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Articles/Peace Blogs Sources and News Items about Peace Issues in General

This section of the site has articles from many sources, some Blogs which we have gathered and other news items which might make you think differently about world issues to do with peace and justice.
None of the following texts are intended to persuade or offend. The intention is only to inform.

Where possible we have provided sources. Where practical we have given web links, but due to the nature of the material these links may change and become out of date (please tell us about dead links!)

Your feedback is always welcome.

Press Release -PR Scotland

Release Date: 15/02/05

Elizabeth Harley on Peace work in Bangkok while attending Asia’s Premier World Event – The 25th Bangkok Gems and Jewelry Fair.

Elizabeth Harley will be furthering world peace in Thailand during February and March 2005. There are two projects.

Elizabeth Harley will be furthering world peace in Thailand during February and March 2005. There are two projects. One involving creation and manufacture of a range of world peace symbol jewelry for international sale and the second will see her teaching staff development skills at the Mercy Centre in Bangkok.

Elizabeth is well known and respected in alternative health circles as a Reiki Master and Teacher and has taught Reiki to international groups in several countries including India and the United States. She has worked within both the private and public sector teaching Reiki skills to literally hundreds of individuals and groups. Students come from many countries to attend Elizabeth’s courses including Spain, France, Italy, USA and Iceland,

The Peace jewelry project has involved more than 2 years of close work with Aberdeenshire Designer Jeweller Lorna Purvis. This will result in a launch in July 2005. The intention is to produce the range of Peace Symbol silver and gold jewelry for international sale via both the internet and by using more traditional outlets. The purchasers will by the very act of wearing these designs be promoting world peace themselves.

Elizabeth will be seeking manufacturers for her designs at the 2005 Bangkok Gem and Jewelry Fair which has 2,800 exhibitors in 60,000 sqm of prime exhibition space. Dates for the event are 22-27th February 2005.

After the fair she will travel to the Mercy Centre in Klong Toey, Bangkok, Thailand to provide training in Reiki to staff, volunteers and residents. The Mercy Centre was founded in 1991 as a home for children living on the streets in Bangkok's slums. Children under the Mercy Centre's care range in age from 2 to 3 years old up to college age and are orphans, street children, sexually and physically abused children, abandoned children and those from the criminal justice system. In 1992 an AIDS hospice facility, free to all patients, was incorporated into the Centre. It was renovated and reopened in June of 2000. The Mercy Centre is a non-profit facility and is funded through the generosity of its donors.

News

Interfaith dialogues vital for world peace, says American scholar

PESHAWAR, Sept 30 : Underlining the need for inter-religion dialogue, Imam Yahya Hendi, an American Muslim scholar has said that open discussions could help followers of various religions understand diversities of faiths and remain peaceful with each other.

He was delivering a lecture on "Religious Diversities in the United States" at Sheikh Zaid Islamic Centre of Peshawar University here. Imam Yahya is a Muslim Chaplain in George University and spokesman of Islamic Jurisprudence North America.

Since the 9/11 incident Yahya has been very vocal for interfaith dialogues over several issues. He strongly believes that each every man should be tolerant and accommodative for others without harming his own religious sentiments.

Currently, he is on a brief visit to Pakistan to highlight the importance of interfaith dialogues among followers of different religions. During his visit to Peshawar the US Muslim scholar delivered three lectures one each to students of religious seminaries, at US Consulate and to the students of Peshawar University at Islamic Centre.

In his lecture at Islamic Centre, Yahya briefly talked about social development while setting aside the feelings of hatred, intolerance against the followers of other religions. Briefing students about American Muslims, he told them that 7 millions Muslims were living in the US.

Talking about the 9/11 incident, Imam Yahya said that the incident had not only shocked the Christians and Jews, but also the Muslims, as 600 Muslims were killed and a mosque located at 45th floor of one of the two buildings had been martyred. Dispelling the impression that Jews had hatched the 9/11conspiracy, the Muslim scholar said that hundreds of Jews had also been killed in the incident, adding that he himself had participated in funeral processions of Jews.

The visiting scholar also held some cultural values responsible for representing Islam wrongly and said in some parts of Islamic world, the Muslims some times prefer their centuries old cultural values over the true teachings of Islam, and such situation convey wrong message of Islam to the people of different countries. He further said neither the Muslims nor non-Muslims could live in peace, while they are at war with each other. "All this needs to bridge the gulf existing between them," Yahya remarked.

