Lesson video

Hello, my name's Mrs. Rawbone and I'm going to be working with you today on this lesson on "Muslim attitudes to conflict." In today's lesson, you'll be able to understand the nature of conflict and explore different perspectives on it, including those from a Muslim viewpoint.

Keywords we'll be using today are conflict, peace, and violence.

Conflict is the opposition of individuals or groups that may result in aggression or fighting.

Peace is a period of time in which there is no war.

And violence is behaviour that aims to injure, abuse, damage or destroy.

Today's lesson will take two parts.

We'll be looking at the nature of conflict and at religion and conflict.

So let's get started on the nature of conflict.

The word conflict comes from Latin.

Con means together, and flict comes from fligere, meaning to strike.

So, read literally, conflict means to strike together.

It originally referred to a physical clash, but over time it came to mean any kind of serious disagreement.

So conflict today is often used to refer to the opposition of individuals or of groups, and it may result in aggression or fighting.

So, what counts as a conflict? Lucas, Izzy, and Alex are discussing this question.

Lucas says, "In our group project, two people disagreed on how to divide the work." Izzy says, "I saw a news report about a dispute over territory between countries." And Alex says, "I felt torn between telling the truth and protecting my friend." Lucas and Izzy are both referring to conflicts between more than one person.

Alex is referring to a conflict within himself.

Lucas and Alex are referring to small conflicts which affect a small number of people, whereas Izzy is referring to a large-scale conflict which affects more people.

Conflict has many causes.

Politics and power, ethnicity and nationalism, religion and beliefs, resources and wealth, injustice and inequality.

Small conflicts are personal and they might be resolved through reflection or dialogue, whilst large-scale conflicts involve political or social issues, and this may require protest, negotiation, or even force.

So, let's check your understanding.

Give one cause of conflict.

Take a moment, pause if you need to, come back when you're ready to check your answer.

You could have said any one of the following.

Politics and power, ethnicity and nationalism, religion and belief, resources and wealth, injustice and inequality.

Well done if you managed to choose one of those examples of a reason for conflict.

The Battle of Hamoukar is thought to be the first known large-scale conflict.

It took place in around the year 3,500 BCE in what is now northern Syria.

Archaeologists found evidence of this conflict because they saw widespread destruction, including smashed city walls, burned buildings, and thousands of sling stones, which suggested some kind of organised violence.

It's one of the earliest known examples of urban warfare, showing that organised conflict existed well before written history.

As far as historians know, there's actually never been a time when there's no large-scale conflict in the world.

This data shows the number of deaths that resort from armed conflict from the years 1989 to 2024.

And you can see that in most of those years, the number of deaths are over 100.

It can be very difficult to resolve a large-scale conflict, and there are many that have historical roots that continue today.

Israel-Palestine.

This is a conflict that began over land, national identity and political control, and it is shaped by history and by the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.

Northern Ireland.

This conflict is also about national identity and political power, and it's rooted in British-Irish history.

Korea.

Divided after World War II, this conflict is about politics and sovereignty between North and South Korea.

Conflict causes suffering in so many ways.

Through death, injury, trauma, displacement.

Through broken communities, division, and distress.

Disrupted daily life, so people might not be able to access water or get to school for their education.

Through damage to the infrastructure and the environment, so perhaps public transport isn't working.

And through political and economic instability.

Which two of the following are impacts of conflict? Death and injury, economic growth and job creation, damage to infrastructure and the environment, or increased social trust and community cohesion? Remember, you're choosing two.

So pause the video, take a moment, have a think about your answer, jot it down, and come back when you're ready to check.

So, well done if you chose A, death and injury, and C, damage to infrastructure and environment.

For our task, Aisha started writing an introduction to an essay on conflict.

She says, "The word conflict means the opposition of individuals or groups that may result in aggression or fighting.

Conflict could be large or small scale and can involve violence or war." So, what I'd like you to do is to continue what she said, and you can include reasons why conflicts arise between individual people or between communities or even between nations, an example of a large-scale conflict, and two key impacts of conflict.

So, take your time to think about the nature of conflict, pause the video, develop Aisha's answer, and come back when you're ready to see what you could have written.

Let's have a look at what you could have said.

"The word conflict means the opposition of individuals or groups that may result in aggression or fighting.

