IPCS Research Paper # 21
Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies-New Delhi, India
Pakistan: Politics, Religion & Extremism
Arshi Saleem Hashmi  The question arises, if militant theology is more often a consequence than a cause for militant orientation, then what leads religious groups towards militancy in the first place? Why did religious groups choose violence to improve the lot of their institutions and constituents, resisting repression and gaining political power? One reason could be that religious societies, which favour one group over another, suppressing all other competing sects, encourage furious and fanatical violence. Deobandi patronage by Zia for instance, led to the rift with the Bralvis.
 
The study attempts to investigate whether it is relative deprivation as Ted Gurr suggests or the element of fear that pushed the Muslim majority Pakistan into a cycle of religious violence due to the intrusion of religion in politics.
 
For full report, click here:
 
http://www.ipcs.org/pdf_file/issue/RP20-Arshi-Pakistan.pdf

Arshi Saleem Hashmi ,IPCR Graduate 2005 met with former Pakistani President Gen. Pervaiz Musharraf in Islamabad as part of the delegation of scholars based in Islamabad.


Arshi Hashmi also met current Pakistani Foreign Minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi at the Institute of Regional Studies' Seminar where she is working as senior research Analyst.

6th Biennial Conference, International Academy for Intercultural Research (IAIR) Honolulu, HI (USA) 15-19 August 2009
Vision Statement
When a war or ethnic riot breaks out, the crises has to be managed by containment. However, during peacetime people can be taught and trained preemptively to deal with intercultural differences so that at least one cause of war or riot can be reduced. Brushing differences under the proverbial carpet only allows the festering of perceived differences and resentments to grow the point that education and training no longer suffice and more vigorous is necessary. Many of the current international conflicts, e.g., those in Sri Lanka, Sudan, and elsewhere, could be attributed to the lack of a ongoing and intense discussion of cultural differences among the various groups in peacetime. Cross-cultural research in psychology, communication, education, anthropology, and related fields shows that with intervention we can increase intercultural sensitivity and reduce cultural misunderstandings. This conference will contribute and expand the growing corpus of research into how the social sciences can contribute to peace and stability in the world. Topics include: intercultural conflict management and world peace; management and world peace; intercultural training and world peace; acculturation and world peace; intercultural education and world peace; world peace and intercultural communication; indigenous cultural concepts of peace.

 
Hands-On Gandhian Retreat
Learn to Apply Gandhi's Mode of Living in Today's World
January 11 - 17, 2009
 
A Brief Ashram Experience in Santa Barbara, California
Experiment with Gandhi's lifestyle for a week of communal living, contemplation and energetic service work.
Retreat to beautiful Santa Barbara for focused exploration of Gandhi's principles of nonviolence, sustainability and truth, led by a Gandhian social activist, co-founder of GRAVIS organization helping the rural poor in India.

Cost $300. Scholarships available

The Fifth International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry (QI2009)

ADVANCING HUMAN RIGHTS THROUGH QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

The Fifth International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry will take place at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign from May 20-23, 2009. The theme of the 2009 Congress is "Advancing Human Rights Through Qualitative Inquiry." This theme builds on recent human rights initiatives taken by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Education Research Association, previous Congresses, as well as the American Anthropological Association, the American Psychological Association, The American Nurses Association, the Center for Indigenous World Studies, Scholars at Risk, and the Society for Applied Anthropology (see webmaster@aaas.org; shr.aaas.org/scisocs/; un.org/Overview/rights; Educational Researcher, 37, 1 January/February, 2008: 56). It is clear that in these troubling political times qualitative researchers are called upon to become human rights advocates, to honor the sanctity of life, and the core values of privacy, justice, freedom, peace, human dignity, and freedom from fear.