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 | "The war changed everything in my life and I was one of thousands forced to leave during the ethnic cleansing in my city. But they did not manage to change me. I have NOT learned to hate my neighbors and I never will." Lana Obradovic, a student from Bosnia Herzegovina who lost many relatives in the religious conflict there during the 1990s. |
| "Intolerance breeds injustice. Injustice invariably leads to
rebellion and retaliation, and these will lead to escalation on the
part of both making reconciliation almost impossible. It would appear
that during times of stress, despair and frustration, people become
increasingly irrational, and they do things which they never think
they are capable of. And so we see hideous brutality perpetrated by
the most gentle people."
"Once started religious strife has a tendency to go on and on, to become permanent feuds. Today we see such intractable inter-religious wars in Northern Ireland, between Jews and Muslims and Christians in Palestine, Hindus and Muslims in South Asia and in many other places. Attempts to bring about peace have failed again and again. Always the extremist elements invoking past injustices, imagined or real, will succeed in torpedoing the peace efforts and bringing about another bout of hostility." Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia, addressing the World Evangelical Fellowship on 2001-MAY-4. 4 |
The role of religion in civil unrest and war:
Often, the media does not identify the precise causes of some of the conflicts around the world. Clashes are frequently described as being ethnic in origin, even though religion may have been a main cause.
The true causes of unrest are sometimes difficult to determine. Frequently, there are a mixture of political alliances, economic differences, ethnic feuds, religious differences and others: 1
| In Northern Ireland, "the troubles" are partly rooted in Catholic/Protestant differences, partly in political allegiances, and probably partly in hatreds that go back so far that the exact reason is lost in the mists of time. |
| The Rwanda genocide was mainly between the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minority. The religious split in the country (75% Christian, 25% indigenous) appears to not have been a significant factor. |
| The war in Bosnia-Herzegovina was among three faith groups, (Muslim, Roman Catholic, and Serbian Orthodox). |
| The horrendous civil war in Sudan has a significant religious component. But inter-tribal warfare, racial and language conflicts are also involved. |
A group of world religious leaders from the Buddhist, Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox Christian, Jewish, Muslim and many other faiths met in Geneva Switzerland during 1999-OCT. They issued a document, The Geneva Spiritual Appeal, asking political and religious leaders and organizations to ensure that religions are not used to justify violence in the future. Delegates believed that that then-current 56 conflicts have religious elements.
Current conflicts and wars:
It is important to realize that most of the world's current "hot spots" have a complex interaction of economic, racial, ethnic, religious, and other factors. We list below some conflicts which have as their base at least some degree of religious intolerance:
| Country | Main religious groups involved | Type of conflict |
| Afghanistan | Extreme, radical Fundamentalist Muslim terrorist groups & non-Muslims | Osama bin Laden heads a terrorist group called Al Quada (The Source) whose headquarters were in Afghanistan. They were protected by, and integrated with, the Taliban dictatorship in the country. The Northern Alliance of rebel Afghans, Britain and the U.S. attacked the Taliban and Al Quada, establishing a new regime in part of the country. The fighting continues |
| Bosnia | Serbian Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholic), Muslims | Fragile peace is holding, due only to the presence of peacekeepers. 2 |
| Côte d'Ivoire | Muslims, Indigenous, Christian | Following the elections in late 2000, government security forces "began targeting civilians solely and explicitly on the basis of their religion, ethnic group, or national origin. The overwhelming majority of victims come from the largely Muslim north of the country, or are immigrants or the descendants of immigrants..." 5 A military uprising continued the slaughter in 2002. |
| Cyprus | Christians & Muslims | The island is partitioned, creating enclaves for ethnic Greeks (Christians) and Turks (Muslims). A UN peace keeping force is maintaining stability. |
| East Timor | Christians & Muslims | A Roman Catholic country. About 20% of the population died by murder, starvation or disease after they were forcibly annexed by Indonesia (mainly Muslim). After voting for independence, many Christians were exterminated or exiled by the Indonesian army and army-funded militias in a carefully planned program of genocide and religious cleansing. The situation is now stable. |
