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Introduction: Palestinian peacebuilder Mohammed Abu-Nimer sees interfaith dialogue as a sure way to break down stereotypes, establish relationships, and humanize "the other" in intractable conflicts between people of differing faiths.


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Interfaith Dialogues Mohammed Abu-Nimer
Professor of Peace and Conflict Resolution at the School of International Service, American University
Interviewed by
Julian Portilla
2003

You mentioned that the Christians in that one example overcame that stereotype?

A: That always happens. This is one of the accomplishments that you get in inter-faith dialogue. I have been working for five or six years in inter-faith dialogue and one of the primary accomplishments is this notion that now we see each other as equally humans, so it is more difficult to dehumanize the other. I see that not all Muslims are terrorists or violent, to frame it positively there are many sources of peace and non-violence in Islam, like Christianity, they would say if they were a Christian. For Muslims when the finish these inter faith dialogue groups they come out with similar statements such as "Now I understand that the other side that we decided to dialogue and that Christian I was talking to they are not all occupiers or they are not all government and they see our pain and they could be our friends." The Muslims always have to confront the image of being perceived as violent.

 
Men are so accustomed to maintaining external order by violence that they cannot conceive of life being possible without violence. -- Leo Tolstoy

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