09/07/2025 08:30
- 12:00
HALL: Lecture Hall 16
Chair:
Mokrani A.,
Quast-Neulinger M.,
Raveh M.
Proponent:
Mokrani A.,
Quast-Neulinger M.,
Raveh M.
Speaker:
Elsner R.,
Gabriel I.,
Mokrani A.,
Palaver W.,
Paz N.,
Pearce R.,
Raveh M.
Jews, Christians, and Muslims, shocked and traumatized by the current wars, come together to reflect on innovative approaches to dialogue and solidarity, as the urgency of our current situation demands. Our aim is not to adopt a comfortable stance that merely condemns war while hoping for peace; rather, we seek to reinvent interfaith dialogue and theologies of nonviolence. We strongly affirm the equality of all human beings and acknowledge that all victims are deserving compassion. Every child has the right to life, protection, and education. Yet, spreading these fundamental principles has become increasingly challenging. In an era where we can witness genocide live-streamed, we bear a profound moral burden that compels us to act.
Interfaith dialogue and non-violence are inherently connected. Theologies have a special obligation in contributing to non-violence. However, they are deeply ambivalent. Theologies and religions may be deeply humanizing, but they may also serve totalitarian, hegemonic or colonialist projects. Similarly, nonviolence can serve a noble cause ethically or be manipulated by those in power.
We invite papers that critically reflect: What are the boundaries of nonviolence? How can it be made effective? Observing the ineffectiveness of international institutions, the shortcomings of international and humanitarian law, the rise of political extremism and nationalism, we strive to articulate a credible ethical stance that aligns with our faiths, demonstrating solidarity with the suffering and dehumanized.
How can we embody hope? How can theologies foster meaning and life rather than death and destruction? How can we endure the devastation of war while maintaining our faith in the inherent goodness of humanity? What strategies can we adopt to resist, ethically and humanely, ensuring we are not consumed by hatred, anger or despair? The panel is intended to foster the growth of an international working group for "Interreligious Non-Violence Theology".