Oliver McTernan visited the Kennedy Institute and spoke on the theme ‘Religion, Politics and Conflict’.
Oliver is an experienced mediator and the founder and co-director of Forward Thinking, a charitable organisation addressing issues related to the Middle East peace process and religious/secular dialogue.
He was a visiting fellow of the Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs at Harvard University in 2000-2003. Oliver is a senior associate fellow of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom . He was responsible for initiating the first post-conflict talks between NATO and the former Yugoslav government.
His book Violence in God’s Name explores the role of religion in an age of conflict. It explores the complex roots of religious-inspired violence, the historic ambivalence of religious traditions toward violence, and the urgent steps that must be taken next. Religious leaders of all faiths must begin to defend proactively and vigorously the rights of others to believe and to act differently. At stake is not simply the credibility of religion but the welfare of humanity.
Oliver Mc Terrnan is not only an experienced mediator, he is also a very well respected commentator on Middle East affairs. His organisation Forward Thinking has worked with the Muslim brotherhood over many years. In this video clip he is in discussion with Jonathan Steele, Guardian columnist, roving foreign correspondent and author, together with Ahmed Kadry, Arab Studies Lecturer at Imperial College London, and Mohamed Ghneem, UK Spokesperson for the Muslim Brotherhood.