The President of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has been named as the 34th recipient of the distinguished Niwano Peace Prize, in recognition of his peacebuilding work in Israel/Palestine

Bishop Dr Munib Younan is bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, and has been President of the LWF since 2010. The prize has been awarded in appreciation of his work toward interreligious dialogue among Christians, Muslims, and Jews in Jerusalem and worldwide.

The Prize is awarded annually by the Niwano Peace Foundation (NPF), a Japanese Buddhist group, to an individual or organisation that has dedicated their service and scholarship to promoting peaceful co-operation among religions particularly in places of difficulty.

Announcing the award, an NPF statement said: “In a world characterised by leaders who seek to emphasise difference and hatred, Bishop Younan has consistently strived for the opposite. His work emphasises peace over power and unity over domination… (he) has shown that through the work of dialogue, which requires an opening of the self towards another, it is possible to bridge rifts of difference and slowly make the spaces between Muslims, Jews, and Christians smaller.”

Bishop Younan said: “I come to the table of dialogue with different religious leaders from the three faiths. I come with the suffering of my people under my skin. I come to speak on the future of the people who are living in this land. Religious leaders have a responsibility. Peace and dignity will come with how we educate and how we dialogue and we can reflect this to the politicians.”