IRCRA engages Pakistan’s community and diverse target groups in capacity-building programmes, research and dialogues that promote tolerance and peace.
Sectarian strife especially between Sunni and Shias is a bigger challenge for the security and stability of Pakistan since long. Pakistan has witnessed violence and bloodshed instigated by sectarian differences and hatred on religious grounds. IRCRA has engaged thousands of religious leaders, mosque imams, madrasah teachers and interfaith leaders through its awareness raising and capacity building programs during the last 9 years.
🥇 IRCRA Efforts and IMPACT Towards Sectarian Reconciliation
Highlights
Highlights
More than a thousand religious journals and magazines are published in Pakistan by madrasas and other religious groups and parties. About 500 of these journals are published on almost regular basis. IRCRA organized media training workshops for the editors and writers of these journals to sensitize and train them for constructive contributions for the betterment of society and reconciliatory ideas.
These workshops brought the participants from diverse sectarian magazines and equipped them with knowledge and skills to counter hate speech and hate literature. The trained participants conducted set of follow up activities to amplify and promote peaceful coexistence including peace dialogues and writing many articles. These follow up activities spread the message to thousands of people and positively influence their opinion.
The editorial teams of religious media publications were trained and engaged positively, to have an obvious change in the perception and behavior of religious media editors, writers and influencers towards other religions and sects. The religious media actors positively changed their views and perceptions about other religions, sects that is visible in their writing and speeches.
🥇 Features of Training Workshops for religious media
🥇 Outcomes/results of the religious media training:
🤠 Participants’ quotes
“I hereby also pledge that I will try my best to play my part to raise awareness among community members of my area. I would like to urge that each one of us contribute in advocating dialogue and promoting peace.” (Mr. Iqbal Shah Haidri)
International Research Council for Religious Affairs (IRCRA) initiated to disseminate peace messages through social media platform to observe the international day of peace. The purpose of the project was to disseminate the message “shaping peace together” on the occasion of international day of peace on 21st of September. This initiative includes posters developments, video recordings of renowned speakers with peace and harmony messages, sharing of global courses offered by USIP, free of cost. #Peacedaychallenge was used while sharing the posts on social media.
Poster 1
Poster 2
Highlights
Highlights
International Research Council for Religious Affairs (IRCRA) in partnership with Geneva Call and with the financial support of European Union (EU) initiated the two year project titled “Restoration of Humanitarian Dialogue in North West Pakistan & within the Region” in selected three districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including in Peshawar, Khyber and Mohmand.
🥇 PROJECT AIMS and IMPACT
IRCRA established the Af-Pak Women’s Association (APWA) to foster leadership among Afghan women and girls displaced by the recent situation in Afghanistan. IRCRA sponsored a one-day seminar with displaced Afghan women and girls to address their challenges in the host country. Mr. Israr Madani, president of IRCRA, informed the audience on the organization’s efforts to build links between Afghan and Pakistani citizens.
During the conversation, displaced Afghan women urged Pakistani civil society organisations to help them achieve socio-economic stability in the host country. They stated that Afghan women and girls in refugee camps had limited access to school and little opportunities to further their education. As a result of being displaced from their homes, the women face a variety of health issues, including despair. Scholarships for Afghan female students who desire to continue their studies are also in high demand.
Highlights
Highlights
International Research Council for Religious Affairs (IRCRA) in collaboration with the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) and with the financial support of National Endowment for Democracy (NED) successfully completed the project titled; “Engaging Religious Media, Academia and Muslim Democrats on Islam and Democracy” to support democratic transition in the Muslim World. IRCRA successfully managed to educate & increased the understanding of the participants on democracy and democratic principles and engaged more than the targeted number of participants from religious media, editors, academia and social activities under different activities.
IRCRA established a group of prominent people working in their respective fields to strengthen democratic narratives, particularly on tolerance and pluralism. The overall positive impact of the follow-up activities included publications, videos being produced, interactive dialogue sessions in comminutes regarding democratic values and processes.
🥇 The project has the following outcomes:
🥇 Follow up activities including:
The polio reservoirs in Pakistan are geographically located in such parts that have substantial influence of religious scholars and are also security compromised. One common fact for a majority of these areas is that they have a wide subscription base for religious narrative and publications. Collaborating with UN-WHO, UNICEF and Pakistan’ Ministry of Health IRCRA had designed and run a successful campaign to eradicate polio from Pakistan through religious engagement. IRCRA’ campaign strategy included polio awareness seminars and workshops to counter anti polio vaccination propaganda, engagement of top-level religious leadership, capacity building workshpos with religious magazine editors’ writers, educators and development of modules to counter violent groups’ propaganda against polio vaccination.
🥇 PROJECT IMPACT/ Success
Highlights
