Iraq: Religion, ethics and values take center stage

Posted on November 13th, 2006

Archived in Iraq

Noticing No’s: Conscientious objectors

As the war continues and casualties mount for both Americans and Iraqis, conscientious objectors are gaining a higher profile. CO’s, as they are called, are members of the military who say they developed — during either their training or service — a deeply held conviction that all wars are wrong. Some CO’s are starting Web sites. They are featured at rallies and anti-war protests. Some have moved to Canada. They tell their stories in the media. Their stories are unique and nuanced, ranging from newly adopted religious beliefs to patient reconsideration of what beliefs and values mean in action.

The number of requests processed by the Army — each branch processes its own requests — has been around 60 each year since 2003, when the war began, but the number of requests that are rejected has risen in each of the last three years, according to figures released Nov. 10, 2006, by the U.S. Army Public Affairs Office:

In 2003, 29 of 60 requests were rejected.
In 2004, 34 of 67 requests were rejected.
In 2005, 38 of 61 requests were rejected.

J.E. McNeil, executive director of the Center on Conscience and War, which works with conscientious objectors, notes that numbers kept by the armed forces reflect only cases that went from beginning to end (at the end, applications are either rejected or, if approved, the applicant is either reassigned or discharged). The process of applying for and gaining CO status is long and complicated and involves a written application, interviews and character witnesses. The center estimates that 200 people annually seek such status, though many do not complete the extensive process, for a variety of reasons. McNeil says inquiries about CO status have risen steadily since the Iraq invasion.

RESOURCES
• The Selective Service System defines a conscientious objector as “one who is opposed to serving in the armed forces and/or bearing arms on the grounds of moral or religious principles.” The agency’s Web site explains the requirements and procedure for claiming conscientious objector status.
• J.E. McNeil is executive director of the Center on Conscience and War in Washington, D.C., an interreligious body that has worked since 1940 to support conscientious objection. Contact 202-483-2220, j_e@centeronconscience.org.
• The Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors administers a GI Rights Hotline that is maintained by a number of organizations. It offers links to information about individual military war resisters. Contact the Oakland office, 510-465-1617; Philadelphia office, 215-563-8787.
• Courage to Resist is a California-based organization supporting war resisters Ivan Brobeck and Kyle Snyder. Contact 510-764-2073. Courage to Resist Military is planning activities for the weekend of Dec. 8-10 to support people who object to the war and to support the right to conscientious objection.
• The University of Winnipeg in Canada hosted a conference in October 2006 on conscientious objection.
• The War Resisters Support Campaign in Toronto profiles nine men who left the U.S armed forces while serving in Iraq or while facing deployment there. The campaign is endorsed by religious leaders and groups. Contact 416-598-1222.
• Agustin Aguayo, an Army medic, is imprisoned in Germany awaiting action by the Army after he refused in September 2006 to return to Iraq.
• Martin L. Cook is Elihu Root Professor of Military Studies and professor of ethics at the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pa. He wrote the article “Can Christians Serve in the Armed Forces?” for the July 4-11, 2001, issue of The Christian Century. His answer is a nuanced “yes.”
• Gregory S. Clapper is assistant professor of religion and philosophy at Westmar College in Le Mars, Iowa, and a National Guard chaplain. In “Wounds of War,” a June 28, 2000, article in The Christian Century, he argues that military service is compatible with Christianity.
• Read an Oct. 13, 2006, New York Times story about Sgt. Ricky Clousing, a Christian soldier who was sentenced to 11 months of confinement for going AWOL during the Iraq war. He is quoted as saying: “My experiences in Iraq forced me to re-evaluate my beliefs and my ethics. I ultimately felt I could not serve.”
• Read an April 1, 2003, New York Times story that says C.O. numbers are small but growing. It’s posted by CommonDreams.org.

Waging peace: Civil disobedience

Anti-war and peace activists in the United States have been energized by election results that wrested control of Congress from President Bush’s Republican Party. Advisory referenda calling for troop withdrawal from Iraq passed in towns in Wisconsin, Illinois and Massachusetts. With religious leaders playing a prominent role, coalitions of activists are now laying plans for a full-court press on the new Congress to commit to troop withdrawal and the reconstruction of Iraq. As they have since the war began, faith communities are emphasizing that peace is possible. They are also highlighting concerns about troops stretched to the limit, military families strained by economics and emotions, Iraqis whose lives have been devastated by war, and people in Iraq who are being persecuted for their faith.

