Who Is God On The Side Of?
A Critique of the Conception of God Between Religion, Nationalism, and Violence
British soldiers pray as they go to war. Their hands raised to the sky: "O Allah, grant us victory!"
Arab soldiers do the same: "O Allah, make us victorious!"
Israeli officers pray: "May YHVH be with us!"
Everyone turns to their own holy book and to God, but most often this God is actually the same God. Yet at the end of the war, one side wins. And after victory or defeat, everyone still believes in the same God. This contradiction is not theological but political.
The real question is this: Whose side is God on?
⚔️ ARMED FACTIONS, THE SAME GOD: WHO IS THE STRUGGLE AGAINST?
In many parts of the world, religious leaders deploy God in favor of their own nations.
British clerics bless their king.
Arab clerics issue fatwas to protect their rule in God’s name.
Israeli rabbis find justifications in the Torah for land occupations.
They all speak in God’s name, pulling God under their own flags. Thus, God seems to become the deity of a single nation. But this attitude is completely contrary to the Qur’an, the Bible, and the Torah. Because:
"He is the Lord of the heavens and the earth." (Qur’an 2:255)
God does not discriminate.
Despite these verses, God is portrayed as if He is the coach of a national team. Even before matches, teams pray. If they win, God supported them; if they lose, it was "a test."
This limits God’s universality by nationalism. And this is not faith but shirk (associating partners with God). Because for God to be “on one side,” He must be “against the other.” Yet He is "The Most Merciful; He has mercy on the believers and the disbelievers alike."
🩸 KILLING FOR GOD OR LIVING FOR GOD?
Every side declares its dead as "martyrs." Hymns glorify their own soldiers while construing the other side as "infidels." But if the same God is being prayed to, whose prayer is accepted?
The concept of martyrdom has been diluted here. In the Qur’an, a "martyr" means one who witnesses to the truth, not merely one who dies in battle:
"And thus we have made you a just community that you will be witnesses over the people." (Qur’an 2:143)
But when martyrdom becomes identified with war, religion becomes a sanctification of killing urges. "Killing for God" is presented as a religious virtue. Yet the Qur’an says:
"Whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land — it is as if he had slain mankind entirely." (Qur’an 5:32)
🧠 GOD’S SIDE: JUSTICE AND MERCY
According to the Qur’an, God’s side is clear. He is not attached to any nation, land, or political leader. God is on the side of what is right:
"God loves those who act justly." (Qur’an 5:42)
"God does not love the wrongdoing people." (Qur’an 3:57)
So God cares not about the language of the prayer—English, Arabic, or Hebrew—but about the actions behind it. If you are unjust, you cannot receive God’s support.
🧨 THE CONFLICT BETWEEN THE GOD OF NATIONS AND THE UNIVERSAL GOD
Today, every warring party may pray to the same God. But this does not mean God is contradictory. It shows how people twist God for their own interests.
This leads to two fundamental conceptions of God:
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The Nationalist God: The deity sanctified by flags, borders, and war; who regards one race as superior to another.
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The Universal God: The God who exalts justice, mercy, and peace; the Lord of all.
The God of the Qur’an is the latter. He is not the God of nations, flags, or official armies. He stands with those who oppose oppression and advocate peace.
🔚 CONCLUSION: DO NOT DEPLOY GOD ON THE BATTLEFIELD
Forcing God to take sides reduces Him to a war tool. True religion is not about pulling God to your side but about placing yourself on God’s just side.
Nationalist prayers, the sanctification of weapons, and the competition for honor through death… these show how corrupted our understanding of God has become.
The real question should be:
"Am I on God’s side, or am I trying to make God be on my side?"
This difference is what separates religion from ideology, truth from fanaticism, and monotheism from shirk.
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