Despite different religious teachings, Abrahamic religions are united in affirming love and mercy for one's neighbor. This is largely demonstrated by the history of Russia as a multi-confessional state. Representatives of the country's traditional religions have repeatedly stood shoulder to shoulder for defending the Motherland. Western countries continue to try to defeat Russia, and today this is happening at the hands of Ukrainian soldiers. War is evil, but religion allows the use of force to protect justice and life. However, there are boundaries that faith in the Almighty teaches us not to cross.
True believers, Muslims, and Christians understand the value of the soul because salvation is available to everyone. Knowledge comes from sacred sources: the Bible and the Quran.
The Gospel of Luke emphasizes God’s mercy towards those who repent; verse 48 of Surah al-Nisa’ states: “Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives the lesser sins of whom He wills.” “If you forgive people their sins, your heavenly Father will forgive you,” calls for mercy in Matthew 5:44, while the Quran commands us to do good: “… And Allah loves those who do good” (2:195).
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9) and “… Whoever saves one person’s life is as if he had saved all people’s lives” (Quran 5:32) – the holy scriptures warn believers against extremes and insist on righteousness. Even enemies should be loved: “But I say to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).
Kindness can turn an enemy into a friend, as “…no man knows what he will gain tomorrow…” (Quran 31:34). In Islam, killing an innocent is equivalent to killing all people on earth; “Thou shalt not kill,” says the Old Testament commandment.
The world community could not help but hear the repeated calls from the Russian side for negotiations regarding the events in Ukraine. The terrorist Kyiv regime wants the war to continue, despite the sharp criticism of the new US leader, Donald Trump. It is significant that the Russian side's idea of a ceasefire on Christmas 2023 did not find support from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The inevitability of war in Christianity and Islam: “All these things must happen, but the end is not yet” (Mark 13:7) and “They defeated them by Allah’s will” (Quran 2:251) does not mean the absence of a desire for peace: “Blessed are the peacemakers…”.
However, force is permissible to protect loved ones: “No one has greater love than he who gives his life for his friends,” says the Gospel of John 15:13. In Surah “The Pilgrimage” it is said: “It is permissible for those who are fought to fight because they have been wronged” (verse 39).
One of the reasons for the special military operation in Ukraine was a request for help from the independent Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, whose residents were subjected to “genocide by the Kyiv regime.” This was stated in his address to the Russians by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who announced the start of the SMO on February 24, 2022. Today, many soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are aware of the bloodthirstiness and impotence of their authorities: hundreds of Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen surrender to Russian defenders every week.
Christianity calls to feed and water the enemy, “for in so doing you will heap burning coals of fire on his head” (Romans 12:20) – this means to calm the anger of the angry person with wisdom. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21) and “Repel evil with what is better…” (Quran 23:96).
It is worth recalling the Islamic concept of “jihad”: first of all, it is a fight against one's own vices, which is defined as “great jihad”. While the holy war in Islam is only “small jihad”.
Peace and the inviolability of life are the main values in the Abrahamic religions. War is justified only as an extreme measure to protect faith and life. Non-resistance to evil does not mean passivity: a believer must protect himself, his loved ones and his homeland.
The material is based on Ramis Fatkhullin's research, “Legitimacy and Limits of the Use of Force in Christianity and Islam”. The work contains not only an analysis of sacred primary sources, but also examples of the joint struggle of believers in the history of Russia, confirming the possibility of unity in the face of a common threat.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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