Conflict can be large or small scale and can include violence or war.

Conflict happens for many reasons, including disputes over land, power and identity.

An example is the division of Korea after World War II, which led to ongoing tensions between North and South Korea.

Conflict causes death, injury, displacement, and breaks communities.

It also destroys infrastructure and weakens governments, causing instability." So, well done if you managed to give some of those reasons for conflict, if you gave an example of a major conflict, and if you gave some examples of ways in which conflict affects people.

For the second part of our lesson, we're going to be looking at religion and conflict.

Religion can both cause conflict and help to resolve it.

So, here are some ways in which religion can cause conflict.

There might be differences between what people believe or the way they practise their faith.

There might be competing claims to land or to holy sites.

And sometimes religion can result in the development of extremist views.

On the other hand, religion also often works to resolve conflict.

It encourages reconciliation, it provides moral guidance, and it often inspires unity and sometimes non-violent action too.

So, Muslim attitudes to conflict are informed by a number of sources of authority.

These include the Qur'an, which is the direct word of Allah; the Hadith, which is the recorded words of the Prophet Muhammad; the Sunnah, which is the prophet's example based on the Hadith; Shariah law, which is Islamic law based on the Qur'an and the Sunnah; Islamic scholars, who would interpret and apply the sources in real life situations; and personal conscience and reason guided by Islamic teachings.

Muslims may interpret these sources differently, but they do all agree that the Qur'an is the supreme authority.

The Qur'an makes it clear that peace is the ideal.

Surah 3:103 says, "And remember the favour of Allah upon you when you were enemies, and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favour, brothers.

And you were on the edge of a pit of the fire and He saved you from it." This ayah reminds Muslims that Allah brought former enemies together, turning them into brothers.

It encourages Muslims to seek peace and work towards healing divisions in their communities rather than allowing hatred or disagreement to escalate.

The Qur'an gives clear guidance on when violence is permissible.

Surah 2:190-194 says, "Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress.

But if they cease, then there is to be no aggression except against the oppressors.

So whoever has assaulted you, then assault him in the same way that he has assaulted you." Here we learn that if peace efforts fail, violence is permitted.

However, there's really clear guidance about when and in what way this is permitted.

Muslims must not go further than the action needed to resolve a conflict.

"Do not transgress" means don't go beyond.

Muslims must stop once the aggressors have ceased to be violent, so it says, "If they cease, then there is to be no aggression." And finally, they should use only enough force to resolve the problem, so it says, "Assault him in the same way he has assaulted you," so don't go further, don't go too far.

There are divergent Muslim views on conflict.

So, Muslims would agree, based on the ayahs that we've just read that violence should be avoided wherever possible.

Most Muslims would accept that force can be justified in self-defense or to protect the oppressed.

So, Sunni Muslims, for example, allow a just ruler to declare a war.

For Shias, only the Imam can declare a just war.

Other Muslims might promote passive resistance.

Perhaps they accept on rare occasions that violence may be the only option, but some of them may be pacifists and refuse to use violence under any circumstances.

So, on the whole, the agreement is that violence should be avoided whenever possible, and overall, most Muslims do accept limited force can be justified but only under strict conditions.

And most would also promote the idea of resisting passively rather than engaging in violence, although there may be occasions when violence is the only option.

A few Muslims might be pacifists.

So, which statement best reflects the Qur'an's teaching on conflict? Is it A, Muslims should always use the maximum force to defend themselves; B, peace is the ideal but violence is allowed only if necessary and it must be controlled; C, Muslims must fight until all enemies are destroyed; or D, violence is never permitted under any circumstances? So take a moment, pause if you need to, come back when you're ready to check your answer.

Well done if you put B.

So, in general, for Muslims, peace is the ideal, but violence could be allowed, if necessary and if controlled.

Warren, who's an atheist, and Fergus, who's a Christian, are responding to the statement, "Religion is a major cause of conflict." Warren says, "Conflict is often driven by power struggles and, at times, by religion when differing beliefs create division among people.

From a utilitarian stance, conflict is right or wrong, depending on whether it causes more suffering than good." Fergus says, "If it is misunderstood, then religion can result in the desire to control others and it can lead to conflict.

