Question:
Is killing to defend your country justified?
Answer: In times of
military duty, Bahá’ís ask for a special category, that of
“non-combatant.” In times of national emergency, this moral stance
allows them to serve as stretcher-bearers, ambulance corps, office
administrators, relief workers and so forth. In so doing, Bahá’ís do
not seek a safe berth from combat in times of national crisis. Driving
an ambulance can be a very risky form of service. A Bahá’í may also
enlist voluntarily in the armed forces to make a career, or to learn a
trade or profession, provided that he or she can do so without being
liable to undertake combatant service.
Bahá’ís are forbidden from engaging in combat, whose aim is the taking
of another human life. All forms of violence are categorically
forbidden in the Bahá’í teachings, and the shedding of blood is the
worst form of violence. This does not mean, however, that Bahá’ís are
absolute pacifists or conscientious objectors since the Bahá’í faith
recognizes “the right and duty of governments to use force for the
maintenance of law and order to protect their people” (Shoghi Effendi,
letter of Nov. 21, 1935). Think of the scenes of riotous anarchy and
chaos in Vancouver and more recently in the U.K. Shoghi Effendi’s
statement does not apply to tyrannical regimes that oppress their own
people.
Absolute pacifism can easily become a form of anti-social behaviour. I
read recently about a report in Time (April 8, 1957) that in 1922,
revolutionary Pancho Villa and his men attacked a 5,000-strong Canadian
Mennonite colony in Chihuahua province, and raped the Mennonite women
while the men stood by and prayed in helpless anguish! The community
has the right of defence and self-protection. If necessary, armed force
should be used against those who commit naked aggression against other
governments, or who murder their own populations or commit genocide.
During World War II, absolute pacifism would have meant the victory of
Nazism, and the consequent enslavement and genocide of other
populations than the Jews. As I understand it, Christ’s injunction to
turn the other cheek is an admonition against taking personal revenge,
not an endorsement of absolute pacifism. -
Jack
McLean
