Resources

A new Kiswahili language publication called “Utangulizi wa Sheria ya Kimataifa ya Kibinadamu ya Kiislamu” (“Introduction to International Humanitarian Law in Islam” / “muqaddimah fi ‘l-qanun ad-duwali al-insani fi ‘l-islam”), a reference work that was authored in Arabic by Professor…

Islam aur Takreem-e-Insaniyat ke Usool (Islam and Humanitarian Principles) is a new Urdu publication jointly produced by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Islamabad and the ICRC. Based on discussions held during a two-day National Round Table arranged by IPS…

This handbook accompanies The Mosque Management Handbook previously developed by Faith Associates. It is intended as a clear guide to help Madrassah and Mosque management successfully run their Madrassah and contains practical advice including the legal requirements, for the United…

This report presents findings from a mapping initiative that aimed to capture how faith-based organizations respond to violence against women and girls in the Asia-Pacific region. As a collaborative initiative between UNFPA and the Asia-Pacific Women Faith and Development Alliance (AP-WFDA), it sought to identify examples of strategies used by faith-based organizations. The report brings together the experiences of 58 organizations collected through an online survey, supplemented by in-depth interviews conducted with selected agencies. Importantly, the survey results represent only a small proportion of the faith-based organizations addressing violence against women and girls across the region.

Tearfund commissioned some research in February 2010 on the role of the church in sexual violence in Liberia, in a preventative sense and as a caring institution.

The Asian Muslim Action Network (AMAN) - Indonesia How this story represents an international-local faith partnership in Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL):  Internationally operating German Protestant faith-based donor organisation. Coordination by national Islamic faith inspired organisation, partnerships with Muslim…

There are many lessons that can be drawn from the movements of people with HIV, where they became key advocates in shaping the global response. The aim of this report therefore is to assess the depth and breadth of survivors needs in order to determine the legitimacy and potential
benefits of a survivor movement.

This report is a compiled from two pieces of research commissioned by
Tearfund’s HIV & Sexual Violence Unit. The full reports and researchers are:
– Sexual violence in South Africa and the role of the church by Elisabet
le Roux at the Unit for Religion and Development Research at
Stellenbosch University
– Breaking the Silence (full report) by Robyn Curran, Bongi Zengele and
Solange Mukamana.

Protestant Pastors Survey on Sexual and Domestic Violence June 2014 Sexual and domestic violence inflicts deep emotional, physical, and spiritual harm on the individuals who endure it. It also inflicts long-term damage to communities by reinforcing discriminatory social, economic, and…

Channels of Hope (CoH) for Gender is an innovative approach to exploring gender identities, norms and values from a faith perspective. The programme methodology challenges faith leaders to acknowledge and act upon gender injustices in their communities, as these are realities in many places where World Vision works.

When faith leaders promote principles of equality, and the shared access and utilisation of family and community resources, this contributes to harmonious relationships within families, faith groups and communities.

This paper seeks to examine how Palestinian children’s agency integrates Islamic religious idioms in daily life to combat Israeli oppression. While children are often seen as objects that are merely subjected to political and cultural processes, this research shows that…

Dealing with climate change is vital for Islamic Relief to fulfil its mission of addressing the root causes of poverty. Climate change is a threat to us all but it is already having a devastating impact on the poorest and…

This publication sets out Islamic Relief’s policy on climate change. It builds on the foundation of Islamic perspectives and scientific evidence described in the Islamic Relief Climate Change Policy of December 2014. Outlining policy messages for Islamic Relief programmes, partners…

This publication sets out Islamic Relief’s policy on climate change. It builds on the foundation of Islamic perspectives and scientific evidence described in the Islamic Relief Climate Change Policy of December 2014. Outlining policy messages for Islamic Relief programmes, partners…

Promoting respectful relationships, equitable communities, child spacing and social cohesion This resource has been adapted for Gender Champions who have been trained using Tearfund’s Transforming Masculinities toolkit and are working with Muslim communities as part of the Masculinities, Faith and…

This report offers a high-level comparative review and analysis of Muslim family laws (MFLs) in seven countries in the Greater Horn of Africa (GHoA) region that was conducted to build the case for legal reform towards justice and equality in…

Overview of Ethiopian Faith-Based Organizations’ response for the abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and Child Early Forced Marriage (CEFM) from 2010-2016. This report provides a baseline to engaging FBOs for future programming and provides evidence on how FBOs have…

This report results from a year-long study researching and analyzing gender based violence within Muslim Canadian Communities. Specifically, it looks at how the concept of honour and shame can have both negative and positive consequences with regard to either encouraging…

This manual is designed for facilitators of the ‘Do No Harm for Faith Groups: Christian-Muslim Edition’ workshop for partners. The participants in these workshops are religious leaders and faith-based organisation (FBO) staff who work closely with the host organisation. The…

A multidisciplinary work that touches on law, religion, politics, and gender studies to explore the issue of domestic violence in Islam. To download "Domestic Violence and the Islamic Tradition: Ethics, Law and the Muslim Discourse on Gender", click here: http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199640164.do#.UfFTUxYkOMM

Islamic Relief is calling for an end to early and forced marriages by raising awareness of gender justice from an Islamic human rights perspective.

