The Christian conception of a well-ordered, peaceful society, the City of God, was maintained and influenced by the ideal of just war. The City of God theory was created by St. Augustine of Hippo in the 4th century. His motivation for his writing was fueled by the decaying Roman Empire. St. Augustine felt that the collapse of the western empire to the invading barbarians re

These two religious traditions give much insight into the justification of war. The constant battle between good and evil generated much of the ideals for justification of armed conflict. Both the Christian and Islamic beliefs in their own concept of a well-ordered society directed their attitude for just war, and their methods in maintaining a world of bliss and peace.

The Muslim concept of a well-ordered society, dar al-Islam, developed their ideals of jihad. Classical Islamic thought partitioned the world into two separate societies. The Dar al-Islam was considered the territory of peace, and the dar al-harb was literally the "territory of war". The dar al-Islam is an area that promotes and signifies the supremacy of Muslims beliefs. The dar-al Islam is the area of peace and justice, it is considered to be the most secure place for all humans. The people of this territory need not be Muslims, they have to acknowledge the Muslim rule, and they need to be of a monotheistic religion. Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians were all allowed to live within the Dar al-Islam peacefully. The important aspect of non-Muslims living within the dar al-Islam is their behavior. Right action, not right thought was used to define which inhabitants can exist within the Dar al-Islam. By Contrast, the dar a-Harb was the state of unrest and war. It is characterized by strife and internal disorder (Islam and War, Kelsay). This disorder, if mobilized correctly could become a threat to the dar al-Islam. The peace of the world could only occur if it was all part of the dar al-Islam. These two areas were constantly in a state of war with each other. For Muslims to carry out their submission to God, they must attempt to destroy the dar al-harb. "Muslims are charged with extending that obedience over the entire Earth, thus eliminating this perpetual state of war and instituting a universal reign of peace (Holy War Idea, Johnson)." This struggle leads to the concept of the jihad. Literally translated jihad means to "struggle" or "strive". It was the struggle of one's own heart, the attempt to bring oneself into accord with God (Islam and War, Kelsay). The jihad was used to extend the boundaries of the dar al-Islam, thus spreading the Islamic values and beliefs. The wars that were fought under the cloak of the jihad were used to bring the ignorant to the ways of God, and transform humanity to the way of peace. The rightly guided Dar al-Islam concept leads Muslims to use the jihad to bring the world under its blanket of peace and righteousness.

The classical Islamic jurists defined the justification and authorization of war through interpretations of the Koran and the Hadith. The justification of the war had two main ideals, the offensive jihad and defensive jihad. The continuing threat of t

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Approximate Word count = 1879
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)