Week 14

Yesterday marked the last class of the semester, thus, I found it appropriate to use this blog to reflect on all that I have learned since day one back in August. During our second class of the semester, we had to write down the answers to various questions regarding religious conflict and hand them into the professor. During yesterdays class we were given these back and I think the majority of us had a good laugh at our answers. At least for me, it was apparent that I had learned a good deal about the cause and complexity of religious violence and the motivations that lie behind it.

One thing that I seemed to overlook before this course was how religions do not need fanatical individuals or fundamentalist leaders to create religious violence. Rather, ordinary followers of a religion will be at odds with those of another not because they are extremists, but simply because of the boundary and social divide that religion creates. I never took the time to realize or understand that religious groups often acted as interest groups with political, economic, and social concerns in the same way that any other groups in society do. I did not see that religion was only the separating factor and not the driving force or motivation behind so much of the conflict and violence.

I also overlooked the personal dimension to peacemaking. Although, I admit, I had never given much thought to the topic of religious violence or how to cure it, I don’t think I ever gave the ability of the individual enough credit. I had somewhat assumed that the solution would lie in political action or institutional intervention and did not give enough consideration to the actions of community leaders (the Pastor and the Imam) or members of society (women in Liberia).

Overall, I feel this course has opened my eyes to an issue in our world today that I had not understood beforehand. It has allowed me to analyze religious conflict on a subjective level and revealed the different ways in which conflicts such as these can be overcome, an ability which I can apply to various aspects of life.

Week 13

The other day in class we watched a movie documenting the religious violence in Liberia at the turn of the century. The movie outlined the actions of courageous women who, Muslim and Christian alike, came together and protested for peace among their nations warring factions. Although they were faced with much adversity and stalled peace talks that seemed hopeless, they never ceased to stand together, day by day through the hardest of times, until their peace terms were met.

This movie illustrated a few themes that we have been discussing all year. The first was how political and ethnic controversies can be placed under the guise of religious conflict. The current president, Charles Taylor, and rebel warlords were fighting one another for political power and wealth and, although they may have been separated by religious affiliations, were not fighting for religious motives. The second theme that it brought up was a more recent one, the importance of acceptance and forgiveness in religious peacemaking. This can be seen both in the women’s actions of banding together, Muslims and Christians, and accepting and forgiving each other in order to initiate peacemaking. In addition, this can also be seen in the women’s proclamations of forgiveness in their reform ideas. They state how they have forgiven the violent actors and that they don’t ask for repercussions of the past. They know this will only continue the cycle and feel that this forgiveness is a necessary action in order for Liberia to move forward and reform/overcome its violent past.

Although this movie depicted the mass violence that occurs in places all over the globe, it provides a hopeful outlook. It proves that peace can be found in the most distressed and violent places and that the will of a brave few can change a nations outlook for the future.