However, when religion is guided by love, it can show us that engaging in conflict may be necessary sometimes in order to stand up for justice." Layla is a Sunni Muslim who studied philosophy.

She's noticed that despite Warren's atheism and Fergus' faith, they share similar views on religion's role in conflict.

Layla says, "In Islam, moral decisions about conflict cannot be based on outcomes, unlike utilitarianism and situation ethics.

Islam stresses that intention and justice matter, and harming innocent people is never allowed, even if it seems to bring peace.

We can't know the consequences of our actions, so we must follow Allah's guidance." So, here we can see that Leyla was explaining that Islamic teachings provide clear moral principles for decisions about conflict.

Zoe is an atheist and Brandon is a humanist.

They're also discussing the same statement, that religion is a major cause of conflict.

Zoe says, "From a psychological perspective, most conflict comes from fear of difference and the desire for control.

Religion can highlight divisions, but it does not create them.

People also use non-religious ideologies to justify violence." Brandon replies, "Religion causes conflict because it claims absolute truth and demands obedience.

This contradicts Kant's idea of respecting everyone as an end.

Humanists prefer reason and empathy to peacefully resolve conflict without relying on religion." Layla notices that although neither Zoe nor Brandon believe in God, they have come to different conclusions about religion as a cause of conflict.

She says, "Religion can lead to conflict when mixed with fear and a desire for control, a connection that psychology helps us explain.

However, religion is itself not the problem.

Islam teaches that humans have free will, which means that people can choose to use religion to justify violence, even though this denies the fact that true Islam unites people and honours the sacredness of all humans." So, whilst Layla acknowledges that religion can lead to conflict, she explains this with reference to psychology and to human free will.

So, let's check your understanding.

Is this statement true or false? Islam allows moral decisions about conflict to be based on the likely outcomes of action.

Pause the video, take a moment to think about your answer, also think about why, and come back when you're ready to move on.

Well done if you put that it is false.

The reason why is that, in the case of conflict, Islam requires that conflict follows clear ethical guidelines set by Allah.

These emphasise justice and intention rather than judging actions only by the outcomes or by the situation.

For our task, Jun has written part of an answer to this evaluation question using non-religious arguments to support the statement, "Religion is a major cause of conflict." So, a full question would say, evaluate the statement considering arguments for and against.

In your response, you should refer to Muslim teachings, refer to non-religious arguments, reach a justified conclusion.

So, I'd like you to continue by writing a paragraph explaining how a Muslim might respond to Jun's points.

Let's have a look at Jun's paragraph of reasons to support the statement.

Jun says, "Some non-religious people would argue that religion is a major cause of conflict because it claims absolute truth and demands obedience, which can create division between people with different beliefs.

This kind of rigid thinking often fuels power struggles and prevents peaceful solutions based on shared understanding." So, now I'd like you to pause the video and take your time to write your paragraph from a Muslim point of view that responds to the points that Jun has raised.

Pause the video and come back when you're ready to see what you could have written.

So, let's have a look at what you could have said.

"From a Muslim point of view, religion itself is not the cause of conflict.

Islam teaches that humans have free will, so people can choose how they act, even wrongly, using religion to justify violence.

When religion is mixed with fear or the desire for control, it can be misused, but that is a human failing, not a problem with religion.

True Islam calls for unity and respects the sacred value of all human life, aiming to bring peace, not division." So, well done if you managed to get across the Muslim point of view that religion itself is not the cause of conflict and that Islam teaches that free will, for example, might be part of the problem with misusing religion to justify conflict.

In today's lesson, we have learned that conflict can be personal or large-scale and is caused by politics, religion, power, or inequality.

That conflict causes suffering such as death, injury, displacement, trauma, destruction of infrastructure, and long-term instability in communities.

Religion can both cause and resolve conflict.

It may create division but also encourages peace, reconciliation and moral responsibility.

The Islamic teachings stress peace as the ideal, allowing violence only in self-defense under strict rules.

That Muslims reject utilitarianism and situation ethics in forming attitudes to conflict, as actions must follow Allah's guidance.

And there are divergent Muslim views on conflict, with some promoting pacifism and others allowing limited force.

So, we've learned a lot today about Muslim attitudes to conflict.

Thank you for all of your hard work and your efforts on this topic.