Women of Faith Leaders in the Middle East Surpass Sectarian Divide and Launch a New Multi-Religious Platform for the Common Good
20190807
(Amman, Jordan) Muslim, Jewish and Christian women of faith leaders in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) led a multi-religious mission to Jordan to forge a new historic partnership in preparation for the Religions for Peace (RfP) 10th World Assembly in Lindau, Germany, on 20-23 August 2019. The Assembly will be jointly convened by RfP and the Foundation Peace Dialogue with the support of the German Federal Foreign Office.
With religious identity becoming a de facto fault line for both intra-national and cross-border hostilities, this new coalition will bring together women of faith leaders from Sunni, Shia, Christian, Jewish and other traditions to serve as a high-level multi-religious mechanism for advocacy and action to resolve conflict, advance sustainable development and protect the environment in the region and internationally. As a symbolic common action before its official launch at the RfP 10th World Assembly, the delegation met with Syrian refugees and members of the host communities in the city of Zarqa to show their solidarity and support and their multi-religious commitment to action for the common good.
The delegation included Honorable Meherzia Labidi Maïza (Sunni) [First Vice President of the Constitutional Assembly in Tunisia; Honorary President, RfP]; Honorable Layla Al-Khafaji (Shia) [Elected Member of Political Bureau, Alhikmha Movement; former member of Iraqi Council of Representatives, Parliament; Member of RfP International Women’s Coordinating Committee]; H.E. Ambassador Houda Ezra Nonoo [Former Bahrain Ambassador to the United States], and Ms. Samira Luka [Senior Director, Forum for Dialogue in CEOSS (Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services)].
Also present were Dr. Nayla Tabbara [Muslim Scholar; Co-founder, Adyan Foundation for Diversity, Solidarity and Human Dignity]; Dr. Nejia Ourimi [Expert in Religion and Public Affairs]; Dr. Fadia Ibrahim [Expert and Trainer on Women’s Issues and Interfaith Dialogue] and Dr. Marcelle Jwaniat [Jordanian Interfaith Dialogue Expert and Practitioner].
Dr. William F. Vendley [Secretary General, RfP International] said that as women of faith
“You have the gifts of commitment and all the capacities that God has bestowed upon you to advance Peace. Your gifts have come with your being a person who is a women of faith. RfP is convinced that the MENA Region—indeed our world on every level—simply will not have the blessings of abundant Peace without women of faith playing their irreplaceable roles as women.”
Honorable Meherzia Labidi Maïza, who played a key role as the First Vice-President of the Constitutional Assembly in Tunisia in mediating between major political parties to reach a consensus on the country’s constitution, said that
“What I learnt as a woman of faith leader in RfP prepared and equipped me to fulfill my responsibility for the country. Women of faith can become bridge builders and we can together educate and lead our children and youth by our own examples.”
Honorable Layla Al-Khafaji, an Iraqi Shia woman of faith leader who has built bridges in the parliament and civil society among Shia, Sunni and Christian leaders and has undertaken multi-religious projects to overcome violence against women in Iraq, noted that
“RfP has great significance in the Middle East and that it can be a useful instrument for needed cooperation across religious communities as well as between them and governments. This historic RfP MENA Women of Faith Coalition can advance informal and formal education within our respective religious communities and initiating concrete cooperative action among their communities to advance inclusive citizenship for all.”
H.E. Houda Ezra Nonoo, a Jewish woman from Bahrain, stated
“It was an honor to be part of the RfP MENA Women of Faith as Peacemakers pre-assembly consultation in Amman, Jordan. Woman are essential to the peacekeeping process as they bring a more comprehensive peace plan to the negotiating table, by addressing societal needs, rather than solely focusing on what will appease the conflicting parties.
I would also like to acknowledge the impressive work of religious communities, faith-based organizations such as the Finn Church Aid (FCA) in their work with refugees and seeing first-hand how they promote women’s opportunities for earning a living.”
Ms. Samira Luka, a Christian from Egypt stated,
“Women of faith as peacemakers can make a big difference, particular in our region. In the last decade our region has suffered a lot from war and from lack of understanding one another. In such circumstances, women of faith can be and have an important role to play. When we provide women of faith opportunities, build their capacity, and enable them to come together to take action, we are enabling them as well as the whole society.”
RfP’s track records include the convening of Sunni, Shia, Christian and Jewish senior-most religious leaders, discrete meetings of Iraqi and Syrian religious leaders, as well as high-level multi-religious convening of MENA leaders outside the region. Prominent Sunni leaders such as H.E. Shaykh Abdallah Bin Bayyah and eminent Shia leaders such as Ayatollah Damad of Iran serve on the Religions for PeaceWorld Council and have built trust and confidence in maintaining discrete linkages and dialogue around their common concerns.
MENA Women of Faith leaders will report on this new historic initiative at the RfP 10th World Assembly in Lindau, Germany, on 20-23 August 2019. They will also share their experiences of meeting with the refugees and members of the host communities in Jordan to highlight not only the struggle of the refugees, but also celebrate their resilience and ability to overcome challenges, and thus inspiring the world to open their hearts and communities to refugees like Jordan has done.
Under the theme, “Caring for our Common Future ̶ Advancing Shared Well-Being,” the World Assembly will be global in scale, multi-stakeholder in composition and action-oriented. Some 800 senior religious leaders, youth and women of faith from over 100 countries will be joined by 100 representatives of governments, intergovernmental organizations, and civil society groups to forge multi-stakeholder partnerships for the common good.