Main Article Content

Abstract

Debates over the protection of civilians in times of armed conflict are often framed within political or legal discourse, yet their foundations lie deeply in religious and humanitarian ethics. This study contends that the obligation to safeguard non-combatants predates international law and is rooted in the moral teachings of the Abrahamic religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Rather than questioning the legitimacy of war itself, the paper focuses on affirming the right to life and dignity for those uninvolved in combat, deriving this principle from sacred scriptures that uphold the sanctity of human existence and peace. Through an analytical-inductive method, relevant texts from the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Qur’an, together with rabbinical writings, patristic sources, and prophetic traditions, are examined to extract ethical norms governing war-fare. A comparative reading highlights shared religious values that converge on the protection of civilians and the rejection of unjust violence. Employing a contextual reflective lens, the study connects these principles to present-day realities of war, seeking to awaken the global moral conscience toward the preservation of human life. The findings reveal that the Abrahamic faiths collectively provide a theological foundation for a universal humanitarian ethic that transcends religious and cultural divides.

Keywords

Abrahamic Religions Armed Conflict Civilian Protection Human Dignity Humanitarian Ethics Religious Ethics Right to Life

Article Details

How to Cite
Alhelbawy, S. (2026). Religious Foundations for the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflicts: Scriptural Perspectives from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Millah: Journal of Religious Studies, 25(1), 203–252. https://doi.org/10.20885/millah.vol25.iss1.art6

References

  1. Abu Zahra, M. (1995). Al-‘alaqat al-dawliyah fi al-Islam [International relations in Islam]. Dar Al-Fikr Al-Arabi.

  2. Abumere, F. A. (2020). The problem with the individualist approach to the principle of the immunity of non-combatants. South African Journal of Philosophy, 39(3), 274–284. https://doi.org/10.1080/02580136.2020.1809121

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02580136.2020.1809121
  3. Ahmad, N., Lilienthal, G., & Ahmad, S. S. (2023). Islamic laws of war and contemporary international humanitarian law: Discrimination and proportionality. Journal of East Asia & International Law, 16(1), 105–124. https://doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2023.16.1.06

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2023.16.1.06
  4. Al-Dawoody, A. (2017). Islamic law and international humanitarian law: An introduction to the main principles. International Review of the Red Cross, 99(906), 995–1018. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1816383118000310

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1816383118000310
  5. Alexander, A. (2023). The ethics of violence: Recent literature on the creation of the contemporary regime of law and war. Journal of Genocide Research, 25(2), 235–251. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623528.2021.1985809

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14623528.2021.1985809
  6. Al-Khatib, M. A. (2023). The concept of justice in Islam: A socio-pragmatic analysis. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 10(5), 45–66.

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/1749
  7. Al-Ṭabarānī, A. al-Qāsim. (1404). Al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr [The Large Compilation (of Hadith)] (Ḥamdī ʿAbd al-Majīd al-Salafī, Ed.; 2nd ed., Vol. 22). Maktabat Ibn Taymiyyah.

  8. Al-Ṭabarī, M. ibn J. (1968). Tārīkh al-rusul wa al-mulūk [History of the Prophets and Kings] (M. A. F. Ibrāhīm, Ed.; 2nd ed., Vol. 2). Dār al-Ma‘ārif.

  9. Andrä, C. (2022). Problematising war: Towards a reconstructive critique of war as a problem of deviance. Review of International Studies, 48(4), 705–724. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210522000274

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210522000274
  10. Baets, A. D. (2022). The view of the past in international humanitarian law (1860–2020). International Review of the Red Cross, 104(920–921), 1586–1620. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1816383122000145

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1816383122000145
  11. Bamberger, K. A., & Mayse, A. E. (2022). Pre-modern insights for post-modern privacy: Jewish law lessons for the big data age. Journal of Law and Religion, 36(3), 495–532. https://doi.org/10.1017/jlr.2021.90

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/jlr.2021.90
  12. Bardalai, A. K. (2025). Necessity of use of force: UN mandate and protection of civilians. https://doi.org/10.1163/18754112-28010002

