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| Part of the Symposium Participants at Tangaza College |
The department of Islamic Studies at Tangaza University College, a constituent College of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in collaboration with the AMECEA Pastoral Department, on 10th May 2014 held an Inter-Religious Dialogue Symposium which focused on Muslim-Christian relations in East Africa: challenges and perspectives for the future.
The Symposium which had 120 participants from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda was spearheaded by Fr. Felix Phiri (M.Afr.), Head of the Department. The 120 participants were from both Christian and Muslim Communities.
The aim of the Symposium was to bring together leaders of organizations that are involved in the promotion of Christian – Muslim relationship for the purpose of building a society that share the common goal of the human community, unity, tolerance and co-existence. It also helped to create the awareness that the Tangaza College administration is committed to promoting programmes of Inter-Religious Dialogue and Islamic studies. The administration has been working closely with the help of the Society of the Missionaries of Africa and AMECEA Pastoral Department to ensure that this program becomes beneficial to all those who are engaged in promoting Inter-Religious Dialogue.
The Symposium included paper presentations and testimonies shared by both Christian and Muslim participants on the common destiny of humanity in the search for God, the need to understand each other’s faith, culture and beliefs in order to appreciate the differences with respect for the common good of our society. Among the presenters was Bishop Emmanuel Barbara of Malindi Diocese who is also the Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Mombasa. In his presentation, Bishop Barabara shared his experiences of close collaboration with the Muslim leaders in the coastal region of Kenya and pointed at some of the successes despite the challenges and obstacles.
Other presenters included Dr Kahumbi Maina, who lecturers at Kenyatta University and Tangaza College. His presentation focused of the history of the Christian – Muslim relationship in Eastern Africa. Others were Mr. Richard Yiga - a pastoral agent for Inter-Religious Dialogue in Uganda, Fr. Benedict Shemfumbwa - the Executive Secretary of the Commission for Interreligious Dialogue at the Tanzania Episcopal Conference, Ms. Rahma Hersi – a Kenyan Muslim lawyer, Dr Joseph Wandera and Rev. Willem Jansen – lecturers at St Paul’s University in Limuru, Rev. Lesmore Ezechiel – Program Officer at PROCMURA, Sheikh Bunni Meraqbash – a Sufi, and Mr Muhammad Abdirizak – a Somali youth organizer and human rights activist.
Their presentations gave a broad view of the situation concerning Muslim-Christians in the region and testimonies of the concrete interreligious activities being jointly undertaken by various Muslim and Christian organisations in favour of promoting Inter-Religious Dialogue.
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| Bishop Emmanuel Barbara (Left) giving his presentation |
The speakers touched on common values that unite people of different religious backgrounds. The testimonies of the different organizations were yet another proof that people of different religious affiliations can indeed make a big difference in society and can contribute to holistic human development. Efforts were equally made to sincerely express sound views about the issue of terrorism as attributed to religious extremism, particularly in Kenya and to a lesser extent in Tanzania. The speakers stated that terrorism and religious radicalization cannot be attributed to religion alone but also to the moral decadence and vulnerability of those who are persuaded to cause atrocities because of the extreme poor social conditions.
The symposium was preceded by five days of an interfaith exhibition showing the collection of the ‘World Religions-Universal Peace-Global Ethics’, which is composed of twelve panels. This was made available by the Ecumenical Centre for Justice and Peace in Nairobi with the help of Mr Ingo Stang. Other exhibitions included banners, posters, calendars and other interfaith literature from: the Iranian Cultural Council in Nairobi, the Commission for Interreligious Dialogue of the Tanzania Episcopal Conference, the Missionaries of Africa and PROCMURA. During the five days of the exhibition, seven one-hour documentaries on Traditional Religions, Chinese Religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam were projected.
Speaking to AMECEA online news, Fr. Phiri (M.Afr.) expressed optimism that this first initiative by the Department of Islamic Studies is aimed at creating a forum for sharing of faith experiences, discussing common issues affecting our society and proposing the way forward that is guided by the diversity of our faith. Fr. Phiri is former lecturer of the Pontifical Institute for Islamic and Arabic Studies (PISAI) and since September 2013 he is heading the Department of Islamic studies and promoting Inter-Religious Dialogue in Eastern Africa.
Fr. Febian Pikiti Mulenga, the AMECEA Pastoral Department, expressed the commitment of the AMECEA Bishops to promoting Inter-Religious Dialogue. He said that his department, in collaboration with the Fr. Phiri, are working at creating the AMECEA Network for Inter-Religious Dialogue (AMECEA-NID). The aim of this forum or network is to bring together, propose training and pastoral initiatives coordinated by National Directors/Executive Secretaries for Commissions Inter-Religious Dialogue in the AMECEA countries.
This will create a structure for collaboration; inter-connection and a platform promote a concerted effort of the Catholic Church to strategically engage on dialogue with followers of other religions. Once approved by the AMECEA Bishops, this network has the potential to provide capacity building of those engaged in dialogue with Non-Christian religions and providing resource materials useful for this apostolate.
Meanwhile, AMECEA Pastoral Department will be facilitating a workshop sponsored by Fr. Joseph Healey, MM on Small Christian Communities in Mwanza for the Metropolitan Dioceses of Mwanza which includes: The Archdiocese of Mwanza, The Dioceses of Bukoba, Musoma, Shinyanga, Geita, Rulenge Ngara, Kayanga and Bunda. The workshop will take place from 19th – 23rd May and will be centred on TheWord of God in Small Christian Communities. The workshop is the fourth in a series of National Small Christian Communities’ Workshops in the nine AMECEA countries. The previous workshops have been held in Ethiopia, Zambia and Malawi.
Source: AMECEA Pastoral Department