.e., Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) was not approved until the First Council of Constantinople in 381 CE.94 The Council of Chalcedon, convened by Pope Leo I in 451 CE, affirmed that Jesus was both fully God and man at the same time. These councils demonstrate that some of the foundational doctrines of Christianity were not established at the earliest periods of the religion’s existence. These later doctrines are not based on textual authority in the gospels, but instead on decisions of later church authorities interpreting the text to favor one theological faction over many others. Interpretation Another reason for discrepancies to occur within the New Testament is due to the era in which it was written—during the Roman Empire. Gardner noted that the gospels were written to be beyond Roman understanding, with multiple levels of meaning—that is, evangelical scripture on the surface and political information beneath the surface. In fact, Gardner claimed the biblical authors intentionally wrote in code to mislead Roman officials so as not to get into trouble. He provided numerous examples of this. Biblical references to Babylon were in fact to Rome, and those to Jerusalem may have been to Qumran. Lion referred to the Roman emperor. Angels were male messengers. Lepers referred to people who had not been initiated into higher community. Blind people were those who were not party to “the Way.” Raising the dead meant to be released from excommunication. Light represented the truth, while darkness represented perversion and evil.95 Virgin was a Semitic word meaning “a young woman.”96 Elevation to the priesthood was an event known as the “Ascension.”97 And, the “end of time” language did not refer to all time, but only to the end of Roman rule.98 One may wonder about the coincidence of Jesus’s mother, her sister (Mary of Clopas), and a prominent female disciple all being named Mary. Some may claim it is because it was a common name at that time. However, in Hebrew, the name translated as “Mary” in English is Miriam. “Miriam” was not merely a name, but a title given to the woman chosen to become the wife of a king or a priest, according to dynastic rule.99 As such, it seems more likely that Mary was not the name of many women associated with Jesus, but instead a title with great symbolic significance for the audience hearing the original stories. Sanctity Michael Baigent observed that the Catholic Church has a history of obtaining and destroying writings that run counter to its carefully crafted “myth of Jesus Christ.”100 This was manifested at the beginning of the twelfth century

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with the creation of the Holy Office of the Inquisition by the Catholic Church to eradicate heresies and preserve the faith. Pope Gregory IX published a decree in 1231 CE, which created the Holy Office of Inquisition throughout Europe, giving it authority to bring suit against any individual and to use torture as required. The Holy Office was renamed to be the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) by Pope Paul III in 1542 CE—and it still exists today. The CDF’s sole objective is to “spread sound Catholic doctrine and defend those points of Christian tradition which seem in danger because of new and unacceptable doctrines.”101 In other words, as Baigent characterized the CDF’s purpose, it is “to prevent evidence that might emerge that would challenge the [canonical and generally accepted] history of Jesus,” such as from the collection of early Christian and Gnostic texts discovered in upper Egypt in 1945—including the Gospel of Thomas.102 The very existence of the CDF should indicate that it is more important to religious authorities to preserve and protect the Bible as it is than to allow any evidence to discredit it to become public knowledge. The bottom line is that there are indeed numerous discrepancies in the Bible leading one to question its validity—despite the arguments and explanations by Christian authorities. As Dawkins noted regarding the viewpoint of religious authorities, “The [Bible] is true, and if the evidence seems to contradict it, it is the evidence that must be thrown out, not the book.” From a biologist’s perspective, Dawkins explained, “When a science book is wrong, somebody eventually discovers the mistake and it is corrected in subsequent books. That conspicuously doesn’t happen with holy books.”103 Islam The Qur’an is the main religious text of Islam that Muslims believe was a revelation from Allah to the Prophet Muhammad. The word Qur’an means “recitation.” The Qur’an is divided into 114 chapters (sura) with 6,236 elegant poetry verses (ayat). It is written in Arabic, which is a very rhetorical language. Speech among Arabs was more valued than writing. As a recitation, the Qur’an was a vocal phenomenon. Smith noted, “The rhythm, melodic cadence, the rhyme produce a powerful hypnotic effect.”104 The chapters of the Qur’an can be classified as either Meccan or Medinan depending on whether they were recited to Muhammad before or after the forced Muslim migration from Mecca to Medina (the Hijra). Eighty-six chapters were revealed to Muhammad over twelve years in Mecca, while twentyeight chapters were revealed to him in Medina over ten years. According to Fatoohi, the Medina chapters are generally longer than the Meccan chapters as they dealt more with how to run a government.105 The Archangel Gabriel revealed the Qur’an to Muhammad from 610 to 632 CE. It should be noted that no one witnessed any of these recitations

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over the decades. Many of his close companions, however, memorized what Muhammad said and wrote it down over the years. Eventually, Uthman, the third caliph, ordered the compilation of all these writings to be standardized into one codex (an ancient manuscript in book form), which was issued in 650 CE. All deviant writings were destroyed to minimize confusion and strengthen legitimacy.106 We can assume the caliph made the final determination of which writings were “deviant.” Where the Bible conveys its narrative in chronological order, the Qur’an does not. It is not a history book, and it leaves out significant details such as names and places.107 According to Davis, while the Bible follows a timeline, “In contrast, the Qur’an has an arbitrary arrangement of Suras, or chapters, moving from the longest (Sura 2) to the shortest (Sura 114).”108 Fatoohi amplified what Davis wrote, “Note that the verses that were revealed first belong to chapter 96 rather than 1. . . . Chapter 1 in the compiled Qur’an is not the chapter that was revealed first and chapter 114 was not the last. . . . [S]everal Meccan chapters contain some Medinite verses also. . . . Accordingly, successive verses do not necessarily talk about the same subject.”109 As such, one would see the Medinite chapters before the Meccan chapters in the Qur’an as they tended to be longer. Along with the Qur’an are the Hadith (meaning “report”), a record of the words and actions of Muhammad over twenty-two years that serve as a source for religious law and moral guidance, and the sunnah (meaning “tradition”), reflecting the customs and practices of Muhammad and the Islamic community established in the Qur’an and based on Hadith. The Hadith has been called the backbone of Islamic civilization, second only to the Qur’an. Much of Sharia law is derived from Hadith rather than the Qur’an. The sunnah is based on the verbal record of Muhammad’s teachings, as well as reports about his companions. The Hadith and sunnah provide the prosaic side of Islam in contrast with the Qur’an, which is more lyrical. The Hadith was recorded over 100 years after Muhammad died.110 Fatoohi warned that the Hadith contained inconsistent and contradictory accounts. He also noted that Sunni and Shi’a disagree about which compilations of Hadith are more authentic, based on the different sources used by both sects.111 During the ninth century CE, six Sunni scholars each wrote a book that consisted of a collection of Hadith. They are called the “Six Authentic Books” and are organized by subject matter.112 As such, they have been used extensively for interpreting the Qur’an and as a second source of legislation in Islam. However, Fatoohi cautioned that “all agree that many sayings and actions attributed to Muhammad have been fabricated by various people over time.”113 So, there may be authenticity issues regarding the Six Authentic Books. Finally, during the first 200 years of Islamic history, there appeared several Sunni schools of law to interpret the Qur’an and Hadith. Davis observed, “In Islam, we find the rise of the legal schools than must both interpret the Qur’an

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and apply it to the life of the Muslim state. Law rather than theology is dominant in Islamic life.”114 Over the millennia, only four of these Sunni schools survived—each representing different regions of the world: Al-Shafii—Egypt, Indonesia, East Africa, and Syria Abu Hanifa—India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Central Asia Malik Ibn Anas—Africa Ahmad Ibn Hanbal—Arabia115 Aslan assessed that Abu Hanifa, one of the founders of the four primary schools of law, “vehemently [rejected] the possibility of any figurative reading of the Qur’an.” Aslan also noted that Abu al-Ashari founded the Hanifa School, the most powerful and traditional school in Islam.116 However, Muhammad al-Wahhab (founder of Wahhabism, the official theology of Saudi Arabia) did not believe in the four legal schools because they exercised independent judgment when interpreting the Qur’an and Hadith.117 This is in contrast with Abul A’la Mawdudi, a Pakistani Muslim scholar, and Qutb, an Egyptian Islamic theorist, who believed that Islam can take many forms to accommodate changing times.118 Finally, the Qur’an is “protected” by Allah to keep it free from human error. Translating the Qur’an into any non-Arab language could inject some human bias or error which would compromise its accuracy and authority. As such, translations of the Qur’an are considered merely interpretations of it. However, only 20 percent of all Muslims speak Arabic, meaning the remaining 80 percent must rely on interpretations of the Qur’an.119 SECTION 4: HISTORICAL REALITIES In this section, the discussion will center on more topics that lead one to believe that religions were human made and inspired by human’s imagination, myths, and historical traditions. The purpose of this chapter is to encourage the reader to contemplate that if religion is human made, and as such, can it be used to justify killing someone else or even oneself. Let us begin with the treatment of slaves and women, then review Jesus, and conclude with myths and traditions. Slaves The U.S. Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, declared: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are

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endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Jefferson essentially cited God as creating all men with equal rights, in line with the European Enlightenment philosophy of the time. Of course, this does not align with the common practice of legally owning slaves, which was common around the world prior to the twentieth century. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, early Presidents of the United States who were also plantation owners, both owned a number of slaves—in contrast to the Declaration of Independence. As such, if all of humankind has equal rights, how is it that this was not the case during the Hebrew Bible narratives when God was interacting with the human race? Or, during the New Testament’s accounts of Jesus and his disciples after the crucifixion? Or, during the decades the Prophet Muhammad was in communication with Allah through the Archangel Gabriel? Perhaps the answer that makes most sense is that it was not God but humankind itself that was creating the myths that evolved into religions over time. Religiously inspired people (usually men) recited and wrote what were the common practices of the era they lived in, not of an ideal world. In the Hebrew Bible, slavery is mentioned several times. For example, in Exodus, it states, “When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod, and he dies there and then, he must be avenged. But if he survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, since he is the other’s property.”120 In Deuteronomy, it states, “If a fellow Hebrew, man or woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall set him free.”121 Finally, in Leviticus, it states, “[Y]ou may eat whatever the land during its Sabbath will produce—you, your male and female slaves, the hired and bound laborers who live with you.”122 Reflecting the common practice of owning slaves during the Roman Empire, the New Testament also made several references to slavery. The Letter of Timothy states, “Let all who are under the yoke of slavery regard their masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be blasphemed.”123 The Letter of Peter states, “Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh.”124 Moreover, the Letter of Titus states, “Tell slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give satisfaction in every respect; they are not to talk back, not to pilfer, but to show complete and perfect fidelity, so that in everything they may be an ornament to the doctrine of God our Savior.”125 Clearly, these sacred texts are not applicable in today’s political and social realities. Neusner observed that “there are passages in the New Testament that cause problems for many Christians today, such as the apparent acceptance of slavery.”126 Slavery was also permitted under Islam. It was a lucrative and important business for Muslims as well.127 The slave trade was most active in Africa,

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with Muslim traders exporting as many as seventeen million slaves to the Middle East and other regions. Muhammad often used slaves as soldiers. Besides serving in an army, slaves often were used in mining, irrigating crops, and raising livestock. The more capable slaves were assigned to be domestic workers or serve in government.128 According to Sharia law, it is legal to own slaves who are not Muslim, are imprisoned, purchased from beyond the borders of Islamic rule, or are the off-spring of slaves. Women Women did not have it much better than slaves under the three Abrahamic religions. All societies of the Middle East in ancient times were patriarchal; hence, it is no surprise that the Hebrew and Christian Bibles and Qur’an were also patriarchal in orientation. As such, women were subordinate to men, though not considered property as slaves were. Women were almost always under the authority of some man, be it a father, brother, husband, or even eldest son. This dichotomy between genders is also reflected in the Christian Bible regarding the overall number of references to genders: one study found over 3,000 biblical references to men, while only 170 references to women.129 The Book of Ephesians even explicitly detailed women’s subordination: “Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.”130 Women were often considered a reward for the victorious men in battle. For example, in the Book of Numbers, Israelite soldiers were directed to kill all the people of Midian, except for 32,000 virgin women to be kept as spoils of war. The soldiers were directed to “kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.”131 In the case of rape, the punishment may be nothing more than a forcible marriage—which made the punishment for the woman essentially a life sentence. From Genesis, for example, When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he did nothing about it until they came home. Then Shechem’s father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious, because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in Israel by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done. But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife.”132

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As for Islam, Cook noted, “The Qur’an is clear about the fact that women are not equal of men. Men are a step (darja) above them (Q2:228). They are also in authority (qawwdmun) over them, and reasons are given for this” (Q4:34).133 Qur’an 2:228 states, “But the men have a degree over them [in responsibility and authority].” Qur’an 4:34 states, “Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other.” Huda noted that much of the inferior status of women reflected the prevailing social conditions of the era “rather than of the moral teaching of the Qur’an.”134 In ancient Arab culture, a woman’s sphere of operation was in the home, while then man’s sphere of operation was outside the home. Besides being spoils of war, sometimes women served political purposes. This was a practice in monarchic Europe where women were married for political reasons, primarily to cement relations between dynastic houses or kingdoms.135 The Prophet Muhammad engaged in this practice to some degree to gain political control over Arabia. During his lifetime, Muhammad married as many as thirteen wives to strengthen relations between tribes, or to care for the widows of friends.136 Finally, women were also cited in the Qur’an as rewards for martyrdom. According to the Qur’an 55:72, once a martyr dies, he goes to heaven where seventy or more virgin women await him. The perception of the young martyr is that he would have ever-lasting blissful sex in heaven.137 The bottom line is that the Middle East and North Africa rank lowest in the world on the economic participation, employment opportunity, and political empowerment of women. The ten countries with the lowest female labor force participation in the world are all Muslim.138 Jesus Jesus is believed to have been born between 6 and 4 BCE and died between 30 and 33 CE. There has always been some controversy about his birth. To begin, the Catholic Church insists that Jesus’s mother, Mary, was a virgin when impregnated by the Holy Spirit. This claim seems unrealistic given that Mary had a husband, Joseph (who probably died while Jesus was in his twenties). Moreover, if Joseph was not Jesus’s father, then Jesus would not be of the House of David, as prophesized to qualify as a Messiah. According to Matthew 1:1, 1:16; and Luke 1:5, 1:36, 2:4, Jesus was born of the House of David through Joseph’s lineage. Next, interestingly, Gardner determined that Jesus was born before Joseph’s and Mary’s marriage was made official by Jewish authorities. It was not until James was born six years later that they had a baby within the Jewish rules of dynastic wedlock.139 As such, Jesus would not qualify to become a Messiah.

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Lineage According to the Letter to the Hebrews (7:14), Jesus was part of the tribe of Judah—the same family line as King David. However, Dawkins noted that the Gospels of Matthew and Luke do not have the same ancestry list for Jesus. Matthew traces Jesus’s ancestry to Abraham through David, while Luke traces Jesus’s ancestry traces through Adam to God.140 Further, Dawkins believes the House of David lineage is unrealistic in that if King David existed, he would have “lived nearly a thousand years before Mary and Joseph.” Given that there were no census surveys taken during this era to track anyone’s lineage, let alone any record of where people lived, Dawkins’s skepticism is justified.141 According to Dawkins, when the gospels were written, no one knew where Jesus was really born.142 Moreover, Nazareth in Galilee did not exist around the time when Jesus was born. There are no historical references to Nazareth outside the gospels until around 200 CE.143 The Bible begins to record Jesus’s life once he begins to preach—around the age of thirty. Before that, there is little discussion. However, in the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke, there is an interesting story about the twelveyear-old Jesus and his family and friends on a visit to Jerusalem for Passover. A day after the large group left Jerusalem to return home, Jesus’s parents discovered that Jesus was missing. They went back to Jerusalem and looked for him for three days. They eventually found him in the Temple with the rabbis.144 Otherwise, Luke indicated that Jesus was an “obedient” child, which would not quite align with him running away from his family as a pre-teenager. Lost Years So, where was Jesus and what was he doing from when he became a Jewish adult (with an implied bar mitzvah at the age of thirteen) until he was thirty years old, the so-called lost years? According to Baigent’s research on this topic, it is possible he was studying Judaism at the Temple of Onias in the district of Heliopolis, Egypt. This Jewish temple was built in the Hellenist and Roman periods for worship and sacrifice. Baigent alleges that Jesus returned to Judea upon reaching the age of priesthood to preach to the Gentiles and potentially lead a revolt against Roman rule. Once he determined this was not practical, Jesus disappeared from Judea just as quickly as he appeared. It is possible that after Jesus “ascended” following his crucifixion, he returned to the Temple of Onias before relocating with his wife Mary to Provence, France.145 Crucifixion Moreover, there is significant evidence that indicate Jesus physically survived his crucifixion. For example, the painting at Station of the Cross XIV in the

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Church of Saint Mary Magdalene in Rennes-le-Chateau in southern France portrayed Jesus alive after his crucifixion during Passover. In this painting, it seems to portray Jesus being removed from the tomb at night during the Passover while showing blood on his side. The blood indicates the heart may still have been functioning. As well, Jews are not allowed to handle a dead person’s body during Passover, indicating the body may not have been a corpse.146 Further, in the Gospel of Mark, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pontius Pilate for “the body” and not “the corpse” of Jesus, indicating Jesus may have still been alive (Mark, 15:43-45).147 Despite the cruelty of a Roman crucifixion, they were not all the same. For example, sometimes Romans used nails while other times they used rope to secure the victim to the cross. It is curious that none of the gospels indicate that Jesus was “nailed” to the cross.148 His legs were not broken to facilitate a quick death as were the other two crucified men’s legs, and his feet may have been bound by rope and not a nail or two. Next, the crucified were usually left up on the cross for a week to serve as a deterrent to others. Jesus was on the cross for less than one day, possibly as a result of being crucified during Passover. As such, he could have recovered rather quickly in a tomb attended to by close associates, such as Joseph of Arimathea, allowing for a successful “resurrection.”149 In an interview with Strobel, William Craig, a professor at Houston Baptist University, indicated that only in the Gospel of Matthew were any guards mentioned regarding the tomb Jesus’s body was taken to.150 In another interview, Gary Habermas, the chairman of the Department of Philosophy at Liberty University, noted that the number of appearances by the resurrected Jesus seemed to increase steadily from gospel to gospel, starting with none in the Gospel of Mark to the most number of appearances in the Gospel of John.151 These discrepancies do not add to the veracity of the resurrection myth. Moreover, it is curious why Jesus did not remain on Earth to facilitate the Kingdom of God at that time. Marriage The long-standing position of the Catholic Church is that Jesus was never married. However, this is contrary to long-established customs and expectations of a healthy young man as well as what is described in the Gospel of John. Nowhere in the Bible does it state that Jesus was not married. In fact, it was a Jewish requirement to be married and have two sons in the Davidic line. As such, Jesus was actually obligated to be married.152 In the Gospel of John, it talks about a wedding attended by Jesus and his disciples at the Galilean village of Cana. Along with the disciples at the wedding included John the Baptist (reportedly a cousin of Jesus), Jesus’s mother Mary, and all

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of Jesus’s brothers and sisters. It was a family affair where Mary served as co-hostess (John, 2:1-11). This certainly appears to be Jesus’s wedding to Mary Magdalene.153 In the New Testament, Mary was a Jewish woman from Magdala, Galilee. She was one of the disciples of Jesus, likely the closest one. She was the only disciple to witness Jesus’s crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. In 591 CE, Pope Gregory I pronounced her a “sinful woman”—meaning a prostitute in those times, in order to squelch any ideas that she was married to Jesus.154 It was not until 1969 that the Catholic Church officially declared that Mary Magdalene was not a sinful woman. Moreover, in 2016, Pope Francis declared July 22 as a feast day on her behalf.155 There have been numerous publications regarding the Jesus bloodline hypothesis. In 1886, Louis Martin wrote in his book Les Evangiles sans Dieu that Jesus had married Mary Magdalene, moved to southern France, and had a son named Judah by her.156 In 1992, Barbara Thiering wrote in her book Jesus and the Riddle of the Dead Sea Scrolls that based on independent research, Jesus and Mary were indeed married.157 In 1993, Margaret Starbird wrote in her book The Woman with the Alabaster Jar that Jesus and Mary were married and had a daughter named Sarah in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, France.158 Other Perspectives Jews do not believe a number of key aspects regarding Jesus. Judaism rejects the idea that Jesus is the son of God or part of a trinity, to include the Holy Spirit. Jews do not believe Jesus was the Messiah (for whom they still await) as he did not fulfill all of the Messianic prophecies in the Hebrew Bible, nor embody the personal characteristics of the Messiah. As for fulfilling the prophecies of the coming Messiah, it seemed it was Jesus’s intent to fulfill as many of them as possible in order to be recognized as the Messiah. As such, it was no accident that he achieved many of them, as portrayed by the authors of the gospels.159 Muslims do not believe Jesus was even crucified or that he ever claimed divinity. They also regard the gospels of the New Testament as inauthentic. They believe that it was the Prophet Muhammad who restored Jesus’s original message to humankind.160 A Sword Finally, the message most people remember from Jesus is to love God, one’s neighbor, and oneself. Others might also remember how Jesus stood for peace in an era of constant conflict. In John 14:27, Jesus says, “Peace I leave you; my peace I give to you.” While these concepts were alien at the time of Jesus, some people forget that, according to Matthew 10:34, Jesus also said to his disciples, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I

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have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”161 Many scholars interpret this unique claim in various ways to reflect peace and not conflict, but rarely is it interpreted literally. Perhaps Jesus, as portrayed in the various gospels, was understood to be both a Jewish Zealot and the Messiah. As such, he may have revealed his true intent to lead a rebellion against Roman rule in Judea. The only way Jesus would have been successful in leading a rebellion against Roman rule would be to persuade the numerous Gentiles in Judea and surrounding areas to join him. Hassner and Aran noted that Gentiles were not considered equivalent to Jews. As such, the Jewish leaders believed they must remove them in order to set the stage for the appearance of the Messiah.162 However, Jesus, as portrayed in the gospels—which were often written for a Gentile audience, may have had a different plan regarding the Gentiles given their significant number. That may explain why Jesus conducted many miracles related to the Gentiles, to include changing water to wine for them to drink (his first miracle) to healing them. In essence, he may have been recruiting them with his message and miracles. Myths According to John Black of Ancient Origins, “The word ‘myth’ originates from the Greek word mythos, meaning ‘word’ or ‘tale’ or ‘true narrative,’ referring not only to the means by which it was transmitted but also to its being rooted in truth. Mythos was also closely related to the word myo, meaning ‘to teach,’ or ‘to initiate into the mysteries.’”163 Earlier, Strauss defined myths as true stories that never happened. Gopin determined that myths are pervasive in human reality, stating that “Myths are the genes beneath much of human life, and like genes, there are healthy myths and destructive myths, or interpretations thereof.”164 Some of the most popular myths involve an underdog who overcomes great challenges to achieve victory in the end. Miles declared that myths are a key part of all religions.165 He noted, “Myth, legend, and history mix endlessly in the Bible.”166 Biblical mythology includes the creation of the universe, flood story, great heroes, paradise, and self-sacrifice. The more well-known myths include the Samson story,167 the David and Goliath story,168 and the Garden of Eden.169 Samson was a man of super-human strength who led the Israelites against the Philistines of Canaan. While he was successful at killing many Philistines, he still had his personal shortcomings, to include breaking wedding vows, marrying non-Jewish women (twice), and acting more as a vigilante than a military leader.170 One of the more famous biblical stories was about the confrontation between the young Israelite shepherd, David, and the six foot-nine-inch warrior, Goliath of Gath. David came to the one-on-one confrontation armed

