Book Summary: Ending Holy Wars (Isac Svensson)

Previous research suggests that conflicts which have religious factors as a im-
portant issue are associated with low chances of peaceful resolution. However,
religion as a major factor does not make resolution impossible — these types of
conflicts are still resolvable. Religion, instead, presents some unique problems,
and suggests the need for particular strategies when seeking resolution. How
then can religious conflicts be “de-escalated, resolved, and terminated” (p. 1)?

Some religious conflicts are “more difficult to settle peacefully than other types
of conflict” (p. 3), in particular when “one side has made explicit religious de-
mands” (p. 5). But what is it that makes religious factors so influential? Besides
belief, religion involves identity, tradition, behaviour, and networks of social
and communal relationships: all of these areas are integral to the way individu-
als and groups function. But, while all religions “can contribute to nationalism,
hatred” etc., they also have their “own peaceful potential” (p. 8).

Religious armed conflicts can be both “intrareligious and interreligious” (p. 7).
The key to understanding them, in both cases, is where the incompatibility
lies: where opposing groups have mutually exclusive demands. Other important
considerations are the identity of the parties and the centrality of religious
dimensions.

There are three “basic types of religious dimensions of armed conflicts” (p. 16):
religious identity conflicts; religious issue conflicts; and conflicts over central
religious issues.

Religious identity conflicts (e.g Syria), where opposing sides are of different
religions or different branches of a particular religion are, amongst all religious
conflicts, “in the minority” (p. 22), and are “not becoming more common” (p.
24). These conflicts can be divided into four main empirical categories: those
between “Muslim-dominated governments and rebel groups [representing an-
other faith]” (p. 25); similar conflicts where Muslims are in the minority and
governments represent other faiths; Christian minorities vs. non-Christian gov-
ernments; and “conflicts that belongs to the same world religion, but different
branches of it” (p. 28).

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Religious issue conflicts are those where “one side has made an explicit refer-
ence to religion” (p. 29) regarding the incompatibility. An example is the Tal-
iban’s attempt in Pakistan to implement Sharia law. There has been an increase
in this type of conflict, a trend which “seems to start in 1979” (p. 35). This date,
and other research, suggests that “Afghanistan plays a crucial role” (p. 37) in the
growth of this kind of conflict.

Conflicts over central religious issues are those in which the religious issue is
at the very core of the conflict. Other conflicts may have religious dimensions,
but this kind are born specifically out of religious incompatibilities. Examples
include the conflicts in Saudi Arabia, Chechnya, and Iraq.

There are different theories for why religious conflicts might be difficult to re-
solve. Little empirical evidence exists to support the theory of “civilisational
fault lines” (p. 49). Another theory focuses on “indivisibility” (p. 50): when two
parties demand exactly the same (irreplaceable) thing. Perhaps the long “time
horizons” (p. 52) associated with religions has explanatory power, or perhaps
another theory provides the best explanatory framework.

There is little evidence to suggest that, in general, inter-religious conflicts are

harder to resolve than other types of conflict. However, where religious incom-
patibilities do occur, chances of peaceful resolution are negatively affected.
Where a “religious issue is considered central, there is a risk that the parties ap-
ply zero-sum thinking” (p. 66) and negotiated settlement becomes highly un-
likely — Sudan and Somalia being the only successful examples. “Conflicts
where at least one side has an explicit religious claim” (p. 80) are somewhat
more likely to be resolved, but this is also rare. Where a religious issue is periph-
eral, peaceful resolution has been far more common.

So, what have the examples of peace agreements in religious issue conflicts
looked like? There are six (at the time of writing): in Sudan, in Tajikistan, in
Mindanao in the Philippines, in Aceh in Indonesia, in Somalia, and in Nepal.

Other religious issue conflicts are resolved through concessions — i.e resolu-
tion that stops “short of fully fledged peace agreeements” (p. 126). Iraq provides
two examples: the SCIRI becoming more moderate and accepting constitutional
reform, and greater political access given to the Sadrist movement allowing that
group, too, to engage politically where, in the past, violence had been the pre-

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ferred option. Amnesties is Egypt in Algeria, de-mobilisation in Iran and de-
radicalisation in Libya provide further examples. Desacralisation appears to
have occurred in Afghanistan.

So, “how can religious armed conflicts be settled peacefully” (p. 160) ? As with
Afghanistan, desacralisation is perhaps key. “Desacralisation occurs ... when
parties disengage from previously held religiously framed positions and goals”
(p. 161). But strategies for desacralisation depend on the context of the individ-
ual conflict. Broadly speaking, “desacralisation can be of two different types:
political or social” (p. 169).

Political desacralisation can take three forms. The first involves non-religious
issues becoming more important, meaning that the religious dimensions of the
conflict have a lower priority. The second involves reformulation of the religious
arguments — perhaps, for example, religious leaders can persuade their follow-
ers that while God called for armed resistance at an earlier stage, he now calls
for peace. The third involves moving the issues away from armed conflict and
into the political sphere.

Societal desacralisation can occur when the aims of a group are delegitimised in
the eyes of society due to, say, the atrocities they have committed. It also occurs
alongside fractionalisation: when other groups split the alliances of their target
population. Lastly, it can involve reconvergence, “when the whole society be-
comes more pious, and the gap between the religiously focused actor and the
other side narrows” (p. 171).

Religious dimensions do exist in many conflicts, but they are not necessarily as
important as the popular image of these conflicts would suggest, and the pres-
ence of religious factors in a conflict certainly does not mean it will be unresolv-
able. The evidence shows this is also true for Islamic conflicts. In all of the dif-
ferent kinds of religious conflicts studied, there is compelling evidence that de-
sacralisation can, and does, work.

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 Speech Titles

1. Can religious conflicts ever be resolved?

2. Religious conflicts: strategies for desacralisation.
3. Peaceful ends to holy wars

4. Concessions — the best approach to religious conflict resolution?

5. Religious incompatibilities and conflict resolution.