Written by: Kamran Mofid

Published: 19 May 2022

Hits: 302

A Must-read book

‘The Center for Global Nonkilling has just released its most recent book, co-published by Creighton University, that artfully explores the intersection between faith, ethics and politics in modern times: Peace Portraits: Pathways to Nonkilling – A Memoir. The intimate autobiographical portraits in the collection reveal how five global peace leaders –Mahatma Gandhi, Lester B. Pearson, Glenn D. Paige, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai, and Máiread Corrigan Maguire impacted the author’s life. Using their short biographies, CGNK’s Governing Council member Balwant Bhaneja examines the path of nonviolence and nonkilling.

As Bhaneja writes: “Peace is a much abused word. It has been misused and misspoken by all sorts of leaders in defense of their insurgencies and wars—Stalin mobilized the Soviet Union in the name of peace, Hitler’s war to colonize Europe was to bring peace and prosperity for Germans, and even Bush’s military intervention in Iraq was to introduce peace and democracy in the region to make America look great again. These wars of the previous century were fought in the name of peace which led to the deaths of around 200 million people, mostly innocent civilians.” He adds: “The US involvement in the Afghanistan war in this century has been the longest in any foreign war, 20 years in 2021. You have to be naive to feel high-minded after having paid such a heavy toll, and have the gall to call it a “mission of peace accomplished.“

By bringing together the spiritual life with the political, Bhaneja delves into the nature of personal conscience as embodied in the thoughts and actions of these peace champions. His definition of peace continues to evolve, from the internal as peace of mind and personal happiness to peace outside, to see if and how it can be externalized to alleviate physical misery around. It is through this quest he came to learn about Nonkilling Peace and its measure. “Deliberate killing of humans stops progress—you stop killing, progress resumes.”

Professor Glenn D. Paige on Bhaneja’s book commented: “This is a unique contribution to nonkilling literature. Reminiscent of classics like St. Augustine and Tolstoy— it is not a story from bad to good, but from ahimsa to nonkilling—good to good.” The author brings a wealth of experience to this important topic being active in promoting alternative visions of how politics might be conducted. A continuous thread through the book is the question: could we not take a portion of the money and resources put into armaments and military research and instead direct that to a ministry of peace? An interesting and worthwhile work.

Balwant Bhaneja is the author of six books. He has written widely on politics, science and arts. His other works include Troubled Pilgrimage: Passage to Pakistan and Quest for Gandhi: A Nonkilling Journey (also published by CGNK). A former career diplomat with the Canadian Foreign Service, he served in London, Berlin and Bonn.’

Peace Portraits is available in paperback on Amazon and also in a digital Kindle edition.

Learn more about Peace Portraits and the Centre for Global Nonkilling HERE

Nonkilling and Non-violent Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding

A pick from our GCGI archive

Photo:Pixabay

GCGI is our journey of hope and the sweet fruit of a labour of love. It is free to access, and it is ad-free too. We spend hundreds of hours, volunteering our labour and time, spreading the word about what is good and what matters most. If you think that's a worthy mission, as we do—one with powerful leverage to make the world a better place—then, please consider offering your moral and spiritual support by joining our circle of friends, spreading the word about the GCGI and forwarding the website to all those who may be interested.

A Non-Violent Path to Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding- Kamran Mofid (Editor), et al

War is the Failure of Humanity: The Tragedy of What We Are Collectively Doing

 Forty Years On: Remembering 9/11, 1973, The Butchering of Chile

I wonder if you are feeling like I do?

