Two readers discuss the involvement of religions in conflicts in the Middle East

Alain Dewaele, Joué-lès-Tours (Indre-et-Loire): “After the ethnic cleansing of Gaza, the aggression of Iran under false pretenses, and the deadly bombings of Lebanon, it is likely that Israel has many more accomplices than friends. And yet, the media in our dear country, guilty of astonishing leniency towards this country, do not dwell on the other crimes committed in the name of Zionism. Let us remember that its territorial objective is to create “Greater Israel” by appropriating, with impunity, territories and resources from its neighbors.

“Separation between politics and religion is a fundamental democratic issue”

“Among these so-called information channels, is there one that reminds us that the UN, for decades, has been passing resolution after resolution calling on Israel to stop creating new colonies in the West Bank and to prepare to take back its settlers, land thieves?

“How is it possible that their columnists, recalling at every turn that the fighters of Hamas and Hezbollah are ‘terrorists’, forget to specify that the Israeli Prime Minister himself is wanted for suspicion of ‘war crimes’. Who would dare to label the UN and the International Criminal Court as anti-Semitic?”

Gods of war

Alain Greillet, from Loudun (Vienne): “The conflict in the Middle East presents the growing role of religion in the structuring of power and in the legitimization of conflicts. Iran is the most accomplished example of a regime based on religious legitimacy. The authority of the mullahs is not limited to the spiritual sphere: it forms the core of the governance system, where politics and religion are inseparable. The political legitimacy of the Gulf monarchies also partly rests on religious references.

“Beyond the issues related to the Iranian nuclear program, this conflict could perhaps be analyzed more through the religious prism. Donald Trump’s accession to power was based on decisive support from evangelical circles. The creation, on February 7, 2025, of a ‘faith office’ at the White House, as well as the organization of prayer meetings with influential pastors, attest to an assumed intertwining between political power and spiritual reference. Some of his supporters do not hesitate to present the American president as a ‘leader appointed by God’, giving his actions an almost messianic dimension.

“In Israel, the government led by Benjamin Netanyahu relied on political forces from the religious and nationalist right to engage militarily in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. All these major actors in the conflict illustrate a common trend: the explicit use of religion as a basis of power.

“The conflict in the Middle East appears as the revealer of a broader evolution. Religion has become an instrument of political legitimation and a vector of conflict. The civilizational or spiritual dimension is mobilized in discourse to justify confrontation, turning geopolitical rivalries into existential oppositions without the possibility of compromise.

“In France, the law of December 9, 1905, forms the basis of this separation between the state and religious institutions. In this context, the principle of secularism retains all its relevance. At a time when religion is becoming central to power strategies and war logics, the separation between politics and spirituality appears more than ever as a fundamental democratic issue.”