Religious Conflict over Space

Religious conflict• Religious fundamentalism- a literal

interpretation and a strict/intense adherence to basic principles of a religion (or a religious branch, denomination, or sect).

• A group convinced that it’s religious view is the correct one may intrude on the space controlled by another religious group

• Religion is a part of culture and conflict occurs in border spaces where different cultures meet

Religious Conflict• Fundamentalists come into conflict with other

religions or with nonreligious ideas.

• Religious groups oppose gov’t policies seen as promoting social change that conflicts with traditional religious values.

• As globalization of culture and economy increases, religious fundamentalism is an important way in which a group can maintain a distinct identity. But fundamentalism is also dangerous when it is used to justify violence

Religious Conflict

• Religious principles have become increasingly important in the political organization of countries.

• Islam and Hinduism have come into conflict with modernization of economy as well as nonreligious ideas from West

• Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism have been challenged by communist governments

Religion versus Social Change

• In MDCs, religion and economic growth do not necessarily come into conflict

• In LDCs, especially non-Christian ones, development and religion are seen as incompatible

Taliban Versus West

• Taliban in Afghanistan-1996- welcomed by citizens and Western MDCs.

• Religious fundamentalists• Shave beard?- beating• Adultry?- Stoning• Homosexual?-buried alive• Prostitute?- public lynching• Thief- Hands cut off• Painted nails? Fingers cut off

Taliban…

• No music playing, kites, TV, Internet-soccer stadiums became public torture arenas

• Blew up Buddha statues dated 2nd century A.D.

• Supported by CIA right up to 9/11

• Female suicides up under Taliban regime

Hinduism versus Social Equality• Caste system- class based on birth and

enforced by religious law. Dates back to the Aryan invasion of India 1500 BC

• 4 main castes- each a different form of Hinduism

• Brahmans- priests and administrators

• Kshatriyas- warriors

• Vaisyas- merchants

• Shudras- artisans and farmers- much lower than other three

Caste System

• Untouchables or outcasts- did work too dirty for other castes- descended from original inhabitants of India

• Untouchable caste abolished legally, but still persists

• Quota system to get them in universities caused strong opposition

Religion Versus Communism• 3 most affected by communism are

Buddhism, Orthodox Christianity, Islam

• Marx- religion is “…the opium of the people”

• Religious land was nationalized after the Russian Revolution

Religion Versus Communism

• End of USSR brought a revival of religion to Russia, former SSRs, and E. Europe

• Legacy of communism = large % of atheists

• Central Asian “stans” are struggling to determine the extent to which laws should conform to Islamic custom rather than secular tradition from USSR

Religion Versus Communism

• In SE Asia neither communists nor Fr/American Christians were kind to Buddhism

• In Vietnam, some Buddhist monks practiced self-immolation to protest the policies of US-backed S. Vietnam

• The idea of sacrifice is a key in Buddhist thought and self-immolation could be thought of as the ultimate form of sacrifice.

• Thich Nhat Hanh, a well-known authority on Buddhism, believes that the practice of self- immolation may be connected to the ritual of burning incense on one’s body as a form of vow taking.

• Quang Duc's self-immolation was a rallying point for political protest in South Vietnam. Directly following the self-immolation the political climate in Saigon changed. Vast demonstrations broke out. The city people, who had for years remained passive, terrified before the police, crowded into the pagodas to kneel and weep, then, following the bonzes [Buddhist monks], burst forth into the streets calling for the downfall of the Ngos [the ruling family in South Vietnam]

Religion versus Communism

• Self-immolation can be best thought of as a way of sacrificing one’s self in the name of ending suffering. In that sense, self-immolation transcends the idea of a religious practice or a political statement and becomes a spiritual plea for peace. –

• http://www.angelfire.com/nb/protest/viet.html

• During the Great Schism of the Russian Church, entire villages of Old Believers burned themselves to death in an act known as "fire baptism". Scattered instances of self-immolation have also been recorded by the Jesuit priests of France in the early 1600s. Their practice of this was not intended to be fatal, though. They would burn certain parts of their bodies (limbs such as the forearm, the thigh) to signify the pain Jesus endured while upon the crucifix.

• On November 2, 1965, Norman Morrison used kerosene to burn himself to death outside The Pentagon as a protest against the Vietnam War. Roger Allen LaPorte did so one week later outside the United Nations headquarters.

• Jan Palach was a Czech student who committed suicide by self-immolation as a political protest against the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968. Sandor Bauer was a Hungarian student who committed suicide by self-immolation in front of the National Museum in Budapest as a political protest against the Communist Regime in January 1969. Marten Moyses was a Hungarian poet who committed suicide by self-immolation in front of the Hall of the Romanian Communist Party in Braşov as a political protest against the dictatorship in February 1970.

• Kathy Change was a West Philadelphian performance artist and political activist who killed herself in an act of self-immolation on the University of Pennsylvania campus in 1996.

