Islamic Peace Studies Initiative Inaugural Conference

Date: March 16-18, 2017

Organized by: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and Dearborn

This inaugural academic conference will explore themes of peace in the Islamic tradition, considering topics such as scripture and theology, the role of Muslim women, pacifist social movements, and the centrality of conflict resolution to the tradition. The conference is an outgrowth of the CMENAS initiative on Islamic Peace Studies.

In addition to our yearly programming, the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies (CMENAS) is happy to consider requests to co-sponsor MENA related U-M lectures, events and activities that coincide with the Center’s mission to promote a broad and deep understanding of the region.

Funded by the International Institute Enterprise Fund, the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Michigan initiated the Islamic Peace Studies Initiative that will promote academic research on the subject, as well as the professionalization and recognition of the subfield.

Peace Studies as an academic field has become well-established in academia. Over 150 colleges and universities offer courses in the area of Peace Studies, conceived broadly as everything from political philosophy to security studies to practical conflict resolution. The religious dimension of peace studies has bulked large, with 46% of programs being in church-related schools. While Christian peace studies is a large sub-field, the scholarly literature on peace with regard to Islam is much smaller.

Islamic Peace Studies Initiative Inaugural Conference

Our initiative seeks to recognize scholars and activists who have already made key contributions to this field, and to encourage others to address it. We also seek to collect syllabi, bibliographies, directories of relevant academic programs and other useful information at this site. We will hold conferences and promote publication in this area. The Muslim tradition has been an important part of world history since late antiquity and is diverse and broad, straddling the globe. Today Muslims account for about a fifth of humankind. Perhaps because of struggles like the Crusades, Western writing on Islam has disproportionately focused on war and violence. The dimension of peace in this world religion is also deserving of exploration.

More information at: University of Michigan’s Website