Broadly speaking , religion is the belief and worshiping of the supernatural power that created and pervades over everything. This power is considered to be divine and to have control over the destiny of humans and other creations But religion also refers to the institutions that hold such beliefs. Religion has been linked with piety and morals as the fear of the divine power, referred to as God. This is basically the fundamental of morals and ethics. Without religion the society as organized today will not exist. However religion has been at the origin of conflicts and divisions due to variety of visions that result from the differences in their sources and possibly from various interpretations of the religious texts. We are going to point out how the origin of conflicts in religions can be found in the core teachings as well as the the understanding of the conditions for salvation or can be politically motivated.
Among individuals of different faith as well as larger groups of people, they have been a lot of ideological conflicts that could in the worse case create separation or hatred. Even though the world biggest monotheistic religions, the so-called Abrahamic religions have some sources in common, it is difficult to come together and share the same vision for the adherents.. No matter if you are Jew, christian , Muslim, Hindu or pagan , the feeling to belong to a group or community has always brought people to identify themselves as clearly different from others and in the worst case create hatred to emphasize this difference. Hatred has lead to isolation and discrimination of a particular group or religious institution leading sometimes even to killings and mass murdering.In all revealed religions, scholars or members will agree that the scriptures depict scenes of violence passages encouraging violence as a mean of admonition . In both the Bible and the qu’ran, there are are a number of cases and of mass murdering of people. In the old testament the story of Noah and the flood shows how the wrath of God can lead to the destruction of generations. (genesis 6-8)
In Genesis 188.19 God destroyed the cities of the plain including Sodom and Gommorah due to sins. T Both Biblical and quranic doctrine inform us about the fact that God is just and equitable, forgiving and merciful but also swift in taking into account, both in this word and in the next. The main reason of the cause of destruction of people is sin so when they are warned and do not repent and stop destruction follows. in the glorious quran, various passages order to slain disbelievers.
“Slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them,” Allah instructs the Prophet Muhammad (Quran, 9:5). He continues: “Prophet! Make war on the unbelievers and the hypocrites! … Hell shall be their home, an evil fate.”
The second way in which religions have been used as a tool for conflicts within groups of people is through arguing of the difference in the doctrine. One of the greatest controversy rests on the concepts of salvation. Various major religions varies in their conception of how people are going to be saved in the hereafter.
Islam teaches that a Muslim’s good deeds are put into a balance to be weighed against his evil deeds. The balance of the deeds will be given on the final judgment day and those whose balance will weigh more positive will be rewarded will gardens of bliss whereas the sinners and wrong-doers will be thrown into the fire of Hell where they will abide forever.
“Then those whose balance (of good deeds) is heavy,- they will attain salvation: But those whose balance is light, will be those who have lost their souls, in Hell will they abide. “ 23:102-102
“We shall set up scales of justice for the Day of Judgment, so that not a soul will be dealt with unjustly in the least, and if there be (no more than) the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it (to account): and enough are We to take account.”” 21:47
Judaism also teaches a similar doctrine among many other religions but according to the dominants christian sects, Jesus(pbuh) had died for the remission of the sins of those who believe in him as their Lord . So the acceptance of Jesus is the condition for salvation.
Many other religions among the polytheistic ones such as Hinduism state that there are many Gods or that men could become Gods through achieving some stages of enlightenment and that everyone has his karmic fate according to the state of his being.
Another way in which religion in involved in conflicts is the political conflicts from the history of religious conquests and crusades till the rise of Islamic terrorism. Moreover groups of people aspiring to power and control who are ready to rule over others and dominate or subdue them, have been using religious ideologies when it was necessary to separate and weaken the groups. It should be understood that here religion is being used as an instrument because in most wars the leaders are fighting for Land or wealth or other wordily matters but will use religion to stir and increase the number of fighters for their cause. The crusades for example were a series of military campaigns organized by the popes of some western powers to counter the spread of Islam.
The crusades were organized to take Jerusalem back form Muslim control. Between 1095 and 1270 there were more than 5 major crusades among others. It should be noted that some crusades were organized against the European pagans. All the knights and warriors were involved in the crusades as well as the religious leaders at the head of the churches. Most of them were against Muslims.
Those who were fighting in the crusades were defending the Christians and were promised that if they died it is the remission of their sins and a direct way to paradise.
The rise of radical Islam has proven how religious visions, when not well understood, can lead to violence and destruction. There are arguments from both the quran and the sunnah that fighting and dying for the cause of God, that is to say for the cause of religion will lead directly to paradise. Whereas it must be clear to the reader that the texts offer the peaceful alternative(for example keeping one’s religious duties in patience and perseverance without violence) and that is one of the reason why the christian have portrayed Jesus as the most loving, but the fastest way to go to heaven is explicitly expressed in the scriptures(biblical and quranic passages) as martyrdom.
Those who believe, and suffer exile and strive with might and main, in Allah’s cause, with their goods and their persons, have the highest rank in the sight of Allah: they are the people who will achieve (salvation). al-Tawbah 9:20
Muhammad taught that the gates of Heaven were under the shadow of the swords, meaning that death for Allah’s sake assures entry into Paradise
It must be precised that the statements were uttered in the context of conflict and that the alternative is valid in every situation. The common criteria for salvation remains righteousness as fearing and obeying God leads to righteousness and immunity against Satan, the accursed. If we should respect all mankind and all religions we must however acknowledged that all the so-called revealed religion were monotheistic. If polytheism was to purified to the mightiest deity it will lead to monotheism as they could not be two Kings in the same Kingdom. The best religion must be the one that implement monotheism at it best and so far it is Islam.
Everyone should reason on his own as it is more plausible that the source of creation is one. Conflicts belong to the process of life as a whole. We are all created and should not be compete with the creator who, if is almighty must be one. If anyone could compete with him then he has defeated Islamic monotheism. Until then, we must agree with the monotheistic doctrine from Abraham through Moses and Jesus and finally Muhammad, that there is no deity but God…
