An Interfaith Panel Discusses the War in Iraq
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Date: 19 January 2007
Is the Iraq War a "Just War?" An Interfaith Discussion
Dolores Leckey
Senior fellow at Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University, the author of many books, including Just War, Lasting Peace: What Christian Traditions Can Teach Us
Dr. David R. Smock
Vice President of the Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution and associate vice president of the Religion and Peacemaking program at the U.S. Institute for Peace, editor of Interfaith Dialogue and Peacebuilding, and author of Religious Perspectives on War: Christian, Muslim and Jewish Attitudes Toward Force
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf
Founder and CEO of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, author of the book, What’s Right with Islam is What’s Right with America
This discussion begins with an overview of religious responses to the recent escalation of the war announced by President Bush on January 10th. With the exception of the Southern Baptists, who have supported the war in Iraq from the beginning, most denominational leaders expressed either moral opposition or questioned the emphasis on the increased use of force when peacemaking ought to be the mission.
The panel then discussed the Christian, Jewish and Muslim “just war theories,” noting many similarities, but pointing out that both the Jewish and Muslim traditions express a concern that war not endanger the natural environment, an element not found in the Christian theory.
Imam Rauf said that the Muslim tradition would oppose the U.S. “adventure” in Iraq (which, he noted, many Muslims regard as a war against Islam), but the same tradition would condemn tactics used by Muslim insurgents, such as roadside bombs, attacks on civilian markets and mosques, and the current sectarian warfare. All panelists agreed that those engaged in power politics often use religious vocabulary to achieve their ends, even if it contravenes religious ethics. This is true of Muslims, Christians and Jews.
All panelists agreed that none of the just war theories could justify an attack on Iran. Dolores Leckey, making a distinction between “pre-emptive” war (where forces are massed and ready to go, triggering an appeal to self-defense) and “preventive” war (Iraq and Iran being examples) where judgments are often based on nebulous or questionable evidence because something might happen, which cannot be justified.
The Panelists recommended diplomacy and negotiations as ethical exit strategies for Iraq.
The panel then discussed the Christian, Jewish and Muslim “just war theories,” noting many similarities, but pointing out that both the Jewish and Muslim traditions express a concern that war not endanger the natural environment, an element not found in the Christian theory.
Imam Rauf said that the Muslim tradition would oppose the U.S. “adventure” in Iraq (which, he noted, many Muslims regard as a war against Islam), but the same tradition would condemn tactics used by Muslim insurgents, such as roadside bombs, attacks on civilian markets and mosques, and the current sectarian warfare. All panelists agreed that those engaged in power politics often use religious vocabulary to achieve their ends, even if it contravenes religious ethics. This is true of Muslims, Christians and Jews.
All panelists agreed that none of the just war theories could justify an attack on Iran. Dolores Leckey, making a distinction between “pre-emptive” war (where forces are massed and ready to go, triggering an appeal to self-defense) and “preventive” war (Iraq and Iran being examples) where judgments are often based on nebulous or questionable evidence because something might happen, which cannot be justified.
The Panelists recommended diplomacy and negotiations as ethical exit strategies for Iraq.
Scandal in the Polish Catholic Church
David Gibson
Catholic journalist, author of The Rule of Benedict: Pope Benedict XVI and His Battle with the Modern World
The sudden and unexpected resignation of Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus, slated to be installed as Archbishop of Warsaw and thus head of the Catholic Church in Poland, stunned the country. He resigned because he had collaborated with the secret police in the days of communism. David Gibson says that Cardinal Glemp, current Archbishop of Warsaw, estimates that up to 15% of the Catholic clergy of Poland were collaborators to some degree (and that means different things in different circumstances).
This scandal is rocking a church that is coming to terms with modernity, and abandoning many of the traditional practices of Catholicism. It can, according to Gibson, have a real effect on the project at the center of Pope Benedict’s papacy: the re-Christianization of a secular Europe.
This scandal is rocking a church that is coming to terms with modernity, and abandoning many of the traditional practices of Catholicism. It can, according to Gibson, have a real effect on the project at the center of Pope Benedict’s papacy: the re-Christianization of a secular Europe.
The Reorganized Church of Latter Day Saints (or Community of Christ)
Roger Lanius
Scholar of Mormon history, author of Father Figure: Joseph Smith III and the Creation of the Reorganized Church
Roger Lanius describes the “reformation” of the Reorganized Church of Latter Day Saints, the church founded by Mormons who remained in Illinois and did not go to Utah.
He notes that this “Reorganized LDS Church” became the Community of Christ, and has moved closer to mainstream Christianity. It was founded by Joseph Smith III, the son of the prophet of Mormonism, and it never preached or practiced polygamy.
He notes that this “Reorganized LDS Church” became the Community of Christ, and has moved closer to mainstream Christianity. It was founded by Joseph Smith III, the son of the prophet of Mormonism, and it never preached or practiced polygamy.
Kabbalah: the Emerging Controversy
Ira Rifkin
Journalist exploring Kabbalah in the contemporary world, and author of The Spirituality of Globalization: Making Sense of Economic and Cultural Upheaval
Ira Rifkin defines Kabbalah as the Jewish mystical tradition, and says it is practiced in numerous ways: with prayer, contemplation of the Hebrew alphabet, even with amulets or red string. But it is rooted in the Torah, the Hebrew language, and traditional Jewish practice. It has become popular in the modern day (thanks partly to its star practitioner, Madonna) to Jews and non-Jews alike. Why is it so attractive today? Rifkin says it is part of a contemporary emphasis on the non-intellectual elements in religion, a part of the “spiritual seeking” in which so many people are engaging.
Some contemporary Jews have problems with its popularity among non-Jews because they see it as one-of-a-piece with Judaism itself, and believe it is much more than just another “New Age” tradition.
Some contemporary Jews have problems with its popularity among non-Jews because they see it as one-of-a-piece with Judaism itself, and believe it is much more than just another “New Age” tradition.
