Civil Unrest in Today’s World

Civil unrest is as old as Cain and Abel. It’s as old as the commandment not to covet your neighbors’ property or wife. King David had his own family problems during his reign around 1000 BC. Absalom, his son, tried to kill him in order to take power. And the world is no more civil today than it was in antiquity.

The spectrum of civil unrest is broad. It begins in the home where, according to at least one law enforcement official report, most murder victims in the United States die at the hands of someone they love. Murder among relatives can happen anywhere in the world. In a recent family feud, the crown prince of Nepal killed nearly all his extended family, including his father, the king. News reports say the drunken prince was enraged that his family did not accept his choice of a wife.

Civil unrest can be peaceful, resulting in simple demonstrations, or it can be violent. In some cases, it involves only the local people, while in others, it involves hostile foreign governments. And it can occur anywhere in this sin–stained earth. Here are some examples by region:

In the West
Some would call the sharp disagreements over abortion policy in the United States a cultural war. Abortion clinics are bombed and abortionists assassinated by unstable people who think that they are pro–life. Estimates number more than 30 million babies dead in the United States since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision to overrule the states’ authority over abortion. In Spain, a group of Basque separatists have killed politicians, journalists, and editors in an attempt to stop any questioning of their actions. Most Basques do not sympathize with this separatist movement, but the violence continues. In Colombia, drug lords and law enforcement personnel continue to fight it out.

In the Middle East
There are places in the Middle East where civil unrest takes a peaceful form. In Iran, public policy goals are the focal point of civil unrest. Thus far, there have been angry demonstrations and disturbances at polling places, but very little violence.

But much civil unrest in the Middle East is violent in nature. We have seen the atrocities committed by the Israelis and the Palestinians against one another. From what we read in The Revelation of John, we know that the situation will not be completely resolved until the very end of time.

Algeria may be the place where civil unrest is the most appalling. In 1994, a Muslim political party won the presidency, and the military regime squashed the results so they could maintain power. A civil war began that year, which has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands.

On April 18, a Kabyle Berber teenager died at a police station, beginning a cycle of demonstrations and riots. Five hundred thousand Berbers marched on the presidential compound in Algiers, Algeria last June. Hundreds were injured, and a few died in a Berber “march for democracy.” According to the Associated Press, more rioting occurred after at least 52 people were killed during 40 days of rioting in the mountainous Berber region of Kabyle.

South Asia
In South Asia, there are several violent fronts. In Pakistan, there is an ongoing tit–for–tat battle between militants from the majority Sunni and the minority Shi’ite Muslim camps. In Bihar, India, civil unrest often takes the form of caste skirmishes, which are exacerbated by a communist guerrilla movement. If you regularly read the newspaper, you will see bombings and killings committed by both sides. There is no peace on the horizon in a land where revenge killings can go on for decades.

In Kashmir, civil unrest stems from a war of pride between Muslim Pakistan and Hindu India. Neither side can give up Kashmir without losing face, and the two armies have continued a limited war for years. In the summer of 1998, India and Pakistan were both doing nuclear testing in an attempt to intimidate the other. At that time, GPD readers were praying for Kashmir and Gujarat, two states lying on the border between these countries.

Southeast Asia
In June, while GPD readers prayed for the Muslim peoples of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, a radical Muslim group kidnapped some people from a resort. At the time of this writing, they were still battling the Filipino armed forces. This is only the latest example of an ongoing conflict between Mindanao rebels and the Philippine government.

In Indonesia, things are hot in a variety of places. Timor and Ambon are the scenes of frequent battles between nominal Christians and well–armed Muslim fighters. In Borneo, horrid animistic practices are being revived resulting in the brutal slaying of Madurese transmigrants. Aceh Province of the island of Sumatra is where an ongoing separatist movement has left hundreds dead each year.

Sub-Saharan Africa
In recent years, we have read about large scale carnage between people groups in such diverse places as Liberia and Rwanda. These are usually a combination of power grabs and revenge killings. The sub-Saharan peoples of Sudan are in a two–front war; one with one another, and the other with the more powerful Arabic–speaking people in the northern part of the country. In an attempt to exploit oil deposits in the sub-Saharan south, the brutal Sudanese regime has committed unspeakable acts of violence and genocide against the black peoples.

What is the answer to this worldwide problem?
Certain United Nations affiliated agencies feel that the way to reduce domestic tensions in the future is to introduce a rapid response team of 5,000 crack troops under orders to shoot within two weeks of the initial conflict. The Carnegie Commission on the Prevention of Deadly Conflict would like to prevent civil unrest by creating “representative governance based on the rule of laws, with widely available economic opportunity, social safety nets, protection of fundamental human rights, and robust civil society.” What a tall order! One means to this end is the leverage of the power of money and loans through the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank to create an interdependent network of interlocking international regimes underwritten by the rule of law. But who will make the laws for this network of nations? The Commission’s main emphasis is prevention of conflict before it develops.

It seems good to create intervention forces to deal with apprehended criminals. But is this their only desire? Once a war criminal is adjudicated, what other roles might this international court have? Could there come a time when such forces may keep a corrupt, self–serving oligarchy in power in order to maintain the peace? Could they violently oppose any group that attempts to change people’s religious beliefs?

Democracy and the rule of law alone cannot provide the answer to civil unrest. As Christians, we know the frailty of human nature. The founding fathers of the newly–formed United States recognized that democracy will become corrupt if the people themselves are corrupt. Some of the nations that we will pray for this month are essentially democratic, but the elected officials and political parties are there to serve a certain ethnic group or special interest group, not the common good.

Others would say that the answer would be with a benevolent dictator. Even if there was a benevolent dictator, it would only be a matter of time until he became despotic. History is full of such examples. Then what is the answer to civil unrest?

Action and prayer
Perhaps history provides some good answers. William Wilberforce, a gifted orator and Member of the British Parliament, felt that his life’s task was to abolish slavery. He began his work in the 1780s, and ended his public life with a victory 40 years later that abolished slavery in the British Empire. Wilberforce’s victory added fuel to the American abolitionist movement. He finished his race. It was a marathon, not a sprint. He advocated in many ways, organizing a group to research and to publish pamphlets, and a band of men and women to pray.

The Bible tells of God using small bands of people for important purposes. Gideon’s 300 men lined up against an overwhelming Midianite army and won the battle. The Psalms speak of one taking on a thousand and two taking on 10,000. The Bible says the way to move mountains is to exercise faith.

There are modern examples. Prayer campaigns like those of Brother Andrew of Open Doors in the 1980s for those behind the Iron Curtain were sustained, fervent, and some would say effective. Many Christians believe that God brought the Berlin Wall down in answer to sustained prayer. Prayer groups spawning to pray diligently for the peace of Jerusalem could also be beneficial in a land filled with unrest.

Take this prayer challenge!
Consider adopting one of these peoples highlighted in this civil unrest edition of the GPD for prayer. Form a band of three to five people who will research the details of these groups and, gathering regularly, pray for God’s will for them.