Customer Reviews

Interfaith Dialogue and Peacebuilding

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The articles by Abu-Nimer and Marc Gopin rich are rich in wisdom and scholarship. Especially Abu-Nimers attention to the power issue was something new and well discussed. Abu-Nimer here really has opened my eyes to issues, I was not aware of before. Gopin's "shared study" is something, I think is definitely something valuable for especially interfaith dialogue groups which try to involve conservative faith groups. I also found Joseph Liechty's description of the peacebuilding process in Northern Ireland really insightful. He explains how he experienced that truth claims made conflict resolution very difficult and shows how he found a way forward in Northern Ireland.
Overall, the book is a mixed bag and the quality of the articles vary greatly. But the book is just worth buying for Abu-Nimer's, Marc Gopin's and Joseph Liechty's contributions in chapter one, two and six. However, you might find some aspects in the other articles helpful that I didn't value. Peacebuilding and interfaith dialogue are very situational and so my review has to be taken with a grain of salt.

Capably edited by David R. Smock (Director of the Religion and Peacemaking Initiative, University States Institute of Peace), Interfaith Dialogue And Peacebuilding is an informative, insightful anthology of essays by learned Christian, Muslim, and Jewish contributors on and about the power of religion in bringing peace to troubled nations and troubled communities. Rarely, say the contributors, is religion the direct cause of open armed conflict. More often it is the forces of politics, economics, and oppression seeking a cloak of legitimacy coopting religion that is at the basis of violence as one group seeks to subjugate or resist another. Analyzing the power of the using religion as a bridge to peace between different cultures, Interfaith Dialogue And Peacebuilding contains a meaningful message of hope, strength, and love.