Where has all the Wisdom gone?: "Destitution, hardship and hunger on a large scale" in Britain, and £37bn for Helmand province

Dear President Obama, this is my plea to you: Be for the Common Good

The spectacular defeat of western pseudo-values: The Afghan Debacle

This is the surest path to no more Afghan-like debacles

Mission Accomplished? The Human and Economic Cost of US Wars Since 9/11

The man who taught me about war and peace, hatred and love, despair and hope

..And now, Lest we forget…

The spiritual heritage as a source of wisdom in the age of globalisation: Walter Schwimmer- Keynote Speech

Written by: Kamran Mofid

Published: 19 May 2022

Hits: 419

‘The world belongs to the dreamer and doer

That lives within you and me

We build a better future when we are willing 

To let our best ideas roam free 

Today, the world is calling upon us

To activate our power 

To dream differently.’- The World Dream Day, FaceBook

A Must-read Book

Photo:amazon

‘Alama, a nomad from the northern desert, sets out on a walk accompanied by Koko Kigongo, his walking stick. Along the journey, he meets women and men who are on a similar walk to find the Source of Peace. Like Alama, they are troubled by post-independence violence due to greed, misrule and corruption. Yet, the elders know that the Source of Peace lies in indigenous knowledge that lives in memories of every community of Yeta. But why can they not have peace? The dilemma confronts Alama. When they meet, the elders exchange their peace staffs and memories. Then they keep walking along their separate paths in quest for the Source of Peace.The imaginary walk of Alama is inspired by the author ethnographer Sultan Somjee’s journey. Initially, for two decades he worked on the material culture of Kenya and indigenous aesthetics. He introduced the study of African material culture into the school curriculum. Later, during the conflicts that plagued eastern Africa in the 1990s, Somjee looked towards communal practices of reconciliation for the next two decades. Using material culture, oral traditions, songs, dances, and his learning from Kamirithu Community Theatre and Educational Centre (1977), Somjee initiated the building of museums of peace with the participation of local communities. Museums of peace are grassroots civil societies that open spaces for communities to speak to each other about their heritages during conflicts and in-between when tensions arise due to political propaganda and sectarianism resulting in hate, humiliation and yearnings for revenge.’

Sultan Somjee-Photo: Daily Nation/Zera Somjee.

‘Sultan Somjee is a writer of unique quality. He has been honoured by the United Nations as an Unsung Hero of Dialogue Among Civilizations. His background as an ethnographer gives him ample material for his story lines. What makes him unique, however, is his insightful, poetic voice. His writing reaches deep into recesses in our being human. It awakens forgotten parts of our humanity, long hidden, covered up by lives immersed in acquisition, self-preservation, and egoistic endeavours. It refreshes the tired spirit, and opens doors to new visions of a better way to be. We taste what Alama seeks. This is Somjee’s art…a privilege to experience. Experience this wonderful adventure of discovery, and understand more.’...Read more

‘For four decades Sultan Somjee has worked on material culture. He introduced learning about indigeneity through material culture in the Kenyan school curriculum (1985-1990). While he was the Head of Ethnography at the National Museums of Kenya, Somjee started village peace museums. The museums highlight indigenous languages, material culture and the arts used over generations for reconciliation and social cohesion. Today, the peace museums have spread from Kenya to Uganda and South Sudan as a people to people civil society movement.  In 2001, the United Nations named Dr. Somjee one among the only twelve ‘Unsung Heroes of Dialogue Among Civilizations’ worldwide in recognition of his work. In 2002, Dr. Somjee was appointed to the Global Advisory Board of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies.

The book One Who Dreams is Called a Prophet is inspired by the author-ethnographer’s journey into the world of material culture, story telling, indigenous African knowledge and nature that describe Utu, Swahili for ‘being mtu’ or simply ‘being human’. All over traditional Africa the principle of Utu or Ubantu is used in reconciliation and sustaining peace.’

Reviews of “One Who Dreams is Called a Prophet”

‘There is much to admire about Kenya’s Indigenous Peoples as peacemakers that are portrayed in One Who Dreams is Called a Prophet. In this creative fiction, Sultan Somjee intricately weaves together memoir, history, and peace heritage traditions by telling the story of one of the most sought-after ideals of humankind, the search for peace. Alama, the protagonist, walks across Kenya’s red soil meeting Elders, exchanging peace staffs, and with each encounter illuminating the stories of the beauty of peace. During his interactions with Western hegemony, he challenges liberal peace practices being employed and rejects money and fame, turning towards his own honour, dignity and freedom. Ultimately, finding internal peace within his own Indigenous belief system.”- Kimberly Baker, UBC Ph.D Candidate (Thesis: Museums of Peace in Conflict Zones), and Chair, The Living Peace Museum, Canada

‘At a time when the world experiences the seriousness of social and environmental unsustainability, One Who Dreams is Called a Prophet offers a perspective on the urgency of a radical socio-cultural transformation from an African vantage point. It reflects on the existential questions and devastating impacts caused by colonial regimes and the neo-patrimonial political systems that followed them on the Continent. And it does so with a brilliant narrative style, based on African cultural heritage, ranging from storytelling traditions to proverbs, parables and riddles layered in metaphors and satire.

