Religion 261

Responses to 9/11
1) Politics and Economics not Religion
2) Religion is the problem
3) Abuse of religion is the problem
Clash of Civilizations?
Attitudes to War
1) Holy War
2) Realism
3) Pacifism
4) Just War/Jihad tradition
The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands.
The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world. Americas
vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now oneSo it is the policy of the United States to seek
and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture,
with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world. This is not the primarily the task of arms,
though we will defend ourselves and our friends by force of arms when necessary.Our goal
instead is to help others find their own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way.
George W. Bush, 2nd Inaugural
We must begin by acknowledging the hard truth that we will not eradicate violent conflict in our
lifetimes. There will be times when nationsacting individually or in concert-will find the use of
force not only necessary but morally justifiedFor make no mistake: evil does exist in the world.
A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitlers armies. Negotiations cannot convince al
Qaedas leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to
cynicism-it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of
reasonWhatever mistakes we have made, the plain fact is this: the United States of America has
helped underwrite global security for more than six decades with the blood of our citizens and the
strength of our armsSo part of our challenge is reconciling these two seemingly irreconcilable
truths-that war is sometimes necessary, and war at some level is an expression of human folly.
Barack Obama, Nobel Peace Prize Speech
Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive,
and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came.With malice toward
none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive
on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have
borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just
and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.
Abraham Lincoln, 2nd Inaugural
Recommended Further Reading:
James Turner Johnson, The Holy War Idea in Western and Islamic Traditions
John Kelsay, Islam and War: A Study in Comparative Ethics
Michael Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations
Mark Totten, First Strike: America, Terrorism, and Moral Tradition