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a form of gender injustice which affects millions of girls and women in the world and is deep rooted in social gender norms and practices. GBV is a leading cause of death, illnesses and disabilities of…

An evaluation was conducted of a three-year intervention focused on violence against women and girls (VAWG) and implemented in the conflict-affected north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country with high rates of VAWG. The intervention addressed VAWG,…

“Prayer was the rope of survival.” “Religious needs are my primary needs.” “I wish I had been asked.” These statements were shared by displaced women in Iraq, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey in three independent, coordinated research studies in 2019 led…

FEMALE GENITAL CUTTING AMONG THE GUSII AND MAASAI OF KENYA

JAKARTA, INDONESIA, March 5 2014. The Indonesian Council of Ulama (MUI) has issued a fatwa, or edict, requiring the country’s 200 million Muslims to take an active role in protecting threatened species including tigers, rhinos, elephants and orangutans. The fatwa,…

This resource states that FGM is NON-Islamic and is against the teachings of Islam, that it is putting the health of women and girls at risk and informs the reader of the legal implications in the UK of carrying out the practice.

Tearfund has launched a report (2013) into the potential role of the church in ending female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in Tanzania.

This publication aims to amplify the voices of Syrian women and add new texture to the portrait of their lives inside Syria and in neighbouring countries. To download this publication, and other UNFPA resources, click here: http://www.unfpa.org/publications  

Fuji Technology Press, Ltd. In studies of disasters, cases of religious communities providing support to victims at times of disaster have been reported. Such support can be understood as a function of social capital within religious communities. This paper considers…

2017 Update Christian Aid strategy to reaffirm and renew our commitment to prioritising gender justice, especially for women and girls, throughout the organisation and in our work.

Australian aid is funding an innovative approach to tackling gender-based violence in the Solomon Islands. In a country that is 97% Christian, a new project is working with churches to challenge traditional understandings and incorrect Bible teachings about gender roles and domestic violence.

This guide provides information on how World Vision offices can integrate child marriage prevention and response into programming, including guidance on working with married children. In addition, the guide intends to support the development of country-specific technical approaches and new…

For millions of refugee girls, education is out of reach. Despite substantial increases in access to girls’ education around the world over the last two decades, refugee girls remain left behind. In countries affected by conflict, girls are 2.5 times…

The purpose of this paper was to illustrate and to assess the Islamic perspective of nutrition and food security in the light of Quran. Quran is a book of social guidance, politics, law, principles and science. This article analyzes key…

A toolkit for faith leaders This toolkit was designed as a guide for religious leaders of both Christian and Islamic faiths in Nigeria as they address the challenges faced by adolescent girls on the issues of early marriage, education, reproductive…

“We will walk every step with our Children” Southern African Faith Leaders Commit to Respond to Teenage Pregnancy We, the faith community in Southern Africa (African Traditional Religion, Baha’i faith, Christian and Muslim) view children as whole human beings who…

Studies in Muslim-Christian Cooperation This publication presents case studies on interreligious action, highlighting specific approaches and tools that CRS staff members created and the networks they helped forge. They address shortcomings as well as successes and delineate lessons garnered from everyday experience. They…

Quranic schools (QS) play a central role in the education system in the Islamic world. Despite their relatively small numbers, QS teachers play a major role in introducing Islamic values to the public. Thus, working with QS becomes a key…

The recent outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in West Africa brought great loss of life and health. The world has responded with great care and attention and the people of impacted countries have shown resilience during these difficult times.…

New book published!   What can we learn from Islamic teachings that will take us closer to addressing today’s most pressing development challenges, including forced migration and refugees, safeguarding and child welfare, gender-based violence, climate change, and peacebuilding and conflict…

Brief from Musawah: a global movement for equality and justice in the Muslim family, which advances human rights for women in Muslim contexts, in both their public and private lives. Also see more information on Musawah's course on Islam & Gender Equality…

Protecting the sanctity of marriage This background paper explores the issues of early and forced marriage from an Islamic faith perspective and dismantles some potential misconceptions. It provides a case that early and forced marriage is not Islamic and promotes…

