DVD Review - Peace Through Education and Dialogue

Peace through Education and Dialogue

Since 11^th September, 2001, terrorism has been brought more acutely into the thinking of those in the West. Of course, terrorism is not a new occurrence. Random acts of violence in which innocent civilians are harmed or killed have been going on long before the Towers fell.

One of the most unfortunate aspects of the World Trade Centre act, and the London suicide bombings in 2005, was that the perpetrators professed to be Muslim. They claimed to carry out those acts in the name of Islam. This has meant that increasingly, there is a confluence in the minds of many between acts of terrorism and the practice of Islam.

This DVD seeks to show how terrorism can pervert any ideology or religion in an attempt to excuse the inexcusable. Some ways by which Islam came to be used for, and eventually identified with, a fight for freedom are discussed. But most importantly, some Qur’anic passages and verse by Muslim writers is used to demonstrate that Islam does not prescribe acts of terrorism, but rather that it encourages interfaith dialogue and peaceful community. In fact, the name ‘Islam’ derives from the word ‘peace’.

Finally, a section on the Muslim preacher and educator, Fethullah Gülen, speaks of the need for education, social justice and dialogue. Therein lies the answer to countering terrorism.

Available from the Affinity Intercultural Foundation, this DVD would be a useful discussion-starter for classrooms and study groups or just for individual viewing.