What Does Islam Say About War

What does Islam say about war? • Like Christianity, Islam permits fighting in selfdefence, in defence of religion, or on the part of those who have been expelled forcibly from their homes. It lays down strict rules of combat which include prohibitions against harming civilians and against destroying crops, trees and livestock. As Muslims see it, injustice would be triumphant in the world if good men were not prepared to risk their lives in a righteous cause.

What does Islam say about war? • • • •

The Qur’an says: ‘Fight in the cause of God against those who fight you, but do not transgress limits. God does not love transgressors.’ (2:190) If they seek peace, then you should also seek peace. And trust in Allah for He is the One that hears and knows all things. (8:61) War, therefore, is the last resort, and is subject to the rigorous conditions laid down by the sacred law. The term jihaad literally means’ struggle’, and Muslims believe that there are two kinds of jihaad. The outer struggle against the forces of evil and corruption and the inner struggle which everyone wages against egotistic desires, for the sake of attaining inner peace.

Defense and War / A Biblical Perspective by Ron McKenzie Ron McKenzie is an economist in Christchurch, New Zealand. He is also a Presbyterian minister.

• The Bible gives a nation the right of self-defense. However there are a number of principles which should control the civil government’s exercise of this authority in the fulfillment of its responsibilities. 1. War is only justified for defense (Romans 13:1-8). It should not be used to expand a nation's boundaries, or to take control of another nation, or to extract trade advantages. This is a fundamental principle. A nation should never need to establish military domination in another region or nation. 2. The idea of a Christian Holy War has no basis in Scriptures. The nation of Israel conquered and destroyed the nations. This was only done after a specific and direct command from God (Deut 7:1,2). It is not an example that can be followed by Christians or a Christian nation. We should not use war to win people for the gospel. (We should be honest and admit that the crusades were a mistake, however well-intentioned the crusaders may have been).

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A Christian nation must not have a large "standing army"(Deut 17:16; 1 Kings 10:26-29). An army that is constantly training for war is dangerous, because it will be tempted to find a situation where it can use its skills. The military should not be given too much political power, as they will have a tendency to use war to solve all problems. The army of a Christian nation will not have offensive weapons (Deut 17:16). God forbade the king from acquiring great numbers of horses for himself. The reason for this was that horses and chariots, at that time, were offensive weapons used for attacking other nations. The defence of the nation would not need large numbers of them. A modern defense force should choose weapons that are best for defensive purposes. Only the civil government has authority to declare war. Individuals or companies do not have the authority to commit a nation to war. Any declaration of war must be in accordance with correct legal processes (Deut 20:10).

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War should always be the last resort. Before declaring war, the civil government should try every means possible to obtain peace (Deut 20:10). We should never forget the horror of war. It is always costly in terms of human suffering. Christians should never glorify war. While it is an honour for a man to give his life to defend his family and community, war is never an ideal solution. A Christian government should be prepared for war, if it is attacked, but it should also hope that it would never have to fight. A Christian nation should always seek God’s will before declaring war. A nation going to war, because it thinks it is right, is being presumptuous (Deut 1:41-44). Presumption is a terrible sin. If the war has God’s blessing, the army is more likely to have success. A Christian government should only declare war if it thinks it has a reasonable chance of success. Jesus said that before a king goes to war, he should sit down and consider whether he can match the army that is coming against him. If not he will send a delegation to ask for terms of peace (Luke 14:31-32), even if this involves a loss of freedom. For Christians freedom is not an absolute value. It may be better to lose freedom to govern, than to lose a large number of lives in an unsuccessful defence. In fact, because Jesus has set us free, we cannot lose our freedom.

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Deut 20:1-5 declares that a small army with God on its side can beat a large well-armed one. However, this promise should not be used as a justification for foolish wars. Total war, as it has been practiced in this last century, is prohibited by the Bible. Those engaged in war are prohibited from attacking and damaging the land (Deut 20). The same protection would apply to women and children. Non-combatants should also be protected. This prohibition makes nuclear war unacceptable. Nuclear weapons would harm the land and non-combatants. The same principle would rule out many modern weapons. Only weapons which can be targeted at combatants or other weapons can be used by a Christian nation. On the other hand, anti-ballistic missile defence systems may be justified, because they are defensive.

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Military alliances are common in the modern world. However these are forbidden over and over again in the Bible. A Christian nation has a covenant with God. It cannot be totally committed to God, and place its faith in another nation for defence (Is 31:1-3). Therefore, defence alliances are not an option for a Christian nation. God determines the appointed times of the nations and the timing of their rule. (Acts 17:26). No nation has the authority to invade another nation to change its government (even if it is evil). A nation cannot even be invaded to establish democracy. (Democracy must come from the hearts of the people, it cannot be enforced from the outside.) Most attempts by great powers to establish "better" government by force in other nations have failed, because the spiritual forces that control the nation have not been defeated (Dan 10:13). The principles outlined here allow a nation to defend itself, but there are very severe restrictions on which methods may be used. Likewise there are very strict conditions which must be fulfilled before war may be justified. Almost all modern conflicts would fail to meet these conditions.

The current war in Afghanistan • The Bible recognizes the horror of war. There are probably very few situations that would justify the cost of war. It should be an extremely rare event. • The current war in Afghanistan does not fit with these principles. The people who organized the attack on the World Trade Centre, committed a dreadful crime and should be punished as criminals. However, the nation of Afghanistan did not attack the United States. The Taliban did not attack the United States. Afghanistan may be harboring the criminals who organized the attack, but that is not a justification for war. We may dislike the Taliban intensely, but that does not justify war against them. The United States does not have the right to determine who should govern Afghanistan. (The Taliban gained power through victory in a civil war. This is the same way that the current federal system in the United States was established). The United States is not defending itself against an attack by Afghanistan, so it is not justified in attacking Afghanistan.

The war against Iraq • The war against Iraq cannot be supported from biblical principles. Iraq had not attacked the United States, so there is no justification for an attack against it. The United States intervention in Iraq was morally wrong. • New Zealand should not be sending troops to Iraq. We are not defending ourselves against an attack by Iraq, so there is no justification for us being involved in a war against the Iraqi people.