Section 8.3 Peace and Conflict Flashcards
Should Muslims go to war?
FOR (4)
P: The Qu’ran lays down conditions for a just war
E: Just cause, lawful authority, minimum suffering, not harming innocent civilians
E: When all conditions are met, waging war is just
P: Some reasons why a Muslim must fight
E: Self defence, strengthening Islam, protecting the freedom of Muslims to practise their faith
P: Teachings from the Qu’ran
E: Surah 2: 790 ‘Fight in the case of God those who fight you but do not transgress limits’
E: Sometimes war is necessary to conquer evil
P: Examples of the prophet Muhammad
E: 624 CE the Battle of Badr which is specifically mentioned on the Qu’ran
E: He is an example for Muslims on how to lead their lives
Should Muslims go to war?
AGAINST(4)
P: ‘Islam’ means peace in a quote from Ruqaiyyah Maqsood
E: Peace and reconciliation at the heart of Islam and the teachings from the Qu’ran
E: Greetings used by Muslims when they see each other is ‘Salaam alaikum which means peace be with you
P: The Muslim Peace Fellowship
E: Motto “whatever act of violence has taken place, we deplore it”
E: Founded on the principle that violence only leads to more violence
P: Weapons of mass destruction e.g. nukes
E: Innocent civilians will always be harmed
E: Incompatible with Muslim teachings
P: Muslims are against terrorist acts such as those of Al Qaeda and Al Shabaab e.g. Westgate shopping mall attack in Nairobi
E: Hadith ‘Kill not the emaciated old, not the young children nor the women’
E: Killing of young children in Nairobi is unjust
The Just War Theory
7
- Just cause
- Declared by a lawful authority
- Fought to bring about good
- Last resort
- Reasonable chance of success
- Only necessary force must be used to achieve aim
- Only legitimate targets should be attacked
‘The Just War Theory simply does not work’
FOR (3)
P: Too simplistic to put in place
E: ‘Reasonable chance of success’
E: Very vague and can be easily interpreted differently
P: Too ambiguous to put in place
E: ‘Must have a just cause’
E: Leaders may have a different idea of a just cause. e.g gaining territory may be considered just to some
P: Some points cannot ever be fulfilled
E: ‘Only legitimate targets should be attacked’
E: Civilians always killed or harmed due to the effects of war, especially with modern weapons
‘The Just War Theory simply does not work’
AGAINST (3)
P: Acts as a guide to make sure war is fought out of necessity not greed
E: ‘Must be fought with a just cause’
E: When used by leaders to decide whether to fight a war the factors will be considered
P: Encourages combatants to think about the moral implication of their actions
E: ‘Only legitimate targets should be attacked’
E: Makes them question who these ‘legitimate targets’ are which might make a difference to civilian lives
P: Makes sure leaders won’t rush in to war
E: ‘Must be a last resort’
E: They should have thought of all the other options they could do before resorting to war
Describe how the UN works to promote world peace
4
P Organise peace talks between 2 parties in a conflict to try communicate issues between them
E requested negotiation between Sudanese government and anti-government groups after fight broke out in Darfur 2003
P impose economic sanctions against an aggressive country
E UN imposed financial and trade sanction on Iraq from 1990 to 2003 to get the county to try and resolve conflict
P dispatch peace keeping forces from member countries to prevent violence from breaking out
E in 2009: 15,000 troops from UN and African Union were in place in Darfur
E main task to protect civilians and maintain food/water supplies
P Take military actions against aggressive countries
E 1991 a UN force successfully drove out invading forces out of Kuwait
Explain why Muslims are against bullying
4
P Qu’ran teaches Allah created all humans and everyone is equal in his eyes
E ‘O mankind, you Lord is one and your father is one’ Musnad Ahmad
E bullying must not be right
P Bullying is a form of injustice, it is a duty for Muslims to fight against it
E ‘Be just, for this is closest to righteousness’ Qu’ran 5:8
P Islam teaches Muslims that they are all brothers and sisters in the Ummah
E Ummah means community in Arabic, it’s the belief that the whole community of Muslims is bound together by religion
E you wouldn’t bullying own family so shouldn’t bully others
P The judgement of Allah
E ‘Allah loves those who act justly’ Qu’ran 5:24
E He doesnt love those who bully and act unjustly
Explain why Christians are against bullying
4
P Humans made in the image of God
E Genesis: imago dei
E all humans equal
P Jesus’s teachings
