The Ethics of War in Judaism, Islam and International Humanitarian Law in Justifying the 2026 Iran-Israel-United States War
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55935/thilo.v8i1.369Keywords:
ethics of war, milhemet mitzvah, jihad, international humanitarian law, 2026 Iran-Israel-US conflict, jus ad bellum, Jus in belloAbstract
The 2026 Iran-Israel-United States conflict presents a phenomenon: the official justifications of all three states rest on secular international law, yet public discourse is colored by theological vocabulary from Jewish and Islamic traditions — references to Amalek, declarations of jihad, eschatological framing. This study examines whether classical religious war ethics categories still retain operational force as frameworks of legitimation, or have been reduced to rhetorical instruments. Through a comparative analysis of the doctrines of milhemet mitzvah and milhamot reshut in the Jewish tradition, the distinction between defensive and offensive jihad in Sunni and Shia traditions, and their comparison with International Humanitarian Law, this study argues that classical religious ad bellum categories have undergone an institutional freezing that predates modernity. Consequently, the use of theological vocabulary in the 2026 conflict operates on a rhetorical rather than normative dimension. Conversely, the in bello principles of both traditions (protection of non-combatants, proportionality, prohibition of excessive destruction) converge with the IHL framework and still provide meaningful evaluative standards. This study concludes that the doctrinal vacuum in confronting weapons with indiscriminate destructive capacity reflects a structural limitation that transcends the divide between religious traditions and modern international law.
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