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only with a sling and a pouch of stones. Goliath, on the other hand, was fully armed with all a warrior’s accoutrements, to include a bronze helmet. So, how did a sling-shot stone penetrate Goliath’s helmet to kill him? This seems unrealistic in many ways, beginning with Goliath just standing like a statue while under attack. Finally, the Garden of Eden has not been located by archeologists to date. Most scholars consider the Garden of Eden story to be a myth. According to Genesis 1:2, the Garden was paradise on Earth. This myth mirrors the Mesopotamian story of a king who is placed in a divine Garden to guard the Tree of Life. However, in the Garden of Eden, there was a serpent who was understood by Christians to have represented or even embodied Satan. So, how then would this Garden be paradise? Moreover, with what sin did Adam and Eve commit before eating the apples? (If there was no original sin, what did Jesus sacrifice himself on the cross for?) Neither Islam nor Judaism believe in original sin for humankind. Moreover, Dawkins asked, “If God wanted to forgive our sins, why not just forgive them, without having himself (in the form of Jesus) tortured and executed in payment?”171 Further, Dawkins questioned the existence of Adam to begin with. He declared that “Adam, the supposed perpetrator of the original sin, never existed in the first place.”172 Within many of the myths regarding Jesus and his disciples are miracles. To begin, “miracle” did not have the same meaning as the word does today. Augustine of Hippo (354–430 CE) believed that miracles did not differ from natural events; however, they attracted more human attention because they were beyond human expectations. Further, it appeared performing miracles at that time was fairly common. Most of Jesus’s disciples performed miracles, mostly for the Gentiles. For example, in Acts 9:32-39, it describes a situation where a revered woman named Dorcas had died. Peter was summoned from Lydda to perform the miracle of resurrection on her—which he did. In the first century BCE, Apollonius of Tyana was believed to heal sick people, to walk on water, to levitate, and to raise people from the dead.173 The Roman Consul Marcus Cicero (first century BCE) maintained that miracle stories were only useful “for the piety of ignorant folk.”174 However, Dawkins believed these miracles were necessary to prove Jesus was the Messiah. He wrote, “I suspect that alleged miracles provide the strongest reason many believers have for their faith.”175 Islamic mythology includes many of the myths associated with the Bible, as well as visions of the afterlife and the story of the Kaaba located within the Great Mosque in Mecca. Traditions Hassner and Aran defined religious tradition as “a reservoir of ideas and symbols, norms, and values, information and moods handed down from

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generation to generation and stored in written and oral texts or objects.”176 In the book Violence and the World’s Religious Traditions, Juergensmeyer, Kitts, and Jerryson wrote in their Introduction that “[T]he dark attraction between religion and violence is endemic to religious traditions.”177 Most religious followers believe their respective religions are peaceful, despite the fact that the legends of war, sacrifice, and martyrdom were part of religion going back thousands of years.178 A classic example of a value passed down through the generations was the anti-Jewish sentiment within the early Christian church as a result of Jesus’s crucifixion. Lloyd Steffen noted that “the Gospels shift blame for Jesus’ death from a cruel Roman justice to Jewish conspiracy.”179 After all, it was the Jewish Sanhedrin Council led by Caiaphas that had Jesus seized in the Garden of Gethsmane during Passover, tried him, and then turned him over to Pontius Pilate (because the Council could not execute him). Steffen concluded that the Christian community came to believe that it had replaced the Jewish people as God’s chosen people.180 Analysis The bottom line of this chapter is that just as humans are flawed and not perfect, neither can the Bible nor Qur’an be “perfect” given that humans wrote them. As Gopin noted, “The Bible specifically does not deify human beings; they all must have flaws, including the founders of a religion.”181 And, if the holy scriptures are flawed because they were written by religiously inspired people and not God or Allah, then should they be used to justify killing and conflict? The holy texts were written decades if not centuries after the events took place (if, in fact, they did at all) by numerous authors, each with his or her own biases. Moreover, when scripture was translated, much was lost in translation for many reasons, to include differing alphabets, idioms, and context. Additionally, early on, the Catholic Church and Muslim Caliph would edit and approve final versions of the holy texts. Various popes and Roman emperors would convene councils to legitimize conceptual changes to the Bible. Next, much of the writing of the gospels was written in code so as not to provoke Roman authorities. Many of the meanings of words in the ancient days have changed over the millennia. And, if the sacred texts defined what was holy, then why was slavery allowed, and why were women treated as second-class citizens? Finally, there are the inconsistencies regarding Jesus. His formative years were not recorded anywhere. The Catholic Church not only denied he was married to Mary Magdalene, but that she was a prostitute (which does not make sense according to the gospels). And, he did not found Christianity as a new religion. Without the Apostle Paul’s thirteen of the twenty-seven

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books in the New Testament and his preaching in Europe and Asia Minor for decades after Jesus’s disappearance to both Jewish and Roman congregations, Christianity would likely not have become a religion. In the next chapter, we will discuss the current status of religious conflict in the world, to include a review of: the current schisms within the Abrahamic religions; nations with a significant religious influence of some type, and the more prominent terrorist groups within each Abrahamic religion.

NOTES 1. Pascal Boyer, Religion Explained (New York: Basic Books, 2001), 288. 2. Boyer, Religion Explained, 265. 3. Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2006), 190, 205, 233–234. 4. R. Scott Appleby, Ambivalence of the Sacred (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999), 32. 5. Mark Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence, 3rd ed. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003), 248. 6. Huston Smith, Why Religion Matters (New York: HarpersOne, 2001), 37, 41. 7. J. Harold Ellens, ed., The Destructive Power of Religion. Vol. 1 (Westport: Praeger, 2003), 138. 8. Rene Girard, Sacrifice (East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2011), 5. 9. Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (New York: Viking Penguin Press, 1968). 10. Stewart Duncan, “Thomas Hobbes,” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2019 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), https​://pl​ato.s​tanfo​rd.ed​u/ent​ries/​ hobbe​s/#5.​ 11. William Uzgalis, “John Locke,” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2019 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), https​://pl​ato.s​tanfo​rd.ed​u/ent​ries/​locke​ /#Loc​kReli​Tole.​ 12. Oliver McTernan, Violence in God’s Name (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2003), 24. 13. Smith, Why Religion Matters, 93. 14. Celebrating the end of the Ramadan, the month of fasting for Muslims. 15. Huston Smith, The World’s Religions (San Francisco: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991), 290. 16. Smith, The World’s Religions, 288. 17. Ibid., 225. 18. Jack Miles, God: A Biography (New York: Vantage Books, 1995), 195. 19. Miles, God, 278. 20. Ibid., 200, 360. 21. Smith, The World’s Religions, 292–293. 22. Laurence Gardner, Bloodline of the Holy Grail (Boston: Element, 1996), 54–55.

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23. Geoffrey Parrinder, ed., World Religions (New York: Hamlyn Publishing Group, 1971), 469. 24. Louay Fatoohi, Jihad in the Qur’an (Birmingham, England: Luna Plena Publishing, 2009), 13. 25. Smith, Why Religion Matters, 225. 26. Parrinder, World Religions, 466. 27. Qur’an, 29:50. 28. McTernan, Violence in God’s Name, 43. 29. Smith, Why Religion Matters, 233. 30. Ellens, The Destructive Power of Religion, 234. 31. Bob Evely, At the End of the Ages: The Abolition of Hell. ISBN: 1-41071259-1 (2003), 10. 32. Bart Ehrman, “The New Testament Gospels Are Not a Reliable Historical Guide to the Life, Work, and Teachings of Jesus,” https​://th​ebest​schoo​ls.or​g/spe​cial/​ ehrma​n-lic​ona-d​ialog​ue-re​liabi​lity-​new- testament/ehrman-major- statement/. 33. Ibid. 34. Wycliffe Global Alliance, Singapore, http://www.wycliffe.net/statistics. 35. A.E. Knoch, All in All (Santa Clarita, CA: Concordant Publishing Concern, 1978), 23. 36. Knoch, All in All, 35. 37. Ibid., 45. 38. Ibid., 59. 39. Ibid., 71. 40. John Barton, “Documentary Hypothesis,” cs.umd.edu/~mvz/bible/dochyp.pdf. 41. Ibid. 42. Ellens, The Destructive Power of Religion, 385, 401. 43. Miles, God, 23. 44. Parrinder, World Religions, 385. 45. Timothy Lim, The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), 41. 46. Mark Jugensmeyer, Margo Kim, and Michael Jerryson, eds., Violence and the World’s Religious Traditions (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017), 93. 47. Karen Armstrong, Fields of Blood (New York: Anchor Books, 2014), 296. 48. Michael Baigent, The Jesus Papers (San Francisco: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006), 36. 49. Ellens, The Destructive Power of Religion, 215. 50. Miles, God, 16, 18. 51. Ibid., 392. 52. John Van Seters, “Author or Redactor?” Journal of Hebrew Scriptures, Vol. 7, Article 9, http:​//www​.jhso​nline​.org/​Artic​les/a​rticl​e_70.​pdf. 53. Ellens, The Destructive Power of Religion, 113. 54. Ibid., 15. 55. Armstrong, Fields of Blood, 146. 56. Marc Gopin, Holy War, Holy Peace (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 125.

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57. Miles, God, 259. 58. J. Denny Weaver, “Violence in Christian Theology,” Cross Currents, Vol. 51, No. 2, Summer 2001, http:​//www​.cros​scurr​ents.​org/w​eaver​0701.​htm. 59. David H. Bailey, “Science Meets Religion,” https​://sc​ience​meets​relig​ion.o​rg/ th​eolog​y/bib​le-ar​cheol​ogy.p​hp. 60. Ehrman, “The New Testament Gospels Are Not a Reliable Historical Guide to the Life, Work, and Teachings of Jesus.” 61. Evely, At the End of the Ages, 9. 62. Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016), 62. 63. Gardner, Bloodline of the Holy Grail, 70. 64. Ibid., 74. 65. Though these are the names of the gospels, they do not reflect who actually wrote them. 66. Dawkins, The God Delusion, 118. 67. Ehrman, “The New Testament Gospels Are Not a Reliable Historical Guide to the Life, Work, and Teachings of Jesus.” 68. Evely, At the End of the Ages, 3. 69. Baigent, The Jesus Papers, 76. 70. Strobel, The Case for Christ, 70. 71. Ibid. 72. Ellens, The Destructive Power of Religion, 238. 73. Baigent, The Jesus Papers, 77. 74. Robert Funk and Roy W. Hoover, The Five Gospels (New York: Harper, 1993), 3. 75. Gardner, Bloodline of the Holy Grail, 32. 76. Armstrong, Fields of Blood, 141. 77. Strobel, The Case for Christ, 23. 78. Evely, At the End of the Ages, 2. 79. Ibid., 7. 80. Ibid., xii. 81. Ibid., 142. 82. Strobel, The Case for Christ, 46. 83. Ibid., 48. 84. Ibid., 53, 257. 85. Ibid., 85. 86. Armstrong, Fields of Blood, 137. 87. Andrew Perrin, “How the Dead Sea Scroll Discovery Changed Christianity,” Relevant, September 5, 2017, https​://re​levan​tmaga​zine.​com/g​od/ho​w-the​-dead​-sea-​ scrol​l-dis​cover​y-cha​nged-​chris​tiani​ty/ 88. Strobel, The Case for Christ, 71. 89. Baigent, The Jesus Papers, 243. 90. Gardner, Bloodline of the Holy Grail, 34–35. 91. Ellens, The Destructive Power of Religion, 163. 92. Veronica Ward and Richard Sherlock, eds., Religion and Terrorism: The Use of Violence in Abrahamic Monotheism (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2013), 33. 93. Smith, Why Religion Matters, 83–84, 101.

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94. Ibid., 345. 95. Gardner, Bloodline of the Holy Grail, 27–29, 76. 96. Ibid., 35. 97. Ibid., 102. 98. L. Michael White, “The Essenes and the Dead Sea Scrolls,” Frontline, April 1998, https​://ww​w.pbs​.org/​wgbh/​pages​/fron​tline​/show​s/rel​igion​/port​rait/​essen​ es.ht​ml. 99. Barbara Thiering, “The Marriage of Jesus,” The Presher Technique, April 2005, https​://ww​w.pes​herte​chniq​ue.in​finit​esoul​ution​s.com​/Pesh​er/Ma​rriag​e_of_ ​ Jesus​.html​. 100. Baigent, The Jesus Papers, 89. 101. Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, “Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith,” (Vatican, 1997), www.v​atica​n.va/​roman​_curi​a/con​grega​tions​/cfai​th/do​cumen​ts/rc​ _con_​cfait​h_pro​_1407​1997_​en.ht​ml. 102. Baigent, The Jesus Papers, 102. 103. Dawkins, The God Delusion, 319. 104. Smith, The World’s Religions, 234. 105. Fatoohi, Jihad in the Qur’an, 15. 106. Ellens, The Destructive Power of Religion, 241. 107. Fatoohi, Jihad in the Qur’an, 16. 108. Ellens, The Destructive Power of Religion, 236. 109. Fatoohi, Jihad in the Qur’an, 15. 110. Parrinder, World Religions, 483. 111. Fatoohi, Jihad in the Qur’an, 3. 112. Parrinder, World Religions, 483. 113. Fatoohi, Jihad in the Qur’an, 61. 114. Ellens, The Destructive Power of Religion, 241. 115. Parrinder, World Religions, 493. 116. Reza Aslan, God: A Human History (New York: Random House, 2017), 157. 117. Michael Cook, Ancient Religions, Modern Politics (Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2014), 379. 118. Cook, Ancient Religions, Modern Politics. 119. Ahmed Mossad El-Saba, “The Challenges of Translating the Qur’an,” Globalized Partners International, July 13, 2017, https​://ww​w.glo​baliz​ation​partn​ers.c​ om/20​17/07​/13/t​he-ch​allen​ges-o​f-tra​nslat​ing-t​he-qu​ran/ 120. Holy Bible, Exodus, 21:2. 121. Holy Bible, Deuteronomy, 15:12. 122. Holy Bible, Leviticus, 25:6. 123. Holy Bible, Timothy, 6:1. 124. Holy Bible, Peter, 2:18. 125. Holy Bible, Titus, 2:9–10. 126. Jacob Neusner, ed., God’s Rule (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2003), 63. 127. Peter Partner, God of Battles (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997), 136. 128. Partner, God of Battles, 34.

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129. Toni Craven, Ross Kraemer, and Carol L. Myers, eds. Women in Scripture: A Dictionary of Named and Unnamed Women in the Hebrew Bible, the Apocryphal/ Deuterocanonical Books and New Testament (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000), xii. 130. Holy Bible, Ephesians, 5:22–24. 131. Holy Bible, Numbers, 31: 17. 132. Holy Bible, Genesis, 5–8. 133. Cook, Ancient Religions, Modern Politics, 171. 134. Qamar-ul Huda, ed., Crescent and Dove: Peace and Conflict Resolution in Islam (Washington, DC: US Institute of Peace Press, 2010), 135. 135. Amira Sonbol, “Rise of Islam: 6th to 9th Century and Women,” Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures, K.U. Leuven–University, February 17, 2011, https​:// sa​menst​erk.w​ordpr​ess.c​om/ba​groep​t/isl​am/br​onnen​/hist​orisc​he-en​-soci​ale-k​westi​es/ ri​se-of​- islam-6th-to-9th-century-and-women/ 136. Bint al-Shati, The Wives of the Prophet, trans. Matti Mossa (Piscatawy, NJ: Gorgias Press LLC, December 2006), 52. 137. Yotam Feldner, “72 Black-Eyed Virgins?” Claremont Review of Books, Vol. 2, No. 1, Fall 2001, https​://ww​w.cla​remon​t.org​/crb/​artic​le/72​-blac​k-eye​d-vir​gins/​ 138. Klaus Schwab, “The Global Gender Gap Report,” World Economic Forum, 2018, http:​//www​3.wef​orum.​org/d​ocs/W​EF_GG​GR_20​18.pd​f. 139. Gardner, Bloodline of the Holy Grail, 42, 101. 140. Dawkins, The God Delusion, 120. 141. Ibid., 119. 142. Ibid., 118. 143. Eusebius, Church History, Book I, Chapter VII, §14. 144. Holy Bible, Luke, 2:41–48. 145. Baigent, The Jesus Papers, 152, 264–266. 146. Ibid., 18–19, 51. 147. Ibid., 130. 148. Meredith Warren, “Was Jesus Really Nailed to the Cross?” The Conversation, March 16, 2016, https​://ww​w.she​ffiel​d.ac.​uk/ne​ws/nr​/jesu​s-chr​istia​nity-​bible​ -good​-frid​ay-ea​ster-​cruci​fixio​n-gos​pel-1​.5608​70. 149. Strobel, The Case for Christ, 217. 150. Ibid., 230. 151. Ibid., 258. 152. Gardner, Bloodline of the Holy Grail, 66. 153. Baigent, The Jesus Papers, 107–108, 111–113. 154. Which is highly likely—see Gardner, Bloodline of the Holy Grail, 66–73. The custom of the time was for all men to be married. 155. Alon Bernstein and Isaac Scharf, “Mary Magdalene’s Image Gets a New Look from Church for Modern Age,” Crux, March 30, 2018, https​ ://cr​ uxnow​ .com/​vatic​an/20​18/03​/mary​-magd​alene​s-ima​ge-ge​ts-ne​w-loo​k-fro​m-chu​rch-f​or-mo​ dern-​age/.​ 156. Louis Martin, “The Holy Bloodline,” trans. Jason Colavito, 2016, http:​//www​ .jaso​ncola​vito.​com/l​ouis-​marti​n--th​e-hol​y-blo​odlin​e.htm​l. 157. Thiering, “The Marriage of Jesus.”

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158. Margaret Starbird, The Woman with the Alabaster Jar: Mary Magdalen and the Holy Grail (Rochester: Bear & Company, 1993), 60–62. 159. Baigent, The Jesus Papers, 64, 260. 160. Ibid., 21. 161. Holy Bible, Matthew, 10:34. 162. Jugensmeyer, Kim, and Jerryson, Violence and the World’s Religious Traditions, 89–100. 163. John Black, “The Meaning of the Word Myth,” Ancient Origins, August 30, 2012, https​://ww​w.anc​ient-​origi​ns.ne​t/hum​an-or​igins​/mean​ing-w​ord-m​yth-0​061. 164. Gopin, Holy War, Holy Peace, 37–38. 165. Ellens, The Destructive Power of Religion, 123. 166. Miles, God, 13. 167. Ellens, The Destructive Power of Religion, 116. 168. Holy Bible, Judges, 13–16. 169. Aslan, God, 52. 170. Holy Bible, Judges, 13–16. 171. Dawkins, The God Delusion, 287. 172. Ibid. 173. Flavius Philostratus, The Life of Apollonius of Tyana (London: Hainemann, 1912). 174. Jakub Pawlikowski, “The History of Thinking About Miracles in the West,” The Southern Medical Association, 2007, https​://pd​fs.se​manti​cscho​lar.o​rg/4b​4d/25​ 07ea2​d0fdd​5ed5d​8de2f​e57a2​1ba04​b782.​pdf. 175. Dawkins, The God Delusion, 83. 176. Ibid., 83. 177. Jugensmeyer, Kim, and Jerryson, Violence and the World’s Religious Traditions, 1. 178. Ibid., 2–3. 179. Ibid., 117. 180. Ibid., 118. 181. Gopin, Holy War, Holy Peace, 35.

Chapter 3

Religious Polities

In this chapter, we will review the current religious conflicts in the world to demonstrate why this issue is still worth studying. So far, the discussion has focused on conflicts between followers of different religions. However, there are many cases of conflicts occurring within religions, akin to a religious civil war. Vroom explained how schisms are normal occurrences within established religions. He wrote, “Conflicts arise when religious groups try to fight other groups openly with words and forbid their members to associate with those who belong to other confessions. . . . Internal intolerance in one form or another is a characteristic of every group that unites people for a certain end.”1 SECTION 1: SCHISMS In this section, we will analyze how the schisms (i.e., split-ups due to differing beliefs) within the three Abrahamic religions cause conflict. Within Judaism, the conflict is a function of fundamentalism. Within Christianity, the conflict is a result of the creation of the pope to represent Jesus on earth. Within Islam, the conflict is based on competing processes of selecting a caliph to lead the Muslim World. Orthodox versus Conservative versus Reform Judaism Judaism has fragmented in a political sense. There are now three main denominations of Judaism, along with several smaller ones. Let’s focus on the three main denominations: Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Judaism. 79

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Orthodox Judaism relies primarily on the original oral tradition and Hebrew Bible for guidance. Joseph Soloveitchik, an American Orthodox rabbi and Jewish philosopher, established the foundation for modern Jewish Orthodoxy with his four books published in the twentieth century. He developed the concept that all Jews share two covenants: Destiny—adherence to halakha (the Jewish religious law derived from the Torah); and Fate—the willingness of Jews to be part of a people chosen by God to live a sacred mission in the world. Soloveitchik held that non-Orthodox Jews were in violation of the covenant of destiny; yet, they are still bound together with Orthodox Jews in the covenant of fate.2 In other words, while Jews have differing beliefs about Judaism (i.e., religion), they are still bound together as Jews (i.e., ethnicity). Reform Judaism allows for change and modernity to influence its guidance, much like political liberals allow for modernity to affect interpretations of original documents, such as the U.S. Constitution. Reform Judaism supports religious pluralism, meaning that Reformists believe that most Jewish denominations are valid expressions of Judaism, to include Orthodox Judaism. It emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, and is characterized by a lesser stress on rituals and more openness to progressive values. For example, it does not regard halakha as binding. Its early principles were formed by Rabbi Abraham Geiger in the nineteenth century. Gieger did not believe in Zionism or in rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem.3 With the split between Orthodox and Reform Judaism, Conservative Judaism evolved as a compromise between the two to offer some liberalization from Orthodox theology while maintaining some of the rituals and halachic orientation of Orthodox Judaism. As such, Conservative Judaism maintains a central position, recognizing both positions. However, Conservative Judaism regards the authority of halakha as emanating more from Jews than from divine revelation. It avoids strict theological definitions and allows for greater pluralism.4 A key issue among these sects of Judaism is the definition of a Jew—based on either the mother or father being Jewish. Judaism, in general, favors both the matrilineal and the patrilineal lineage as ways to define who is Jewish, while Orthodox Judaism favors only the matrilineal lineage. According to Halakha, a Jew must be born to a Jewish mother or be a convert to the religion. Once born a Jew, it does not matter which sect one follows. Regarding marriage, the Israeli Chief Rabbinater requires evidence that those getting married are Jewish, which consists of documents proving one’s mother, grandmother, and great grandmother were all Jewish. (Note that in Islam, only the patrilineal lineage matters.) Of the more than fifteen million Jews in the world today (0.002 percent of the global population), almost equal percentages live in Israel (the world’s only Jewish state) and in the United States (approximately 41 percent in

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each). Most Jews in the world live either in North America (44 percent) or in the Middle East (41 percent).5 In 2013, of the 41 percent Jews in America, Reform Judaism was the largest denomination of American Jews (35 percent); Conservative Judaism was the second-largest denomination (18 percent); and, Orthodox Judaism was the third-largest denomination in the United States (10 percent). Israel had 18 percent Conservative Jews, 10 percent Orthodox Jews, and 6 percent Reform Jews. Of note is that around 30 percent of the Israeli Jews did not identify with any denomination of Judaism.6 Unlike the schisms within Christianity and Islam resulting in millions of people being killed, Judaism’s denominational divisions incurred no violent conflicts resulting in deaths. Given that the total number of Jews is less than 1/500th of the world population, if Jews began killing one another over their varying interpretations of Judaism, then they could end up extinct. Catholics versus Protestants Of all the various religious schisms that have resulted in significant conflict, none has been more deadly than the Protestant split from the Catholic Church when Martin Luther proposed his 95 Theses challenging the legitimacy of the Catholic Church and its pope in 1517 CE. The schism officially began in 1521 when Roman Emperor Charles V issued the Edict of Worms that condemned Luther and his ideas, and officially banned Roman Catholics from defending or propagating them. The conflict that eventually resolved this long-running schism was known as the Thirty Years War, fought in Central Europe from 1618 to 1648. According to Armstrong, this war killed around 35 percent of the entire population in Europe.7 Martin Luther was not the first theological reformer as there were several that set the stage for his 95 Theses. One notable precursor to Martin Luther was John Wycliffe of England. Wycliffe was a philosopher, theologian, priest, and a theology professor at the University of Oxford. He became one of the early influential dissidents within the Roman Catholic priesthood during the fourteenth century. White wrote that Wycliffe published articles declaring friars who took money to hear confessions and to forgive sins as “frauds.”8 Wycliffe also attacked the privileged status of the clergy. In 1382, he completed a translation of the Bible from the Vulgate (in Latin) into English.9 This “Wycliffe” Bible was disseminated throughout England as there was no law prohibiting it, as there was for the rest of Europe.10 Another notable precursor to Martin Luther was Jan Hus, a Czech theologian and rector of the Charles University in Prague. He became a key predecessor to Protestantism and a significant figure in the Bohemian Reformation. White noted that Jan Hus “objected to priests of the church using their lawful authority for unlawful ends.”11 In 1415 CE, he was burned at the stake

