Part VII of the Special Series for Global Power and Leadership: a collaboration between WGI.WORLD (World Geostrategic Insights) and CGPS (Center for Global Peace and Security).
By Sunny Lee – Founder and President at CGPS (Center for Global Peace and Security), and Director at IKUPD (Institute for Korea-U.S. Political Development), Washington DC.
It is so critical that hegemonic wars between countries or cultures basically come from religious background. Still, the international society is going through the mainstream of the Cold War between major communist countries and democratic world.
Ironically, the concept of the Cold War as a kind of religious war signified a global conflict between the god-believing democratism based on humanistic value and the godless communism as considering human beings as a tool of labor by ignoring mentality. Two ideologies extremely different from religious beliefs and values shaped both perceptions to confront each other and finally the communist bloc was destroyed.
However, the New Cold War started with an unexpected atmosphere when the September 11 attacks in 2001 shook the world in horror and shock. It was the biggest challenge that Islam successfully demolished U.S. superpower hegemony based on Christianity. The U.S. exhausted its national energy for Global War on Terror so that its omnipotent position has seriously shrunk not only in economy but also in political power.
Al-Qaeda simply destroyed the World Trade Center and the Pentagon as the symbol of the U.S. economy and supernatural power. But its outcome brought out the U.S. decline as the only superpower in the international society and moreover, changed the global power structure itself. While the U.S. was struggling with the War on Terror, China rapidly emerged as the largest economic challenge toward the U.S. and Russia returned to the world power with economic recovery based on giant natural resources. It initiated the New Cold War and stimulated revival of communist countries to take over U.S. hegemony.
Osama Bin Laden, founder and leader of Al-Qaeda, strongly denounced the U.S. policy in the Middle East against Islamic countries by encouraging terrorists to expel the U.S. troops in Islam’s holy places. He conspired to construct Islamic world by kicking out the U.S. in the international power structure, which supported Israel as an Islam’s drastic enemy. Taliban, Al-Qaeda and IS fostering terrorist groups worship Sunnite’s Islamic Fundamentalism as they believed in a religious mission beyond national boundary to destroy the U.S. Islam has a religious population of 2 billion Muslims as a powder keg in the Middle East. In addition, profound oil money has strengthened Islamic countries’ national power to challenge the Western world.
Crusades in 1096-1270 were the biggest religious conflicts in world history in which Christianity tempted to recover Jerusalem ruled by Islam, despite the same religious root from the only God in Jewish ethnic myth. Currently, the Israel-Hamas war is the most critical case between Judaism of Israel and Islam focusing on Jerusalem. It will never terminate unless Israel willingly abandons political ambition to expand its territory on the Muslim areas. In addition, as long as the U.S. supports Israel as an ally, anti-Americanism of Islamic countries will continuously go on in favor of 9/11 attacks.
Transformation of Religious Power to Political Power
Industrialized countries in modern times exploited religion, mostly Christianity, to colonize undeveloped or uncivilized countries in Asia, South America, and Africa. They dispatched missionaries to civilize people with superior educational systems and medical assistance by implanting Christianity and finally succeeded in colonizing to attain natural resources and laborers. Such a competitive colonization process propelled imperialism between major powers and delivered Christianity through the world as a universal religion. Nonetheless, Christianity would expose a great potential to dominate Western world with human dignity by creating an effective democratic system. Likewise, pioneerism was built up as the new frontier spirit based on Christianity symbolizing an American icon.
At this point, Western ideology for democratic value with Christian tradition was successfully transformed to a political power to take over international hegemony. The U.S. became a leading country in the democratic world after World War I and II while defeating imperialism and spreading Christian spirit around the world as an effective route to deliver American value. Moreover, the U.S. finally succeeded in winning the Cold War by beating up communism. Such a drastic competition between democracy and communism ended with the victory to the Western world, and the U.S. became the only superpower.
