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WORLD WITHOUT EMPIRE
A People’s Congress on Spirit, Movements and the End of US Domination
2009 NOVEMBER | NEW YORK, USA
PROJECT PROPOSAL
World Without Empire
A People’s Congress on Spirit, Movements and the End of U.S. Domination
Proponent:
PEACE FOR LIFE
Draft: 2008 JUNE 22
1. Introduction
World Without Empire: A People’s Congress on Spirit, Movements and the End of U.S. Domination is a gathering of inter-religious and social movements from the world community, focusing on global empire on the soil of the U.S. hegemon in New York City. This People’s Congress is being called by Peace for Life (PfL), an international movement committed to inter-religious, South-South and North-South solidarity in response to the imperatives of justice and peace. To be held in the United States in November 2009, this event is another step in PfL’s deepening and expanding of movement responses to the current geopolitical reality, with its unilateral militarized policies, neoliberal globalization, its hegemonic control of the world’s resources, and unleashing of ecological destruction.
Founded in December 2004 at its inaugural assembly in Davao, Philippines on the theme, Sowing Seeds of Peace in the Era of Empire: Christians in Solidarity with Muslims, Peace for Life continues to bring an inter-religious and broad peoples’ movement perspective to movement organizing. PfL stresses world solidarities and convergences, but as led by the South, for making justice and peace in today’s world wracked by unprecedented violence and threats to life. As a movement seeking to harness the resources of faith, spirituality and human solidarity for transformative action, PfL has identified empire-building as the single, most formidable force today impeding the realization of fundamental ethical values of justice, equality, human dignity, human rights and integrity of creation.
A significant history of lament, prophetic outcry and analysis, focusing on the problematic of Empire, serves as a foundation for this people’s congress. The theological framing and serious analytical discussion of the current situation as religious response to Empire began at the 2002 International Ecumenical Conference on Terrorism in a Globalized World, convened in Manila by the World Council of Churches, Christian Conference of Asia and the National Council of Churches in the Philippines. The conference would later give birth to Peace for Life. Since then Christian ecumenical bodies have foregrounded the problem of the domination of empire and the need to dream, think and act beyond it. Among those that have produced key documents and declarations on the problematic of Empire are the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, United Church of Canada, Lutheran World Federation, and World Student Christian Federation.
During the same period there has been intensive academic discussion and study of Empire in North American seminaries and universities.
The concern with Empire is also evident, however, in works by other religious traditions (e.g. Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, indigenous). Many other social movements have likewise emphasized the need to analyze critically and resist forthrightly the U.S.-based empire of today. The conference offers a way to focus on this continuing and growing world concern about U.S. global hegemony among various inter-religious groups and also among a host of other social movements.
World Without Empire thus stands on the shoulders of many other religious and spiritual traditions, as well as among the many counter-imperial efforts in the history of social movements.
2. Rationale
As a necessary next step in forging a world movement that is inter-religious and broadly popular in its emancipatory strategies vis-à-vis global hegemony, Peace for Life is calling for a people’s congress titled World Without Empire. This international gathering is open to activists from faith-based institutions, the academe and, especially, from grassroots movements. The thinking behind this initiative involves the following issues.
A. The U.S/World Linkage. A key idea is to link resistance to Empire that is global with the more national and local struggles and perspectives against forms of imperial domination within the U.S. This explicit linkage has often not been made. We need to cultivate this connection, forging new alliances for an inter-religious and a wider public’s counter-imperial resistance. Again, this is to build on convergences already in motion for creating worldwide and just peace. The inclusion of inter-religious voices and their concerns in this alliance of world movements is especially important now because religion is increasingly being used to buttress and legitimize the US imperial drive.
B. Movements and South-South Initiative. The congress will be geared to movements, rather than only to the institutional character of counter-imperial faith-based action. It will be concerned with movements that are global, of world concern, even though this gathering focuses on connecting to U.S. movements. Moreover, in the tradition of Peace for Life, this world focus will continue to be South-led and South-driven, and as a result will emphasize South-South solidarity for world peace and justice-making.
C. Linking New Themes in Counter-Imperial Resistance. The congress will invite and integrate those counter-imperial movements that relate the politics of U.S. empire not only to issues of class, economics and nation, but also to those of race, gender and sexuality. Thus, the congress helps facilitate this linkage of themes and analyses in an emerging world resistance to empire.
D. A Muslim-Christian Focus. While the event will highlight the inter-religious dimension of today’s struggle amid Empire (e.g. Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, indigenous), World Without Empire will give particular emphasis to Muslim-Christian alliances. In this way, we recognize the special ways that the Muslim world is under the hegemony of the U.S. today. The conference thus seeks to facilitate a solidarity and partnering with Muslim struggle.
E. The Theologian/Activist Cooperation. The congress will also bring together activists and theologians from the South to share the emerging inter-religious resistance to Empire with those theologians and activists from within the United States, in order to consolidate the critique of Empire from religious traditions worldwide and contribute to a spirituality of liberation based on transnational alliances.
