There is a great paradox in today\u2019s world. Humans find it\nincreasingly easy to communicate, yet harder to trust one another.\nTechnology shortens distances, while conflict widens the gap. Diplomacy\narrives with increasingly sophisticated tools, alongside war, hate\nspeech, disinformation, and identity politics finding new spaces to\ngrow.<\/p>\n
Data from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) shows that in\n2025, 65 conflicts involving states on one or both sides were recorded,\nthe highest figure since records began in 1946. Thirteen of these are\ncategorised as wars. Approximately 244,600 people died due to organised\nviolence. This figure indicates that the architecture of world peace\nrequires much broader social energy.<\/p>\n
As conflicts become more complex, efforts to build peace need to\nreach more actors. War has a geopolitical dimension, while peace\nrequires social work at the community level. Conflict often begins with\nprejudice, exclusion, mistrust, and the manipulation of identity. It is\nat this point that religious leaders possess a strategic space.<\/p>\n
This idea finds its momentum in the International Grand Imams\nConference (IGIC) 2026, which will take place from 25\u201328 September 2026\nin Jakarta. This forum will bring together grand imams from various\ncountries to discuss mosque harmony, religious diplomacy, and global\npeace. Istiqlal Mosque will serve as the centre of the event, with the\n\u2018Istiqlal Understanding\u2019 being prepared as one of the conference\u2019s key\noutputs.<\/p>\n
The question then arises: can religious moral authority be developed\ninto a social force for peace?<\/p>\n
Agents of Peace<\/p>\n
For a long time, imams have been known as leaders of worship,\nreligious guides, and guardians of the spiritual lives of their\ncongregations. These functions remain fundamental. However, societal\nchanges have expanded the field of social responsibility. Political\npolarisation, identity conflicts, extremism, and digital disinformation\nhave entered the lives of the faithful, including the space of the\nmosque.<\/p>\n
Therefore, the perspective on imams needs to be expanded: from\nreligious authority towards peace agency. The concept of agency refers\nto the ability to act and influence social relations. An imam can serve\nas a spiritual leader, community leader, peace builder, and bridge\nbuilder.<\/p>\n
The advantage of an imam lies in a capital that is often difficult\nfor formal diplomacy to obtain: trust.<\/p>\n
Diplomats work with state mandates, whereas imams interact through\nmoral proximity to the community. In many communities, the voice of the\nimam is heard when the public faces social, humanitarian, or even\ninter-community tensions.<\/p>\n
The United Nations has recognised the strategic position of religious\nactors in conflict prevention and resolution. Religious leaders possess\nmoral authority and convening power, presence among conflict-affected\npopulations, and the ability to reach groups that formal actors cannot\nalways touch. The UNDP also places religious leaders and organisations\nas sources of information, trust, and influence in building social\nresilience and preventing violence.<\/p>\n
Religious authority itself requires adequate capacity to become an\nenergy for peace. Popularity and the number of congregants are not the\nsole measures. What is needed is peace capacity.<\/p>\n
The 21st-century imam requires deep mastery of religious sciences\nalongside peace literacy, interfaith literacy, conflict mediation, and\ndigital literacy. Imams need to understand how conflicts form, how\nsocial prejudice works, how propaganda and disinformation circulate, and\nhow religious language can maintain social tranquility.<\/p>\n
This need is becoming increasingly evident in the digital space.\nSermons no longer stop at the pulpit; they move to the screen. Future\nimams must be able to build congregations in the mosque while presenting\nnarratives of peace in the digital space.<\/p>\n
Indonesia possesses significant social capital to develop this idea.\nThe Ministry of Religious Affairs\u2019 Mosque Information System (SIMAS)\nrecords hundreds of thousands of mosques and prayer rooms registered\nnationally. This figure illustrates the vast social infrastructure\nspread down to the community level.<\/p>\n
Mosques can be developed as spaces for peace education, interfaith\ndialogue, humanitarian solidarity, community conflict mediation, and\ndigital literacy. This perspective positions the mosque as a house of\nworship as well as peace infrastructure.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/diplomacy-from-the-mihrab-1790556967", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }