Articles by Abbas Aroua
We found 20 results.
The Role of Value Systems in Conflict Resolution
Abbas Aroua, et al. | Cordoba Peace Institute Geneva – TRANSCEND Media Service,
4 Jul 2022
Jun 2022 – Understanding, “right-sizing,” and adequately respecting the role of value systems in conflict transformation avoids both over- and under-emphasis. Johan Galtung’s “Attitude-Behavior-Contradiction” (ABC) triangle is one useful conflict analysis tool to deal with the role of value systems and other factors in conflict analysis.
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Introduction to Conflict Transformation
Abbas Aroua | Cordoba Peace Institute Geneva – TRANSCEND Media Service,
24 Jan 2022
Language: Arabic. Author: Abbas Aroua. Publisher: Cordoba Peace Institute Geneva – The Arab/Muslim world is one of the regions with the highest densities of conflict in the world (intra- and interstate). Yet it is one of the poorest ones in terms of conflict transformation resources, both theoretical and practical.
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The Role of Value Systems in Conflict Resolution
Abbas Aroua | Cordoba Peace Institute Geneva – TRANSCEND Media Service,
6 Dec 2021
Understanding, “right-sizing,” and adequately respecting the role of value systems in conflict transformation avoids both over- and under-emphasis. It aims at a better understanding of the interplay between tangible conflict issues and religious or secular value systems.
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(Italiano) L’importanza del collegamento “Pratica, Ricerca, Addestramento” nel peacebuilding
Abbas Aroua | Centro Studi Sereno Regis – TRANSCEND Media Service,
14 Dec 2020
10 Dicembre 2020 -All’interno di un buon ospedale universitario, non si può immaginare l’assenza di uno dei tre pilastri della sanità e del suo corretto funzionamento: pratica, addestramento e ricerca in campo medico così come nelle discipline sanitarie. Svariati ambiti dell’attività umana – come il peacebuilding – seguono lo stesso schema per ottimizzare l’accumulo di sapere, la condivisione e gestione di conoscenze, anche pratiche.
→ read full articleImportance of the “Practice-Research-Training” Nexus in Peacebuilding
Abbas Aroua | Cordoba Peace Institute Geneva – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Dec 2020
Peacebuilding, the equivalent of medicine in “social health”, benefits highly from this scheme to improve its approaches and tools and to be more effective and impactful. In fact, the development of peace studies in the last seven decades was grounded on the “practice-training-research” triad.
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Winds of Change–The Challenge of Modernity in the Middle East and North Africa
Abbas Aroua, et al. | Cordoba Peace Institute Geneva – TRANSCEND Media Service,
6 Jul 2020
One theme is the opposition between traditionalists and modernists, “the conflict between fundamentalists and those who want to bring Islam into the modern age”. A possible approach: social change. The Middle East must be able to temper a spiritual vision in a modern and pragmatic world and rediscover traditional values without “a perpetual and obsessive return to the past”. This book is a worthwhile and welcome contribution to current debates over the future of the MENA region.
→ read full articleThe Muslim Religious Community and the Global War on COVID-19
Abbas Aroua | Cordoba Peace Institute Geneva – TRANSCEND Media Service,
20 Apr 2020
30 Mar 2020 – The world is going through an unprecedented multi-dimensional crisis caused by the rapid spread of the virulent COVID-19, which seems to have built a consensus among the community of Muslim scholars on the need to work together with others, despite the diversity of their ideological references and political views, in order to face this health disaster collectively, and to assume fully their role as influencers in society.
→ read full articleFour Criteria for Differentiating Faith-Based Entities
Abbas Aroua | Cordoba Peace Institute Geneva – TRANSCEND Media Service,
23 Dec 2019
Religious currents, especially Islamic schools of thought, are often considered as monolithic blocs, and sometimes opposed to each other. In fact, not only do some academic and political elites regard various currents of Islamic thought as a form of extremism, but they also do the same with regard to the practice of religion itself.
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Engaging Credible Religious Leaders in the Prevention of Violence and Extremism – Our Methodology
Abbas Aroua | Cordoba Foundation of Geneva – TRANSCEND Media Service,
9 Jul 2018
Jun 2018 – This program addresses the transnational phenomenon of extremism using a conflict transformation approach. It aims to the reduce violence in the Sahel region, the Lake Chad area and the Arab world, through the promotion of wasatiya (the “middle way”) and the avoidance of extremes (ghulu), both concepts rooted in Islamic thought and practice. The project comprises two tracks:
→ read full articlePeace Journalism and Conflict Transformation: The Importance of Training
Abbas Aroua | Cordoba Foundation of Geneva – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 May 2018
Training journalists in the concepts and techniques of peace journalism, is to promote access to properly established information, to make people understand the causes and issues of conflict, and finally to encourage the participation of society in the peaceful transformation of these conflicts.