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for heresy against the orthodox doctrines of the Catholic Church. After his execution, his followers rebelled against the Church and defeated five consecutive papal Crusades between 1420 and 1431 in what became known as the Hussite Wars. White recounted the events, “The execution of Hus kindled a flame of indignation and horror in Bohemia. His doctrines attracted more attention than ever before. . . . The pope declared a new Crusade against the Hussites. . . . Without striking a blow, the mighty Catholic force broke and scattered as if dispelled by an unseen power.”12 One early dissident group in southern France that rejected the pope and the Catholic Church was the Waldenses of Piedmont, France. The leaders of this group were able to acquire a copy of the Bible and had it translated into French. The teachings of the Waldenses were condemned by Pope Innocent III in the Fourth Council of the Lateran in 1215 CE, and all were condemned to death as heretics.13 Inquisitors were sent to track them down. White noted, “A papal bull [a public decree issued by the pope] was issued by the Pope declaring all Waldenses as heretics and offering them up for slaughter. If you killed a Waldenses person, then all sins would be forgiven.”14 In 1655, around 1,700 Waldensians were killed by Catholic forces commanded by the Duke of Savoy. Then, Martin Luther, an ordained priest and professor of theology at the University of Wittenberg, made his stand against the Catholic Church and its pope by advocating the word of God as given in Christian biblical scripture over the theological traditions proposed by various popes. As with other notable reformers, Luther caught the attention of the Catholic Church in Rome and was summoned to Augsburg for trial on heresy charges. White noted, “Many dignitaries were convinced of the truthfulness of Luther’s theses, but knew reform would undermine the authority of Rome and all of the income it was receiving. . . . Luther realized he was one man opposed to the mightiest powers of earth.”15 Armstrong observed that by then, “The raison d’être of the Roman Empire had become to protect the Catholic Church.”16 Though Luther was found guilty, German King Charles V allowed him safe passage home, where he hid from the Church authorities in the Wartburg Castle and continued publishing doctrine attacking the Catholic Church.17 Luther also translated the Bible into German. Eventually, Germany adopted Protestantism, and King Charles V abdicated his throne and went into hiding.18 The Protestant Reformation in Sweden began in 1527 CE during the reign of King Gustav I and did not end until 1593 with the Uppsala Synod (consisting of four bishops and over 300 priests). In 1536, Sweden notified the Roman Catholic Church that it was no longer going to follow its canon law, and Gustav founded the Lutheran Church of Sweden. By the early 1540s, the Bible was translated into Swedish and Finnish. White observed that it was the Swedish armies that enabled Germany to defeat the Catholic armies in the Thirty Years War.19

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John Calvin led the Reformation movement in France. Calvin was a lawyer, theologian and pastor during the Reformation. He broke from the Catholic Church in 1530 CE as a result of the deadly violence against Protestant Christians in France. White reported that thousands of people came to hear Calvin preach daily in Paris; “For two years the word of God was preached in the capital.”20 He left France for Switzerland and began to publish Institutes in 1536 that advocated changes within the Catholic Church. In England, a series of events related to the Protestant Reformation movement (ongoing throughout Europe) led to the separation of Catholic England from the Holy Roman Empire. However, in England, the split began more as a political issue before becoming a religious one. King Henry VIII wanted an annulment of his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon to be blessed by Pope Clement VII—which was denied. As such, Henry oversaw a series of acts passed by parliament between 1532 and 1534 CE, to include the Ecclesiastical Appeals Act and the Act of Supremacy. The Appeals Act is considered to be the legal foundation of the English Reformation. It essentially denied all appeals to the pope in Rome on religious or other matters. The English King would now be the final authority in all such matters in England, Wales, and other English possessions. The Supremacy Act made Henry VIII the Head of the Church of England.21 Of note was the Society of Jesus (also known as the Order of Jesuits), which was founded in 1534 CE by Saint Ignatius of Loyola after he was wounded in the Battle of Pamplona, Spain. The organization was based on a military structure and blessed by two papal bulls; one in 1540 CE by Pope Paul III and the other in 1550 CE by Pope Julius III. While the Jesuits evolved into a charitable group, their beginning was not so noble. According to White, the Jesuits were the most cruel, unscrupulous, and powerful of the Pope’s champions; “cut off from earthly ties and human interests . . . they knew no rule, no tie, but that of their order, and no duty but to extend its power. . . . There was no crime too great for them to commit, no deception too base for them to practice, no disguise too difficult for them to assume.”22 The Jesuits quickly spread throughout Europe causing a revival of the pope. In fact, according to White, “To give them greater power, a bull was issued re-establishing the inquisition.”23 As a result, many Europeans were killed or forced to leave Europe. The pope and Catholic Church ruled over Europe for 1,260 years (538– 1798 CE). The end came when the Napoleon’s army entered Rome and put Pope Pius VI in prison. Despite this sordid past, the Catholic Church is making a comeback. According to White, “Catholicism is gaining ground upon every side. See the increasing number of her churches and chapels in Protestant countries.”24 He cited the Catholic Church’s impressive ceremonial services, magnificent churches, exquisite sculptures and artwork, and

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unsurpassed music being very persuasive at converting people to Catholicism.25 However, White also warned that while the outward appearances of Catholicism are indeed impressive, they can be deceiving: “Every principle of the papacy that existed in past ages, exists today. The doctrines devised in the darkest ages are still held. Let none deceive themselves.”26 Sunni versus Shi’a There are many religious scholars who believe the current schism within Islam is analogous to the Protestant Reformation of the Middle Ages. Where it took over a millennium for Christianity to effectively split up, the split within Islam began almost immediately after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 CE and it is still ongoing. Muhammad, leader of all Arabia at the time of his passing, designated Ali ibn Abi Talib (a first cousin and son-in-law) to be his successor upon death. However, that did not happen as Abu Bakr maneuvered his way into gaining enough pledges from tribal leaders to become the first “caliph” after Muhammad died. The Muslim caliph is analogous to the Catholic pope. Armstrong characterized the caliph as “the ‘Shadow of God’ on earth.”27 Ali Talib eventually became the fourth caliph, but according to the Shi’a sect, he is the first valid caliph, whereas the Sunni accept all four of the first five caliphs as valid successors to Muhammad. Who’s in Charge? It was early on that the division became apparent between Sunni and Shi’a. The Arab tradition was for a council of elders (called ulema) to select the most deserving and capable person to be the tribal leader. Therefore, being Arab and following Arab traditions and customs, Muslims believed the ulema should select the next caliph to lead all Muslims. The other selection options included appointment by the previous caliph, a blood relative, or through brute force. A significant Muslim minority believed the rightful caliph should be a blood relative of the Prophet Muhammad. Armstrong explained it as follows: “Muslims who believed the caliph should be a descendant of Prophet Muhammad became known as ‘Shi’a-i Ali’ (Shiites or Shi’a). However, most Muslims preferred to follow the sunnah (customary practice) of selecting the next caliph by voting.”28 The Shi’a believed that just as the Prophet Muhammad was chosen by Allah, then his blood relatives would also be approved by Allah, following the patrilineal hierarchy of the Arab culture. The Sunni believed that the decision-makers of the ulema should determine the next caliph. The Prophet Muhammad was not clear about which method regarding who would succeed him as leader of the faith should be preferred, though he did identify his successor.

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Early Islamic Civil War Battles The first battle of the Islamic civil war took place in Basra, Iraq, on November 7, 656 CE, between Ali Talib (representing the Shi’a side) and A’isha (Prophet Muhammad’s wife), Talhah, and Zubayr (representing the Sunni side). Known as the Battle of the Camel, it was fought as retribution for the Shi’a assassination of the third caliph, Uthman, in June 656 CE. Around 3,000 people were killed in this battle, to include many notable Muslims.29 After the Battle of the Camel, Ali Talib (the fourth caliph) decided to confront Muawiyah I, Sunni governor of Syria, and his army in Raqqa, Syria, in 657 CE for political reasons. Known as the Battle of Siffin, the two sides were encamped next to one another for over 100 days while negotiations took place. Ali had approximately 80,000 men while Muawiyah had approximately 120,000 men. Then, on July 26, one of Ali’s commanders, on his own initiative, began the battle which lasted for three days. After the cessation of hostilities, Ali’s army had lost around 25,000 men while Muawiyah’s army lost around 45,000 men.30 However, Ali still had not achieved the battlefield victory he was seeking, so he confronted the Sunni extremist group known as Kharijites near Baghdad in 659 CE. The ensuing battle resulted in a total defeat of the Kharijites by Ali’s army. Unfortunately for Ali, while the Kharijites had been defeated, they splintered into smaller terrorist groups. In 662 CE, a Kharijite assassin killed Ali while he was praying at the Great Mosque in Kufa, Iraq.31 The final confrontation that solidified the schism within Islam was the Battle of Karbala in Iraq in 680 CE. The battle took place between the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Husayn Ali (a Shi’a), and Yazid I, the Umayyad Caliph (a Sunni). Ali’s army was vastly outnumbered by Yazid’s army to such an extent that it appeared to be a suicidal battle. Successive assaults by Yazid’s army depleted Ali’s forces. Not only did Ali’s companions go down fighting, but so did his relatives. Seventy-two Hashemites (the Prophet Muhammad’s tribe) sacrificed themselves, including Husayn Ali (who was beheaded) and his sons. This battle has a central place in Shi’a history, tradition, and theology, much like “the Alamo” has been for Americans. By this time, the break between Sunni and Shi’a was decisive. As a result, revenge battles have continued between Sunni and Shi’a forces for over 1,300 years— and are still ongoing.32 Current Sectarian Battles The Muslim world began its decline after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the conclusion of World War I. The Ottoman Turks entered the war on the side of the Central Powers and were defeated in 1918. The Ottoman Empire

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officially ended in 1922 and was replaced by the Republic of Turkey in 1923. It was at this point, with secular governments in Europe and in the Arab world, that Sunni and Shi’a may have cooperated in the face of this common threat. In fact, until the latter part of the twentieth century, the two sects had a relatively peaceful coexistence. They fought together against British colonial rule in Iraq in 1920 and against Israel after 1948. However, any cooperation between the two sects did not last long.33 Wahhabism Wahhabism is the version of Islam founded by al-Wahhab in the eighteenth century. This fundamentalist sect of Sunni Islam advocates following the style of Muslim life as it was in the seventh century under the Prophet Muhammad and eliminating any modernization of Islam since then. Wahhab made a pact with al-Saud whereupon Wahhabism became the official religious orientation of the House of Saud in 1744. In 1932, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was established and Wahhabism became its official theological position. Moreover, Saudi Arabia outlawed Shi’a Islam, and this prohibition spread far beyond the Saudi Kingdom due to Saudi-funded schools established throughout the Arab world that taught Wahhabism.34 Pilgrimage One of the five pillars of Islam is a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a Muslim’s lifetime (if possible). This entails hundreds of thousands of Shi’a Muslims visiting Saudi Arabia every year. Tensions have grown hostile between Iran and Saudi Arabia as a result of repeated Saudi mismanagement of the growing crowds (over two million Muslims made the pilgrimage in 2017), leading to many crowd stampedes killing numerous Sunni and Shi’a pilgrims. Saudi Arabia versus Iran Since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the Sunni-Shi’a conflict in the Middle East has significantly increased, particularly between Saudi Arabia (representing the Sunni) and Iran (representing the Shi’a). These two countries have funded and supported opposite sides in multiple Muslim civil wars, to include Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and the Islamic State. In Shi’a-dominant Iraq, the United States led a coalition of military forces to overthrow President Saddam Hussein, a Sunni. As a result of the coalition victory with Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, Iraq became a Shi’a-led nation aligned with Iran. The “Arab Spring” of 2010 inspired a civil war in Syria, pitting the majority Sunni population against the ruling minority Alawites (a sect of Shi’a Islam).

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Economic, military, and political support from Iran and Russia has kept Syrian President Bashir al-Assad in power. In Yemen, the Houthi rebels, who are primarily Shi’a, are trying to overthrow the Sunni government, which is supported by Saudi Arabia. Israel’s Role Strategically located and extremely capable, Israel has taken a side in this Muslim schism. Israel perceives Iran as an existential threat, especially with its potential nuclear weapons program. Iranian leadership has publicly threatened Israel consistently on many occasions over the years. In 2008, at a press conference, Iranian president Ahmadinejad said, “The Iranian nation never recognized Israel and will never ever recognize it.”35 As well, Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei stated at another press conference in 2008, “We are on a collision course with the occupiers of Palestine and the occupiers are the Zionist regime.”36 In a speech presented in May 2012, Iran’s Military Chief of Staff Major General Hassan Firouzabadi declared, “The Iranian nation is standing for its cause and that is the full annihilation of Israel.”37 General Hossein Salami, Commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, said in September 2019, that wiping Israel off the map was now an “achievable goal thanks to Iran’s technological advances . . . . This sinister regime must be wiped off the map and this is no longer . . . a dream (but) it is an achievable goal.”38 As such, Israel has been reaching out to the Sunni countries in the region as potential allies to counter this common threat. With the downfall of Saddam Hussein as president of Iraq, Iran’s influence in Shi’a-dominated Iraq has grown exponentially. With the political turmoil in Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen, it appears that Shi’a factions are gaining more influence in those countries as well. As such, the major Sunni countries, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Egypt, and Jordan are working behind the scenes with Israel to counter Iranian efforts in the region.39 Muslim Demographics As for the demographics of the Sunni and Shi’a in the world today, a good approximation is that 85 percent of Muslims are Sunni with the remaining 15 percent being Shi’a (see Figure 3.1). Except for Iraq, Bahrain, Iran, Lebanon, and Azerbaijan, all other Muslim countries are dominated by Sunni, to include China and those in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa, and most of the Arab World. Besides the difference in selecting caliphs, Sunni and Shi’a Muslims differ on the interpretation of the Hadith. The so-called reformation conflict within Islam continues unabated, with no end in sight.

Figure 3.1  Sunni versus Shia Population Distribution. Source: From the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection in the University of Texas Libraries. https​://le​gacy.​lib.u​texas​.edu/​maps/​world​_maps​/musl​im_di​strib​ution​.jpg

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SECTION 2: COUNTRIES In this section, we will discuss the influence of religion on countries that result in conflict. The countries to be analyzed include Iran, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Syria, Afghanistan, and Sudan. These countries were selected because religious conflict continues to affect them in significant ways today. The analysis will consist of detailing the nature of religion in the country and how it relates to conflict.40 Iran Iran is a large country with 1.6 million square kilometers of land with over 81 million people living in it (2017 data).41 Since the revolution in 1979, Iran has maintained a theocracy—a government and legal system based on religious law. Its constitution directs that Iran be governed by the Qur’an, Sharia (Islamic law), and the Twelver Ja’fari School of Islam. This School of Islam is followed by the majority of Shi’a and derives its name from Ja’far al-Sadiq, who is revered as their Sixth Imam. According to a survey conducted in early 2012, 83 percent of Iranians say they favor the use of Sharia law in Iran.42 Over 90 percent of Iranians associate themselves with the Shi’a branch of Islam, with less than 10 percent identifying with the Sunni branch. Iran has an elected president, a parliament (known as Majlis), a Council of Experts (which elects the Supreme Leader), and a Guardian Council—a body of religious scholars which can veto any legislation it deems not in accordance with Islam. Iran follows the Shi’a doctrine known as wilayat al-faqih, or “guardianship of the Islamic jurist.” This doctrine calls for a supreme political and religious leader to arbitrate all matters of the country. Many Shi’a clerics in Iran, such as Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, favor a more advisory role for the Supreme Leader than as a policymaker. Internally, Iran runs a repressive regime—it is often criticized for its human rights abuses. According to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, “Since the disputed 2009 elections, religious freedom conditions in Iran have regressed to a point not seen since the early days of the Islamic revolution. Killings, arrests, and physical abuse of detainees have increased, including for religious minorities and Muslims to dissent or express views perceived as threatening the legitimacy of the government.”43 Externally, Iran is the leader of the Shi’a branch of Islam. As such, it is involved in many proxy wars against Sunni countries and religious groups in the Middle East. In Syria, the most active of all proxy conflicts, Iran’s Islamic

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Revolutionary Guard directs militia groups from Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iraq, as well as within Syria, in an ongoing effort to keep President Assad in power. In the Gaza Strip, Iran funds Hamas, a Sunni fundamentalist group, in its efforts to seek Palestinian independence from Israel (the common enemy of Muslim fundamentalists). Finally, Oman is allegedly helping Iran smuggle weapons to the Houthi rebels, primarily a Shi’a group, in its war against Saudi Arabia—known as the Yemen Civil War.44 Iran itself has no major rivers, and only 11 percent of its land is arable. However, Iran has enormous quantities of oil (around 11 percent of the world’s proven reserves) and natural gas (second in the world behind Russia). On the other hand, the country is very polluted (rivers and water tables are contaminated, and air quality in the major cities is poor) and suffers from deforestation and desertification.45 Islamic In-fighting Islamic in-fighting officially began with the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE, and intra-faith tensions have continued through today. Sometimes these tensions erupt into conflict. For example, in 1980, President Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, directed Iraqi forces to attack Iran. He was concerned that the 1979 Iranian Revolution that brought Shi’a religious leaders to power could destabilize Iraq with its majority Shi’a population. It appeared that Iran’s new leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, was keen to export Shi’a Islam throughout the region as he was already providing support to Shi’a militias and organizations abroad. As well, Saddam Hussein believed that Iran was militarily and economically vulnerable at that time (shortly after its revolution). Furthermore, according to Will Swearingen, assistant professor at New Mexico University, Iraq was still stinging from a 1975 boundary agreement with Iran where it lost significant territory that it wanted back. Moreover, there were ongoing ethnic tensions between Arabs and Persians,46 and between Sunni and Shi’a represented by both countries, respectively. Finally, there were value conflicts between Iranian Islamic fundamentalists and Iraqi Arab nationalists.47 In this first Iraq-Iran War, Iraq was supported by the United States, Soviet Union, France, and most Arab countries. Iran was fairly isolated in all aspects during this conflict, except for some arms sales from Israel.48 The war started with Iraqi military successes. However, by 1982, Iran had recaptured the territory it had lost and began its own offensive against Iraq. However, the conflict became stalemated for the next six years until the United Nations negotiated a ceasefire in 1988. The battlefield featured bayonet charges, human wave attacks against fortified machine-gun posts, and the extensive and indiscriminate use of chemical weapons by Iraq (much like World War I).49 As many as a half-million Iraqi and Iranian soldiers were killed in this

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conflict along with many civilians—apparently for nothing. Neither side received any reparations or changes in any international border. In the forty years since the revolution, the Islamic Republic of Iran has supported groups that were actively engaged in struggles against foreign occupation, whether in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, or the occupied Palestinian territories. In Syria, Iran believes the United States, Europe, and Israel have been using domestic groups, and later mercenaries, to topple President al-Assad for geopolitical purposes. When one pays close attention to the discourse of these groups, from their official statements to their media output, the emphasis is on state sovereignty and the fight against American imperialism. Saudi Arabia Heading up the Sunni side of the Sunni-Shi’a conflict in the Middle East is Saudi Arabia. It was established in 1932 as an absolute monarchy with close ties to both the United States and the United Kingdom. Saudi Arabia is larger than Iran with over 2.15 million square kilometers of land, but with fewer people at around 33 million (2017 data). It is a kingdom as well as an Islamic theocracy, where the official religion is Islam and the government is based on Sharia law (which applies to all people in Saudi Arabia regardless of their personal religion). However, it follows an extreme interpretation of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism (see Chapter 1, page 6). Less than 40 percent of Saudi citizens adhere to Wahhabism even though it is imposed and enforced upon all Saudis. Yaroslav Trofimov, an award-winning author and journalist, observed that “Saudi education is dominated by the Wahhabi establishment and focuses on teaching Islam rather than sciences, foreign languages, and practical skills.”50 Saudi Arabia is mostly a desert country with no rivers or water features. It has been the largest exporter of oil in the world for decades and the leading member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). According to the international Human Rights Watch organization, much like Iran, Saudi Arabia has been accused of many human rights abuses over the years.51 Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in January 2016 after a mob of Iranian protestors attacked the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and the Saudi consulate in Mashrad following the Saudi execution of Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, a prominent Shi’a cleric. He was beheaded along with forty-six other people convicted of terrorism by a Saudi special criminal court. Both the Saudi Embassy and Consulate were ransacked and torched with Molotov cocktails and petrol bombs.52 Bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran remain strained as both countries want to lead the Muslim World and the Middle East. As well, there

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are geopolitical and religious reasons that have led to increased tensions, to include differing: interpretations of Islam, oil export policies, and relations with the United States and Western countries. In the current Syrian Civil War, where Iran supports Syrian president Bashar al-Assad with military forces and billions of dollars of aid, Saudi Arabia has been a major supplier of military aid to the rebel groups within Syria.53 With the rise in power by Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman (MbS), Saudi leadership concerns regarding Iran appears to be increasing. Since 2017, MbS has been Crown Prince, deputy prime minister, Chairman of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs, Chairman of the Council of Political and Security Affairs, and Minister of Defense (the world’s youngest one at the time of his appointment). Despite being an Arab reformist, MbS has been accused of human rights abuses, continued bombing of Yemen, escalating a political crisis with Qatar, and arresting members of the Saudi royal family. He is also the alleged mastermind behind the assassination of an American journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, in October 2018 in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. There are concerns that MbS may increase the tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran during their ongoing religious proxy wars. For example, shortly after being promoted to Crown Prince, MbS asked Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, a Sunni, to abruptly resign while Hariri was visiting Saudi Arabia on November 4, 2017.54 Believing a war was imminent between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates asked their citizens to leave Lebanon. Israel Israel represents Judaism in the world today. The United Nations authorized its formation in 1947; it declared independence in 1948; it was immediately attacked by a coalition of five Arab countries, to include Egypt and Syria, because its creation was perceived to be unfair to Arab Palestinians. As McTernan observed, “On 14 May 1948, David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the State of Israel, and the next day Arab armies invaded Palestine.”55 This was the beginning of multiple Arab-Israeli conflicts that continued until 1973, with the Yom Kippur War. As a result of the Arab military defeats in three major Arab-Israeli wars, Israel expanded its territory, to include the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, West Bank, Golan Heights, and East Jerusalem. Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in 1982 (as a result of the 1979 Israeli-Egyptian Peace Treaty), and the Gaza Strip to the Palestinians in 2006 (Hamas took control of it in 2007). Israel is a Jewish nation and a democratic state. It has a liberal democracy with a parliamentary form of government. The prime minister is the head of

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the Knesset, a unicameral parliament with 120 members. As of 2019, Israel has around 8.5 million citizens, of which almost 75 percent are Jewish and 21 percent are Arab.56 Only two of the twenty-two Arab countries maintain diplomatic relations with Israel—Egypt and Jordan, as both countries signed peace treaties with it. Israel is a small country, which makes it vulnerable to attacks, particularly from the Gaza Strip and Golan Heights. It has a powerful military with the latest weaponry, primarily acquired from the United States. Allegedly, Israel also has a nuclear weapon stockpile and various means to deliver the warheads.57 It also contains militant Jewish groups that have turned to violence in the past. According to McTernan, “Militant Jewish groups have no problem in using their religious traditions and scriptures to sanction violence in the pursuit of religious goals.”58 The Palestinian issue is a subset of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands is the longest such occupation in modern times— with no end in sight. Several factors are driving this conflict, to include ethnic, national, historical, and religious dimensions of it. The religious aspect is likely the most intractable issue with key historical structures at the center of the dispute, to include the Temple Mount—containing the Dome of the Rock, al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Western Wall. Both sides want exclusive control of such religious structures and will fight for them. There have been several attempts to resolve this long-running conflict, with the 2000 Camp David Summit being the closest one to success. President Bill Clinton invited Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to Camp David, Maryland, in July 2000, to negotiate a final resolution to this conflict. This was the third effort of this type, following the 1978 Camp David Accords (which ended the state of war between Israel and Egypt) and the 1993 Oslo Accords (which established the final status settlement between Israel and the Palestinians). However, Yitzhak Rabin’s willingness to make peace with the Palestinians by signing the Oslo Accords was seen by many Jews as an act of betrayal. This led to his assassination in Tel Aviv in 1995 by the Israeli ultranationalist Yigal Amir.59 In the end, the 2000 Summit negotiations fell apart over the five “final status” issues: territory, Jerusalem/Temple Mount, Palestinian refugees/right of return, Israeli security arrangements, and Israeli settlements in the West Bank. One key issue precluding any agreement was what the borders of the new Palestinian state would look like. The Palestinians wanted sovereignty over Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip with one-to-one land swaps with Israel, as necessary. However, the Israelis refused to negotiate regarding Jerusalem or the refugees’ status. For both Israel and the Palestinians, the status of East Jerusalem and the Temple Mount were of utmost importance. Unfortunately, both sides wanted

