All religious systems attempt to respond to the outrage of violence. And yet, it is religion itself that has been (and often still is) at the root of such violence. This is partly due to the zealousness of its faithful, and partly to the overlapping of religion and politics. What is the relationship between monotheism – which has so profoundly marked civilization – and the violence of war? Its scriptures, The Old Testament, The New Testament and The Koran, far from avoiding the question, confront it resolutely from different angles.
Examining the genesis of violence, the author revisits biblical accounts of earth’s creation, the idea of original sin, the story of Cain and Abel, and the banishment of Ishmael, and goes on to explore the continuing practice of human sacrifice, religious wars, as well as the problems and ambiguities of the institution of royalty. He takes a closer look at the concept of the jihad in The Koran: as religious war, as a structuring element in the umma, as well as in its association with the sakina.