At present, 32.4 percent of the global population is composed of Christians, and it will increase 3.3 billion by 2050. Muslims rank as the second largest population with 25 percent, which will reach 2.8 billion by 2050. Hinduism, with 1.2 billion people, and Buddhism, with 0.6 billion people, follow up as major religions among a total 84 percent in the world population. Only 16 percent of people are out of religion and not involved in religious activities or interests. It obviously means that average people in global society get into a religious environment. Religion is the fundamental prerequisite to understand and control human society because it can change the world with practical power.
Four major religions have fulfilled their important role as the basis of political power. It is a significant case that Muslim countries keep Islamic doctrines as a tool of the strongest political power to dominate the government system. For example, Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran was an Islamic revolutionist, politician and religious leader from 1979 until his death in 1989. He became the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran by ending the Iranian monarchy of Pahlavi dynasty. As a Shi’ite Islamist, Khomeini created religious and political ideas, Khomeinism and his power went through not only Iran but also Islamic countries in the Middle East. He proved how a religious leader reforms the political system and changes the country itself.
On the contrary, Martin Luther King is a symbol of black people’s human rights, who transformed religious power to political power with a great influence and outcome. He is the most successful American hero in civil rights movement through pivotal legislative gains in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
As a Christian preacher as well as a peacemaker, Martin Luther King revived inspiration in Gandhi’s non-violent struggle. On October 14, 1964, he won the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolent resistance.
Major Religions in the Global Society
Ironically, the basic doctrine of Buddhism and Islam is very similar: to direct human society towards freedom and peace. Moreover, Hinduism focuses on mental happiness and Christianity has a religious mission of love and sacrifice. The major religions seem to be far removed from political power and truly explore genuine human dignity as an enlightened existence in the spiritual stage. This could be an original purpose of religion beyond political or social boundaries.
Nonetheless, Islamic countries would be the center to sprout religious conflicts with drastically dogmatic power. For example, severe conflicts between Sunnite Muslims with 90 percent and Shi’ite Muslims with 10 percent have aggravated religious struggles in the Middle East. As well, India seriously discriminates and tortures Muslims and Christians with legal systems. Severe military conflicts with nuclear weapons between India of Hinduism and Pakistan of Islam mainly bear from religious discrepancy. China has massacred Buddhists in Tibet and brutally persecuted Muslims in Xīnjiāng Wéiwú’ěr.
First, it is Christianity with 2.6 billion Christians in the world population as the most powerful religion in human history penetrating Western society. Christianity is a compilation of multi-cultural tradition by assembling ancient Persia, Judea, Greece and Rome. European Christianity built up not only the religious hegemonic system in the Medieval Period but also constructed Western social values and democratic ideologies in modern times.
Imperialism accelerated the spread of Christianity by colonizing global territory that it deeply impacted on Westernizing the world. Currently, democratism stands for Christianity as a core part of Western ideology and standard of social and political systems. As the leading country, the United States effectively conducts its mission by keeping up global hegemony.
Second, it is Islam with 2 billion Muslims. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam come from the same origin, according to the ancient Jewish myth. But Islam is more radical and violent in favor of political power. Islamic extremists largely conduct terror, kidnap, assassination and sexual crime. Iran, Iraq, Seria, and Afghanistan belonging to Shi’ite are belligerent, supporting Hezbollah.
After the Iranian revolution by Ruhollah Khomeini as a leader of Shi’ite Muslim, Sunnite of IS connected to Al-Qaeda became radical as they were fostering terrorist groups to defeat Shi’ite. The Iran-Iraq war was the most drastic conflict between Sunnite and Shi’ite by Sadam Hussein and Khomeini. Moreover, 9/11 terror was another trigger to eradicate Sunnite supported by the U.S. in the Middle East. Islam has been considered as a malicious religion because of its belligerent provocation as the main factor of global conflicts.
Third, Hinduism, with 1.2 billion Hindus, is the oldest and third largest religion in the world. Hinduism covers a wide range of religious and spiritual traditions of India through ancient philosophy, rituals and the righteous way of life, whose origins go beyond human history to universal enlightenment.
