The tragedy of 11 September 2001 imposes an image shifting of Islam from the religion of peace to “the religion of terror.” Theoretically speaking, the discourse of just war theory instead of pacifism has been emerging ever since then. Although it takes root on St Augustine’s religious thoughts, the discourse of just war theory is prone to be secular instead of religious nowadays. Moreover, Hamas’ political and military action on 7 October 2023 makes Gaza in specific and the Middle East in general; undergo a sea change with respect to peace and humanitarian issues.

Faculty of Ushuluddin, UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta proudly presents the International Colloquium on Diplomacy of the Divine: Religion’s Role in International Peace on 10-11 September 2024. We bring together more than 20 professors, academics, theologians and researchers from various reputable institutions some of which are Universität Rostock, the Fuehrungsakademi der Bundeswehr, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Canadian Muslim Ahmadi Community, al-Mustafa International University and DAAD to share their research, thoughts and discoveries on the interplay between religion and peace.

Professor Ismatu Ropi, the Dean Faculty of Ushuluddin, says that, “We would like to rejuvenate the roles of religion for establishing peace in various regions. Our academics and some fellows from abroad could offer various perspectives in favour of perpetual peace in this colloquium.” Therefore, this colloquium is an academic initiative to maximise the roles of religion to bolster peace.