The Roads of Peace Run Through the Arab World Too

posted on: Feb 18, 2026

By: Emma Campbell / Arab America Contributing Writer

The Quiet Traditions of Peace in the Arab World

Across the Arab world, peace has often been practiced quietly. It has taken the form of marches through villages, disciplined civil resistance, and spiritual traditions rooted in patience and restraint. Yet, these histories have frequently been overshadowed by the region’s association with war and instability. In global discourse, the Arab world is more often portrayed as a site of conflict than a place of nonviolent tradition.

That imbalance makes certain global moments feel unexpectedly relevant. When peace is recognized everywhere, it can invite a reconsideration of where we look for it – and where we fail to.

A Walk That Invites Reflection

In October 2025, a group of Buddhist monks began a 2,300-mile Walk for Peace from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington, DC. They traveled for 108 days, and recently returned home to their Temple. These venerable monks had one goal: advocating for peace. As our world is filled with strife and hardship, kindness is the only way to prevail for all beings. This spiritual journey highlights mindfulness, compassion, and nonviolence.

Despite the messaging that the walk is without political aims, they venerable monks have attracted millions of views online and followers around the United States. Due to this, their messaging is inherently political – as the United States and world itself is so politically divided. This raises a broader question:  what does peace look like when it is practiced rather than proclaimed? For many in the Arab world, that question feels familiar.

Civil Resistance in the Arab World

During the First Intifada, Palestinians engaged in widespread civil resistance. Whether general strikes, boycotts of Israeli goods, or acts of collective discipline, these measures of resistance fuel justice and peace. Additionally, in places like Beit Sahour, refusal to pay taxes became a form of moral resistance that drew global attention. Years later,  weekly marches in West Bank villages, like Bil’in, sustain this tradition. Through acts of visible, persistent nonviolence, people bear witness to the presence of justice through nonviolent movements.

Ethical Foundations of Nonviolence

While the recent Walk for Peace is not explicitly tied to any single ideological tradition, its core message of nonviolent civic action reflects a broader political philosophy. This has shaped movements across regions, including the Arab world. At its heart, nonviolence is less of a religious doctrine. Instead, it is tied to a strategic and ethical framework rooted in legitimacy, public mobilization, and morality.

As seen in the Intifadas and marches within local villages like Bil’in, nonviolence operates not purely through peace but disruption. Wrongdoings are exposed through marches, boycotts, and movements against injustices. Inherently, this maintains the moral credibility of the nonviolent actor or protestor. This logic is straightforward yet powerful. As violence has the power to delegitimize movements, disciplined nonviolence can expand a cause – making it harder to dismiss.

These ideas help explain why acts like the Walk for Peace resonate far beyond the places they occur. In the context of the Arab World, and especially Palestine, visibility and moral frameworks are central to how actors communicate with global audiences. Whether through social media, public demonstrations, or media, movements are seen as more than politics. In the Walk for Peace, the ideological divide that plagues our world is given a direct and public spotlight. Therefore, in the walk, the struggles relating to this polarization are humanized, rather than headlines. 

A Shared Language of Peace

For Arab Americans, the contrast between visibility and invisibility in media and politics can feel familiar. The United States and Arab world are similar, yet also greatly different. Both regions recognize the universality of peace traditions, like the Walk for Peace. However, nonviolent movements are also unevenly acknowledged – as the world would much rather highlight brutality as opposed to tranquility. 

However, this creates an opportunity to re-center narratives that highlight violence. Particularly in the Arab world, the media tends to emphasize violent movements as the epicenter of governance and action. Despite this, the region is not only shaped by conflict, but also through countless displays of nonviolence.

While the Walk for Peace unfolded on American roads and was shaped by Buddhist traditions and US audiences, its deeper resonance lies in shared human ideals. The practices of walking, witnessing, and enduring in the face of violence is central to human understanding. These ideals do not belong to any one culture. Instead, it stretches across histories and geographies, including the often-overlooked landscapes of the Arab world.

As our world today is defined by cruelty and power-politics, acts of quiet persistence carry great meaning. For those who know the Arab world beyond its headlines, that lesson is not new. Nevertheless, movements like the Walk for Peace remind us that, while true peace does not occur overnight, its ideas speak the same language worldwide – steady, patient, and deeply human.

Want more articles like this? Sign up for our e-newsletter!

Check out our blog here!