Scilla Elworthy founded the Oxford Research Group in 1982 to develop dialogue with nuclear weapons decision makers, and then set up Peace Direct in 2002 to support local peace-builders in conflict areas. Three times nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded the Niwano Peace Prize in 2003, she advised Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Sir Richard Branson in setting up “The Elders.” She co-founded Rising Women Rising World in 2013, her latest book is The Business Plan for Peace: building a world without war, and her TED talk on nonviolence has been viewed by over 1,400,000 people.

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Scilla Elworthy

<h4 style="text-align: justify">
    SCILLA ELWORTHY tackles one of the most pressing issues of our time:
    terrorism. She shares her thoughts on the role of women and building
    peace, which requires courage, determination, compassion and a budget.
  </h4>
  <p style="text-align: justify"></p>
  <hr class="vertical-space1" />
  <p></p>
  <p style="text-align: justify">
    The threat that most people fear today is terrorism. Yet current methods
    for dealing with terrorism simply repeat previous errors that exacerbate
    the problem. In order to map an effective strategy it is essential to
    understand how militant fighters think.
  </p>
  <p style="text-align: justify">
    To respond to terrorism with violence is counter-productive, because
    violence is what terrorists understand, and they are masters of
    exploiting our addiction to news of their brutality. According to former
    Islamic State captive Nicolas Hénin, violence is exactly what his
    captors want: “They will be heartened by every sign of overreaction, of
    division, of fear, of racism, of xenophobia; they will be drawn to any
    examples of ugliness on social media.<sup>1</sup>
  </p>
  <p style="text-align: justify">
    “The winner of this war will not be the party that has the newest, the
    most expensive or the most sophisticated weaponry, but the party that
    manages to win over the people to its side.” As an example of how people
    had responded well, he described the recent escalation of the refugee
    crisis, and corresponding offers from people in Europe to give homes to
    fleeing Muslims, as “a blow to Isis”.
  </p>
  <p style="text-align: justify">
    Deeyah Khan is an Emmy award-winning documentary film-maker, whose most
    recent project, <em>Jihad</em>, involved two years of interviews with
    and filming former Islamic extremists. She says, “The Islamic State does
    not want us to open our doors to their refugees. It wants them to be
    hopeless and desperate. It does not want us to enjoy ourselves with our
    families and friends in bars and concert halls, stadiums and
    restaurants. It wants us to huddle in our houses, within our own social
    groups, and close our doors in fear.”<sup>2</sup>
  </p>
  <p style="text-align: justify">
    Philip McKibbin says that we should be wary of allowing our emotions to
    dictate the ways in which we respond to terrorism. “Terrorists want us
    to feel shock, outrage, insecurity … A loving response to terrorism
    would be proactive, rather than reactive. It would see us responding to
    the causes of terrorism, rather than concerning ourselves
    disproportionately with terrorist actions.”<sup>3</sup>
  </p>
  <p style="text-align: justify">
    The main causes of terrorism are humiliation and revenge. When you do
    the math, it is a painful fact that ‘legitimate’ states enact much more
    violence worldwide than non-state terror groups do. This does not excuse
    terrorist action, but it does explain it.
  </p>
  <h3 style="text-align: justify">Effective strategies</h3>
  <p style="text-align: justify">
    What steps could governments take to defuse international terrorism? It
    could be to immediately adopt genuinely fair and peaceful processes in
    their dealings with other peoples. This strategy would deprive terror
    groups of one of their most compelling justifications for violence.<sup
      >4</sup
    >
  </p>
  <p style="text-align: justify">
    Nothing should be done which supports the image of the terrorist as a
    heroic warrior defending the interests of the people. When the media
    consistently feature terrorists on their front pages, they can see
    themselves as global celebrities. Other young men then naturally crave
    such oxygen of publicity, even if it costs them their lives. Leaders
    need to orchestrate a cohesive and coordinated&nbsp;program to educate
    media editors. Denying airspace would work far better to minimise the
    glamour of brutality.
  </p>
  <h3 style="text-align: justify">Do what terrorists fear: unite</h3>
  <p style="text-align: justify">
    In ‘Rising Women Rising World’ we ask ourselves the hardest question,
    and the one most likely to provoke ridicule: what could be done to bring
    the young warriors of ISIL into the embrace of compassion, showing them
    that we need to move beyond the power struggles that have caused such
    misery for humanity for thousands of years? If we go on as we have done,
    there may be no earth to dominate.<sup>5</sup>
  </p>
  <p style="text-align: justify">
    If we are ridiculed for proposing a compassionate response to terror, we
    can recall Abraham Lincoln’s response to someone who accused him of
    taking too conciliatory an approach in dealing with the South. “Madam,”
    he said, “do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”
  </p>
  <hr />
  <h5 style="text-align: center">
    We need to move beyond the power struggles<br />
    that have caused such misery<br />
    for humanity for thousands of years.<br />
    If we go on as we have done,<br />
    there may be no earth to dominate.
  </h5>
  <hr />
  <p style="text-align: justify">
    Love requires us to think of terrorists as people. It encourages us to
    understand that their actions, however hateful, come from a place of
    grievance, humiliation and isolation. It asks us to believe that their
