Curbing religious conflicts through inter-religious dialogue initiatives: exploring the provision of library and information service option

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to explore how the provision of library and information services can help in the curbing of religious conflict through inter-religious dialogues. The study use literature review, oral interview and semi-structured interview to generate data for the study. The highlights of the paper indicates the various forms of religious conflict prevalent in modern society; justification for inter-religious dialogue initiatives; the role of libraries and information centres (LICs) in curbing religious conflicts; the challenges to curbing of religious conflicts through efficient delivery of library and information services (LIS). The various roles expected of library and information science professionals in the inter-religious dialogue initiatives include - organizing of inter-religious dialogue campaign, partnering with media houses in disseminating information that promotes and facilitates inter-religious dialogue initiatives, reaching out to religious leaders for sustainable collaboration for effective and sustainable inter-religious dialogue initiatives. The challenges to provision of library and information services as tool for curbing religious conflict includes low level of partnership drive; low perception about librarians and library services, and stereo-type form of training acquired by librarians in library schools. Recommendations were made in line with the identified challenges. The paper concludes that curbing of religious violence through inter-religious dialogue is a non negotiable factor in the development of any society that wants to achieve meaningful development; and librarians cannot be ignored in inter-religious dialogue initiatives as they integral component of the information infrastructures of any society.