Religion is the root of all strife

These days there is too much stress everywhere on religion. Religion is the root cause of all strife, both internal and external, and is the cause of all wars in the world. (Meher Baba, Toka 1928, said to a Zoroastrian priest, Online LM p. 794)

In 1928, these words would have seemed far from the truth, as WWI, most vivid in people's minds at the time, appeared to have nothing to do with religion. Indeed the large wars of the 20th century were over political ideologies, Fascism, Communism, and Capitalism. However, consider the following three fact.

The origins of [Zionism] can be traced to the early 19th century when a group of eccentric British Christian leaders began to lobby for Jewish restoration to Palestine as a necessary precondition for the return of Christ. The movement gained traction from the middle of the 19th century when Palestine became strategic to British, French and German colonial interests in the Middle East. Proto-Christian Zionism therefore preceded Jewish Zionism by more than 50 years. (source)

Takfiri Wahhabism and Salafism (the ideologies behind Al Qaeda, Taliban, and ISIS) was founded in Saudi Arabia by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab in the 18th century. These teachings hold that conquest of Damascus by them is a precondition for the return of Jesus, son of Mary, in the End-time, who is expected to descend over Demascus.

We can further add that many Jews today hold that the return to Israel marks the coming of the Messiah.

Now since WWII, the most dangerous spots on Earth are in the Middle East, and hence are at their core Messianic. Christian support of Israel in America is based on such thinking. The whole notion of a 'clash of civilizations' is Messianic at its core. Each side sees itself as bringing in a Messianic age through bloodshed and territorial conflict -- Jews, Christians, and Takfiri Islam.

There is a common belief that these wars are over oil. While Saudi Arabia was the growing epicenter of oil exploration when Baba made his statement and hence it made sense then as an unlikely ally and protectorate of the US and England, this is no longer true. Today Saudi Arabia only accounts for 20% of oil exports. Taken together, Russia, Venezuela, and Iran export as much oil as Saudi Arabia, yet are enemies of the US. So Western alliances have to be explained in some other terms besides simply oil sources. Russophobia is against European interests, since it relies on Russian natural gas. In 2016 the US imported its oil from about 70 countries. So oil is not the real reason for our modern conflicts.

This applies even to pipelines we hear so much about. The US and Europe stand to gain nothing by using one pipeline over another. The fight to prevent certain pipelines and supplant them with others is meant to combat the enemies of Israel and Saudi Salafists, not to secure oil prices or preserve flow of oil. Saddam Hussein, for instance, did not charge more for his oil than other OPEC nations. Yet it was destroyed. This was because it was seen as an enemy of Israel. Thus the wars on Iraq were not at their heart oil wars, as we are lead to believe.

Now even the constant bias against Russia in the West is an extension of ancient jealously and hate in Europe for the Orthodox Eastern Church. See this film. So it too can be seen as religious at its core when properly understood in the context of history.

Finally, if we turn back to the French Revolution, and the wars of Communism, we see that these wars and revolutions were fought AGAINST RELIGION itself! Hence these wars, although it is not obvious, were religious wars, albeit wars to eradicate religion. Napoleon's wars were as much against the Roman Catholic Church as they were for land. And abolition of religion is stated in the Communist Manifesto.

So, when we step back and look at history carefully, Baba's words, spoken in 1928, were truer than they first seem. However, we must note that Baba's words were spoken in Toka, to a Zoroastrian priest. In fact 20 years later, India saw itself embroiled in a bloody split on the grounds of religion. And the Zoroastrians of India were in fact originally refugees due to religious zealotry.

The casting of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Lebanon, and Syria as enemies to be destroyed in recent years have had nothing to do with Western economic interests. These are the enemies of Israel (hence Zionist at their core) and Saudi Arabia (Wahhabi fundamentalist at its core).