In this paper, the authors examine the textual sources that form the foundation of Islam’s egalitarian spirit, consider the challenges posed by historical interpretations of these sources, and think about ways to move forward in promoting gender equity, especially with…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1-vR6_aucg&feature=youtu.be

OUR RESEARCH STRATEGY: A FEMINIST APPROACH Marginalized people and others who have struggled with grave challenges to their human rights possess a unique understanding of the problems in their communities—and their insights have the potential to fuel effective, lasting solutions.…

Based on data collected on domestic violence over 10 years by the IRC in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ivory Coast, said domestic violence is the “most urgent, pervasive and significant protection issue for women in west Africa”.

A reflection on violent attacks on innocent civilians as a spin-off of armed struggle and proposals from a Christian standpoint

This article examines the engagement of Indonesian Islamic civil society organisations in the international arena by paying particular attention to the role of the Islamic modernist movement, Muhammadiyah. Beyond its vibrant religious and social activism in the domestic context of…

Loving one another A biblical discussion toolkit on gender-based violence. This booklet is based on the invaluable work carried out by the Anglican Service of Diakonia and Development (SADD) of the Anglican Church of Brazil. Gender-based violence (GBV), especially violence…

On March 11, 2021, JLI held a webinar where Dr. Riham Ahmed Khafagy (Assistant Professor, Department of International Affairs, Zayed University) presented her paper ‘Faith-based Organizations: Humanitarian Mission or Religious Missionary’. In her presentation, Dr. Ahmed Khafagy compared the British…

Around 12 million girls aged 15–19 years and at least 777,000 girls under 15 years give birth each year in low and middle-income countries. Prioritizing adolescent sexual and reproductive health services and information can address these and other urgent 1…

Policy brief produced by Islamic Relief provides the vision and rationale to campaign for an end to FGM/C and guides intervention efforts to eradicate it.  

Mindanao State University-Sulu (MSU-Sulu) partnered together with the ICRC to produce the book’s translation into Tausug, a major language spoken in the Sulu archipelago and Zamboanga, among other places. Pana’ta offers guidance on important topics, such as ways to attend…

This policy brief on "The role of faith communities and organisations in prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence" was completed by Elisabet Le Roux, Stellenbosch University, on behalf of the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith & Local Communities Gender-based…

The MRC Policy Brief looks at: The Scale of the problem; Why the problem? and What can be done?

About Collective Action for Adolescent Girls (CAAGI) is a two-year pilot project structured to work with faith actors and faith based organizations to improve the choices and opportunities for adolescent girls to live a productive and meaningful live. The project…

Rape as Torture in the DRC: Sexual Violence Beyond the Conflict Zone analyses evidence from 34 forensic medical reports written by specially trained doctors at Freedom from Torture and indicates that rape is being used as torture by state security forces in prisons across the country to stop women speaking out about politics, human rights and, in some cases, rape itself.

Over the past decade, the issue of honour-related violence (including honour killing and forced marriage) has entered media and policy debates in immigrant-receiving countries like the Netherlands, Germany, Britain and Canada. In some of these countries, media debate has instigated policy debate.

This paper analyses how media, parliaments and other state institutions, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) conceptualize honour killing and honour-related violence in order to uncover how such conceptualizations inform policy responses.

Rethinking relationships: from violence to equality in the DRC, evidence brief. Key findings of endline survey undertaken across 15 communities in Ituri Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo about faith, gender norms and SGBV in conflict affected communities.' UK government…

Almost all religions reflect on the creation of the universe, or universes, in different forms and with varying degrees of clarity or detail. Common across most religions is an agreement that “creation” is an act of God and should be…

Interim guidance 25 July 2020 On the occasion of the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha, WHO has issued interim guidance entitled "Eid al-Adha safe practices in the context of COVID-19 pandemic". The document highlights public health advice for social and…

Interim Guidance 7 April 2021 This document is an update of the same title published by WHO on 15 April 2020. Updates reflect the latest guidance on COVID-19 published by WHO since then, with focus on areas of transmission of…

This article draws on a public lecture ‘Recent Scholarship in Religion, Ethics and Reconciliation: Shame, Silence and Human Dignity’, at the Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, 29 August 2012.

hildfund Australia and Papua New Guinea have launched a report looking at violence (including sexual violence) against women and children in Papua New Guinea and calling for an end to the violence.

