Militant Recruitment in Pakistan
A program officer in the Muslim World Initiative speaks before a Capitol Hill study group about Islamic militant organizations in Pakistan.
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Ugandans Wield Faith and Youth Against Climate-Fueled Violence
At age five, Muhsin Kaduyu began following his father, a respected imam in southern Uganda, on missions of peace — constant meetings, mediations, consolations and prayers among Muslims and Christians in their town and surrounding farmlands. So years later, Kaduyu felt sickened when Islamist suicide bombers killed 74 soccer fans in a crowd near his university, deforming and defaming his faith. That bombing, and an anti-Muslim backlash, ignited a life’s mission that has made Kaduyu a prominent peacebuilder among millions of Ugandans who struggle for survival, prosperity and peace amid communal conflicts, violent extremism and growing climate disaster.
What We Know — and Don’t Know — About Religion and Nonviolent Action
Kenya captured the world’s attention last month as thousands of youth took to the street to protest the government’s controversial proposed tax hikes. As these demonstrations reached a boiling point in late June, the predominately Gen-Z activists received support from a somewhat unexpected ally: faith leaders.
Moldova: As Russia Fuels Conflict, Could Churches Build Peace?
Russia’s escalating campaign to block Moldova from joining the European Union reflects a weakening in Eastern Europe of a longstanding Russian lever of regional influence: its Orthodox church. A number of Moldovan Orthodox priests and parishes are campaigning to withdraw their nation’s churches from two centuries of formal subordination to Russia’s church, and Moldova’s senior prelate has bluntly condemned his superior, the Russian Orthodox Church patriarch, for supporting Moscow’s war on Ukraine. As conflict escalates this year over Moldova’s future, advocates of European democracy and stability might strengthen both by supporting dialogue to reduce conflict between Moldova’s historically Russia-linked church and its smaller rival, subordinate to the Orthodox hierarchy in neighboring Romania.
Faith Leaders and Community in Nigeria: An Antidote to Violent Extremism
In Nigeria, insurgent groups such as Boko Haram use religious extremism as a pretext for their violence — a justification that is often repeated in reporting and analysis on the situation. But many of the country’s religious leaders see this as a harmful narrative that can conflate religious belief with violent conflict, especially when religion can be such a powerful force for peace. Imam Shefiu Abdulkareem Majemu from the Strength in Diversity Development Centre and Major Olimma Adinwenka Nueka of the Ministry of Defence Provost Company discuss how new training for religious actors can help them prevent violent conflict and de-escalate tensions in Nigeria.