One Book For Peace. A book that contains the teachings of both the Bible and the Quran, where verses from each were printed next to each other to demonstrate how similar the teachings are. It focuses on topics such as One God, Peace, Justice, Love, Family Relatives and Neighbours, Sanctity of Life, Compassion, Forgiveness, Helping Others and Hope. Each chapter consists of ten verses clearly showing the similarities and explaining to the reader in a simple way that teachings on humanity may have been written differently but they truly have one voice. This is precisely what was needed to be communicated to Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries that are experiencing humanitarian migration crises, thereby beginning a conversation about how there’s so much more that unites us than sets us apart.
Creative Execution
To retain the holiness of the Holy Bible and the Quran, the book was designed simply and minimalistically. Graphic icons for each religion also come together to form our logo. The typography used for chapter verses was designed to signify ‘Words of God’. The verses were placed side by side, making it clear how similar they are. Once unfolded, the sleeve of the book becomes a poster that summarized the chapters from the Bible and the Quran. Please take a look at the physical copy to feel the experience.The ONE book was launched on a prime time show on Al Jazeera Balkans. And soon after that, physical copies were sent to the world’s most influential leaders including Pope Francis, UN Chief Antonio Guterres, Donald Trump and Oprah Winfrey.
Results
One Book for Peace received a total of 53 million impressions.Right from the launch on Aljazeera Balkans, to sending the books to influential leaders like Pope Francis, Antonio Guterres and Donald Trump, to releasing the book on Twitter, we reached 96% of the total population of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 100% of its online population. People from every continent visited our website, requested a physical copy and downloaded the e-book. We even got a letter of acknowledgment from the Prime Minister of UK, Theresa May, encouraging us to continue spreading this message of peace.Two weeks after the launch of the book, faith leaders came together for a common prayer for the first time after the Bosnian War.
One Book For Peace is a book that contains the teachings of both the Bible and the Quran, where verses from each were printed next to each other to demonstrate how similar the teachings.
The project set out to spread the message of peace with a very limited budget.There was no paid media involved. The launch on Aljazeera Balkans was free of cost. The book was sent to influential leaders such as Pope Francis, UN Chief Antonio Guterres and President Donald Trump. Twitter launch and Concept video on YouTube grew organically, reaching over 1 million views.
We approached renowned journalist Mirnes Kovac and two Theologians, one Christian and the other Islamic, to study the holy books and chose ten topics to demonstrate the similarities in their teachings. The book was created to educate people with strong prejudices or no understanding of the other religion, and make them all realize that both have the same voice. We created a book that not only gives a message of peace, but feels like one too. The size of the book and the feel of the paper makes reading it a soothing experience. We designed the sleeve in a way that it can be unfolded and used as a poster. That’s why we decided to mail the physical copies with a simple message of peace.