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/18754112-28010002
  13. Bartles-Smith, A. (2022). Religion and international humanitarian law. International Review of the Red Cross, 104(920–921), 1725–1761. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1816383122000376

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1816383122000376
  14. Bazargan, S. (2015). Noncombatant immunity and war-profiteering. In S. Lazar & H. Frowe (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of ethics of war (pp. 358–382). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199943418.013.12

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199943418.013.12
  15. Bazzani, G. (2026). Solidarity reimagined in the face of global challenges: The emergence of altruistic solidarity. European Journal of Social Theory, 29(2), 295–314. https://doi.org/10.1177/13684310251360994

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/13684310251360994
  16. Birher, N., Weber, A., Birher, N. P., Sebők, N., & Fodor, M. J. (2026). Just peace or just war? Theological, ethical and technological reflections on armed conflict. Religions, 17(3), 374. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17030374

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17030374
  17. Bleibleh, S., & Awad, J. (2020). Preserving cultural heritage: Shifting paradigms in the face of war, occupation, and identity. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 44, 196–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2020.02.013

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2020.02.013
  18. Boda, M. (2024). The warfare ideology of ordeal: Another form of just war thinking? Theory and practice from the early middle ages. Journal of Military Ethics, 23(1), 53–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/15027570.2024.2376811

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15027570.2024.2376811
  19. Boda, M. (2025). Protestant procedural just war thinking in the European religion-related wars of the early modern period. War & Society, 45(2), 67–83. https://doi.org/10.1080/07292473.2025.2589537

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07292473.2025.2589537
  20. Bogna, F., Raineri, A., & Dell, G. (2020). Critical realism and constructivism: Merging research paradigms for a deeper qualitative study. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, 15(4), 461–484. https://doi.org/10.1108/QROM-06-2019-1778

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/QROM-06-2019-1778
  21. Boloca, A. (2024). Wars and military conflicts from a biblical point  of view: A pentecostal perspective. https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.12684753

  22. Carolan, L. (1928). The morality of war. Dominicana, 13(4), 286–291.

  23. Catholic Church. (1993). Catechism of the Catholic Church: Chapter three – Section two [HTML]. Vatican.Va. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P4T.HTM

  24. Chiroma, M., Oseni, U. A., & Ansari, G. U. (2013). An analytical review of Islamic and international laws on civilian right to life and human dignity. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 11(4), 23–35. https://doi.org/10.9790/0837-1142335

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.9790/0837-1142335
  25. Clapham, A. (2019). The limits of human rights in times of armed conflict and other situations of armed violence. In B. Fassbender & K. Traisbach (Eds.), The limits of human rights (pp. 305–318). Oxford University PressOxford. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198824756.003.0021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198824756.003.0021
  26. Clarke, S. (2022). The sanctity of life as a sacred value. Bioethics, 37(1), 32–39. https://doi.org/10.1111/bioe.13094

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/bioe.13094
  27. Glanville, L. (2012). Christianity and the responsibility to protect. Studies in Christian Ethics, 25(3), 312–326. https://doi.org/10.1177/0953946812444683

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0953946812444683
  28. Goltz, N., Zeleznikow, J., & Dowdeswell, T. (2020). From the tree of knowledge and the Golem of Prague to kosher autonomous cars: The ethics of artificial intelligence through Jewish eyes. Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, 9(1), 132–156. https://doi.org/10.1093/ojlr/rwaa015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ojlr/rwaa015
  29. Grotius, H. (2005). The law of war and peace (F. W. Kelsey, Trans.). Lonang Institute. (Original work published 1925). https://lonang.com/wp-content/download/Grotius-LawOfWarAndPeace.pdf?