F. A Creative Dimension. In addition to focusing on issues of analysis and action, this congress will seek to integrate throughout a commitment to artistic creativity, performance and dramatic expression. These creative events aim to help challenge the cultural infrastructure supporting Empire and to express cultural forms of emancipation that promote a culture of justice and peace. We hope to engage the already vigorous popular movements’ arts of liberating resistance, as exemplified, for example, among a new generation of activists.
3. Objectives
A. FOR BUILDING COALITIONS
To broaden Peace for Life’s concrete linkage to other world movements:
- between the various faith-based movements themselves, especially highlighting Muslim-Christian solidarity,
- between inter-religious movements and other social movements, and
- between movements within the United States and those outside in the world community.
B. FOR CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE
To contribute to the new linkage of critical themes, so that resistance to U.S. empire involves the politics of nation and class, but also the politics of race, gender, sexuality, and ecological justice. In so doing, we aim to help create a new discourse of just peace.
C. FOR CREATIVE RESISTANCE
To engage and invite activists from the creative and popular arts who are already involved in counter-imperial liberating struggle,
- to provide a platform for emancipatory, artistic expression and action;
- to render visible and celebrate the work of the People’s Congress while in New York City;
- to open up alternative visions of a world without Empire.
4. Dates, Venue, and Participants
It is proposed to hold the People’s Congress in New York City in November 2009 at the Union Theological Seminary, the proposed host for the event. A significant dimension of the preparatory work for the conference will be organizing to secure entry and presence in the U.S. for South activists working on these issues.
The participants shall include local grassroots activists from a wide array of popular emancipatory movements, inter-religious movements, as well as from institutions and academic communities. A significant international delegation will be invited, and t at least 100 participants are expected from within the United States.
5. Hosting and Sponsorship
Union Theological Seminary (UTS) is asked to host the event and is expected to coordinate preparations for the meeting venue, meals and logistical support during the meeting. The United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries will be requested to provide accommodation for participants from outside the U.S. at the Alma Mathews House. Drew University and the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF) have agreed, as co-sponsors, to provide material and human as well as intellectual resources. Also to be approached for co-sponsorship are the Princeton Divinity School, New York Theological Seminary, San Francisco Theological Seminary, National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice (IWJ), Islamic Brotherhood in Harlem, Jewish Study Center of Baylor University, Council of Islamic Organizations in the Chicago Area and United for Peace and Justice.
The WSCF North American Coordination, together with the UTS-Poverty Initiative, will be asked to take the lead in planning the cultural events or a peace festival.
6. Planning and Administration
A “subgroup” of Peace for Life has been designated responsibility for coordinating the World Without Empire People’s Congress. Created in March 2008, it now is known as the Planning Committee for Congress preparations. This committee is composed mostly of members of the PfL Continuation Committee based in the U.S., to wit: Rev. Christopher Ferguson (WCC representative to the UN office in NY), David Wildman (Executive Secretary, Human Rights and Racial Justice, General Board of Global Ministries-UMC), Dr. Kathryn Poethig (Associate Professor for Global Studies, California State University Monterey Bay), Mark Lewis Taylor (Professor, Princeton Theological Seminary), Prof. Chung Hyun Kyung (Professor, Union Theological Seminary), Trish Kanous (Coalition for Palestinian Rights) and Carmencita Karagdag (Coordinator, Peace for Life). An advisory committee has likewise been created, whose members are Rev. Eunice Santana (Director, Instituto Caribeno de Accion y Formacion Ecumenical, and Moderator of PfL), Dr. Kim Yong Bock (President, Advnaced Institute for Integral Study of Life, and Co-Moderator of PfL). Dr. Namsoon Kang (Associate Professor, Brite Divinity School of Texas University), Prof. Ulrich Duchrow (Moderator, Kairos Europa), Rhea Whitehead (United Church of Canada), Philip Wickeri (Acting Dean, San Francisco Theological Seminary) and Dr. Lester Ruiz (Association for Theological Schools in the US and Canada).
Assisting the above committees in planning and implementation of the project are members of the Local Organizing Committee. It is composed of Dr. Elizabeth Tapia (Director, Center for Christianities in Global Context, Drew University), Victor Hsu (National Director, DPRK program at World Vision International), Rev. Liberato Bautista (Assistant General Secretary and main representative to the UN, General Board of Church and Society-UMC), Luciano Kovaks (Coordinator, World Student Christian Federation–North America) and Prof. Chung Hyun Kyung (Convenor of the Local Organizing Committee). The committee is encouraged to co-opt additional members to facilitate more balanced representation from faith communities, popular movements and marginalized populations. NY-based members of the Planning Committee have been asked to be part of the Local Organizing Committee.
Submitted by:
PEACE FOR LIFE
c/o Ms Carmencita Karagdag, Coordinator
2/F, Bishop La Verne Mercado Ecumenical Center
NCCP Compound, 879 EDSA
West Triangle, Quezon City
Philippines 1104
Telefax: (+632) 9278043
Website: www.peaceforlife.org
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