“The sheikh is my best friend,” shotus Father Mpinge. My site-partner Hafsa and I smile, too. The sheikh-in-question is actually the imam of the largest mosque in town. Mpinge is the parish priest of St. Francis, the largest Catholic congregation. We didn’t expect such a statement from him.
As it turns out, the priest and the imam met after a town meeting some years ago. Father Mpinge offered to drive the imam home afterwards. Since that day, they have been fast friends, meeting regularly and even seeking each others’ advice about community issues. We see many of these friendships in Tanzania – they’re what I call “de facto interfaith” – people here work and interact with each other because it’s a religiously-diverse area.
It’s strange, really. When we ask about religions working together to educate their followers about malaria prevention and treatment it’s like we’re describing something completely foreign. The idea is always met with excitement and affirmation. We want churches and mosques in sub-Saharan Africa to collaborate towards eradicating malaria deaths. The real test of our work will come when faith communities here move from “de facto interfaith” to “interfaith action for the common good”.
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