Faith in wartime: how believers talk about war, justice and peace
Omar Suleiman, Tulsi Gabbard, Bassem Youssef and Narendra Modi each bring faith into how they see war, resistance and peace. Comparing them shows how religious conviction can push toward very different political conclusions.
How does Omar Suleiman define peace? Show answer
Following Martin Luther King Jr., as the presence of justice, not the absence of violence. He objects to peace language used to stifle the work of justice.
What limit does Suleiman say faith places on resistance? Show answer
Non-combatants, women and children must not be targeted. He agrees that killing them is terrorism regardless of who does it.
What does Suleiman say gives him and Gazans endurance? Show answer
Faith in God and the afterlife. He returns to a verse saying the Lord does not forget.
What daily task shaped Tulsi Gabbard's view of war? Show answer
In a medical unit in Iraq, she went through the list of every combat injury from the previous day, name by name, confronting the cost of war.
When does Gabbard say war is justified? Show answer
When it is in the best interest of national security and is the last resort. She calls herself a realist, not a pacifist.
How does religion enter Gabbard's strategy against terrorism? Show answer
She points to imams who use their own teachings of Islam to preach peace and defeat extremist ideology, and urges partnering with such leaders.
What is the source of Gabbard's steadiness under attack? Show answer
A clear sense of purpose: to be pleasing to God and live a life of service to God's children.
How does Bassem Youssef see religion? Show answer
As a human need and a form of humility before something greater, which becomes harmful when ego turns it into superiority and entitlement to harm others.
Why does Youssef tell individual stories and read names? Show answer
Because numbers make people numb. He focuses on how propaganda and word choices dehumanize the other side.
How does Narendra Modi connect faith and leadership? Show answer
He says every action is dedicated to serving others and sees no real difference between a saint and a leader. Service to people is service to God.
What is Modi's position on the war in Ukraine? Show answer
That he is not neutral but on the side of peace, and that it will be resolved only at a table with both parties, not on the battlefield.
Where do Gabbard and Suleiman differ on Hamas and Islam? Show answer
Gabbard stresses a shared Islamist ideology that should be named. Suleiman stresses conditions under occupation and says narratives of Islam as violent have justified wars.