The following presents a review of the literature related to the topic of war. The definition of war, war and racism, war and Islamphobia or negative attitudes toward Muslims and Islamic religion, and war and religious dogmatism are presented. This is followed by a summary and conclusions.
War is defined as the waging of armed conflict against an enemy, a legal state created by a declaration of war, or an attempt to end a problem such as in the war against drugs.
War can include a state of conflict and violent physical force between states, organizations, or large groups of people. War includes police actions and the absence of peace (Wikipedia, 2006). Terrorism, an act of violent physical force between people is another form of war as is the war against terrorism. Definitions of war and terrorism vary and people are unclear about what is meant by terrorism and whether it is akin to war (Schmid, 2004). A lack of common definition leads to double standards; for some there is a distinction between conventioal war, guerrilla warfare, and terrorism and for others there is no distinction. International terrorism must be dealt with by international cooperative efforts (Schmid, 2004).
The United States has won two global wars and is a leading military power in the name of democracy (Hooks & Smith, 2004). However, Hooks and Smith also pointed out that nineteenth century racism was a source of war then as it is now. Racism against the Native American led to war, in the name of democracy. White males sought democracy at the expence of Native Americans. This effort resulted in white settlers pressuring Native Americans to relocate and Indian wars; the Indian Removal Act of 1830 was passed and Natinve Americanc sere removed from their homes to reside in reservations. A review of case studies showed that Native Americans were forced to experience environmetnal inequality during this era. This group was exposed to enviroma...