In the war on terror, those fighting on the Islamist side believe the war is religious.

In September, an American al Qaeda operative, Adam Gadahn, sent a special invitation to George W. Bush to join Islam. He also issued “a special invitation to all of you fighting Bush’s crusader pipe dream in Afghanistan, Iraq, and wherever else W. has sent you to die.” In August, two reporters from Fox News were held at gunpoint and given the choice between death and videotaped conversion to Islam. One former Iranian ambassador called the relationship between Christianity and Islam a “war that has never ended.” The president of Iran believes the 12th imam is about to return to spread Islam all over the world.

However, some U.S. politicians and media—including President Bush—do not see the war on terror as a religious war, or at least they refuse to say so in public. The president clearly articulated the stance that the war on terror is not religious in a mid-October interview with Bill O’Reilly:

[T]his is not a struggle of religion, in my judgment. This isn’t Christianity versus Islam. People in the Muslim world need to look at the United States. We welcome Muslim-Americans. They’re free to worship the way they so choose.This is a struggle between people who have subverted a great religion to meet their own ambitions and kill. I don’t believe religious people kill innocent people.

Of course, that last statement ignores a tremendous amount of documented history—religion has motivated many of the world’s fiercest wars. But there is a more immediate problem with the view that we are not witnessing a struggle of religion: Neither Catholics nor Muslims agree. The only religious figure that says he shares the idea that the war on terrorism is not religious in nature is Osama bin Laden. Probably not the sort of common ground the president is seeking.

The Vatican also believes the war with terrorists is religious. After Pope Benedict xvi’s comments outraged the Muslim world and sparked violent response in September, the Vatican said Muslims and Catholics need to work together to defeat terrorism. Catholic leadership knows that terrorism gets its moral firepower from religious hatred. That is why church leadership plays a role in the war on terror even politically.

While addressing the need for an international convention on terrorism at the United Nations, Archbishop Celestino Migliore said, “In particular, religions and interreligious dialogue have a fundamental role to play in contrasting the terrorists’ preaching of hate and violence as antithetical to authentic religion, in promoting a culture of peace and mutual respect, and in helping people with grievances to opt for non-violent means. This grave duty falls upon religions, but states and the family of nations can help by fostering an environment in which religions and interfaith dialogue can flourish.”

Consider: These comments are not simply statements from a cardinal to the public, but an official Vatican representative taking a leadership role in the UN.

Politicians never want to believe a war is religious. It goes against the nature of diplomacy. For instance, if the dispute between the Palestinians and the Israelis is about land, then it can be resolved by drawing equitable borders. But if the dispute is about religion, it can only be solved when one side claims the holy land and the other is pushed out. No road map for peace can account for that.

If the war in Iraq is about a few extremists trying to control a population that desires a democratic government, it can be won. But if it is a religious conflict, the insurgency will only end when one side is victorious and the other is stamped out, leaving a theocratic government in place.

Likewise, if the terrorists are simply a few extremists carrying out actions that offend their Muslim brothers, then stopping those few extremists will end the war. But if it is a large-scale religious war—indeed, a “war that has never ended” between Islam and Christianity—then it cannot be decisively won by attacking terrorist cells.

Make no mistake: This is a religious war.

Understanding that fact, we can expect this war to center on religion’s greatest symbolic city: Jerusalem. The Vatican has always viewed Jerusalem as its rightful headquarters—and Bible prophecy tells us that it will be, however briefly. The Vatican is no stranger to religious wars—the Christian Crusades would be better termed the Catholic Crusades.

Earlier this year, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry warned that half of Jerusalem would fall to the Arabs, perhaps as early as this year. When that happens, expect religious conflict between Muslims and Catholics to increase greatly over what we see today. For more information, please request our booklet Jerusalem in Prophecy.