Peace Clan: Mennonite Peacemaking in Somalia

What happens when North American Mennonite Christians arrive in Islamic Somalia? The answer according to Peter Sensenig is that something new emerges: a peace clan. From the first schools and medical work in the 1950s up to the educational partnerships of the present day Somalis and Mennonites formed a surprising friendship that defied conventional labels. Peace Clan is the story of two deeply traditional communities as they encounter change. How can Somalis apply the profound peacemaking resources of their culture and faith in a society fragmented by violence? And how can modernizing Mennonites make sense of their peace convictions in the context of civil war and military intervention? In struggling with these questions over the course of six decades Somalis and Mennonites held a mirror up to one another. The author shows how the common quest to transform enmity brings out the best in both communities and suggests what a fruitful partnership might look like in the present challenges. Students academics and lay readers alike will find on these pages a compelling invitation to join the peace clan. Peace Clan provides a rare insight into the multifaceted approach to peacebuilding in Somalia over generations of Mennonite-related engagement. Carefully researched Peter Sensenig provides us with clear descriptions of the processes and on-the-ground experiences embedded in a faith-inspired approach to sustained peace work and the challenges faced when relationship building across cultures and religions takes seriously an ethic of human dignity and respect. We have few examples of such in-depth ethnographic explorations of peacebuilding that provide numerous interdisciplinary lenses including theology ethics history and a concern for the practical aspects of transforming conflict in one of the most protracted and difficult terrains of modern-day armed conflict. A wonderful contribution to our wider field. --John Paul Lederach Professor of International Peacebuilding Kroc Insitute; Senior Fellow Humanity United If Black Hawk Down is all you know about the Somali world youre in for a more exciting picture in this book. If youve questioned traditional Western mission approaches Peace Clan will move you into welcome missiological territory. And twenty-first-century peacemakers who want to root our work in the gospel of Jesus while seeking respectful and fruitful relationships with Muslims can take courage and profit from Peter Sensenigs deftly woven account. --Nancy R. Heisey Eastern Mennonite University Dr. Peter Sensenig has written an inspiring thought-provoking and challenging book on peacebuilding in the warring Somalia. I encourage those in academia as well as those who are engaged in interfaith relations and who strive to cultivate peace in society whether at the local or the global level to read the book for further insights on peaceful coexistence amid tension animosity and war. --Rebecca Osiro Theologian/Pastor Kenya Mennonite Church Peter M. Sensenig is a Regional Interfaith Consultant for Mennonite Board East Africa. He has taught in Somaliland Djibouti and the United States and currently resides in Zanzibar Tanzania. He holds a PhD in Theology Christian Ethics concentration from Fuller Theological Seminary. He has published and presented in the areas of just peacemaking Christian ethics and peacemaking leadership.