Holy War Past and Present

Nov. 30 th , 2016,

Hillel House, Boston University
Speakers: Katell Berthelot (CNRS) and Yonder Gillihan (Boston College)

A discussion with students about the concept of Holy War, both as presented in 1 & 2 Maccabees and as invoked in various places in the world today.

This event was a dialogue of undergraduates and three scholars: two of Jewish antiquity—Katell Berthelot, and Yonder Gillihan —and one of Islam—Natana DeLong-Bas (Boston College) on the concept of Holy War in the Bible, in the Islamic tradition, and in our modern context at the Elie Weisel Center for Jewish Studies at Boston University. After much discussion, Gillihan and Berthelot agreed that the concept of Holy War is found in the Christian Old Testament. DeLong-Bas provided insight into what exactly is Holy War in the Islamic tradition and what are the reasons it is fought. The conversation ended with a discussion about the history, motivation, and misinterpretation of the Koran by the followers of ISIS.