2023 International Conference and AMAN Assembly

Banda Aceh, 14-16 October 2023 – The Asian Muslim Action Network (AMAN) along with Fakultas Syariah & Hukum of Universitas Islam Negeri Ar-Raniry co-organised an International Conference and AMAN Assembly 2023 with the theme ‘Religious Inclusion and Peacebuilding in the World: The Perspective of Muslims. 

The conference involved about 500 participants from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, The Philippines, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. The AMAN Assembly provided a space amongst Muslims and other faith leaders and communities to share good practices on religious harmony, interfaith dialogue, women empowerment and democracy. The event comprised study visits to historical sites in Aceh, a two-day international conference, and an internal AMAN meeting.

Representing the Initiative to Promote Tolerance and Prevent Violence (INITIATE.MY), Hisham Muhaimi participated as a panellist in a parallel workshop titled ‘Dialogue on Violent Extremism and the Involvement of Women and Youth,’ alongside panellists from Indonesia and Bangladesh.

Hisham began by contextualising the situation concerning women, youth, and violent extremism in Malaysia. He then shared INITIATE.MY’s best practices in supporting the Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS) Agenda and the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Agenda. During his presentation, he highlighted the limited engagement of civil society organisations (CSOs) in Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE) in Malaysia and the government’s lack of meaningful involvement with CSOs, which can hinder their ability to make an impact in the community.

Emphasising the importance of training CSO actors in PCVE, Hisham stressed that such exposure is necessary to encourage more CSOs to incorporate the PCVE framework into their programming initiatives.

Additionally, at the conference, Hisham moderated an open mic session featuring ten youth changemakers from Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Pakistan. The session revolved around the topic ‘Reinventing Nonviolent Civil Resistance: Youth Peaceful Movement and Technology.’ Each youth participant shared their experiences about their work in their respective countries and advancing nonviolent civil resistance such as in the contexts of Myanmar and some regions in India, particularly from the perspectives of youth and technology. This session fostered a collaborative environment for various stakeholders to engage in a meaningful dialogue for peaceful coexistence .