    pain, and the pain that so many other people are feeling in this time of
    terror, is not insurmountable. That collectively, we are able to
    overcome it.
  </p>
  <h3 style="text-align: justify">Build bridges: empower local people</h3>
  <p style="text-align: justify">
    <img
      alt="love-in-a-time-of-hatred"
      width="227"
      height="224"
      class="lazyload img-float-right has-img-center-in-mobile"
      src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/love_in_a_time_of_hatred_1_img_2b6a57631e.png?updated_at=2023-04-03T06:18:13.153Z"
    />The British government knows, from the experience in Northern Ireland,
    that what finally brought 30 years of terror to an end was not the
    application of superior force. It was the building of bridges,
    listening, patient mediation, respect and negotiation. Senator George
    Mitchell, who played a major part in the eventual Good Friday Agreement,
    said: “I will listen for as long as it takes”.<sup>6</sup>
  </p>
  <p style="text-align: justify">
    Over the past decade, ‘Peace Direct’<sup>7</sup>&nbsp;has learned that
    local people have the power to find their own solutions to conflict,
    which turn out to be the best way to break recurrent cycles of violence
    and make peace last. One lesson we have learned from our local partners
    is the importance of helping people at risk to feel part of their
    communities, thereby turning away from extremism. While this might seem
    like a liberal platitude in the face of&nbsp;serious violence, it is in
    reality hard, dangerous and dedicated work. And&nbsp;it can have
    remarkable results. For example, an award-winning
    counter-radicalization&nbsp;project in Pakistan, begun in 2014, has
    reached almost&nbsp;4,000 ‘at risk’ young people.<sup>8</sup>
  </p>
  <p style="text-align: justify">
    <img
      width="792"
      height="527"
      class="lazyload w-100 h-auto"
      src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/love_in_a_time_of_hatred_2_img_34a3f28052.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-03T06:18:53.766Z"
      alt="love-in-a-time-of-hatred-2-img"
    />
  </p>
  <h3 style="text-align: justify">
    Women’s voice in dealing with violence
  </h3>
  <p style="text-align: justify">
    A decade ago, a group of women made a careful analysis of the root
    causes of political violence, revealing the persistent influence of
    powerlessness, exclusion, trauma and humiliation. They proposed proven
    practical steps that could be taken in Iraq, Israel and Palestine, and
    in our own towns and cities.<sup>9</sup>
  </p>
  <hr />
  <h5 style="text-align: center">
    Women want peace because they give birth to life.<br />
    We have a natural longing to protect,<br />
    heal and make whole.<br />
    We have trained ourselves to listen,<br />
    knowing that the capacity to give another person<br />
    our full attention is the fastest<br />
    and most effective way to resolve conflict.
  </h5>
  <hr />
  <p style="text-align: justify">
    Ten years later, in this current serious situation,&nbsp;we are not
    simply arguing for a more sparing use&nbsp;of military force, we are
    arguing that any armed&nbsp;intervention should be preceded and followed
    by a&nbsp;much wider range of strategies designed to address&nbsp;both
    the causes and effects of violence.
  </p>
  <p style="text-align: justify">
    Women want peace because they give birth to life. We have a natural
    longing to protect, heal and make whole. We have trained ourselves to
    listen, knowing that the capacity to give another person our full
    attention is the fastest and most effective way to resolve conflict.
  </p>
  <p style="text-align: justify">
    Most of us say we want peace, but we don’t put our skills and our
    imagination to work on the challenge. Peace building comes low down on
    the priority list in comparison to war, certainly for spending. We don’t
    have a budget or a government department for peace, whereas we do have
    both for war, even if we call it defence.
  </p>
  <p style="text-align: justify">
    It is perfectly possibly to develop strategies to dissolve terrorism. It
    requires intention and a budget, plus courage, determination and
    compassion, from the top down and from the bottom up. This is what human
    beings are capable of.
  </p>
  <p style="text-align: justify"><strong>Resources:</strong></p>
  <h6 style="word-wrap:break-word">
    <span style="color: #999999"
      ><sup>1</sup
      >https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/16/isis-bombs-hostagesyria-islamic-state-paris-attacks</span
    >
  </h6>
  <h6>
    <span style="color: #999999"
      ><sup>2</sup>Exposure – Jihad: A British Story’ aired on ITV1</span
    >
  </h6>
  <h6 style="word-wrap:break-word">
    <span style="color: #999999"
      ><sup>3</sup>https://www.opendemocracy.net/transformation/
      philip-mckibbin/hijacked-emotions-fighting-terrorismwith- love
    </span>
  </h6>
  <h6>
    <span style="color: #999999"><sup>4</sup>Ibid.</span>
  </h6>
  <h6 style="word-wrap:break-word">
    <span style="color: #999999"
      ><sup>5</sup>‘Rising Women Rising World’ serves to build&nbsp;a
      vibrant community of women on all continents&nbsp;who take
      responsibility for pioneering a&nbsp;possible future.
      https://www.risingwomenrisingworld.org/envisaging-the-future/</span
    >
  </h6>
  <h6>
    <span style="color: #999999"
      ><sup>6</sup> Personal communication from Dr Mo Mowlam,&nbsp;11 May
      2004.</span
    >
  </h6>
  <h6>
    <span style="color: #999999"
      ><sup>7</sup>&nbsp;www.peacedirect.org</span
    >
  </h6>
  <h6>
    <span style="color: #999999"><sup>8</sup> www.awaregirls.org </span>
  </h6>
  <h6>
    <span style="color: #999999"
      ><sup>9</sup>&nbsp;Rifkind &amp; Elworthy, Making Terrorism History,
      London, Random House, 2006, pp. 60-89.</span
    >
  </h6>
  <hr class="vertical-space1" />
  <hr />
  <h4 style="text-align: center">Article by&nbsp;SCILLA ELWORTHY</h4>
  <hr />

Scilla Elworthy

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