FREE ESSAY ON JUST WAR IN WESTERN TRADITIONS

JUST WAR IN WESTERN TRADITIONS

The justification of war has been an ideal that has caused much debate and controversy for
humanity throughout all time. It has been studied and interpreted by many theologians,
philosophers, and politicians. There have many manuscripts documenting the correct use of
war and the proper means of exercising force. Within the western tradition two main
principles, the Christian and Islamic, have appeared that attempt to explain just war in
relation to maintaining a peaceful society. Both of these traditions have similar main
premises of a constant battle between a split society, one of good and the other of evil.
However, there are many differences within each of the two respective religions view on
the ideas of the conception of a well ordered society, the religious and secular
influences on each ideology, and the justification and authorization of war.
The Christian conception of a well-ordered, peaceful society, the City of God, was
maintained and influenced by the ideal of just war. The City of God theory was created by
St. Augustine of Hippo in the 4th century. His motivation for his writing was fueled by
the decaying Roman Empire. St. Augustine felt that the collapse of the western empire to
the invading barbarians resulted from the peaceful Christian ethic. "The charge was the
traditional Christian pacifism had helped create untenable military circumstances for the
western empire, the Church's concern to prepare it's members for the next life, had led
to an ahistorical and socially irresponsible approach to the inescapable problems of
individuals and societies in history (Tranquillitas Ordinis, Weigel)." Within his
writings, he made a clear distinction between two cities, one that was based for Earthly
living (City of Earth) and one that was based on love for God (City of God). He believed
the City of Earth was capable of doing good, however was fundamentally evil because the
only pure good is God. There is a direct correlation between the City of Earth and the
Roman Empire. Augustine pointed out the many achievements of the Roman State, but felt it
did not give God his due (Holy War Idea, Johnson). In order to correct this situation God
created salvation for the inhabitants of the City of Earth through grace. By altering
human motivations to become properly ordered through the love for God (Holy War Idea,
Johnson). With this love for God, the City of God will become a reality. This entire
society stemmed from individual motivation, and for love of neighbor. Augustine felt that
a selfish motivation was a sign of a sinner. Only a good person would have right
motivation, which is expressed as love towards God. To maintain this peaceful society it
would have to have the following three characteristics: Justice, Order, and Peace. To
uphold these ideals, there existed a positive attitude towards just war. Just war aided
the transformation from the presently evil world to the benevolent City of God. 
The Muslim concept of a well-ordered society, dar al-Islam, developed their ideals of
jihad. Classical Islamic thought partitioned the world into two separate societies. The
Dar al-Islam was considered the territory of peace, and the dar al-harb was literally the
"territory of war". The dar al-Islam is an area that promotes and signifies the supremacy
of Muslims beliefs. The dar-al Islam is the area of peace and justice, it is considered
to be the most secure place for all humans. The people of this territory need not be
Muslims, they have to acknowledge the Muslim rule, and they need to be of a monotheistic
religion. Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians were all allowed to live within the Dar
al-Islam peacefully. The important aspect of non-Muslims living within the dar al-Islam
is their behavior. Right action, not right thought was used to define which inhabitants
can exist within the Dar al-Islam. By Contrast, the dar a-Harb was the state of unrest
and war. It is characterized by strife and internal disorder (Islam and War, Kelsay).
This disorder, if mobilized correctly could become a threat to the dar al-Islam. The
peace of the world could only occur if it was all part of the dar al-Islam. These two
areas were constantly in a state of war with each other. For Muslims to carry out their
submission to God, they must attempt to destroy the dar al-harb. "Muslims are charged
with extending that obedience over the entire Earth, thus eliminating this perpetual
state of war and instituting a universal reign of peace (Holy War Idea, Johnson)." This
struggle leads to the concept of the jihad. Literally translated jihad means to
"struggle" or "strive". It was the struggle of one's own heart, the attempt to bring
oneself into accord with God (Islam and War, Kelsay). The jihad was used to extend the
boundaries of the dar al-Islam, thus spreading the Islamic values and beliefs. The wars
that were fought under the cloak of the jihad were used to bring the ignorant to the ways
of God, and transform humanity to the way of peace. The rightly guided Dar al-Islam
concept leads Muslims to use the jihad to bring the world under its blanket of peace and
righteousness.
The Augustian formulation of the City of God conception explicitly states the
justification and authorization of war. Augustine left his strict belief in pacifism and
acknowledged the inevitability of war. He believed that war could be used in punishment
of evil that poisoned the City of God. As a result, war became an instrument in
maintaining peace. He proceeded to establish which wars were "just" and thus allowed
morally. This just war tradition concerned itself with the moral issues of waging war.
