URI MENA 13th Annual Assembly
Justice & Peace in Religious Traditions - Refugees' Rights
Amman, 26 – 28 November 2015
Imperial palace Hotel, Amman
Assembly's Theme:
Achieving world peace is a distinctive feature of all religions; all of the sacred texts of world's religions call for justice and peace for humanity. Justice and peace jointly concern everyone on this earth; they cannot be limited to one group, one people, or followers of one religion. Also, we cannot have a comprehensive and lasting peace without justice. Therefore, we choose to shed Light on "Justice and Peace in Religious Traditions" in our 14th Assembly, where we will capitalize on our shared wisdoms and experiences as well as engaging the religious leaders and communities for our common efforts toward justice and peace. Also, we included refugees’ rights in light of the growing number of refugees in our region. We felt the necessity of promoting refugee rights from a religious perspective.
Assembly’s Goals:
- Highlight the teachings in sacred texts that provide guidelines to contribute to World Peace. Examples: respect the differences, human rights, compassion, justice, love, tolerance, solidarity.
- Exchange experiences, share best practices and generate ideas to combat injustice and violence.
- Building bridges between people from different religious backgrounds through discussing the role of different religions in promoting justice and peace.
- Develop cross CCs initiatives/ actions that promote justice and peace at grassroots levels.
- Enhance the cooperation among URI CCs in MENA.
- Highlight the importance of religions as a unifying factor that encourages people to respect each other and live in peace and harmony.
Methodology
The conference addressed some topics that are difficult to take in without innovative methodologies considering the fairly heavy program in terms of workload and content in two full days. Therefore, we used interactive and time-efficient methodologies including:
Plenary Sessions: Each panel opens with a plenary session in which an expert on the topic gave a presentation relevant to the theme of the panel. Each presentation was around 30-45 minutes long and there was an opportunities for questions from the floor after all presentations. The time for questions will vary, but generally, we gave around 15 minutes in each panel. However, there were many chances to ask the speakers specific questions during free times and Open Café sessions.
Brainstorming techniques: This creative ideas generation technique was used by several speakers to find a conclusion/ solution, or to reach an understanding for targeted challenges by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its member. This technique was used to stimulate idea generation, reduce social inhibitions among participants, increase overall creativity of the group by focusing on quantity of ideas based on the assumption is that the more ideas generated, the greater the chance of producing a radical and effective solution. We stressed that criticism and judgment should be put 'on hold', to enable participants to freely generate unusual ideas. Then we combined and improved ideas to arrive at the best solution for the challenges.
Open space methodology “World Café”: This methodology was used to provide participants with a relaxing environment that enables open and creative conversations on a topic of their interest. Participants enjoyed surfacing their collective knowledge, sharing ideas and insights, and gaining a deeper understanding of the subject and the issues of their interest.
About the Participants:
The assembly was attended by 53 participants (including the MENA leadership team) representing 34 CCs from 11 countries. MENA Team comprised (7) members; MENA 3 Trustee, the URI Regional Coordinator in MENA, the Office Manager, the URI Women Initiative Coordinator and the Legal representative.
Main sessions/activities:
First day:
After participant settled down and had their dinner, the official opening started by prayers from different religious traditions, then we discussed conference program in details. Afterward, the participants were engaged in a number of activities that had helped in breaking the ice, knowing about each other, and sharing personal stories and experiences.
Second day:
Official Opening - MENA Leadership Team
The official opening was conducted by the regional coordinator, the MENA Leadership Team and MENA Staff, highlighting the conference theme and how to enhance the outcome of the assembly.
URI MENA Trustee Selection Process- Tareq Tamimi, URI Global Council Vice Chair
This informational session aimed at providing a brief about what it is expected from a trustee under URI governance structure. Tareq gave examples from his 7 years of service as a trustee including his service as Vice Chair for more than 3 years.
Justice and peace in Bahai tradition, Niaz Rohani - Naya CC, Jordan.
Unity is the foundation of Peace
- "In every Dispensation the light of divine Guidance has been focused upon one central theme. In this wondrous revelation, the foundation of the Faith of God, and the distinguishing feature of His Law is the consciousness of the oneness of mankind.”
- The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established. (Baha’u’llah)
- You are all the leaves of one tree and the drops of one ocean.(Bahaullah)
- Love the whole world. The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.
- World peace is inevitable:
- World peace is not only possible but inevitable. It is the next stage in the evolution of this planet.
- "Religion is the greatest of all means for the establishment of order in the world and for the peaceful contentment of all that dwell therein."(Baha’u’llah)
- If the human race is to meet the challenge of establishing world peace, the spiritual energy latent in each and every one of us must be released and directed to this noble task. Religion can provide the vision and unleash the spiritual energy necessary to guide humanity…
- Human prosperity:
- For the material and spiritual dimensions of civilization to advance in harmony, the very notion of prosperity needs to be re-examined.
