Approaches to Jewish-Arab Interreligious Dialogue and Peacebuilding: Theory and Practice


Book Description

Religion in its most negative form has and can be the basis of conflict escalation and terror. However, religion in its more noble and elevated forms can also be a force for peacebuilding, particularly between Jews and Arabs. If the slow but steady progress toward Israel’s acceptance into Middle East continues, an interreligious dimension will clearly accompany it as the Abraham Accords demonstrates. Yet, as the region continues to evolve and new challenges emerge, new peacebuilding strategies will be required. Approaches to Jewish-Arab Interreligious Dialogue and Peacebuilding: Theory and Practice follows the genre of scholars and practitioners who have contended that the religious contribution to conflict resolution and peacebuilding has been sorely overlooked, particularly in the Middle East. This book delves into the complexities of Jewish-Arab relations by examining both the theoretical frameworks and practical initiatives that seek to bridge divides through religious dialogue. Covering topics such as the Arab-Israeli conflict, Jewish political tradition, and religious diplomacy, this book is an essential resource for academicians, scholars, practitioners in peacebuilding, policymakers, government officials, religious leaders and communities, students and educators, and more.




Interfaith Dialogue and Peacebuilding


Book Description

As the Christian, Muslim, and Jewish contributors to this volume have discovered firsthand, religion is better at fostering peace than at fueling war. Rarely, conclude the authors, is religion the principal cause of international conflict, even though some adversaries may argue differently. But religion can often be invaluable in promoting understanding and reconciliation-and the need to exploit that potential has never been greater. Drawing on their extensive experience in organizing interaction and cooperation across religious boundaries in the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, Northern Ireland, and the Balkans, the contributors explore the formidable potential of interfaith dialogue. The first part of the volume analyzes the concept and its varied application; the second focuses on its practice in specific zones of conflict; and the third assesses the experiences and approaches of particular organizations. When organized creatively, interfaith dialogue can nurture deep engagement at all levels of the religious hierarchy, including the community level. It draws strength from the peacemaking traditions shared by many faiths and from the power of religious ritual and symbolism. Yet, as the authors also make plain, it also has its limitations and carries great risks.




Approaches to Jewish-Arab Interreligious Dialogue and Peacebuilding


Book Description

This publication presents a wide compendium of approaches to Jewish-Arab dialogue and conflict resolution from an interdisciplinary perspective based on political science, social psychology and cultural studies, integrating both theory and practice. It combines both qualitative analysis with quantitative empirical results based on case studies. It appeals to both researchers and practitioners. It promises to offer a treatment of innovative and timely themes such as religious diplomacy, interreligious dialogue and relationship building in Israeli mixed cities and the place of both idealism and realism or both power and dialogue in the advancement of inter-religious approaches to dialogue and cooperation between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East. The book also includes a focus on conflict resolution strategies rooted in the Jewish Political Tradition which is relevant to the larger discussion of religion, dialogue and conflict resolution.




Healing the Holy Land


Book Description

Foreword / David Smock -- Introduction -- Religion : a blessing or a curse? -- After the collapse of Oslo -- The Alexandria Summit and its aftermath -- Grassroots interreligious dialogues -- Educating the educators -- Other Muslim voices for interreligious peacebuilding -- Symbolic ritual as a mode of peacemaking -- Active solidarity : rabbis for human rights -- From personal grief to collective compassion -- Journeys of personal transformation -- Practical recommendations -- Appendices.




Promoting Global Peace and Civic Engagement through Education


Book Description

It is easy to see that the world finds itself too often in tumultuous situations with catastrophic results. An adequate education can instill holistic knowledge, empathy, and the skills necessary for promoting an international coalition of peaceful nations. Promoting Global Peace and Civic Engagement through Education outlines the pedagogical practices necessary to inspire the next generation of peace-bringers by addressing strategies to include topics from human rights and environmental sustainability, to social justice and disarmament in a comprehensive method. Providing perspectives on how to live in a multi-cultural, multi-racial, and multi-religious society, this book is a critical reference source for educators, students of education, government officials, and administration who hope to make a positive change.




Evaluating Interreligious Peacebuilding and Dialogue


Book Description

In the emerging fields of religious and interreligious peacebuilding, the question of monitoring and evaluation is a challenging, yet necessary process. The need to develop comprehensive yet fitting evaluation models for religious and interreligious peacebuilding is not only important for donor interests, but also critical as a means of documenting and learning for peacebuilders themselves. Theories and best practices in monitoring and evaluation have become prevalent in many fields, yet the amount of literature on evaluating intercultural and, especially, religious and interreligious projects remains scant in comparison. This volume offers a unique contribution that not only looks at several of the challenges and implications faced by religious and interreligious peacebuilders but also provides concrete examples of new models and tools for monitoring and evaluating religious and interreligious peacebuilding projects. In doing so, this volume serves as a tool and point of reference for individuals and organizations developing and implementing interreligious dialogue and peacebuilding projects.




Religion and Theology: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice


Book Description

Religion is considered by many to be something of the past, but it has a lasting hold in society and influences people across many cultures. This integration of spirituality causes numerous impacts across various aspects of modern life. The variety of religious institutions in modern society necessitates a focus on diversity and inclusiveness in the interactions between organizations of different religions, cultures, and viewpoints. Religion and Theology: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice examines the cultural, sociological, economic, and philosophical effects of religion on modern society and human behavior. It also explores the impact of gender identity and race within religious-based institutions and organizations. Highlighting a range of topics such as religious traditionalism, spirituality, and comparative religion, this publication is an ideal reference source for theologists, religious officials, managers, government officials, theoreticians, practitioners, researchers, policymakers, advanced-level students, and sociologists.







Intercultural and Interfaith Dialogues for Global Peacebuilding and Stability


Book Description

Communication is vital to the prosperity and survival of the community, with the quality of communication amongst its members directly improving or worsening the value of the community. However, with the increase in immigration and relocation of refugees, the need to accommodate diverse cultural groups becomes imperative for the viability and survivability of a community while posing challenges to communication. Intercultural and interfaith dialogue can be used constructively to cultivate, manage, and sustain diversity and wellbeing in particularly deeply divided communities. Intercultural and Interfaith Dialogues for Global Peacebuilding and Stability is a critical research publication that explores the importance of conflict resolution strategies among populations that include a varied amalgamation of cultural and religious backgrounds. With the increasing emphasis on intercultural understanding promoted by governments, civil societies, and international mediators, this book offers relevant remedies for major afflictions in the world today, such as exclusion, marginalization, xenophobia, and racism. It is ideal for government officials, policymakers, activists, diplomats, lawyers, international trade and commerce agencies, religious institutions, academicians, researchers, and students working in a variety of disciplines including political science, international relations, law, communication, sociology, and cultural studies.




Unity in Diversity


Book Description

The authors discuss the intricate relationships between interfaith activities and religious identity, nationalism, violence, and peacemaking in four very different settings: Israel/Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan. They interview the whole cross-section of local Interfaith Dialogue workers: not only clerics and "dialoguing" professionals but also laypersons, who are often more eloquent than any scholar at expressing the realities, hopes, and frustrations of Interfaith Dialogue within their home countries. They take on the perennial dilemma faced by Interfaith Dialogue proponents: avoid politics and risk irrelevance, or take up the political questions and risk "politicizing" the dialogue, with all the disruptive effects this implies. Above all, this important book demonstrates the desire for interfaith dialogue in these polarized societies, and the extent to which, against strong odds, religious communities are connecting with each other. (Back cover).