Opposition; to Whom and What? Opposition in Religious Discourse

Many governments have tried to legitimate themselves by religious discourse and, by doing this, demanded obedience from the society. However, there have been frequent clashes between religion and religious groups and the ruling class from the past to present. The ruling class has declared every movement that does not obey and acts as opponent unlawful, and has tried to destroy. Religious traditions, on the other hand, take the concept of opposition in two contexts: the first is the opposition to the supreme being/beings of religion and the values it predicts. Religion does not accept such opposition and treats it as a deviation and sin. The latter is the opposition to the earthly authorities. Concerning this each tradition has an understanding due to its concept of authority. Some religions like Christianity bless the concept of sovereignty, predict obedience to any government in earth and criticize opposition. The others like Islam accept God as the absolute authority and the relationship with earthly Powers is addressed in this content. It is consequently considered that every authority that does not receive its reference form God and God’s will is null and unlawful. It is also accepted as a duty for every believer to oppose such authorities. The Qur’an, as a matter of fact, gives many examples of the opposition of the prophets to such authorities throughout histor