E The Golden Rule
P Jesus as role model
E Mattew: ‘Jesus went through the towns … healing every disease … he had compassion on them’
E he interacted with and helped those ‘cast out’ of society
P Christians believe that after death there will be judgement day
E Parable of Goat and Sheep
E judged on their actions, so they should love others
Why is forgiveness important in Christianity
4
P Jesus taught his followers to forgive others
E The Lord’s Prayer: ‘forgive us for the wrongs we have done, as we forgive those who wrongs against us’
P Jesus’s as role model
E Parable of lost sheep: ‘There will more rejoicing in heaven over sinners who repent’
P if Christians want to be forgiven, they need to forgive others first
E Matthew ‘If you do not forgive others for their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins’
P forgiveness important for spiritual wellbeing
E Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, people encourage to tell sufferings and crimes they committed during the Apartheid
E important for Christians to have a good relationship with others + God
Why is forgiveness important in Islam
4
P teachings of Qu’ran
E Q: ‘if you pardon and forgive, then Allah is forgiving and merciful’
P example of Muhammed
E after capturing the city of Mecca he let all the leaders go when they were expected to be executed
P Teachings of Day of Judgement
E Muslims stand together on Mt Afrat during Haji to pray, during this they repent their sins and pray for Allah’s forgiveness
P Muslims part of the Ummah
E ummah means community and is the belief that whole community of Muslims bound by religion
E so good relationships and reconciliation are required
‘Schools are too soft on bullies’
FOR (2)
P bullying has huge impact on people
E studies by Yale uni show bully victims between 2-9 times more likely to consider suicide
P Punishments are too soft
E issuing warnings and detentions don’t change bully’s behaviour
How do religious organisations try to promote world peace?/General pacifism
- P: Christian Aid hold prayer vigils
E: Palestinian-Israel Conflict
E: Brings together large numbers of people to pray for peace - P: Muslim Aid provides aid
E: Syrian refugees fleeing
E: They help the victims of war rather than getting involved in the conflict - P: Pax Christi, an international Catholic organisation, encourages disarmament
E: The Italy branch has contributed proposals to the Italian government about limiting and ending the arms trade
E: Disarmament is a vital part to the goal of world peace - P: Islamic Relief/Muslim Peace Fellowship
E: Spent £400,000 on eight projects to provide people living in war torn Syria warm shelter over the winter
E: Helping victims of war, not getting involved with the conflict - P: Quakers spread message of peace
E: “War, in our view, involves the surrender of the Christian ideal”
E: Spreads the idea that war is against God’s wishes, which promotes world peace - P: CAFOD - Catholic Agency for Overseas Development hold massive campaigns
E: Helped organise a week long pilgrimage for peace
E: This advertised and promoted world peace, especially to Christians - P: EAPPI - The Ecumencial Accompaniment Programme in Palastine and Israel work directly in those troubled regions
E: They supply volunteers for both sides, where they will for three months and help out the civilians by listening to them and helping them with their everyday lives, as well as keeping an eye on the soldiers
E: Shows that there is an international community keeping an eye on the situation - P: Famous Pacifists
E: Martin Luther King - “ [We believe in] not advocating violence. I want you to love your enemies.”
E: Their fame spread the ideal of world peace
Explain how a religious organisation tries to promote world peace
- P: Christian Aid holds prayer vigils
E: Recently held one for the Palestinian-Israel Conflict
E: Encourages Christians to unite together to prayer for peace and also spreads awareness - P: Provide aid to victims of war
E: Helping Syrian refugees
E: Demonstrates love and pacifism by helping but refusing to get involved with the fighting - P: Prints informative leaflets about their fight for world peace
E: Spreads information on what the charity is organising, such as on the International Day of Peace
E: Spreads awareness about peace to large audiences - P: Encouraging Christians to raise money for world peace through volunteering
E: Collecting donations in the street
E: These donations goes to supporting victims of conflict, as well as the volunteering spreading awareness
(D) Religious Organisations should not get involved with politics. Do you agree?