In Senegal, many people are uncertain what their religious traditions teach about birth spacing and family planning. the Cadre des Religieux pour la Santé et le Développement (CRSD) is an interfaith association of Senegalese faith leaders, to promote maternal and child health…

Recommendations from the University of New South Wales Forced Migration Network, (Australia) and the Australian National Committee on Refugee Women, for amendments to Annex I: Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF), from the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, UNGA…

This report presents findings of the Survey on Traditional Practices in Malawi that was carried out by the National Statistics Office (NSO), the Centre for Social Research (CSR) at the University of Malawi, and the Center for Child Well-being and…

The Capacity for Interreligious Community Action program (CIRCA) was a three-year capacity-building program financed by GHR Foundation and supplemented by Catholic Relief Services (CRS). The overarching goal of the program was to contribute to human development and more peaceful coexistence…

Published in Consultation with Senior Scholars The current coronavirus pandemic has spread rapidly across the globe, completely changing people’s lives. This also includes the Muslim community, who have been affected in a variety of ways. In writing this booklet, we…

This contribution from an insider Muslim author provides peace workers with a few resources from Islamic tradition that could be used when addressing a conflict rooted in an Islamic context. It presents briefly a number of basic Islamic concepts that…

The  Review of Faith and International Affairs has just published a special series on Reconsidering Religious Radicalism See Full Journal Here   Includes the following articles: Reconsidering Religious Radicalism: An Introduction to the Summer 2017 Issue Judd Birdsall & Drew Collins Radicalism,…

Islam has a strong heritage of protection of forced migrants. It is a tradition which provides a robust and generous framework for the protection of and provision for forced migrants, enshrining rights such as the rights to dignity, non-refoulement, equal treatment, shelter, health care, family reunification and protection of property. This paper provides an overview of the Islamic teachings related to the rights of forced migrants, and is a resource for any agency dealing with Muslim forced migrant or host communities.

This book: Discusses the roles that mosques play in saving lives and reducing losses Shows the role of imams' flexibility to help communities in need Presents point of view to see religion differently in a much broader constructive array than…

This report summarizes the USAID | Health Policy Initiative, Task Order 1 project titled The Role of Religious Communities in Addressing Gender-based Violence and HIV, which was designed and implemented by Futures Group International and Religions for Peace. Recognizing the importance of collaborating to prevent and reduce gender-based violence (GBV) and HIV among women and girls, the Initiative partners formulated the project to improve the capacity of religious leaders and faith-based organizations (FBOs) to respond to GBV and its links to HIV.

Following the declaration that President Mwai Kibaki was the winner of the Kenyan presidential election held on December 27, 2007, a period of post-election violence (PEV) took place. In this study, we aimed to identify whether the period of PEV in Kenya was associated with systematic changes in sexual assault case characteristics.

The Muslim training manual for Gender Champions in the Masculinities, Faith and Peace (MFP) project This Masculinites, Faith and Peace (MFP) manual introduces the training for Muslim Gender Champions and faith leaders. It provides a detailed activity guide for use…

This important reference work, now available to the many millions of Kiswahili speakers around the world, is divided into four chapters focusing on ways to protect civilians, the wounded, the dead, non-combatants and their property during armed conflict, as well…

This paper discusses Islamic traditions of peace and conflict resolution, and argues that nonviolent and the peaceful resolution of conflicts has been an integral aspect of Islamic tradition since the time of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). This paper also discusses…

The publication explores such important topics such as how to deal with victims of armed conflict in accordance with Islamic Shariah, looks at lessons learnt from the early Islamic battles like Badr, and lays out what Islamic law says about…

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a global issue that affects women and girls from different backgrounds, faiths, and races. In recent, years, there has been an increased focus on Muslims and the Muslim faith. Reyhana Patel's research has…

  Reporting and Interpreting Data on Sexual Violence From Conflict-Affected Countries Violence Against Women Research, Ethics, Safety & Interventions Helpful websites: www.vawgresourceguide.org www.gbvguidelines.org Below is a Lancet article: "Prevention of violence against women and girls: what does the evidence say?"

The purpose of this study was to explore the needs of survivors of sexual violence in South Africa. Despite sexual and gender based violence receiving increasing public attention globally, those affected remain
largely silent. Rape statistics do not begin to explain what victims experience and many survivors, particularly those who experience rape by their partner, do not report the rape. Survivors are often invisible and isolated. The wider public can have a negative, judgmental attitude towards them, particularly if they are commercial sex-workers.

Child marriage results from the interplay of a variety of factors and happens across countries, cultures, ethnicities and religions. There is no single religion that is solely associated with child marriage. But as religious leaders often hold considerable power and…

Everyone has a role to play in the movement to end child marriage. In this brief, we explore the role of religious leaders and highlight key approaches to support civil society organisations who are considering engaging with them in their…