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the same thing: total sovereignty over these areas. As such, a compromise was not really possible. As of 2016, there were 327,000 Arabs (60 percent) and 214,600 Jews (40 percent) living in East Jerusalem that served as one motivation for Palestinian rule.60 As a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, up to 725,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled from what is now Israel. Today, this refugee number has grown to around four million Palestinians (about half the total Palestinian population). Palestinians have asked for the right of return for all willing refugees to their properties in Israel, with their previous properties returned to them or compensated for. Israel is concerned that so many returning Palestinians would adversely change the character of the Jewish nation let alone the prohibitive costs involved regarding compensation.61 Because Israel is so geographically small and because it believes it cannot trust Palestinians, Israel also established some security requirements regarding any new Palestinian country. Israel wanted to set up radar sites inside Palestine and be freely allowed to use its airspace. As well, it wanted the right to deploy troops within Palestine and station an international force in the Jordan Valley. Finally, Israel wanted Palestine to forego establishing any military force, except for paramilitary security forces.62 Of course, the Palestinian leadership rejected these conditions outright. Finally, there was the matter of continued expansion of Israeli settlements within the West Bank. The international community, to include the United Nations, the United States, and Russia, considers the settlements in “occupied territory” to be illegal. The United Nations has passed multiple resolutions indicating that the Israeli settlements violated the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention. (In fact, in December 2016, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2334 that confirmed the illegality of the West Bank settlements.) Despite international pressure, Israeli West Bank settlements have increased in number and relocated Jewish citizens exponentially over the years.63 In 2016, there were around 421,000 Israeli Jews living on 130 settlements in the West Bank.64 This was also a non-starter for the Palestinians. All of these positions left little room for compromise, hence, the reason the 2000 Camp David summit eventually failed. Then, in November 2004, Chairman Yasser Arafat mysteriously died (in a French hospital near Paris), leaving a gap in Palestinian leadership.65 The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and PA66 had two internal rival factions: Fatah and Hamas. Without a unifying leader such as Chairman Arafat, the two Palestinian political factions began a struggle for power. They fought one another in the Battle of Gaza in 2007. As a result of this battle, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip while Fatah maintained control over the West Bank. This situation has precluded any future negotiations with Israel toward a unified Palestinian state as there is no one person speaking with authority on behalf of all Palestinians

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as there was with Chairman Arafat. With no single PA for Israeli leadership to negotiate with, a two-state solution seems unlikely in the near future. As such, we can expect continued conflict between Israel, and the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Syria Syria is currently involved in a sectarian civil war that started in March 2011 during the Arab Spring uprisings, pitting the minority Alawites and Shi’a against the majority Sunni population. Syria is a unitary republic with over nineteen million citizens as of 2018. The president is head of state while the prime minister is head of government. However, the president appoints the prime minister, so true government power rests with the president. The legislature is called the People’s Council and consists of 195 members. Syria is not a large country with only 185,180 square kilometers of land. However, its location in the heart of the Middle East makes it an important country. The Alawites are a sect of Shi’a Islam and consist of less than 20 percent of the population, while the Sunni population is around 64 percent of the total. President (and dictator-for-life) Bashar al-Assad is an Alawite who established a government consisting of both Shi’a and Sunni functionaries. Despite this, other Shi’a governments, such as Iran, are supporting Assad, while Sunni governments, such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar, are supporting the Syrian opposition, known as the Syrian National Coalition (to include the Free Syrian Army).67 The other key ethnic group in northeastern Syria is the Kurdish people. The Kurds generally follow Sunni Islam, though some are Syrian Orthodox Christians. The Kurdish nation is still looking for its own country, which would include part of Syria. The United States has played a key negotiator role for decades in the Middle East. In Syria, it initially pursued the removal of Assad from power after he authorized barrel bombing and chemical weapon attacks against the civilian population during the civil war. When political pressure did not work, the United States supported the rebel groups fighting the Syrian military forces, to include the Syrian Free Army and Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG). Until late 2019, an equilibrium had been established where the Kurdish groups controlled the northeastern part of Syria that bordered Turkey. However, while Turkey is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally of the United States, it considered the YPG to be just a rebranded version of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). To Turkey, the PKK is analogous to al-Qaeda and its leader, Abdullah Ocalan, is analogous to Osama bin Laden, both causing far more damage to Turkey over decades than al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden inflicted upon the United States on 9/11.

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In early October 2019, during a phone call with Turkish President Recep Erdogan, U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to move American troops out of northeast Syria to clear the way for a Turkish military operation to remove the YPG from the area. Turkey’s intent in northeastern Syria is to establish a safe zone (from the Syrian government) for the millions of Syrian refugees within Turkey as a result of the Syrian Civil War to return to. President Trump ordered American troops to pull back from the immediate border area when President Erdogan said a Turkish invasion was “imminent.” As a result of the U.S. pull back in northeastern Syria, Turkish military forces invaded across 300 miles of the border to at least 20 miles into Syria. Despite a call for a ceasefire or military pause, fighting continued between Turkish and Kurdish forces in this area. For the first time in over a decade, Syrian military forces accompanied by Russian security forces entered northeastern Syria and began patrolling the border. As of 2019, Syria ranked second to last on the Global Peace Index, an indicator that measures the relative peacefulness of 163 countries around the world.68 As one of the most violent countries in the world, Syria has witnessed as many as 570,000 deaths (according to the Syria Observatory for Human Rights as of 2019), 7.5 million internally displaced people (as of 2015), and over 5 million refugees (as of 2017).69 This country serves as the frontline of the battle between Sunni and Shi’a Islam in the world today, as well as the Arab-Kurdish ethnic conflict. Afghanistan Afghanistan has seen internal conflict for at least four consecutive decades now. The current conflict traces back to the Afghan Civil War that began in 1992 between several mujahedeen armies—remnants of the Soviet-Afghan War (1980–1988). Benjamin and Simon noted that the Afghan victory over the Soviets was monumental for the worldwide Islamic movement. They wrote, “The effect of Muslims defeating the Soviet Union in Afghanistan was galvanizing after being defeated four times by Israel and four more times in South Asia (Indo-Pakistan conflicts).”70 The Taliban eventually emerged victorious and held power from 1996 to 2001. The Taliban are a Sunni Islamic fundamentalist political movement and military organization that enforces a strict interpretation of Sharia law. The Taliban were formed in 1994 by Muhammad Omar and supported by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.71 Osama bin Laden, founder of al-Qaeda (the Sunni terrorist group behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States), resided in Afghanistan as an honored guest of the Taliban. When the Taliban refused to give him up to the United States for trial, a coalition of countries led by the United States invaded in 2001. The U.S. and NATO military forces have been in Afghanistan ever since.

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Though the Taliban is a fanatically religious group, this does not make the civil war a religious conflict. They exploited the illiteracy of the Afghan population by presenting themselves as the authentic voice of Islam. They used Islam as a weapon to gain political and societal control in Afghanistan. They are supported by the Taliban group in Pakistan that is currently fighting to overthrow the Pakistani government. Afghanistan is a unitary presidential Islamic republic with a population around 35 million people (as of 2018) on 652,000 square kilometers of land in Central Asia.72 Over 99 percent of the population is Muslim (90 percent are Sunni, while 7 percent are Shi’a). Afghanistan’s geographical position in Central Asia made it a historical crossroad of trade, with Europe and the Middle East to the west, and China and India to the east. The country contains rugged, mountainous terrain and a harsh climate. Its population consists of diverse ethnolinguistic groups, making it difficult to achieve any national identification. In 2014, Afghanistan successfully conducted a presidential election, and for the first time in its history, peacefully transferring power to the election winner (i.e., Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai). On the other hand, Transparency International ranked Afghanistan as one of the most corrupt countries in the world (172 out of 180 countries).73 Moreover, as of 2019, Afghanistan ranked last on the Global Peace Index.74 At the end of 2013, the United States and NATO ended combat operations in Afghanistan and transferred security responsibility to the Afghan government. However, thousands of U.S. and NATO troops have remained in the country to train and advise Afghan government forces and continue the fight against the Taliban. It remains the largest single group fighting against the Afghan government. As such, Afghanistan is in the midst of a civil war with the Taliban.75 Regarding the Afghan Civil War, Russian General Major A. Liakhovsky wrote in 2000, “There is never a winner in civil war; there is only a draw. And in fact, the very war, as a rule, continues until a point when a balance of power is established. It is impossible to resolve political problems through military methods. In the ideal sense, a civil war should end through consensus in society. Such a consensus has not been achieved in Afghanistan, and therefore the war continues.”76 Sudan This section entails both Sudan and South Sudan. Sudan gained independence from Great Britain on January 1, 1956. It became the largest geographical country in Africa with 2.5 million square kilometers of land. In 2016, its population was around 39 million people. With the lack of water supply, only about 15 percent of the land is usable. There are deserts in the northern half of the country that are uninhabited. As well, the temperature is hot, and the

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lack of rain at the end of the twentieth century resulted in severe droughts. As a result, Sudan has a rather low population density and is one of the poorest and least-developed countries in the world. However, there are oil deposits in the southern part of Sudan, which is one reason the Sudanese government resisted the South Sudan independence movement.77 Sudan is one of the world’s most ethnically and linguistically diverse countries. It consists of around 600 different ethnic groups speaking over 400 language dialects. On the other hand, it primarily follows one of two religions—Islam or Christianity. The majority of the population is Muslim (approximately 75 percent). As in most of Africa, the Sunni formed Muslim religious brotherhoods known as tariqahs. Two of the tariqahs, Mahdiyyah and Khatmiyyah, formed the political parties in Sudan in the 1940s, and they still play a dominant role in the country’s politics today. Christianity is the second-largest religion in Sudan. It first arrived in southern Sudan during the sixth century, but it was replaced by Islam by the end of the fifteenth century. Missionaries from the Anglican, Presbyterian, Catholic, and Coptic78 churches brought Christianity back to the southern Sudan in the latter half of the twentieth century.79 President Omar al-Bashir was finally ousted in April 2019 after three decades of ruling Sudan. However, instead of holding civilian elections to replace him, a military junta took over the country. There were many protests in the streets of Khartoum, the capital, leading to the creation of an elevenmember Sovereignty Council in August 2019 to rule during a thirty-ninemonth transition period until general elections (ending in November 2022). The first Chairman of the Sovereignty Council is Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, former Inspector General of the Sudanese Armed Forces. He will serve as the Chairman for the first twenty-one months, followed by a civilian to be determined.80 Shortly after the Sovereignty Council was established, the Cabinet of Sudan was reestablished on September 8, 2019. The eighteen-member Cabinet (including four women) is also temporary (for thirty-nine months) until general elections. It is the chief executive body of Sudan and is led by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. The challenges facing the Council are three internal conflicts (in the Darfur, Blue Nile, and South Kordofan states) and reviving an ailing economy.81 South Sudan In 1983, Sudan instituted Islamic law, even though the southern part of the country was not Muslim. This exacerbated a religious rift between the two halves of the country. As a result, a civil war broke out in 1983 between government forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), becoming the

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second Sudanese Civil War (the first took place from 1955 to 1972). In 2005, an agreement between both sides set a timetable for a referendum on whether Sudan should be split up. The vote was held in January 2011 and passed with nearly 99 percent agreeing to a split. As such, South Sudan was established in July 2011.82 Unfortunately, the peace in South Sudan did not last long. South Sudan has a population of around twelve million people who are mostly younger and Christian (around 60 percent). Its constitution established a presidential form of government with a national legislature consisting of two chambers. Within two years of independence, South Sudan was embroiled in its own civil war. The SPLA split along ethnic lines, pitting Dinkas (the Sudanese president was a Dinka) against the Nuer (the Sudanese vice president was a Nuer). In December 2013, the result of the political power struggle was accusations of a coup attempt, which led to the start of the conflict. Ceasefires have been negotiated but they tended to fail quickly. In 2018, South Sudan ranked third lowest in the world on the UN Happiness Report due to its ongoing ethnic violence.83 From December 2013 until April 2018, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (commissioned by the U.S. Institute of Peace) assessed that at least 383,000 South Sudanese (combatants and civilians) have been killed and over four million people have been displaced.84 The UN Commission on Human Rights found indications of genocide occurring within South Sudan. The Genocide Watch, an international alliance, declared a Genocide Emergency in South Sudan starting in August 2016.85 Given that this is an ethnic conflict, the church is in a strong position to broker peace between the warring sides as well as solicit international support. Unfortunately, this has not happened. In fact, religious leaders appear to be taking sides, making the conflict even worse.86 Analysis These six case studies were selected to represent the different ways religion can affect conflict in countries in various regions of the world. Iran (representing Shi’a Islam) was selected to contrast with Saudi Arabia (representing Sunni Islam) as seeking domination over the Middle East and the Muslim World. Israel is involved in an internal struggle with the Palestinian nation seeking statehood as well as an external struggle with Iran, which considers Israel a mortal enemy. Religious beliefs have played a key role in preventing any long-term solution to these seemingly intractable problems. Syria was selected because it is involved in a proxy civil war—with Iran supporting the current government led by President al-Assad, and Saudi Arabia supporting the Syrian National Coalition trying to overthrow the Alawite government. Afghanistan was selected because it is also involved in an

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active civil war—in this case, in Central Asia involving the Taliban against the Afghan government that is supported by the United States and NATO. The Taliban’s extreme religious position and support of al-Qaeda caused the United States and NATO military forces to invade in 2001. Finally, Sudan was selected because what began as a religious civil war in Africa evolved into an ethnic civil war within South Sudan (which gained independence after winning the Sudan civil war). It appears that theocratic governments, in general, tend toward conflict more than other forms of government. Theocratic governments, in current times, have included Iran, Afghanistan (under the Taliban), Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen, and the Islamic State. Iran, for example, is involved in proxy wars in the Middle East (e.g., in Syria and Yemen) against Saudi Arabia and Israel. It is motivated primarily by its religious beliefs. The Taliban in both Afghanistan and Pakistan are also motivated by their religious beliefs. However, in Sudan, religion was a cause of the conflict, but not necessarily the overriding factor (which was more about nationalism, ethnicity, corruption, and oil). Now that we have discussed the key countries involved in religious conflict, it is time to discuss the non-state groups around the world that propagate conflict based on religion. SECTION 3: TERRORIST GROUPS In this section, we will be discussing the prominent groups in the world today that use religion to justify conflict. Within each major religion exists groups reflecting differences in the interpretation of their holy scriptures. This internal religious pluralism naturally leads to conflict. According to Vroom, “We should not forget that all religious traditions are internally plural, and that this entails conflict. A religious conflict, then, is a tense division between groups with a religious motivation which cannot be resolved through dialogue and democratic procedures alone. . . . One can claim that some conflicts are necessary and cannot be circumvented.”87 Each group has a male champion that the members pledge allegiance to over the religion.88 This individual plays a crucial role in the success of the group.89 The leader, then, is highly selective on which aspects of the religion, its traditions, and its holy scriptures the group will follow.90 As a result of skewing religion, these groups tend to become characterized as extremist. As Appleby noted, “Religious extremists are a minority within every major religious tradition. They are a minority because they fail to attract a majority of believers because they transgress against core precepts of the religious tradition.”91 Regarding the proliferation of religious terrorist groups, Juergensmeyer observed, “In 1980, the U.S. State Department roster of international terrorist

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groups listed scarcely a single religious organization. Almost twenty years later, at the end of the twentieth century, over half were religious.”92 Despite this exponential growth, the success rate of these religious extremist groups has not been that good based on their overall goals. According to Appleby, “The success rate of religious extremism leaves much to be desired. They have not brought justice to the people they represent . . . . The fragmentation of the religious community or the nation itself was the result of extremist actions . . . . In the final analysis violence is insufficient to the cause . . . persuasion not coercion is more effective.”93 We will begin the discussion of religious terrorist groups with those associated with Judaism, followed by those associated with Christianity and Islam, respectively. Jewish Most Jewish terrorist groups are found in Israel and the United States. They are fundamentalist organizations that want to purify Israel by limiting the population to only Jews while forcing Jews not to intermix or intermarry with other ethnicities. The primary champion of the more prevalent Jewish terrorist groups was Rabbi Meir Kahane beginning in 1971. Kahane founded the Kach political party (mentioned previously) and the off-shoot Kahane Chai political party. Both parties were far right leaning, extremist, racist, and consisted of less than 100 people. The United States, Canada, the European Union, Japan, and Israel classified both parties as terrorist groups. Israel banned them both in 1994. Kahane also founded the Jewish Defense League (JDL) in New York City in 1968. At its height, it may have consisted of as many as 15,000 people. The FBI classified the JDL as a right-wing terrorist group in 2001. From 1980 to 1985, the JDL was responsible for at least fifteen domestic bombings of Arab properties.94 Kahane also founded the “Terror against Terror” radical militant group in Israel in 1975 where Arab terrorism would be met by Jewish terrorism, analogous to fighting fire with fire. The group conducted fire and bombing attacks against Christian and Muslim holy sites in Israel. Kahane was eventually assassinated in New York City in 1990 by an Arab-American gunman. Without Kahane, Jewish terrorism has subsided. Christian Ku Klux Klan The primary Christian terrorist group in the United States is the KKK. It was originally formed by Confederate soldiers as a vigilante group to intimidate

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black Americans following the Civil War. Its common tactics included arson, lynching, murder, and voter intimidation. This iteration of the KKK disappeared during the 1870s.95 The second iteration of the KKK began in Georgia in 1915 during a period of xenophobia against immigrants. This version of the KKK was racist, homophobic, anti-Catholic, and anti-Jewish. The main goal of the neo-KKK was to “reestablish Protestant Christian values in America by any means possible.” By 1925, the KKK had around four million members. It continued the practices used during the nineteenth century, but now focused on lynchings, tar-and-featherings, rapes, and other violent attacks on those people challenging white supremacy.96 The third iteration of the KKK began in the early 1950s in the form of localized groups around the country. It opposed the civil rights movement of the 1960s, and used violence and murder to suppress political activists. However, since the 1970s, the KKK has been weakened by internal strife, government infiltration, and litigation.97 As of 2016, it is estimated that there are over thirty Klan groups with 130 chapters in the United States98 with a total membership of between 5,000 and 8,000 (and growing).99 Army of God The Army of God (AOG) is a leaderless resistance formed in 1982 to counter legal abortions and promoting violence against gay people. The earliest attack by a member of the AOG occurred in 1982 when three men kidnapped a doctor who performed abortions with his wife. In 1985, three men planted bombs at seven abortion clinics in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. In 1993, an active member of the AOG was sentenced to eleven years in prison for attempted murder of an abortion doctor. In 1997, the AOG was responsible for nail bombing abortion clinics in Atlanta and Birmingham. In 2001, an AOG member mailed over 500 letters allegedly containing anthrax to 280 abortion providers. Both the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security classified the AOG as a Christian terrorist group because of its methods, which included bombing, kidnapping, and killing abortion providers.100 Lord’s Resistance Army The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) was formed in 1987 by self-declared prophet Joseph Kony. He advocates for the establishment of Christian fundamentalist governments in Uganda, South Sudan, Congo, and the Central African Republic.101 The LRA has been accused of widespread human rights violations, murder, kidnapping, and child-sex slavery. The group is considered a Christian militia and was classified as a terrorist group by the United States.102

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In the mid-1990s, the Government of Sudan provided military support to the LRA to counter Uganda, which was supporting rebels in southern Sudan fighting for independence.103 From 2004 to 2012, LRA forces conducted many attacks and abductions in central Africa. In 2004, the LRA killed over 300 people and kidnapped many others in Uganda. In 2006, UNICEF estimated that the LRA had abducted at least 25,000 Ugandan children. With a truce signed with the Ugandan government on August 26, 2006, the LRA moved its operations to the nearby Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In 2008, the LRA killed at least 143 people and abducted at least 180 more at a Catholic Church in Faradje, DRC. In 2009, the LRA killed 321 people and abducted 250 others in Makombo, DRC. By May 2010, the LRA had killed over 1,600 and abducted over 2,500 Congolese people. In total, by 2012, the LRA had killed around 70,000 people and abducted around 40,000 children.104 Muslim All eight terrorist groups selected next follow Islamic extremism, and most are based in the Middle East. These eight were selected because they are prominent in the news today and have a significant history in the Muslim World. The groups selected include the Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, Islamic State, Hamas, the Taliban, Boko Haram, and al-Shabab. Muslim Brotherhood The first extremist group to be discussed is the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). It was formed in 1928 in Egypt by Islamic Sunni scholar Hassan al-Banna. This organization has solicited Muslim supporters throughout the Arab world (see Figure 3.2). As a social movement, MB has preached and taught Islam, and established schools, hospitals, and various business enterprises. The MB has preached hatred toward Jews, denied the Holocaust, and called for Israel’s destruction. The MB has also incited violence against Coptic Christians in Egypt.105 In 1948, Egyptian King Farouk ordered that MB be dismantled in Egypt because it was growing too powerful. The MB had pressured Farouk into attacking Israel after it declared independence, even though the Army was not prepared for any conflict following World War II. After Egypt’s defeat by Israel, the MB proceeded to kill the Cairo police chief and the governor of the Cairo Governorate province. Then, in December 1948, the MB assassinated the Egyptian Prime Minister Nokrashy Pasha. Al-Banna then called for the overthrow of King Farouk. However, in February 1949, al-Banna was shot to death by a Cairo policeman.106 The Arab Spring of 2010 brought mass protests for liberal and democratic ideals across the Muslim World, to include Egypt. In 2011, the MB was

Figure 3.2  Countries with MB Presence. Source: Created by author.

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made legal for the first time, and it won a plurality in the first free parliamentary election. In fact, the senior member of the MB in parliament, Abdel Mohamed Morsi, ran for president in the first free presidential election, and won in 2012. However, the military dissolved parliament in 2012 and placed Morsi under house arrest in 2013. Egyptian president Abdel el-Sisi then outlawed the MB, joining the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Russia, in classifying it as a terrorist organization. Since 2013, elements of the MB have broken off to carry out acts of violence against the el-Sisi government. Yusuf al-Qaradawi, perhaps the MB’s most preeminent cleric, issued a fatwa legitimizing terrorist attacks against American troops in Iraq. The MB’s Supreme Guide, Mohammed Badie, said that the organization’s goal is to establish a new Islamist caliphate, including the imposition of Sharia law. Currently, the MB has affiliates in over seventy countries ranging from the Middle East and Africa into Southeast Asia and Europe.107 In his 2018 journal article, Abdel Monem Said Aly, a senior fellow at Brandeis University, concluded that “the Muslim Brotherhood continues to be the same radical, theocratic organization that it was since its foundation in the second decade of the last century.”108 Hezbollah Hezbollah (meaning “Party of God” in Arabic) is a Shi’a Islamic political party and militant group based in Lebanon (see Figure 3.3). The Shi’a cleric Abbas al-Mussawi created the group in the Bekaa Valley in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in June 1982 (to remove the Palestinian Liberation Organization from Beirut). According to Azani and Karman, Iran had its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps arm, train, and advise it. Moreover, since 2006, Iran provided Hezbollah with an arsenal of up to 120,000 missiles meant to give it more power within Lebanon.109 Like all the groups in this section, Hezbollah has been determined to be a terrorist organization. Since 2013, the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Israel, Gulf Cooperation Council, and Arab League (among others) have all designated Hezbollah as a terrorist group.110 However, in a continuing effort to increase its legitimacy within Lebanon and abroad, Hezbollah has increased its influence within the Lebanese parliament. As a result of the May 2018 election (its first election in nine years), Hezbollah won 17 percent of the popular vote (resulting in 13 seats out of the 128 total in the Parliament of Lebanon). As such, Lebanon’s new government gave Hezbollah key ministries to direct, including the Ministry of Health.

