Center for Reduction of Religious-based Conflict

Middle East

This area of the world is sizzling.  And, there appears to be no end in sight.  While religious-based conflict may not be the core reason for the conflicts there in every instance, it surely is, at the very least, a basic influence and a major underpinning.

The Middle East region of the world is a good example of why religious tolerance alone  cannot and will not reduce religious-based conflict.  To the contrary, it gives the paramount support for the Center’s approach, going beyond tolerance to attack this problem.  So, the world must go forward by, among other things, emphasizing education in the direction of teaching the value of finding and emphasizing those common threads of similarity of religions rather than emphasizing the differences – though they certainly exist.

 Judaism versus Islam

Conflict, in which the Jews as a religious group were involved, in this part of the world, goes back more than 3,000 years, and is historically documented in the Jewish and Christian Old Testaments, among other records. History reveals that this conflict among these Semite neighbors in the Middle East has had at its heart the overemphasis of religious differences between Islam and Judaism.  Even though, until the advent of the modern country of Israel as a de jure Jewish nation in 1948, the Jews, as many other religions, had not escaped conflict and violence throughout the world from other sources as well.  The establishment of Israel, however, focused back – for the first time in centuries – their conflict almost exclusively in the Middle East.

And, the cost was high for both sides.  After the 1948 War, more than 700,000 Jews in 8 Arab countries were forced flee for their lives, their property ransacked, and their schools, hospitals, synagogues and cemeteries expropriated or destroyed. On the other hand, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were either forced from their lands after the UN founding of the state of Israel, or tragically, have remained quarantined in squalid camps sustained by UN and Arab countries’ aid.  Of all those countries, only one country, Jordan, has extended citizenship to the Palestinians.

While many might argue that the Arab-Israeli Wars of the latter part of the 20th century, and the subsequent unstable and violent situation have not been religious-based in nature, it appears the genesis of these conflicts was. Not seldom do initially religious-based conflicts subsequently take on a separate life of their own.  Though no major Arab-Israeli wars have erupted in the last decade, there remains in the Middle East a tinder-box tension.  This is particularly true since the renewal of the Israel/Palestine fighting in 2000 and again in 2014.  Lives are lost almost daily – on one side, or both – and billions of dollars are spent in support of military establishments and their adventures which could otherwise have been focused on the immediate and humanitarian needs of those peoples.  For instance, on the Jewish side, the Israeli newspaper, Ha’aretz reported that the Muslim Intifada begun in 2000 had cost Israel more than $2.4 billion in lost revenue between the period October 2000 and December 2001.  Besides lost tourism, a substantial amount of this money was lost because of the number of Palestinian workers in Israel dropped from an average of 124,000 in the 3rd quarter of 2000 to only 4,000 in the final 2 quarters of 2001, likewise increasing the burden of lost income on the Muslim side.

However, the Jewish/Islamic conflict is not limited to the Middle East.  In late December, 2000, two Islamic men stopped a school bus carrying 50 Jewish children between the ages of 8 and 10 at gunpoint near Paris, France, and residents of the mainly Arab suburb stoned the vehicle.  It was believed that the incident was related to some 200 attacks against Jews or Jewish property by Muslims in France earlier that year in October.  In fact, according to a French government report issued in early 2002, acts of violence against the Jews increased from one in 1998 to nine in 1999 to 116 in 2000.  If one includes other anti-Semitic incidents, ranging from threats to arson, the numbers went from 74 in 1998 to 603 in 2000.

In early 2002 the conflict between the Jews and Muslims outside of the Middle East took a new turn for the worst. On March 30th 15 young masked Muslim immigrants in Lyons, France rammed stolen cars through a Jewish synagogue’s front gate, crashing into the temple’s front doors. The security guard was punched in the face and kicked in the ribs. It was one of more than 300 anti-Jewish incidents in France, home of 6 million Muslims, in a 3 week period, compared with 200 in all of 2001. Sharp increases in attacks on Jews were reported in Britain, Russia and Belgium as well.  Some called this a new wave of anti-Semitism in Europe.

