What religious groups are involved in the conflict in the Middle East?

Answer 1

Three different religions have been involved in causing conflict in the Middle East, those being Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. All three religions have an interest in controlling the city of Jerusalem, and the surrounding territory, which is often known as "the Holy Land". Holiness has its risks.

Answer 2

There are several religions which have important roles in the Middle East Conflicts.

Muslims: (Hanafi Sunni Muslims, Hanbali Sunni Muslims, Wahhabi Muslims, Alawite Shiite Muslims, and Ja'afari Shiite Muslims) These groups often fight each other.

Jews: (Religious Zionists, Haredim, Secularists) There are numerous political debates between these three groups.

Christians: (Egyptian Copts and Lebanese Maronites)

In addition to the various sects/groups of the three major monotheistic faiths, Druze, Yazidi, Zoroastrians, and Baha'i are also involved in these conflicts.

Answer 3

The really simple answer is that religion gives each person the ability to assert their opinion of how the world should work without the possibility of negotiation or cohabitation. Religions in their purer or more extreme forms do not provide for multiple perspectives, shared occupancy, and a general humanity.

Examples of Religious Intransigence which cause conflict in the Middle East (this list is not exhaustive):

1) Religious Organization in Lebanon: Each of the three religious communities in Lebanon, Shi'a Muslims, Sunni Muslims, and Christians have attempted to impose their will on the other two groups, resulting in a Civil War.

2) Alawite Control in Syria/Sunni Control in Bahrain:Syrians and Bahrainis divide into two major ethnic groups based on their religions: Sunni and Shi'a. In each case, the minority religion feels that it will be persecuted if they give up their entrenched hold on power. The religion serves as an ethnic marker.

3) Christian Minorities in Arab States: From the Copts in Egypt to the Assyrians and Chaldeans in Iraq, Christians in Arab States suffer from persecution and intransigence from Muslim leadership that believes that they should be second-class citizens or denied the rights to freely profess their faith.

4) Religious Zionists: Religious Jews in the State of Israel and the Occupied Territories physically attack and harass non-Jews living in those territories on account of them being on lands that they believe belong exclusively to Jews.