  30. Gülpınar, M. A. (2024). A model proposal for qualitative data analysis, interpretation, and reporting: Contextuality, reflectivity, and narrativity. Primary Health Care Research & Development, 25, e55. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1463423624000562

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1463423624000562
  31. Gusenbauer, M., & Haddaway, N. R. (2020). Which academic search systems are suitable for systematic reviews or meta-analyses? Evaluating retrieval qualities of Google Scholar, PubMed, and 26 other resources. Research Synthesis Methods, 11(2), 181–217. https://doi.org/10.1002/jrsm.1378

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jrsm.1378
  32. Haar, R. J., Read, R., Fast, L., Blanchet, K., Rinaldi, S., Taithe, B., Wille, C., & Rubenstein, L. S. (2021). Violence against healthcare in conflict: A systematic review of the literature and agenda for future research. Conflict and Health, 15(1), 37. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13031-021-00372-7

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13031-021-00372-7
  33. International Humanitarian Law Databases. (2025). Practice relating to rule 5. Definition of civilians [HTML]. International Humanitarian Law Databases. https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/customary-ihl/v2/rule5

  34. Johnson, J. T. (1981). Just war tradition and the restraint of war: A moral and historical inquiry. Princeton University Press.

  35. Kasstan, B. (2021). “If a rabbi did say ‘you have to vaccinate,’ we wouldn’t”: Unveiling the secular logics of religious exemption and opposition to vaccination. Social Science & Medicine, 280, 114052. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114052

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114052
  36. Kennedy, D. (2006). Of war and law. Princeton University Press.

  37. Khenfari, M. (2020). Waḍʿ al-asrā bayna al-Sharīʿah al-Islāmiyyah wa-Ittifāqiyyat Jīnīf al-Thālithah li-ʿām 1949 [The status of prisoners between Islamic Law and the Third Geneva Convention of 1949]. Majallat Al-ʿUlūm al-Insāniyyah, 7. https://doi.org/10.34174/0079-031-004-001

  38. Khorram-Manesh, A., Burkle, F. M., Goniewicz, K., & Robinson, Y. (2021). Estimating the number of civilian casualties in modern armed conflicts–a systematic review. Frontiers in Public Health, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.765261

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.765261
  39. King James Bible. (2017). King James Bible Online. (Original work published 1769). https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/

  40. Kinsella, H. M. (2011). The image before the weapon: A critical history of the distinction between combatant and civilian. Cornell University Press.

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.7591/cornell/9780801449031.001.0001
  41. Kinsella, H. M., & Mantilla, G. (2020). Contestation before compliance: History, politics, and power in international humanitarian law. International Studies Quarterly, 64(3), 649–656. https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqaa032

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqaa032
  42. Lim, W. M. (2024). What is qualitative research? An overview and guidelines. Australasian Marketing Journal, 33(2), 199–229. https://doi.org/10.1177/14413582241264619

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/14413582241264619
  43. McKeogh, C. (2002). Innocent civilians: The morality of killing in war. Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403907462

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403907462
  44. Merriam-Webster. (2025). Civilian [HTML]. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/civilian

  45. Miles, J. (2024). Guilt, complicity, and responsibility for historical injustice: Towards a pedagogy of complex implication. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 32(3), 619–635. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2022.2064537

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2022.2064537
  46. Moffett, L., Van De Put, S., Lattimer, M., & Thompson, M. (2025). Upholding humanity: The role of redress in preventing and responding to civilian harm. International Review of the Red Cross, 1–34. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1816383125100829

  47. Mohd Ali, N., Alias, F., Abdullah, M. N., Razali, R. M., & Salleh, A. Z. (2011). When civilians “cross the line”: The international and Islamic law perspectives". International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 1(21), 224–231. http://www.ijhssnet.com/journal/index/708:vol-1-no-21-si-december-2011abstract22&catid=16:journal-abstract

  48. Mohlaphuli, T. W. (2004). Human rights from a Biblical perspective [Doctoral thesis, University of Pretoria]. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/27818

  49. Mykolaiets, A., Pavlichenko, I., Kozakevych, O., Koban, O., & Puzyrna, N. (2025). Guaranteeing human rights in wartime: Directions for modernization. International Journal of Law and Society, 4(3), 387–405. https://doi.org/10.59683/ijls.v4i3.132

