Unit 8:
Peace and
Conflict
Page
Contents
3
Keywords
4
The United Nations – a non-religious organisation
working for world peace
7
Pax Christi – a religious organisation working for
world peace
8
The Causes of War
9
Recent Conflicts – Iraq
10
Recent Conflicts – Arab-Israeli conflict
12
The Christian Just War Theory
13
Why the Just War Theory is Important
14
Christian Attitudes to War
17
Muslim Attitudes to War
18
The Muslim Just War Theory
20
The Issue of Bullying
21
Christian Attitudes to Bullying
22
Muslim Attitudes to Bullying
23
Religious Conflict Within Families
25
Christian Teachings on Forgiveness and
Reconciliation
27
Muslim Teachings on Forgiveness and
Reconciliation
2
Keywords
Aggression
attacking without being provoked
Bullying
intimidating/frightening people weaker than yourself
Conflict
resolution
bringing a fight or struggle to a peaceful conclusion
Exploitation
taking advantage of a weaker group
Forgiveness
stopping blaming someone and/or pardoning them for what
they have done wrong
Just war
a war which is fought for the right reasons and in a right
way
Pacifism
the belief that all disputes should be settled by peaceful
means
Reconciliation
bringing together people who were opposed to each other
Respect
treating a person or their feelings with consideration
The United
Nations
an international body set up to promote world peace and
cooperation
Weapons of
mass
destruction
weapons which can destroy large areas and numbers of
people
World peace
the ending of war throughout the whole world (the basic aim
of the United Nations)
3
The United Nations
The UN defines the culture of peace as ‘all the values, attitudes and forms of
behaviour that reflect respect for life, for human dignity and for all human
rights, the rejection of violence in all its forms and commitment to the principles
of freedom, justice, solidarity and understanding between people.’
After the Second World War the allied countries got together to discuss in which
ways such an organization could be created. In 1945 50 countries got together
in San Francisco and signed an agreement that created the United Nations.
Membership is open to all peace - loving nations. Today there are about 200
countries in the UN - only very few have not become members.
The UN has 3 basic aims:



To maintain international peace and security
To develop friendly relations among countries.
To help countries develop economically and
socially.
It works for peace in 2 ways:
1) By trying to resolve conflicts that have broken out. This is through
peace negotiations and, once a truce has been agreed, supplying a
neutral force to ensure that both sides are keeping the peace.
2) By trying to prevent conflicts from happening in the first place.
To do this the UN has teams of skilled negotiators who try to get both
sides around the table to talk through their problems and resolve them
without going to war. The UN also works at tackling the sort of problems
that can cause conflict, such as social and economic inequalities between
countries.
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One way in which the UN promotes peace is to send a peace keeping force into
troubled areas. The UN does not have its own army, but the countries who
belong to it voluntarily supply troops for peace keeping duties. Originally the
idea of the UN was to be an international police force whose job was to be
present and observe things like a ceasefire but not engage in any action.
The role of UN peacekeepers was forced to change after the atrocities like the
genocide in Rwanda in 1994. The UN peacekeepers stood by, powerless to
intervene as thousands of people were killed. Now, in certain situations, UN
peacekeepers are instructed to enforce peace and even to intervene in disputes
with force.
An example of the UN’s work: Cyprus
The island of Cyprus has had a long troubled history with countries like
Britain, Greece, and Turkey all claiming ownership of it at different
times. With UN help, in 1960 the island gained its independence from
Britain, but later disputes arose between Turkish people in the north
and Greeks in the south. Peace could only be kept between the two
sides by a UN buffer zone in the middle, controlled by a peacekeeping
force.
In the background, the UN continued talking to both sides to try and
bring about a lasting peace and, in September 2008, the UN succeeded
in getting leaders from both sides to sit down and talk about unification.
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Where the UN work (2010)
Tasks:
Choose ONE of the UN agencies listed below. Find out what it does and
how this is linked to world peace.