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Figure 3.3  Hezbollah. Source: This map is from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Counter-Terrorism Guide at: https://www.dni.gov/nctc/groups.html

Hezbollah’s goal has been to establish Islamic rule in Lebanon and then to liberate all occupied Arab lands from foreign military forces. It takes its ideological inspiration from the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and Ayatollah Khomeini. As such, today it serves as a proxy for Iran in the ongoing IranIsraeli conflict as well as in the Syrian Civil War. It has also expanded its activities with networks established in Africa, Southeast Asia, North and South America, and Europe.111 Hezbollah and Israel fought one another in the 2006 Lebanon War as part of the Iran-Israeli proxy war. This war started in July when Israel responded to a cross-border raid and rocket launches by Hezbollah forces. Israel launched a ground invasion into southern Lebanon as well as a complete

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blockade of Lebanon at sea and in the air. The conflict lasted thirty-four days and ended as a result of the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. Over 1,000 Lebanese were killed, as were 155 Israelis.112 Since 2013, Hezbollah has supported the Syrian government with military forces in its civil war against Sunni rebel groups and the Islamic State—even though it does not support Syria’s secular government. The impact on Hezbollah has been the loss of around 2,000 fighters, a damaged reputation for supporting the Syrian regime, and financial trouble.113 On the other hand, Israel is very concerned about the growing strength of Hezbollah, now with combat experience. Once the Syrian civil war ends, experts are predicting another Israeli-Hezbollah clash.114 Hezbollah’s military is now considered more powerful than the Lebanese army. Hassan Nasrallah, the Lebanese party and paramilitary group’s top official, agreed that Hezbollah was growing more and more powerful. According to Foreign Affairs correspondent, Brian Katz, “Fresh off victories on the battlefield in Syria, with a vast weapons arsenal in Lebanon, a political ally in power, and committed allies across the region, Hezbollah has more military and political power today than at any point since its founding.”115 As of 2019, Hezbollah has between 20,000 and 30,000 battle-hardened fighters, making it one of the most effective armies in the Middle East.116 On the other hand, with the economic sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran after President Trump took office, Iran has been forced to cut back its funding support to Hezbollah. As a result, Hezbollah has already been forced to cut back military salaries, withdrawn forces from Syria, and even curtailed media programming.117 Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda is a militant Sunni Islamist multinational organization founded in 1988 by Osama bin Laden to carry on the momentum of Afghanistan’s military victory over the Soviet Union.118 With bin Laden’s assassination in 2011, al-Qaeda has been led by Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri. (Zawahiri founded the group Egyptian Islamic Jihad in 1995 that merged with al-Qaeda in 1997.)119 Al-Qaeda follows the Qur’an and Sharia law and believes all countries should do the same. According to Mbaye Lo, an associate professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Duke University, Osama bin Laden was a devote follower of Wahhabism.120 In order to join al-Qaeda, its members took a special oath to Osama bin Laden and professed their belief in militant jihad.121 Once accepted as a member of al-Qaeda, all aspects of training are paid for, though Egyptian trainees received more money than the other trainees.122 Al-Qaeda seeks to remove all foreign influences in Muslim countries, starting with U.S. military forces in Saudi Arabia, as well as creating a new

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caliphate ruling over the Muslim world. Osama bin Laden perceived America as “the modern incarnation of the Knights of the Cross.”123 According to Pape, al-Qaeda portrays the United States as “a Crusader nation intent on subduing Muslim societies. This portrayal has great emotional and political power.”124 It also believes that killing non-combatants is religiously sanctioned. This includes fellow Muslims (known as takfirism; see Chapter 1, page 20). Professor Lo also noted that al-Zawahiri labeled neutral Muslims as enemies.125 Al-Qaeda’s leaders regard Shi’a, Sufis,126 and other Islamic sects as heretical, and as such have conducted attacks on their mosques.127 Al-Qaeda operates a network of Islamic extremists and organizations around the world today (see Figure 3.4). It serves as the umbrella organization

Figure 3.4  Al-Qaeda. Source: This map is from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Counter-Terrorism Guide at: https://www.dni.gov/nctc/groups.html

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for a worldwide network of Sunni extremist groups. For a period of time after the turn of the century, according to Benjamin and Simon, “There was hardly a battle anywhere in the world in which al-Qaeda was not involved.”128 According to Clayton Thomas, a Middle East analyst for the Congressional Research Service, “While senior Al-Qaeda figures reportedly remain based in Pakistan, the network includes a number of affiliates across the Middle East and Africa, including Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and al-Shabab. Al-Qaeda also retains a small but possibly growing presence in Afghanistan.”129 Moreover, there were no limits on what kind of attacks to conduct, what could be targeted, how many people would be killed, or what kinds of weapons could be used. In fact, Benjamin and Simon concluded that al-Qaeda was pursuing the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction, to include nuclear weapons.130 The conflict between the United States and al-Qaeda began with bin Laden’s fatwa—“Declaration of Jihad against Jews and Crusaders,” which was published in Al Quds Al Arabi in 1998.131 It accused the United States of occupying Muslim lands, plundering Arabia’s riches, dictating to Arab rulers, and serving Israel. The jihadist action was as follows: “The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies—civilians and military—is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it.”132 With this guidance, al-Qaeda militants mounted multiple high-profile terrorist attacks against the United States beginning in 1998, to include the August simultaneous bombing of the U.S. Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya, where over 300 people were killed. In October 2000, al-Qaeda attacked the USS Cole, a U.S.-guided missile destroyer, while refueling in the port of Aden, Yemen, killing seventeen U.S. Navy sailors. Then, in October 2002, al-Qaeda bombers attacked a tourist mall in Bali, Indonesia, killing over 200 people of several nationalities. However, the biggest terrorist attack in world history occurred on September 11, 2001, when al-Qaeda jihadists flew four American passenger commercial airliners into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, DC, and attempted to attack the White House (though passengers overtook the hijackers and crashed the plane into a field in Pennsylvania). Almost 3,000 people were killed as a result of these simultaneous commercialairliner attacks. After the terrorist attacks on 9/11, the United States declared a “War on Terror” and went after al-Qaeda, primarily in Afghanistan, beginning in 2001. Almost all of al-Qaeda’s key leadership were eventually killed or captured (including Osama bin Laden, but not al-Zawahiri), and no further major internationally coordinated terrorist attacks have occurred against America since then.133 The deaths of these key leaders led al-Qaeda to shift to having attacks carried out by affiliated groups or by lone-wolf operators.

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Bruce Hoffman, terrorist specialist for Council of Foreign Relations and professor at Georgetown University, warned that “with the demise of the Islamic State, a revived al-Qaeda and its affiliates should now be considered the world’s top terrorist threat.” He based this assessment on al-Qaeda’s successful rebuilding efforts during the Arab Spring. Al-Zawahiri decentralized al-Qaeda into franchises, required that any terrorist attacks not be mass casualty events involving Muslim civilians, and let the Islamic State (IS) dominate the headlines as al-Qaeda rebuilt itself.134 Islamic State The IS is a jihadist militant group and former quasi-state that follows a fundamentalist doctrine of Sunni Islam. It traces its origins to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his militant jihadist group, Jama’at, founded in Jordan in 1999. In 2002, this group became al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). It participated in the Iraqi insurgency following the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States and its “coalition of the willing.” Al-Zarqawi pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda in October 2004. At its height, AQI had as many as 10,000 members, mostly foreigners. A philosophical schism developed between Osama bin Laden and al-Zarqawi, leading AQI to split from al-Qaeda.135 In general, bin Laden did not approve of al-Zarqawi’s extreme measures. AQI was renamed the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) in October 2006 after the death of al-Zarqawi in June from a U.S. airstrike. In April 2010, ISI emir Abu Omar al-Baghdadi was killed in a joint U.S.Iraqi attack on his safe house just southwest of Tikrit, Iraq. The next month Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi became the new emir of ISI. In April 2013, he forced the merger of Jabhat al-Nusra (a militant jihadist, al-Qaeda-supported organization fighting against Syrian government forces) with ISI, resulting in the new IS. As a result of this action, al-Qaeda cut ties to IS.136 In June 2014, the group proclaimed itself a worldwide caliphate with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as the new caliph. As a caliphate, it claimed religious, political, and military authority over all Muslims in the world. The IS gained global prominence in early 2014 when it drove Iraqi military forces out of key cities in western Iraq, to include the capture of Mosul, a major city in northern Iraq with a population of over a half-million people. In Syria, the IS conducted ground attacks on both government forces and opposition factions. By December 2015, the IS held an area extending from western Iraq to eastern Syria that was bigger than the United Kingdom, containing between eight to twelve million people (see Figure 3.5). The IS is operational in eighteen countries around the world, including Afghanistan and Pakistan, with branches in Mali, Egypt, Somalia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines.137 Note that the United Nations holds IS responsible for human rights abuses and war crimes, to include ethnic cleansing in northern Iraq.138

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Figure 3.5  Islamic State. Source: This map is from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Counter-Terrorism Guide at: https://www.dni.gov/nctc/groups.html

In December 2017, Iraq Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced that Iraqi forces had driven the last remnants of the IS from the country. By March 2019, the IS lost its last piece of Syrian territory at Al-Baghuz Fawqani, a town on the Syrian-Iraqi border. As with al-Qaeda, the IS is now working with associated groups to conduct terrorist attacks or supporting lone-wolf terrorist attacks. At the end of October 2019, a U.S. military raid killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in northwest Syria. A few days later, the Islamic State named Abu Ibrahim al Hashimi al-Qurayshi as its new caliph. Naturally, comparisons have been made between al-Qaeda and IS. Both groups competed for the same people, resources, and international Muslim support. The primary difference between these two groups is how they operate—the IS is more extreme in most regards than al-Qaeda. Al-Zawahiri,

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leader of al-Qaeda, has denounced the extremist excesses of the IS on multiple occasions.139 However, with the end of the territorial IS, Bruce Hoffman declared that IS “can no longer compete with al-Qaeda in terms of influence, reach, manpower, or cohesion.”140 Hamas Hamas was founded in 1987 as an outgrowth of the Palestinian branch of the Egyptian MB. Cofounder Sheik Ahmed Yassin stated in 1987 that Hamas was founded “to liberate Palestine from Israeli occupation and to establish an Islamic state in the area that is now Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip” (note that it was not to improve the lives of Palestinians).141 In Arabic, the word hamas means “zeal.” Hamas is also an acronym for “Islamic Resistance Movement.” Hamas is a Palestinian, Sunni Islamist fundamentalist organization. It has been the governing authority of the Gaza Strip since its takeover in 2007, following its victory over the Fatah party in the Battle of Gaza (see Figure 3.6). It receives funding from Palestinian expatriates, Iran (because Hamas is fighting Fatah, which is backed by the West), Saudi Arabia, and other Arab countries. Around two million Palestinians are living in the Gaza Strip, where social and economic conditions are very poor. Author Helena Cobban attributed this situation to Israel, claiming that “since 2007, in addition to maintaining the siege of Gaza, Israel has launched three major military assaults and many smaller military forays against the Strip, killing more than 4,000 people, wounding thousands more, and destroying thousands of vital non-military facilities. Its goal seems to have been to turn the people of Gaza against the Hamas leaders. If so, it failed.”142 The military wing of Hamas has launched “retaliatory” attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers. Tactics have included suicide bombings and rocket attacks. Hamas’s rocket arsenal consists mostly of short-range, homemade Qassam rockets, but also includes long-range weapons that can reach major Israeli cities, such as Tel Aviv and Haifa. Daniel Byman assessed Hamas’s military, stating, “Over the years, Hamas has developed increasingly professional military forces. It has built or acquired a massive rocket arsenal with ranges that have grown to encompass almost all of Israel. Hamas has also built tunnels to smuggle operatives into Israel and within Gaza to ambush Israeli forces should they invade.”143 In the January 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections, Hamas won a plurality of seats, defeating the Fatah party. Following the elections, the United States, Russia, the United Nations, and the European Union made future foreign assistance to the PA conditional upon the Hamas government’s commitment to nonviolence, recognition of the State of Israel, and acceptance of

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Figure 3.6  Hamas. Source: This map is from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Counter-Terrorism Guide at: https://www.dni.gov/nctc/groups.html

previous international agreements. Hamas rejected these conditions, which led to the Quartet (the United States, Russia, the United Nations, and the European Union) suspending its foreign assistance program and Israel imposing economic sanctions on it. In March 2007, a national unity government headed by Hamas was briefly formed with Fatah, but this failed to restart international financial assistance to the Gaza Strip. Israel and Egypt imposed an economic blockade of the Gaza Strip on the grounds that Fatah forces were no longer providing border security there. Since 2011, Hamas and Fatah have tried numerous times to enact an effective reconciliation agreement that provides for the creation of a joint Palestinian government. For example, in October 2017, Hamas and Fatah signed a deal to bring the West Bank and

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Gaza under one Palestinian government, but then they failed to implement it. Disputes over civil services, the fate of Hamas’s 25,000-strong military wing, and who would be the leader of the joint government have remained thorny issues between the two Palestinian factions.144 PA President Mahmoud Abbas (and leader of the Fatah party) promised unprecedented measures against Hamas in 2018 to force it to cede authority over the Gaza Strip, to include cuts in salary to PA employees in Gaza, the suspension of social assistance to families in Gaza, and the cessation of paying Israel for electricity and fuel to Gaza. Abbas said he would lift the sanctions after signing a reconciliation agreement in Cairo. But, all deadlines were missed, and the sanctions remain in place.145 The continued economic, social, and military pressure on Gaza will likely lead to more conflict in the near future. Taliban The Taliban is a Sunni Islamic fundamentalist organization in Afghanistan currently waging a civil war within that country (see Figure 3.7). Its leadership is based in Quetta, Pakistan. The Taliban was one of the prominent factions in the 1994 Afghan Civil War and consisted mostly of Pashtun students (talib) from the eastern and southern part of Afghanistan who had also fought during the Soviet-Afghan War of the 1980s. Muhammed Omar was an Afghan mujahideen commander who founded the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in 1996.146 The Taliban recognized him as their leader until he died from tuberculosis in 2013.147 From 1996 to 2001, the Taliban held power over roughly three-quarters of Afghanistan. It enforced a strict interpretation of Sharia law where it maintained control. It held control of most of the country until being overthrown by the American-led NATO invasion of Afghanistan in December 2001. Omar was wanted by the U.S. government in 2001 for harboring Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda militants after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He fled Afghanistan after the invasion and directed the Taliban insurgency against NATO-led forces from Pakistan.148 Only three nations in the world, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, offered formal diplomatic recognition of the Taliban government. After being defeated by the United States and NATO forces in 2001, the group regrouped as an insurgency movement to fight Afghan president Hamid Karzai’s administration and the U.S.-NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The result is the current civil war in Afghanistan.149 As of 2019, the Taliban controls more Afghan territory and is in a stronger military position than at any point since 2001.150 This is despite the fact

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Figure 3.7  Taliban. Source: This map is from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Counter-Terrorism Guide at: https://www.dni.gov/nctc/groups.html

the United States has spent approximately $133 billion in various forms of aid to Afghanistan since 2001. The United States currently has as many as 13,000 troops in the country along with troops from thirty-eight partner countries, mostly from NATO, to fight the Taliban.151 The Taliban have been condemned internationally for their brutal treatment of Afghans, especially women. During their rule from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban massacred many Afghans, denied United Nations’ food supplies, conducted a scorched earth policy, and destroyed tens of thousands of homes.152 The civil war in Afghanistan continues unabated, despite current efforts by the United States and Qatar to broker a peace agreement. Moreover, if the United States were to pull its forces out of Afghanistan, the expert opinion (to

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include the current Afghan president) is that the government would collapse and the Taliban would assume control of the country again.153 Boko Haram Boko Haram gained international notoriety when it kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from Chibok, Nigeria, in April 2014. It is a Sunni jihadist terrorist organization based in West Africa, specifically, Nigeria, Chad, Niger, and northern Cameroon. Nigeria is roughly split in two parts between the Muslimdominated north and the Christian-dominated south (much like Sudan). Poor conditions in Nigeria contributed to the formation of Boko Haram, to include a weak and corrupt government, significant social and economic inequality, deeply religious and ethnic cleavages, and one of the poorest populations in Africa (which is surprising given that Nigeria has a large economy driven by its significant oil reserves).154 Boko Haram was founded by Muhammad Yusuf, an Islamic cleric, in 2002. The purpose of Boko Haram was originally to impose Islamic puritanism in northern Nigeria (see Figure 3.8). It evolved to establishing a fundamentalist Islamic state in West Africa, specifically in the Lake Chad region.155 After its founding in 2002, Boko Haram engaged in a series of confrontations with Nigerian security forces, climaxing in a national uprising in July 2009. This uprising was brutally suppressed, during which hundreds of Boko Haram fighters were killed, including Yusuf while in police custody.156 Abubakar Shekau took over for Yusuf at that point and started a nationwide insurgency. Since the insurgency started in 2009, Boko Haram has killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced over two million Nigerians from their homes, and caused over $9 billion in damage. Of the more than two million people displaced by the conflict since May 2013, at least 250,000 Nigerians fled to Chad, Niger, or Cameroon.157 Since 2011, Boko Haram has conducted more sophisticated terrorist attacks, to include suicide bombings of law enforcement buildings and the UN Office in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. According to Jacob Zenn, a professor at Georgetown University, “Boko Haram has devastated much of the countryside in northeastern Nigeria and neighboring regions of Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.”158 Boko Haram now possesses tanks, rockets, and heavy weaponry stolen from the Nigerian armories.159 By mid-2014, Boko Haram militants gained control of approximately 50,000 square kilometers of territory in its home province of Borno. Shekau created philosophical divisions within Boko Haram as a result of his brutal tactics against Muslim civilians, including the use of child suicide bombers. In March 2015, the IS changed the name of Boko Haram to the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) with Shekau as the group’s

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Figure 3.8  Boko Haram. Source: This map is from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Counter-Terrorism Guide at: https://www.dni.gov/nctc/groups.html

leader. In August 2016, the IS replaced Shekau with Abu Musab al-Barnawi as the ISWAP leader.160 Barnawi wanted to focus Boko Haram’s efforts on government; security forces; and Western, Christian, and secular targets. However, Shekau decided to remain as the leader of Boko Haram, causing an internal split among Nigerian terrorist groups. Given that both Boko Haram and ISWAP are loyal to IS, the IS has been mediating this internal conflict between them.161 Today, U.S. military officials estimate the number of fighters in Boko Haram to be around 1,500, and the number of fighters in ISWAP to be around 3,500.162 Both groups conduct terrorist operations, to include suicide bombings, kidnappings, and the destruction of property, particularly schools.163 The

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United States designated Boko Haram as a terrorist organization in 2013. The UN Security Council imposed economic sanctions and an arms embargo on Boko Haram in 2014.164 Boko Haram was ranked as the world’s deadliest terrorist group by the Global Terrorism Index in 2016.165 Zenn observed that since Muhammad Buhari became Nigerian president in 2015, his efforts to improve Nigeria’s armed forces and security apparatus have not been successful against this ongoing insurgency.166 While Boko Haram and ISWAP activities have begun to wane since 2015, they still have the capacity to conduct terrorist attacks in the region. In September 2015, the director of Information at the Defense Headquarters of Nigeria announced that all Boko Haram camps had been destroyed in the country. Despite that, the two terrorist groups conducted more than sixty terrorist attacks that killed over 200 people in the Lake Chad region in just the first three months of 2018. Freedom Onuoha and Samuel Oyewole concluded that “despite repeated claims that Boko Haram has been degraded, decimated, and defeated, the group has retained headlines with a series of attacks against both military and civilian targets.”167 As regional experts like Zenn have concluded, “In a conflict that has no easy answers and no solutions in sight, Boko Haram will remain one of Africa’s enduring insurgencies.”168 Al-Shabab Africa’s longest standing and most effective terrorist group is al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda affiliate terrorist group. It began in 2006 as an offshoot of Somalia’s now-defunct Union of Islamic Courts, which controlled Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, before it was forced out by Ethiopian military forces. It is a jihadist fundamentalist group based in East Africa, specifically in Somalia, Kenya, and Uganda (see Figure 3.9). In February 2012, al-Shabab pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda, which, in turn, provided it needed funding.169 Al-Shabab means “The Youth” in Arabic. Its mission is to wage jihad against Somalia, the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM), Kenya, and Uganda—the latter two countries because they participate in the AMISOM. The Muslim terrorist group follows the Wahhabi version of Islam and imposes a strict version of Sharia where it maintains control. Al-Shabab has been designated a terrorist group by the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates. As of 2014, the number of al-Shabab’s militants was estimated to be between 7,000 and 9,000.170 Al-Shabab made international headlines when it attacked large crowds in two locations in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, in July 2010 while they were watching the FIFA World Cup Final match. The two terrorist attacks killed seventy-four people and injured seventy-one more. The terrorist group said it conducted the attacks as retaliation for Uganda’s support of AMISOM.

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Figure 3.9  Al-Shabab. Source: This map is from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Counter-Terrorism Guide at: https://www.dni.gov/nctc/groups.html

Al-Shabab reached the peak of its power in early 2011 when it occupied parts of Mogadishu and the Somalian port of Kismayo. Subsequently, 22,000 Kenyan troops, operating as part of AMISOM, entered Somalia and defeated most of al-Shabab’s strongholds in Mogadishu in August 2011 and in Kismayo by September 2012.171 In response to these military operations, al-Shabab conducted more than 150 terrorist attacks in Kenya. The latest one occurred on January 15, 2019. It involved a bombing and shooting attack on an upscale Nairobi hotel complex where at least twenty-one civilians were killed. And, because the attack on al-Shabab strongholds in Somalia officially came from AMISOM, al-Shabab continues to target AMISOM facilities and forces in Somalia.172

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Al-Shabab is currently led by Ahmad Umar after its former leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane, was killed by a U.S. drone attack in September 2014. The United States has more than doubled its airstrikes against al-Shabab since 2016 and has increased the number of troops in Somalia to more than 500 since 2017.173 Since 2007, the United States has provided more than a half a billion dollars to train and equip African Union forces battling al-Shabab.174 Despite this counterterrorism effort, the government of Somalia blamed alShabab for a truck bombing in Mogadishu in October 2017 that killed at least 500 people. This terrorist attack qualifies as East Africa’s deadliest bombing to date.175 In 2015, the IS moved into Somalia via Yemen to establish the Islamic State of Somalia (ISS). Because of recent successful ISS terrorist attacks in Mogadishu threatening its legitimacy and authority, al-Shabab declared war against it.176 With threats from ISS, Somalia, AMISOM, and Kenya, it is not surprising that there are rumors that al-Shabab has reached out to Boko Haram in West Africa for assistance.177 ANALYSIS Religious terrorist groups often form in reaction to liberal tendencies in society. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, in Judaism, the reaction was toward a secular country, Israel, which accommodated Arab citizens and sought coexistence with Palestinians. In Christianity, it was in reaction to the increase in immigration in the United States in the early twentieth century. In Islam, where the majority of terrorist groups exist, the reaction was against an independent Jewish country (i.e., Israel), against foreign military presence in Muslim lands, and, part of the ongoing Sunni-Shi’a schism discussed previously. As well, terrorist groups evolved across the Muslim world to establish states that followed the Qur’an and Sharia law. All but one of the Muslim terrorist groups discussed (Hezbollah) follow Sunni Islam. It seems that the majority of the extremist groups in the world are from the Middle East and they follow Sunni Islam. All but one group (Boko Haram) consist of both a political and military component. In many cases, the extremist groups also have plans to assume political power and install an Islamic state or a new Muslim caliphate (or both). As societies modernize, there will likely be some resistance. Regarding religions, this resistance tends to take form in terrorist groups. According to a PEW Research Center 2018 report, more than 90 percent of the population in the Asia-Pacific, Muslim-majority countries, such as Pakistan, Indonesia, and Afghanistan, say religion is very important (where 54 percent is the global average, and the U.S. average is 53 percent).178 It seems there is a correlation

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between very religious countries and terrorism. This is but another data point supporting the hypothesis that monotheistic religions, such as those discussed in this book, tend to foster conflict. NOTES 1. Jerald Gort, Henry Jansen, and Hendrik Vroom eds., Religion, Conflict and Reconciliation (Amsterdam: Editions Rodopi B.V., 2002), 28. 2. Marshall J. Breger, “A Reassessment of Rav Soloveitchik’s Essay on Interfaith Dialogue,” Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations, Vol. 1, 2005–2006, https​://ej​ ourna​ls.bc​.edu/​index​.php/​scjr/​artic​le/do​wnloa​d/136​1/127​1/0. 3. Louis Jacobs, “Rabbi Abraham Geiger,” My Jewish Learning, ND, https​:// ww​w.myj​ewish​learn​ing.c​om/ar​ticle​/rabb​i-abr​aham-​geige​r/2/.​ 4. Louis Jacobs, “Conservative Judaism: How the Middle Became a Movement,” My Jewish Learning, ND, https​://ww​w.myj​ewish​learn​ing.c​om/ar​ticle​/cons​ ervat​ive-j​udais​m-how​-the-​middl​e-bec​ame-a​-move​ment/​. 5. PEW Research Center, “Jews,” PEW, April 2, 2015, https​://ww​w.pew​forum​ .org/​2015/​04/02​/jews​/. 6. PEW Research Center, “American and Israeli Jews: Twin Portraits from PEW Surveys,” PEW, January 24, 2017, https​://ww​w.pew​forum​.org/​essay​/amer​ican-​ and-i​srael​i-jew​s-twi​n-por​trait​s-fro​m-pew​-rese​arch-​cente​r- surveys/. 7. Karen Armstrong, Fields of Blood (New York: Anchor Books, 2014), 254. 8. Ellen White, The Great Controversy (Nampa, Idaho: Pacific Press Publishing, 2005), 83–84. 9. White, The Great Controversy, 87. 10. Ibid., 89. 11. Ibid., 102. 12. Ibid., 115–117. 13. Gabriel Audisio, The Waldensian Dissent: Persecution and Survival c. 1170–c. 1570 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 14, 16, 22. 14. White, The Great Controversy, 64–77. 15. Ibid., 131–132. 16. Armstrong, Fields of Blood, 204. 17. White, The Great Controversy, 124, 133–135, 160–166. 18. Ibid., 204, 211. 19. Ibid., 244. 20. Ibid., 223. 21. Gerald Bray, ed., “Documents of the English Reformation, 1526–1701,” in Library of Ecclesiastical History (Cambridge: James Clarke and Company, 1994). 22. White, The Great Controversy, 234. 23. Ibid., 235. 24. Ibid., 566. 25. Ibid. 26. Ibid., 571.

