scholarly journals Prophet Muhammad's Model of Interreligious Dialogue Based on Research on the Letter to the Christians

2019 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheikh Taher Amini Golestani

Violence and extremism are of the most important topics in current research on religion and interreligious studies. The New World Order and the global peace, justice, and ethics cannot be understood without accounting for the role of religion and religious organizations and among the topics dealing with religion is the matter of violence done by the excuse of religion’s orders. There is increasing research looking at and beyond religious causes of violence, as well as a hope that religion could offer genuinely effective tools to control violence. The question of control of violence is discussed in relation to the spheres of ethics (regulation of effect), theology (the legitimacy of violence), and government (integration via religion). It is shown not only that religion offers possibilities for controlling violence, but also that control of violence via religion. To offer the best example of peaceful negotiations among Muslims and Christian, this article emphasizes on one of the important Islamic proofs narrated from Prophet Muhammad (S), called »The promise of Muhammad to the Christians till the end of the World« and the impact of interreligious and intercultural role on peace and conflict resolution, as well as the role of global ethics. This letter, per se, and its content which is of numerous key points for strengthening the ties between Christians and Muslims, is not only have been accepted and well documented both among Shi’a and Sunnites but also is widely quoted and referred to in Christian sources. Surely considering this letter, is an invalidating point on the extremist crimes committed in the name of Islam.

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-156
Author(s):  
Zahra Seif-Amirhosseini

In honor of World Day of Social Justice, on February 24, 2014, Shia RightsWatch and American University held the first-ever conference devoted to presentingnew paradigms for exploring how the rights of the minority Shia Muslimcommunity can be protected against such entrenched realities assubordination, injustice, violence, discrimination, and marginalization. Socialscientists define minority as a culturally, ethnically, religiously, or racially distinctgroup that coexists with, but is subordinate to, a more dominant group.This subordinancy, the chief defining characteristic of any minority, has nothingto do with numbers, a fact perhaps most vividly illustrated by South Africaunder apartheid (c. 1950-91).The conference, held at American University, was cosponsored by theMohammed Said Farsi Chair of Islamic Peace. Well-known and high caliberpolicymakers, professors, and researchers shared their findings in order tooffer solutions designed to foster peace, tolerance, and religious freedom forthis group and the regions in which they reside.In his capacity as the first occupant of the endowed Mohammed SaidFarsi Chair of Islamic Peace as well as the founder of the university-wideCenter for Global Peace, Abdul Aziz Said (School of International Service,American University) welcomed everyone. He remarked that peace is farmore than the absence of war, that it is, in fact, inclusive of social justice, ecologicalsustainability, sustainable economics, and cultural diversity (peace asthe absence of structural violence). Thus, conflict resolution is one of the buildingblocks of peace. Given that the ends we seek and the means that we employin the study of peace and conflict resolution are interconnected, teachingthese two fields must be based on a pedagogy that is itself peace and notmerely a process of certification. He argued that education about peace andconflict resolution and education for peace and conflict resolution are twosides of the same coin. Peace and conflict resolution education combine informationwith liberation and procedure with transformation. He concluded ...


2018 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 305-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shabir Hussain ◽  
Syed Abdul Siraj

This study offers a quantitative analysis of the coverage of Taliban conflict in the four leading newspapers of Pakistan and Afghanistan through the perspective of war and peace journalism—developed by Johan Galtung and adopted by many scholars. Consistent with the existing literature, the researcher found that both the English and vernacular press in the two countries predominantly reported the Taliban conflict through war journalism framing. The local press was equally escalatory while reporting on the conflict. The press in the two countries showed remarkable differences in the war journalism framing but applied similar thematic strategies of peace journalism. The study advocates an academic juncture between political communication and peace journalism scholarship to identify the issues that influence media content during conflict times for better understanding of the potential role of media in peace and conflict resolution.


2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 260-294
Author(s):  
Wendy Kennett

AbstractThe recent decision of the United Kingdom Supreme Court in Regina (Hodkin and another) v Registrar General for Births, Deaths and Marriages concerned the registration of the premises belonging to the Church of Scientology in London as a place of worship, specifically for the purpose of enabling a marriage to take place there which would be valid in law. This article examines the continuing significance of a registered place of worship in the English law rules on formalities of marriage. It provides a brief history of the role of religion in the solemnization of marriages in England and Wales, and the emergence of the “place of worship” as a constituent element in the celebration of a valid marriage. The role of marriage at a registered place of worship in the current legislation governing the formalities of marriage is considered, along with the impact on that scheme of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. The exceptional character of the approach adopted by English law is highlighted by a comparative survey of laws on the solemnization of marriages, which also demonstrates some of the problems arising out of alternative solutions. Finally, recent attempts to reform the law are noted, followed by some concluding remarks on possible future developments.


Author(s):  
Christopher Clapham

The peculiar politics of the Horn of Africa derives from the region’s exceptional pattern of state formation. At its center, Ethiopia was Africa’s sole indigenous state to remain independent through the period of colonial conquest, and also imposed its rule on areas not historically subject to it. The Somalis, most numerous of the pastoralist peoples, were unique in rejecting the colonial partition, which divided them between British and Italian Somalilands, French Djibouti, Kenya, and Ethiopia, while formerly Italian Eritrea, incorporated into Ethiopia in the post-World War II settlement, retained a sense of separate identity that fueled a long struggle for independence. These differences, coupled with the 1974 revolution in Ethiopia, led to wars that culminated in 1991 in the independence of Eritrea, the collapse of the Somali state, and the creation in Ethiopia of a federal system based on ethnicity. Developments since that time provide a distinctive slant on the legacies of colonial rule, the impact of guerrilla warfare, the role of religion in a region divided between Christianity and Islam, the management of ethnicity, and external intervention geared to largely futile attempts at state reconstruction. The Horn continues to follow trajectories of its own, at variance from the rest of Africa.