Regarding the Muslims’ reservations against the US war on terrorism, the US scholar said that this was natural for Washington to beef up security and further clarified that not only the Muslims but all Americans irrespective of their religious affiliations faced inconvenience due to strong checking.

Imam Yahya maintained during the post 9/11 days the American Muslim scholars delivered thousands of lectures and in the first year of the incident 11,000 articles about Islam were published in US print media. As a result of these efforts the image of Islam improved and most of the people came to know about the teachings of Islam.

Date: 30th September 2005

Source: http://www.pakistanlink.com/Headlines/Sep05/30/07.htm#TOP

Peace Issues and Land Ownership

Many peace issues revolve around land: who owns it; how can it be shared; who has to leave it. Can a country of our own, separate from others, make us safe?
Religious divisions are often central components of such tensions.
Yet, in each religion, there are strong messages of peace, inter-connectedness, loving others as yourselves, a sense of transcendence from narrow borders and confines to open hearts and minds.
Why are these messages not transmitted more powerfully? Can we blame increasing secularity? Or a global media that doesn't find good news profitable? Or ourselves for tuning in day after day to bad news without making more effort to ensure religious and interreligious activities for peace are better known, recognised and supported?
Perhaps we're too loaded down by the peace issues in our own immediate lives: troubles at work, in harmony at home; personal traumas to overcome?
Can the great peace issues of the Middle East or the Balkans or parts of Africa really be solved without a lot more people around the world at peace with themselves? Or will increasing interfaith action for peace help both the victims of struggles and the activists who try to heal the wounds of war?
What about the new imperialisms attempting to dominate the world economically, militarily, ideologically? Are religions also implicated in these? If so, how can we transform these into formulas for peace in our world?
Are we finding the resources in our religious and spiritual traditions to enable us to be peacemakers? Do we really know what peace is? Some people say that peace activists are amongst the most angry people they know!
What are the real peace issues that we as individuals and members of faith communities and interfaith organisations need to address?

Date: 30th September 2005

Source: http://www.interfaithstudies.org/peace/peaceissues.html

Tameside Central Library
We think this is a good and well researched resource for dates and information about many belief systems. Well worth a look and includes links to BBC sites.

Date: 30th September 2005

Source: http://www.tameside.gov.uk/libraries/childrens/re.html

Iraq peace prayer emailed out to churches

Scotland's Episcopal bishops today urged churches across the country to say a prayer for peace in Iraq and the Middle East at their services this Sunday. The text of the specially written prayer was sent out to more than 500 ministers and church leaders this morning by email and post. Churches were also encouraged to start opening their doors at lunchtime every Friday, to let Scotland's workers and shoppers come in and say their own prayers. The seven bishops said they were spurred into action by the growing military build up of American and British armed forces in the Middle East. The Most Rev Bruce Cameron, Primus of the Church, said: "The TV pictures of the Ark Royal sailing into Scottish waters in preparation for going to the Middle East further heightened in our minds the imminence of possible military action.
"At such a time we are particularly aware of those who would be caught up in such action - both the innocent civilians in Iraq, and those members and families of our armed forces from this country." The Primus, who is also Bishop of Aberdeen & Orkney, added: "We are called as Christians to continue to pray ceaselessly for peace and justice in our world. We are conscious that events could move swiftly in the coming days and weeks, and so would urge that such prayers be constant." The email also set out the Bishops' position on the growing conflict, backed up by statements by other faith bodies and leaders.
It stated: "We would specifically assert: 1. That military action should be regarded as a 'last resort'. 2. That we should work within the United Nations; and give time for the UN inspectors to complete their task. 3. That efforts continue to be made to address the violence and injustices of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict." Prayer for Peace in Iraq and the Middle East

We come to you, God Creator.
You are the source of life and beauty and power.
Your son, Jesus is the way of faith and hope and love.
Your Spirit is the fire of love, the fount of wisdom, the bond of unity. You call us at all times to be people of the beatitudes, Witnesses to the Gospel of peace and love and forgiveness. You call us at this time, when war and rumours of war, weigh heavily on the Peoples of Iraq and the Middle East. Their lives are already broken by suffering and violence.

