Introduction 11

played an important role as most recently in the Iran vs. Iraq war as well as wars with the secular states of the West. The fervor of jihad has diminished in those Muslim countries which have become secularized.

The philosophical and theological approaches to warfare continue to be developed within various religious groups and sub­groups. Many Islamic leaders emphasize peaceful paths of bringing the world to Islam . A missionary zeal remains powerful among its followers. For some warfare remains very much on the Islamic agenda. On the other hand statements as the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights(1990) demonstrate some moderation, but only within the limits of Shariah .

[ hope that the brief summaries provided in this introduction will place the place the essays in this volume into a broader context and lead to better understanding.

Notes

1. The German biblical scholar von Rad tried to organize the very different accounts into a system which is interesting, but problematic. D. Gerhard von Rad, Der Heilige Krieg im alten Israel, Goettingen , 1958.

2. Even a brief review of the boundaries presented in the various biblical books reveals enormous discrepancies. During my studies for the rabbinate at the Hebrew Union College I was almost tempted by a prize essay which demanded that these boundaries be investigated. A brief exploratory view of the topic revealed its complexity and I did not proceed further.

3. The following matters were found in other sections. Female prisoners could be married after following the biblical prescriptions(Jeb 48b). The prisoners of war became slaves(Git 38a). Booty taken(San 20b) was divided between the ruler and the soldiers. Soldiers were permitted to eat food found in the enemy’s possession, even if it was normally ritually forbidden(Hul 17a).

4. Although there have been sermons on the subject; they dealt with a very specific conflict and did not attempt to formulate a broad Jewish approach to pacifism.