A Religion of Peace?: Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn't

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Today, the United States requires that all young men register for selective service but does not allow them to be classified as conscientious objectors unless they are drafted in some future reinstatement of the draft, allowing them to be discharged or transferred to noncombatant status. [147] Some European governments like Switzerland, Greece, Norway and Germany offer civilian service. However, even during periods of peace, many pacifists still refuse to register for or report for military duty, risking criminal charges. This hadith also justifies spreading fear: “I have been made victorious with terror.” ( Bukhari4.52.220) Overy, R. (1 May 2013). "Pacifism and the Blitz, 1940–1941". Past & Present. 219 (1): 201–236. doi: 10.1093/pastj/gtt005. Reinhard R. Doerries, Hitler's Intelligence Chief: Walter Schellenberg, New York. Enigma Books, 2013 ISBN 1936274132 (p. 33) Winder, Virginia. "Conflict and Protest – Pacifist of Parihaka – Te Whiti o Rongomai". Archived from the original on 5 July 2009 . Retrieved 29 July 2007.

Gavin B. Henderson, "The Pacifists of the Fifties" Journal of Modern History 9#3 (1937), pp. 314–341, on British developments. online Effendi, Shoghi. Directives from the Guardian. India: Baháʼí Publishing Trust. pp.53–54. Archived from the original on 25 July 2006 . Retrieved 15 September 2006.It is often stated today, in defending the reputation of Islam against the worst excesses of those who advocate terror, that Islam is a ‘religion of peace’. How should we assess such a statement? There were conscientious objectors and war tax resisters in both World War I and World War II. The United States government allowed sincere objectors to serve in noncombatant military roles. However, those draft resisters who refused any cooperation with the war effort often spent much of the wars in federal prisons. During World War II, pacifist leaders such as Dorothy Day and Ammon Hennacy of the Catholic Worker Movement urged young Americans not to enlist in military service. In this article we will start by examining the meaning of ‘Islam’ and ‘Jihad’ and move on to the teaching of the Qur’an, and the example of Muhammad. We will briefly discuss the teaching of religious leaders and the history of Islam. I will conclude that Islam cannot be described as a ‘religion of peace’ in terms of its teaching, the example of its founder, or its history. The meaning of ‘Islam’ Harry W. Laidler, Harry W. Socialism in thought and action (1920) covers wartime roles in many countries online.

Pacifism may be based on moral principles (a deontological view) or pragmatism (a consequentialist view). Principled pacifism holds that at some point along the spectrum from war to interpersonal physical violence, such violence becomes morally wrong. Pragmatic pacifism holds that the costs of war and interpersonal violence are so substantial that better ways of resolving disputes must be found. Here killing should continue until the unbelievers pay the Jizya after they are humbled or overpowered. If the purpose of killing was only to acquire permission and freedom of preaching Islam, it would have been said “until they allow for preaching Islam”. [18] But Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs also believe that war is sometimes necessary to defend communities against violence. In that case, there are strict rules for war. In Islam, for example, war must be in self-defence. Fighting must be a last resort. Innocent people and children must not be harmed. Property must not be destroyed and no plants or animals should be killed. But rules like these are often ignored. Fighting is going on all over the world, and religion or at least religious people are often in the frontline. However, you could argue that it's not the religions that are causing the conflict. It's the people. Here ‘Jizya’ is the Islamic subjugation tax to be paid by Christians or Jews who have accepted the subjugated status of ‘dhimmi’.Notice that this command is described as having been ordained for “the Children of Israel”– i.e. the Jews. It is not said to be a command for Muslims today. Even if it were ordained for Muslims today, there is an exception clause that is conveniently left out of the quotation: “…unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land.” The question then arises as to what constitutes “mischief” ( fasadin). The term is very broad. In one passage in the Qur’an, merely disputing Islam is regarded as making mischief (Q 3:60-63). In another passage, rejecting Allah is making mischief (Q7:103). There is a hadith that explains that this passage refers to polytheists ( Sunan Abu Dawud 38:4359). The classical commentary on the Qur’an, Tafsir Ibn Kathir (2:11) explains: Fighting is prescribed for you, and ye dislike it. But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you… Indeed, those who have believed and those who have emigrated and fought (jihad ) in the cause of Allah – those expect the mercy of Allah. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.