Author(s):  
David Pickernell ◽  
Gary Packham ◽  
Brychan Thomas ◽  
Robyn Keast

There is a clear research issue for Wales regarding the roles and interactions of government policy, HEIs, SMEs and the creation and dissemination of innovation. A study of the views of key policy makers concerning innovation and entrepreneurship in Wales is undertaken, especially with regard to the development of innovation within SMEs and the policy implications for economic regeneration. The role of a variety of actors (including users and suppliers) is considered, as is the impact of networks of SMEs linked together in patterns of cooperation and affiliation. From the results and the analysis of interviews, key points of significance to innovation, entrepreneurship, higher education and economic regeneration policy making in Wales are reported.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 24-43
Author(s):  
Anastasia Mgaloblishvili

AbstractThe aim of this article is to examine the impact religion has had on the post-Soviet economic development of Georgia and Estonia. The role of religion in economic development has been neglected in the field of social sciences, in which political and economic theories dominate. Considering the difference in the religiosity of the two countries—Georgia is one of the most religious countries in Europe while Estonia is the most atheist—religion will be incorporated as a factor that could have directly or indirectly impacted the post-Soviet development of the two countries. By studying the relationship of the church and the state in the two countries and the population’s economic attitudes that may have been influenced by their religiosity, this paper will conclude that religion can be considered a contributing factor in the economic divergence between Estonia and Georgia. The article’s overall findings will suggest that the practice of Eastern Orthodoxy in Georgia impedes the development of good governance and a free market economy, whereas the opposite holds for Protestantism or atheism in Estonia.


2019 ◽  
pp. 82-88
Author(s):  
Eimuhi J. O.

This paper looked at leadership and education for national security: the role of educational management. This paper posits that leadership and education are vital tools to maintaining national security in Nigeria. The challenges to national security in Nigeria ranges from Boko Haram insurgency, Fulani herdsmen killings, kidnapping and adoption of school children, ethnic and tribal crises, among others. It was suggested that for maintenance of peace and security in the country, the educational managers must ensure that core subject areas in the school curricula are emphasized such as civic education, social studies and peace and conflict resolution studies as well as entrepreneurship and vocational subjects for self employment. The government on her part must ensure that unemployment rate is reduced.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 607-614
Author(s):  
Getahun Kumie Antigegn

Religious violence has become increasingly relevant in political and academic discourses. Because of the revival of religions, the contemporary world cannot be understood without accounting for the role of religion and religious organizations in peace and conflict, including the case of Ethiopia. The purpose of this article is to examine the role of religion in peace and conflict in the post 1991 of Ethiopia. Methodologically, the paper employed qualitative research approach by relying on secondary sources of data. The findings of the research revealed that Ethiopia has many positive assets that have to be exploited fully and critically including the role of the Inter-Religious Council. The religious policies of the present Ethiopian government are remarkably different from any of the previous ones with regard to the measure of religious freedom they provide. Paradoxically, one may wonder why is it at this time, where religious freedom and equality of religion are guaranteed, we are witnessing increased tensions and violent religious conflicts in contemporary Ethiopia. Inter-religious relations in Ethiopia have been peaceful and tolerant for long period. However, the rise of inter-religious conflicts in recent decades is taking place. Generally, in contemporary Ethiopia religion is used both as an instrument for producing conflict in certain circumstances and as a powerful resource for peace and transformation of conflict in the society. On the whole, identifying the role of religion in conflict is a very complex task to accomplish, as there are multiple variables to be well-thought-out.


Author(s):  
Karine Khojayan

The article analyses possible scenarios of global world order followed by the outbreak of COVID-19. It assesses to what extend the pandemic will impact the process of transformation of the system of international relations and discusses possible scenario of the global politics for post-COVID period. The article suggests that the expected outcome of the pandemic will be bi-polar world order, which will much differ from the system of the International Relations of Cold War period. The impact of COVID-19 on ongoing processes will be tangible. In the meanwhile, bearing in mind emerging neorealistic tendencies, enhancing role of states as pivotal actors of international system and current level of global inter-dependence, the international relations cannot return to the epoch where political realism had dominant position in global affairs. The article concludes that the pandemic will not drastically change the international order, but it will decently accelerate international processes, started years ago.


Author(s):  
Gülay Türkmen

Out of the 111 armed conflicts that took place worldwide between 1989 and 2000, only seven were interstate conflicts. The others were intrastate in nature. As a result, the last decade and a half witnessed a boom in the publication of works on civil wars. While the percentage of civil wars involving religion increased from 21% to 43% between the 1960s and 1990s, scholars have been rather slow to integrate the study of religion into the overall framework of conflict in general, and of civil wars in particular. Operating under the impact of the secularization thesis and treating religion as an aspect of ethnicity, the literature on civil wars has long embraced ethnonationalism as its subject matter. Yet, since the early 2000s there has been a rapid increase in the number of works focusing on religion and civil wars. While one branch treats religion as a trigger for and an exacerbating factor in conflict, another focuses on religion as a conflict resolution tool. Turkey is an apt case to ponder the latter as several governments have deployed religion (namely, Sunni Islam) as a tool to suppress ethnic divisions for years. During the Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule, religion has gained even more visibility as a conflict resolution tool in the 33-year-long armed ethnic conflict between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). Yet, the role of religion in Turkey’s Kurdish conflict still remains understudied. Increased attention to this topic could deliver important insights not only for those who conduct research on the Kurdish conflict in Turkey specifically, but also for those who explore the role of religion in civil wars more generally.


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