Choose from:
World Heath Organisation (WHO),
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF),
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR)
b) Do you agree that peacekeepers should not be allowed to fight as it
doesn’t make sense? Give two reasons for your point of view (4 marks)
c) Explain how the UN works to promote world peace (8 marks)
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Pax Christi – A Christian
organisation working for world
peace
Taken from www.paxchristi.org.uk
Pax Christi is an international Christian peacemaking movement, based on the
gospel (the 4 books which record the life of Jesus) and inspired by faith. Their
vision is of a world where people can live in peace and without fear of violence,
in all its forms. They believe in the power of prayer, reconciliation, forgiveness,
justice and nonviolence and of the right to live in a culture which promotes
these values. They believe they must treat the whole of God’s creation in a
respectful and just (fair) manner.
To achieve this Pax Christi works within the Church and wider community to
bring about a culture of peace by:

standing against violence and promoting the option of non-violence as
means of resolving conflict in our homes, communities, nations and
between nations;

providing peace education materials and programmes

ensuring the message of peace is heard by the Church, by decision
makers and those working in our communities;

providing networks, practical skills, resources and support, and working
with other individuals and organisations to bring the Peace of Jesus to all
who long for a better world.
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The Causes of War
Wars have occurred throughout history. A war is more than a dispute between
individuals; it is between whole communities or between nations. People go to
war over many things and sometimes the causes go back in history and relate
to issues which were never fully resolved. Other reasons for war include:
Religious reasons
Religious differences
have been the cause of
many wars in history
e.g. the Crusades, the
struggles between
Roman Catholics and
Protestants in Northern
Ireland
Economic reasons
This is when one country grabs land or wealth
from another. In the past the wealth may have
been silver or gold, nowadays it is oil or mineral
resources. This can lead to the exploitation of a
small country by a more powerful one.
Social reasons
This may happen when one
community wants to force another
group to behave in the same way as
they do, or attacks them because of
their ethnic differences. This is what
happened in Bosnia, where ethnic
cleansing took place.
Moral reasons
This might be because one community
feels obligated to attack another to
restore the inhabitant’s human rights.
Task: In groups look at a different daily newspaper and go through it to see if there
are any references to wars going on around the world at the present time.
1) Who is involved?
2) What are the reasons for the conflict?
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Recent conflicts – you must learn 1 of them in detail.
1) The Iraq War
Civilians rushed to tear down Saddam Hussein’s
statue as troops arrived in Baghdad
This was began in 2003 (although related, it is not to be confused with the war
on terror in Afghanistan). The there are many reasons for this war, which have
snowballed as it has gone on. Originally American and British forces attacked
Iraq because they believed that Saddam Hussein had stock piled weapons of
mass destruction which could threaten the West. These weapons were never
found, and recently it has emerged that the original case for Iraq having them
was greatly exaggerated. US and UK leaders also said that there was a moral
reason for the war too – Saddam Hussein was a dictator who abused his
citizen’s Human Rights. Secret police, torture, murders, deportations, forced
disappearances, targeted assassinations, chemical weapons, and the
destruction of wetlands (more specifically, the destruction of the food sources
of rival groups) were some of the methods Saddam Hussein used to maintain
control.
Critics of the war said that the real reason for the war was for economic
reasons and the USA actually wanted access to the huge oil fields in Iraq. Some
people said that the USA and UK showed aggression by attacking a country that
has not threatened them. The leaders however said that the war was justified
to prevent a future attack.
This is just one of many mass graves
uncovered in Iraq. The identity of all of the bodies may never be known. The
cost of our troop’s lives has been great though.
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2) The Arab-Israeli conflict
The area known today as Israel has been the centre of conflict for over 2000
years. Even in the time of Jesus there was unrest amongst the Jews as the area
was under Roman occupation. The problems over the centuries have centred
on religion – there are 3 different faiths that all believe that the area is special
to them and so there is much fighting over the control of it. Firstly the Jews
believe that it is the Promised Land given to them by God; it is of ultimate
importance to Christians as this is where Jesus lived and died, and lastly
Muslims believe it is of great importance as Jerusalem is where the prophet
Muhammad was when Allah showed him heaven. Today it the problems lie with
Jews Vs Muslims.
1948 saw the creation of the State of Israel which was the Jewish homeland.