Anti-war and peace coalitions are preparing to do battle over the next federal budget in February, when the government is expected to seek new and large amounts of funding for Iraq. They also are planning anti-war activities nationally and locally timed to the fourth anniversary of the March 2003 invasion. Civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance – two tactics used during civil rights-era protests – are gaining profile and popularity. Activists used it in a demonstration in a U.S. Senate office building on Sept. 26 that led to 71 arrests.

RESOURCES
• Mandate for Peace, a coalition of peace groups calling for full withdrawal of troops, includes religious endorsers.
• Declaration of Peace, a campaign begun in 2006 by religious and secular peace groups, has called for a timetable for peace in Iraq. More than half the 500 endorsers were from the faith community. Peace activities took place in 11 states and Washington, D.C, at the end of September, resulting in 268 arrests across the country in 21 cities for nonviolent protest. Watch a You Tube video of an interfaith service and arrests at a U.S. Senate building Sept. 26. The campaign is making plans for 2007, targeting the February presentation of the federal budget and the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war in March. It plans to pressure congressional members locally to commit to peace in Iraq. Contact spokesman Ken Butigan in Chicago, 773-777-7133, kenbutigan@earthlink.net.
• Gordon Clark is convener of the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance. Contact 301-589-2355.
• The United for Peace and Justice Coalition includes a number of religious groups.
• Voices for Creative Nonviolence is organizing the Occupation Project. The Chicago-based activist group is calling for occupation of the offices of elected representatives starting in February. Group coordinator Kathy Kelly, who has visited Iraq 24 times since 1996, has received numerous peacemaking awards from religious groups. Contact 773-878-3815.
• Read a Sept. 26, 2006, CNN.com story on the arrests of religious activists during a Washington, D.C., protest.
• Read a Nov. 8 Madison, Wis., Capital Times story on troop withdrawal referenda that won in three states.

Extreme makeover: Just-war theory

The Iraq war has changed just-war theory from an academic debate to a mainstream conversation. The war – with the complicating factors of pre-emption, international terrorism, torture, prisoner abuse and more — has also challenged the limits of just-war theory, a doctrine with roots in Christianity that posits that governments sometimes – but not always — have a morally justified reason for using mass political violence. Experts have recognized that while just-war theory is an important tool for analyzing political and military action, the changing character of international conflict requires that just-war theory and other ethical standards on war be developed beyond where they are now. The 21st century has brought the bewildering realization that war presents new challenges and new dangers. Political and military leaders, academics, religious leaders and citizens all need a way to talk about wars in order to prevent conflicts, to keep them focused on morally just and attainable goals, and to end them in ways that do not beget more wars – the three principal aspects of just-war theory.

The Iraq war has brought new vigor and commitment to developing just-war theory and other forms of ethical debate about war. The power shift in Congress and the clear election mandate for a change in military policy means these developing conversations may get a greater public airing, particularly as the United States debates when and how to reduce or end its military commitment in Iraq. The Global Ethics and Religion Forum, for example, has quietly been working on a new project called “Revising Just War Theory for the 21st Century,” which involves top experts from around the world (many from the United States) and includes representatives of all the major religious traditions.

Just-war theory has generally been debated in scholarly conferences or academic journals. But it is not just an academic exercise. It is important because it provides a moral framework for evaluating the reason for starting a war and the way it is conducted. And that moral framework is important because not all wars should be waged, and once they are, an “anything goes” approach to combat can lead to unnecessary suffering, death and, perhaps, more war. The Bush administration’s call for a pre-emptive strike against Iraq caused political scientists, theologians, politicians and military experts to debate whether that call met the requirements of a just war. Different experts came to different conclusions. While some interpreted this as a weakness of just-war theory, others saw it as the natural result of the fact that while a doctrine has set standards, different people will apply those standards in different ways, resulting in different conclusions.

Many are working to develop just-war theory so that it can be helpful in resolving conflicts in the Middle East, Sudan and other places as well as Iraq. Here are resources to get started.

RESOURCES
• Read the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s brief introduction to just-war theory (scroll down to “Just war”).
• “Revising Just War Theory for the 21st Century” is a new project of The Global Ethics and Religion Forum. Its goal is to produce a new ethics of war that takes into account international terrorism, humanitarian intervention, the use of child soldiers, the use of torture and the employment of private military companies. It includes participants from all the major world religions. Upcoming events and the participants in the forum are listed on the project’s home page. Contact Joseph Runzo, executive director of the Global Ethics and Religion Forum, which is based in Orange, Calif., at 714-633-5504, runzo@GERForum.org.
• JustWarTheory.com is an extensive Web guide to philosophical studies of warfare, maintained by Mark Rigstad, assistant professor of philosophy at Oakland University. It is a treasure trove of links, information and articles on just-war theory. Contact Rigstad at rigstad@oakland.edu.
• The BBC posts a resource page on the ethics of war and just-war theory.
• The University of San Diego maintains a Web page on war, peace, terrorism and military ethics, which includes many links to resources and articles.

