Context:
The important role of religious leaders in shaping and supporting the peace process in Afghanistan.
In the News:
“Various respected scholars of Islam from Afghanistan and Pakistan will be meeting at a conference with Indonesian scholars in West Java later this month. They will draw on Islamic teachings and their religious authority to formulate ways to lend support to the peace process. Given the influence of religious scholars in our part of the world, such forums will go a long way in supporting the demand and desire of every Afghan for peace.”
Peace Science Insights:
Religious peacebuilding: “Peacebuilding 1) motivated and strengthened by religious and spiritual resources, and 2) with access to religious communities and institutions.” (Dubois, 2008)
- Religious actors can draw on their respected positions in society and assert their neutrality in order to build personal relationships with and influence multiple conflict parties during war and during peace negotiations.
- Religious actors can also mobilize tools/resources particular to their religious traditions—prayer, sacred texts, religious values, etc.—to persuade conflict parties and the broader public to abstain from violence and/or to participate in peacemaking and reconciliation efforts.
Reference:
- “An Unprecedented Peace Offer to the Taliban”. By Hekmat Khalil Karzai for the New York Times. March 11, 2018.
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Peace Science Digest Volume 2, Issue 1: “Examining Religious Peacebuilding in Sierra Leone”.
