# Any active shooting wars that do not involve Muslims ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 10, 2014, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-active-shooting-wars-that-do-not-involve-muslims/692759 "2014-07-10T12:34:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davida03801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-active-shooting-wars-that-do-not-involve-muslims/692759/1 "2014-07-10T12:34:22Z")
Are their any active shooting wars in the World in which Muslims are NOT involved in ? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-active-shooting-wars-that-do-not-involve-muslims/692759/2 "2014-07-10T12:41:39Z")
Well, given that almost a quarter of the world’s population identifies as Islamic, I must presume that they have been involved in almost as many wars as Christians (who are about a third of the world popualtion). ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-active-shooting-wars-that-do-not-involve-muslims/692759/3 "2014-07-10T12:54:07Z")
Here’s a list of the ongoing armed conflicts at the moment: > **[List of ongoing armed conflicts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ongoing_armed_conflicts)** > > The following is a list of ongoing armed conflicts that are taking place around the world. > This list of ongoing armed conflicts identifies present-day conflicts and the death toll associated with each conflict. The criteria of inclusion are the following: The clearest example of what you want is the Mexican drug wars. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-active-shooting-wars-that-do-not-involve-muslims/692759/4 "2014-07-10T13:00:43Z")
The civil war in Ukraine would be the other major example. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-active-shooting-wars-that-do-not-involve-muslims/692759/5 "2014-07-10T13:12:45Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Well, given that almost a quarter of the world’s population identifies as Islamic, I must presume that they have been involved in almost as many wars as Christians (who are about a third of the world popualtion). This addresses OP? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-active-shooting-wars-that-do-not-involve-muslims/692759/6 "2014-07-10T13:19:36Z")
Bit of a stretch, but the Korean War never was officially ended, and shooting does occur from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-active-shooting-wars-that-do-not-involve-muslims/692759/7 "2014-07-10T13:31:57Z")
I imagine the OPs query is from am American perspective. From the outside, I do not even think of Islam as an element of driving the various conflicts aroumd the globe. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-active-shooting-wars-that-do-not-involve-muslims/692759/8 "2014-07-10T13:32:53Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > This addresses OP? Not quite sure, but unless the OP comes back to expand on his motivations I had to presume he was nostalgic for the good old days of exclusively Christian vs Christian shooting wars in European and American history. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-active-shooting-wars-that-do-not-involve-muslims/692759/9 "2014-07-10T13:37:17Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > The civil war in Ukraine would be the other major example. One of the major forces in the region (Vostok batallion) is almost 100% muslim - Chechen/Ingush. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-active-shooting-wars-that-do-not-involve-muslims/692759/10 "2014-07-10T13:50:47Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Bit of a stretch, but the Korean War never was officially ended, and shooting does occur from time to time. But the USA has a large contingent of troops deployed to that theater, which includes a small number of Muslims. So that war involves Muslims. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-active-shooting-wars-that-do-not-involve-muslims/692759/11 "2014-07-10T13:59:45Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > One of the major forces in the region (Vostok batallion) is almost 100% muslim - Chechen/Ingush. > [@jtur88](#): > > But the USA has a large contingent of troops deployed to that theater, which includes a small number of Muslims. > So that war involves Muslims. I think the intent of the OP was to ask about active shooting conflicts where Islamic ideology is not a major issue or major contributing factor. The Ukraine conflict does involve some participants who might happen to be Muslims, but that doesn’t make it a “Muslim” conflict any more than the fact that some Jewish people participated in the US Civil War makes that a “Jewish conflict”. All, or nearly all, of the “Muslim” violence today involves a mix of religious, social, and political issues. It’s not just “Allah says it’s ok for me to kill infidels”, but “I’m mad at \ for making these terrible policies, I hate my neighbors who don’t fast during Ramadan, regularly commit adultery, and give support to Israel, and the US is throwing its weight around again and spying on me. My imam says that killing them in retaliation wouldn’t be a sin. Where’s my rifle?” ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-active-shooting-wars-that-do-not-involve-muslims/692759/12 "2014-07-10T14:00:02Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Bit of a stretch, but the Korean War never was officially ended, and shooting does occur from time to time. The Korean War never officially _began_ from a US perspective. