FAITH, PEACE, EDUCATION; PERSPECTIVES OF ACTIVE FAITH BASED EDUCATORS IN PAKISTAN

Pakistanis take pride in calling themselves a faith based nation. Faith based actors in this country have always had a good share in shaping popular views. But faith in this country’s short, troubled history has mostly remained a source of conflict rather than harmony. Faith based peacebuilding on the other hand is an emerging discipline within peace and conflict studies, generating a vast literature in recent years. The role of faith in conflict transformation and building peace is the key theme of this discipline. For peacebuilding in Pakistan, the post 9/11 academic discourse emphasizes the role of education and faith based actors . Formerly the madrasa reform and then public education reform has remained the focal point of academic and policy papers on Pakistan for many years after 9/11. Many recent studies recommend engaging faith based actors and reforming education to promote peace in Pakistan. This study aims to examine the ideas presented in two vast sets of literature ; literature on faith based peacebuilding and education reform for peace in Pakistan. This study then seeks to explore the possibility of engaging faith based educators in Pakistan for building peace in the country by collecting their perspectives on issues related to faith, peace and education. This study shall contribute significantly to the existing discourse on education and faith based peacebuilding in Pakistan as it seeks to explore the perspectives of institutions actively involved in faith based education in Pakistan, significantly shaping the educated, middle class worldviews and previously not sufficiently covered in education and peacebuilding discourse.