PUBLICATIONS
• Several journals have regularly included articles on the ethics of war. They include First Things (see a January 2005 essay by James Turner Johnson, for example), and The New Republic (see the July 31, 2006, contents, which focus on just-war theory and the Middle East, including an essay by Michael Walzer).
• The summer 2006 issue of Dissent includes an exchange between co-editor Michael Walzer and Jean Bethke Elshtain about regime change in Iraq and just-war theory.

EXPERTS
• James Childress is Edwin B. Kyle Professor of Religious Studies, director of the Institute for Practical Ethics at the University of Virginia and an expert on just-war theory. Contact 434-924-6724, childress@virginia.edu.
• Jean Bethke Elshtain is Laura Spelman Rockefeller Professor of Social and Political Ethics in the Divinity School at the University of Chicago and author of Just War Against Terror: The Burden of American Power in a Violent World (Basic Books, 2003). Contact 773-702-7252, jbelshta@midway.uchicago.edu.
• Vincent Ferraro is the Ruth C. Lawson Professor of International Politics at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass. He posts a page on just-war theory. Contact 413-538-2669, vferraro@mtholyoke.edu.
• Vice Admiral Michael D. Haskins is dean of the Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership at the United States Naval Academy and holds the distinguished chair of leadership in the department of leadership, ethics, law and character. Contact 410-293-6006, mhaskins@usna.edu.
• James Turner Johnson, a professor of religion at Rutgers University in New Jersey, is considered one of the deans of contemporary just-war theory. He has written many articles and books on the topic. Contact 732-932-9637, jtj@rci.rutgers.edu.
• John Kelsay, co-editor of the Journal of Religious Ethics, is the Richard L. Rubenstein Professor of Religion at Florida State University. Kelsay has written about Islam, human rights and just war. Contact 850-644-0209, jkelsay@garnet.acns.fsu.edu.
• David Kinsella is associate professor of political science at the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University in Oregon. He is co-editor of The Morality of War: A Reader (forthcoming in 2007 from Lynne Rienner). A draft is available on the Web. Contact 503-725-3035, kinsella@pdx.edu.
• Reuven Kimelman, professor of Near Eastern and Jewish studies at Brandeis University, wrote an essay called Jewish Understanding of War and Its Limits. Contact 781-736-2963, kimelman@brandeis.edu.
• Robin Lovin, Carey Maguire University Professor of Ethics at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, can discuss just-war theory and Iraq. Read a column he wrote for Faithful Democrats, an online Christian group. Contact 214-768-4134, rlovin@mail.smu.edu.
• Gerard F. Powers is director of policy studies at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. From 1998 to 2004 he was director of the Office of International Justice and Peace of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He has criticized current military action in Iraq using just-war reasoning. Contact 574-631-3765, gpowers1@nd.edu.
• Glen H. Stassen is a professor of Christian ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., who specializes in war, peace and ethics. He wrote Just Peacemaking: Ten Practices for Abolishing War (Pilgrim Press, 2004). Contact 626-304-3733, gstassen@fuller.edu.
• Michael Walzer is a prominent expert on just-war theory. He is a professor at the school of social science at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J., and the author of Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument With Historical Illustrations (Basic Books, 2006). Contact 609-734-8253.
• At Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky., in October 2006, professors Jerry Walls and Charles Gutenson debated the Iraq war on just-war grounds. Contact through director of communications Tina Pugel, 859-858-2277.

Humanitarian concerns

Concern is increasing for refugees displaced by the war and religious minorities in Iraq. The U.N. High Commission on Refugees estimated in October 2006 that 1.5 million people have been displaced within Iraq and 1.6 million are refugees elsewhere, most in neighboring Jordan and Syria. Reports of persecution of Christians are becoming more frequent; an Orthodox priest was kidnapped and killed in October.

