Peacebuilding in Communities: Experiences of a Muslim Female Social Worker in Cultivating Interfaith Awareness in Australia

Abstract

In 2007, following a lengthy debate, the United Nations (UN) expanded the definition of “peacebuilding” to not only be comprehensive, but more crucially described as a long-term process involving different actors and institutions. The UN also encouraged the acceptance of many of the indigenous approaches and strategies in managing different types of conflicts. In the expanded definition, women became recognised as a key factor in peacebuilding. Their participation was encouraged by adopting the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325), which was to be implemented through National Action Plan by signatories. This paper focuses on the community-level peacebuilding mechanism in multicultural societies to build social cohesion through interfaith dialogue, awareness and education in Australia. Using interview method to relate a Muslim woman’s experience of building peace at the community level, the paper describes the works of Dr. Nora Amath and her organisation, Australian Muslim Advocates for the Rights of All Humanity (AMARAH). The paper analyses the approaches and strategies used by AMARAH to build trust between Muslims and non-Muslims through interfaith dialogue towards building peace and tolerance among the communities in Brisbane, Australia. The remarkable success of community leaders like her in maintaining openness to communication, respect and tolerance won her the Australian Peace Woman of the Year Award, 2015.