The Role of Religious Institutions in Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism

Religious institutions and clerics are an untapped resource in the work on preventing and countering violent extremism in Iraq (P/CVE). This report examines Iraq’s diverse religious landscape and utilizes a multi-method toolkit, including interviews and an original survey, to examine the potential for clerics to engage in P/CVE. The report outlines areas for cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), other United Nations (UN) actors, and the broader international community, on one hand, and the Government of Iraq (GoI) on the other. It raises several key questions: what role can religious institutions play in P/CVE? What role have they already played? And what are the limitations they face, particularly from their adherents?