RESOURCES
• The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote a letter on Oct. 30, 2006, to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressing concern about conditions for Christian and other religious minorities.
• The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom posts background on religious freedom in Iraq. Contact 202-523-3240.
• The United Nations High Commission on Refugees expressed concern Nov. 3 about rising violence in Iraq and a humanitarian crisis in the region.
• Read an Oct. 17, 2006, New York Times story that describes murders, bombings and kidnappings of Christians.
• Read a May 14, 2006, Aljazeera story that reports social discrimination and violent incidents prompting Christians to flee.

Talking about torture

The abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison brought public debate over how war prisoners are treated and interrogated. Religious groups, who generally oppose torture of all kinds, have become deeply involved in calling for a revision of government policies.
• See “The Torture Debate: Religious opposition two years after Abu Ghraib,” an April 17, 2004, ReligionLink issue that offers interview sources, background articles, and information on religious groups’ views.

Anticipating Iran

Religious activists have begun a campaign to pre-empt possible military action against Iran.

RESOURCES
• Words Not War is an interfaith effort spearheaded by evangelical activist Jim Wallis of Sojourners/Call to Renewal and signed by more than 100 clergy across the country. The petition calls for direct negotiation to prevent military action against Iran. Contact 202-328-8842.
• Faithful Security is a partner with Sojourners in the Words Not War campaign. Contact 800-233-6786, info@faithfulsecurity.org.

Catalog: Religious groups on the war

Many religious bodies took positions on the Iraq invasion in 2003. Some have made additional statements since then. In addition, many denominations have active peace fellowships.

CATHOLIC
• At their meeting in November 2006, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a new statement on Iraq, calling for the earliest possible troop withdrawal consistent with a responsible transition. The bishops have weighed in on the Iraq situation since 2003 with several statements saying the war does not meet the criteria for a just war. In addition, in an Oct. 30, 2006 letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, international policy committee chair Bishop Thomas G. Wenski expressed concern about a “deteriorating situation” for Christian and other minorities in Iraq. John Carr is secretary of the Bishops’ Department of Social Development and World Peace, 202-541-3181.
• A Nov. 10, 2006, National Catholic Reporter editorial says voter anger over Iraq suggests larger discontent with policies on terrorism.

PROTESTANT CHRISTIANS
• The National Council of Churches passed a resolution Nov. 8 at its 2006 General Assembly calling for a withdrawal of American troops linked to Iraqi rebuilding. The council opposed the war before it began and has an index of war resources. Contact the general secretary, the Rev. Bob Edgar, through director of media relations Daniel Webster, 212-870-2252, dwebster@councilofchurches.org.
• Richard Land is president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission for the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. He said in 2003 that the Iraq war met criteria for a just war. Land said in a Nov. 8, 2006, Washington Times article that evangelicals and Southern Baptists would have been more inclined to vote Republican if Bush had been running and listed on the ballot. Contact through Jill Martin, 615-782-8417.
• The National Association of Evangelicals supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Contact Richard Cizik, vice president for governmental affairs, at 202-789-1011.
• Evangelical activist Jim Wallis of Sojourners/Call to Renewal said in his blog that the midterm elections show that the war in Iraq is a moral value. Contact 202-328-8842.
• Thirty-one bishops of the United Methodist Church, the largest mainline Protestant denomination, signed a statement of conscience on the war calling for peacemaking. Jim Winkler, general secretary of the General Board of Church and Society, has criticized the war. Contact 202-488-5629.
• The Rev. Timothy F. Simpson is a Presbyterian minister and interim president of the Christian Alliance for Progress, a national group with headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla. The group calls for withdrawal of troops from Iraq and international assistance in rebuilding the country. Simpson was arrested during a demonstration in a U.S. Senate office building Sept. 26, 2006. Contact tsimpson@christianalliance.org.
• The Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr. is a community activist and chairman and CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus (H2C) in Washington, D.C., a national coalition of pop culture, social, political and youth organizations. He took part in an Iraq war demonstration Sept. 26 in Washington, D.C. Contact info@hiphopcaucus.org.