- To contribute to the advancement of material and spiritual civilization, material means need to be used for far higher purposes: to foster unity, to uplift and edify the life of society, and to facilitate access to knowledge for all people, to name but a few.
- Justice:
- No light can compare with the light of justice. The establishment of order in the world and the tranquility of the nations depend upon it. (Baha’u’llah)
- Justice is not limited, it is a universal quality. Its operation must be carried out in all classes, from the highest to the lowest. Justice must be sacred, and the rights of all the people must be considered. Desire for others only that which you desire for yourselves.
- Capacity building:
- A pivotal concept in the Bahai teachings is that the refinement of one’s inner character and service to humanity are inseparable facets of life.
- Capacity building aims at enabling the protagonists of collective effort to strengthen the spiritual foundations of villages and neighborhoods, to address certain of their social and economic needs, and to contribute to the discourses prevalent in society…
- Capacity Building is crucial to eradicating poverty: initiatives to address poverty should give attention to strengthening the moral, ethical and spiritual capacities of individuals and communities.
- Capacity building activities:
- Devotional gatherings:
Prayer and reflection upon sacred scriptures are at the heart of such gatherings, and music and poetry may be incorporated as well.
Study circles:
The purpose of Baha’i study circles is to provide participants with the knowledge, spiritual insights and skills to enable them to “walk a path of service” for humanity. This is done through the study of a sequence of courses.
Children classes:
“Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom”.
The aim of children classes is to nurture spiritually vibrant and healthy young people who will grow up without prejudice and with a positive, powerful sense that they are important to God and have a role to play in serving humanity.
The classes intend to develop virtues latent within children such as love, courtesy, generosity and fairness so that the children can grow to contribute positively to the happiness of their family and society as a whole.
Junior Youth program:
The objective of the junior youth groups are the empowerment of participants through the development of spiritual perception, the enhancement of their power of expression, and the building of a sound moral structure. The program molds the capacities of all the junior youth for service to humanity, releasing their energies for a purposeful and constructive life.
Juma’ah Prayer (Prayer will be at a near Mosque)
Muslims from many participating CCs from many countries had prayed Juma’ah Prayer.
Justice and peace in Jewish tradition, Shlomo Alon - Arabic Speaking CC
I was privileged to come back two days ago from a big international conference assembled in Denver, USA, exploring the state of mind of the middle eastern and north African studies, in all aspects of research in the field during the 4 days of meetings, lectures and panels we heard again and again expressions about justice, rights, peace, freedom of academic research and the situation of refugees in our region and around the globe. About almost one thousand researchers and writers participated from more than 50 countries, covering all aspects of updated research. This conference didn’t discuss religion and religious freedom, but the term 'religion' was mentioned frequently, as much as the terms 'rights 'freedom, violence and equality'. The Arabic language had a dominant part in the conference.so what is the relevance of this international gathering to our meeting here in Amman today and tomorrow, our meeting here is an alternative way to discuss the issues of peace, justice and refugees rights from the interfaith aspect and not from the scientific angle. Justice towards the 'other' and peace have a major part in the holy bible and the Jewish prayers. Peace is dominant in the Jewish prayers. Peace means in our religious resources meeting the other, honoring him and sharing with the other our hopes and fears, as we are all created by the almighty. We, Muslims, Christians and Jews have the same g-od, the only one. we all are children of fathers and mothers who hopes and prayed for their children to be successful in our life. What is the meaning of justice?d o we mean social justice, legal? Is it possible to achieve full equality between human beings? we all studied the theory of albert Einstein about telativism .And what about the meaning of refuge? is it always connected with injustice? Are we, human beings, responsible for nature disasters? Earth quakes? Floods? The element of the refuge is dominant in the saga of the Israelites leaving Egypt after more than 400 years of exile. this the motive of the Jewish Passover, and the responsibility of every father in every generation to teach his children the lesson of exile and the value of freedom-freedom in all dimensions, freedom of thinking and expression, freedom to work and to study and the importance of equality. Politics and politicians can be very negative and destructive. The bible orders us to give rights to those who lack them. Peace between human beings, between neighbors. As king solomon said:' there is time for war and time for peace'. We must engage, since the alternative is always 'separation'.
Justice and peace in Christianity – Dr Ghazi Musharbash, Mercy CC, Jordan
Dr. Ghazi gave a presentation about Justice and peace in Christianity and the importance of it.
Justice and peace in Islamic tradition – Dr. Ahmad Al-Shounaq, Jordan
A lot of participants enjoyed the lecture that was delivered by Dr. Ahmad Al-Shounaq about Justice and peace in Islam.