Before then, the area known as Palestine had been under British mandate from
the League of Nations after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire (Muslims) in
World War I. Having failed to resolve the conflict between Zionism (Jewish
movements) and Arab nationalism and in the face of mounting hostilities,
Britain handed over its rule to the UN in 1947. Once Britain withdrew, the state
of Israel was declared. The next day it was invaded by neighbouring Arab
forces led by Egypt and Jordan. Israel defeated the Arab armies resulting in it
expanding its borders beyond the UN partition plan. The war also created
thousands of Palestinian refugees and the period is often referred to as alNakkba, the catastrophe, by Palestinians.
Arguments over who has rights to the land and access to religious sites have
been fought ever since. Brief wars and terrorist attacks have poisoned relations
between both sides.
Task:
Learn more about this at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clip
s/ the-panorama-middle-east-archivesdivisions
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Tasks:
b) Do you agree that world peace is impossible; it’s a waste of time? Give 2
reasons for your answer. (4 marks)
C) Explain how and why some religious organisations work towards world peace
(8 marks)
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The Just War Theory
A just war is a war fought for the right reasons and in the right way
There are many people who believe that no matter what people do and no matter how
hard they try, there may still be a need to go to war. A reason for this could be that
without going to war, a much greater evil will result e.g. World War II was necessary to
stop Hitler.
Since the medieval times, people have tried to work out the best way to go about a
necessary war. St Thomas Aquinas came up with some rules which allowed people to
go to war when absolutely necessary, but if the rules were followed then a minimum
amount of harm would be done. Aquinas’s just war rules are still in place and have been
added to. These rules are followed by both religious people and non-religious people.
The theory of a just war
1) The war must be for a just cause
This includes resisting aggression, or for self-defence or fighting to remove an
injustice.
2) A war must be declared by a lawful authority
A war can only be declared by a government, ruler or the UN, but never by a
private citizen.
3) A war must only be fought to bring about good
This means that a war can be fought to restore peace, or to prevent further
suffering or any other form of evil. Once that has been achieved, the fighting
must stop.
4) War must be a last resort
All other peaceful way of resolving the problem, such as negotiations, must be
tried first.
5) There must be a reasonable chance of success
This means that no country is to go to war when they stand no chance of
winning. This is to prevent lives being lost unnecessarily.
6) Only necessary force must be used to achieve the aim
This means that it would be totally unjustified to use nuclear weapons against a
small country over something like a boundary dispute. This clause is intended to
prevent one country taking the opportunity of a war to totally annihilate the
other.
7) Only legitimate targets should be attacked
These would be military bases and other soldiers. Hospitals, homes and civilians
are not to be attacked.
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Why the Just War Theory is important
It ensures that both sides weigh
up whether the ends justify the
means. This means that both
sides have to think about
whether they have a realistic
chance of winning, which also
cuts down the destruction and
suffering of the war being
pointless and one-sided.
It offers protection/cuts
down suffering as it tells
how a war should be fought
e.g. minimum amount of
force and civilians should
not be hurt
It makes peaceful
outcomes more likely by
saying that it is a last
resort, and by saying that
it should end as soon as
possible
It gives a guideline on when it is right
to go to war and how which is
important to a civilised society
For discussion:
In 1963 Pope John XXIII said “It is impossible to conceive of a just war in a nuclear
age.” Do you agree?
Tasks:
a) What is meant by just war?
b) “War can never be justified.” Do you agree? Give two reasons for
your point of view. (4)
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Christian Attitudes to War
There are 2 different attitudes to war. Some Christians think that war is never justified
but others think that war is acceptable if it is to bring about a greater good. Below are
details of both points of view.
Christian Opinion 1
Some Christians are pacifists and so believe that war is wrong in all circumstances.
“If someone slaps you on
the right cheek, let him
slap you on the left cheek
too.” (Matthew 5)
In other words – do not
retaliate because violence
breeds violence.
Jesus’ message was of
peace and so these
Christians believe they
should try to resolve
conflicts through peaceful
means.
“Blessed are the
peacemakers.”
In other words
God will favour
those who work to
promote peace.
Jesus said “love
your enemies and
pray for your
persecutors.”
