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Religious Studies

Paper 2- Section 2:

PEACE AND CONFLICT

Revision Guide

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What is peace?

• Islam is derived from the root of the word Salaam which means ‘peace’. The Quran teaches About peace and that peace is not easy to achieve.

• For Muslims, peace is understood to be the Absence of oppression and injustice.

Islam as a religion of peace

• Muslims believe Allah created and wants a peaceful world • There are many examples of peace being shown within Islam, demonstrating its

importance, for example Muslims greet other in Arabic which means ‘peace be upon you’

• The Quran is seen to promote messages of peace and Muslims promote peace and unity through being part of the ummah (community) ‘ and when the ignorant address them harshly, they say words of peace’

Muslim teachings about peace

1. Allah created the world with the intention that peace would be part of his creation

2. Muslims believe in the personal struggle for peace of greater jihad 3. All Muslims belong to an ummah, which demonstrates ideas of living together

peacefully 4. Standing up for justice in the world is one way of achieving peace

Peace.

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Peace is important to Muslims and there are examples of organisations who promote ideas of peace such as Islamic relief and Muslim peace fellowship.

Islamic Relief:

• Founded in 2984 to help victims of war • Inspired by Islam to promote ideas of

caring for others • Works in countries such as Bosnia • Raises awareness of children living in

Bosnia • Provides teachers and school materials

for children living in poverty • Provides emergency aid and reflief

Peace making.

Muslim peace fellowship:

• Founded in 1994 and works to promote world peace

• Works against injustice – reaches out to people of all faiths

• Promotes Islamic ideas of peace and non-violence through conferences, publications and prayer

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• Conflict, where an argument or disagreement has led to a breakdown in a relationship, can cause problems within society such as lack of communication and trust. Muslims believe everything possible should be done to try to resolve conflicts within the world.

Conflict.

Outline three Muslim responses to the problems conflict causes within society

(3 marks)

Muslims may respond by working to resolve conflict through getting people to

talk

They could educate others about peace and reconciliation

They could also look to teachings of the Quran to help people understand the

importance of working together to overcome conflict

Muslim teachings and responses to the nature and cause of

conflict • Every Muslim is part of an ummah,

when conflict happens, Muslims should work to resolve it.

• Muslims believe Allah is merciful and forgiving and they should try to follow this principle in their own lives

• Muslims believe that they should not forgive those who work against Islam

• There can be many causes of conflict including politics, resources, history, culture and religion.

Muslims believe that Allah commands that they should fight back when necessary but remain just.

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Pacifism

Pacifism is a belief held that war and violence are wrong under all circumstances.

History of pacifism

Muhammad was persecuted and forced to leave Makkah in an event known as Hijrah, he was forced to use violence. Therefore, historically pacifism has not been part of Islam. Quranic revelations seemed to adopt a more defensive perspective. Today, violence is not rejected completely by Islam, but ideas of peace are promoted.

Muslim teachings about passive resistance

• Islam teachings in the Quran and Hadith strive for justice and to resist oppression

• Muslims believe it is important to resist cruelty and injustice

• Islam is often taken to mean ‘submission to Allah’ and ‘peace

This quote suggests ideas in line with pacifism. A person should not face violence with violence. Some Muslims may interpret it in this way, while others may argue that it is not suggesting the use of non-violence, but rather that a Muslim should not be the first person to attack another.

‘If you should raise your hand against me to kill me – I shall not raise my hand against you to kill you. Indeed I fear Allah’

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• Some may traditionally accept that Islam allows war in self-defence and to protect the innocent and

oppressed, for example, as seen in the Hijrah when Muhammad and his followers ere persecuted.

• Other Muslims may believe that war is never the right choice, believing that peace and reconciliation

are at the heart of Islam

The Just War theory

The Just War theory is a set of principles that is used to decide whether a war is fair and just and meets the criteria to be justified.

• It is wrong to take human life • Countries may need to protect their

people and war may be necessary to do this

• Protecting moral values may require force

YES

• Depending on the circumstances • Fighting may be the only option to bring

peace • Weapons programmed to damage set targets

rather than affect innocent lives

NO

• Other ways can achieve better results • Always the risk of causing suffering • No circumstances would necessitate a war

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This quote supports ideas of working towards peace.

Holy War.

Holy war is the name for war fought because of religious differences. It is only justifiable in cases where the intention is to defend the religion of Islam.

The conditions for holy war must be:

• Be for reasons of defence • Be declared by a religious leader • Be a last resort • Avoid harming innocent people • Not be fought to gain land • Not cause women to be abused • Treat enemies fairly • Be stopped as soon as the enemy asks for it

‘War is always wrong’

In your response you should:

Refer to Muslim teachings

Refer to different Muslim points of view

Reach a justified conclusion

Some Muslims would agree with this statement, arguing that Islam is a religion of peace and it is always wrong to use violence. They may use teachings from the Quran that show ideas of peace, or use the example of Muhammad, who sometimes did not use violence. This would help them to support the idea that life is sacred as it was created by Allah and innocent people should be threatened through war.

This student has made a good start, offering one Muslim viewpoint. To continue, the student needs to give an alternative view and include sources of

wisdom, along with a conclusion.

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Explain two reasons why many Muslims would not support the use of weapons of mass destruction (5 marks)

REMEMBER the question asks you to refer to a quote from a source of authority for Muslims

Weapons of mass destruction

Weapons of mass destruction (WMD) include nuclear, biological or chemical weapons that are able to cause widespread devastation and destruction to resources and loss of life

Muslims teachings on responses to WMD

• Use of WMB not supported because of extensive damage they would cause

• Innocent life should not be threatened • Impossible to regulate WMD under Islamic

conditions of war because of the damage caused

Non-religious attitudes and utilitarianism

• It is difficult to find any justification for the use of weapons that cause so much damage and threaten innocent life

• Utilitarianisms believe that WMD may be justified if peace is achieved in the long term and if they act as a deterrent

Utilitarianism:

actions are right if they are useful or for the benefit of a majority

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Issues surrounding conflict.

Conflict has always existed, but today’s world contains new forms of war, violence and terrorism.

Terrorism:

This is a violent form of protest that has occurred all over the world. It often has religious links with some religious groups claiming to commit acts of terrorism in the name of God, for example, 9/11/

How Muslims have worked to overcome these issues

• The Muslim council of Britain runs education programmes to inform and break down barriers

• Peaceful rallies and marches are held to promote peace

• Organisations such as, Mosaic work to bring people within communities together

Quran teachings

This quote states the things that Muslims should not do in terms of causing conflict, using violence or

starting war

Non-religious views on conflict

Even though they hold no religious views, they would value human life and believe in principles of justice and equality. Some non-religious people may even hold religion at fault

for the conflict within the world.