Islam considers human life as a one unity because all of the human beings are from one origin.
Islam decides that all people out of one, because they have made nations and tribes to communicate and collaborate, no difference between sex, color or believes, and thus eliminates the causes all disputes and conflicts. Peace in Islam, is a peace with the whole of existence with all existing, peace shade of human life throughout the generations to achieve the very human existence. Human dignity, the essence of the doctrine of Islam.
Peace according to the divine approach in the Islamic faith such as the value and humanitarian graduate, God made it very human life to launch human potential and achieve the earth architecture, Peace is a humanitarian goal, not a national or nationalist, or to particular people or a nation.
Islam sanctifies peace and implementation of legislation and doctrine. Peace in Islam is the permanent Rule and the war are the exception.
Islam forbids and prohibits religious wars and respects the freedom of belief for all people. And Islam prohibits and prevents wars of occupation and the expulsion of people from their homes, fighting in Islam is to deter aggression.
Peace in Islam based on justice and giving the rights. Islam not only protect the refugee's rights but also protects the rights of any group of people or minorities that lives in any Islamic country. The absence of peace and the absence of justice in our region will keep the instability in this wide world deferral and a source of threat to peace and global security.
The absence of peace and the absence of justice in our region will keep the instability in this world and a source of threat to peace and global security.
I hope that everyone in this region and the world does not stop at this case experienced by the peoples of this region.
URI Women’s Initiative - Nour Arori + Elana Rozenman
Nour gave a presentation about her project of empowering women economically, under URI Women’s Initiative. Elana, introduced WIN MENA CC as a regional CC dedicated to empower women and encouraged female members of URI MENA family to join.
The Link Between Network Society Theory and Refugee Rights - Sherif Rizk, Egypt
Prayers for Peace from the World's Religious Traditions
CCs' presentations
Each CC introduced itself and presented its work, highlighting its main achievements.
Free evening/ Cultural night
Participants brought traditional food & sweets, wear tradition cloths, and shared traditional music, films.
Third day:
Express your inner feelings workshop, Hanan Mosallam- Egypt
It was an active workshop, where the participants expressed their inner feelings and shared what they did.
Introduction to URI Global Council Trustees Selection Process- Mamoun Khreisat, MENA RC
Situation of displaced peoples and refugees in Iraq, Dr. Nassr Mohammed Ali- Ur for Interfaith Dialogue & Peacemaking -Iraq
The presentation highlighted The Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Situations of Wars and Conflicts in human international law and the provisions of conventions that deals with right of forcibly displaced persons and refugees .Iraq has been joint to convention which protect the rights of IDPs in international conflict only (forth Geneva convention 1949 and additional protocol 1977 ) but Iraq could not join to additional protocol to fourth conventions of Geneva ,which related with protection of refugees in non-international conflict ,like the conflict happened in Iraq with ISIS terrorists. While the second part concern with the IDPs in Iraq; their number, needs, distribution in Iraq ….. etc we can summarized as a follow"
3,103,914 IDPs Identified in Over 3,300 Locations, about 13,000 IDP Groups
Finally, the last part deals with the situation and future of religious minorities in Iraq:
- The Christians: (more than half of them leave the country)
- Mandaean: nearly 90% immigrated outside Iraq
- Yazidis: suffered from genocide committed ISIS terrorists after 2014
Generally the religious minorities in Iraq confront terrible situation. If the crisis continue, it will finish any existence to minorities in Iraq.
Open Café session to offer a space for those who have something to share/ present
Participants chose between the following 5 tables:
- Bahai faith
- URI Trustee selection process
- The role of social Media in social development.
- Inner Peace
- Women in URI MENA
Can Arab Peace Initiative (API) contribute to achieving just and lasting peace in the Middle East amid the changing regional and global dynamics- Social leaders prospective?
The participants shared their views on how we can end Arab Israeli conflict based on API. The Israelis concerns were related to security and Arab concerns that Israel is not ready or willing to compromise anything based on west nations handsome support.
CCs' contributions:
The following presented by CCs' representatives:
- United Religions Initiative – Visions for Peace among the Religions, Elana Rozenman TRUST WIN CC-Israel.
- Training in how achieve Justice, Ahmad Hadi El Joubali, Lebanese Interfaith Initiative CC, Lebanon.
- Palestinian Christians facts and percentage in Bethlehem & Palestine, and how the church in involved in social justice and a biblical respond – Daniel Aqleh, Volunteering for Peace CC- Palestine.
Open discussion session with MENA Leadership Team
Participants were invited to ask questions about URI MENA and share their ideas about how to improve URI MENA.
Evaluation and closing ceremony.
Feedback was received from participants through the evaluation forms and verbally. Certificates were distributed to participants by Leadership team.