One Who Dreams is Called a Prophet is a captivating reading, very entertaining, with an unpredictable plot and a vivid narrative that paints every scene as a microcosm that unfolds through rich sensorial renderings and spiritual insights. African readers will find inspiration in it, and a path to develop an appreciative and critical consciousness of their own cultural heritage as a gift for peace’... Read more —> — Alberto Parise, Comboni Missionary

Buy the book HERE

See also: Alama's Walk, The Oracle Speaks, the graphic novel is adapted from "One Who Dreams is Called a Prophet"

‘Alama's Walk , The Oracle Speaks, is the first of three graphic novels on heritage stories about Indigenous peace practices in eastern Africa. The three novels are from One Who Dreams is Called a Prophet, a book about a lone elder’s walk in pursuit of the last traces of Indigenous knowledge of Utu during conflicts. Utu in Swahili means the quality of being human or simply humanness or humanity. The walk resulted in cultivating conversations on reconciliation in a conflicted country, among diverse cultures, in diverse languages and diverse arts that led to the making of the Community Museums of Peace in eastern Africa.

The forthcoming two graphic novels, Alama's Walk, Healing the Earth (2022) and Alama's Walk, Ogres of Humiliation and Revenge (2023), similarly radiate grassroots narratives from the walking sticks carried by elders. The walking sticks are respected for they are often carved out of peace trees and used during reconciliation. Each book has a running meme on Utu as viewed by 10 Indigenous cultures through elders’ memories, the environment, material culture, community stories, rituals and spirituality.’

Alama's Walk - character designs based on the Turkana, Pokot and Borana people of East Africa: Watch the Video

Buy the book HERE

Dialogue, Friendship, Forgiveness and Reconciliation, Peace and Justice, Ubantu, I am because We Are

A pick from our GCGI archive

We can all imagine the world we want to build; now's the time to start its construction. -Photo: Via the BBC

GCGI is our journey of hope and the sweet fruit of a labour of love. It is free to access, and it is ad-free too. We spend hundreds of hours, volunteering our labour and time, spreading the word about what is good and what matters most. If you think that's a worthy mission, as we do—one with powerful leverage to make the world a better place—then, please consider offering your moral and spiritual support by joining our circle of friends, spreading the word about the GCGI and forwarding the website to all those who may be interested.

Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future

“Education of My Dream”

‘I have a Dream’, 57 Years On and Why We Must Carry on Imagining the Dream

‘Why is there so much inequality in the country?’: This is how to dream to build a better and fairer world

Dreaming About Utopia to Make the World Great Again

‘I Have a Dream’: Yearning for Dr. King’s Interconnected World

Recalling an epoch-defining day: “I Have a Dream” speech remembered

 A Must-read book on the “I Have a Dream” speech

Ubuntu Education: Nelson Mandela’s Lasting Legacy

The Spirit of Ubuntu and the Common Good

Celebrating the Centenary of the Man for the Common Good

The Road to Peace, Justice, Prosperity, Happiness and Well-being

The Anxious and Troubled Times: ‘Now we need books more than ever’

Compassion, kindness, hope, courage and joy: The Path to a More Loving World

The Coventry Litany of Reconciliation: The Charter for Forgiveness and Reconciliation the World Ever Needs

Forgiveness and Reconciliation: Provost Howard-The Man who made Coventry the City of Peace, Forgiveness and Reconciliation

Ambassadors’ Lecture Series: The Prelude to the Establishment of the Centre for the Study of Forgiveness and Reconciliation at Coventry University in 1996

 Forgiveness and Reconciliation in Pursuit of the Global Common Good