Hamza Yusuf & Chris Hedges in conversation at Does God Love War? The Fine Line Between Faith and Fanaticism | Recorded in Berkeley, California, on March 12, 2006 This is a primer for anyone who wishes to understand the relationship between war and religion. Have the teachers of our religions failed us? Or have we not been listening? From leaders of America’s Christian Right seemingly forgetting that “Blessed are the Peacemakers,” to Jewish rabbi watching unflinchingly as collective punishment is doled out to Arabs in Palestine, to Muslim jurists ruling that civilian victims are acceptable under a Just War, the three great Abrahamic faiths are increasingly facing accusations of ignoring the sanctity of life. And so does God love war? Or does religion offer a way toward reconciliation? On March 12th, 2006, a capacity crowd of over 1,000 eager attendees gathered to hear an enlightening conversation between author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges and respected American-Muslim thinker and theologian Shaykh Hamza Yusuf. The lectures by the two distinguished speakers and the subsequent discussion provided insightful and thought-provoking answers to the program's important questions. Chris Hedges is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for The New. York Times and author, in 2005, of “Losing Moses on the Freeway: The Ten Commandments in America.” A graduate of the Harvard Divinity School and a war correspondent for 15 years, his book, “War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning” was a finalist for the National Book Award. Hamza Yusuf is widely regarded as one of the foremost Muslim thinkers and theologians in the English-speaking world. An American convert to Islam and co-founder of the Zaytuna Institute in Hayward, California, he has emerged as a leading expert on Islam, and an outspoken advocate for a better understanding between the Muslim East and the modern West. Zaytuna Institute is a non-profit educational institute committed to providing the highest quality educational programs, materials, and training in the traditional sciences of Islam in the most beautiful way using the most effective tools of our time as a means of serving our Lord and honoring our Prophet, peace be upon him. For more information, please visit http://zaytuna.org Produced by Zaytuna Institute in 2006 Special thanks to KPFA, Cody’s Books,Barakah Life, South Bay Islamic Association (SBIA), MeccaOne Media, Hisham al-Alusi, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Berkeley, Calif. Total running time: 139 minutes