YES
1. P: A religious organisation does not represent the people
E: Around 4.5% of the UK are Muslim
E: It would be unfair for a Muslim organisation to become involved when 95.5% of the population are not Muslim
P: Separation of Church and state is a fundamental part of democracy
E: It would therefore threaten democracy if one group got too involved in politics
P: Religion does not always co-ordinate with modern thinking
E: Abortion is legal in the UK but the RCC does not support it
E: If a religious organisation got involved, it could hold back legislation which could be controversial
NO
1. P: Religious organisations are involved in politics anyway
E: War in Syria has affected a lot of Muslims
E: It is a Muslim’s duty to help them and so therefore they have to be involved
- P: Religious organisations do a lot of good in politics
E: EAPPI sending volunteers to Israel and Palestine
E: This is having a good effect - P: Religious organisations would raise political awareness if they were involved
E: Charities already campaign for world peace
E: It would be good for democracy if more people became aware of what was going on in the world
Why do wars occur?
- P: Religious reasons
E: Israel and Palestine are two nations with two different national religions who are fighting over who owns religious land
E: As the land is important to both of the, their religious differences are causing conflict - P: Economic resources
E: Critics of the Iraq War say that the USA attacked Iraq because it wanted it’s huge oil fields
E: The oil fields were very beneficial to the USA’s economy and it was probably a factor of why they went to war - P: Ethnic hatred
E: The opposing sides in the Darfur conflict have a traditional hatred for each other
E: This long standing hatred was a large reason why the violence broke out between the two sides - P: Political differences
E: Before the Afghanistan Conflict, the country has shifted from monarchy to communism to democracy.
E: Each change caused conflict in different groups as they each took control, causing lasting resentment.
(D) If everybody followed religious teachings, it would put an end to bullying. Do you agree?
YES
P1: Ummah
P2: Goes against discrimination
P3: Religious role models
NO
P1: Religious people still discriminate
P2: Misinterpretation of religious text - inner conflict
P3: Religious teachings - still different views
AGAINST: Christianity on War
- P: Jesus’ Teachings
E: “Blessed are the peacemakers”
E: Jesus encourages pacifism and as he is the messiah, Christians should do the same and not go to war - P: Famous pacifist Christians
E: Martin Luther King Junior “ [We believe in] not advocating violence. I want you to love your enemies.”
E: Achieved civil rights success without the use of violence - P: Church Teachings, such as the Quakers
E: “War, in our view, involves the surrender of the Christian ideal”
E: Quakers will therefore not support war, as their church deliberately looks down on it - P: Biblical Teachings against violence
E: “Thou shall not murder”
E: War goes against fundamental Christian rules, therefore it’s bad
FOR: Christianity on War
- P: It is a necessary evil
E: As seen in the Just War Theory, there are sometimes just causes for going to war - such as Britain and France going to war when Hitler invaded Poland
E: It was necessary to stop him - P: Jesus’ Teachings
E: He taught Christians to stand up for what they believe in, as seen in ‘The Cleansing of the Temple’
E: Christians should follow Jesus’ teachings as he is the messiah, and this might mean they sometimes have to go to war - P: St. Paul’s Teachings, a person with divine authority
E: “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities”
E: As governing authorities say that sometimes countries must go to war, Christians should obey according to St. Paul’s teachings - P: Christians in the past have found it necessary to fight
E: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, when he realised Hitler needed to be stopped as he was going to continue killing
E: Past Christian figures show that sometimes the only way to achieve peace is through conflict
Why is there religious conflict within families?
- P: Same sex relationships
E: “No man is to have sexual relations with another man; God hates that” - Leviticus”
E: If therefore a Christian is in a same sex relationship, this can cause disagreements - P: Children having issues with authority
E: “Honour your mother and father” - Ten Commandments
E: Therefore if religious parents feel that they’re not getting enough respect, they will be angry as they will believe their child is not following their religion - P: If a child wishes to change their religion
E: If a child wishes to change to a religion other than Christianity, they cannot go to heaven as Christians believe “It is on the Last Day that Jesus will raise up those who have believed in him”
E: Worrying and upsetting for parents that their child will not go to heaven - P: Children having pre-marital sex or cohabiting
E: Jesus taught promiscuity was wrong in the story of the ‘Woman at the Well’
E: Jesus is the messiah and so will be important to parents, who may frown upon their children taking a more liberal view of his teachings
