Page 270 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol IV
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religion and war 1571
The Quran at times is clear in its support of the insti- jihad” represents the striving of Muslims to overcome
tution of war: “Warfare is ordained for you, though it is their own tendencies toward selfishness, hatred, and
hateful to you; but it may happen that you hate a thing hubris; it does not mandate the slaughtering of infidels.
which is good for you, and it may happen that you love Muhammad’s triumphant return to Mecca is recast
a thing which is bad for you” (2:216). Such passages accordingly in some Islamic historical sources. In 630 CE,
combine in Islam with an important historical fact about when Muhammad enters the city with his huge army, he
the prophet Muhammad (571–632 CE): “Muhammad, it asks the Meccan nobles who had threatened his life
will be recalled, was not only a prophet and a teacher, like eight years earlier, “What am I to do with you?” Their
the founders of other religions; he was also the head of leader, Abu Sufyan, replies: “The best.” With that, Mu-
a polity and a community, a ruler and a soldier. Hence hammad frees all his rivals, in the process converting
his struggle involved the state and its armed forces” them to Islam by his generosity. In this strain of Islam,
(Lewis 1990, 49). In one of the most famous episodes in Muhammad rules by justice not fear, war is never initiated
the founding of Islam, Muhammad flees his native city of by Muslims, but fought defensively and reluctantly, and
Mecca in 622 AD, ridiculed and threatened by the town tolerance is among the highest values.
leaders for his religious teachings. Eight years later, he This moderate vision of Islam has guided much of the
returns as a conqueror, leading an army of ten thousand religion historically. When the Moors (a Spanish term
into Mecca and converting the city in the process.As John for Muslim) crossed the Mediterranean to Gibraltar in
Kelsay, a professor of religion at Florida State University, 711 CE and conquered Spain, they ushered in a seven-
writes, “At least with respect to the example of Muham- hundred-year-long period not of oppression but of cul-
mad, then, it was possible to speak of the use of lethal tural flourishing, as Muslim art, architecture, and ideas
force which was right, in the sense of divinely sanctioned were peaceably integrated with those of the indigenous
—even divinely commanded” (Kelsay 1993, 45). culture. The longest continually existing Christian com-
The Abbasid caliphate during the classical period of munity in the world exists not in Greece, Italy, or Eng-
Islamic civilization (c. 750–1258 CE) established an land; it is a Coptic Christian community in Egypt, a land
imperial state based in Baghdad and, employing the prin- dominated by Islam since 700 CE.
ciples of divinely sanctioned war, ruled an empire extend- Islam’s history with regard to war is thus more varied
ing from Egypt to Spain. During the Christian Crusades, than many popular contemporary depictions in the West
Muslim forces enjoyed a series of decisive victories over would suggest.
the crusaders, keeping much of the Middle East in Mus-
lim control. Thus, although pacifism is found in some Hinduism:
forms of Sufism (Islamic mysticism), mainstream Islam From Kshatriya to Ahimsa
historically accepts warfare as a God-given instrument. War would seem to hold an unquestioned position of
This does not mean, though, that war is accepted in acceptance in Hinduism.The structure of the caste system
Islam as a normal and acceptable condition. Far more of suggests as much, with the Kshatriya (warrior) constitut-
the Quran speaks of peace than of war: “The good deed ing one of the four main social classes. While classical
and the evil deed are not alike. Repel the evil deed with Hinduism traditionally holds that all of creation is
one that is better. Then lo! He between whom and thee infused with a spark of the divine and killing is thus not
there was enmity will become a bosom friend” (41:34). to be taken lightly, the warrior’s dharma (duty) to fight is
Even the concept most often associated with the Islamic consistently judged to outweigh this consideration. The
support of violence, jihad, literally translates from the Mahabharata, one of the greatest epic poems in all of
Arabic as “striving” and not, as it is often translated, as world religious literature, examines the dilemma faced by
“holy war.” In traditional Islamic thought, the “greater the Kshatriya and concludes: “Since those evil actions