However, Hinduism recently turned into the worst inhuman, brutal religion. Hindu extremists frequently attack Muslims and Christians and even declare to kill two hundred Muslims. They insist on cleaning up Islam in India to make Hindu country, despite 80 percent Hindus. They also emphasize that Myanmar successfully massacred the Rohingya, Islam minority producing 750,000 refugees in 2017. Moreover, Narendra Modi Government has pressed Muslims and Christs through variable restriction and legal discrepancy after inauguration in 2014.
Fourth is Buddhism, with 0.6 billion Buddhists. Buddhism has long penetrated Asian culture and built spirituality into human life, finally spreading to the West in the 20th century. There are two Buddhist spiritual leaders: the Dalai Lama in Tibet and Thích Nhất Hạnh in Vietnam, the most respected leader in the world. They are not only spiritual leaders, but also political and social leaders with inspiration and enlightenment.
The Dalai Lama is the head of Tibetan Buddhism and leader of the Tibetan Government in Exile. When Dalai Lama awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 as calling Gandhi’s spiritual heir to nonviolence, the world fully respected and admired his leadership advocating peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual respect. As well, Thích Nhất Hạnh was a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, peace activist, prolific author, poet and teacher, who founded the Plum Village Tradition. He was widely recognized as the main inspiration for engaged Buddhism, known as the father of mindfulness and the living Buddha leading a major influence on Western practices of Buddhism. He strived to apply Buddhist doctrine to political, social reformation and attracted worldwide tension and support.
Religious Conflicts and Hegemony Struggle
Professor Samuel Huntington at Harvard published ‘The Clash of Civilizations’ in 1996, which analyzed conflicts between countries not because of political ideology but because of cultural and religious discrepancy. His accurate prediction was manifested by 9/11 terror, Afghanistan Attack and Iraq War between Islam and Christianity.
World history is a kind of religious hegemony. If there is a hegemony struggle, it subsequently reveals an intrinsic aspect of religious conflict. For example, Osama Bin Laden initially exploded when Israel frantically bombarded and demolished high-rise buildings with American weapons in Beirut during the Lebanon civil war. He surely plotted to attack the U.S. in religious indignation about American soldiers who barbarously demolished and insulted sacred objects in Mecca and Madina after the Gulf War. He finally attacked the U.S. for revenge by targeting the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the White House.
First, it is the hegemonic war between Christianity and Islam as two largest religions. The Crusades were the cruelest and longest religious wars in 1095-1291. Mass military expeditions were conducted as a series of religious wars directed by the Roman Catholic Church. The initial objective was reconquering Jerusalem and its surrounding area ruled by Muslims. Beginning with the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099, Crusades constituted a mainstream of European history for centuries until Protestantism’s birth.
After the United States directly involved variable wars for national interests in the Middle East such as the Iran-Iraq War, the Gulf War, and Iraq’s attack on Kuwait on the 20th, anti-Americanism propelled it to organize Muslim terrorist groups. While continuously attacking Americans around the world, Osama Bin Laden denounced U.S. support not only to Israel but also Islamic dictators such as Sadam Hussain. Anti-Western world, anti-Judaism, anti-Christianity originated from the inferiority that Christian powers in modern times colonized and exploited Islamic countries. Such an Islamic extremism finally goes to the Israel-Hamas War against the U.S.
Second, it was the brutal religious war between Catholics and Protestants with the highest number of deaths. The Thirty Years’ War in 1618-1648 broke out between Rome Catholic countries and Protestant countries within a circle of Christianity. Its aspect also revealed direct confrontation of despotic monarchy and feudalism based on religious background. While differences over religion and Imperial authority became important factors in causing the war, its scope and extent were mainly driven by the competition for European dominance between mainly Habsburg-ruled Spain and the French House of Bourbon.
