The Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers Publication 1 BASELINE STUDY Mir Mubashir & Luxshi Vimalarajah Tradition- & Faith-Oriented Insider Mediators (TFIMs) as Crucial Actors in Conflict Transformation Potential, Constraints, & Opportunities for Collaborative Support Contents Key Insights ....................................................................................................................................................... 3 Recommendations ............................................................................................................................................. 4 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 6 2 Who are TFIMs? ........................................................................................................................................ 13 3 What do TFIMs do, and how do they do it? .................................................................................................. 18 4 What constraints are TFIMs subject to? ......................................................................................................... 25 5 How can the constraints on TFIMs be addressed? ......................................................................................... 29 6 Concluding remarks ................................................................................................................................... 33 Literature ........................................................................................................................................................ 34 About the authors Mir Mubashir is a researcher and project manager in the Dialogue, Mediation & Peace Support Structures programme at the Berghof Foundation. His research interests in the field of peace and conflict lie particularly in systemic conflict transformation, cultural & religious dimensions of conflict and creative forms of dialogue (e.g. interactive theatre). Luxshi Vimalarajah is the programme director of the Dialogue, Mediation & Peace Support Structures programme at the Berghof Founda- tion. She has many years’ experience in designing and facilitating dialogue processes and in providing training and mediation support to third-party mediators. Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the following people for their gracious support in making this study possible: Antti Pentikäinen, Matthias Wevelsiep, Marc Zuiderveen, Stephan Kraus, Véronique Dudouet, Jularat Damrongviteetham (LukOm), Katrin Planta, Malika Bouziane, Hans-Joachim Giessmann, Simon Mason, Owen Frazer, Nathalie Al-Zyoud, Ossi Gustafsson, Edla Puoskari, Anna Tervahartiala, Paula Tarvainen and Tom Strömman. Thanks also to all our interviewees and interlocutors in the case studies and the participants at the June 2015 Berlin workshop of the study. Visualisation: Krystal Renschler Proofreading: Richard Lambert Layout: Hiekka Graphics Citation Mir, Mubashir, and Luxshi Vimalarajah. 2016. Tradition- & Faith-Oriented Insider Mediators (TFIMs) as Crucial Actors in Conflict Transfor- mation: Potential, Constraints, & Opportunities for Collaborative Support. Baseline Study. Availability This study, a synopsis and six case studies (Myanmar/ Burma, Southern Thailand, Lebanon, Colombia, Kenya and Mali) are available at www.peacemakersnetwork.org/tfim. Supported by Commissioned by Conducted by 2016 © The Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers Key Insights Tradition- & faith-oriented insider mediators (TFIMs) are TFIMs may serve as ‘indirect connectors’, facilitating the not only traditional and religious leaders/authorities, but involvement of neutral outsider mediators in cases where also include a diverse array of actors who, one way or they themselves lack sufficient trust and credibility among another, incorporate traditional and religious elements in the conflicting parties, as was the case with some imams in their conflict transformation efforts. Southern Thailand. A TFIM may draw tools and inspiration from multiple faiths, Civil society actors working in conjunction with religious cultures and traditions, as well as from non-religious (secu- leaders can have subtle but far-reaching influence on pol- lar) and non-traditional concepts/values. icy. Examples include the ratification of a national poli- cy on healing and compensation for victims in Southern In many contexts, the fact that religious institutions are Thailand and the adoption of policies in Lebanon, which deeply embedded within communities makes them more embeds the concepts of inclusive citizenship and religious legitimate mediators than traditional or political actors, an diversity into the national curriculum. example being the Catholic Church in Colombia. Serendipitous encounters often create the atmosphere that ‘Moderate’ TFIMs sometimes manage to constructively constructively challenges human perceptions. In Myanmar, challenge and transform traditional and religious estab- for example, cooperative humanitarian work undertaken lishments. One example of this is the monastic education in the wake of cyclone Nargis brought about a paradigm system in Myanmar, which is becoming more ‘socially en- shift among some prejudiced monks. Such encounters can gaged’. also be strategically ‘created’, as some TFIMs in Myanmar demonstrate. The approach to mediation adopted by religious peace- makers is not necessarily ‘religious’, i.e. it is often indis- TFIMs can also help to engender new TFIMs, for example cernible from the ‘secular’ approaches used by other kinds in Myanmar, where some TFIMs are facilitating dialogue of peacemakers. Examples include the ‘coffee club’ dia- among, and the empowerment of, (intolerant) religious logue forums run by a pastor in Nairobi, Kenya, and the leaders, who then gradually emerge as TFIMs. interfaith diapraxis approaches used by a group of monks in Mandalay, Myanmar. Most of the challenges that TFIMs face are not unique to TFIMs but are shared with other peacemakers. One such Young TFIMs in traditional and religious establishments challenge is a lack of coordination between different kinds are increasingly facing a ‘generational conflict’ with their of peacemakers. The support needs of TFIMs thus largely older colleagues with respect to leadership styles, motiva- revolve around a need to explore complementary and col- tion, creativity and approach. laborative conflict transformation practices. 2016 © The Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers Tradition- & Faith-Oriented Insider Mediators (TFIMs) as Crucial Actors in Conflict Transformation 3 2. Methodology Recommendations General recommendation for all actors TFIMs and civil society actors Create inclusive spaces for dialogue between all of the Proactively engage with and create opportunities for col- relevant actors: middlemen, so-called ‘extremists’, armed laborative peace mediation with other TFIMs, other state groups, hardliners, state actors, etc. Deliberate on how to and non-state (peacebuilding) actors. engage and collaborate with unfamiliar or ‘difficult’ ac- tors, instead of pondering whether to engage. Paradigm Use your moral influence to address the so-called ‘violent shifts take place when we are exposed to encounters and extremism’, but also help others gain a sense of the root situations that are unfamiliar to us not only by accident, but causes of extremism and ensure that mechanisms are in also through strategically planned intervention. Play an ac- place to address these root causes. Utilise mass media to tive part in evolving and maintaining collaborative support achieve greater impact in sensitising the communities con- frameworks in the conflict context you are part of. cerned. Identify, in collaboration with the relevant actors, the pa- Stay grounded: your context needs you most (there have rameters of the traditional (patriarchal) or religious context been cases in which the crucial work of TFIMs, in the (if any) that prohibits or limits mediator roles for women course of gaining much-deserved international attention, and young people. Then establish and communicate, via gradually got detached from the national context). a conflict-sensitive approach, the possible advantages of women and young mediators, using inspiring stories from similar contexts. If a congenial atmosphere can be gen- State actors erated, encourage the training of future TFIMs, especially women and youth TFIMs. Recognise the unofficial peace mediation efforts of TFIMs and support them with the logistical and human resourc- Work intensively on intra-group mediation in order to sen- es that they require. Establish/strengthen the legal foun- sitise groups for inter-group mediation (e.g. intra-faith me- dations that underpin and secure the mediation efforts of diation as a basis for inter-faith mediation). TFIMs, e.g. by enforcing the rule of law and making secu- rity arrangements that ensure safe and secure conditions Allow space for creative thinking. While mediation is an for mediation processes. established tool, it can always accommodate and benefit from creative approaches, which may involve some trial Avoid imposing top-down structures and processes, which and error, and which constitute learning exercises in their are rarely sustainable, even if they seem to be worthwhile own right. Experiment with the arts (e.g. storytelling, the- solutions. Be aware of the pitfalls of formalisation and in- atre, photography) and technology (e.g.