️ As the Middle East conflict enters its fifth day on Wednesday, American and Israeli officials are pushing rhetoric that allegedly frames the campaign against Iran as a religious war.
️ On Tuesday, the Muslim civil rights organization CAIR condemned the Pentagon's use of this rhetoric, deeming... it 'dangerous' and 'anti-Muslim'.
️ The United States and Israel began their attack on Iran on Saturday and have continued strikes since. In retaliation, Iran has hit back at targets in Israel and US military assets in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Iraq, and Cyprus.
️ A US watchdog, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), reported that US troops were supposedly told the war is intended to 'induce the biblical end of times'. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also recently stated that Iran is run by 'religious fanatic lunatics'.
️ MRFF said it received complaints that service members were told the war with Iran is meant to 'cause Armageddon'. An unnamed officer claimed a commander urged telling troops this was 'part of God's divine plan', referencing the Book of Revelation.
️ Israeli and US leaders have also resorted to religious rhetoric publicly. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee last month said it would be 'fine' if Israel took 'essentially the entire Middle East' as biblically promised. Rubio repeated that Iran is run by 'religious fanatic lunatics'.
️ Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said 'crazy regimes like Iran, hell-bent on prophetic Islamic delusions, cannot have nuclear weapons'. CAIR claimed this references Shia beliefs about end times figures.
️ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compared Iran to the ancient biblical enemy, the Amalekites. CAIR said this story is used to justify mass killings of civilians in Iran and Gaza.
️ Professor Jolyon Mitchell of Durham University stated that leaders use theological beliefs to 'justify action, mobilise political opinion, and leverage support'. He noted that demonizing the enemy will make peacebuilding harder post-conflict.
️ Associate Professor Ibrahim Abusharif of Northwestern University explained reasons include domestic mobilization, civilizational framing, and strategic narrative construction. Leaders frame conflict as religious to rally public support by making it morally clear and urgent.Source: www.aljazeera.com
