Newspapers return to Abidjan (from rte.ie/news)
In Côte d’Ivoire, the road to normalcy is a long one but there are signs of hope as calm gradually returns.
Popular Ivorian musicians, Magic System and Tiken Jah have released a new song called “Ca Va Aller” (It Will Be Alright), calling for Ivorians to unite for the sake of the country. The recent violence following the contested elections last fall has displaced thousands and destroyed lives, property and trust. This song expresses the hope that things will get better and that by coming together, Ivorians can make it so.
Newspapers that suspended their publication for security reasons are now back on the city streets. The GEPCI (group of Ivorian newspaper editors) have called for the resumption of publications and for the government to protect reporters and news organizations so they can work in peace. International broadcasters such as BBC and Radio France have also returned to Ivorian airwaves.
Early steps are being taken to ensure the independence of media and to revive the journalistic code of ethics. The GEPCI has advised editors and journalists to avoid writing and publishing articles that may incite ethnic tensions and further erode the country’s fragile social cohesion. In the weeks preceding the height of the violence, media was often used to espouse divisive messages and play on identity politics and xenophobia.
The potential for media to have a positive impact is immense, as distrust abounds on all sides. Greater diversity in messaging and responsible reporting can help to ensure transparency and perhaps a smoother road to reconciliation.
How do you think media (all forms) can help support Côte d’Ivoire’s recovery?
Tableau
Locked arm in arm they cross the way
The black boy and the white,
The golden splendor of the day
The sable pride of night.
From lowered blinds the dark folk stare
And here the fair folk talk,
Indignant that these two should dare
In unison to walk.
Oblivious to look and word
They pass, and see no wonder
That lightning brilliant as a sword
Should blaze the path of thunder.
~Countee Cullen (1903-1946)
Religious peace between Jews and Muslims: an interview with Mohammed S. Dajani Daoudi
Reuters: Interfaith group at the Victims Monument at Auschwitz Birkenau, Poland, February 1, 2011
by Talya Ezrahi
Jerusalem – In this interview with Talya Ezrahi, editor at Search for Common Ground, Mohammed S. Dajani Daoudi, founder of the Wasatia movement and Professor of Political Science at Al-Quds University in Jerusalem, talks about an interfaith event in February that brought together 150 Jews, Muslims and Christians to Auschwitz in Poland, the site of the largest Nazi extermination camp.
Why was it important for you to join other religious leaders in this visit to Auschwitz?
Mohammed Daoudi: The purpose of the event was to disseminate information to Muslims and Christians who live in a world where there is Holocaust denial, or a scarcity of information about the Holocaust. In the Muslim world, for example, the Holocaust is linked to the establishment of Israel – and the Palestinian Nakba, or catastrophe. As a result, there is a scarcity of literature that adequately describes the genocide of the Jews during World War II.
We were invited as Muslim and Christians to witness for ourselves the horror that Jews experienced just for being Jews. I think it would be very important to arrange such visits for Palestinian students as part of their education. The Arab-Israeli conflict has shaped the way we Palestinians perceive and interpret historical events and I would like my students to arrive at a point where they can extricate their understanding of what happened during the Holocaust from the controversial context of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It is a tragic chapter in human history that we cannot keep ignoring.
You have participated in many interfaith events over the years. Do you think religious dialogue should play an important role in efforts to resolve the Israeli-Arab conflict?
Daoudi: I certainly do. A big part of the problem is related to ignorance –about our own religion and that of the ”other”. So far, religion has played a big role in agitating the conflict and I believe it is time that religion becomes a catalyst in resolving it. Many Muslims don’t know very much about Judaism or Christianity, and what many of them know about Islam is distorted. These meetings help to dispel myths and misperceptions. In this conflict, religious peace is a prerequisite for a sustainable political peace.
This brings us to wasatia, an important concept in Islam and also the name of the movement you founded in 2007. Can you explain what it means?
Daoudi: The word wasatia, in Arabic means center and middle. In the Qur’an it means justice, moderation, balance and temperance. The word wasat appears in verse 143 of the second chapter, which is 286 verses long, so it appears exactly in the middle.
The verse says: “And We have created you a middle ground (moderate) nation” or “a centrist ummah [community]”. The passage demonstrates that the need to be moderate and temperate is a central message within Islam. Wasatia addresses all aspects of life: the way you eat, the way you dress, the way you spend money.
It is a value shared with Judaism and Christianity and therefore could become a fruitful foundation for interfaith dialogue.
How can wasatia be harnessed to promote a politics of peace?
