This research explored Indians' definitions of peace and their solutions for peace between Hindus and Muslims in Gujarat, India. The study also focused on peacebuilding efforts after the Hindu-Muslim violence in Gujarat in 2002.Members of a local NGO collaborated on the project by acting as gatekeepers in the field. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in Hindi with twenty-nine adult men and women (20 to 64 years old) from both the Hindu and Muslim communities. To develop an understanding of the social context of each community, the researcher initiated conversations and walks around the communities with three key informants and she also conducted participatory mapping of the communities.Data analyses of the transcribed interviews was performed by two coders using the Grounded Theory approach in the target language, i.e., Hindi. Four main themes emerged: (1) descriptions of the community, (2) perceptions of relationships Hindus and Muslims, (3) peace and solutions for peace, and (4) hopes for the future. Smaller specific categories were captured under these broader themes.Based on the data analyses, analytic matrices representing the relationships between these categories and the two main research questions were generated. These matrices were developed drawing from data obtained during participants' interviews, conversations with key informants, the researcher's field observations, participatory mapping, and the available literature.Relying on the conceptual frameworks generated from the data, participants' definitions of peace and their solutions for peace in their community were elaborated. Participants' defined peace as the absence of both direct (e.g., physical violence) and structural (e.g., unemployment, crime rates) violence. Further, their solutions for peace incorporated direct (e.g., absence of physical violence) and structural (e.g., opportunities for employment) peacebuilding as ways- to promote non-violence in their communities. The analytic matrices derived from this study provided strong evidence to suggest participants' definitions of peace and their solutions for peace could contribute to peacebuilding between Hindus and Muslims in the communities in Gujarat targeted for this project. Implications for employing peacebuilding strategies to resolve conflict between other individuals are offered, as are recommendations for investigating solutions designed to facilitate peace and limitations of this study. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Islam is the world's fastest growing religion. It is known to have an abundant and very rich amount of knowledge found in the Qur'an and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, and as such, this religion has tremendously contributed not only to Muslim societies but also to the West. One aspect of this contribution explicated in this thesis is its contribution to the field of Conflict Resolution. The primary purpose of this study is to unearth the tradition of peace and conflict resolution that comes out of the religion of Islam, which is unknown to many Muslims today. In this study, existing literature in the field is examined, and a qualitative exploration is carried out, in order to formulate a better understanding of the dynamics of the Qur'an, hadith and other documents of Islam, as they relate to peace and conflict resolution. Utilizing a mixed methods approach, data collected for this study came from two sources: the existing literature regarding Islam and conflict resolution and the participants (Imams and religious scholars of Islam) interviewed through a questionnaire. To begin with, the thesis introduces the fundamentals of Islam and major concepts of the faith. It proceeds with Qur'anic and hadith injunctions on peace and conflict, and how those divine revelations as believed by Muslims, were applied by Prophet Muhammad and his early followers. This work is concluded with the opinions and interpretations of the scholars regarding the original question of this study and the matters discussed in the literature review. The thesis deals with the teachings of the Qur'an and only investigates and analyzes historical events from the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad and the early caliphate of Islam. In the process, to further explore the concept of conflict resolution in Islam, interpretations of Muslim scholars and imams are included in this document review of the sacred texts of Islam. Some questions addressed in this research are, how might this knowledge be valuable to Muslims today in these times of great turmoil involving the Muslim world after September 11? Where do the primary sources of Islam, the Quran and the hadith, stand as far as peace and conflict are concerned? And most importantly, what does Islam have to teach about conflict resolution?