In this reflection, Dr. Joseph Mutei describes a unique program on Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations at St. Paul’s University (http://www.spu.ac.ke) in Limuru, Kenya. The program began in 2004 with a class of ten students and has offered training to students from a variety of backgrounds and nationalities including and not limited to: Kenya, Tanzania, D.R. Congo, Rwanda, Turkey, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Sudan etc. Both staff and students have also been widely spread including some from Africa, North America, Asia and Europe.
The rationale of the program in Kenya
Theological institutions in Africa, as in any part of the world, make the teaching of other religions part and parcel of the theological formation of students. The extent to which a particular religion receives prominence depends largely on the environment in which the student will eventually minister. In some parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, African Traditional Religions received prominence. This was because of the understanding that adherents of African Traditional Religions constituted the majority in Africa, and therefore was the environment in which the church had to carry out its life and witness. However in the recent past the religious environment of Africa, of which Kenya is a part, has seen a growth in Islam. Muslim populations in most countries today exceed those of adherents of African Traditional Religions. It is recognised that all Africans maintain a reference point with African Traditional Religions regardless of their formal religious adherence. This calls for taking the study of Islam more seriously, as is the case with African Traditional Religions. Many theological institutions seem to be beginning to recognise this.
There are ample reasons why the church needs to go beyond merely making Islamic studies an integral part of its theological formation. Programs need to single out Islam and Christian-Muslim relations for specific in-depth study at the post graduate level. Some of the reasons include:
- Christians and Muslims form the majority of the religious map of Africa general and Kenya, specifically. This means that Christians and Muslims are bound to live together in peace if they accept their differences, or alternatively struggle over their differences and ‘destroy’ each other. We believe that an in-depth study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, by the clergy, especially, could be an asset in the process of working towards peaceful co-existence.
- Christianity and Islam are currently the two great missionary religions on the continent. Producing Christian specialists in Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations will facilitate the principle of responsible Christian witness that will not unduly disturb the spirit of good neighbourliness.
- Inherited negative perceptions of Christians and Muslims of each other are a potential recipe for conflict. The churches need to train experts to help them mitigate against such negative attitudes.
- There is an increase in Christian-Muslim collaboration and dialogue on national issues. To train Christian specialists in Islam and Christian-Muslim relations will facilitate informed collaboration and dialogue.
- There is a need for lecturers in Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations in theological institutions in East Africa and beyond. It is envisaged that a post-graduate programme would facilitate the provision of such academic personnel for other theological institutions, in Kenya in particular, East Africa and other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa in general.
St. Paul’s University, Kenya has been selected by the governing council and its European and North American partners of the Project for Christian-Muslim Relations in Africa (PROCMURA), as one of three theological colleges in Africa to pioneer this endeavour. The other institutions are Trinity Theological College in Ghana and the Faculté de Théologie Protestante in Cameroon.
The main objectives of the program
The general objectives of the Islam and Christian – Muslim Relations programme are essentially but not exclusively three fold:
First, the provision of necessary tools for Christian-Muslim positive engagement: It is clear that in our contemporary situation, dialogue has become indispensable as a means of preventing conflict and a tool for conflict resolution. This has made dialogue a watchword in our world of political, cultural, economic and religious differences. Religious dialogue, unlike other forms of dialogue, however, has to be done in context. The objective of the course-design is to encourage an African-oriented dialogue where enemy images between Christians and Muslims (whether inherited or ‘manufactured’), are confronted, broken, and hopefully replaced by friendly images. To achieve this objective the course content is fashioned in such a way that would-be graduates have an objective study of Islam and Christian-Muslim relations (historical and contemporary), without giving up their own Christian tradition or identity, or watering down their own faith. This will help students, and those that they will be ministering to in the future, to avoid the stereotypical image of religious dialogue as one that involves bending from one’s own faith and doctrine in order to accommodate the other.
Secondly, doing Christian mission in an interfaith milieu: inherited concepts and practices of Christian mission hardly recognize the interfaith environment which fosters the aforementioned images (both good and bad). The objective of the programme is to provide students with the opportunity of evolving concepts of mission in an interfaith environment where the other faith is equally ‘missionary’ and where there is competition as to where to direct the human soul. The approach to be adopted, it is hoped, will be to stimulate rather than undermine the need for redefined Christian mission in the life of the church in Africa in the 21st century. Finally, the appreciation of the Christian-Muslim presence in Africa and its meaning for Christian living. In the Christian-Muslim environment in which we live, we either accept our religious differences and live together in peace, or, alternatively, struggle over such differences and ‘destroy’ each other. The objective of the programme is to help students appreciate that Christianity and Islam are here to stay, and that Christians and Muslims will have to rub shoulders all the time. To this end, questions will be raised as to how much Christians and Muslims should allow themselves to be influenced by outside religio-political forces to attack each other and destabilise society. Students’ research topics over the years have revolved around this area with the objective of discussing whether we can talk about an African Christian within the world-wide Christian community, and an African Muslim within the world-wide Muslim community. This has greatly reshaped discussions as to which road Christian-Muslim relations in Africa should take—the way that sees ‘my neighbour’ as one of the same religious community as oneself, be he/she far away, or as anyone (in spite of religious affiliation) who is in need of help. After ten years since the beginning of the program, 80+ students have been trained and placed in different parts of the world for service of God and humanity in the sphere of inter religious engagement. The two year program is split between taught courses and field research. Some of the courses taught include: Introduction to Islam Qur’anic Arabic Islam in Africa, Sufism, Christian-Muslim Relations, Islamic Theology, and Islamic Law (Sharī‘a) etc. The creative teaching of the program ensures that students don’t only receive theoretical information but also get exposed to practical dialogue forums at the Christian Muslim Relations Centre in Eastleigh, Nairobi amongst other places.
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