BY UME HABIBA
This article delves into the importance of religion in international relations and politics, highlights the events and incidents that emphasize the role of religion in international politics, talks about how international relations work with religion to maintain peace and discusses the aftermath results of religious conflicts.
In the early ages, religion was never taken seriously in international relations. There was no connection of religion with international relations or international politics. Religion has begun to manifest itself in international politics with the terrorist acts that started in the last epoch of the Cold War. After the events of September 11, 2001, the Iranian revolution of 1979, the rise of Christian rights in the United States since late 1970, the emergence of religious fundamentalism, the Mujahideen in Afghanistan in the fall of Soviet communism, the clash of civilization scenarios, religious terrorism and 9/11, religion has attracted the attention of IR scholars. Before these events, religion was never taken seriously in international relations. During pre-9/11, the Iranian revolution and Huntington’s clash of civilizations were major foci of attention. Religion first appeared as significant in international relations due to the Iranian revolution because through this revolution the new Iranian revolutionary government would spread its radical agenda to the Muslim Ummah through Iran’s foreign policy. Some scholars noted that if the US government led by President Jimmy Carter had taken the role and significance of religion more seriously, the Iranian revolution of 1979 might not have come as such a surprise and the continuing effects on US foreign policy under successive US presidents. The post-9/11 period saw a sustained focus on the international securitization of Islam. Religion is an important source of basic value orientations both for individuals including political leaders and for communities in countries around the world. Religion influences international outcomes involving international society. International relations will be influenced by religious actors only when they have ability to exercise power. Both state and non-state actors can be influential in this regard.
The international community takes a keen interest in the role of religion in international politics for the maintenance of peace, security and a wide range of issues. Friendship, hostility, war and peace were always determined by religious factors. States with the same religion have strong friendships and they assist each other in conditions like war and bad economic conditions. In this way, we can take Israel and America as an example. America assists Israel in every possible way in the Israel-Palestine conflict and supports it on every world forum.
When nation-states came into existence after the peace treaty of Westphalia in 1648, religion was subjected to international relations. The study of the ideologies of organizations such as the Taliban, ISIS and Al-Qaeda as if it had dealt with the religion of Islam, is nothing less than a contempt for Islamism, which is reductionism, against the idea of millions of people who believe in religion. After the 9/11 attacks, the US-led war on terror increased focus on religious ideas, especially Islamic extremism and terrorism.
Many scholars share the concerns, assessing whether religion is a force for good or evil in world politics. The not very surprising conclusion is that it can be both, depending on the actor, the circumstances and the context. There are two perspectives on religion one as portraying it as problematic and the other as good. Despite the major trend of portraying religion as problematic many international events strengthened the interest between religion and international relations. Religious movements affect international politics and international relations both in a good and bad way.
Religion influences international politics in three ways.
- Religion influences the worldview of many decision-makers and their constituents and shapes the environment in which decision-makers act.
- Religion is a source of legitimacy for political decisions and actions.
- Religion is an issue that crosses borders in many ways with domestic conflicts with international implications.
According to the Encyclopedia of Wars, out of 1763 known and recorded historical conflicts 121 or 6.87 percent had religion as their primary cause. In several conflicts including the Israel-Palestine conflict, the Syrian civil war and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq religious elements are overtly present but variously described as fundamentalism or religious extremism.
The aftermath results of religious conflicts are not limited to religious matters alone rather the consequences can be seen in all the spheres of human endeavor be it the political, social, economic as well as cultural landscape of the nation. During violent religious conflicts, many people have been killed, maimed and wounded. There has also been widespread disruption of economic activities with negative effects on productivity. Hundreds of churches, mosques, hotels and other related businesses as well as vehicle and private homes and even hospitals have been destroyed. This can clearly be seen in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict where Israel almost destroyed the whole of Gaza and brutally killed hundreds of thousands of men, women and children and in killing those innocent people Israel used bombs and chemicals that are prohibited from being used in wars by the International Court of Justice and in this way, Israel openly break the international law.
Religion plays a very important role in the creation of new states i.e. Pakistan. In the subcontinent, Muslims could not live and perform prayers according to their religious beliefs. Due to this, they decided to create a new state in which they live and perform their prayers according to their religious beliefs and as a result of endless efforts and sacrifices, Pakistan was created on the 14th of August 1947 in which Muslims can live according to their religious beliefs.
We have seen from different surveys and articles that for IR theory, while religion is not a game changer, its various manifestations expressed in the actions of both state and non-state actors and captured in specific events mentioned above are highly significant with long-term ramifications affecting international relations in a number of ways and with various outcomes.
