Peace in Islam, Islam in Peace

On March 16–18, 2017, the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Michigan held the inaugural conference for its initiative on Islamic Peace Studies. Sessions were held at the Ann Arbor campus and also at the Arab-American Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. The three-day conference brought together scholars and community members together to share ideas and discussions around the field of Islam and peace, addressing topics such as the centrality of conflict resolution in the tradition, the roles and identities of Muslim women, and scripture and theology.

Funded by the International Institute Enterprise Fund, the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Michigan initiated the Islamic Peace Studies Initiative that will promote academic research on the subject, as well as the professionalization and recognition of the subfield. Peace studies as an academic field has become well-established in academia. Over 150 colleges and universities offer courses in the area of peace studies, conceived broadly as everything from political philosophy to security studies to practical conflict resolution. The religious dimension of peace studies has bulked large, with 46% of programs being in church-related schools. While Christian peace-studies is a large sub-field, the scholarly literature on peace with regard to Islam is much smaller.

Over the three-day event, participants explored the intellectual history of peace in the Muslim tradition by examining diverse definitions and perspectives. Each panel session was followed by lively and engaging question and answer periods (Q & A). Welcoming remarks were given by Pauline Jones, director, International Institute, University of Michigan, and Juan Cole, director, Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies, University of Michigan.

The sessions during the first day focused on practical and theoretical meanings of peace. Panel 1: Islamic Spirituality & Peace, chaired by Karla Mallette, professor of Near Eastern studies and romance languages, University of Michigan, opened with the presentation "Between Compassion and Justice: Locating an Islamic Definition of Peace" by A. Rashied Omar, research scholar of Islamic studies and peacebuilding at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, IN. In his analysis, Omar reinforced the concepts of tolerance and explored the importance of definitions and their role in identifying peace.

Panel 2: The West African Contribution, chaired by Samer Ali, associate professor of Arabic and Islamic culture, University of Michigan, highlighted the presentation "Principled Pacifism in Islamic West Africa" by Rudolph Ware, associate professor of history, University of Michigan. In his talk, Ware examined West African Sufi approaches to pacifism. Ware surveyed the history of the Muridiyya Sufi order founded by Amadou Bamba (1853–1927) and examined the order's devotion to the ideals of nonviolence.

This was followed by a lecture on "Jihad and Civil Society: Commitment & Moderation" by Lamin Sanneh, D. Willis James Professor of Missions and World Christianity, Yale University, CT, which came at the Muridiyya order's pacific ideals from a different point of view. His paper considered arguments for and against jihad in French West Africa in the colonial period and discussed how, for champions and opponents alike, jihad was exceptional and fraught with pitfalls. Given the flagrant violation of ethical standards in jihads, with the jihadists treating as mere sport a moral cause they once upheld, armed combat depressed Muslim morale and encouraged opportunism in the ranks. Setting out to restore the religion's long-moribund caliphal institution, jihad conflicted with the region's longstanding adherence to peaceful practice, as well as with Islam as the heritage of fallible mortals. He concluded that defending this peaceful tradition in its civil character represents fidelity to the heritage.

The first day ended with a keynote address highlighting "The Synergy of Discourse and Action for Peace: An Islamic Perspective" by Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law, Emory University, School of Law, GA. He explored the potential perils and pitfalls of peace studies, urging that it avoid Orientalist fallacies. An-Naim highlighted the power/knowledge inequalities between the Western academy and the Muslim world, cautioning that "Islamic Peace Studies" should...