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27. Armstrong, Fields of Blood, 195. 28. Ibid., 192. 29. Center for the Study of Political Islam, “Islam Battles” (CSPI, ND), http:​//csp​ ipubl​ishin​g.com​/stat​istic​al/ch​arts/​Islam​-Batt​lesDa​te.pd​f. 30. Ibid. 31. Ibid. 32. Ibid. 33. Mari Luomi, “Sectarian Identities or Geopolitics?” Finnish Institute of International Affairs, 2008, https​://ww​w.fil​es.et​hz.ch​/isn/​48033​/08_S​ectar​ian_I​denti​ties_​ or_Ge​opoli​tics.​pdf. 34. Christopher Blanchard, “The Islamic Tradition of Wahhabism and Salafiyya,” Congressional Research Service #RS21695, January 24, 2008, https​://fa​s.org​/ sgp/​crs/m​isc/R​S2169​5.pdf​. 35. Ramin Mostaghim and Borzo Daragahi, “Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Says Iran, Israel on ‘collision course’” The Los Angeles Times, September 20, 2008, https​://ir​ anian​.com/​2008/​09/19​/ayat​ollah​-ali-​khame​nei-s​ays-i​ran-i​srael​-on-c​ollis​ion-c​ourse​/. 36. Mostaghim and Daragahi, “Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Says Iran, Israel on ‘collision course.’” 37. Lazar Berman, “Iran Militia Chief: Destroying Israel is ‘nonnegotiable,’” Times of Israel, March 31, 2015. 38. Bradford Betz, “Iran’s Top General Says Wiping Israel Off Map Is an ‘achievable goal,’” Fox News, September 30, 2019, https​://ww​w.fox​news.​com/w​orld/​ irans​-top-​gener​al-sa​ys-wi​ping-​israe​l-off​-map-​is-an​-achi​evabl​e-goa​l. 39. Mersiha Gadzo, “Israel Seeking ‘non-aggression’ Agreements with Gulf States,” Al-Jazeera, October 6, 2019, https​://ww​w.alj​azeer​a.com​/news​/2019​/10/i​srael​ -seek​ing-a​ggres​sion-​agree​ments​-gulf​-stat​es-19​10061​45121​280.h​tml. 40. As for definitions, a nation includes an ethnic group of people who share a common language, culture, and historical experience, such as the Palestinians, but not with a government. Where a government controls a defined territory, it is considered a state. The word “country” equates to a nation-state. 41. For comparison, Texas consists of 700,000 square kilometers. 42. Haviv Gur, “Days Before the Vote, Huge Majority of Iranians Favor Sharia Law,” Times of Israel, June 12, 2013, https​://ww​w.tim​esofi​srael​.com/​days-​befor​e-vot​ e-hug​e-maj​ority​-of-i​rania​ns-fa​vor-s​haria​-law/​. 43. United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, “Religious Freedom and Human Rights Violations in Iran: Opportunity for Accountability,” USCIRF, May 20, 2010, https​://ww​w.usc​irf.g​ov/ne​ws-ro​om/pr​ess-r​eleas​es/re​ligio​ us-fr​eedom​-and-​human​-righ​ts-vi​olati​ons-i​n-ira​n-opp​ortun​ity. 44. Seth Jones, “War by Proxy: Iran’s Growing Footprint in the Middle East,” CSIS, March 11, 2019, https://www.csis.org/war-by-proxy. 45. Glenn Curtis and Eric Hooglund, eds., Iran: A Country Study (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 2008). 46. The Arab ethnic group emanates from the Arabian Peninsula. They share a common culture and heritage, to include speaking Arabic. The Persian ethnic group is of Indo-European people who live in what is now Iran. They also share a different culture and heritage, and they speak Persian.

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47. Will Swearington, “Geopolitical Origins of the Iran-Iraq War,” Geographical Review, Vol. 78, No. 4, October 1988, https​://ww​w.res​earch​gate.​net/p​ublic​ation​/2717​ 34731​_Geop​oliti​cal_O​rigin​s_of_​the_I​ran-I​raq_W​ar. 48. Ronen Bergman, The Secret War with Iran (New York: Free Press, 2008), 40–48. 49. Swearington, “Geopolitical Origins of the Iran-Iraq War.” 50. Yaroslav Trofimov, Faith at War (New York: Henry Holt & Co, 2006), 34. 51. Human Rights Watch, “World Report 2019: Saudi Arabia—Events of 2018” (HRW, 2019), https​://ww​w.hrw​.org/​world​-repo​rt/20​19/co​untry​-chap​ters/​saudi​ -arab​ia. 52. Human Rights Watch, “World Report 2019: Saudi Arabia—Events of 2018.” 53. Pieter D. Wezeman, “Saudi Arabia, Armaments and Conflict In The Middle East,” Lobe Log, December 16, 2018, https​://lo​belog​.com/​saudi​-arab​ia-ar​mamen​ts-an​ d-con​flict​-in-t​he-mi​ddle-​east/​. 54. Anne Barnard, “Saad Hariri Quits as Lebanon Prime Minister, Blaming Iran,” New York Times, November 4, 2017, https​://ww​w.nyt​imes.​com/2​017/1​1/04/​world​/ midd​leeas​t/saa​d-har​iri-l​ebano​n- iran.html. 55. Oliver McTernan, Violence in God’s Name (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2003), 111. 56. World Population Review, “Israel Population 2020,” WPR, November 4, 2019, http:​//wor​ldpop​ulati​onrev​iew.c​om/co​untri​es/is​rael-​popul​ation​/. 57. Shams uz Zaman, “Evolution of Israel’s Nuclear Programme: Implications in Post-Iran Nuclear Deal Era,” Regional Studies, Vol. 34, No. 3, Summer 2016, https​:// ww​w.res​earch​gate.​net/p​ublic​ation​/3094​18028​_Evol​ution​_of_I​srael​'s_Nu​clear​_Prog​ ramme​_Impl​i cations_in_Post-Iran_Nuclear_Deal_Era. 58. McTernan, Violence in God’s Name, 31. 59. Ibid., 115. 60. Michal Korach and Maya Chosen, “Jerusalem: Facts and Trends 2018,” Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research, 2018, https​://je​rusal​emins​titut​e.org​.il/w​ p-con​tent/​uploa​ds/20​19/06​/PUB_​%D7%A​2%D7%​9C-%D​7%A0%​D7%AA​%D7%9​ 5%D7%​A0%D7​%99%D​7%99%​D7%9A​-%D7%​90%D7​%A0%D​7%92%​D7%9C​ %D7%9​ 9 %D7% ​ A A-20 ​ 1 8-%D ​ 7 %93% ​ D 7%99 ​ % D7%9 ​ 2 %D7% ​ 9 9%D7 ​ % 98%D​ 7%9C-​%D7%A​1%D7%​95%D7​%A4%D​7%99_​eng.p​df. 61. Zaman, “Evolution of Israel’s Nuclear Programme: Implications in Post-Iran Nuclear Deal Era.” 62. Akram Hanieh, “The Camp David Papers,” Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 30, No. 2, Winter 2001, https​://ww​w.pal​estin​e-stu​dies.​org/s​ites/​defau​lt/fi​les/j​ps-ar​ ticle​s/jps​.2001​.30.2​.75.p​df. 63. Michelle Bachelet, “Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Including East Jerusalem, and the Occupied Syrian Golan,” UN Human Rights Commission, August 24, 2016, https​://ww​w.ohc​hr.or​g/Doc​ument​s/Cou​ntrie​s/PS/​SG_Re​ port_​on_Is​raeli​_A.71​.355.​pdf. 64. Greg Myre and Larry Kaplow, “7 Things to Know about Israeli Settlements,” Parallels, December 29, 2016, https​://ww​w.npr​.org/​secti​ons/p​arall​els/2​016/1​2/29/​ 50737​7617/​seven​-thin​gs-to​-know​-abou​t- israeli-settlements.

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65. Yasser Arafat was pronounced dead by French doctors at the age of seventyfive from “a massive hemorrhagic cerebrovascular accident.” What triggered this unusual blood and liver disease is still unknown. Arafat’s early symptoms do not reflect gastroenteritis. Poisoning by any substance (including polonium-210) also appears unlikely. A French investigation by three judges unanimously concluded that Arafat was not killed by polonium-210 poisoning. Palestinians Head to Paris to Probe Arafat’s Death. Oscar-Tango. Despardes Inc. November 17, 2004. http:​//www​.alma​ nar.c​om.lb​/engl​ish/a​detai​ls.ph​p?fro​mval=​1&cid​=22&f​rid=2​2&eid​=2290​52. 66. The PLO was founded by Arab countries in 1964 to deal with the Palestinian national issue. In 1969, Yasser Arafat was elected Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee. Ever since then, the PLO has been widely acknowledged as the embodiment of the Palestinian national movement. The Arab Summit in 1974 recognized the PLO as the “sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.” The PLO represents Palestine in the United Nations. In 1994, Israel recognized the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people. The PA (also known as the Palestinian National Authority) is a political entity that was formed in 1993. The PA was formed as a subordinate entity of the PLO, for a provisional period, to manage and control the areas that Israel withdrew from. The idea was that the PA would be the seed government for a new Palestinian state. 67. Geneva International Centre for Justice, “Syrian Civil War: Six Years into the Worst Humanitarian Tragedy Since WWII,”GICJ, June 2017, http:​//www​.gicj​.org/​ image​s/201​6/pdf​s/Fin​al-Re​port-​ Syria_June-2017.pdf. 68. Institute for Economics & Peace, “2019 Global Peace Index,” IEP, 2019, http:​//vis​ionof​human​ity.o​rg/ap​p/upl​oads/​2019/​06/GP​I-201​9-A3-​map-p​oster​web.p​df. 69. Human Rights Watch, “World Report 2019: Saudi Arabia—Events of 2018,” HRW, 2019, https​://ww​w.hrw​.org/​world​-repo​rt/20​19/co​untry​-chap​ters/​saudi​arabi​a. 70. Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon, The Age of Sacred Terror (New York: Random House, 2003), 102. 71. Benjamin and Simon, The Age of Sacred Terror, 135, 146. 72. CIA, “South Asia: Afghanistan,” CIA, January 20, 2020, https​://ww​w.cia​ .gov/​libra​ry/pu​blica​tions​/the-​world​-fact​book/​geos/​af.ht​ml. 73. Transparency International, “Afghanistan,” TI, 2019, https​://ww​w.tra​nspar​ ency.​org/c​ountr​y/AFG​. 74. Institute for Economics & Peace, “2019 Global Peace Index,” IEP, 2020, http:​//vis​ionof​human​ity.o​rg/ap​p/upl​oads/​2019/​06/GP​I-201​9-A3-​map-p​oster​web.p​df. 75. Council on Foreign Relations, “The U.S. War in Afghanistan: 1999–2019,” CFR, 2020, https​://ww​w.cfr​.org/​timel​ine/u​s-war​-afgh​anist​an. 76. A. Liakhovsky, “The Civil War in Afghanistan,” National Security and the Future, 2000, https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/28765. 77. LaVerle Berry, ed., “Sudan: A Country Study,” Federal Research Division Library of Congress, 2015, http:​//www​.loc.​gov/r​r/frd​/cs/p​df/CS​_Suda​n.pdf​. 78. The Coptic Church diverged from other Christians during the fifth century in part due to differing beliefs about the nature of Jesus. Coptic Christians believe that Jesus had two natures―one human and one divine. 79. Berry, “Sudan: A Country Study.”

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80. News Wires, “Sudan’s New Cabinet Sworn in as Nation Transitions to Civilian Rule,” France24, August 9, 2019, https​://ww​w.fra​nce24​.com/​en/20​19090​8-sud​ ans-n​ew-ca​binet​-swor​n-nat​ion- transitions-civilian-rule. 81. News Wires, “Sudan’s New Cabinet Sworn in as Nation Transitions to Civilian Rule.” 82. Berry, “Sudan: A Country Study.” 83. J. Helliwell, R. Layard, and J. Sachs, World Happiness Report 2018 (New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network, March 14, 2018), https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2018/. 84. Francesco Checchi, Adrienne Testa, Abdihamid Warsame, Le Quach, Rachel Burns, “War in South Sudan Estimated to Have Led to Almost 400,000 Excess Deaths,” London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, September 26, 2018, https​ ://ww​w.lsh​tm.ac​.uk/n​ewsev​ents/​news/​2019/​war-s​outh-​sudan​-esti​mated​-have​-led- ​ almos​t-400​000-e​xcess​-deat​hs. 85. Berry, “Sudan: A Country Study.” 86. James Jeffrey, “Church and Conflict in South Sudan,” Inter Press Service, July 3, 2018, https​://re​liefw​eb.in​t/rep​ort/s​outh-​sudan​/chur​ch-an​d-con​flict​-sout​ h-sud​an. 87. Gort, Jansen, and Vroom, Religion, Conflict and Reconciliation, 31. 88. R. Scott Appleby, Ambivalence of the Sacred (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999), 103. 89. Scott Appleby, Ambivalence of the Sacred, 108. 90. Ibid., 17. 91. Ibid., 16. 92. Mark Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence, 3rd ed. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003), 6. 93. Scott Appleby, Ambivalence of the Sacred, 121. 94. FBI, “Terrorism 2000/2001.” FBI.gov. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012. 95. The Southern Poverty Law Center, “Ku Klux Klan” (SPLC, ND) https​://ww​ w.spl​cente​r.org​/figh​ting-​hate/​extre​mist-​files​/ideo​logy/​ku-kl​ux-kl​an. 96. The Southern Poverty Law Center, “Ku Klux Klan.” 97. Ibid. 98. McWhorter, “Tattered Robes of the Ku Klux Klan in the United States,” Anti-Defamation League, 2016. 99. “Extremist Files: Ku Klux Klan,” Southern Poverty Law Center, 2018. 100. Jennifer Jefferis, Armed for Life: Army of God and Anti-Abortion Terror in the United States (Santa Barbara: Praeger, 2011). 101. James Obita, A Case for National Reconciliation, Peace, Democracy and Economic Prosperity for All Ugandans: The Official Presentation of the Lord’s Resistance Movement/Army (LRA/M), Kacoke Madit, 1997. 102. Philip Reeker, Statement on the Designation of 39 Organizations on the USA PATRIOT Act’s Terrorist Exclusion List. U.S. Department of State (December 6, 2001). 103. Elizabeth Dickinson, “WikiFailed States,” Foreign Policy (March 10, 2012).

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104. Michael Clodfelter, Warfare and Armed Conflicts (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2017), 568. 105. Alison Pargeter, “The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt: Current Crisis and Future Directions,” Terrorism Monitor, Vol. 16, No. 16, August 10, 2018, https​://ja​ mesto​wn.or​g/pro​gram/​the-m​uslim​-brot​herho​od-in​-egyp​t-cur​rent-​crisi​s-and​-futu​re-di​ recti​ons/.​ 106. Nawaf Obaid, “The Muslim Brotherhood a Failure in Political Evolution” (Harvard Kennedy School: Belfer Center, July 2017), https​://ww​w.bel​ferce​nter.​org/s​ ites/​defau​lt/fi​les/f​i les/​publi​catio​n/Mus​lim%2​0Brot​herho​od%20​-%20f​i nal.​pdf. 107. Hillel Fradkin, “The Muslim Brotherhood’s Global Threat,” 115th Congress: Committee on Oversight and Reform, Subcommittee on National Security Hearing, July 11, 2018, https​://ov​ersig​ht.ho​use.g​ov/le​gisla​tion/​heari​ngs/s​ubcom​mitte​e-on-​ natio​nal-s​ecuri​ty-he​aring​-the-​musli​m-bro​therh​oods-​globa​l-thr​eat. 108. Abdel Monem Said Aly, “The Truth about the Muslim Brotherhood,” Cairo Review of Global Affairs, Spring 2018, https​://ww​w.the​cairo​revie​w.com​/essa​ys/th​ e-tru​th-ab​out-t​he-mu​slim-​broth​erhoo​d/. 109. Eitan Azani and Ely Karmon, “Hezbollah’s Role in the Present Israel-Iranian Confrontation,” IEEE, August 6, 2018, http:​//www​.ieee​.es/e​n/Gal​erias​/fich​ero/d​ ocs_o​pinio​n/201​8/DIE​EEO89​-2018​_Hezb​ollah​_Iran​-Isra​el_Az​anixK​armon​_ENGL​ HIS.p​df. 110. Counter Extremism Project, “Hezbollah,” CEP, 2020, https​://ww​w.cou​ntere​ xtrem​ism.c​om/th​reat/​hezbo​llah.​ 111. Dakota Wood, “Military Strength: Hezbollah,” Heritage Institute, October 30, 2019, https​://ww​w.her​itage​.org/​milit​ary-s​treng​th/as​sessi​ng-th​reats​-us-v​ital-​inter​ ests/​iran.​ 112. Anthony Cordesman, George Sullivan, and William Sullivan, “Lessons of the 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah War,” CSIS, 2007, https​://cs​is-pr​od.s3​.amaz​onaws​.com/​ s3fs-​publi​c/leg​acy_f​i les/​files​/publ​icati​on/12​0720_​Corde​sman_​Lesso​nsIsr​aeliH​ezbol​ lah.p​df. 113. Mara Karlin, “Syria: Which Way Forward?” (US House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa Hearing, February 6, 2018), https​ ://do​cs.ho​use.g​ov/me​eting​s/FA/​FA13/​20180​206/1​06832​/HHRG​-115-​FA13-​Wstat​ e-Kar​linM-​20180​206.p​df. 114. Karlin, “Syria: Which Way Forward?” 115. Brian Katz, “Will Hezbollah’s Rise Be Its Downfall?” Foreign Affairs, March 8, 2019, https​://ww​w.for​eigna​ffair​s.com​/arti​cles/​israe​l/201​9-03-​08/wi​ll-he​ zboll​ahs-r​ise-b​e-its​-down​fall.​ 116. Katz, “Will Hezbollah’s Rise Be Its Downfall?” 117. Susan Hademous, “Trump’s Sanctions on Iran Are Hitting Hezbollah Hard—And it Hurts,” Washington Post, May 18, 2019, https​://ww​w.was​hingt​onpos​ t.com​/worl​d/mid​dle_e​ast/t​rumps​-sanc​tions​-on-i​ran-a​re-hi​tting​-hezb​ollah​-hard​/2019​ /05/1​8/970​bc656​-5d48​-11e9​-98d4​-8440​88d13​5f2_s​tory.​html?​nored​irect​=on&u​tm_te​ rm=.9​f500d​887d0​1. 118. Scott Appleby, Ambivalence of the Sacred, 95. 119. Armstrong, Fields of Blood, 376.

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120. Veronica Ward, and Richard Sherlock eds., Religion and Terrorism: The Use of Violence in Abrahamic Monotheism (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2013), 72. 121. Benjamin and Simon, The Age of Sacred Terror, 104–105. 122. Ibid., 114. 123. Ibid., 106–107. 124. Robert Pape, Dying to Win (New York: Random House, 2006), 119. 125. Ward and Sherlock, Religion and Terrorism, 74. 126. Sufism is the mystical practice in Islam. Practitioners of Sufism are referred to as “Sufis.” 127. Geneive Abdo, “The Sunni-Shia Divide,” Council on Foreign Relations, ND, https​://ww​w.cfr​.org/​inter​activ​es/su​nni-S​hi’a-​divid​e#!/s​unni-​Shi’a​-divi​de. 128. Benjamin and Simon, The Age of Sacred Terror, 113. 129. Clayton Thomas, “Al Qaeda and U.S. Policy: Middle East and Africa,” Congressional Research Service, February 5, 2018, https​://fa​s.org​/sgp/​crs/m​ideas​t/R43​ 756.p​df. 130. Benjamin and Simon, The Age of Sacred Terror, 128, 161, 259. 131. According to John Payne, Donna Bowen, and Joseph Woolstenhulme, fatwas from individuals with no degree from respected scholars (e.g., Osama bin Laden) lack merit (see Ward and Sherlock, Religion and Terrorism, 55) 132. Benjamin and Simon, The Age of Sacred Terror, 26, 117. 133. Armstrong, Fields of Blood, 388. 134. Bruce Hoffman, “Al-Qaeda’s Resurrection,” Council on Foreign Relations, March 6, 2018, https​://ww​w.cfr​.org/​exper​t-bri​ef/al​-qaed​as-re​surre​ction​. 135. Ibid. 136. Ibid. 137. Seth G. Jones, James Dobbins, Daniel Byman, Christopher S. Chivvis, Ben Connable, Jeffrey Martini, Eric Robinson, Nathan Chandler, “Rolling Back the Islamic State,” RAND Corporation, 2017, https​://ww​w.ran​d.org​/cont​ent/d​am/ra​nd/pu​ bs/re​searc​h_rep​orts/​RR190​0/RR1​912/R​AND_R​R1912​.pdf.​ 138. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, “Promotion and Protection of Rights of Victims of Sexual Violence Captured by ISIL/or in Areas Controlled by ISIL in Iraq,” UN Human Rights: Assistance Mission for Iraq, August 22, 2017, https​://ww​w.ohc​hr.or​g/Doc​ument​s/Cou​ntrie​s/IQ/​UNAMI​Repor​t22Au​g2017​ _EN.p​df. 139. Aureo de Toledo Gomes and Michelle Mitri Mikhael, “Terror or Terrorism? Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in Comparative Perspective,” Brazilian Political Science Review, Vol. 12, No. 1, March 26, 2018, http:​//www​.scie​lo.br​/scie​lo.ph​p?scr​ ipt=s​ci_ar​ttext​&pid=​S1981​-3821​20180​00100​202. 140. Hoffman, “Al-Qaeda’s Resurrection.” 141. Chen Kane and Egle Murauskaite, eds., Regional Security Dialogue in the Missile East: Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities (Routledge Press, 2014). 142. Helena Cobban, “Understanding Gaza and Hamas Fact-sheet,” Just World Educational, ND, https​://ju​stwor​ldedu​catio​nal.o​rg/wp​-cont​ent/u​pload​s/201​8/06/​ Under​stand​ing-G​aza-a​nd-Ha​mas-v​.2.pd​f.

