Religious Conflicts of Levant

http://omeka.lib.fsu.edu/files/original/05678e34aa3d2dc97b35c78074bbffa8.pdf

PDF essay on religious conflicts impacting the region of Levant

By Michael J Hughes, Spring 2016

Throughout time immemorial, wars have been fought among the human race. Whether they have been immense or trivial, civil or international, technological or barbaric, these wars have been fought for a number of causes. One such cause has been religion. Such has there have been many wars, throughout history there have been many different religious beliefs. Members of these religious groups have historically clashed with those of other religious groups on the basis of belief systems alone.  This paper will argue that many national and international conflicts arise as a result of religious and cultural diversity. The central region I will write on is the Levant, which in this paper will be defined as countries in the Eastern Mediterranean and its surrounding areas. This particular area has been plagued by ethnic conflicts and wars fought over ideology. Such struggles include wars waged by the Ottoman Empire, the Crusades, and the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Each of these hostilities has come about or have endured due to religious, cultural, or ethnic motives.