Year in Review: Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding
USIP Senior Program Officer Qamar-ul Huda looks at 2012 lessons learned in religion, conflict, and peacebuilding, including the Koran desecration incident in Afghanistan and the controversial “Innocence of Muslims” film.
- Koran incident in Afghanistan: Protests erupted in Afghanistan early in 2012 after the unintentional burning of copies of the Koran by U.S. forces. USIP responded by bringing religious leaders, U.S. government agencies, and NGO representatives together to learn more about the importance of being sensitive to cultural and religious traditions, and to discuss ways to work more effectively with religious institutions and communities.
- “Innocence of Muslims” film: Later in the year, protests flared again across parts of the Middle East to decry the controversial “Innocence of Muslims” film. “What’s interesting about this film is that there’s at least two or three camps,” Huda says. “The majority felt that this was an insignificant film that had no relevance to the actual tradition of Islam. The others, a small minority, thought this film truly reflected American sentiments about the tradition of Islam. I think those folks used that time to exploit the situation for political ends.”
- Religion and peacebuilding: Despite the violence that surrounded these protests, religious leaders are increasingly taking a leading role in peacebuilding, Huda says, noting that Sunni, Shiite, and Christian dialogues in Iraq have grown over the past several years. “All throughout the year of 2012, we’ve seen wonderful things and negative things, but we’ve seen that USIP’s work is helping religious communities working towards peace.”
Explore Further
- Learn more about USIP's Religion and Peacemaking Center
- The Koran Desecration and the Role of Religion in Conflict, a USIP Peace Brief
- USIP Condemns Incendiary Film and Violent Reactions
- More of 2012 in Review
