11 March 2009
Swedish Peace Agents Combat Fear of Islam
100 young Swedish Muslims are training to promote tolerance
Washington — Sweden’s Muslim minority has found itself caught between fear of Islam and xenophobia from some of its non-Muslim neighbors and resentments and bitterness from members of its own community toward the European Swedes and Western culture.
Along with the mutual distrust resulting from various security measures and terrorism fears following terrorist attacks on Western countries such as the United States, Spain and the United Kingdom, there have been heightened tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims over European portrayals of Islam in the news media. (See “Dutch Film on Quran Highlights Controversy About Free Expression.”)
In reaction, the Swedish educational association Sensus and the Swedish Muslim study association Ibn Rushd have joined forces to train 100 Swedish Muslim young people as “peace agents” to deliver a message that promotes tolerance and mutual respect.
According to the project’s Web site, the goal is to “build a national network for peace work and at the same time educate young people on issues concerning Islam, peace and human rights.”
The peace agents attend several weekend educational sessions on a range of topics, including Islamic peace culture, conflict management, human rights and nonviolence. They also engage in group discussions that are designed to force them to address difficult topics that they may encounter once they finish their training and start engaging with other Muslim and non-Muslim young Swedes.
Sensus and Ibn Rushd are training their peace agents to help convince their peers that Islam is a peaceful religion, and to respond to the current issues and questions that are preventing that message from being spread.
Additional information is available on the Peace Agents Web site.