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-active-shooting-wars-that-do-not-involve-muslims/692759/13 "2014-07-10T14:07:23Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > But the USA has a large contingent of troops deployed to that theater, which includes a small number of Muslims. > So that war involves Muslims. And, among those troops, were probably a small number of Scientologists, Zen Buddhists, Laveyan Satanists, and Wiccans. Is the War On Terror a Scientology conflict? > [@robert\_columbia](#): > > …The Ukraine conflict does involve some participants who might happen to be Muslims, but that doesn’t make it a “Muslim” conflict any more than the fact that some Jewish people participated in the US Civil War makes that a “Jewish conflict”… And you can argue that varying interpretations of Christianity were a major contributor to the US Civil War, making it, like the wars in the Middle East right now, a maelstrom of religious, social, and political issues. E.g. in 1860’s America, the Southern Baptist Convention was very very gung-ho on preserving slavery, while the Friends (Quakers) were adamantly against it. ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-active-shooting-wars-that-do-not-involve-muslims/692759/14 "2014-07-10T14:12:09Z")
I think the OP’s premise is akin to the ‘prove there’s no gold in China’ fallacy. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-active-shooting-wars-that-do-not-involve-muslims/692759/15 "2014-07-10T14:17:03Z")
The recently wrapped up war on Sri Lanka, against the Tamil Tigers, comes to mind. Nepal(?) had a Maoist insurgency until a few years ago. There’s a war going on between the Burmese government and rebels in the north, and assorted independence fights continue on most borders, none Muslim as far as I know. Things have been pretty unsettled in Thailand recently, but that’s more political turmoil than shooting war. the guerilla insurgency in Peru (shining Path) has pretty much died down, but the one in Columbia seems to be on-going. basically, like wars involving Muslims, they are generally ethnic or political; the only thing that really drags in the Moslem religion is the location, location, location… just as the fact that the Irish conflict was never really about religion, it was just portrayed that way. Even Syria today is more of an ethnic/political clash, not a religious one. Religion is just a recruitment tool for one side and a scare factor to motivate the other. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-active-shooting-wars-that-do-not-involve-muslims/692759/16 "2014-07-10T14:17:12Z")
According to a perusal of wikipedia’s list of active armed conflicts, there are 33 current conflicts going on, 22 involve Muslims and 11 do not. Of the 15 conflicts that have over 100 casualties in 2014, 12 involve Muslims and 3 do not. ---
**Author:** ![davida03801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-active-shooting-wars-that-do-not-involve-muslims/692759/17 "2014-07-10T14:24:04Z")
I admit I should have phrased my initial question a bit different. [ul] [li]No I am not nostalgic for Christian v Christian wars. Never even thought of it in those terms.[/li][li]I did not think the Ukrainian-Russian conflict was up to that scale, but I see it is.[/li][li]Did not occur to me to put the Mexican drug conflict in that category, but yes in retrospect I see that.[/li][li]I always forget the wiki lists for things thinks like this. That was helpful.[/li][li]And no prejudice intended at all, although I know some see it under every rock.[/li][/ul] The question came about watching the news last night, and just noting to myself who was fighting et all. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-active-shooting-wars-that-do-not-involve-muslims/692759/18 "2014-07-10T14:28:42Z")
South Ossetia is a part of Georgian territory just down the coast from Sochi. Russian (Communist, Orthodox Christian) support for South Ossetia (Christian) against SSR breakaway Georgia (Christian) resulted in numerous shooting wars and an armed standoff today where almost nobody recognizes the independence. It’s hard to imagine Russia supporting a breakaway chunk of a neighboring country, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-active-shooting-wars-that-do-not-involve-muslims/692759/19 "2014-07-10T14:34:04Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > The recently wrapped up war on Sri Lanka, against the Tamil Tigers, comes to mind. Sri Lanka has a sizeable (~10%) Muslim minority. Not sure if you are counting them. ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-active-shooting-wars-that-do-not-involve-muslims/692759/20 "2014-07-10T15:19:41Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > And, among those troops, were probably a small number of Scientologists, Zen Buddhists, Laveyan Satanists, and Wiccans. Is the War On Terror a Scientology conflict? Fun facts: [ul][li]Korean armistice = July 1953 [_]First Church of Scientology founded = December 1953 [_]Modern Wiccanism’s founding work publlshed = November 1954[\*]LaVeyan Satanism founded = April 1966[/ul][/li]There were probably Zen Buddhists in the “active shooting” Korean War, but not likely any of the others. Yes, I am aware your point was rhetorical. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-active-shooting-wars-that-do-not-involve-muslims/692759.md?page=2)