Later in 2002 and into 2003 the violence in the Middle East escalated sharply.  There were attacks and counter attacks between the Palestinians and Israelis.  Innocent men, women and children died by the hundreds on both sides.  In June, 2003 at the urging of the U.S. President George W. Bush, the two sides again sat together to attempt to bring peace to the area.  While this attempt showed initial short-term success, it quickly diminished again into violence.

In late 2003, suicide car bombers attacked two synagogues in downtown Istanbul, Turkey killing 23 people and injuring more than 80.  One explosion went off outside the Neve Shalom Synagogue, the city’s largest.  The other severely damaged the Beth Israel Synagogue in the affluent district of Sisli, three miles away.  This was not the first time the Neve Shalom Synagogue had been attacked.  In 1986 gunmen had killed 22 worshippers and wounded 6 others during a Sabbath service there.

2012, 2013 and 2014 have not been substantially different. Continuing pressure against (not only) Israel from Iran via its surrogates Hamas and Hezbollah shows no end.  The conflict Israel and the world have over the constructing new Israeli settlements on land both Israel and Palestine claim as their own remains complex and dangerous.  The now more than three-year internal conflict in Syria poses potential danger to the entire Middle East area should it explode across Syrian borders.  The change in governments in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and well as the ongoing conflict in Bahrain between the Sunni-led government and the majority Shiite citizens sees no immediate solution.  These and more not only threaten general stability in the area but the existence of the state of Israel as well.

These trends, both within and without the Middle East, have not changed in recent years.

  • Bahrain is an excellent current – and possibly unique – example of the major and continuing unrest in that part of the world. Unrest which seems to have no end in sight, as well as potentially posturing undetermined local and international long-term consequences. Whatever the case, a cardinal and significant change is taking place on our planet right before our eyes, the effects of which will be felt for generations to come.

    In Bahrain, a political and religious storm is raging. The ruling family is Sunni Muslim and the majority of the kingdom’s population is Shiite. Clearly, the religious differences between the two branches of Islam are at the fore here. To go even further, many experts feel these religious differences are the principal reason for the dispute and developing violence. Protests and demonstrations that began in February 2011 have turned into violence with loss of lives and property damages. These violent conflicts have emphasized Shiite claims of discrimination in the country, where Shiites say the best jobs and government posts go only to Sunnis, among other things. To the west, the Saudi Arabia Sunni government supports the Sunni leaders of Bahrain, while to the east, the Iranian Shia government supports the majority Shia citizens in their almost daily demonstrations aimed at overthrowing the current Bahraini government. Make no mistake: there is a clear religious-based conflict – of major proportions – going on here.

    To make the situation even more dramatic, the U.S. Fifth Naval Fleet is harbored in Bahrain, and from the western perspective at least, represents the only stability for almost 20% of the world’s traded oil supply, which flows out of the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz daily. Should a Shia government become a reality in Bahrain would the U.S. Fifth Fleet be able to remain there with an Iranian supported government in Bahrain? And, what would the consequences of the Fleet’s departure be if that were to become reality? How would such a change affect neighboring Sunni controlled Saudi Arabia?

    Though the traditional conflict between the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam is not new, the violent outburst in Bahrain is. And its potential consequences could be dramatic in changing the political and geopolitical scenery of that area, bringing potentially even more instability to the region. We will continue to follow these disturbing developments in this newest hotspot.

  • Muslims versus Christians

    In January, 2000 the bloodiest conflict in 20 years took place between Muslims and Coptic Christians in a small town about 300 miles (500 kilometers) south of Cairo. More than 20 were killed with another 33 wounded. What started out as an argument between a Coptic Christian and a Muslim family quickly deteriorated into bloodshed between other Christians and Muslims.

    After the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, many in the West thought Egypt could have a so-called democracy and more people would have jobs, the youth would have a more optimistic future and the masses would have more of a say in the control and direction of the government. Sadly, they were disappointed. Unrest continued, protests and riots remained in the streets. Neither the Islamists nor the Christians or others seem happy with the situation.

    In July/August 2013 the chaos and violence in Egypt took a new turn. First the president, Mohamed Morsi, was overthrown by the Egyptian military which, similar to the military in Turkey, attempted to bring stability back to Egypt. The opposite happened. Backers of Morsi who was supported by the Muslim Brotherhood took to the streets to protest and, as often happens, the protest turned violent. The military, after warnings, worked to stem the violence, causing even more violence. This basic conflict was highlighted by moderate Muslims in violent clashes against the Muslim Brotherhood as well as Muslims attacking the Coptic Christians and their holy places.

