RSB15Peace and Conflict: Peace, Peacemaking, Conflict and Pacifism

Peace means more than the absence of war. For many Muslims it means harmony with Allah, within yourself and with other people. The Arabic word salam (peace) shares its root with the word Islam.

• Allah is called al-Salam, “Peace”, one of his names in the Qur’an (59:23). Paradise is described as “the abode of peace” (Qur’an 10:25, Pickthall’s translation).
• The greeting as-salamu alaykum (“peace be upon you”) is used every day, and each Salah ends by wishing peace to the right and to the left.
• Qur’an 25:63 describes the faithful as people who “walk upon the earth modestly, and when the foolish ones address them answer: Peace” (Pickthall’s translation). Many Muslims take this to mean they should not answer insults or aggression in kind.
• Why peace is important: Muslims believe Allah created humans to live in harmony and to act as stewards (khalifah) of the earth; peace lets people worship, work, raise families and practise justice.
• Peace with Allah comes first: many Muslims believe inner peace comes from submitting to Allah’s will. This is what “Muslim” (one who submits) means.
• Peace and justice go together: the Qur’an tells believers to stand firm for justice (4:135), so most Muslims believe a “peace” that leaves people oppressed is not true peace.

Peace

Harmony between people, and for many Muslims within oneself and with Allah; more than the absence of war.

Salam

Arabic for peace; the greeting as-salamu alaykum means “peace be upon you”.

al-Salam

“Peace”: one of the names of Allah (Qur’an 59:23).

Most Muslims describe Islam as a religion of peace. Muslims understand this in different ways, and the claim is often debated.

• Teachings Muslims point to: killing one innocent person is like killing all mankind (Qur’an 5:32); “There is no compulsion in religion” (Qur’an 2:256, Pickthall’s translation); Allah does not forbid kindness and fair dealing towards those who have not fought Muslims (Qur’an 60:8); if the enemy inclines to peace, Muslims must too (Qur’an 8:61).
• Peace in daily life: controlling anger (Qur’an 3:134 praises “those who control their wrath and are forgiving”), honesty, charity (Zakah), good relations with neighbours of every faith, and the greater jihad: the inner struggle against selfishness.
• Fighting is allowed only under strict rules: most Muslims believe Islam permits defensive war (lesser jihad) but forbids starting hostilities (Qur’an 2:190). Many say this fits a religion of peace, because the aim of defence is to restore peace and justice.
• Different understandings: some Muslims stress that Islam is peace with Allah first, so it is about the believer’s heart rather than politics; others stress justice, believing peace must sometimes be defended; a minority are pacifists.
• Why the claim is debated: critics point to wars in Muslim history and to violent groups that claim to act in Islam’s name. Mainstream Muslim scholars reply that such groups break the Qur’an’s rules of war, and that wars in history were usually about power and land, as with every civilisation.

Religion of peace

The belief, held by most Muslims, that Islam’s teachings aim at peace with Allah, within oneself and between people.

Greater jihad

The inner, personal struggle to live as a good Muslim.

Peacemaking is working to end conflict and build peace. Muslims teach that lasting peace needs three things.

• Justice: putting right what is unfair. The Qur’an says “Be ye staunch in justice” even against yourself or your family (4:135, Pickthall’s translation), and warns not to let hatred of a people stop you dealing justly (5:8). Without justice, anger and conflict return.
• Forgiveness: letting go of blame. The Qur’an allows a response equal to the harm done, but says the reward of whoever pardons and puts things right is with Allah (42:40). The Prophet Muhammad forgave the people of Makkah, who had persecuted the Muslims, when he returned there in 630.
• Reconciliation: rebuilding a broken relationship. Qur’an 41:34 says: “Repel the evil deed with one which is better, then lo! he, between whom and thee there was enmity (will become) as though he was a bosom friend” (Pickthall’s translation).
• Surah 41:31–38 (the spec’s source) describes those who stay steadfast in faith and do good; verse 35 says the power to repel evil with good is given only to “those who are steadfast”. Many Muslims learn from it that peacemaking takes patience and self-control.
• Making peace between believers: “The believers are naught else than brothers. Therefore make peace between your brethren” (Qur’an 49:10, Pickthall’s translation). Verse 49:9 tells Muslims to make peace between two groups who fight, “justly”.

Three conditions for lasting peace in Muslim teaching

Peacemaking

Working to end conflict and build lasting peace.

