Can war and religion mix? Here's what some religious leaders and faith organizations are saying in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the subsequent U.S.-led military action.
Christian
"Military action is always regrettable, but it may be necessary to protect the innocent or to defend the common good," said Bishop Joseph Fiorenza, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and head of the Galveston-Houston diocese. "We support efforts to make clear that this response is directed at those who use terror as well as those who assist them, not at the Afghan people or Islam."
"Our Social Principles of the United Methodist Church make clear that 'most Christians regretfully realize that, when peaceful alternatives have failed, the force of arms may be preferable to unchecked aggression, tyranny and genocide,' " according to Good News, a conservative evangelical movement in the United Methodist Church.
"If you want to get rid of the malaria of international terrorism, you can't just swat mosquitoes; you have to drain the swamp," said the Rev. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. "Our military response is the only one that could be expected given the act of war that was perpetuated on the United States."
"In the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America social statement 'For Peace in God's World,' we say that as Christians, the love of our neighbor obligates us to act to prevent wars and seek alternatives to them," said Presiding Bishop H. George Anderson. "However, we understand that under certain circumstances, there may be no other way to offer protection to innocent people except by use of military force."
"Solomon said it well in Ecclesiastes: There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven," said the Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, head of the Washington-based Traditional Values Coalition. "There is, says Solomon, a time to kill and a time to heal. For America, it is a time to kill."
Judaism
"The Jewish community is especially sensitive to the scourge of terror," said Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. "The intentional and indiscriminate killing of innocent human beings is an act of ultimate evil, a profound offense against God and humanity for which there can never be a rationale or justification. . . . Our tradition teaches us the reality of evil but reminds us, too, of our ability to overcome evil, to affirm hope and to achieve healing."
"We stand firmly behind our president, George W. Bush, in his efforts to put a permanent stop to terrorism of all kinds and wish him personal strength in his endeavor," said Bonnie Lipton, president of Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America.
Islam
"We support the president's strategic campaign to combat terrorism and to protect Americans from attack," the Council on American-Islamic Relations said. "This support will remain firm whether or not we agree with particular tactics used. . . . American Muslims have stated clearly that the horrific attacks of Sept. 11 warrant an appropriate response aimed at the perpetrators."
"Muslims are a part of American society," said Taha Jabir Al-alawani, president of the Muslim Fiqh Council of North America and the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences of Muslims in the U.S. military. "Anyone who feels he is fighting in a just war must fight."
Pacifist
"Inevitably, the use of military force places at risk the lives of innocent civilians who had nothing to do with the attacks of Sept. 11 and most of whom are already suffering from oppression and poverty," said the Friends (Quakers) Committee on National Legislation. "U.S. military retaliation will likely be used by those who would organize future acts of terror as further 'proof' that the U.S. is the enemy of Islam."
"As an agency of historic peace churches, the Mennonite Central Committee upholds the call of Jesus to love enemies and live as peacemakers," the Mennonite churches executive committee said. "Throughout its history, MCC has stood against a culture of violence by witnessing war against war preparation, enemy demonization and the use of military force to solve international problems."