blessed are the peacemakers

On Saturday four human rights and peace activists from Christian Peacemaker Teams were taken hostage in Baghdad; today a previously-unknown group calling itself Swords of Righteousness released a video to al-Jazeera showing the four in custody and accusing them of being spies. CPT is an organization I know fairly well. Contrary to some misleading news reports, they are in no way a "missionary" group--they don't evangelize or seek converts. They're a faith-based peacemaking/human shield organization along the lines of Peace Brigades International, or a more global, nonpartisan, and better-organized version of the International Solidarity Movement. They send short-term delegations and long-term teams into conflict areas to do nonviolent intervention, community peacemaking, and to "get in the way" of violence and oppression. CPT's faith-based activism is part of the long tradition of radical Christian social justice movements; their work is rooted in the mold of religious nonviolence demonstrated by Martin Luther King Jr., the Berrigan brothers, and Quaker peace activists (CPT was founded by Mennonites and Friends).

The kidnapped peacemakers are named Tom Fox, Norman Kember, James Loney, and Harmeet Singh Sooden. According to the CPT website,

In a "Statement of Conviction," the long-term Team members stated that they "are aware of the many risks both Iraqis and internationals currently face," and affirmed that the risks did not outweigh their purpose in remaining. They express the hope that "in loving both friends and enemies and by intervening non-violently to aid those who are systematically oppressed, we can contribute in some small way to transforming this volatile situation."

CPT does not advocate the use of violent force to save lives of its workers should they be kidnapped, held hostage, or caught in the middle of a conflict situation.

Christian Peacemaker Teams has been present in Iraq since October 2002, providing first-hand, independent reports from the region, working with detainees of both United States and Iraqi forces, and training others in non-violent intervention and human rights documentation. Iraqi friends and human rights workers have welcomed the team as a nonviolent, independent presence and asked that the team tell the their stories. CPT teams host regular delegations of committed peace and human rights activists to conflict zones, who join teams in working with civilians to document abuses and develop nonviolent alternatives to armed conflict. The CPT Iraq Team has hosted a total of 120 people on sixteen delegations over the last three years.

They've also started training "Muslim Peacemaker Teams," as one of their aims is to draw on local traditions of nonviolence in communities where they work. I've had the privilege of meeting several members of CPT's Hebron-based Palestine team and was deeply impressed by their commitment and capability, and a friend of a friend used to be in the Iraq team. I would have seriously considered applying to their Peacemaker Corps were it not for their wish that team members be acting out of a "deep grounding in Christian faith," since I'm not really observant anymore. But whatever sense of connection I do retain to my religious upbringing is based on a similar conviction about the meaning of this faith. I deeply admire these people and the work they do, and pray that they are quickly released unharmed.