This paper argues that Christian-Muslim interfaith peacebuilding initiatives in urban Western Europe constitute a theologically grounded and politically significant response to structural inequality and social fragmentation. Situated within the emerging scholarship on religious peacebuilding, which recognises the internally plural nature of faith traditions and their distinctive capacity for nonviolent mobilisation, the study demonstrates that faith-based actors deploy shared scriptural commitments to justice, compassion, and human dignity to challenge racial discrimination, economic marginalisation, and exclusionary populism.
The paper advances three central claims. First, it establishes that convergent theological resources across the Islamic tradition (ʿadl, raḥma) and the Christian tradition (agapē, Imago Dei) provide a robust moral foundation for collaborative peacebuilding that transcends doctrinal difference and fosters mutual recognition across religious boundaries. Second, it critically reassesses the Just War/Just Peace debate, arguing that intersectional analysis—attentive to race, gender, class, and migration status—exposes the structural blind spots of conventional frameworks and opens space for a more inclusive theology of active nonviolence. Third, the paper demonstrates that interfaith practices—including joint liturgical worship, solidarity networks, and grassroots advocacy—generate measurable social cohesion and civic trust in plural societies marked by rising inequality and political polarisation.
Drawing on Johan Galtung's concept of positive peace, the study argues that peace requires addressing structural and cultural violence. It shows that faith-based organisations mediate between marginalised communities and institutions, turning religious values into social action. The paper highlights multifaith solidarity as a practical approach to inclusive peacebuilding.
Keywords: Religion, Peacebuilding, Inequality, Interfaith Dialogue, Nonviolence