Hostage's captivity united UK Muslims, Christians

The rescue operation of the three peace activists who were held hostage in Iraq, British Norman Kember and his two Canadian colleagues - Harmeet Singh Sooden and James Loney - was welcomed throughout the whole world, Al Arab Online reported.

Major media organizations focused on the rescue operation of the three hostages, and ignored the impact of their incarceration on inter-faith cooperation, as well as peace and human rights issues that made them serve in war-torn Iraq.

In Britain, Kember’s captivity strengthened ties between Muslim, Christian and secular peacemakers first forged in opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

Kember traveled to Iraq as a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), a non- missionary, peacemaking organization committed to reducing violence and protecting human rights. The 74-year-old peace activist said he joined CPT because he wanted to do more than simply demonstrate against injustice and violence.

CPT has been involved in Iraq since October 2002, documenting human rights abuses and assisting Iraqis to trace and gain access to detained family member. The group earned the respect of Muslim organizations in the Middle East and Britain due to its work in Iraq.

When Kember and his colleagues were kidnapped, British Muslims united with other peace and human rights groups to secure their release. The campaign to release the three hostages involved members of their families, friends as well as peace and human rights activists from different faiths and countries. Although their appeals didn’t directly lead to the release of the hostages, it kept them alive long enough to be rescued. A fourth U.S. hostage, Tom Fox, was killed two weeks before the rescue operation.

During the campaign, a sense of common purpose and mutual respect joined activists of all religions as they cooperated in appealing to the kidnappers. British Muslims’ actions complemented appeals from Kember’s family, advertisements in Iraqi papers and diplomatic efforts by the British Foreign Office. The Muslim Association of Britain issued several statements urging the hostage takers to free the men, stressing their role in helping the Iraqi people.

Anas Altikriti, an Iraqi-born member of the Muslim Association of Britain, traveled to Iraq to plead for the lives of the hostages. Dr Azzam Tamimi made an appeal on Christmas Eve, calling for the release of the hostages as a gesture of goodwill, saying that "Norman Kember and his three friends were in Iraq as true friends of the Iraqi people." Other support came from Moazzam Begg, a former Guantanamo inmate, and Abu Qatada, in detention in Britain, who both issued televised appeals to the captors.

Muslims, Christians, and members of other faiths also united in regular peace-vigils held in Trafalgar Square, London and Chamberlain Square, Birmingham in a demonstration of solidarity and support for Kember and his colleagues. This cooperation proved to non-Muslims that Muslims don’t sympathize with hostage takers and that Islam stands against inhumane actions.

The efforts by British Muslims to save the life of a 74-year old Christian dispelled the negative stereotypes of Muslims following the London bombings.

After the hostages’ release, veteran peace campaigner Bruce Kent summed up this new sense of unity in an interview for BBC news: "What's specific to Norman's case is a new understanding between Muslims here in this country and the peace and human rights campaign here. We might have been separate in the past, but the Muslim community has been so helpful and so cooperative here, it needs as many thanks as anyone else."

In fact, Kember’s four-month captivity highlighted the role of peacemaking in Iraq, inspiring Muslims, Christians and others to find common ground through his example in seeking to build bridges through peace and non-violence.