The Thirty Years’ War was the most destructive case in European history. An estimated 8 million soldiers and civilians died from the battle, famine, or disease in central Europe, while Germany struggled with population extinguishment of over 50 percent. Nonetheless, Protestantism was ratified as a religion but Rome Catholic’ power and influence declined.
Third, it is the Israel and Palestine conflict signifying Judaism and Islam. It is so hilarious when Jewish people insisted on Jerusalem as their hometown based on old history and constructed Israel by expelling Palestine. The conflicts would explore its potential toward World War III by support of Western World and Eastern Bloc along with Islamic countries.
The Israel-Hamas War finally broke out as a serial case of the Israel-Lebanon War in 1982 and 2006 that the U.S. supports Israel and Islamic countries encourage Hamas. Hezbollah, a Lebanese paramilitary group organized by Shi’ite Islamists in Iran has supported Hamas which considers the U.S. as the mortal enemy. Conflicts will never terminate unless Israel gives up the religious mission of Judaism to fully recover its old territory.
Fourth, it is Islamic war between Sunnite and Shi’ite. As two head countries, Saudi Arabia is mainly composed of Sunnite Muslims but Iran represents Shi’ite Muslims against each other. After Iran’s revolution by Shi’ite, Sunnite countries stimulated dogmatic, radical terrorists to defeat Shi’ite. As a result, Al-Qaeda, Taliban, and ISIS by Sunnite were organized as a violent terror group with the political aim to construct Islamic world by conquering Shi’ite countries. The Iran-Iraq war in 1980-1988 was the worst case by two religious and political dictators, Sadam Hussain and Ruhollah Khomeini to obtain Iran’s oil and destroy Iranian revolution. The U.S. supported Iraq and it initiated hostile relations with Iran.
On the contrary, the Israel-Lebanon War with the aim to prevent PLO’s attacks in 1982 strengthened Shi’ite that Hezbollah in Lebanon fought with Israel and expanded Iran’s influence in the Middle East. In addition, the Iraq War by the U.S. in 2003-2011 changed the religious structure of Islam that Shi’ite government in Iraq was established by demolishing Sunnite Hussain’s dictatorship. Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran based on Shi’ite were strongly affiliated, resulted in deepening and continuing hegemonic struggles with Sunnite so far.
Religious Power and Leadership
Human history can’t exist without religion because human society is a kind of religious complex itself going through all the aspects. Especially, Western values and ideology standing for democratism came mainly from Christianity and it successfully conquered communism. As well, Christianity has attained the biggest religious influence in the world more than Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism as it concreted Western values based on freedom and peace.
Religious conflicts occur when religion focuses on a political purpose to take over hegemonic power. From Crusades to the Israel-Hamas War, religious wars would be explored in long-term conflicts as penetrating political power to reinforce national power. Nonetheless, Christianity has dominated Western world with political ideology based on human dignity and equal value since modern times. It has strived to flourish its genuine mission against not only religious conflicts but also all the inhuman wars.
However, Islam has been a political weapon to attack enemy countries in the Middle East by provoking wars. Islam is a very aggressive religion involved in political interests. The scheme of 9/11 terror was confirmed by religious and political purposes to destroy the superpower position of the U.S. and instead, construct Islamic world. Ironically, Hinduism has also been a military weapon to demolish Islam of Pakistan and persecute Muslims in India.
Therefore, new religious leadership in the 21st century should explore the mission for mental happiness and holy spirit by overcoming political interests or hegemony struggles. If religions conduct such a prominent role, there will be only peace and happiness in the world.
Sunny Lee – Founder and President at CGPS (Center for Global Peace and Security), and Director at IKUPD (Institute for Korea-U.S. Political Development), Washington DC. Sunny Lee is the author of 115 academic books in politics (original English and in German, French, Russian, Polish, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese). She is a bestseller writer not only in politics but also in literature on Amazon. Her recent book is titled: “The Influence on Humankind’s Peace through Korean Reunification: Creating new paradigm in social science by interdisciplinary research.”
(The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of World Geostrategic Insights).