Committee: GA Agenda: Measures to lessen human casualties resulting from religious conflicts in the Middle East I. Introduction Throughout human history, religion has often been contributed to the provokation of conflicts and wars. Historians and sociologists alike have coined these kinds of conflicts to be wars,’ or skirmishes that have started with the main cause being religion. In ‘religious modern times, religious wars have been especially prominent in the Middle East, where lands are divided, and mass casualties often occur because of the disparities in belief. Especially putting in to factor the diverse types of religion that exist in this area (Christianity, Judaism, Sunni Islam and Shiite Islam, etc.), the battles that occur in this region are extremely deadly and chaotic, for in this case, people have their belief at stake. One major conflict which the committee should focus on would be the continuing conflict between the two nation-states of Israel and Palestine, who are both vying for territory in the Gaza Strip. The war between these two nations started in World War I, as the weakened Ottoman Empire collapsed, and the British Empire was left to deal with its remnants. Both the Jews and the Muslims would continue to argue for their stake in political and economic prosperity until modern times. Another prominent religious struggle would be the ongoing Syrian War, where Muslims of two different factions (the Sunnis and Shiites) and another religious group (the Kurds) are committing acts of violence against one another, especially towards civilians, through actions such as suicide bombing. The conflict would start as part of the Arab Spring in 2011, when tensions escalated following the brutal suppression of the opposition against President Bashar al-Assad. Increased political unrest and foreign intervention would lead to a massive increase in civilian casualties and displacement, which would in turn affect European nations through the rise of refugees. The final religious conflict which the committee should focus on is the civil war in Yemen. Also beginning as part of the 2011 Arab Spring, the war would have a stronger political motivation rather than religious, as longtime dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh engaged in a failed political transition that handed power over to Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. Nevertheless, groups such as the Houthi movement, the most prominent cases of Yemen’s
Committee: GA Agenda: Measures to lessen human casualties resulting from religious conflicts in the Middle East I. Introduction Throughout human history, religion has often been contributed to the provokation of conflicts and wars. Historians and sociologists alike have coined these kinds of conflicts to be ‘religious wars,’ or skirmishes that have started with the main cause being religion. In modern times, religious wars have been especially prominent in the Middle East, where lands are divided, and mass casualties often occur because of the disparities in belief. Especially putting in to factor the diverse types of religion that exist in this area (Christianity, Judaism, Sunni Islam and Shiite Islam, etc.), the battles that occur in this region are extremely deadly and chaotic, for in this case, people have their belief at stake. One major conflict which the committee should focus on would be the continuing conflict between the two nation-states of Israel and Palestine, who are both vying for territory in the Gaza Strip. The war between these two nations started in World War I, as the weakened Ottoman Empire collapsed, and the British Empire was left to deal with its remnants. Both the Jews and the Muslims would continue to argue for their stake in political and economic prosperity until modern times. Another prominent religious struggle would be the ongoing Syrian War, where Muslims of two different factions (the Sunnis and Shiites) and another religious group (the Kurds) are committing acts of violence against one another, especially towards civilians, through actions such as suicide bombing. The conflict would start as part of the Arab Spring in 2011, when tensions escalated following the brutal suppression of the opposition against President Bashar al-Assad. Increased political unrest and foreign intervention would lead to a massive increase in civilian casualties and displacement, which would in turn affect European nations through the rise of refugees. The final religious conflict which the committee should focus on is the civil war in Yemen. Also beginning as part of the 2011 Arab Spring, the war would have a stronger political motivation rather than religious, as longtime dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh engaged in a failed political transition that handed power over to Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. Nevertheless, groups such as the Houthi movement, the most prominent cases of Yemen’s
mimunx_ga_chair_report.docx