India, April 21 -- The escalating conflict in the Middle East, involving Israel, Iran, and the United States, has once again drawn the world into a familiar and troubling narrative. What should be understood as a geopolitical crisis is all too often framed as a clash of religions. Judaism, Islam, and Christianity are portrayed as civilisations locked in an inevitable struggle for supremacy.

The language used in public discourse frequently reinforces this perception, as if faith itself were the source of our deepest divisions. Yet, this framing reflects a profound misunderstanding of religion. As I explore in my book Bridges Across Humanity, at their core, the world's great religious traditions share remarkably similar foundations.

They ...