{"id":31239,"date":"2026-03-10T03:53:47","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T02:53:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kaizen-blog.org\/?p=31239"},"modified":"2026-03-10T04:12:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T03:12:13","slug":"wenn-zwei-seiten-gottes-namen-rufen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kaizen-blog.org\/en\/wenn-zwei-seiten-gottes-namen-rufen\/","title":{"rendered":"When Two Sides Invoke the Name of God"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Department of Homeland Security is warning. An internal paper in our possession carries the title: \u201cIranian Religious Leaders Issue Fatwas and Call on Muslims to Avenge the Death of the Supreme Leader.\u201d The fatwas describe the United States and Israel as \u201cthe worst enemies of humanity\u201d and call for worldwide retaliation. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps followed up on March 2: The enemy will \u201cno longer have security anywhere in the world, not even in their own home.\u201d That is one side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pete Hegseth<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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On the other side stands Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense of the United States, who in an interview with CBS correspondent Major Garrett explains that the providence of Almighty God protects American troops in Iran. When asked whether he understands the war in religious terms, he says yes, essentially. He speaks of his Christian faith, of prayer on combat missions, of the fact that there are no atheists in foxholes. He explains that the connection to the Creator must be restored because self help and self esteem are not what soldiers need. Hegseth has \u201cDeus Vult,\u201d the battle cry of the Crusades, tattooed on his arm. His 2020 book is titled \u201cAmerican Crusade.\u201d He announces that he will make the military chaplain corps large and active again.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the most vocal advocates of military action against Iran, said last week: \u201cThis is a religious war, and we will determine the course of the Middle East for a thousand years.\u201d Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas, pastor and now U.S. ambassador to Israel, states in an interview with Tucker Carlson that Israel has a religious right to large parts of the Middle East. Asked how far that right extends, he says: \u201cIt would be fine if they took all of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Televangelist John Hagee, chairman of Christians United for Israel, preaches in his Cornerstone Church in San Antonio in front of a banner reading \u201cGod Is Coming\u2026 Operation Epic Fury.\u201d He thanks Trump for crushing the enemies of Zion and declares that the attack on Iran will trigger biblically prophesied events - the invasion of Israel by a Russian led army and the defeat of the Antichrist in the battle of Armageddon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The nonprofit organization Military Religious Freedom Foundation reports on March 3 that it is being inundated with complaints. More than 200 calls from over 50 military bases, all with the same content: Commanders are telling their soldiers that the Iran war is part of God\u2019s divine plan to initiate the return of Jesus Christ. One is said to have declared that Trump was anointed by Jesus to ignite the signal fire in Iran and trigger Armageddon. Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, says about Iran: \u201cThe entire regime is led by radical clerics who do not make geopolitical decisions. They make decisions based on their theology, an apocalyptic one that must be taken very seriously.\u201d The sentence is correct. It also describes what is currently happening on the other side of the ocean. Rubio does not seem to notice. Or he notices and says it anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued an internal \u201cCritical Incident Note\u201d on March 2, 2026, warning of potential security related consequences of recent developments connected to the Iran war. The document, marked \u201cunclassified \/ for official use only,\u201d summarizes preliminary findings and emphasizes that it does not constitute a final assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the center are two fatwas published on March 1 by senior Iranian clerics. They call on Muslims worldwide to avenge the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. One of the religious declarations describes revenge as a religious duty of all Muslims, another labels the United States and Israel the \u201cmost malicious enemies of humanity.\u201d Previously, Iranian clerics had already issued fatwas during the 12 day war in 2025 against the U.S. president and the Israeli prime minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DHS also refers to a shooting on March 1 in Austin, Texas, in which a naturalized U.S. citizen killed two people and injured 14 others before being shot by police. According to the agency, indications from the attacker\u2019s clothing and vehicle suggested a possible extremist background, but a clear motive has not yet been confirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an analytical assessment, the department warns that the fatwas, the rhetoric of the Iranian government, and online messages from regime loyal actors could increase the risk of violent acts by supporters of the Iranian regime. As an example, it cites a statement by the Revolutionary Guards declaring that \u201cthe enemy\u201d will henceforth be \u201cnowhere in the world safe.\u201d Although fatwas have rarely led directly to attacks in the United States in the past, the document references the 2022 stabbing attack on Salman Rushdie, which was traced back to an earlier fatwa.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In February 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against writer Salman Rushdie over his book \u201cThe Satanic Verses.\u201d Iran subsequently severed diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom. In August 1996, Osama Bin Laden issued his first fatwa, more than 11,500 words long, declaring holy war against American forces on the Arabian Peninsula. Shortly thereafter he was interviewed and asked why there had been no attacks after the declaration. His answer: \u201cIf we wanted to carry out small operations, that would have been easy. But the nature of the struggle requires qualitative operations that strike the enemy - and that obviously requires good preparation.\u201d Two years later, in February 1998, the second fatwa followed. This time the call was to kill Americans everywhere in the world. It inspired a new generation. Three years later it was September 11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two sides are now invoking the name of God. Both are convinced they stand on the right one. Both describe the other as an apocalyptic threat. Both are preparing. What Bin Laden said back then about preparation was not an empty threat. It was an announcement. The current fatwas sound similar. And the response to them, in parts of the American leadership, does not sound like geopolitics. It sounds like the same book, just a different edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not an analysis. It is an observation. And it is heavy enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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