Peacemakers in Action:
Profiles of Religion in Conflict Resolution

Edited by DAVID LITTLE with  TANENBAUM
Foreword by AMBASSADOR RICHARD C. HOLBROOKE
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2007

Devastating conflicts worldwide are destroying lives and whole communities -- often in the name of religion. Missing from the news are the stories of brave religious leaders in these zones of violence, who provide critical insights and skills to resolve today's most urgent conflicts. Their stories are rarely told -- until now.

Peacemakers in Action: Profiles of Religion in Conflict Resolution shares the experiences of 16 such remarkable religious peacemakers who have put their lives on the line in conflicts around the world -- in Israel-Palestine, Northern Ireland, the Balkans, Sudan, South Africa -- and beyond. For each of them, religious texts and traditions are both a source of inspiration and a practical resource for resolving conflict.

These grassroots peacemakers are powerful but underutilized actors for resolving some of the world's most horrifying conflicts. As such, this book contains timely information for diplomats, government officials, and conflict resolution practitioners, as well as today's students of religion and international affairs -- our future peacemakers.

And in a world where religion-based conflicts affect us all, Peacemakers in Action provides critical lessons and much-needed hope.

words of praise

His Holiness the Dalai Lama
"I really admire the Tanenbaum Center Peacemakers in Action. They work courageously for the greater good under the most difficult circumstances. In order to build world peace through inner peace, I think the world's religious traditions have a special role. We should all learn from and follow their great example."

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Dr. John Paul Lederach
Professor in International Peacebuilding
Joan B. Kroc Institute of International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame
"Compelling stories of real people who did not wear their religion on their sleeve but took their faith to heart, to the streets, and most importantly toward engaging the conflicts in their backyards and then finding ways to constructively overcome enmity and hatred. This is a must read for people of faith and those with doubts about the integrity of religion in our contemporary world of cultural wars and the clash of civilizations -- an inspiration to all of us."

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His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan
"The peacemakers and their experiences reflect the courage, resolve and ethical determination of putting faith into action. In a world beset by perennial conflicts, fear, suspicion, and hatred, we would do well to learn by analogy."

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Sir Sigmund Sternberg
1998 Templeton Prize Winner
Co-founder of The Three Faiths Forum
"Here's the proof that religion can be an active and positive partner in the search for solutions. Drawing on the solid international experience of practitioners in the field, the Tanenbaum Center, a pioneer in the application of religion to conflict resolution, has provided an invaluable road map to the search for peace."

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Dr. William F. Vendley
Secretary General, World Conference of Religions for Peace
"Perhaps there is no greater grief in the human family as when a brother strikes a brother. But there is no greater power - and joy - as when a brother and a sister come together to heal these conflicts. Peacemakers in Action tells the stories of sixteen such individuals with great empathy, compassion, and impact. may all of us be good students of the powerful lessons offered on these pages. Religious cooperation is a path to peace. We need only follow it."

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John C. Whitehead
Former Deputy Secretary of State
"Peacemakers in Action is a wonderful and inspiring book. It is through the publication of stories like this that progress toward peace in the world proceeds. having read the book, I feel more optimistic about our future than I did before. It shows that peace is possible, and that is no mean accomplishment."

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Dr. Marc Gopin
Author of Holy War, Holy Peace: How Religion Can Bring Peace to the Middle East
"This is the single most important book published in the field of religion and conflict resolution to date because, through the brilliant presentation of our most eminent scholar, David Little, it finally demonstrates the evidence of what we have all been arguing: the living examples of heroic, positive religious peacemaking, and their inherent potential to change the face of the global community, if we let them."

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Gianni Picco
Former Chief UN Hostage Negotiator
Author of Man Without a Gun : One Diplomat's Secret Struggle to Free the Hostages, Fight Terrorism, and End a War (1999)
"Are there children of a lesser God?
Are there lives that are worth less?
Are there truths that are more so?
Heroes are those who answer: "no" with their lives to those questions. Peacemakers in Action tells their stories and peacemaking achievements. More importantly, what emerges is a new narrative of human interaction across dividers - so alien to the shouts and arrogance of leaders who cannot lead without an enemy."

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Ambassador Nancy Soderberg
Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.
Author of The Superpower Myth: The Use and Misuse of American Might (2005)
"The Tanenbaum Center is ahead of our time with its program Peacemakers in Action. In today's world, religion is often a source of conflict. By profiling those courageous individuals who put themselves at risk to use religion to resolve rather than cause conflict, the Tanenbaum Center shines an important spotlight on a hidden tool in today's dangerous world. This impressive volume of brave leaders' stories around the world is also a testament to the key role of women in resolving conflict. World leaders should read this book and learn its lessons. They fail to do so at their peril."

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Dr. Douglas Johnston
Founder and President, International Center for Religion and Diplomacy
Co-editor of Religion: The Missing Dimension of Statecraft (1994)
"Theory is one thing; practice quite another. This book is about the doing, not the talking. As such, it provides new and important insights into the practical challenges of religious peacemaking. It also helps define the art of the possible in this burgeoning, yet largely unexplored, field."

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Alan Slifka
Board Chairman of The Abraham Fund Initiatives
"I Strongly recommend Peacemakers in Action at this time when religion's leaders and its positive role are being questioned.

This book illustrates the successful work actually being done on the ground - at the micro level - by many leaders who wish to unify, instead of divide, and to assist in furthering their visions and dreams of a world where common values of a peaceful community are universally respected."

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Dr. Abdulaziz Sachedina
Author of The Islamic Roots of Democratic Pluralism (2001)
"Peacemakers in Action persuasively makes the case for the positive role people religion can play in those parts of the world that have seen devastating destruction of innocent live. each personal journey toward conflict resolution and peace reveals the unspoken quality of each anonymous servant of God, male of female, without whose sincere efforts on the path to peace, the suffering of the people in those regions would have continued unabatedly.

Needless to say, without the efforts of the Tanenbaum Center, the present volume mapping the constructive role religion can serve as a resource for peacemaking would have remained inaccessible. The beautifully written narrative of real people engaged in peacemaking provides a plan of action for those who want to emulate peacemakesr like Pastor Wuye, Imam Ashafa, Father Reid, Rabbi Froman, Sakena Yacoobi and many others, who stand out as beacons of light in the darkness of injustice and violence. A rare and unique addition to the literature on what people of religion can deliver in action today."

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