PEACE FELLOWSHIPS
• Presbyterian Peace Fellowship is co-led by former Presbyterian General Assembly moderator Rick Ufford-Chase, who was arrested Sept. 26 in a U.S. Senate office building for unlawful assembly. Contact the fellowship in Nyack, N.Y., 845-358-4601 ext. 38, ppf@forusa.org, or Ufford-Chase in Arizona at 520-780-6928, rickuffordchase@gmail.com.
• Hundreds have signed the Baptist Declaration in Opposition to Present U.S. Policies in Iraq developed through the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, based in Charlotte, N.C. Contact Evelyn Hanneman, interim coordinating director, 704-521-6051.
• The Pentecostal Charismatic Peace Fellowship, which urged President Bush in 2003 not to invade Iraq, has posted online an October 2006 poll by the Institute for Southern Studies in Durham, N.C., showing disillusionment about the Iraq war in Southern states. The fellowship in Waxahachie, Texas, has nine regional chapters. Marlon Millner of Philadelphia and Paul Alexander of San Dimas, Calif., are co-coordinators. Contact info@pentecostalpeace.org.
• The Adventist Peace Fellowship offers information about peace in the Seventh-day Adventist tradition.
• The Church of the Brethren, a historic peace church, posts resources on Iraq. Contact 202-546-3202.
• Orthodox Peace Fellowship resources include an essay on conscientious objection by Jim Forest, secretary of the fellowship, former Navy officer and a conscientious objector. Contact jhforest@cs.com.
• The Rev. Jackie Lynn, executive director of the Chicago-based Episcopal Peace Fellowship, was among those arrested Sept. 26 in a U.S. Senate building for unlawful assembly. The fellowship has chapters in 28 states and Washington, D.C. Contact 312-922-8628.
• Peter Lems is Iraq program associate at the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker group based in Philadelphia. He led Quakers on a visit to Iraq in 2002. He says faith groups working for peace feel empowered by the election. Contact him through Janis Shields, 215-241-7060.

JEWISH
• American Jewish groups have been divided in their positions on Iraq, with support declining over time. Released Oct. 23, the 2006 Annual Survey of American Jewish Opinion conducted by the American Jewish Committee showed that almost two-thirds of American Jews believe the U.S. should have stayed out of Iraq. The numbers varied among the branches of Judaism, with 38 percent of Orthodox and 73 percent of Reform Jews saying the U.S. should have stayed out of Iraq. Contact AJC executive director David Harris through Kenneth Bandler, 212-751-4000 ext. 271.
• Rabbi Arthur Waskow of the Shalom Center in Philadelphia took part in a Sept. 26 demonstration against the war in Washington, D.C. Contact the center, 215-844-8494.
• The executive committee of the Reform movement’s Union of American Hebrew Congregations gave qualified support in 2002 for unilateral action in Iraq, but in 2005 called for an exit strategy. The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington, D.C., posts resources on Iraq. Contact 202-387-2800.
• The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America supported action against Iraq. Contact 212-613-8123 in New York, 202-513-6484 in Washington, D.C.
• Rabbi Michael Lerner, a peace activist, is editor of Tikkun magazine and founder of the Tikkun Community, a peace and social justice movement. Contact 510-644-1200, rabbilerner@tikkun.org.
• The Jewish Peace Fellowship in Nyack, N.Y., is circulating a petition to end the occupation of Iraq. Contact 845-358-4601 ext. 35.

MUSLIM
• The Muslim Peace Fellowship in Nyack, N.Y., is forming local groups in San Francisco; Columbia, S.C.; Atlanta; and San Antonio, Texas. Contact Rabia Harris, 845-358-4601 ext. 43.
• The American Muslim Voice is a San Francisco Bay-area organization concerned with civil liberties. It endorsed Mandate for Peace. Contact founding executive director Samina Faheem Sundas, 650-387-1994.
• Muslims for a Safe America is a blog about American Muslims and American security concerns. Founder Kamran Memon is a civil rights attorney in Chicago. Contact 312-961-2354, kamran@muslimsforasafeamerica.org.

BUDDHIST
• The Buddhist Peace Fellowship has expressed support for Lt. Ehren Watada, an Army officer who refused deployment to Iraq and faces court-martial. Contact 510-655-6169.
• Claude Anshin Thomas is an author, peace activist, Zen monk and Vietnam veteran who lives in Massachusetts. Contact 978-369-4342.
• Roshi Bernie Glassman heads the Massachusetts-based Zen Peacemakers, which has chapters around the world. Contact 413-367-2080.
• The Dalai Lama said that too many lives had been lost in Iraq, according to an Associated Press story in the Sept. 26, 2006, San Jose Mercury News. In 2003, before the invasion, he counseled that human problems cannot be solved by fighting.

Background

• PollingReport.com posts public opinion polls on the war in Iraq.
• A Nov. 4, 2006, Reuters story found that churches are divided in their stances on the Iraq war. It’s posted by The Washington Post.
• Read two articles that call the war in Iraq a moral issue voters are responding to: a Nov. 3 Boston Globe story and a Nov. 6 CBN.com story.