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| Religion and Foreign Policy Bulletin December 2012 |
December 2012
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CFR's Reza Aslan
examines the lenses through which Christians, Jews, and Muslims view
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and warns against their tendency to
link the crisis to the metaphysical.
Aslan
theorizes that "it has always been extremely easy to inject God into
our political conflicts. After all, religion is the language that holds
the most currency with the masses. But if we are to find an equitable
end to such intractable conflicts as the one between Israel and
Palestine, we must learn to actively strip them of their religious
connotations. Otherwise, we will never stop fighting them."
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Related Reading: Political Islam in the Middle East
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Spotlight on Beth Katz
Beth Katz
is adjunct professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and
executive director of Project Interfaith, a nonprofit organization based
in Omaha. Project Interfaith, founded by Ms. Katz, is committed to
promoting open, respectful learning and conversation on cultural
diversity in schools, communities, and the workforce. With the recent
launch of RavelUnravel,
a multimedia exploration of the tapestry of spiritual and religious
identities that make up communities, Ms. Katz has ignited a movement and
created a space for people to discuss identity, religion, spirituality,
and culture. Visit Project Interfaith to learn more.
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This Foreign Affairs snapshot by Tareq Baconi,
doctoral candidate at London's Kings College, contends that in order to
maintain the current calm in southern Israel and Gaza, Israel and the
international community need to engage Hamas diplomatically. Baconi
believes Hamas has shown a willingness to move beyond its hardline
ideology and if given the opportunity, might act practically.
To learn more about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and relative peace, read Senior Fellow Elliott Abrams' recent article "The Winners and Losers: The Gaza War and Its Fallout."
Over
the past few weeks, CFR fellows have been closely monitoring the events
in Egypt. To better understand the turbulence, reference the resources
below:
- This CFR Backgrounder explores the Muslim Brotherhood's rapid ascension to power in Egypt and looks at its ability to maintain a post-revolutionary commitment to democracy.
- In an interview with CFR.org, Middle East expert Marina Ottaway discusses the political dynamics behind secular parties and Islamists' fight for control.
- In this CFR video, Senior Fellow Ed Husain highlights the underlying issues at the core of Egypt's power struggle.
- In this op-ed, CFR's Steven Cook argues that President Morsi and his allies in the Muslim Brotherhood miscalculated the amount of trust Egyptian people have in their ability to rebuild the nation.
Frederic Wehrey,
senior associate in the Middle East program at the Carnegie Endowment
for International Peace, analyzes religious tensions in Saudi Arabia,
the ruling family's dwindling devotees, and the potential for a "Saudi
Spring." Wehrey posits that "by ignoring long-standing
grievances, playing the sectarian card, and unequivocally treating Shia
opposition as Iranian-backed radicals, the Saudi regime is aggravating
the very problem that it would like to defuse."
Read more from Foreign Affairs>>
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