Justice

Putting right what is unfair; fairness for everyone.

Forgiveness

Letting go of blame and the wish for revenge against someone who has done wrong.

Reconciliation

Restoring a relationship after conflict, so former enemies can live together.

Muslims work for peace through charities, through education and dialogue, and as individuals. Learn two or three examples with a date.

• Islamic Relief Worldwide was founded in Birmingham in 1984. It gives emergency aid to people caught up in war and disaster, whatever their faith, and runs longer-term projects (water, schools, jobs) that tackle the poverty that can lead to conflict.
• Muslim Aid, a UK charity, does similar relief and development work. Many mosques raise money for both charities, often through Zakah and Sadaqah.
• Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1890–1988), a Muslim from what is now north-west Pakistan, founded the Khudai Khidmatgar (“Servants of God”) movement in 1929. Its members promised never to use violence while campaigning against British rule.
• Malala Yousafzai, from Pakistan, campaigns for girls’ education. In 2014 she became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, after surviving an attack in 2012. She links education to peace.
• Interfaith work: in Britain, many mosques hold open days and join local interfaith groups, so that people of different faiths and none get to know each other and challenge prejudice.
• Why Muslims do this: Allah is al-Salam; the Qur’an commands justice (4:135) and making peace (49:9–10); helping victims is an act of charity and of the greater jihad.

Islamic Relief Worldwide

A Muslim charity founded in Birmingham in 1984 that gives emergency aid and development help to people of any faith.

Khudai Khidmatgar

“Servants of God”: a non-violent Muslim movement founded by Abdul Ghaffar Khan in 1929.

Conflict is a serious disagreement or argument, which may become violent; war is armed conflict between groups or countries.

• Causes: land and borders; resources such as water and oil; power and politics; injustice and oppression; ethnic or national identity; religious differences; retaliation for past harm; poverty and inequality.
• Muslim teaching on the causes: greed and pride are sins; the Qur’an condemns those who “make mischief” in the land and destroy crops (2:205); injustice is a cause of conflict that Muslims must oppose by just means.
• Surah 2:190–195: “Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! Allah loveth not aggressors” (2:190, Pickthall’s translation). Most Muslims read this to mean fighting is allowed only in defence, never to start a conflict.
• Stopping when the enemy stops: “But if they desist, then lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful” (2:192, Pickthall’s translation). Verse 2:193 says there should be no hostility, once they stop, except against wrongdoers.
• Doing good: the passage ends by telling Muslims not to throw themselves into ruin, and to “do good” (2:195). Many Muslims read the whole passage as limiting war, not encouraging it.

Most conflicts have several causes at once

Conflict

A serious disagreement or argument between people, groups or countries, which may become violent.

Aggressor

The side that starts an attack; Qur’an 2:190 says Allah does not love aggressors.

Conflict harms whole societies, not only the people who fight.

• Problems: death and injury, including civilians; refugees forced from their homes; destroyed homes, schools, hospitals and farmland; hunger and disease; long-term trauma; poverty; distrust and hatred between communities that can last for generations.
• Practical responses: Muslims give money and time to charities such as Islamic Relief and Muslim Aid; mosques collect for emergency appeals; Muslim doctors and volunteers work in war zones; families and communities welcome refugees.
• Religious responses: praying (du’a) for victims and for peace; Zakah and Sadaqah for those in need; working for justice so that causes of conflict are removed; teaching young people to reject hatred.
• Teachings behind them: saving one life is like saving all mankind (Qur’an 5:32); the ummah is one body; the Qur’an tells Muslims to “do good” (2:195).
• Situation ethics (Joseph Fletcher, 1966): the right action is the most loving one (agape) in each situation, not a fixed rule. Applied to conflict, it asks which response would do most good for the people affected. It might support aid and negotiation, and, in rare cases, defending the weak by force if that is the most loving thing to do.
• Muslim responses to situation ethics: many Muslims agree that love, mercy and the effects of an action matter, but believe Allah’s law (the Qur’an and Sunnah) sets limits that no situation can override: e.g. never deliberately killing civilians, whatever the result.

Refugee

A person forced to leave their country because of war or persecution.

Situation ethics

An ethical theory (Joseph Fletcher, 1966): in each situation, do the most loving thing (agape); love is the only absolute rule.

Agape

Unconditional, selfless love for others.