| India | Animists, Hindus, Muslims & Sikhs | Various conflicts that heat up periodically producing loss of life. |
| Indonesia, province of Ambon | Christians & Muslims | After centuries of relative peace, conflicts between Christians and Muslims started during 1999-JUL in this province of Indonesia. The situation now appears to be stable. |
| Indonesia, province of Halmahera | Christians & Muslims | 30 people killed. 2,000 Christians driven out; homes and churches destroyed. |
| Iraq | Kurds, Shiite Muslims, Sunni Muslims, western armed forces | By mid-2006, a small scale civil war, primarily between Shiite and Sunni Muslims started. The situation appears to be steadily degenerating. |
| Kashmir | Hindus & Muslims | A chronically unstable region of the world, claimed by both Pakistan and India. The availability of nuclear weapons and the eagerness to use them are destabilizing the region further. More details Thirty to sixty thousand people have died since 1989. |
| Kosovo | Serbian Orthodox Christians & Muslims | Peace enforced by NATO peacekeepers. There is convincing evidence of past mass murder by Yugoslavian government (mainly Serbian Orthodox Christians) against ethnic Albanians (mostly Muslim) Full story |
| Kurdistan | Christians, Muslims | Assaults on Christians (Protestant, Chaldean Catholic, & Assyrian Orthodox). Bombing campaign underway. |
| Macedonia | Macedonian Orthodox Christians & Muslims | Muslims (often referred to as ethnic Albanians) engaged in a civil war with the rest of the country who are primarily Macedonian Orthodox Christians. A peace treaty has been signed. Disarmament by NATO is complete. |
| Middle East | Jews, Muslims, & Christians | The peace process between Israel and Palestine suffered a complete breakdown. This has resulted in the deaths of thousands, in the ratio of three dead for each Jew. Major strife broke out in 2000-SEP. Major battle in Lebanon during mid-2006. No resolution appears possible. |
| Nigeria | Christians, Animists, & Muslims | Yourubas and Christians in the south of the country are battling Muslims in the north. Country is struggling towards democracy after decades of Muslim military dictatorships. More details |
| Northern Ireland | Protestants, Catholics | After 3,600 killings and assassinations over 30 years, some progress has been made in the form of a ceasefire and an independent status for the country. |
| Pakistan | Suni & Shi'ite Muslims | Low level mutual attacks. |
| Philippines | Christians & Muslims | A low level conflict between the mainly Christian central government and Muslims in the south of the country has continued for centuries. More details |
| Russia, Chechnya |
Russian Orthodox Christians, Muslims | The Russian army attacked the breakaway region. Many atrocities have been alleged on both sides. According to the Voice of the Martyrs: "In January 2002 Chechen rebels included all Christians on their list of official enemies, vowing to 'blow up every church and mission-related facility in Russia'." 7 |
| South Africa | Animists & "Witches" | Hundreds of persons, suspected and accused of witches practicing black magic, are murdered each year. |
| Sri Lanka | Buddhists & Hindus | Tamils (a mainly Hindu 18% minority) are involved in a war for independence since 1983 with the rest of the country (70% Sinhalese Buddhist). Hundreds of thousands have been killed. The conflict took a sudden change for the better in 2002-SEP, when the Tamils dropped their demand for complete independence. The South Asian Tsunami in 2004-DEC induced some cooperation. The situation in mid-2006 is degenerating. |
| Sudan | Animists, Christians & Muslims | Complex ethnic, racial, religious conflict in which the Muslim regime committed genocide against both Animists and Christians in the south of the country. Slavery and near slavery were practiced. A ceasefire was signed in 2006-MAY between some of the combatants. 3 Warfare continues in the Darfur region, primarily between a Muslim militia and Muslim inhabitants. 8 |
| Thailand | Buddhists & Muslims | Muslim rebels have been involved in a bloody insurgency in southern Thailand -- a country that is 95% Buddhist. The army has seized power and has agreed to talks with the rebels. |
| Tibet | Buddhists & Communists | Country was annexed by Chinese Communists in late 1950's. Brutal suppression of Buddhism continues. * |
| Uganda | Animists, Christians, & Muslims | Christian rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army are conducting a civil war in the north of Uganda. Their goal is a Christian theocracy whose laws are based on the Ten Commandments. They abduct, enslave and/or raped about 2,000 children a year. 6 |
* We are defining "religion" rather loosely here to include Communism.