Jesus stopped his
disciples from using
violence when he was
about to be arrested
which shows that even
justified violence is not
necessary and so
Christians should
follow his example
In the Old Testament the
Decalogue (10
Commandments) say “Do
not kill” and this would
include soldiers
The Quakers are total pacifists. They think that violence is never the way and have
issued statements saying so: “Quakers in Britain have always opposed the use of
violence in any form, for any end. Instead we work to build the conditions of peace
that take away the occasion of all wars.”
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Christian Opinion 2
Other Christians do not like war but believe that it may be acceptable if it is to bring
about a greater good and more harm would be done if there wasn’t a war.
One reason for some Christians accepting war is
because they understand that at times fighting is
the only way to overcome evil. An example of
this would be World War II and what may have
been if Hitler had been allowed to carry on with
no resistance.
Another reason these Christians may accept war in certain
situations is because Jesus once said “Give to Caesar what is
Caesars and to God what is God’s.” This means that people
should obey those in authority (Caesar was the Roman ruler at
the time and the Romans occupied the land which Jesus lived
in). Some Christians would say this includes times when the
country’s leader decides they will go to war to overcome evil
and reinstate good.
A third reason is that Jesus never spoke against the Roman
soldiers, in fact he actually praised the faith of one of them.
Christians say that this means that because Jesus didn’t speak
out against those in the army it meant that he wasn’t against all
war.
A forth reason is that St Paul carried on Jesus’ idea and said that it is God who puts
people in authority and so they must be followed.
“Everyone must obey the state authorities, because no authority exists without
God’s permission, and the existing authorities have been put there by God.”
(Romans 13)
A fifth reason is that Churches have issued statements saying that war may be
necessary. Pope Benedict XVI said:
“We cannot ignore, in the great Christian tradition and in a
world marked by sin, any evil aggression that threatens to
destroy not only many values, many people, but the image
of humanity itself.
In this case, defending oneself and others is a duty. Let’s
say for example that a father who sees his family attacked is
duty-bound to defend them in every possible way – even if
that means using proportional violence.”
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However!
Even Christians who accept war do not actually like war and in recent times have
spoken out against many aspects of modern warfare – especially the use of weapons of
mass destruction which kills large numbers, and the development of nuclear weapons.
This shows that although war may be allowed, it really must be a last resort.
The Roman Catholic charity CAFOD, who work in some of the poorest parts of the
world said:
War and conflict have a direct impact on development. In times of war crops
are destroyed, or people may be forced to leave their homes before they can
plant or harvest crops. Millions of people flee areas where there is fighting to
look for safety. Anti-personnel mines make land unusable. Roads and bridges
are destroyed; schools and health clinics are closed.
Nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction are
weapons which cause untold suffering. These can include
biological weapons which spread life threatening diseases
such as small pox, and chemical weapons which release
agents which burn the skin and lungs. Christians also worry
about the fact that some countries have and are developing
nuclear weapons. They believe that all of these are wrong as
they kill vast amounts of people regardless of whether they
are part of the armed forces or civilians.
Tasks:
b) Do you agree that nuclear weapons stop wars? Give two reasons for your point of view.
(4)
C) Explain why there are different opinions to war in Christianity (8 marks)
C) Explain why Just War is important to Christians (8 marks)
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Muslim Attitudes to War
Keywords:
Jihad means to strive
Greater jihad is the struggle within a person to resist temptation and do good rather
than evil
Lesser jihad is a military struggle to defend Islam
Despite the events which are reported in the news, Islam is actually a peaceful religion.
Like opinion 2 from Christianity, Muslims are taught that sometimes war is necessary if
it is to overcome evil. Once the evil has been defeated the fighting must stop and peace
must be restored.
The struggle against evil is called jihad. Muslims work against evil because they believe
that it is part of worshipping Allah to rid the world of it. The Qur’an teaches that evil
isn’t just against others, but starts from within a person – a greater jihad. Muslims
believe that they must strive to be better people and work to try to what is right, and not
to bow down to temptation and do what is wrong. All of this is a war that each Muslim
has with him/herself.