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143. Daniel Byman, “Why Israel Is Stuck with Hamas,” Brookings Institute, March 19, 2018, https​://ww​w.bro​oking​s.edu​/blog​/orde​r-fro​m-cha​os/20​18/03​/19/w​ hy-is​rael-​is-st​uck-w​ith-h​amas/​. 144. Times of Israel Staff, “Lebanese Report: Hamas Agrees to Cede Control of Gaza, Demands Unity Government,” Times of Israel, November 27, 2018, https​://ww​ w.tim​esofi​srael​.com/​leban​ese-r​eport​-hama​s-agr​ees-t​o-ced​e-con​trol-​of-ga​za-de​mands​ -unit​y- government/. 145. Ibid. 146. Anna Larson and Alexander Ramsbotham, eds., “Incremental Peace in Afghanistan,” Accord, Issue 27, June 2018, https​://c-​r.org​/down​loads​/9_Ku​ehn_I​ ncrem​ental​-Peac​e-in-​Afgha​nista​n-36-​41.pd​f. 147. He was succeeded by Mullah Akhtar Monsour in 2015. Since 2016, the Taliban’s leader has been Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada. 148. Larson and Ramsbotham, eds., “Incremental Peace in Afghanistan.” 149. Barnett Rubin, “Testimony on the Situation in Afghanistan Before the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations,” Council on Foreign Relations, October 8, 1998, https​://ww​w.cfr​.org/​repor​t/tes​timon​y-sit​uatio​n-afg​hanis​tan-u​nited​-stat​ es-se​nate-​commi​ttee-​forei​gn- relations. 150. Clayton Thomas, “Afghanistan: Background and U.S. Policy—In Brief,” Congressional Research Service, December 5, 2019, https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/ R45122.pdf. 151. Thomas, “Afghanistan: Background and U.S. Policy—In Brief.” Plans are to reduce this number to as many as 8,000 troops. Courtney Kube and Carol Lee, “Trump Admin Intends to Announce Withdrawal of About 4,000 Troop from Afghanistan,” NBC News, December 14, 2019, https​://ww​w.nbc​news.​com/n​ews/ w​orld/​trump​-admi​n-int​ends-​annou​nce-w​ithdr​awal-​more-​4-000​-troo​ps-af​ghani​stan-​ n1102​201?u​tm_so​urce=​Sailt​hru&u​tm_me​dium=​email​&utm_​campa​ign=E​BB%20​ 12.16​.19&u​tm_te​rm=Ed​itori​al%20​-%20E​arly%​20Bir​d%20B​rief.​ 152. Islamic Theology of Counter Terrorism, https​://ww​w.itc​t.org​.uk/a​rchiv​es/it​ ct_te​rrori​st_ne​t/isl​amic-​emira​te-of​-afgh​anist​an-af​ghan-​talib​an. 153. Thomas, “Afghanistan: Background and U.S. Policy—In Brief.” 154. Claire Felter, “Nigeria’s Battle with Boko Haram,” Council on Foreign Relations, August 8, 2018, https​://ww​w.cfr​.org/​backg​round​er/ni​geria​s-bat​tle-b​oko-h​aram.​ 155. Fergus Kelly, “Boko Haram or Islamic State West Africa . . . or Both?,” The Defense Post, February 1, 2019, https​://th​edefe​nsepo​st.co​m/201​9/02/​01/bo​ko-ha​ ram-i​slami​c-sta​te-we​st-af​rica/​. 156. Felter, “Nigeria’s Battle with Boko Haram.” And Kelly, “Boko Haram or Islamic State West Africa . . . or Both?” 157. Kelly, “Boko Haram or Islamic State West Africa . . . or Both?” 158. Jacob Zenn (ed.), “Boko Haram Beyond the Headlines: Analyses of Africa’s Enduring Insurgency,” Combating Terrorism Center, West Point, May 2018, https​:// ct​c.usm​a.edu​/app/​uploa​ds/20​18/05​/Boko​-Hara​m-Bey​ond-t​he-He​adlin​es.pd​f. 159. Zenn, “Boko Haram Beyond the Headlines.” 160. Lauren Ploch Blanchard and Katia T. Cavigelli, “Boko Haram and the Islamic State’s West Africa Province,” Congressional Research Service, In Focus

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#7-5700, June 28, 2018, https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/IF10173.pdf and Zenn, “Boko Haram Beyond the Headlines.” 161. Zenn, “Boko Haram Beyond the Headlines.” 162. Blanchard and Cavigelli, “Boko Haram and the Islamic State’s West Africa Province.” 163. Felter, “Nigeria’s Battle With Boko Haram.” 164. Ibid. 165. The Global Terrorism Index is published by the Institute for Economics and Peace and covers 163 countries (99.7% of the world’s population). Felter, “Nigeria’s Battle With Boko Haram.” And Kelly, “Boko Haram or Islamic State West Africa . . . or Both?” 166. Zenn, “Boko Haram Beyond the Headlines.” 167. Ibid. 168. Ibid. 169. BBC News Staff, “Who Are Somalia’s al-Shabab?” BBC News, December 22, 2017, https​://ww​w.bbc​.com/​news/​world​-afri​ca-15​33668​9. 170. BBC News Staff, “Who Are Somalia’s al-Shabab?” 171. Ibid. 172. Reuben Brigety II, “Al-Shabab in Somalia,” Council on Foreign Relations, Global Conflict Tracker, January 10, 2020, https​://ww​w.cfr​.org/​inter​activ​e/glo​bal-c​ onfli​ct-tr​acker​/conf​l ict/​al-sh​abab-​somal​ia. 173. Amanda Sperber, “Al-Shabab Wants You To Know It’s Alive and Well,” Foreign Policy, January 19, 2019, https​://fo​reign​polic​y.com​/2019​/01/1​9/al-​shaba​ b-wan​ts-yo​u-to-​know-​its-a​live-​and-w​ell-k​enya-​somal​ia-te​rrori​sm/?u​tm_so​urce=​ PostU​p&utm​_medi​um=em​ail&u​tm_ca​mpaig​n=189​28&ut​m_ter​m=Mor​ning%​20Bri​ ef%20​OC and BBC News Staff, “Who Are Somalia’s al-Shabab?.” 174. Brigety II, “Al-Shabab in Somalia.” 175. BBC News Staff, “Who Are Somalia’s al-Shabab?” 176. Sperber, “Al-Shabab Wants You To Know It’s Alive and Well.” 177. BBC News Staff, “Who Are Somalia’s al-Shabab?” 178. PEW Research Center, “The Age Gap in Religion Around the World,” PEW Research Center, June 13, 2018, https​://ww​w.pew​forum​.org/​2018/​06/13​/how-​relig​ ious-​commi​tment​-vari​es-by​-coun​try-a​mong-​peopl​e-of-​all-a​ges/.​

Chapter 4

Conclusion

Early in humankind’s evolution, people began to socialize and live in communities to enhance survival. There was a lot that people did not understand about their environment, particularly various natural phenomena. Myths evolved to help explain the mysteries of life. Eventually, these myths became the foundation of religions. As different religions became exposed to one another, conflict often resulted. As such, religion and conflict have been linked almost from the beginning of humankind’s evolution. Until the modern era, religion and government were inseparable, and religion without war and war without religion were inconceivable. As humankind discovered more and more how nature works, the need for religion to explain the unknown has diminished. Moreover, the need for social groupings evaporated in the modern world, mainly due to the Internet and smartphones. And, given the time constraints of the modern world, most people tend to have less and less time to physically devote to religious activities. During the evolution of religion, people began to exploit it to gain political power.1 This became clearer with Christianity in the medieval era, particularly with the Crusades. The best example of this was during the Thirty Years War. Many Protestants and Catholics fought on the same side in France. For example, Catholic France fought against the Catholic Hapsburgs, who were supported by Protestant princes. According to Armstrong, during the battles throughout the Thirty Years War, “it was impossible to talk about solidly ‘Catholic’ or ‘Protestant’ populations. These wars were neither ‘all about religion’ nor ‘all about politics.’”2 Following the Thirty Years War, the Christian Reformation began to evolve to the extent that there eventually was a complete separation of church and state. The conflict between the Islamic sects of Sunnis and Shi’a has been compared to the conflict between Catholicism and Protestantism. However, in 131

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Islam, the dispute primarily revolves around how to select the next leader of the faith (the caliph) and not about how the Qur’an, Hadith, and Sharia should be used to guide society or to govern. Fundamentalism exists in all religions as a result of modernization and change in society. Where most people accommodate change, there are some who find it more challenging. As society changes, so does religion. However, there are some religious followers who resist change in their respective religions. They are characterized as fundamentalists. It is not unusual for fundamentalists to become extremists when the change is sudden or offensive. Proselytization of religion, particularly Christianity and Islam, was often as a result of military conquests. The choice in war was to convert and become a follower or die. The other common method of spreading a religion was through commerce and trade. For example, this is how Muhammad, a Meccan merchant, learned about Judaism in Arabia. The role of suicide in the Abrahamic religions could not be more varied. For early Judaism, people or animals were sacrificed to God for protection and good fortune. For early Christians, followers usually sacrificed themselves rather than renounce their religion or convert to another religion, such as Islam. For Muslims, they generally sacrificed themselves for a religious cause, usually in a terrorist attack. Regarding revenge, while evident in both Judaism and Islam, it was not evident in Christian scripture. The Rule of Talion (i.e., an eye for an eye) was supported by both Judaism and Islam; however, Jesus preached turning the other cheek if struck and to love one’s enemies. However, this was more an ideal than reality as the Crusaders were highly motivated by revenge. Terrorism has been evident in all three Abrahamic religions, starting with Judaism. However, it is most common within Islam today, especially in the Middle East, in part due to the Sunni-Shi’a schism. In many cases, Muslim extremist groups have plans to assume political power or recreate the caliphate. The SunniShi’a schism has manifested itself in proxy wars in the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia leading the Sunni block of countries and Iran leading the Shi’a block. Today, the two sides are fighting proxy wars in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. Finally, when one considers all of the problematic issues regarding the Abrahamic religions, to include how the stories of Jesus and Mary were modified by the Catholic Church over the centuries; how there were hundreds of authors and editors of the Bible centuries after Jesus died; how messengers were selected and how accurate they were over time; and, how myths that serve as the foundation of the Abrahamic religions could not be independently substantiated, then one might have some doubt about the deific legitimacy of any of the three Abrahamic religions. David Christian, a distinguished history professor at Macquarie University in Australia, wrote in his book Origin Story that “the modern origin story lacks a creator god, though it has energies and particles as exotic as the pantheons of many traditional

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origin stories. . . . Any sense of meaning comes not from the universe, but from us humans.”3 Given all of this information, religious conflict appears to have served humankind’s political purposes more than to serve any of these religions’ conceptions of God or Allah. With that in mind, humankind could strive to remove religion from politics, and remove the religious aspect of conflict in the world in order to more easily come to compromise and peace. However, many scholars already believe that religion has been overcome by secularism and science, hence, is no longer a viable threat to peace. For example, McTernan warned that “the contemporary mindset of the political and academic world of conflict analysis and resolution sees no role for religion as it has been shaped by the belief that the 17th century Treaty of Westphalia combined with the Enlightenment had banished religion once and for all from the international agenda.”4 With McTernan’s insight in mind, it is the intent of this book to convince readers that religion is still a viable threat to peace, even though all religions are human-made and not divine. Based on research and history, religion is likely to remain a part of human life for the indefinite future. Given the nature of humankind, conflict will likely be associated with religion as well. It would be useful to recognize that at least the Abrahamic religions are basically human made, even if allegedly “divinely inspired.” Consequently, these religions do not provide any divine reason to kill another person or to kill oneself. Obviously, there are instances where conflict is warranted and just (such as self-defense) and instances where it is not warranted and not just (such as terrorist attacks justified by religion). The separation of church and state is one of the best inventions of humankind, though it cost millions of lives over centuries during the Protestant Reformation to implement. While this separation would be useful within the Muslim World, secular government is contrary to Islam where it is commonly believed that Allah has provided the guidance required to govern (though there are secular governments in the Muslim World). With the continued existence of theocratic governments (e.g., Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan), the threat of religious conflict has not completely subsided. NOTES 1. Huston Smith, Why Religion Matters (New York: HarpersOne, 2001), 114. 2. Karen Armstrong, “The Myth of Religious Violence” (February 17, 2019), https​ ://ww​w.the​guard​ian.c​om/wo​rld/2​014/s​ep/25​/-sp-​karen​-arms​trong​-reli​gious​-viol​ence-​ myth-​secul​ar 3. David Christian, Origin Story (New York: Little, Brown, and Company, 2018), 9. 4. Oliver McTernan, Violence in God’s Name (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2003), 22–23.

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Index

(Page references for figures are italicized) Aaron, 37 al-Abadi, Haider, 111 Abbas, Mahmoud, 114 Abbasids, 22 Abram/Abraham, 54 Abu Bakr, 84, 110, 111 Abu Huraira, xii, xiv Abuja, 116 Acre, 32 activities, 19, 106, 118, 131; defensive, 21; offensive, 21 Aden, Yemen, 109 Afghan Civil War, 96, 97 Afghanistan, xii, 62, 89, 90, 96–97, 99, 100, 107, 109–10, 114–15, 120, 133 Africa, 20, 62, 63, 87, 97–98, 100, 105– 6, 109, 116, 118; Central, 103; East, 118, 120; North, 65; West, 116, 120 African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM), 118–20 afterlife, 18, 48, 70 Ahmad, Umar, 120 Ahmadzai, Ashraf Ghani, 97 Ahvaz, 58 airspace, 94 Air War College, xi A’isha, 85

Ajuran, 22 Alawites, 86, 95, 99 Alexius I, 19 Ali, Ayyan Hirsi, 15 Ali, Husayn, 85 Allah, xiii, 4–5, 8n20, 14, 26–27, 33, 39, 50–51, 60, 62–63, 65, 71, 84, 133 alliance, international, 99 alliances, 21 Almighty, 47, 50–51 Almoravids, 22 Aly, Abdel Monem Said, 105 Amalekites, 31 Ammonites, 24 Amish, 16 angel/angels, xiii, 49–51, 59; cherub, 51 apostles, 13, 37, 55–57 Appleby, R. Scott, 2, 9, 11, 13, 16, 47, 100–101 al-Aqsa Mosque, 45n190, 93 Arab/Arabs, 4–5, 19, 21, 33, 60, 62, 65, 84, 86, 90, 92–94, 101, 103, 106, 109, 112, 120, 122n46, 124n66; Israeli Conflict, 92–94; Kurdish Conflict, 96; League, 105; Spring, 86, 95, 103, 110; world, 15–16, 86 Arabia, 14, 21–22, 65, 84, 132 145

146

Index

Arabic, 27, 52, 60, 62, 105, 112, 118, 122n46 Arabian Peninsula, 20, 109, 122n46 Arafat, Yasser, 93–95, 124n65 Arcadius, 17 Armenia/Armenians, 32 Armstrong, Karen, 19, 21, 23–24, 28, 30, 34–35, 37, 58, 81–82, 84, 131 Army of God, 102 ascension, 59 Asia Minor, 18, 72 Aslan, Reza, 30, 62 al-Assad, Bashir, 87 Augsburg, 82 Augustine of Hippo, 70 ayat, 60 ayatollah/ayatollahs, 47, 89–90, 106 Azerbaijan, 87 Ba’al, 38 Babylon, 30, 59 Badie, Mohammed, 105 Badr, 21 Baghdad, 85 al-Baghdadi, Abu Bakr, 110–11 al-Baghdadi, Abu Omar, 110 al-Baghuz, Fawqani, 111 Bahrain, 87, 92 Baigent, Michael, 25, 37, 53, 56–57, 59–60, 66 Bakker, Jim, 13 Bali, Indonesia, 109 Bangladesh, 62, 110 al-Banna, Hassan, 103 Barak, Ehud, 93 al-Barnawi, Abu Musab, 117 Bashar, al-Assad, 92, 95 al-Bashir, Omar, 98 Basra, 85 battle, 5, 21, 24, 30, 54, 65, 85, 96, 107, 109; of Badr, 21; of the Camel, 85; of Gaza, 94, 112; of Karbala, 85, 90; of Pamplona, 83; of Siffin, 85 battlefield, 5, 32, 85, 90, 107 Beirut, 35, 105

Bekaa Valley, 105 Benedict XVI, 59 Ben-Gurion, David, 92 Benjamin, Dan, 2, 96, 109 Berger, David, 17 bias/biases, 52, 57, 62, 71 Bible, xii, 3–4, 12–13, 18, 26, 38–39, 41n45, 47–48, 50, 52–53, 55–58, 60–61, 64, 66–67, 69, 70–71, 81–82, 132; Belt, 13; Hebrew, xiii, 2–5, 11, 24, 29–31, 33, 36, 39, 48, 50, 52–55, 63, 68, 80 bishops, 4, 19, 47, 58, 82 Blomberg, Craig, 57–58 bloodline, Jesus, 68 Bohemia, 82 Boko Haram, 38, 103, 116–18, 117, 120 book of: Ephesians, 64; Ezekiel, 50–51; Genesis, xii, 30, 54, 64, 70; Kings, 49, 55; Numbers, 38, 64 Revelation, 13, 37, 56; Zechariah, 51 Boyer, Pascal, 1, 47 Buhari, Muhammad, 118 bulls papal, 82–83 Byman, Daniel, 112 Byzantine Empire, 18, 19, 22 Caiaphas, 71 Cairo, 103, 114 Caliph, 38, 61, 71, 79, 84, 110, 132; Abu Bakr, 84; Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, 110; Ali Talib, 38, 85; Omar II, 17; al-Qurayshi, 111; Uthman, 61, 85; Yazid I, 85 caliphate, 38, 105, 108, 110, 120, 132 Calvin, John, 83 Cameroon, 116 Camp David Accords, 37, 93 Camp David Summit, 93–94 Cana, 67 Canaan/Canaanites, 24, 31, 36, 41, 69 canon/canonization, 52, 82 Capps, Donald, 24 Celso, Anthony, 28 Central Asia, 62, 97, 100

Index

Central Powers, 85 Chad, 116 Charles II, 33 Charles V, 81, 82 chemical weapons, 90, 95 Chibok, Nigeria, 116 China, 20, 22, 87, 97 Christian, 3, 5, 12, 18, 20, 22, 25–26, 32, 38, 56, 58–60, 64, 71, 99, 101–2, 116–17, 131–32 Christian, David, 132 Christianity, xi, xiii, 3–5, 10–12, 15, 17–20, 22, 25–26, 28, 31, 33, 37, 39, 45n190, 56–57, 59, 71–72, 79, 81, 84, 98, 101, 120, 131–32 church, 4–5, 9, 12, 14, 16, 26, 48–49, 57, 59, 64, 99, 131, 133; Anglican, 98; Catholic, 18, 20, 48, 56, 58–60, 65, 67–68, 71, 81–83, 103, 132; Coptic, 124n78; Methodist, 20; Presbyterian, 98 civilization, 6, 23, 61 civil war, 2, 18, 79, 97, 99–100; Afghan, 96, 97, 114–15; American, 38, 102; Islamic, 85; Muslim, 86; proxy, 99; Sudan, 98–100; Syria, 86, 92, 95–96, 106–7; Yemen, 90 Cobban, Helena, 112 coercion, 34, 101 Collins, John, 31 Commission on International Religious Freedom, 89 community, 21, 23, 27, 52, 59, 61, 71, 94, 101 compromise, 2–3, 62, 80, 94, 133 conflict, xi, xii, xiii, 2–3, 5–6, 7, 9–10, 14–18, 22, 29, 39, 48, 68–69, 71, 79, 81, 86–87, 89–91, 93, 95–96, 99– 100, 103, 106–7, 109, 114, 116–18, 121, 131, 133; religious, 3–4, 9, 72, 89, 97, 100, 133 Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 60 Constantine I, xii, xiii, 18, 26, 58 Constantine XI, 19

147

Constitution, 80, 89, 99 Cook, Michael, 12–13, 20–22, 65 copyist, 53, 58 corpse, 67 councils, 16, 58, 71; of Carthage, 56; of Chalcedon, 59; of Constantinople, 59; of Hippo, 56; of Lateran, 82; of Nicaea, 58; of Orleans, 17 covenant, 4, 17, 80 Crabtree, Vexen, 11 Craig, William, 67 crucifixion, 12, 25, 58, 63, 66–68, 71 crusades, 18–19, 22, 28, 29, 32–33, 39, 82, 131 culture, 1, 5, 11–12, 15, 18, 21, 22n40, 22n46, 23, 54, 65, 84 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 109 Darja, 65 Dark Ages, 18 David: House of, 37, 65–66; King, 36, 53, 66, 69 Davis, Charles, 43, 52, 56, 61 Dawkins, Richard, 47, 56, 60, 66, 70 Dead Sea, 37; Scrolls, 37, 53, 58, 68 deity, 23, 30, 36, 50 democracy, 35, 92 denominations, 12, 19, 79, 80 destiny, 80 Deuteronomy, 24, 30, 31, 63 De Vries, Simon John, 24, 29, 30, 54 Dinka, 99 Director of Information at the Defense Headquarters, 118 diversity, 53 divinations/divinity, 51, 58, 68 doctrine, 10–11, 58, 59, 60, 63, 82, 84, 89 dogma, 47 Dome of the Rock, 37, 45n190, 93 Duke of Savoy, 82 Durkheim, David, 49 Eastern Hemisphere, 22

148

Index

Edicts: of Thessalonica, xiii; of Worms, 81 editors, 54, 132 Egypt, 14, 21, 30–31, 36–37, 55–56, 60, 62, 66, 87, 92–93, 103, 110, 113 Egyptian Islamic Jihad, 107 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, 37, 92 Elijah, 49 Ellens, J. Harold, 16, 27 Elliott, Mark, 53 emperor, 58–59; Alexius I, 19; Arcadius, 17; Charles V, 81; Constantine I, xii–xiii, 18, 26, 58; Constantine XI, 19; Justinian, 18; Mehmed II, 19; Nero, 30; Romanos IV, 18; Severus, 17; Theodosius I, xiii empires, 19, 20, 22; Byzantine, 19, 22; Muslim, 22; Ottoman, 32, 85; Persian, 22; Roman, 19 England, 19–20, 81, 83 Enlightenment, 63, 133 epistles, 56–57 era, 59, 63, 65–66, 68, 131 Erdogan, Recep, 96 ethnicity, 80, 100 Europe, 5, 18, 19–20, 22, 33, 60, 65, 72, 81, 83, 86, 91, 97, 105–6; Central, 19, 81; Eastern, 19; Northern, 19–20; Southern, 19 European Enlightenment, 63, 133 European Union, 101, 105, 112–13 evil, 5, 33, 59 excommunication, 30, 59 Exodus, xii, 24, 30–31, 36, 55, 63 faith, 1–2, 4, 9, 10–12, 16–19, 25–27, 32, 39, 47–48, 51–52, 60, 70, 84, 90, 132 Falsafa, 14 Falwell, Jerry, 13 famine, 55 Farouk, 103 Fatah, 94, 112–14 fate, 80, 114 Fatoohi, Louay, 6

fatwa, 26–28, 105 al-Faud, 14 fear, 2, 6, 9, 18, 24 Federal Emergency Management Agency, 34 Florus, 30 force, 6, 10, 14, 16, 22, 27, 34, 41n59, 65, 82, 84, 94, 114 Fourth Commandment, xii France, 19–20, 66–68, 82–83, 90, 131 franchises: Al-Qaeda, 110 Francis, 68 Frederick II, 33 Free Syrian Army, 95 Freud, Sigmund, 49 fundamentalism, xiii, 7, 9–15, 28, 79; Islamic, 13, 15–16, 35; Protestant, 13, 16 The Fundamentals, 10, 12 Funk, Robert, 57 future, 2, 6, 19, 25, 39, 58, 94–95, 112, 114 Gabriel, Archangel, 3–4, 38, 50, 51, 60, 63 Galilee, 37, 66, 68 Gandhi, Mahatma, 2 Garden of Eden, 4, 69, 70 Gardner, Laurence, 25, 50, 56, 58–59, 65 Gaza Strip, 16, 90, 92–95, 112–14 Geiger, Abraham, 80 Geneva Convention, 94 genocide, 29, 31–33, 36, 99 Genocide Watch, 99 Gentiles, 17, 18, 66, 69–70 Georgia, State of, 102 Girard, Rene, 23, 48 globalization, 47 Global Peace Index, 96–97 Global Terrorism Index, 38, 118, 129n165 gnostic, 60 God, xii–xiii, 1–6, 9, 13–14, 17–19, 23–25, 27–31, 36–39, 47–52, 54–56,