→ read full articleAddressing Violence and Extremism: The Importance of Terminology
Abbas Aroua | Cordoba Foundation of Geneva – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Mar 2018
Jan 2018 – In recent years, “countering/combating violent extremism” or “preventing violent extremism” has become a must in most peace building programs. Yet, the fast-growing interest in this topic belies the fundamental problem of the lack of a clear and broadly accepted definition of the VE concept. This paper aims to contribute to a more accurate definition of the terms used in the context of extremism and violence, to attempt a descriptive model of the extremization process, and to discuss the various approaches to de-extremization.
→ read full articleReligion – A Source of Conflict or the Path to Peace? Its Role in Preventing Violence
Abbas Aroua | Cordoba Foundation of Geneva – TRANSCEND Media Service,
1 Jan 2018
A constant and widespread communication process on religious reflection, inclusion and participation should prevail as a showpiece for conflict prevention, resolution and resilience. Doing good and promoting peaceful behaviour is not enough. Extensive inclusive participation and communication on the subject matter must be undertaken in order to provide a counter-weight to toxic conversations, the spreading of violence and extremism.
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Mediation Perspectives: Peace, Conflict and Mediation in Islam
Abbas Aroua | Cordoba Foundation of Geneva – TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 Dec 2017
Religions promote peace and provide moral guidance and legal injunctions to restrict and moderate the use of violence. Followers of a religion can comply with these guidelines or transgress against them as such followers are neither angels nor devils. Instead, they are human beings with all the complex aspirations to peace and temptations to violence that the human condition entails. In that respect, Islam is no exception.
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Abbas Aroua – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Oct 2015
Dieter, que j’ai eu la chance de connaitre depuis une dizaine d’années, était une leçon vivante d’humilité. Totalement dévoué à la non-violence et engagé dans la formation des promoteurs de la paix, il y mettait de son énergie, son temps et son argent, et surtout de son intelligence, son humour et sa compassion.
→ read full articleThe Arab Countries Are Slowly Taking the Path towards Democracy
Joël Frei interviews Prof. Abbas Aroua – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Sep 2015
The director of the Cordoba Foundation of Geneva and strong advocate for peace, Abbas Aroua, on the quest for fairness and balance in the Islamic tradition, the need for a secular space in the Arab countries and non-violence as the only effective way towards lasting peace.
→ read full articleNonviolence is the Response to Hate Cartoons
Dr. Abbas Aroua – TRANSCEND Media Service,
15 Oct 2012
In the last weeks we have seen a resurgence of Islamic-Western tensions around the seeming opposition between freedom of expression and respect for religious symbols. The attitudes and behaviors in the West vis-à-vis Islam which are perceived negatively in the Muslim world may be classified into seven categories:
→ read full article(French) Face aux Caricatures de la Haine, la Non-Violence s’Impose
Abbas Aroua – TRANSCEND Media Service,
15 Oct 2012
Les dernières semaines ont connu la résurgence des tensions occidento-islamiques autour de l’opposition apparente entre la liberté d’expression et le respect des symboles religieux. On peut classer les attitudes et les comportements en Occident vis-à-vis de l’Islam qui sont perçus négativement dans le monde musulman en sept catégories:
→ read full articleAlgeria and the Arab Revolutions
Abbas Aroua, 5 Sep 2011 - TRANSCEND Media Service,
5 Sep 2011
Many people keep asking why Algeria did not catch the train of revolutions and participate in the 2011 “Arab Spring”. Is it going to be an exception? Is it going to miss this “historic window” to liberate itself? The last country in the region to get rid of a ruthless corrupt military dictatorship? Are Algerians less determined to grasp freedom and decent life than Tunisians, Egyptians, Yemenis and others? To answer those meaningful and legitimate questions, we need a brief historical overview.
→ read full article(Italian) OIC: Organizzazione Islamica C = Conferenza-Cooperazione-Comunità?
Abbas Aroua e Johan Galtung, 18 luglio 2011 – TRANSCEND Media Service,
1 Aug 2011
L’idea di collettività di stati è inclusa nella Carta delle Nazioni Unite per promuovere una transizione dal mondo del 1945 a quello odierno. Ma ancor meglio sarebbe una democrazia di stati membri “Uniti per la Pace”, con nessun sabotaggio dalle potenze che vivono nel passato.
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Abbas Aroua & Johan Galtung, 18 Jul 2011 - TRANSCEND Media Service,
18 Jul 2011
The new OIC of cooperation will pose a major challenge to the UN. Of the five present Security Council veto powers, four are christian (one evangelical, one anglican, one catholic-secular, one orthodox), and one daoist-confucian-buddhist. OIC outsizes them all, even China. This is not only totally unfair, taking into account that the borders fragmenting the islamic community were mainly drawn by those Western powers, but also makes UNSC resolutions against muslim countries illegitimate. Muslim veto power could have saved many human lives, and the USA-West against unwise policies, and opened for a more balanced UN and more regional action.
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