Troxel, Duane; Cole, Juan; Lambden, Stephen (17 October 2003). "Tablet of Ridván: Wilmette Institute faculty notes". bahai-library.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2011 . Retrieved 13 September 2006. Beginning in the 16th century, the Protestant Reformation gave rise to a variety of new Christian sects, including the historic peace churches. Foremost among them were the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Amish, Mennonites, Hutterites, and Church of the Brethren. The humanist writer Desiderius Erasmus was one of the most outspoken pacifists of the Renaissance, arguing strongly against warfare in his essays The Praise of Folly (1509) and The Complaint of Peace (1517). [21] [29] Martin Ceadel, Pacifism in Britain, 1914–1945: The Defining of a Faith. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980. ISBN 0198218826 (pp.298–299). We do not abrogate a verse or cause it to be forgotten except that We bring forth [one] better than it or similar to it. Do you not know that Allah is over all things competent? (Q2:106)History". Buddhist Peace Fellowship. Archived from the original on 10 July 2021 . Retrieved 10 July 2021. a b c Weidhorn, Manfred (2004). "Pacifism Lost". International Journal of Humanities and Peace. 20 (1): 13–18. The Spanish Civil War proved a major test for international pacifism, and the work of pacifist organisations (such as War Resisters' International and the Fellowship of Reconciliation) and individuals (such as José Brocca and Amparo Poch) in that arena has until recently [ when?] been ignored or forgotten by historians, overshadowed by the memory of the International Brigades and other militaristic interventions. Shortly after the war ended, Simone Weil, despite having volunteered for service on the republican side, went on to publish The Iliad or the Poem of Force, a work that has been described as a pacifist manifesto. [61] In response to the threat of fascism, some pacifist thinkers, such as Richard B. Gregg, devised plans for a campaign of nonviolent resistance in the event of a fascist invasion or takeover. [62] France [ edit ] A peace sign, which is widely associated with pacifism World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi, 2011 Kramer, Ann (2013). Conscientious Objectors of the Second World War: Refusing to Fight. Barnsley: Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1844681181.

Axis aggression that precipitated World War II has been cited as an argument against pacifism. [155] If these forces had not been challenged and defeated militarily, the argument goes, many more people would have died under their oppressive rule. Adolf Hitler told the British Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax in 1937 that the British should "shoot Gandhi, and if this doesn't suffice to reduce them to submission, shoot a dozen leading members of the Congress, and if that doesn't suffice shoot 200, and so on, as you make it clear that you mean business." [156] Hochschild, Adam, To end all wars: a story of loyalty and rebellion, 1914–1918, p. 277, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011, ISBN 0618758283 The Southern Baptist Convention has stated in the Baptist Faith and Message, "It is the duty of Christians to seek peace with all men on principles of righteousness. In accordance with the spirit and teachings of Christ they should do all in their power to put an end to war." [110]Bertrand Russell argued that the necessity of defeating Adolf Hitler and the Nazis was a unique circumstance in which war was not the worst of the possible evils; he called his position relative pacifism. Shortly before the outbreak of war, British writers such as E. M. Forster, Leonard Woolf, David Garnett and Storm Jameson all rejected their earlier pacifism and endorsed military action against Nazism. [66] Similarly, Albert Einstein wrote: "I loathe all armies and any kind of violence; yet I'm firmly convinced that at present these hateful weapons offer the only effective protection." [67] The British pacifists Reginald Sorensen and C. J. Cadoux, while bitterly disappointed by the outbreak of war, nevertheless urged their fellow pacifists "not to obstruct the war effort." [68] a b Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed: The Story of Le Chambon and How Goodness Happened There Philip P. Hallie, (1979) New York: Harper & Row, ISBN 006011701X