Changes:
|
1999-JUN: NATO/U.N. forces occupied Kosovo and ended the genocide by Serbian Orthodox against ethnic Albanians (mostly Muslims). Most Serbians left Kosovo. Those remaining are being harassed; some have been murdered in retaliation for past crimes. |
|
1999-JUL: Nigeria added to list. |
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1999-SEP: Ambon added to the list. |
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1999-OCT: Chechnya added to the list. |
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2001-MAR: Macedonia added to the list. The conflict has since cooled, and a political solution reached. |
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2001-AUG: Côte d'Ivoire added to the list. |
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2001-SEP: Radical, extremist Fundamentalist Muslims centered in Afghanistan attack New York City and Washington. U.S. and Britain invade the country. The extreme Fundamentalist Muslim government, the Taliban, were later overthrown and a new government installed. |
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2002-FEB: Muslim - Hindu conflict heats up in India, focused on Kashmir. |
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2002-SEP: Conservative Christians continue civil war in Uganda. |
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2002-SEP: Hope emerged in the Hindu-Buddhist conflict in Sri Lanka, the former Ceylon. The Tamil Tigers dropped their goal of independence when peace talks resumed during 2002-SEP after an absence of seven years. They are now willing to establish a homeland within the country. |
|
2003-JAN: A coalition, largely made up of American and British forces attacks Iraq. This eventually triggers a civil war, mainly between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. |
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2004 & 2005: Little change occurs, as existing conflicts continue. |
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2006-MAY: A ceasefire was signed in Sudan between most of the warring factions. If it holds, the genocide there will probably downscale into mass murder. |
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2006-AUG: The situation in Sri Lanka appears to be degenerating. |
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2006-OCT: Thailand added. |
Sponsored links:
References:
- "HUMANs and (in)HUMANITY," is an overview of many of the world's conflicts from a Native American perspective. See: http://members.xoom.com/
- G. Scott Davis, Ed., "Religion and Justice in the War over Bosnia," Routeledge, (1996). You can order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store
- Mark O'Keefe, "Religion inflames Sudan war," The Oregonian, 1998-OCT-27, at: http://www.oregonlive.com/
- "Prime minister of Malaysia calls for end to inter-religious strife," 2001-MAY-5, at: http://www.worldevangelical.org/. (This is expected to be a temporary link.)
- "The New Racism: The Political Manipulation of Ethnicity in Côte d'Ivoire." This is a 70 page report by the Human Rights watch which describe atrocities committed during presidential and parliamentary elections in 2000-OCT & DEC.
- "Christian militants seize teen girls in raid," Independent News & Media, at: http://www.iol.co.za/
- "Russia," The Voice of the Martyrs, at: http://www.persecution.net/
- "Darfur conflict," Wikipedia, at: http://en.wikipedia.org/
Books about links between religion & violence:
| Richard Abanes, "American militias: Rebellion, racism & religion," Intervarsity Press, (1996) You can read reviews and/or order this book savely from Amazon.com online book store |
| G. Scott Davis, Ed., "Religion and Justice in the War over Bosnia," Routledge, (1996). Read reviews and/or order this book |
| Marc H. Ellis, "Unholy alliance: Religion and atrocity in our time," Fortress Press, (1997). Read reviews and/or order this book |
| Mark Juergensmeyer, "Terror in the mind of God: The global rise in religious violence," University of California Press, (2000). Read reviews and/or order this book |
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Home page > Spirituality > Peace > here |
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or Home page > Religious intolernace > Worldwide > here |
|
or Home page > Religious violence > Genocide > here |
|
or Home page > Religious laws > Genocide > here |
Copyright © 1999 to 2006 by
Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written
1999-MAR-12
Last update: 2006-DEC-11
Complied by: B.A. Robinson
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