Muslims however are taught by the Qur’an that they have a duty to fight for Islam,
when it is under threat. This can include actual fighting and taking military action
against evil and those who would want to harm their faith. There are rules however
about how this lesser jihad should be fought (remember that extremists are not a
reflection of mainstream Islam). The rules are very similar to the Just War rules, but
they are referred to as the theory of a holy war.
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Rules of a holy war
1. The war must be for a just cause (resisting
aggression, self-defence, removing injustice)
2. It must be declared by a lawful authority
3. The war must only be fought to bring about good
but once successful all fighting must stop
4. War must be a last resort – all other peace means
must have been exhausted
5. There must be a reasonable chance of success. This
prevents lives being lost unnecessarily
6. Only necessary force must be used to achieve the
aim. This means it would be unjustified to use nuclear
weapons against a small country over something like a
boundary dispute.
7. Only legitimate targets should be attacked e.g
military installations and other soldiers. Hospitals,
civilians etc are not to be attacked.
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There are also other rules which Muslims must abide by, which are related to behaviour
while at war. These rules include treating wounded enemies in exactly the same way as
Muslims would treat their own wounded; women and children must not be harmed;
neither should animals, trees or crops.
Muslims are allowed to go to war following these rules, for several reasons:
1) The prophet Muhammad was involved in war to establish peace and so Muslims may
follow his example.
2) Many of the statement made by the Prophet allow Muslims to fight in just wars
3) The Qur’an says that those who fight in a justified holy war and die will be rewarded
by going directly to paradise.
4) There are many passages in the Qur’an which guide Muslims concerning war:

“Fight for the sake of God those who fight against you. But do not attack them
first.”

“If they incline to peace, make peace with them, and put your trust in God. It is
surely He who hears and knows all”
Tasks:
Explain why some Muslims might say that tabloid newspapers misrepresent
the concept of jihad
b) Do you agree that religious people should not fight? Give two reasons for
your point of view (4)
c) Choose one religion other than Christianity and explain why its followers
would say that terrorism is not acceptable. (8 marks)
d) ‘Religious people should do more for world peace than anyone else.’
In your answer you should refer to at least one religion.
i)
Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion (3)
ii)
Ii) give reasons why some people may disagree with you (3)
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Bullying
A different but just as harmful type of conflict is bullying. Unfortunately bullying is
widespread with many people experiencing it at some point in their lives. Many people
believe that it is something that only happens at school however it can extend in to the
workplace and most people experience at one time or another. Studies show that 45% of
students say that they have been bullied at school, and 35% of people say they have in
the workplace.
Bullying is intimidating or frightening someone weaker than yourself. It can take
many forms such as constantly putting someone down, leaving people out of a
friendship group, writing nasty things about someone on Facebook or physically hurting
someone.
Discuss: Why do people bully others?
There are many ways the UK tries to stop bullying and protect all people:




It is against the law to intentionally frighten someone, or to harass someone.
There have been several cases recently of school age students being prosecuted
for cyber bullying and there are always many prosecutions each year of those
who have hurt others.
Schools and places of work have policies which does not tolerate bullying
There are many schemes which try to stop bullying e.g in this school we have
bully mentors.
There are organisations set up to help victims deal with what is happening to
them, and support them to get help and the bullying to stop. An example of this
is Childline which have a free phone number which is answered 24 hours a day.
Task:
b) Do you agree that there will come a time when bullying has stopped? Give
two reasons for your ideas (4)
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Christian Attitudes to Bullying
Unsurprisingly all religious people, including Christians, do not like bullying and work
to try to stop it. There are many Christian reasons for this:
St. Paul said “Love your
neighbour as you love
yourself. “If you love
 someone, you will never do
them wrong; then, is to obey
the whole law.” (Romans 13)
Jesus taught the Golden
Rule: ‘Treat people how
you would like to be
treated yourself.’
Christians are
taught that God
made everyone
equal, and
bullying goes
against this.
Jesus said “Love
your neighbour”
Genesis says that humans
were made in the image of
God. This means that
whatever someone does
against a person also does it
against God.
There are many examples of
Jesus treating people
equally. This leads
Christians to understand that
any form of discrimination is
wrong.
