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April 2003
Vol. IX, No. 3
Religion & Peacemaking
Faith and Peace in the Middle East
"The Holy Land is God's laboratory for working out justice and compassion, two virtues identified with Abraham," said Yehezkel Landau of the Open House Center for Jewish-Arab Coexistence in Ramle, Israel, at an April 1 workshop on Capitol Hill.
The workshop, "The Role of Faith in Promoting Peace in the Middle East," was moderated by the Institute's David Smock, director of the Religion and Peacemaking Initiative, which organized the evening with the Faith and Politics Institute. Several members of Congress and their staff attended the meeting.
The Middle East is a profoundly religious place, said Canon Andrew White, representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Middle East. Rabbi Michael Melchior, member of Israel's Knesset and chief rabbi of Norway, agreed, noting that when the peace process is identified as a "secularization process," it is rejected by the people, who look to religion for identity and direction. Mohammed Abu-Nimer of American University added that Muslims feel that their core beliefs are under attack. They need forums to convey their belief in peace and justice.
 David Smock |
A primary element of the Alexandria Declaration (which called for a religiously sanctioned cease-fire) is the end to demonization of each other, said White. It also acknowledges that the land is holy to all and has lost its sanctity through bloodshed. Abu-Nimer stressed the importance of bringing the process to the people on the ground. Dialogue must translate into economic or other concrete improvements. The Alexandria Declaration process should become a model for other regions, said Melchior. It can bring Arab and other countries together as "a model for the kind of bridge we need to build if we want to give any hope and future for humankind," added Melchior.
"We cannot have peace between nations without peace between peoples, without peace between religions," continued Melchior. White and Landau agreed that religion is deeply involved and must be part of the solution in the Holy Land. Abu-Nimer cautioned that interfaith dialogue alone cannot solve the crisis. It can reduce dehumanization of the "other" and provide gestures of hope. But the debate should not identify religion as the source of the crisis, he said. Abu-Nimer agreed with Smock, however, that the Oslo Accords failed in part because religious issues and leaders were largely excluded from the process.
Waging Peace: Religion-Based Peacemaking
      At the "Role of Faith in Promoting Peace in the Middle East" workshop on Capitol Hill, Yehezkel Landau; Mohammed Abu-Nimer; Institute president Richard Solomon; Michael Melchior; Congressman Amo Houghton (R-N.Y.); Andrew White. |
How do religion-based peacemaking efforts differ from secular efforts, especially when there is a religious component to a conflict? Muslim, Jewish, and Christian peacebuilding practitioners gathered at Washington National Cathedral on April 8 to answer this question. David Smock, director of the Institute's Religion and Peacemaking Initiative, moderated the first part of a two-day event co-sponsored by the Institute and the Washington National Cathedral.
Can a religious organization be an effective bridge-builder in situations where that religion is a divisive factor? In the end, said Boston University professor Adam Seligman, peace can come only from the parties involved. But first, religious organizations need to examine themselves and come to terms with their own demons. Marie Dennis, director of the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, added that people in religious organizations need to demonstrate integrity in how they live and behave.
What about the difficulty of establishing a balanced interfaith group when there is an imbalance of power in the outside world? Seligman responded that a truly tolerant attitude lets you live with fuzzy boundaries—the "other" is implicated in your boundaries. Ritual helps externalize new understandings.
How does "religious" peacemaking differ in process —not just in facilitation and participants—from secular peacemaking? Yehezkel Landau has lived in Jerusalem and founded the Open House Center for Jewish-Arab Coexistence in Ramle, Israel. He said that respect for sacred principles, not just human rights, sets religious peacemaking apart. World Vision's William O. Lowrey added that secular peacemaking often squeezes out spiritual aspects of people's lives. Religious symbols and rituals can be quite useful in enhancing peace processes. Seligman said that while religious discourse engages particular languages and other cultural tropes, secular peacebuilding tries to translate them into a universal formula. Religious dialogue engages with particularities of language and tries to build community from them, rather than homogenize them.
Mohammed Abu-Nimer of American University has conducted conflict resolution training workshops around the world. Secular peacebuilders have their own rituals, he said, such as "breaking bread" together. Secular peacebuilders also engage in storytelling, though the narratives may differ. Spirituality, said Abu-Nimer, is the primary difference between religious and secular peacemaking.
Can religious groups reconcile their role as advocates with their role as bridge-builders? Yes, said Dennis, if peacemaking is defined as building wholeness of life for all people. Similarly, said Abu-Nimer, most Muslim organizations pursue both justice and advocacy in their activities.
  Discussing the "Role of Faith in Promoting Peace in the Middle East" workshop on Capitol Hill, Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA), center; Faith and Politics Institute president Douglas Tanner, left, with Congressman Mel Watt (D-N.C.). |
Abraham's Children and the Imperative of Peacemaking
Washington National Cathedral provided the setting for discourse among people of the three Abrahamic faiths—Christianity, Islam, and Judaism—engaged in peacemaking and interfaith dialogue on April 10.
The Institute's Religion and Peacemaking Initiative co-organized the event, which brought together Joan Brown Campbell, director of religion at the Chautauqua Institution; Feisal Abdul Rauf, imam of Masjid al-Farah in New York City; and Marc Gopin, orthodox rabbi and visiting professor at Tufts University. Michael Wyatt, the cathedral's canon theologian and director of programs in religious education, moderated the second part of a two-day event co-sponsored by the Institute and the National Cathedral.
Each of the Abrahamic traditions holds, at its core, a vision of peace. The speakers dug into their respective traditions to uncover the shared roots of the human desire for peace. Gopin exhorted the audience to heed Psalm 34 and "seek peace, pursue it."
Campbell called for a "reunion of Abraham's children." Christianity's passion for gospel truth must never insist that the truth be imposed on others, she said. Rather, good religion unites and makes whole. "Loving our neighbor," as Matthew 22 says, is a moral issue, not a geographic one.
Rauf asked how collective interfaith efforts can create a scriptural tradition of peace among Abrahamic religions. As a Muslim and an American, he loves both his country and his faith even though they are politically at odds in these times. "This is my cross to bear," he said. The solution, he posited, is to heal the relationship between the Muslim world and the United States within a decade in order to avoid more terror. "Reversing the legacy requires a NASA-like effort," said Rauf. American Muslims must play a key role, he said by being "culturally sensitive and Islamically correct."
Gopin said he has begun to view himself as a "mechanic" of peacemaking: doing the hard, dirty work of making a bridge between people who hate each other. He advised that "mechanics must become acts of holiness." Gopin cited the Old Testament example of Aaron, Moses' brother, as the quintessential peacemaker of rabbinic tradition. Aaron was known as a man of the people, a "softie," who made peace between so many husbands and wives that children were frequently named after him.
"We've consistently failed to achieve the lamb and the lion lying down together," concluded Campbell. "If we have given the ground of scripture and ritual away to the extremists, we had best take it back."
Other Institute Resources:
Apr. 1 - The Role of Faith in Promoting Peace in the Middle East
Short event description and related Institute resourcesApr. 8 and 10 - Waging Peace: A Two-Part Discussion of Religion-Based Peacemaking
Short event description and related Institute resources