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.59683/ijls.v4i3.132
  50. Naeem, M., Ozuem, W., Howell, K., & Ranfagni, S. (2023). A step-by-step process of thematic analysis to develop a conceptual model in qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 22, 16094069231205789. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069231205789

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069231205789
  51. Nakissa, A. (2023). Comparing moralities in the abrahamic and indic religions using cognitive science: Kindness, peace, and love versus justice, violence, and hate. Religions, 14(2), 203. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14020203

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14020203
  52. Nandram, S. S., Bindlish, P. K., Sukhada, & Shrestha, A. K. (2022). Spirituality led ethical decision making with yogic yamas and niyamas. Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion, 19(3), 237–257. https://doi.org/10.51327/EHZW1674

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.51327/EHZW1674
  53. Niditch, S. (1993). War in the Hebrew Bible: A study in the ethics of violence. Oxford University PressNew York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195076387.001.0001

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195076387.001.0001
  54. O’Neil, M. D. (2024). The role of baptism in Christian identity formation. Religions, 15(4), 458. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15040458

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15040458
  55. Ozcelik, A. (2025). From emergency relief to development holds: The developmental shift in the ICRC’s humanitarian assistance in protracted conflict. Journal of Conflict and Security Law, 31(1), 45–66. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcsl/kraf017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jcsl/kraf017
  56. Pope Paul VI. (1965, December 7). Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern Word-Gaudium et Spes. The Holy See. https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_cons_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html

  57. Prove, P., Motte, J., Dressler, S., & Parlindugan, A. (Eds.). (2022). Strengthening Christian perspectives on human dignity and human rights: Perspectives from an international consultative process. Globethics.net & WCC Publications. https://doi.org/10.58863/20.500.12424/4192464

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.58863/20.500.12424/4192464
  58. Rashi, T. (2022). Jewish ethics regarding refugees: Ideology and realization. Journal of Law and Religion, 37(1), 153–166. https://doi.org/10.1017/jlr.2021.76

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/jlr.2021.76
  59. Reade, M. C. (2023). Whose side are you on? Complexities arising from the non-combatant status of military medical personnel. Monash Bioethics Review, 41(1), 67–86. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40592-022-00168-2

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40592-022-00168-2
  60. Reid, R. (2022). Sacred violence and spirited resistance: On war and religion in African history. History and Anthropology, 34(1), 20–38. https://doi.org/10.1080/02757206.2022.2060213

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02757206.2022.2060213
  61. Reimer, A. J. (2010). Christians and war: A brief history. Fortress Press.

  62. Rizqi, R. M., & Hartini. (2022). Islamic economics answers to a wide range of contemporary socio-economic challenges. Journal of Islamic Economics Lariba, 8(1), 143–156. https://doi.org/10.20885/jielariba.vol8.iss1.art9

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.20885/jielariba.vol8.iss1.art9
  63. Robinson, K., McKenna, B., & Rooney, D. (2022). The relationship of risk to rules, values, virtues, and moral complexity: What we can learn from the moral struggles of military leaders. Journal of Business Ethics, 179(3), 749–766. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04874-5

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04874-5
  64. Rusdi, M., Sebayang, V. A., Kholil, S., & Syam, A. M. (2024). Islam and the ethics of war: Deconstructing jihad through the principle of humanism in theological discourses. Pharos Journal of Theology, (105(5)). https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.105.57

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.105.57
  65. Salaymeh, L. (2021). Comparing Islamic and international laws of war: Orthodoxy, “heresy,” and secularization in the category of civilians. The American Journal of Comparative Law, 69(1), 136–167. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcl/avab001

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcl/avab001
  66. Saul, B. (2021). From conflict to complementarity: Reconciling international counterterrorism law and international humanitarian law. International Review of the Red Cross, 103(916–917), 157–202. https://doi.org/10.1017/S181638312100031X

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S181638312100031X
  67. Saunders, A. (2023). Constitution-Making as a Technique of International Law: Reconsidering the Post-war Inheritance. American Journal of International Law, 117(2), 251–308. https://doi.org/10.1017/ajil.2022.86

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/ajil.2022.86
  68. Schiffman, L. H., & Wolowelsky, J. B. (Eds.). (2007). War and peace in the Jewish tradition. Michael Scharf Publication Trust of the Yeshiva University Press.

