AT THE beginning of this month, when Russian jet fighters went into action in Syria, it was widely reported that Russia and its national church had proclaimed a "holy war" against Islamic State. In the Western world, some people groaned ("not another warring party that claims to have God on its side") and some quietly approved, on the grounds that just maybe, the only antidote to jihad could be counter-jihad.
In fact, these reports somewhat distorted what the Russian Orthodox church said. It would have been amazing if (given that he maintains, with official encouragement, cordial ties with Muslim leaders inside and outside Russia) the Patriarch of Moscow had made any statement that implied a generalised conflict between Christianity and Islam. What Patriarch Kirill, speaking as de facto chaplain to the nation, said was a bit more cautious:
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