    Though the Egyptians as a nation are basically a tolerant people, this periodic conflict there between two of the world’s great religions continues.

  • Persecution of the Baha’is

    The Baha’is are adherents of a 19th century Persian prophet, Baha Ullah, who preached equality and world government. Its present religious dogma seeks “universal peace” for all humanity.

    Though not the only victims of religious persecution in the world, the Baha’is deserve special mention. There are only a handful of governments in the world which totally integrate religion with politics. Iran is one of them. This then, is what places the persecution of the Baha’is, a basically passive religion, in such a unique light. There are some 300,000 adherents of this faith in Iran, all of whom have been targets of what can only be described as a genocide campaign by Iran’s fundamentalist theocracy. In fact, beginning with Ayatollah Khomeni’s government in the 1980′s there was established a department for the inquisition directed toward religions other than Shiite, and especially the Baha’is. For example, elected leaders of the Baha’i national council faced an automatic death sentence – some 200 having been executed between 1979 and 1984 alone. The Khomeni government acted with impunity against the Baha’i, because members of this religious minority were considered “non-persons’ under its constitution, and accordingly afforded no protection in Iranian courts.

    More insidious is the economic persecution. Baha’i families have been, and are continued to be, pushed out of their jobs and denied access to schools. Bahai pensioners and former civil servants were forced to refund all pension checks received from the previous government of the Shah.

    A sad example is the case of Dhabihu’llah Mahrami who had been a prisoner of the State in Yazd for more than 10 years. His crime: he was a Baha’i. He had only to disavow his religion to be released. He didn’t. Finally on December 15, 2005 he died of unknown causes while still in prison. Subsequently, the Baha’i leadership pronounced him a martyr, a hollowed title bestowed by that religion.

    For further information on the Baha’i, click here

    Discrimination against the Jews

    The previous Shia president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, one-time Republican Guard commander, continued the national policy of the Ayatollah Khomeni’s tradition by calling for the destruction of Israel – simply because they are Jews; having made many statements such as desiring to erase “this disgraceful blot (Israel) from the face of the Islamic world”. HIs successor who was elected in 2013, Hassan Rouhani, though more moderate in his demeanor and speeches, has not repudiated nor altered Ahmadinejad’s policy.

  • RECENT events in Iraq and Syria confirm once again the major problem of religious-based conflict in our world. With the rise of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the world is now confronted with another major problem. Though ISIS itself is about 4 years old, most were surprised when it became active in northern Iraq in the summer of 2014. And, it is now certainly the most major and most recent example of religious-based conflict in our world. Why? Because ISIS are a heterogeneous group of people, from many countries, who are over-emphasizing their social, cultural and religious differences with all others, are categorically against all beliefs other than their own, and are using conflict and violence to further that ideology

    Shiite Muslims versus Sunni Muslims

    The conflict between these two branches of Islam epitomized itself in the Iran-Iraq in the 1980′s which we have characterized as the Crusader War of the twentieth century.

    The Muslim religion is the youngest of the great religions and carries inside of itself several dramatically divergent branches. Of these, one of the most radical is the Shiite, particularly as practiced in Iran. The fundamental Shiite branch of Islam, led in Iran by the then Ayatollah, Ruhollah Khomeni, set its sights on “converting” its neighbor in Iraq, which follows the more moderate beliefs of Sunniism, into Shiitism, in a manner sadly reminiscent of the Crusader Wars of the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. Thus, it has been the missionary goal of Shiite Islam to form a united Muslim nation guided by the Koran, free of all wholly secular notions. Khomeni’s consuming ambition was to spread the wings of Shiite Islam over (at least) the other countries of the Persian Gulf region. This religious passion precludes the existence of any other religions in this region. Besides religious conversion, the Ayatollah desired Iraqi territory so he could make good on his threat to march two million of his followers through Baghdad on their way to Jerusalem. This war, which officially began on September 22, 1980, lasted more than eight years and cost hundreds of thousand of lives and untold property damage, including a number of foreign oil tankers and related vessels in the Persian Gulf.