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Muslim Attitudes to Bullying
Islam is against all forms of bullying as it goes against everything Islam stands for.
As with Christianity, there are many teachings which suggest this:
Muslims are taught that
they should fight
injustice, and bullying is
NEVER justified
The Qur’an says that Allah
made all humans and treats
everyone equally. Muslims
should respect his creation
There are specific
teachings telling
Muslims how to
treat family
members. All of
these teachings are
about respect and
so it could be
implied that this
principle would
extend to all
people.
The Hadith (teaching
of the Prophet
Muhammad) says
that Allah will not
show mercy to the
one who does not
show mercy to others
Islam teaches
that all Muslims
are part of the
ummah – the
idea that all are
brothers and
sisters.
Therefore it
would be wrong
to bully a fellow
Muslim.
Muslims are
taught to show
compassion to
the weak, which
may lead to a
Muslim helping
a bully victim
Everything that a
person does is
recorded by 2
watchful angels.
ON the Day of
Judgement Allah
will reward or
punish people based
on their behaviour.
Task:
c) Choose one religion other than Christianity and explain its attitude to bullying
(8)
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Religious Conflict within Families
The most common form of conflict is within families. Just because people are related it
doesn’t mean that people see eye to eye, especially where religion is involved. Religion
is a person’s life, not just one part of it and so it is not surprising that feelings can boil
over, especially if the values and beliefs are not shared by everyone in the household.
The film East is East
is a prime example of
this. The father was
deeply spiritual and a
devout traditional
Muslim, but these
sentiments were not
shared by his wife or
children, which
caused conflict.
Reasons for religious conflicts in families:
The reasons below arise in the film but could be typical of many families. If you answer
a question on conflict in religious families, it is fine to think about the film for ideas,
just make sure you don’t actually mention the film as this is not relevant.
1. Arranged marriages
This may cause problems in Muslim
families as the children may want the right
to choose their own partner, or not get
married at all. (Remember that it is against
Islam to force a marriage though so don’t
say that)
2. Same-sex relationships
Both some Christians and all Muslims are against
homosexuality. It could potentially split the
family if a child was gay
.
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3. Dress
Some religions have rules about modesty at all times and
so may object to their children dressing like their nonreligious friends as they may feel it is too revealing. In
the film the dad objects to his daughter not wearing a
headscarf.
4. Food
Religions such as Islam and Judaism have rules
in their holy books detailing what can and can’t
be eaten e.g pork. In the film the mother and
children have to keep secret from the dad the fact
that they eat bacon sandwiches.
5. Attitude to sexual relationships
Some religions teach that sexual contact before
marriage is wrong. This can cause conflict if
this view is not shared by all. There are many
people nowadays who believe that it is
acceptable and so they may argue over this
with their parents.
There are lots of other things that families may argue over such as which religion
children should follow if the parents are from different faiths, the roles of men and
women and who has the most authority within the family e.g. is the father the head of
the house and what he says goes?
Task:
b) Do you agree that children should obey their parents on issues of religion?
Give two reasons for your opinion (4)
C) Explain why religion might cause conflict in some families (8)
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Christian Teachings on Forgiveness
and Reconciliation
Keywords:
Forgiveness – stopping blaming someone and/or pardoning them for what they have
done wrong
Reconciliation - bringing together people who were opposed to each other
Forgiveness and reconciliation is central to Christianity. Jesus taught that forgiveness
was important and showed this in the things he did. Christians say that Jesus dying on
the cross was in order to reconcile humans with God, and allow God to forgive original
sin created by Adam and Eve.
There are several parables taught by Jesus which teach the importance of forgiveness.
There are 3 parables in particular – the Lost Son, Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin. All of
them show that God will welcome anyone back who has done wrong, or moved away
from him and returns back. The point is that Christians should follow this example and
do the same.
The Parable of the Lost Son
(often called the parable of the Prodigal Son).
A man has a son who asks for his inheritance early.
Although he is hurt by the request, the dad gives it to
him. The son leaves and squanders the money.
Embarrassed and thinking his dad won’t want him
back, he gets a job cleaning out pigs, which for a Jew
was the most awful job but it was all he could get.