The spec requires non-religious views here: atheists (who do not believe in God) and Humanists (who live by reason, empathy and concern for others, without belief in God) hold a range of views about whether religion causes conflict.

• Some atheists argue that religion causes conflict because it divides people into believers and unbelievers, makes people certain they are right, and claims God’s backing, so it is harder to compromise. They point to wars fought partly over religion in history, such as the Crusades and Europe’s wars of religion.
• Many Humanists agree that religion can make conflict worse, but argue that most conflicts are about power, land and resources, with religion used as a label or a rallying cry. Humanists UK supports a secular state, in which no religion is favoured, as a way to protect people of every belief.
• Other non-religious people note that religion also inspires peacemakers, and that non-religious governments have fought wars too: they judge each conflict on its causes.
• Muslim responses: Islam teaches peace and forbids aggression (Qur’an 2:190), so violence in its name is a misuse of religion, not its cause; most wars, including those in Muslim history, have been about power and land; “There is no compulsion in religion” (2:256), so war to spread Islam is not allowed; religion gives people reasons to forgive and reconcile (41:34).
• Some Muslims accept part of the criticism: they agree that religious differences have sometimes been used to stir up conflict, which is why Muslim scholars condemn extremism and why many Muslims take part in interfaith work.

Atheist

A person who believes there is no God.

Humanist

A person who lives by reason, empathy and concern for others, without belief in God.

Secular state

A state in which government is separate from religion and no religion is favoured.

Pacifism is the belief that violence and war are always wrong, so a person should never take part in them.

• History of pacifism: early Christians often refused to fight; the Quakers have refused to fight since 1660; in the First and Second World Wars, conscientious objectors in Britain refused to fight on grounds of conscience; in the 20th century Gandhi used non-violence to campaign for India’s independence.
• Surah 5:27–30 tells of the two sons of Adam (named in Muslim tradition as Habil and Qabil). When one threatens to kill the other, he replies: “Even if thou stretch out thy hand against me to kill me, I shall not stretch out my hand against thee to kill thee” (5:28, Pickthall’s translation).
• How Muslims interpret it: some see it as support for pacifism, showing it is better to suffer harm than to kill; most see it as a lesson in not starting violence and not seeking revenge, rather than a ban on self-defence.
• Most Muslims are not pacifists: the Qur’an gives permission to fight “because they have been wronged” (22:39, Pickthall’s translation) and asks why believers would not fight for the oppressed (4:75). They believe defensive lesser jihad can be a duty.
• Some Muslims are pacifists or close to it: Abdul Ghaffar Khan’s Khudai Khidmatgar refused all violence; some Sufi Muslims stress peace and the inner struggle; many Muslims point out that the Prophet Muhammad and his followers suffered persecution in Makkah for years without fighting back.

Pacifism

The belief that war and violence are always wrong.

Pacifist

A person who refuses to take part in war or violence.

Conscientious objector

A person who refuses to fight in a war because of their conscience.

Passive resistance is opposing a government or law without violence: for example by protests, marches, strikes, sit-ins or refusing to obey unjust orders.

• Muslim teaching: Muslims must oppose injustice; a hadith recorded by Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi says that one of the best forms of jihad is to speak a word of truth to an unjust ruler. Passive resistance lets Muslims do this without breaking the rules against starting violence.
• The Arab Spring was a wave of mainly peaceful protests across the Middle East and North Africa that began in Tunisia in December 2010. People protested against unemployment, corruption and governments that denied them freedom.
• Tunisia: weeks of protest led the president to leave the country in January 2011. Egypt: millions protested, many in Tahrir Square in Cairo; President Mubarak resigned in February 2011. Muslims and Christians in Egypt took part together.
• Limits: in some countries, such as Syria, protests that began in 2011 were met with force and the country fell into a long civil war. Some people concluded that peaceful protest does not always work against a government willing to use violence.
• Earlier example: Abdul Ghaffar Khan’s Khudai Khidmatgar used non-violent protest against British rule from 1929, even when members were beaten and imprisoned.

Elements of the Arab Spring, 2010–2011

Passive resistance

Non-violent opposition to a government or law, e.g. protest, strikes or refusing to obey.

Arab Spring

A wave of mainly peaceful protests across the Middle East and North Africa from December 2010.

Tahrir Square

The square in Cairo where many Egyptians protested in early 2011.