Torch, Fall 2006

6 TORCH / Fall 2006 who promote such blatant immorality is in keeping with the Islamic demand for public moral purity. The Christian West is the “great Satan” and deserving of destruction. Islam — Judaism The greatest conflict in the Middle East is between the Jews and the Muslims (how’s that for an understatement?). Muslims obviously disagree with the theological tenets of Judaism. But the issues in the conflict are less about theology than about politics and geography. The very presence of a Jewish state in the Middle East has been the single source of tension since the nation of Israel was established after World War II. Israel, a country slightly smaller than New Jersey, consists of 6 million Jews surrounded by 250 million Arab Muslims. In spite of early Islamic teachings that “people of the book” (Jews and Christians) are brothers, destruction of Israel is the obsession of a growing number of political leaders and terrorist groups in the region. There is no middle ground to stand on to create even the slightest détente. But this kind of hatred and violence is nothing new and certainly not unusual. C.S. Lewis reminds us that such a conflict “creates no absolutely new situation; it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it.” Does God Make a Difference? So, if all three religions believe in God, why can’t they get along? No doubt past incidents of terrorism and war breed new generations bent on hatred and destruction. Resident Christians really play only a small role in the Middle East conflict. Of the 260 million people who live in the region, only five percent are Christians and almost all of these belong to varieties of orthodox or Catholic denominations and are not involved in the religious and political Jerusalem Nahariyya Akko Haifa Tiberias Nazareth Hadera Netanya Nablus Herzliyya Tel-AvivYafo Ramla Ashdod Ashqelon Bethlehem Gaza Hebron Rafah Beersheba Dimona Oron MizpeRamon Yotvata Elat MediterraneanSea Gulf of Aqaba DeadSea SeaofGalilee SAUDIARABIA EGYPT LEBANON SYRIA JORDAN Northern Haifa Central TelAviv Jerusalem Southern GAZASTRIP GOLAN HEIGHTS WESTBANK Haifa NationalCapital City InternationalBoundary DistrictBoundary DistrictName 0 50Miles Israel Haifa 50 km MIKHAIL LEVIT / FOTOLIA