1.Religion and Violence: Catholicism, Islam, Judaism have historical periods of violence, either between factions within their religion or against other religions. Give a brief report on one of these with in the Catholic and Islam religions. How has religious violence been justified? Do you think the justifications are valid? Why?
             In the 11th century, Western Europe was divided into states that were involved in disputes over property. The Western Christendom, however, maintained sovereignty under the leadership of the popes. Through the leadership of the popes, they were able to convince the Western Europeans to unite and form an army. This was to protect their lands against the Byzantine and Mohameddan empires. These military operations were motivated by moral and political justification. Primarily, this was to deliver a vow of delivering the Holy Place from any group that would threaten their sovereignty. These were the Mohammedans, pagans, heretics, or those considered to be under the ban of excommunication (Knight, 2007). Majority of these efforts were directed at Muslim states in the Middle East. In essence, the Catholic crusades were motivated by four major factors: first, land was an important form of a country's wealth; the government at that time was limited; third, the only form of effective defense was through an attack; and the geography and climate of the West allowed it tot be attacked by other countries (France, 1999). The first of the crusades was in 1095; crusade expeditions were carried out until the 15th century.
             Likewise, the Islam religion is not without its violent history. Muslims see Islam not only as a religion but as a political philosophy. They believe that the Muslim community is equivalent to God's government. They fervently believe that it is their God-given duty to protect their community from anything or anyone that threatens them. The Muslims further divide the world into tw...