Can religion help build sustainable peace? At the end of an international peace makers conference in Brussels, Dutch journalist and writer Marc van Dijk was invited to deliver a concluding speech.
The gathering, organised by Mensen met een Missie and supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, brought together diplomats, development workers and religious leaders from several countries, including Iraq, Indonesia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Nigeria and Mali – nations involved in the JISRA programme (Joint Initiative for Strategic Religious Action) – a five-year peace-building project which has now come to an end.
Throughout the day, Marc van Dijk attended sessions as a guest writer and spoke with participants. At the end of the conference, he shared the following final thoughts.
If you follow the news, religion seems mainly to be a source of conflict. When we hear about Christians, it’s mainly about intolerance. Across Europe, many believe Islam threatens our open and free societies – and that it would be better if religion no longer played any role in education, government, or public life
At the same time, the existing order is under pressure. Across the world a fierce struggle is raging between democratic systems and autocratic powers. They look different in every country, yet they are deeply interconnected.
As Anne Applebaum shows in her book Autocracy Inc., dictatorial regimes collaborate across borders. Supported by corrupt corporations, they exchange knowledge, resources, and weapons. Their ideologies differ, but everywhere they undermine democracy – and the freedom of religion and belief.
Religion, too, is being misused for these purposes.
That’s why JISRA is such an urgent and vital project. It brings religion back to its roots.
The Latin word religio is often linked to religare – to bind together – but it probably comes from relegere, which means to consider carefully. Both meanings – connection and attentiveness – are central to what you have achieved in JISRA.
Bringing people together. Crossing boundaries that, in the end, matter less than what we share. Transcending the easy oppositions – fuelled by religious fundamentalists, and by power-hungry leaders who profit from division.
You are the counter force.
That’s why it’s so important that you also unite, like we do here today.
And it must be said: if you listen to the stories told here today, it’s astonishing how much can be achieved with such simple means – especially when local communities are truly allowed to speak.
Shifting the Power. Adaptive programming.If JISRA’s impact is strong, it’s because its projects are not imposed from the North. They are genuine exchanges, where young people and women can raise their voices – sometimes for the first time.
Let me tell you about Ibukun Akangbe, a young woman from Nigeria. I met her at one of the morning sessions. She yawned frequently, she hadn’t slept much – she had just organised a multi-day JISRA gathering in central Nigeria.
She told me about Markus Achai, the village head of Manchok Community. He was deeply traumatised by a violent attack by herdsmen in 2014. All the houses were burned. Christians and Muslims had planned to pray together. The Christians were murdered instead.
Since that day, Markus could no longer drink fura de nunu, a local milk delicacy associated with the herdsmen.
Through JISRA, Ibugun began community dialogues. Eventually, members of different groups offered the village head fura de nunu. He accepted, forgave them, and drank with them. They embraced. And Markus himself became a peacemaker.
One of the researchers following JISRA said: “The greatest obstacle isn’t the contradictions we exaggerate. The greatest obstacle is our lack of imagination.”
That thought also echoes in the story of Zinah Hamawand, a young woman from Iraq. She came to Shechan – a city where she knew no one, and therefore carried no local prejudice.
She visited the city’s divided religious communities.
“I didn’t impose a program,” she said. “I simply asked questions.”
One of the first ideas was to visit the Yazidi Lalish Temple with a group of Muslims and Christians on the Yazidis’ most sacred festival.
“We brought flowers,” she said, “because flowers make everyone happy.”
The Yazidi faith is monotheistic, with roots older than Christianity and Islam. The Yazidis, a small minority in Iraq, have faced centuries of persecution – including the genocide by ISIS in 2014.
The Yazidi leader said: “You can’t imagine how much these flowers are healing our wounds.”
A happy ending, you might think – but it was only the beginning.
They shared their pain and then began exploring which human values each religion protects. An new idea emerged: a committee where these groups could continue working together to sustain peace amongst their communities.
Later, Zinah got a surprising call – the committee had been founded. A wealthy local citizen offered funding. A building was found, located right between a Yazidi temple, a church, and a mosque.
Media covered it widely. Delegations came from other cities to learn.
The mayor of Shechan said: “I can hardly believe that other cities now see us as peacemakers.”
And again the researcher’s words ring true:
“The greatest obstacle is our lack of imagination.”
Ending JISRA seems unwise – and, in truth, incomprehensible. In a world that invests so confidently in weapons, we deny ourselves a valuable chance to keep investing in peace.
The following prayer is attributed to Francis of Assisi, one of the most beloved saints in Christian history – and back in the spotlight since the Argentinian pope’s death earlier this year:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
It sounds impossible. And in today’s world, it certainly means swimming against the tide.
But hope, by its very nature, looks beyond what has already been achieved – beyond what can logically be expected – and often endures even against our better judgment.
Your actions prove it can be done.
I truly hope – and fully expect – that your work will continue.
Marc van Dijk
Brussels, 4 November 2025
JISRA Conference