    Though this religious philosophy of Khomeni is clearly the aggressor philosophy of the two branches of Islam, it is curious to note that it was the Sunni under the regime of Saddam Hussein of Iraq that initiated the 1980 war with Iran. Iraqis frequently referred to it as Saddam’s Qadisiya, in reference to a battle in 637 A.D. during which the Arabs triumphed over superior numbers of Persians from the Sassanid Empire. As we know, Iran is Persian, not Arab, and a country of 44 million, as opposed to Iraq’s 27+ million people.

    Though Khomeni has passed from the scene, there remain strong forces in both countries dedicated to his philosophy – causing unabated tensions. The so-called Second Gulf War which began in 2003 and succeeded in evicting Saddam Hussein and his Ba’ath Party from power has so far changed little of these powerful undercurrents between these two nations.

    Iraq, itself, now being rid of the despot, Saddam Hussein, who for more than 30 years controlled – and even temporarily stopped – conflict between the Sunni and Shiite branches of Islam, now finds itself a hotbed of religious-based conflict between these two branches of that major religion. Sadly, as Iraq emerges from the totality of dictatorship, this new freedom and lack of iron-fisted control has opened the festering religious hatreds of yesteryear. The road to freedom from tyranny can be long and difficult.

  • The long history of this ancient land, which goes back about 12,000 years, has been chaotic. During its more modern history Syria has been invaded and ruled by at least 12 different peoples or countries – the last being France – until it finally reached a measure of independence in 1946.

    Throughout the 1950’s and into the early 1960’s, Syrian politics were especially bloody and chaotic. Then in 1963, a coup put the Ba’ath Party into power and it remained in control until 2011. Hafez al-Assad took over both the party and the country in a 1970 coup, and the presidency passed to his son Bashar al-Assad following Hafez al-Assad’s death in 2000. The younger Assad was seen as a potential reformer and modernizer, but according to many reports his regime has proved corrupt and ruthless. Beginning in the spring of 2011, a Syrian Uprising sought to overthrow Assad as part of the so-called Arab Spring movement.

    Initially the Arab Spring movement was peaceful but as months passed and outside movements became a part of it, it became increasingly violent and chaotic without any one leader. This violence has turned into what many call a civil war. It is safe to say that almost all civil and revolutionary wars have a tendency to become internationalized. Foreign private groups and states in the neighborhood take advantage of the local difficulties of weaker and more vulnerable states and support religious or political rivals, including secessionist groups. Such support is aimed at achieving certain concrete religious as well as political objectives.

    One of the main underpinnings of this movement – from the very beginning was religion. Syria has a complex array of religions represented among its citizens. Approximately 74% of Syrians are Sunni Muslims. Another 12% (including the al-Assad family) are Alawis or Alawites, an off-shoot of the Twelver school within Shi’ism. Approximately 10% are Christians, mostly of the Antiochian Orthodox Church, but also including Armenian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, and Assyrian Church of the East members. As with Bahrain the rulers since 1963 have belonged to the minority Shia religion causing feelings of discrimination among the ruled who belong to the majority religion of Sunni Muslims.

    As of early May, 2013 it was confirmed by Israeli, French, English and USA intelligence that the chemical gas, ricin, had been used against people in Syria. Initially the allegations were that this gas was used by the Assad regime (Alawite/Shia) against the rebels (mostly Sunni) during the civil war there. However, on May 5, 2013 a United Nations investigator indicated that Syrian rebels, not the Assad regime, had used chemical weapons in the two-year civil war, the inverse of previous assessments by American and Western authorities. Carla Del Ponte, head of the independent UN commission investigating reports of chemical weapons use in Syria, told a Swiss-Italian television station that UN investigators gleaned testimony from victims of Syria’s civil war and medical staff which indicated that rebel forces used sarin gas — a deadly nerve agent.

    If used, ricin is a poison which, when in the form of a gas is inhaled, works by getting inside the cells of a person’s body preventing the cells from making the proteins they need. Without the proteins, cells die. Eventually this is harmful to the whole body, and death may occur.

    In spite of the involvement in late 2013 by the international community via the UN, the so-called civil war continues. Reports in October, 2013 stated that at least 100,000 people had lost their lives in the previous 2 years alone.