WIPNET became a cooperative and effective effort shared by Christian and Muslim women in Liberia. Their cooperation is thought by some to have been the first time in Liberian history where Muslim and Christian women came together.
This is especially meaningful when considered in contrast to the dualistic perception that Taylor and the NPFL were Christian, while LURD (Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy), one of the main rebel groups, were Muslim.
Do you think religion is more often a uniting force or a divider in our current events?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Timeline: Liberian History
Timeline: Liberian Conflict and Reconstruction 1980 - Present
Unfortunately, I think it is more often a dividing force in current conflict but I do hold out that it can be a tremendous force for good. I see the evidence for that all over the developing world. The example of women coming together across religious lines in Liberia is a great model of hope.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a difficult and complicated question...At the very moment that I read this post I am sitting in a peace-building and conflict resolution in Kenya with Kenyans, Nigerians, and Congolese peace makers. We all want peace, and are all religious (all Christian) but cannot agree if religion is a uniting force or divider. I shall also be posting on this subject this week sometime--thanks for the food for thought!
ReplyDelete(also, another example of inter-faith work on the continent is depicted in "The Imam and the Pastor" a story of joint peace work in Nigeria. http://www.iofc.org/imam-pastor)