  69. Shakar, R. S., Mahmood, M. F., Abdulameer, N. A., Dahash, Z. M., & Azat, I. (2025). Balancing national sovereignty: The impact of bilateral investment treaties on contemporary islamic economic law. MILRev: Metro Islamic Law Review, 4(1), 31–63. https://doi.org/10.32332/milrev.v4i1.10265

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.32332/milrev.v4i1.10265
  70. Shaltout, M. (1951). The Qur’an and warfare. Dār al-Kitāb al-ʿArabī.

  71. Šip, M., Kuzyšin, B., Sabolik, M., & Valčo, M. (2023). Human dignity in inpatient care: Fragments of religious and social grounds. Religions, 14(6), 757. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14060757

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14060757
  72. Sutton, R. (2020). Enacting the ‘civilian plus’: International humanitarian actors and the conceptualization of distinction. Leiden Journal of International Law, 33(2), 429–449. https://doi.org/10.1017/S092215651900075X

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S092215651900075X
  73. Tamer, G. (2020). The concept of peace in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. De Gruyter.

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110682021
  74. Tamer, G., Thörner, K., & Justenhoven, H.-G. (Eds.). (2021). The concept of just war in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. De Gruyter.

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110733136
  75. The Qur’an (M. A. S. Abdel Haleem, Trans.). (2008). Oxford University Press.

  76. Tosi, L., & Marty, J. (2024). Understanding coordination in humanitarian action: Insights from the activities–resources–actors model. International Journal of Development Issues, 23(1), 106–127. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDI-04-2023-0101

  77. Viswanath, R. (2021). Hate crimes against minorities in india: Locating the value of an international criminal law discourse? Journal of International Criminal Justice, 19(3), 611–642. https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqab051

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqab051
  78. Walzer, M. (1996). Chapter 5. War and peace in the Jewish tradition. In T. Nardin (Ed.), The ethics of war and peace (pp. 93–114). Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691221854-008

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691221854-008
  79. Walzer, M. (2015). Just and unjust wars: A moral argument with historical illustrations. Basic Books.

  80. Watkins, H. M. (2020). The morality of war: A review and research agenda. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15(2), 231–249. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691619885872

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691619885872
  81. Weintraub, M. (2007). Does Torah permit torture? The Review of Faith & International Affairs, 5(2), 3–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2007.9523285

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2007.9523285
  82. Weyde, K. W. (2017). Is God a violent God?: Conceptions of God in the hebrew Bible/old testament. Teologisk tidsskrift, 6(4), 280–300. https://doi.org/10.18261/issn.1893-0271-2017-04-02

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.18261/issn.1893-0271-2017-04-02
  83. Wheatley, N. (2021). 3. Law and the time of angels: International law’s method wars and the affective life of disciplines. History and Theory, 60(2), 311–330. https://doi.org/10.1111/hith.12209

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/hith.12209
  84. Wise, P. H., Shiel, A., Southard, N., Bendavid, E., Welsh, J., Stedman, S., Fazal, T., Felbab-Brown, V., Polatty, D., Waldman, R. J., Spiegel, P. B., Blanchet, K., Dayoub, R., Zakayo, A., Barry, M., Garcia, D. M., Pagano, H., Black, R., Gaffey, M. F., & Bhutta, Z. A. (2021). The political and security dimensions of the humanitarian health response to violent conflict. The Lancet, 397(10273), 511–521. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00130-6

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00130-6
  85. Yair, Y. B., Ohayon, S., Ronel, N., & Freedman, S. (2024). Exploring forgiveness through theologically informed education: Lessons from Judaism. Education Sciences, 14(9), 926. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14090926

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14090926
No Related Submission Found