Thursday, September 8, 2011
JOINT STATEMENT ON THE ARAB SPRING
STATEMENT
We are global recipients of Tanenbaum's Peacemakers in Action Award and peacebuilders from armed conflicts across the world. Spanning different religions, beliefs and conflicts, we have profound experiences in war and reconciliation. We now stand out in unison as the Peacemakers in Action Network to tell the world – We witness the popular call for freedom in the Middle East and North Africa, and the violent opposition to it.
• We witness and are moved by the vivid longing of the people of Syria, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Egypt and Tunisia for a better and richer life and by their efforts to ensure freedom and dignity for all.
• We are profoundly saddened by the violent and cruel obstacles assembled against the people of this region in their struggle for better lives.
• We pray for the cessation of hostilities and for peace and reconciliation in the Middle East and North Africa, just as we work to end violent conflict and human suffering in each of our own communities around the world.
As the Peacemakers in Action Network, we raise our collective voice:
• To proclaim that violence is no solution and must not be used to smother popular, nonviolent calls for freedom and human dignity.
• To assert that a lasting peace and social transformation can only be achieved through dialogue, mutual understanding, and constructive cooperation.
• To remind us that freedom and dignity are sacred gifts to all of humanity. Violent oppression and torture destroy these gifts and violate the will of the Divine.
We are the Peacemakers in Action Network and we are working, hoping, praying, bearing witness to the futility of violent conflict, and calling on all others—including political and religious leaders—to uphold these universal principles.
The Peacemakers in Action Network
Hind Kabawat Jamila Afghani José “Chencho” Alas Imam Muhammad Ashafa Ricardo Esquivia Ballestas
Rev. Dr. Benny Giay Prof. Ephraim Isaac Yehezkel Landau Rev. Dr. Bill Lowrey Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge
Fr. Ivo Markovic Najiba Sirhan Rev. Canon Andrew White Pastor James Wuye
©2011 TANENBAUM / Center for Interreligious Understanding / 254 W. 31st Street, New York, NY 10001 / (212) 967-7707 / www.tanenbaum.org
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