ABSTRACT
The concepts of honour, revenge and forgiveness were, for the most part, imported into Islam from existing pre-Islamic social tribal norms; they are, nonetheless, deeply embedded in Islam and play a central role in the Muslim perception of morality and ethics, as well as in the ethos and practice of Muslim dispute resolution in general and Sulha in particular. Historian Reuven Levy traces the concepts of honour and revenge in Islam directly to the Prophet Muhammad and his practice of enabling the continuation of pre-Islamic concepts so long as they did not collide with the central themes of Islam. The concatenation of honour, revenge and forgiveness concepts establishes the ultimate purpose and practice of the Sulha transforming the disputing clans from a desire to avenge to a willingness to forgive, through the restoration of honour. Sulha-related literature identifies the central role of honour within the practice.
