Chairman ManHee Lee is the head representative of the global peace organization HWPL (Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light), which is striving for the enactment and implementation of the international peace law 'Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW)'. The DPCW is a legal instrument comprised of 10 articles and 38 clauses that can end wars and hostilities throughout the world. HWPL is also spreading a culture of peace and implementing peace education.
Chairman ManHee Lee experienced the cruelty and tragedy of war as a veteran of the Korean War. This is one of the reasons why he founded a global peace campaign as the head of HWPL. He has traveled the globe more than 35 times to meet and persuade politicians, legal experts, journalists, professors, peace activists, civil organization leaders, heads of tribes and others to unite them for the work of peace. The significant fruits borne out of his hard work are the World Alliance of Religions' Peace (WARP) Summit and HWPL Peace Committee. The DPCW was drafted and finalised by the HWPL Peace Committee.
How, you may wonder, do I know this? About 10 years ago, when I had just been discharged from military service, I came to know HWPL and Chairman ManHee Lee while researching the topic of civil conflicts to satisfy my curiosity in ongoing global issues. At that time, the island of Mindanao in the Philippines was suffering from a major civil conflict that lasted more than 40 years, and Chairman ManHee Lee and HWPL resolved this conflict through non-violent means.
Chairman Lee brought an end to the conflict in Mindanao by holding a peace talk between the warring Catholic and Islamic groups. Before the talk, HWPL and Chairman ManHee Lee held a Peace Walk to spread the culture of peace in Mindanao with the many locals who had gathered out of a desire for peace.
Chairman ManHee Lee's pressing appeal today is that humanity unites for sustainable peace in order to pass on the legacy of peace to future generations worldwide. He doesn't just talk peace, but has worked tirelessly for it through practical peace campaigns for over a decade.
I decided to become a supporter of HWPL and Chairman ManHee Lee's peace initiatives because I also desire a world of peace for all posterity.
Today I'd like to introduce an article regarding HWPL's 2nd International Religious Peace Academy for the Middle East and Africa :)
HWPL Holds the 2nd International Religious Peace Academy for the Middle East and Africa
Christians, Muslims, and Hindus Gather to Enhance Interfaith Understanding
HWPL held the 2nd International Religious Peace Academy (IRPA) online on Friday, January 9. Held under the theme of “Interfaith Understanding: The Path to Harmony,” the event was attended by approximately 40 religious leaders and civil society representatives from Christian, Islamic, and Hindu communities in the Middle East and Northeast Africa.
This event followed the first session held on November 28 of last year. With the goal of building a practical structure for inter-religious dialogue, participants sought common values and possibilities for cooperation beyond religious differences.
In a global context where religion is being used as a justification for war and conflict in many parts of the world, IRPA is an interfaith dialogue and mutual education program designed by HWPL to strengthen the conflict-resolution capacity of religious leaders and civil society. Participants attended lectures on scriptures from various religions, compared the scriptures with one another, and through discussion learned about common values contained in different scriptures as well as practical peace.
In this session, religious leaders from Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism delivered presentations on the shared theme of “Birth, Aging, Illness, and Death.” Following the presentations, the panelists compared interpretations of life and death from each religion’s perspective and discussed principles of coexistence.
In particular, as the outcomes of the first session were shared with invitees, a greater number of religious leaders participated in this second IRPA. This demonstrated that the network is expanding in line with the objective of “strengthening solidarity through interfaith understanding.”
In the Middle East, religion functions as a factor that legitimizes political and ideological conflicts and intensifies tensions. In East Africa, social tensions continue as changes in the religious landscape intersect with regional conflicts. In this context, the IRPA played a role in enabling religious leaders to engage in direct dialogue, reduce prejudice and misunderstanding, and strengthen the social foundation for coexistence. Participants focused on communicating directly and understanding one another rather than misunderstanding other religions.
Markos Yakob Daka, Director of the Ethiopian Yehiwot Berhan Church, who attended the event, stated, “It is essential for religious leaders to build cooperative structures based on mutual understanding,” and evaluated that this program served as a reference for establishing such cooperation models. In addition, Blessen Kairian, Pastor of Ajman Christian Church in the United Arab Emirates, said, “In complex and conflict-prone environments, a linkage system among religion, politics, and civil society is necessary. IRPA is playing a central role in establishing an actual foundation for cooperation.”
HWPL plans to hold an Inter-religious Peace Prayer Meeting in the first half of this year. In addition, it plans to jointly establish annual education plans with regional religious leaders and regularly host forums that study cases of interfaith conflict in order to enhance interfaith understanding.
