The origins of religious conflict in the Middle East Term Paper

The origins of religious conflict in the Middle East - Term Paper Example Furthermore, there are other minor religions that are also acknowledged in the Middle East including Druze, Mandean, Shabakism, Gnosticism, Zoroastrianism and Yazidi among others. This paper will discuss the origin of religious conflict in the Middle East. Religious conflicts and wars began even before oil and other resources were discovered in the Middle East. During the reign of Emperor Theodosius, Christianity was adopted as the official religion in the Roman Empire (Fitzgerald, 2000). In fact, most of the Jews deserted the location and Christian pilgrims started migrating from Europe to the Middle East. Various doctrines were accepted while others were declined by the Eastern Orthodox Church. Most of the churches in the Middle East declined renouncing of these doctrines, hence, separating them from the Eastern Orthodox Church. Therefore, the renouncing of these doctrines triggered religious conflicts in the region. Further analysis proves that the conflicts resulted in significant destruction and other massacres (Walker, 2008). In the Middle East, reports concerning politics, honor, land and terrorism are some of the crucial factors which mainly contribute to religious conflicts. This proves that most of the individuals did not consider the thoughts and perceptions involved with religion. For instance, Christianity is a religion based on the principles of love and tranquility, while Islam is a religious conviction that teaches about peace. In addition, the religion of Judaism usually advocates for equality, tolerance and peace (Walker, 2008). One of the major origins of conflict was triggered by the Muslim conquest. The Islamic region was founded in Arabia by Mohammed in the early 17th century. Mohammed told the people that he was the last prophet who was sent by Allah. He led the Arabians into the war against the Persian community among other tribes, which were easily defeated. By 700, Arabic had become the