Identification of premises and conclusions
One outstanding argument in the paper ‘Religion is the cause of war’ is that religion causes conflicts even within families. The conflicts penetrate families that do not subscribe to the same religion. Another argument is that terrorism arguably results from sharing of resources. However, it has been observed that religious extremism and antagonism are the major causes of terrorism in different places. The conflicts that continue to erupt in the Gulf region owes to the diverse religious differences. Israel masquerades behind national security in its effort to obtain a huge portion of land to settle the Jews. The hate expressed by atheists against the need to eliminate Christianity indicates religious hostility among the believers and non-believers.
Identification of fallacies
It is not a fallacy that religion creates tension and eventual divorce between the couples. Thus, tensions escalate in the entire society. Evidently, the differences in religious beliefs make it difficult for couples across religious divides to have a harmonious relationship due to pressure from their religious leaders. The assertion that terrorism arises or sharing of the available resources is a fallacy. The Westgate Mall siege by attackers who claimed to be linked to the outlawed Al-Shabab was evidently a religious war of Muslim extremists against other religions.
Equally, it is misleading to assert that the Middle East conflicts are mainly due to the scramble for resources. In essence, the conflicts between Palestine and Israel are largely due to religious differences. Each of the parties seeks to dominate the region to settle those who subscribe to their doctrine.
Validity of arguments
The argument that religious differences cause conflict within families is substantiated by the fact that the families having different religious beliefs do not entirely trust each other especially when food is involved and considered taboo. The statement made by the attackers in the Westgate attack validates the argument that terrorism is a religious war. The assailants demanded that the hostages recite some verses in the Quran.
Those who were not Muslims were executed in cold blood. For years, the war between Palestine (mostly Christians and Muslims) and Israel (Jews) is essentially due to political and religious differences. Similarly, the Al Qaeda network has always claimed that its terrorism actions are to get rid of the non-believers. This argument is validated by the many conflicts that emerge among individuals of different religions despite being of lower magnitude.
How to change the arguments to eliminate fallacies
In reviewing beheadings of the Muslims who denounce the religion, it is evident that the atrocities are perpetrated to those who denounce the religion irrespective of their closeness to the perpetrator. Couples have also been known to divorce due to religious differences while others are subjected to domestic violence leading to acrimony linking to the families as well as communities.
To eliminate the fallacy that terrorism is a war for the distribution of resources, it is important to comprehend the attacks that take place in other places including the Muslim-dominated Gulf region. The attacks are often perpetrated against non-Muslims. To eliminate the fallacies inherent in issues surrounding religion as the cause of war, it is essential to comprehend the history of wars and prospective conflicts that are likely to emerge in the future. This requires the comprehension of causes of war in ancient times as expressed by the holy books including the Bible and the Quran.