We renew our acceptance of your call.

We promise to work:

* To bring the light of the Gospel to those living in darkness,
* To bring the hope of the Gospel to those living in despair,
* To bring the healing of the Gospel to the lonely, the disadvantaged,
the marginalised,
* And to bring the peace of the Gospel to a divided world.

Amen

Date: 22nd October2005

Source: http://www.ctbi.org.uk/intaff/iraq/scep01.htm

WAR AND PEACE - by Elizabeth Harley Tibetan, Usui and Karuna Reiki Master

This year has seen an event many of us hoped never to witness - our country declaring war on another.
The waves of shock, horror, anger, denial, outrage and sadness have now diminished but no-one escaped the heavy energy inevitably created by so much planned destruction. Did you notice how many people were suffering from fatigue in the immediate aftermath?
As always humour helped. Some of my favourite banners on the peace marches combined insight with humour. I preferred to call them peace marches rather than anti-war demos, the energy is quite different. Anti-war is fighting war with war. How can that work? Peace is taking the higher perspective. As Gandhi said, “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”
It was inspiring to see so many people from all corners of the world standing up for peace, in unprecedented numbers. It felt as if perhaps world peace could become a reality in our lifetime, if the desire for it is so strong in so many hearts. So, did the end justify the means? What was it all REALLY all about? Will we ever know? No matter how many questions we ask, or how many answers we receive, we may still feel dissatisfied. This situation has to be understood with the heart, not the head. One negative effect of the peace marches was to polarize people according to their beliefs about the war, creating yet more division.
We need to hold a space of peace ABOVE all the human division, without getting too caught up in the human stuff. However, being human, this can usually only be maintained periodically.
The rest of the time we need to transmute and work through our feelings and emotions. As usual, the best way to do that is firstly to be aware of them. Let them be. Don’t judge yourself for having them. Certainly do not deny or block them, (what we resist will persist!) Rather explore them and experience them fully. It is always easiest to do this while giving yourself Reiki. You could use the mental/emotional symbol if attuned to second degree Reiki.
Ultimately we need to reach a point where we can hold the whole situation in love and compassion. It certainly feels better for us, and therefore everyone around us.

That then also becomes the energy that we send out around the world. What would you rather send out, love and compassion or fear, pain, doubt and anger? We need to hold on to the higher perspective, to become part of the solution rather than stay with the anger & fear and add to the problem.
James Twyman, the author and peace troubadour says “Don’t pray for peace. Pray peace!” For in praying for something we acknowledge its lack. So rather become what you would wish to see, be the change you want to make. Pray peace. Become peace. Be peace.
Make peace in your own life. How can we expect people who have had loved ones killed and injured to forgive and make peace while we still hold grudges and animosity with each other, often over little things. We judge ourselves by our intentions while we judge others by their actions. In 1968 Kent Keith wrote the Illogical Commandments. The first one states: People are illogical, unreasonable and self-centred. Love them anyway. But it can be difficult to hold compassion for people who continually hurt us. Someone once asked the enlightened guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, “How can I feel compassion for someone who is full of anger and hate?” He laughed and replied, “So, who should you feel compassion for, someone who is full of joy and happiness and whose life is going beautifully?”

To help us achieve peace and clear our own energy, thereby lifting the energy of the whole planet, here is a beautiful affirmation from Diana Cooper. Diana said she had been using it herself every morning for several weeks and she felt that it had really advanced her growth. It is:

“I forgive everyone who has ever hurt or harmed me in any way, consciously or unconsciously, deliberately or accidentally, knowingly or unknowingly, in this life or another, in this plane or dimension or another, in this universe or another, and I send them Grace.

I ask for forgiveness for any hurt or harm I have ever caused another in any way, consciously or unconsciously, deliberately or accidentally, knowingly or unknowingly, in this life or another, in this plane or dimension or another, in this universe or another, and I ask for Grace.

I forgive myself for any hurt or harm I have ever caused another in any way, consciously or unconsciously, deliberately or accidentally, knowingly or unknowingly, in this life or another, in this plane or dimension or another, in this universe or another, and I accept Grace.”

Reiki News Summer 2003