Nonviolence and Peace Building in Islam: Theory and Practice - Hardcover

"Most approaches to violence or its opposite in Islam try to establish that the religion of the Prophet is one or the other, and thus get nowhere. Avoiding this trap, Abu-Nimer has given us a wide-ranging and thoroughly researched study that will be of interest to scholars and of use to peace builders." - Michael Nagler, University of California, Berkeley

Written by a Muslim scholar, lecturer and trainer in conflict resolution, this book examines the largely unexplored theme of nonviolence and peace building in Islamic religion, tradition and culture. After comprehensively reviewing the existing studies on this topic, the author presents solid evidence for the existence of principles and values from the Qur'an, Hadith and Islamic tradition that support the application of nonviolence and peace building strategies in resolving disputes. He addresses the challenges that face the utilization of peace building and nonviolent strategies in an Islamic context and explores these challenges on both local and global levels. Through a discussion of the structural and cultural obstacles to peace building and nonviolence, the author explains the gap between Islamic values and ideals and their applications in day-to-day reality.