“Harnessing the Potential of Inter-Faith Communication as a Pacifying

I . Introduction

The United Nations underlines its efforts on different grounds peacekeeping efforts to end the world 's conflicts , extending assistance to victims , protecting human rights as well as its function to eradicate poverty and advance social and economic development . Because the efforts deal with working in communities or basically human society , it is inevitable that projects may not be well implemented or carried out - this is because of the inevitable existence of conflicts . A useful example might be the case of the ever-deepening conflicts happening in Burundi . Because of

conflicts leading to massacres between Hutu and Tutsi groups it is clearly evident that any project or development program may be hampered or not carried out . Another well-publicized and recent example showing conflict between two extremely different (and opposed ) cultures or groups is that of Israel and Hezbollah . Clearly , a clash in cultures , beliefs , norms and religious traditions has as much a part in conflicts as other reasons such as political , etc . It is clearly evident therefore , that different societies have different sets of beliefs , culture , values , and perspectives and with that conflicts may inevitably rise . With these problems or dilemmas , it is imperative that a solution be taken to deal with the conflicts or problems that may help to further advance the United Nations functions and goals . As a solution , inter-faith communication has been suggested as a solution to address the problem arising from conflicts between people of different communities and church denominations . According to the official website of CNEWA , a papal agency for humanitarian and support , inter-faith communication maybe seen as supporting programs related to promoting collaboration , pastoral , and humanitarian work among different church denominations . The agency extends collaboration with non-Christians There are various organizations or agencies promoting inter-faith communication with religious denominations other than its own , the following are some examples : The Salam Institute for Peace and Justice Interfaith Project , etc . However the question exactly is , how will different societies , communities or religious denominations respond to inter-faith communication ? To put it clearly , inter-faith communication is seen as a solution to ending problems of conflicts and misunderstandings that can hamper the carrying out of the United Nation 's programs such as Millenium Development Goals . Programs such as these that aim to target various problems (1 ) addressing the problem of hunger and poverty (2 ) giving everyone access to primary education (3 promoting gender equality and empowerment in women (4 ) ensuring good condition for children (5 ) improving health of mothers (6 ) combating diseases such as HIV , AIDS , etc (6 ) ensuring sustainability for the environment and (7 ) developing a partnership for development , may be wasted if not thoroughly implemented because of issue with conflicts The question therefore that should be asked in the first place which is imperative to the proposed solution of inter-faith communication is - will different sectors of society or those from different cultures religions , norms , values , perceptions , beliefs and others find inter-faith communication acceptable in the first place ? The United Nations obviously encounters conflicts with regards performing its...