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Conflict Transformation Project, Fuller Theological Seminary

In partnership with Fuller Theological Seminary, the Salam Institute has sought to engage the full spectrum of views and opinions held by American Muslims on dialogue with Evangelicals by reaching out to different members of the community living in the United States. Toward this aim, the Salam Institute has entered into a collaborative partnership with the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the Graduate School of Islamic Social Sciences (GSISS), and the Mohamed Said Farsi Chair of Islamic Peace at American University.

Foreign Ministry of the Netherlands

As part of its capacity-building initiatives in the Muslim world which explore, develop, and utilize Muslim resources for peace-building and conflict resolution, the Salam Institute partnered with the Conflict Resolution Unit of Clingendael Institute and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs to conduct a large-scale and comprehensive analysis of key Islamic actors in Africa and the Balkans.

Fellowships

Between 2005 and 2007, Salam Institute gave seven fellowships for research focused on Islamic sources of peacebuilding and conflict resolution.  The recipients of the fellowship included junior researchers and practitioners who utilized the funds to facilitate and promote further discourse and exploration of training manuals for peace and conflict resolution in the Islamic context.  Some of the themes included: Sources of peacebuilding and nonviolence in Islam; Status and challenges facing Muslim communities in the United States.

Muslim Peacebuilding Network

The Salam Institute is currently working on compiling a comprehensive database of actors and organizations in the United States and around the world who are actively engaged in Islamic approaches and methods of peacebuilding, development, nonviolence, peaceful inter-religious and intra-religious coexistence, and conflict resolution and transformation. This database is intended to become a resource for scholarship and activists in the field, for networking and support, and for providing and making known alternative approaches and activities related to the many complex challenges confronting civil societies and communities around the world today.


Curriculum for Peace Education in Muslim Educational Institutes

We believe that there is a pressing need to develop authentic Islamic peace education materials. In cooperation with United Nation for Peace (UPEACE), Salam Institute has initiated a project to compile and write a basic Peace Education curriculum for Muslim high schools, colleges, and universities. There are currently many peace education manuals and books, but all of them are designed and applied from Western and Christian perspectives. Our proposed curriculum is intended for use in both formal and informal educational settings. We have identified 22 Muslim scholars and educators from South Asia and will be conducting the first consultation in Toronto Canada in May 14-19, 2006. Facilitated by Salam and UPEACE leaders, the group generated an outline of issues, methodologies, and cases to include in any future Peace Education curriculum for Muslim participants. Our next step is to develop detailed content of this curriculum before the end of 2006. We plan to pilot this curriculum with two other Muslim groups from Middle East and Africa, and begin regional training for teachers on how to apply the curriculum in their own educational specific institutions.