Index

149

58–59, 63, 66–68, 70–71, 80, 82–84, 102, 105, 132–33 Golan Heights, 92–93 golden age, 10, 14–15 Goliath of Gath, 69 Gomorrah, 36 Gopin, Marc, 2, 54, 69, 71 Gospels, 31, 37, 52, 55–59, 66–69, 71; Synoptic, 57 government, 2, 6, 10, 15, 29–30, 34, 37, 49, 55, 60, 64, 87, 89, 91–92, 95– 100, 102–3, 105, 107, 110, 113–14, 116–17, 120, 122n40, 124n66 Great Britain, 97 Great Flood, 36, 55, 69 Great Mosque in Mecca, 70 Great Mosque of Kufa, 38, 85 Greek/Greeks, 2, 4, 6, 19, 23, 26, 50, 52, 56, 69 Gregory I, 68 Gregory VII, 5, 18 Gregory IX, 60 Guardian Council, 89 Gulf Cooperation Council, 105 guns, 3 Gush Emunim, 11 Gustav I, 82

herem, 31 heresy, 57, 82 heretics, 82 Herod the Great, 53, 56 heroes, 69 Hezbollah, 103, 105–7, 106, 120 hierarchy, 84 Hijaz, 21 Hijra, 60 Hira, Cave of, 51 Hitler, Adolf, 31 Hivites, 36 Hobbes, Thomas, 6, 48, 50 Hoffman, Bruce, 110, 112 Holocaust, 31, 103 Hoover, Roy, 57 Horowitz, Michael, 35 Houthi, 87, 90 Huda, Qamar-ul, 13, 27, 41n59, 65 human/humankind/humanity, 1–6, 12–13, 23–24, 29, 33, 36, 38, 40n17, 47–53, 55, 62–63, 68–71, 83, 89–92, 102, 110, 131, 133 Human Rights Watch, 91 Hus, Jan, 81–82 Hussein, Saddam, 86–87, 90 Hussite Wars, 82

Habermas, Gary, 67 Hadith, 13, 15, 27, 32, 38, 43n118, 61–62, 87 Haifa, 112 Halakha, 11, 80 Hamas, 90, 92, 94, 103, 112–13, 113 Hamdok, Abdalla, 98 Hamid II, Abdul, 32 Haredim, 11, 16 Hariri, Saad, 92 Hashemites, 85 heaven, xiii, 2, 5–6, 19, 23, 27, 29, 37, 45n190, 47, 50–51, 65 Heliopolis, 66 hell, 6, 52 Hengel, Martin, 37 Henry VII, 18 Henry VIII, 83

ideology, 47 imam(s), 4, 6, 26, 47, 89 India, 22, 62, 97 Indonesia, 16, 22, 62, 109–10, 120 infanticide, 24, 29 inquisition, 83; Holy Office of, 60 International Security Assistance Force, 114 intolerance, 5, 11, 15, 35, 79 Ioffe, Julia, 3 Iran, 86–87, 89–92, 95, 99–100, 105–7, 112, 132–33 Iranian Revolution, 86, 89–91, 106 Iraq, 21, 28, 85–87, 90–91, 105, 110–11, 132 Islam, xi, xiii, 3–6, 13–16, 19–22, 26– 29, 32–33, 38–39, 41n59, 43n118, 45n190, 50–51, 60–63, 65, 70, 79,

150

80–81, 84–87, 89–92, 95–99, 101, 103, 110, 118, 120, 132–33; Pillars of, 43n118, 86 Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, 114 Islamic Puritanism, 116 Islamic Revolutionary Guard, 87, 90, 105 Islamic State, 38, 86, 100, 103, 107, 110–12, 111; of Iraq, 110; of Somalia, 120; in West Africa Province, 116 Israel, 3, 5, 11–12, 15–16, 24, 28, 31, 37, 49–50, 54, 64, 80–81, 86–87, 89–96, 99–101, 103, 105–7, 109, 112–14, 120, 124n66 Israeli-Hezbollah Conflict, 107 Istanbul, 92 Jabhat al-Nusra, 110 Jama’at, 14 Japan, 20, 101 Jebusites, 36 Jefferson, Thomas, 62–63 Jehovah Witnesses, 16 Jerusalem, 5, 10, 19, 24, 28, 30, 32, 37, 45n190, 59, 66, 80, 93; East, 92–94 Jesuits, 83 Jesus, xiii, 4, 12–13, 16–19, 25, 31–32, 37, 47–48, 51–53, 55–60, 62–63, 65–72, 79, 83, 132 Jewish Defense League (JDL), 101 Jewish Underground, 37 Jews, xii, 2–3, 10–11, 16–17, 19, 22, 24–26, 28–31, 36–37, 54, 67–69, 80–81, 93–94, 101, 103, 109, 132; Shephardic, 12 Jihad, 15, 26–28, 107, 109, 118; Defensive, 6, 27; Offensive, 27–28 jihadist, 28, 34, 109–10, 116 John, 56–58, 67–68; Apostle, 57; the Baptist, 67 Jordan Valley, 94 Joseph, 65–66; of Arimathea, 67 Josephus, 24, 58 Joshua, 31, 54 Judaea, 25, 30, 37, 56, 66, 69

Index

Judaism, xi–xiii, 3, 5, 11, 15, 17–18, 22, 24, 28–30, 33, 36, 39, 45n190, 53–54, 56, 66, 68, 70, 79–81, 92, 101, 120, 132; Conservative, 79–81; Orthodox, 11, 15, 79–81; Reform, 79–81; Ultra Conservative, 11, 16 judgment, 31, 49, 62 Juergensmeyer, Mark, 23, 34–35, 48, 71, 100 Justinian, 18 just war, 27, 33 Kaaba, 70 Kach, 11, 101 Karzai, Hamid, 114 Katz, Brian, 107 Kenya, 109, 118–20 Kharijites, 38, 85 Khashoggi, Jamal, 92 Khatmiyyah, 98 Khomeini, Ayatollah, 90, 106 Kille, Andrew, 3 King(s), 4–5, 18, 25, 49–50, 55, 59, 70; Ahvaz, 58; Charles II, 33; Charles V, 82; David, 36, 53, 66; Farouk, 103; Faud, 14; Frederick II, 33; Gustav I, 82; Henry VII, 18; Henry VIII, 83; Herod, the Great, 56; James I, 38 Kingdom(s), 6, 65, 91; of God, 48, 67; of Jerusalem, 32; of Saudi Arabia, 14, 86 Knesset, 12, 93 Knights, 5, 19, 32; of the Cross, 108; Hospitaller, 32; Templar, 32; Teutonic, 32 Knoch, A. E., 52–53 Ku Klux Klan, 38, 101–2 Kurdish People’s Protection Units, 95–96 Kurdistan Workers Party, 95 Kuwait, 92 Lake Chad, 116, 118 language, 50, 52, 55, 59–60, 62, 98, 122n40; Arabic, 60, 62, 105, 112,

Index

118, 122n46; Aramaic, 54; Greek, 2, 4, 23, 50, 52, 56, 69; Hebrew, 52 Laws, Curtis Lee, 10 leaders, 10, 14, 21, 39, 82, 84, 108–9, 112; religious, 3–4, 6, 17, 25, 27, 30, 33, 55–57, 69, 90, 99 Lebanon, 87, 90–92, 105–7; War, 106 Levi, 55 Leviticus, 24, 30, 63 Liakhovsky, 97 liberals, 80 Likud Party, 12 lineage, 51, 65–66; matrilineal, 80; patrilineal, 80 Lo, Mbaye, 107 Locke, John, 48–49 London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 99 Lord, 2, 30–31, 36, 50–51, 55, 64, 102 Lord’s Resistance Army, 102–3 love, 5, 25, 32, 38, 68, 132 Lucera, 33 Luke, 56–57, 65–66 Luther, Martin, 81–82 Magdala, 68 Mahdiyyah, 98 Majlis, 89 Malachi, 50 Malaysia, 22 Mali, 110 Manzikert, 18 Mark, 56–57, 67 marriage, 21, 64–65, 67, 80, 83; Jesus, 67–68 martyr, 23, 25–27; rewards, 65 martyrdom, 22–27, 29, 35, 65 Marx, Karl, 49 Mary, 59; of Clopas, 59; Magdalene, 58, 66–68, 71, 132; mother, 65–68 Masada, 24 Mashrad, 91 Matthew, 17, 30, 32, 56–57, 65–68 Mawdudi, Sayyid Abul A’la, 6, 62

151

McTernan, Oliver, 5, 7, 32, 49, 52, 92–93, 133 Mecca, 4, 15, 21, 33, 43n118, 50, 60, 70, 86 Medina, 4, 15, 21, 33, 60 mercenaries, 22, 91 messenger(s), xiii, 43n118, 47, 49–52, 59, 132 Messiah, 4–5, 37, 58, 65, 68–70 Metzger, Bruce, 58 Middle East, 4–5, 14–15, 18–19, 22, 33, 54, 57–58, 64–65, 81, 86, 89, 91, 95, 97, 99–100, 103, 105, 107, 109, 120, 132 Milchemet Mitzvah, 5 Miles, Jack, 24, 30–31, 36, 48, 50, 53–54, 69 millennia, xi, 6, 17–18, 22, 48, 62, 71 Millerites, 20 miracle(s), 12, 23, 48–49, 51, 57, 69–70 Miriam, 59 missionaries, 18, 20, 98; British, 18; Greek, 18; Irish, 18 mitzvah, 5, 66 modernization(s)/modernity, 9, 11, 13–16, 29, 47–48, 80, 86, 132 Moloch, 24 Molotov cocktails, 91 monastery, 5 Moral Majority, 13 Mormons, 20 Morsi, Abdel Mohamed, 105 Moses, xii, 4, 36, 53, 55 Mosul, 110 movements: fundamentalist, 9–10, 13, 15–16; reform, 20; Salafi, 14 Muawiyah I, 85 Mufti, 26, 28 Muhammad, Prophet, xiii, 3–5, 10, 13–15, 21, 33, 38, 45n190, 61, 85, 132; negotiator, 21; warrior, 4 Mujahedeen, 96, 114 Muslim Brotherhood, 14, 98, 103, 104, 105

152

Muslim World, 99, 103, 108, 120, 133 Muslims, 4, 10, 13, 15–17, 20–22, 27– 28, 32–33, 37–39, 41n59, 45n190, 52, 60, 62–63, 68, 84–87, 89, 96, 108, 110, 132; Mecca, 15; Medina, 15; Modifying, 15 al-Mussawi, Abbas, 105 mystic, 49 myth(s), xiii, 1, 31, 47, 55, 57, 59, 62–63, 67, 69–70, 131–32 Nairobi, 109, 119 Napoleon, 83 Nasrallah, Hassan, 107 Nasser, 14 Nazareth, 66 Nelson-Pallmeyer, Jack, 3, 5–6, 29, 34 Nero, 30 Neusner, Jacob, 2, 14, 27, 63 New York City, 12 Nigeria, 116, 118 Nile River, 36 al-Nimr, Nimr Baqir, 91 Normans, 33 North Africa, 65 North America, 20, 81 North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 95 nuclear weapons, 87, 93, 109 Nuer, 99 numerology, 54 Ocalan, Abdullah, 95 Oman, 87, 90 Omar, Muhammad, 96, 114 Omar II, 17 Onias, Temple of, 66 Onuoha, Freedom, 118 Operation Iraqi Freedom, 86 oracle, 49 Order of Jesuits, 83 Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, 91 Osama bin Laden, 15, 28, 34–35, 95–96, 107–10, 114 Oslo Accords, 93 Ottoman(s), 19, 22, 32, 85

Index

Ottoman Empire, 32, 85 Oyewole, Samuel, 118 Pakistan, 62, 96–97, 100, 109–10, 114, 120 Palestine, 21, 26, 54, 87, 92, 94, 112, 124n66 Palestinian Authority, 93, 95, 112, 114, 124n66 Palestinian Liberation Organization, 94, 124n66 Palestinians, 92–94, 112, 120, 122n40, 124n65, 124n66 Palestinian Territories, 91 Pape, Robert, 16, 23, 34–36 paradise, xiii, 69–70 Paris, 83, 94, 124n65 Parrinder, Geoffrey, 21–22, 51, 53 Partner, Peter, 1, 22, 25–26, 32 Pasha, Nokrashy, 103 Pashtun, 114 Passover, 25, 66–67, 71 Paul, 56–58; the Apostle, 18, 71 peace, 37, 48, 68–69, 92–93, 96–97, 99, 115, 133 Pentateuch, 11, 53 People’s Council, 95 Perizzites, 36 persecution, 25–26 Persian Empire, 22 Persian Gulf, 15 Persians, 90 pestilence, 36 pharaoh, 31, 36, 55; Ramses II, 55 Pharisees, 17 Philadelphia, 12 Philippines, 20, 110 Philistines, 69 Philo of Alexandria, 56 philosophers, xiii, 6, 47–51; Durkheim, David, 49; Freud, Sigmund, 49; Hobbes, Thomas, 6, 48; Locke, John, 48; Marx, Karl, 49; Plato, 48 Phinehas Priesthood, 38 Piedmont, 82 Pilate, Pontius, 25, 56, 67, 71

Index

pilgrimage, 5, 19, 43n118, 86 pillars of Islam, 43n118, 86 Plato, 48 pluralism, 9, 80, 100 politicians, 4, 7, 21 pope, 12, 16, 18, 58, 79, 81–84; Benedict XVI, 59; Clement VII, 83; Damasus I, 56; Francis, 68; Gregory I, 68; Gregory VII, 18; Gregory IX, 60; Innocent III, 82; Julius III, 83; Leo I, 59 Paul III, 60, 83; Pius VI, 83; Urban II, 19 post-millennialism, 12–13 poverty, 35 Prague, 81 Pratt, Douglas, 58 pre-millennialism, 12 pre-millennialists, 13 priests/priestly, 4, 6, 13, 37, 47, 49, 53, 59, 81–82 prophecy, 50–51 prophet(s), 9, 13, 21, 47, 49, 50–54; Elijah, 49; Koney, Joseph, 102; Malachi, 50; Muhammad, xiii, 3–5, 10, 13–15, 17, 21, 27, 33, 38, 45n190, 50, 52, 60, 63, 65, 68, 84–86 proselytizing, 6–7, 14, 16–18, 21–22, 41n59 prostitute, 68, 71 Protestants, 11–13, 16, 20, 38, 81–84, 102, 131, 133; Amish, 16; Jehovah Witnesses, 16; Quakers, 16 Provence, 66 Psalms, 30, 53 al-Qaeda, 28, 34, 39, 95–96, 100, 103, 107–12, 108, 114, 118; in the Arabian Peninsula, 109; in Iraq, 110; in the Islamic Maghreb, 109 al-Qaradawi, Yusuf, 105 Qassam rockets, 112 Qatar, 15, 92, 95, 115 Qawwdmun, 65 qisas, 32

153

Quakers, 16 Quartet, 113 Quetta, 114 Qumran, 37, 53, 59 Qur’an, xiii, 3–6, 8n20, 13–15, 26–27, 32–33, 39, 41n59, 47, 50–52, 60–62, 64–65, 71, 89, 107, 120, 132 al-Qurayshi, abu Ibrahim al Hashimi, 111 Quraysh Tribe, 11, 21 Qutb, Sayyid, 6, 14, 28, 62 rabbi(s), 2–3, 12, 17, 25, 37, 47, 66, 80, 101 rabbinater, 80 Rabin, Yitzhak, 93 recitation, 60 Raqqa, 85 redactors, 54 redemption, 4, 23, 37 Reformation, 82–83, 87, 131; Bohemian, 81; English, 83; Protestant, 20, 82–84, 133 Rennes-le-Chateau, 67 Rephidim, 31 resolution, 5, 93, 133; Resolution 1701, 107; Resolution 2334, 94 resurrection, xiii, 12–13, 57, 67–68, 70 retaliation, 20, 29, 33, 118 revelation, 13, 27, 37, 50, 56, 60, 80 revenge, xi, xiii, 7, 9, 29–33, 85, 132 Roberts, Oral, 13 Robertson, Pat, 13 Roman Empire/Romans, xiii, 3–4, 6, 17–19, 22, 24–26, 30–31, 37, 56, 58–59, 63, 66–67, 69–72, 81–83, 132 Rome, 18–19, 30, 37, 54, 56–57, 59, 82–83 Rule of Talion, 30, 32–33, 132 Ruthven, Malise, 10, 12–13 Sabbath, xii–xiii, 25, 63 sacrifice, xi, xiii, 4, 7, 9–10, 22–26, 29, 66, 69–71; animal, 24; human, 24; infant, 28

154

Index

Safavids, 22 Saint Ignatius of Loyola, 83 Salafism, 15 Salman, Muhammad bin, 92 salvation, 4, 19, 25 Samarians, 23 Samson, 69 Samuel, 31 Sanhedrin, 25, 71; Temple Guards, 25 Saud, Muhammad bin, 14, 86 Saudi Arabia, 28, 62, 86–87, 89–92, 99–100, 105, 107, 112, 114, 132–33 savior, 23, 63–64 schisms, xi, xiii, 20, 72, 79, 81 scholars, xii, 7, 13–14, 17, 20, 23–28, 33, 35, 37, 48, 52–53, 55, 57, 61, 69–70, 84, 89, 133 scribes, 56, 58 scripture(s), 6, 9, 10, 39, 48, 52–54, 56, 59, 71, 82, 93, 100, 132 second coming, 13, 16, 68 secularism, 9, 14, 133 security, xi–xii, 10, 15, 49, 92–94, 96– 97, 102, 107, 113–14, 116–18 Seljukids, 22 settlement(s), 33, 93–94 Seventh-Day Adventists, 20 Severus, 17 al-Shabab, 103, 109, 118–19, 119, 120 al-Shafri’i, Abdullah Muhammad, 27 Shahid, 26 Sharia, 15, 32, 61, 64, 89, 91, 96, 105, 107, 114, 118, 120, 132 Shas, 12 Shekau, Abubakar, 116–17 Shi’a, 14, 26–28, 38–39, 61, 84–87, 88, 89–91, 95–97, 99, 105, 108, 120, 131–32 Sicarii, 24–25 Simon, Steven, 3, 96, 109 sin, 4, 25, 70 el-Sisi, Abdel, 105 Sistani, Ali, 89 Six Authentic Books, 61 Sixth Imam, 89

slaves, xiii, 47, 62–64 Smith, Huston, 17, 20, 48, 49 socialization, 1, 49 society, 1–4, 7n1, 9–10, 13–14, 23–24, 33, 35, 47–50, 97, 120, 132; Jesus, 83 Sodom, 86–87, 90 Solomon, 10 Soloveitchik, Joseph, 80 sovereign, 48, 51 Soviet-Afghan War, 96, 114 Soviet/Soviet Union, 90, 96, 107 Spain, 20, 22, 83 Spirit, Holy, 4, 59, 65, 68 Strobel, Lee, 57–58, 67 Sudan, 89, 97–100, 103, 116; People’s Liberation Army, 98; South, 97–100, 102–3 Sudanese Civil War, 99 suffering, 23, 58 Sufism, 14 suicide, 16, 22–26, 28–29, 34–35, 39, 112, 116–17, 132 Sumarians, 23 sunnah, 61, 84 Sunni, 14–15, 26–28, 39, 61, 84–87, 88, 89–92, 95–99, 103, 107, 109–10, 112, 114, 116, 120, 131–32 Sunni Schools of Law, 61–62; Abu Hanifa, 62; Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, 62; Malik Ibn Anas, 62; Al-Shafii, 62 supremacism, 38; Islamic, 38 supreme being, 51 sura, xiii, 27, 41n59, 50, 60–61 Swaggart, Jimmy, 13 Sweden, 82 Switzerland, 83 sword, 5, 20, 68–69 Syria, 62, 85–87, 89–92, 95–96, 99– 100, 107, 110–11, 132 Syrian Civil War, 92, 96 Syrian National Coalition, 95, 99 Syria Observatory for Human Rights, 96 Takfir/Takfiri/Takfirism, 28, 38, 108 Talhah, 85

Index

Talib, Ali ibn Abi, 38, 84–85 Taliban, 38, 96–97, 100, 103, 114–16, 115 Tanakh, 53 tariqahs, 98 Tehran, 91 Tel Aviv, 93, 112 televangelists, 13 Temple Mount, 37, 45n190, 93 Temple of Yahweh, 54 Ten Commandments, 5 text(s), xiii, 2–3, 6, 26, 51–60, 63, 71 territory, 11, 22, 34, 90, 92–94, 111, 114, 116, 122n40 terrorism, xiii, 7, 9, 15–16, 28, 33–36, 38–39, 91, 101, 118, 132; demonstration, 34; destructive, 34; Islamic, 16, 38; performance events, 34; suicide, 24, 34 terrorist(s), 16, 25, 28, 34–39, 72, 85, 96, 100–103, 105, 109–11, 114, 116–20, 132–33; educated, 35; Lord, 30, 36; middle class, 35 Testament: New, 3, 5, 13, 25, 29–33, 37, 50, 54–59, 63, 68, 72; Old, 55 theocracy, 89, 91 Theodosius I, xiii theory, 55; just war, 27 Thomas, Clayton, 109 Thomas, Gospel of, 60 tolerance, 3, 48 Torah, 11–12, 53, 80 trade, 22, 63, 97, 132; expansion, 20; routes, 18, 20 traditions, xiii, 6, 10, 15, 18, 29, 47, 52, 62, 70–71, 82, 84, 93, 100 translation, 4, 52–53, 57, 71, 81 Tree of Life, 70 tribes, 3, 5, 20–21, 33, 55, 65 trinity, 4, 59, 68 Trofimov, Yaroslav, 91 Trump, Donald, 96, 107 Turkey, 18, 86, 95–96 Twelver Ja’fari School of Islam, 89 Ulama, 38, 41n59, 84

155

United Arab Emirates, 15, 87, 92, 105, 114, 118 United Kingdom, 91, 105, 110, 118 United Nations, 90, 92, 94, 110, 112–13, 115, 124n66; Commission on Human Rights, 99; Commission on International Religious Freedom, 89; Happiness Report, 99 United States/U.S., xi–xii, 10, 12, 15, 28, 34, 38, 62–63, 80–81, 86, 89–97, 99–102, 105, 107–15, 117–18, 120; Air Force, xi; Declaration of Independence, 62–63; Institute of Peace, 99; State Department, 100 universe, 4, 25, 48, 69, 133 Uppsala Synod, 95 Uthman, 61, 85 Vespasian, General, 30 virgin, 12, 59, 64–65 Vroom, Hendrik, 1, 79, 100 al-Wahhab, Muhammad ibn abd, 14, 62, 86 Wahhabi Islam, 14, 18 Wahhabism, 14–15, 62, 86, 91, 107 Waldenses, 82 war/warfare, 1–3, 5–6, 19–20, 28, 34, 37–38, 41n59, 64, 71, 79, 81, 85–86, 90, 92–100, 102, 106–7, 109–10, 114–15, 120, 131–32; Cold, 2; Holy, 2–3, 5, 19, 22, 27; Just, 27, 33; Thirty Years, 81–82, 131; World War, I, 32, 85, 90; World War II, 31, 102; Yom Kippur, 92 Ward, Veronica, 23, 25, 27 warheads, 93 warner, 51 Wartburg Castle, 82 Washington, D.C., 102, 109 Washington, George, 63 weapons of mass destruction, 109 Weaver, J. Denny, 25 wedding, 67–69 West Bank, 16, 37, 92–95, 112–13 Westernization, 13–14

156

Westminster, Palace of, 38 Westphalia, Treaty of, 133 White, Ellen, 18, 81–84 White House, 109 wilayat al-faqih, 89 women, xii–xiii, 13, 25, 31, 35, 47, 59, 64–65, 69, 71, 98, 115 World’s Christian Fundamentals Association, 12 World Trade Center, 109 World War I, 32, 85, 90 World War II, 31, 102 worship, xiii, xiin1, 3–4, 30–31, 38, 66 Wycliffe, John, 81 Yahweh, 30, 34, 54 Yamauchi, Edwin, 58

Index

Yassin, Ahmed, 112 Yazid I, 85 Yemen, 86–87, 90, 92, 100, 109, 120, 132 Yom Kippur War, 92 Yosef, Rabbi Ovadia, 12 Yusuf, Muhammad, 116 al-Zarqawi, Abu Musab, 110 al-Zawahiri, Ayman, 28, 107–8, 110–11 zealots, 25, 30, 36–37, 39, 53 Zenn, Jacob, 116, 118 Zerubbabel, 54 Zimri, 38 Zionism, 80 Zubayr, 85

About the Author

Stephen Schwalbe is an adjunct professor at Columbia College. Formerly, he was a professor at the Air War College, Air Command and Staff College Distance Learning, and American Public University. During his thirty-year career in the U.S. Air Force, he served as the Assistant Defense Intelligence Officer for the Middle East and Terrorism, Air Attaché to South Korea, Air Attaché to Jordan, and Inspection Director for the Department of Defense Inspector General.

157