Relationships between peace, politics and religion are often controversial, and sometimes problematic. Religion is a core source of identity for billions of people around the world and it is hardly surprising that sometimes it becomes involved in conflicts. At the same time, we can see religion involved not only in conflict. It is also central to conflict resolution, peace-making and peacebuilding. Religious involvement is often necessary to try to end hatred and differences, frequently central to political conflicts especially, but not only, in the Global South. Evidence shows that religious leaders and faith-based organisations can play constructive roles in helping to end violence, and in some cases, build peace via early warnings of conflict, good offices once conflict has erupted, as well as advocacy, mediation and reconciliation. The chapters of this book highlight that religion can encourage both conflict and peace, through the activities of people individually and collectively imbued with religious ideas and ideals.

Relationships between peace, politics and religion are often controversial, and sometimes problematic. Religion is a core source of identity for billions of people around the world and it is hardly surprising that sometimes it becomes involved in conflicts. At the same time, we can see religion involved not only in conflict. It is also central to conflict resolution, peace-making and peacebuilding. Religious involvement is often necessary to try to end hatred and differences, frequently central to political conflicts especially, but not only, in the Global South. Evidence shows that religious leaders and faith-based organisations can play constructive roles in helping to end violence, and in some cases, build peace via early warnings of conflict, good offices once conflict has erupted, as well as advocacy, mediation and reconciliation. The chapters of this book highlight that religion can encourage both conflict and peace, through the activities of people individually and collectively imbued with religious ideas and ideals.

Contrary to the distorted and in many places all-too prevalent view of Islam as somehow inherently or uniquely violent, there is a dazzling array of Muslim organizations and individuals that have worked for harmony and conciliation through history. The Qur'an itself, the Muslim scripture, is full of peace verses urging returning good for evil and wishing peace upon harassers, alongside the verses on just, defensive war that have so often been misinterpreted. This groundbreaking volume fills a gaping hole in the literature on global peace movements, bringing to the fore the many peace movements and peacemakers of the Muslim world. From Senegalese Sufi orders to Bosnian women's organizations to Indian Muslim freedom fighters who were allies of Mahatma Gandhi against British colonialism, it shows that history is replete with colorful personalities from the Muslim world who made a stand for peaceful methods.

The Connections Between Religion And Violence are Complex and multifaceted. From the conflicts in Middle East and the Balkans to those in Southeast Asia and beyond, religion frames and legitimates political violence. Moreover, in international relations since 9/11, religious language and metaphors have acquired a new significance. In this context the emerging consensus appears to be not only that violence is intrinsic to religion, but also that religions incite, legitimate, and intensify political violence. However, such an unambiguous indictment of religions is incomplete in that it fails both to appreciate significant counter examples and to recognize the diversity that exists within religions on the issue of violence, particularly the religious roots of pacifism and the ethics of non-violence. This collection explores aspects of this ambivalence between religion and violence. It focuses on traditions of legitimation and pacifism within the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and concludes with an examination of this ambivalence as it unfolds in each tradition's engagement with the politics of gender. "The essays in this collection suggest that the tasks of ameliorating irrational fears and encouraging the recognition of irreducible interreligious complementarity are tasks that can and should be shared by Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Moreover these traditions are replete with exemplars, both historical and contemporary, who witness to the possibilities for interreligious dialogue and understanding. For religious persons, undoubtedly, these issues are particularly challenging since they require us to confront the complexities and limitations of our own traditions while also responding to their often-radical demands. Yet in these complexities lie the possibilities for the religions to develop a greater sense of mutual understanding. since it is in these complexities that the commonalities between the religions on the matter of political violence are found."---from the Introduction

This title provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary account of the scholarship on religion, conflict, and peacebuilding. Extending that inquiry beyond its traditional parameters, the volume explores the legacies of colonialism, missionary activism, secularism, orientalism, and liberalism. While featuring case studies from diverse contexts and traditions, the volume is organised thematically.

The use of religion in inflaming the Palestinian/Israeli conflict represents one understanding of the Abrahamic traditions. Marc Goplin argues for a greater integration of the Middle East peace process with the region's religious groups.

“Real philosophy for the real world . . . if you’re interested in peace, read it.” —Ebor Challenging deeply held convictions about Judaism, Zionism, war, and peace, Alick Isaacs’s combat experience in the second Lebanon war provoked him to search for a way of reconciling the belligerence of religion with its messages of peace. In his insightful readings of the texts of Biblical prophecy and rabbinic law, Isaacs draws on the writings of Ludwig Wittgenstein, Jacques Derrida, Abraham Joshua Heschel, and Martin Buber, among others, to propose an ambitious vision of religiously inspired peace. Rejecting the notion of Jewish theology as partial to war and vengeance, this eloquent and moving work points to the ways in which Judaism can be a path to peace. A Prophetic Peace describes an educational project called Talking Peace whose aim is to bring individuals of different views together to share varying understandings of peace.