Famine hits the land and the son realises that the pigs
are better off than he is. He decides to go back home
and ask his dad for a job.
In the mean time his dad is really upset that the son has
gone, thinking that he will never return. When he sees
his son return he is overjoyed. The son can’t
understand it and his brother is angry at his dad’s
reaction and he was always loyal but didn’t get much
for it. The father explains that he loves both his sons
and the son who stayed will get his reward eventually
but what is great is that the first son ‘was lost but now
is found’.
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There are other teachings from Jesus on forgiveness and reconciliation. Even by today’s
standards they seemed revolutionary and there are some Christians who would find
them very difficult to follow:
“Do not take
revenge on
anyone who
wrongs you…
love your
enemies and
pray for those
who persecute
you.”
(Matthew 5)
“Forgive us the wrongs that we have done, as we
forgive the wrongs that other have done to us.”
This means that forgiveness is a 2 way thing. If people
want God to forgive them, then they must do the same
for others.
Peter asked Jesus how many times a
person should forgive someone who
continues to hurt them. Jesus said ‘not
seven times, but seventy times seven.’
Forgiveness and Reconciliation in Action
After years of human rights abuses in South Africa, the country finally was able to elect
its first black president, Nelson Mandela in 1994. There were many atrocities
committed between whites and blacks over many years – how could this ever be
reconciled?
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) encouraged people to come forward
and tell truths about crimes they had committed or their story
of suffering. In return for the truth people would be granted
pardons for any crimes, and victims would receive help. No
one was to be interrogated or punished. Revenge would not be
sought and it was a way for people to accept what had
happened in the past and move on together.
The TRC’s leader was Archbishop Desmond Tutu who said
“There is no future for South Africa with out forgiveness.
Revenge will lead to a blood-bath. Forgiving and forgetting
will allow South Africa to move forward.” Despite people’s
doubts this has proven to be the right approach.
Task:
d) ‘If religions practiced forgiveness and reconciliation, there wouldn’t be any
family conflicts.’
In your answer you should refer to at least one religion.
iii)
Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion (3)
iv)
Ii) give reasons why some people may disagree with you (3)
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Muslim Teachings on Forgiveness
and Reconciliation
There are 3 main areas where Muslims learn the importance of forgiveness:
1. The Qur’an
Similarly to Christians, Muslims are taught that if they want Allah to forgive them for
their sins, they must do the same for others. Allah wants to forgive and so his example
should be followed.
2. The example of Muhammad
At the time of the prophet Muhammad there were many blood feuds and vendettas.
After the war when Muhammad captured the city of Mecca, its leaders were brought
before him and people expected them to be executed. However, Muhammad set them all
free. By forgiving his enemies his made them in to friends and allies which shows what
can happen through reconciliation. It shows that forgiveness is not a sign of weakness
but of wisdom.
3. Teachings about Judgement Day
One of the most important ideas to Muslims Is the idea that on the Day of Judgement
Allah will either reward or punish Muslims based on their behaviour while alive. To get
to heaven they must have followed the path set out in the Qur’an – in other words they
must have followed Allah’s teachings. As no-one knows when they will die the request
for forgiveness of Allah must be on a daily basis. Muslims are taught that they must:
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Recognise and admit that they have made a mistake
Ask for forgiveness from Allah
Ask the person wronged for forgiveness
Try to make up for the wrong they have done
Aim not to commit that mistake again
One thing to note!
Although Muslims should try to forgive those who wrong them, they
are taught that there may be occasions when it is not possible.
Muslims have a duty to protect Allah and the religion and so if
someone works against Islam.
The Hadith (teachings of the prophet Muhammad say
“Don’t forgive wilfully unjust. If we tolerate wrong by allowing it to run rampant when
we can prevent it, we fail in our duty to Allah.”
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Tasks:
c) Explain the importance of forgiveness in one religion other than Christianity
(8)
d) ‘Some crimes are so horrible that forgiveness would be wrong.’
In your answer you should refer to at least one religion.
v)
Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion (3)
vi)
Ii) give reasons why some people may disagree with you (3)
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