The basic premise for all just war is the concept of love for neighbor. The unselfish
motivations fueled the inhabitants of the City of God to protect their neighbors from
evil. The ideals for waging just war are: when it is right to resort to armed force (Ius
ad bellum) and what is right when using force (Ius in Bello). Ius in bello includes the
moral necessities that armed force should be discriminate and proportionate. Ius ad
bellum included the following requirements: 1) just Cause 2) authorized by a competent
authority 3) motivated by right intention 4) pass four prudential tests: it must a) be
expected to produce a preponderance of good over evil, b) have a reasonable hope of
success, c) be a last resort d) have peace as its expected outcome (Just Cause Revisited,
Johnson). In Augustine's theory three kinds of war were morally justified: a defensive
war against aggression, a war to gain reparations for a previous wrong, and a war to
recover stolen property (Tranquillitas Ordinis, Weigel). Another key concept in his
theory was that of proper authorization of war. Once a properly constituted authority had
declared the necessity of war, the Christians duty was to obey (Tranquillitas Ordinis,
Weigel). The choice for a moral authority figure was not described at length by
Augustine, however at this time it was usually a monarch of sovereign authority "by the
grace of God (Competent Authority Revisited, Rostow)." Augustine believed that these
ideals of just war would punish evil correctly and transform the City of Earth into the
City of God.
The classical Islamic jurists defined the justification and authorization of war through
interpretations of the Koran and the Hadith. The justification of the war had two main
ideals, the offensive jihad and defensive jihad. The continuing threat of the Dar al-harb
provided the use defensive jihad, and the promotion of the dar al-Islam ideals lead to
the use of the offensive jihad. Any Muslim can authorize the use of defensive jihad,
against the dar-al harb. It is also required of every Muslim to participate in the
defensive jihad. The leader of the Muslim society, the caliph, can only bring about the
offensive jihad. The purpose of the jihad is to subdue the dar al-harb, and to bring it
into the dar al-Islam. Not every Muslim is required to participate in the offensive jihad
on an individual level, but as an entire community. The jihad leads to a clear definition
to the rules of armed conflict. They are: 1) There must be a just cause, to extend the
territories of the dar al- Islam. 2) An invitation and declaration of the Muslim
Intentions by the Muslim Ruler 3) The war must be conducted with correct Islamic values,
Muslims should fight to extend God's will, not for personal glory. Using these criteria,
Muslims used the jihad to extend their conceptual peaceful society, dar al-Islam.
The City of God forced the Church to use secular means to enforce their religious ideals.
The Church's peace movement took the form of protecting innocent people who were being
attacked by brigands and bullying militias (Quest for Peace, Johnson). As a result, the
Church had to align themselves with secular powers to end this type of violence. The
religious righteousness of protecting the innocent had to be carried out with secular
forces. This mixture and the just war criteria of "right authority" caused the need for a
sole ruler to protect the City of God from evil. Consequently, the existing communes of
Cities of God became a more universal ideal. "So that the community of those already
living the life of heaven on Earth was no longer composed of small enclaves, might expand
to include everyone touched by the gospel (Quest for Peace Idea, Johnson). The religious
foundation of the City of God became less a personal ideal, but the right to use force
became vested in a single power of that civil society (Quest for Peace Idea, Johnson).
This secular City of God carry's the original religious purposes but adjusts the carry
out of implications through the long term. The City of God finally recognized and
accepted the inevitability of evil in history, and the further need that force employed
to protect and preserve these religious values (Quest for Peace Idea, Johnson).
There had been a negative attitude towards secularization of purely religious ideals in
both the classical and contemporary Muslim theorists. "For many devout Muslims,
secularism indicates an orientation that fails to respect religiously sanctioned norms,
including those governing resort to and limitation of war (Islam and War, Kelsay)."
Muslims believe that a secular government lacked a sense of morals innate to the Dar
al-Islam. The lack of a religious presence as the leader of an area leads to an
aggressive behavior. For example, the Iraqi attack on Iran was not of religious behavior,
and would not have been sanctioned under the rule of a rightly appointed Caliph. The
Koran covers a large realm of ideas, including political, religious, social, and economic
fundamentals. A secular rule is not needed, when a religious rule would be enough to
satisfy all the needs of the community. Only a religious rule would promote the dar
al-Islam, while a secular rule would be superfluous and ineffective. 
These two religious traditions give much insight into the justification of war. The
constant battle between good and evil generated much of the ideals for justification of
armed conflict. Both the Christian and Islamic beliefs in their own concept of a
well-ordered society directed their attitude for just war, and their methods in
maintaining a world of bliss and peace. 
Bibliography
none - included in paper