Islamic and Jewish Approaches to Conflict Resolution

It is increasingly becoming evident that for peace and conflict resolution approaches to be effective and sustainable they must take into consideration the religio-cultural traditions of the communities involved. As such, Judaism and Islam have direct impacts on the way peace is conceptualized and the way conflicts are resolved in Islamic and Jewish societies, because they embody and elaborate upon the highest morals, ethical principles and ideals of social harmony. For that reason, conflict resolution scholars and practitioners must take into consideration the religious and cultural traditions of Jewish and Muslim communities to address conflicts involving them, especially in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Although the current image of religion is often associated with conflict and violence, in fact, notions of peacebuilding are deeply embedded in the religious vision of Islam and Judaism and Jewish and Muslim communities have developed various approaches and tools to address conflicts. Exploring different perspectives and drawing links between Islamic, Jewish and Western conflict resolution approaches, this course will explore principles, values, and practices of peace and conflict resolution rooted in Jewish and Islamic texts and traditions.  This is an interactive course in which students are expected to engage with the ideas and thoughts presented in the class through the study of religious texts, dialogue, and theoretical academic research.