News & Events

Internationalizing Peacemakers’ Work

Tanenbaum’s Peacemakers in Action continue to build the case that religiously-motivated individuals play a necessary role in resolving conflicts around the world, and are increasingly called on to bring their expertise to the world’s emerging conflicts. Take for example, Pastor James Wuye and Imam Muhammad Ashafa, a Christian/Muslim team of Peacemakers recognized by Tanenbaum in 2000 for their conflict prevention, mitigation, and mediation work between Muslims and Christians in Nigeria. Since that time, the two have become sought-after mediators, trainers, and speakers around the world, and have taken their interfaith conflict resolution work to the Sudan and Kenya.

As inflammatory rhetoric and clashes between Christians and Muslims in Egypt escalate, the work of these two Peacemakers and their Interfaith Mediation Centre are seen as a potential palliative. Recognizing this, The Center for Intercultural Dialogue and Translation (CIDT) has called on the Pastor and the Imam to lead workshops on conflict analysis, conflict mapping, and early response systems in Egypt.

Tanenbaum is glad to see that others in the world are beginning to recognize the ability of religiously-motivated individuals to stem conflict and violence. We wish Imam Ashafa and Pastor James the best of luck in this new and important endeavor.