Daoudi: By adopting the vision of wasatia as a peaceful alternative to violence. The Qur’an advocates achieving change through moderation. For example, jihad should be interpreted as the jihad of the soul – the struggle to purify the inner soul from evil rather than waging wars against the other. It doesn’t mean the jihad of the bomb or bullet or suicide. Here in Palestine, the Wasatia movement envisions a struggle that brings moderate Israelis together with moderate Palestinians in an effort to end the occupation. When I protest, I should include peace-loving Israelis in my camp who believe this is also their moral cause.
What do you hope to achieve for the movement within the next few years?
Daoudi: I hope that the spread of wasatia culture within the Palestinian society will also promote a better image of the Palestinian people and thus help convince the world that we deserve to take our place among the nations. Domestically, we hope to create an umbrella under which all moderate Palestinians will be united. If we succeed in joining together the different Palestinian factions under the banner of moderation we will be in a much better position to pursue a fruitful dialogue with Israelis, a path that is far more likely to achieve peace.
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Talya Ezrahi is an editor with the Common Ground News Service. For more information on the Wasatia movement, please visit: www.wasatia.info. For more articles like this one, check out the Common Ground News Service.
The National Museum of African Art
in collaboration with the
Foundation for West Africa and
Search for Common Ground
invite you to a screening of
Leh Wi Tok (Let Us Talk)
followed by a roundtable discussion
April 13, 2011 (tomorrow)
2–5 p.m.
S. Dillon Ripley Center
Lecture Hall
1100 Jefferson Dr., SW
Washington, DC 20560
Can a single voice move people beyond the pain and anger of recent memories? For the people of Sierra Leone, a nation struggling to repair itself after more than a decade of war, the answer comes in the simple Krio phrase leh wi tok (let us talk), also the title of a new documentary film that tells the story of radio pioneer Andrew Kromah and his unrelenting quest to grow an independent network of community-based radio stations in his country so that peace and democracy can flourish. He worked with SFCG in Sierra Leone to accomplish this goal.
Leh Wi Tok weaves together a story of hope and commitment with the transformative power of the radio as it relays how one individual—despite persistent political harassment and substantial financial, technical and geographic challenges—literally puts his life on the line to bring disparate and often unheard voices to the airwaves. More information about the film and SFCG’s involvement in the creation of the radio network can be found here.
A discussion will follow the screening with Topher Hamblett and Ambrose James.
Topher Hamblett is the Founder and President of The Foundation for West Africa, which supports independent radio stations and networks in Sierra Leone and Liberia. He served in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone (1985-87), and has served on many non-profit boards, including Rhode Island Public Radio, the International Institute of Rhode Island and Common Cause-RI. He is also Policy Director for Save The Bay in Providence, RI.
Ambrose James is the Sierra Leone Country Director at Search for Common Ground. He has more than nine years of experience developing project management strategies in conflict-sensitive and conflict transformation programming with international non-profit organizations. Mr. James has extensive experience working with and supporting community radio in Sierra Leone. He helped build the capacity of the Independent Radio Network, which is now a cohesive organization with bylaws and is the hub production studio which collects and distributes information around the elections cycle to every region of Sierra Leone. Learn more about our work in Sierra Leone, here.
Hope to see you at the screening!
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: Democracy in West Africa
The theme of tomorrow’s Conflict Prevention and Resolution Forum is democracy and governance in West Africa. While Guinea held successful elections in late 2010, neighboring Côte d’Ivoire has been embroiled in violence as a result of their disputed elections. Incumbent President Lauren Gbagbo, was arrested today but his capture may not end fighting. The war in Cote d’Ivoire has naturally affected its neighbors; thousands have sought refuge in Liberia.
With Liberia set to hold elections this year and Sierra Leone to follow the next, the forum will address the current situation in the region as well as suggestions on how to ensure that these future elections are fair and successful.
Our Sierra Leone Country Director, Ambrose James, will be one of the Forum’s speakers and he brings over a decade of experience transforming conflict in his native Sierra Leone. Part of his work has included developing SFCG’s successful elections strategy during the 2007 general and 2008 local council elections.
The Forum is tomorrow, Tuesday, April 12th from 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM
Location:
Johns Hopkins SAIS
Kenny Auditorium
1740 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington D.C., 20036
This is sure to be an exciting event, especially with the recent changes in Côte d’Ivoire!
Register here for the Forum.
JR, a French street artist, uses his camera to show the world its true face, using art to turn the world inside out.
How would you use art to send a message to the world?
