Bishop Munib Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land has been awarded the Niwano Peace Prize – which it has been said aspires to be seen as the “spiritual equivalent” of the Nobel Peace Prize – for his work toward encouraging dialogue among Christians, Jews and Muslims in Jerusalem and around the world.
Bishop Younan, also president of the Lutheran World Federation and has founded several interfaith groups in the Middle East, is the 34th recipient of the annual award presented by the Niwano Peace Foundation of Japan in recognition of individuals and organisations which have dedicated service and scholarship to promoting peaceful cooperation among religions, particularly in places of difficulty.
The NPF’s international committee wrote that in a world “characterised by leaders who seek to emphasise difference and hatred, Bishop Younan has consistently strived for the opposite”. “His work emphasises peace over power and unity over monotheistic domination.”
In a statement published by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, Bishop Younan said: “I come to the table of dialogue with different religious leaders from the three faiths. I come with the suffering of my people under my skin. I come to speak on the future of the people who are living in this land. Religious leaders have a responsibility. Peace and dignity will come with how we educate and how we dialogue and we can reflect this to the politicians.”
A ceremony will be held in Tokyo, Japan, on 27th July. Previous recipients of the award have included Rev Canon Gideon Baguma Byamugisha, a Ugandan Anglican priest who was the first African priest to publicly declare he was HIV positive who was presented the award in 2009, and American Dena Merriam, who founded the Global Peace Initiative of Women in 2002 and was presented the award in 2014.
The award is decided after some 600 people and organisations around the world are asked to propose candidates.
