Afghanistan

The Project for Islamic Cooperation for a Peaceful Future in Afghanistan

Professor Mustafa Cagrici (the Great Mufti of Istanbul) and Ms. Nazife Sisman (prominent Turkish writer)

In partnership with the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution (CRDC) at George Mason University, WORDE is a co-sponsor of the “The Project for Islamic Cooperation for a Peaceful Future in Afghanistan.” This project seeks to network religious scholars from Afghanistan and Muslim leaders from around the world to strengthen the potential for religious leaders to pave Afghanistan’s peaceful future.

Although there are many Afghan clerics who are promoting peace and justice at the grassroots level, decades of internal conflicts and wars have isolated these scholars from international ulema. As a result, Afghan clerics and community leaders lack support and guidance to create effective national strategies to counter Talibanization.

In the initial 2011 conference in Istanbul, over 80 scholars from Afghanistan met with scholars from Saudi Arabia, Bosnia, Turkey, Pakistan, Sudan and Indonesia. Following the conference, a continuous means of access and communication was established whereby the Afghans could seek ongoing guidance from international mainstream Muslim communities to promote moderation, tolerance, peace and inter-ethnic cooperation.

The recent 2012 conference in Kabul networked over 200 Afghan community leaders, civil society activists and religious scholars with international Muslim scholars. Topics included protecting human rights, and Islamic concepts of peacebuilding, forgiveness and conflict resolution.

WORDE President Mirahmadi

Excerpts from the 2011 Conference

References for Peacemaking and Reconciliation in the Quran and Hadith

Islamic ideals taken from both the Quran and the Hadith, such as, for example, in Surah Hujurat (49:10).
“The believers are nothing else than brothers. So make reconciliation between your brothers, and fear Allah, that you may receive mercy.”

And, as another example, Sahih Hadith:
“The believers, in their mutual mercy, love and compassion, are like a (single) body; if one part of it feels pain, the rest of the body will join it in staying awake and suffering fever.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari).

The Quranic verse and the Hadith highlight the importance of global Muslim engagement, especially in areas where people suffer, and we honor this as a profound foundation for the future of Afghanistan that your scholarship, wisdom and experience directly enhance.  As Afghanistan is striving toward peace and stability, the Imams and their communities need and deserve the relationship and the support of the global Muslim community through leaders such as you.  The Project will facilitate opportunities for this engagement to happen over a two-year period inside Afghanistan, with impact well beyond two years…

Important Project Themes

Fundamentals for establishing Islamic dialogue in support of social movement for peace:
•    Key principles in Islamic peacemaking and ways to apply them within a social reality.
•    Key methods and challenges and for establishing practical discourse among Islamic scholars on peace and non-violence.
•    Diversity, tolerance and acceptance in Islamic peacemaking.

The protection of Human Dignity in Islamic Peacemaking:
•    Islamic perspective on the protection of Human Dignity during political and social crisis.
•    Ethnics and values of Islamic peacemaking at individual, family and community levels.
•    Islamic peacemaking role in improving human condition (development e.g. progress).

International Islamic Dialogue for Peace:
•    The role of Ulema and civil society in the global movement for peace.
•    Islamic teachings in promoting non-violence in preserving human dignity at family and public arenas.
•    Afghanistan’s Islamic cultural heritage in support of peace process and discourse in Afghanistan.
•    Learning from the experience of other countries in peacemaking and peace building.
•    Using Islamic scholars and thinkers work on peacemaking and establishing peace discourse.