wfn.org | Christian, Muslim faiths prosper together in Kenya

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org>]

Note #7181 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

31-May-2002
02199

Christian, Muslim faiths prosper together in Kenya

Presbyterian church in Africa has 3 million members, only 400 pastors

by John Filiatreau

LOUISVILLE - As leader of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) for the past six years, the Rev. Patrick Rukenya has had ample first-hand experience in Christian-Muslim relations.

For more than five years, he and other Christian and non-Christian religious leaders in his native Kenya have been at the forefront of an effort to craft a new constitution that would protect the civil and religious freedoms of the country's 35 million people.

In 2000, when Christians and Muslims clashed over property in Nairobi, the capital city of 1.5 million people, rioters burned down a mosque and two churches, killing one person and injuring dozens. The targets of the violence included members of the constitutional commission, notably including Anglican Archbishop David Gitari, who was rescued from a mob by his Muslim colleagues, who used their own bodies as a shield to keep him from harm.

"The next day, Muslim leaders came through all the (Christian) churches, apologizing," Rukenya recalled this week during a brief visit to Presbyterian Church (USA) headquarters in Louisville. "All the religious groups have been asking, 'How can we help Kenya at this time of transition? How can we forget our differences and learn to concentrate on the things that unite us?'"

One thing that has united the church leaders is their call for the removal of parts of the constitution that restrict speech and prohibit public assemblies - allowing the government to virtually outlaw opposition political parties and to silence its critics.

One of the most vocal critics of the government is the Rev. Timothy Njoya, a PCEA pastor whose preaching has been banned from Kenya radio. In 1997 he was severely beaten by security troops that objected to his calls for government reform.

Partly as a result of their anti-government campaign, Rukenya said, "The people of Kenya have come to have more trust, more confidence in religious leaders than in the government."

The PCEA is "really growing," Rukenya said, with 2,500 congregations and more than 3 million members. More than 100 new churches are established every year. But because the church has only about 400 pastors, it relies heavily on lay ministers. One of his chief concerns as the PCEA's general secretary has been leadership development, for ministers and lay people alike. "I have not done all that I wanted to do," he said.

About 80 percent of Kenyans are Christians, nearly half of them Protestants. An estimated 10 percent are Muslims. Leaders of the Muslim community have long charged that the government is hostile toward non-Christians. Rukenya said the number of Muslims in Kenya is also growing, "and keeps on growing, we think mostly because of poverty and political dissatisfaction."

Rukenya said Christians and Muslims in Kenya, having discovered together that "the Quran and the Bible don't really conflict," are getting along better, partly because of their collaboration on the constitution-writing project - "but among Muslims there are a number of sects, and they sometimes have conflict among themselves."

The PCEA, a partner of the PC(USA) for nearly a half-century, is now experiencing "financial problems" because of a weak economy, Rukenya said, which has hampered his efforts to strengthen the country's two theological seminaries and establish a program to train lay leaders for the church. He said the PCEA is hoping soon to establish a guest house for visitors "as an income-generating project."

The PCEA has been among the most prominent critics of the Kenyan government, charging that is has proven itself incompetent and corrupt and has lost the support of the people. After its 2001 General Assembly, Rukenya charged, "Cases of embezzlement of public funds by government officials are rampant, leading to the collapse of government institutions." The church has blamed the government of President Daniel Arap Moi for despoiling the environment, draining the economy, providing weapons to pro-government groups and allowing the country's roads, hospitals and schools to deteriorate.

Kenya is one of the poorest African countries. It has a gross domestic product of $280 per person, compared with the sub-Saharan Africa average of $460. The scourges of the country, Rukenya said, are "poverty, illiteracy and disease."
Rukenya was in the United States for a two-week stint as missionary in residence at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, PA. 

The PCEA moderator, the Rev. Jesse M. Kamau, will visit the United States in September to participate in the Interfaith Listening Project, which will bring PC(USA) congregations and presbyteries together with Christian-Muslim teams from around the world for discussions of interfaith relations. His Muslim counterpart is Alhaji Yusufu Murigu, secretary general of the Kenya Arab Friendship Society.
------------------------------------------
Send your response to this article to pcusa.news@pcusa.org

------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send an 'unsubscribe' request to

pcusanews-request@halak.pcusa.org