Rebuild with Iraq religious assets

There are ample precedents of religious communities helping to stop conflicts and providing social cohesion in the aftermath of violence. Sierra Leone's religious communities, for example, helped stop a bloody civil war: Muslims and Christians working together obtained the release of 50 children held by rebel forces. That was the catalyst for the negotiations that ended the 10-year civil war. After the fighting stopped, churches and mosques guided the healing and reintegration of child soldiers in their communities. Today, throughout West Africa, interreligious councils are working to stop violent conflicts and their root causes.

The reconstruction of Iraq will require the same kind of leadership from religious communities. They must undertake the difficult work of multireligious collaboration and resist attempts to hijack religion in support of internecine or intrareligious violence.

The US would be wise to support Iraqi religious communities in helping to meet human needs, rebuild community institutions, and reject violent conflict. In some cases, religious networks may be the only infrastructure able to reach thousands of Iraqis needing emergency relief. Local religious networks need to engage, along with the major secular relief organizations already on the ground, as partners in planning and delivery of humanitarian services.

The US Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance in Iraq should explicitly include local religious communities in its budgets and delivery plans. It should also support multireligious efforts to identify and communicate Iraqi religious traditions of tolerance and freedom. Iraqi Shiite, Sunni, and Christian theological principles that support democratic pluralism exist, are beginning to be expressed, and are essential building blocks for a state that respects religious freedom. A multireligious committee should be formed, supported by respected religious leaders from the world's major faith traditions, to forge an Iraqi consensus on the widely shared values essential to good governance in Iraq.

The removal of Saddam Hussein hasn't solved Iraq's problems. Lasting peace and security is achieved by respecting human dignity, alleviating poverty, and ensuring self- determination. Mobilizing religious communities to work together to prevent and mediate violent conflicts is a powerful tool, frequently overlooked by the international community. Efforts to reinforce the deeply held and widely shared values common to all faiths serve as a bulwark against religious extremism.

Religious collaboration in Iraq is essential for the country's peaceful future. Fostering it may also go a long way toward building credibility among Muslims that the US doesn't view its military victory in Iraq as the first battle in a religious campaign.

• William F. Vendley is secretary-general of the World Conference on Religion and Peace, the largest worldwide coalition of major religions working together to promote peace.

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