• In 2001 a group of people self-immolated in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China. Communist party broadcast the event nationally on Chinese new year and claimed the immolators were practitioners of the Chinese spiritual movement Falun Gong. The Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident has since been heavily debated internationally, as Falun Gong supporters claimed it was a setup by the Chinese government as part of the ongoing crackdown on the movement.[3]

• Malachi Ritscher was a Chicago musician and anti-war protestor who committed suicide by self-immolation as a political protest against the War in Iraq.

Malachi Ritscher• Malachi Ritscher was a Chicago musician and

anti-war protestor who committed suicide by self-immolation as a political protest against the War in Iraq.

• Ritscher's self-immolation took place on the side of the Kennedy Expressway near downtown Chicago during the morning rush hour of Friday November 3, 2006. In a suicide letter published on his website, he described at length his political convictions as to the Iraq War and his choice to take his own life, suggesting at one point, "if I am required to pay for your barbaric war, I choose not to live in your world."

Religion vs. Religion

• Ireland is 92% Catholic

• N. Ireland is 58% Protestant and 42% Catholic

• English colony for over 600 years

• Huge rising w/French in 1798

• United w/ UK in 1801

• Famine in 1840’s increased agitation for independence

Ireland

• IRB organized in 1800’s to fight for freedom- financially supported by Americans

• Sinn Fein (we, ourselves) became political wing of independence movement

• Easter rising 1916- IRB takes several gov’t buildings, declares independence

Ireland• All 7 leaders executed by firing squad- leads to

general uprising

• Eamon DeValera avoids death because of dual citizenship

• 1919 treaty w/ UK and civil war

• IRB becomes gov’t and IRA fights on

• 1921becomes self-governing dominion- 6 counties choose to stay with UK

• IRA and UDF the two terrorist organizations

• 1999 peace accords brokered by Clinton

Ireland

• Catholics discriminated against in jobs, education, housing

• 1960s civil rights movement- modeled after MLK.

• Conflict continues over July 12th parade commemorating the “Battle of the Boyne” in 1690

Middle East

• Problems begin in 70 AD- Jewish diaspora

• 300s to 600s- Palestine was Christian

• 600s-today predominately Muslim- Jewish minority in control since ’48

Muslim expansion

• In west through much of France- stopped by Martel in 732. Controlled parts of Spain until 1492

• In east, spread through SE Europe due to Ottoman Empire

• Byzantine Empire destroyed in 1453 by Ottomans

Crusades• Religious wars to recapture Holy Land

• Causes: looting, poverty, no social mobility in Europe, “ticket into heaven”, desire to reunite Christianity, control of Silk Road trade, militarily important

• Effects: reintroduced to ancient learning, Italians dominated silk road trade- Renaissance, animosity between Christians/Muslims

Crusades

• 1st Crusade- unorganized- captured Jerusalem in 1099

• 2nd- attempted to recapture Edessa- defeated 1187- Saladin recaptures Jerusalem

• 3rd- French, /German, English kings led Crusade. Philip went home. Fredrick drowned. Richard battled Saladin- truce 1192

Crusades

• 4th- Looted Constantinople- never made it to Holy Land

• Children’s Crusade- 30,000 unarmed children- many died from cold/starvation. Others drowned or were sold as slaves

Images of Saladin

Palestine

• Ottoman territory until about WWI, when defeated

• Falls into British hands- League of Nations/UN• British allowed some Jews into Palestine-

restricted Jewish immigration in ’30s.• Meanwhile in Europe, Zionism develops as a

Jewish nationalist movement in 1800s. Goal- Jewish state in Palestine

Palestine

• British offer Uganda to Zionists but they want Palestine

• Zionists engage in terrorism in 30s and 40s against British

• After Holocaust, Zionism goes from fringe group to the plan.

• British pull out in ’48, Zionists declare independence, US recognition within 24 hrs.

UN Plan

• UN plan in ’47 was to partition Palestine between the 2 groups and make Jerusalem an international city run by UN

• After declaration there was a war w/ Arab states- Jordan took west bank, Egypt took Gaza, Israel took everything else- split Jerusalem

Palestine

• 1967 6 day war- Israel crushed its neighbors, despite being outnumbered

• Took Golan Heights from Syria, Sinai and Gaza from Egypt, W. Bank from Jordan.

• Began settling W. Bank- about 10% Jewish

Palestinians

• 5 groups consider themselves Palestinian:• People living in W. Bank, Gaza, E.

Jerusalem• Citizens of Israel who are Muslim• Refugees of the ‘48-’49 war• Refugees of ’67 war• Citizens of other countries who call

themselves Palestinian

Factions

• Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) run by Yassir Arafat for years until death in 2004

• Fatah party- willing to recognize Israel in return for all territory taken in ’67

• Hamas- do not recognize Israel’s right to exist

• Fatah controls W. bank, Hamas controls Gaza

Israelis

• Small country surrounded by hostile neighbors

• Palestinians control high ground

• Believe Holy Land given to them by God

• Status of Jerusalem is main obstacle to peace- Israel will not give up control, Palestinians will not give up claim

Wall

• US consulting Israel about barrier to be used along US-Mexican border

Palestine