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Christianity
The Role of Religion in the Middle East Conflict
The Middle East is the cradle of the main religions of the world (Molloy, 1942). Despite this fact, the region has experience hatred and violence for many years. The two main religions involved in the conflict are Jewish and Islam. Many Arab nations portray the ongoing conflict between them and Israel as a war against their religion. In this regard, they wage war as a basis of incitement of other Arab and non-Arab nations against Israel. According to Hama (1994), the endless conflict between Arabs and Israel may not be exactly a land issue or a war between nations but a mindless pursuit to defend Arab nationalism from the israeli threat. The founder of Islam, Mohhamad cultivated the idea of jihad as a way of influencing the spread of Islam by using forceful strategies. Arab Muslim countries have perfected this ideology of jihad to amass greater spheres in their mission, this has led to an all out clash with their Jewish neighbor Israel.
Israel is in the middle of increased terror attacks from Arab nations because it is viewed as a representative of Western world positioning it at the frontline of the battle between the West and the Arab countries. The acts of terror are deeply rooted in the Arab countries and violent ideas are presented as modernized holy war. Violent Islamic groups within the Arab nations have come up with religious ways of attacking the Jews. A promise of eternal life and marriage of many wives in heaven make the war against Israel almost unstoppable. Mass murders of citizens by suicide bombers in Israel are occurring...
The acts of terror are a normal occurrence with children trained from tender ages on the cons of killing of Jews and non-Muslims (Israel Science and Technology Directory, 2012).
The education systems in most Arab countries have put in place religious learning materials that foster hatred and violence towards the Israelites. The books emphasize hatred and intolerance towards the Jews and portraying them as enemies. In vacation camps and schools, Arab children are taught basic military strategies against Israel. Muslim clerics use derogatory terms to describe Israel and to instill confidence in their student that Israel is their enemy. This system makes peace meaningless to the children, sows hatred in them and influences the coming generations as well.
The contrast between the two religions continues to instill conflict in the Middle East. Judaism does not embrace forceful conversions to other religions, it emphasizes on restoration of relationship with Yahweh. This motivated their re-settlement in the region as a biblical ancestral land an issue that has been contentious. According to Troen (2011), Zionism successfully established a Jewish state ensuring a place for the Jews in the world map. The state has become a center of interest and a player in world affairs. The Jewish faith believes that their settlement here was their right a view that is opposed by their Muslim neighbors.
Path to Peace in the Middle East
The relationship between Jews and Muslims started with the spread of Islam in 655 CE in the Arabia . The two religions share…
Reference
Hama, K. (1994, July 26). A Window-opening view of the dark, mindet so prevalent in the Arab world. Syrian Daily .
Israel Science and Technology Directory. (2012). Is improving economic conditions for Palestinian Arabs conducive to peace? Retrieved March 1, 2012, from www.science.co.il: http://www.science.co.il/
Molloy, M. (1942). Experiencing the world's religions: tradition, challenge, and change. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Prager, D., & Telushkin, J. (2003). Why the Jews?: The Reason for Antisemitism. New York:
Raddatz, M. (2011, May 8). Osama Bin Laden Videos Released by Government. Retrieved March 1, 2012, from www.abcnews.go.com: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/osama-bin-laden-home-videos-released-pentagon/story?id=13552384#.T1Dcrof2YhE
Stofka, B.D., & Fadel, M. (2011). Islam Overview. Retrieved March 1, 2012, from www.patheos.com: http://www.patheos.com/Library/Islam.html
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2012, from www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/isdf/text/troen.html
Highly Patriarchal Social Framework. In many parts of the Middle East, women are little more than chattel today based on longstanding customs: "From 3000 B.C.-A.D. 1100, man's view of himself as superior in all ways to women soon became enshrined in the law and custom of the world's earliest civilizations, those of the Middle East. Women became a chattel first of her father, then of her husband, then of her son"
Middle East Violence Three major sources of violence in the Middle East are religion, nationalism and ideology. Each source contributes to some extent to the violence, depending on the conflict. Some conflicts are largely religious in nature, such as the Shiite uprising in the Sadaa region of Yemen (McGregor, 2005). Others are rooted in nationalism, such as the conflict between Kurds and Turks in southeastern Turkey (Haney, 1999). Most conflicts blend
Their primary operations revolve around programs of exchange and dialogues, but also the offering of support for various endeavors aimed at increasing social and economic stability for the Egyptian population (HANDS Website, 2006). The institution was founded in 1988 and has since offered its support to more than 30 local organizations that were struggling to improve the quality of life for the native population. Aside the moral and economic help,
By the middle of the nineteenth century, the balance of economic strength had shifted entirely to western Europe and especially to Britain and France, which were then passing into the second stage of the industrial revolution that Turkey had hardly begun. The European powers would use their political and economic power to force the empire to allow its economy to be incorporated into the nineteenth-century liberal capitalist system. Free
Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia has also become a major distributor world of oil, in addition to the Middle East. Although its policies can no longer be predicted as reliably as during the Cold War, its interests are not always commensurate with any one actor, and it is now a volatile presence in international affairs that the United States must take into consideration when making policies. The
The Taliban also destroyed ancient religious monuments that they deemed violative of Muslim teachings even those these monuments were part of the world's heritage. It was in this environment that charismatic Muslim leaders such as Osama bin Laden were able to step in and exploit the situation to their own advantage by inspiring yet more freedom fighters from all over the Arab world to join the battle to free