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

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a b Beaman, J: Pentecostal Pacifism: The Origin, Development, and Rejection of Pacific Belief among the Pentecostals, Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies, Hillsboro, Kan Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 February 2012 . Retrieved 13 February 2009. {{ cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title ( link) 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 ]

Abdoolcarim, Zoher (21 April 2011). "The 2011 Time 100 – Time". Time. ISSN 0040-781X . Retrieved 10 July 2021. However, there are plenty of clear references to jihad as violent struggle. For example, Q 2:216-218: William Hetherington, Swimming Against the Tide:The Peace Pledge Union Story, 1934–2009. London; The Peace Pledge Union, ISBN 978-0902680517 (p. 14) Learning from the Bruderhof: An Intentional Christian Community". ChristLife . Retrieved 27 August 2018. Peace movements became active in the Western world after 1900, often focusing on treaties that would settle disputes through arbitration, and efforts to support the Hague conventions. [46]

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: In the 13th century, Salim Suwari a philosopher in Islam, came up with a peaceful approach to Islam known as the Suwarian tradition. [117] [118] In Ancient Greece, pacifism seems not to have existed except as a broad moral guideline against violence between individuals. No philosophical program of rejecting violence between states, or rejecting all forms of violence, seems to have existed. Aristophanes, in his play Lysistrata, creates the scenario of an Athenian woman's anti-war sex strike during the Peloponnesian War of 431–404 BCE, and the play has gained an international reputation for its anti-war message. Nevertheless, it is both fictional and comical, and though it offers a pragmatic opposition to the destructiveness of war, its message seems to stem from frustration with the existing conflict (then in its twentieth year) rather than from a philosophical position against violence or war. Equally fictional is the nonviolent protest of Hegetorides of Thasos. Euripides also expressed strong anti-war ideas in his work, especially The Trojan Women. [21] Roman Empire [ edit ] Eric Roberts. "Quaker Traditions of Pacifism and Nonviolence". Stanford University. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013 . Retrieved 2 December 2013.

The Lemba religion of southern French Congo, along with its symbolic herb, is named for pacifism: " lemba, lemba" (peace, peace), describes the action of the plant lemba-lemba ( Brillantaisia patula T. Anders). [18] Likewise in Cabinda, " Lemba is the spirit of peace, as its name indicates." [19] Moriori [ edit ] People might fight because they feel that their rights, their identities, their religions or their countries are under threat. Sometimes they fight because they're scared. Sometimes they fight to get revenge. During the Warring States period, the pacifist Mohist School opposed aggressive war between the feudal states. They took this belief into action by using their famed defensive strategies to defend smaller states from invasion from larger states, hoping to dissuade feudal lords from costly warfare. The Seven Military Classics of ancient China view warfare negatively, and as a last resort. For example, the Three Strategies of Huang Shigong says: "As for the military, it is not an auspicious instrument; it is the way of heaven to despise it", and the Wei Liaozi writes: "As for the military, it is an inauspicious instrument; as for conflict and contention, it runs counter to virtue". [15] a b Ingram, Norman. The Politics of Dissent: Pacifism in France, 1919–1939. University of Edinburgh, 1988. (p. 219)

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This doctrine of abrogation enables apparent contradictions in the Qur’an to be resolved; later verses abrogate earlier ones. Furthermore, Muhammad did not advocate violence earlier in his career, but waited until he had amassed a following large enough to wage war. Earlier verses are thus more peaceful, while later verses are more violent. History". Buddhist Peace Fellowship. Archived from the original on 10 July 2021 . Retrieved 10 July 2021. Pacifism". University of Wellington. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013 . Retrieved 2 December 2013.

While many governments have tolerated pacifist views and even accommodated pacifists' refusal to fight in wars, others at times have outlawed pacifist and anti-war activity. In 1918, The United States Congress passed the Sedition Act of 1918. During the periods between World Wars I and World War II, pacifist literature and public advocacy was banned in Italy under Benito Mussolini, Germany after the rise of Adolf Hitler, [144] Spain under Francisco Franco, [145] and the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin. [146] In these nations, pacifism was denounced as cowardice; indeed, Mussolini referred to pacifist writings as the "propaganda of cowardice". [144] The Jehad. The war against the non-Muslims, so frequently recommended in the Medinese suras, almost became, as with the Kharijites, a “sixth pillar of Islam”. Islam owes to it her expansion, in which “the mission”, properly speaking, has played an insignificant role. [21] However, this verse, and many others, is regarded as having been abrogated by the ‘verse of the sword’: [11] Cooper, Andrew. "Recalling Nichidatsu Fujii". Tricycle: The Buddhist Review . Retrieved 10 July 2021.From the 16th to the 18th centuries, a number of thinkers devised plans for an international organisation that would promote peace, and reduce or even eliminate the occurrence of war. These included the French politician Duc de Sully, the philosophers Émeric Crucé and the Abbe de Saint-Pierre, and the English Quakers William Penn and John Bellers. [31] [32]

What about if most of the followers of a religion are peaceful and law-abiding? Would this make it a religion of peace? Perhaps. But what if a significant minority claim inspiration from the teaching of their religion to commit acts of war and terrorism? What if this minority has a strong claim to be following the example of the founder of their religion? What if this minority can also point to multiple religious authorities and examples through history as setting a precedent for their religious understanding? There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing. No one can claim that Islam is a religion of peace if by that they mean that it had a peaceful founder, or that its teachings advocate peaceful interaction with people of other religions, or that historically its followers have been violence-free. 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.Toye, R. (1 January 2001). "The Labour Party and the Economics of Rearmament, 1935–39". Twentieth Century British History. 12 (3): 303–326. doi: 10.1093/tcbh/12.3.303. hdl: 10036/26952. All four principle Sunni schools of Islamic law agree on the importance of jihad as warfare, as do Shi’ites. [15] There is a long history of this teaching because it is very clear in the Qur’an. [16] An online fatwa gives ten reasons why jihad is prescribed. [17] These include: “to make the people worship Allah alone”, “Frightening the kuffaar, humiliating them and putting them to shame”, “Acquiring booty”, and “Taking [i.e. making] martyrs”. Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. The word pacifism was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. [1] A related term is ahimsa (to do no harm), which is a core philosophy in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. While modern connotations are recent, having been explicated since the 19th century, ancient references abound. Ceadel, Martin (1996). The Origins of War Prevention: The British Peace Movement and International Relations, 1730–1854. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198226741.