Is the US-Israel-Iran war a “clash of civilizations”?

Is the US-Israel-Iran war a “clash of civilizations”?

                            The US-Israel-imposed war on Iran is being interpreted from various perspectives in world politics. Many international analysts believe that this war is a well-known ploy by the US to gain control of the world’s oil resources, under the pretext of Iran’s attempts to develop nuclear weapons. Some believe that this is a war being fought by arms-producing countries to sell and procure their weapons. Some are calling this war a deep-rooted conspiracy by Israel, as Israel considers Iran the biggest obstacle to the creation of its dream “Greater Israel.” While others are also viewing this war from the perspective of a war between the Christian and Muslim worlds. So, can this war, among other reasons, also be seen as a reflection of the concept of a “clash of civilizations” between the Christian and Muslim worlds? What is this, and where did this concept of a “clash of civilizations” originate?

                 In fact, this idea was first expressed by Samuel P. Huntington in his article “The Clash of Civilizations” published in 1993 in Foreign Affairs magazine. These ideas were later presented in his acclaimed 1996 book, “The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order.” Samuel P. Huntington was a prominent American political scholar and professor at Harvard University. He taught there for nearly 58 years. The theory of the “clash of civilizations” expressed by him is also known as “Huntington’s Theory.” This theory gained further traction after the 9/11 attacks in the United States and continues to be invoked in international politics. Such discussions have once again intensified during the current US-Israel-Iran war. So, can or should the war imposed by the US on Central Asia be defined as a “clash of civilizations” between the Christian and Muslim worlds?

                         First, if we look at the three countries primarily at war in Central Asia, Iran is a Shia Muslim-majority country, while Israel is a Jewish-majority country, while its main ally in the war, the US, is a Christian country. However, people of all religions can be seen in the armies of all three countries. While a large number of Arab and Christian people volunteer to serve in the Israeli Army (IDF), thousands of Muslims are also part of the US military. Many Muslims even hold important officer-level positions in the US. In both the IDF and US military, Muslim soldiers enjoy all religious rights and privileges, including prayer, fasting, and halal food. Similarly, soldiers of both Christian and Jewish origin serve in the Iranian army. In any case, Iran has a two-year compulsory military service for all male citizens over the age of 18, including all recognized religious minorities such as Christians, Armenians, Assyrians, Jews, and Zoroastrians. Recently, during the US-Iran war, when a Christian Iranian soldier was martyred, Iranian head of state, the late Syed Ali Khamenei, visited the home of the martyr Christian soldier and consoled his family, a video of which went viral.

                           Now, even if we consider this Central Asian war in a broader context, we see nothing that could justify describing it as a “clash of civilizations” between the Christian and Muslim worlds. Russia is a prominent figure among the major countries providing diplomatic and political support to Iran in the current Iran-US-Israel war. Russia supplied Iran with air defence, drone technology, and other equipment, which facilitated Iran’s self-defence and enabled it to effectively attack Israeli and American bases. Christianity is also the largest religion in Russia. Orthodox Christians constitute approximately 60–70% of Russia’s total population. If this war is a “clash of civilizations,” would Russia be seen as standing with the Christian-majority United States, not with the Muslim-majority Iran? Similarly, China also provided everything from the Iron Dome to state-of-the-art communication and information systems during this war. Even in the United Nations and the United Nations Security Council, Russia and China stood firmly with Iran. China, too, is officially an atheist and secular country, but its largest religious populations are followers of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. None of these sects has any affinity with Islam. Yet, China stood firmly with Iran.

                       In addition, several Christian-majority countries, such as France, Spain, and Italy, criticized the US attacks on Iran, demonstrating that this was not a “clash of civilizations” between two separate Christian and Muslim worlds. Similarly, many Muslim-majority countries, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and Morocco, have openly opposed Iran, directly or indirectly, even providing military bases to the US and other Western countries in their countries. Therefore, it can be concluded that no war should be defined as a religious war or a “clash of civilizations.” At the root of almost every war have been power balance, dominance, resources, arms race, commercialism, expansionism, capitalism, communism, and various forms of politics. While the current war is a result of America’s vulture-like pursuit of oil resources, it is also a consequence of Israel’s expansionist policies and ambitions. Calling this war a Christian-Muslim war is neither accurate nor useful. However, fuelling such ideas is likely to increase social divisions rather than foster mutual understanding. Understanding the reality of war requires looking at geopolitics, history, and power balances, not just the religion of a country’s majority population. On this basis, the “clash of civilizations” theory proposed by Samuel P. Huntington cannot be accepted.

By Author

Tanveer Jafri

Contact: 9896219228

(About the Author)

Author  Tanveer Jafri is a columnist based in India.He is related with hundreds of most popular daily news papers/magazines and news portals in India and abroad. Jafri, Almost  writes in the field of communal harmony, world peace, anti communalism, anti terrorism, national integration, national & international politics etc.He is a devoted social activist for world peace, unity, integrity & global brotherhood. Thousands of articles of the author have been published in different newspapers, websites & newsportals throughout the world. He is also a recipient of so many awards in the field of Communal Harmony & other social activities. (Email : tjafri1@gmail.com )