Thematic Essay On Religious Conflict

In a time when multiple countries on Earth have animosity towards each other, one of the longest and most bitter conflicts is that between the two self-proclaimed nations of Israel and Palestine. Despite multiple efforts to resolve their differences, such discussions have almost always fallen through. Their battle is not merely over land rights, but also has religious and sovereignly components, causing any negotiations with only a single level of diplomatic dialogue to often go awry. While the religious components of their differences are by no means the sole source of disagreements between Israel and Palestine, the religious differences are often brought up by both political leaders and other influential groups within the two countries in order to support their actions and views. Although religious differences have previously …show more content…
At the present, it is beneficial to the countries’ administrations to emphasize their differences, as “the nature of the present international system bolsters the dominant position of nationalists in a given conflict with an opposing political entity, as well as within their own constituency.” Even in classical texts of past interactions between Jews and Muslims, it is difficult “to distinguish where and when a leader is expressing genuine [events] and when he or she is merely using religion to gain political power.” In Palestine in particular, the concept that the “nationalistic elite [needs] to mollify religious sentiments... demonstrates the vitality of religion in domestic politics, which even the secular nature of the international system cannot alter.” The governments of both countries benefit to some extent or another by continuing conflict, but at the same time they need to cater to the religious sentiments of their citizens, as religion plays a large part in domestic