WeeklySA_AdminUNITY: Scores of African church leaders meet for the first time under the theme, “Africa Together: A Continental Call to Religious Freedom”…
By Jude Atemanke
Bishop Stephen Dami Mamza of Nigeria’s Catholic Diocese of Yola has appealed to African leaders to tap into Africa’s traditional values that he said foster religious freedom and peaceful coexistence on the continent.
The International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit brought together regional and global experts and proponents of freedom of religion in Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi, to explore the impact of government actions on religious freedom. It was held under the theme, “Africa Together: A Continental Call to Religious Freedom”.
Speaking at a panel discussion during the first-ever International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit in Africa held in Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi, Bishop Mamza highlighted Africa’s “deep spirituality” and the unity in diversity of the cultures as particularly inspirational.
“This summit has come at the right time, the time that we truly need, and it is my hope and prayer that it will be fruitful, and very soon it will begin to reproduce gradually,” said the Nigerian Catholic Bishop, who represented members of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) at the one-day June 17 Summit.
He identified some of the African traditional values that foster religious liberty, saying, “Africa is a very vast continent with deep spirituality, rich culture, and communal spirit. When you talk about religious freedom in Africa … if you look at it from a traditional point of view, that has been there right from the beginning.”
Bishop Mamza noted that in African traditional religion, there was no imposition of belief systems. “It is part and parcel of the worship of an African traditionalist that he does not impose his religion or culture on somebody else,” he said.
Citing Nigeria, with its more than 400 distinct languages and traditional belief systems, the Catholic Bishop argued that the framework for religious freedom in modern Africa should be inspired by African traditional values.
“There are so many values in African traditional religions that we can even say are not obtainable in some of these religions that we worship—compassion, hospitality, the community spirit—very deep-rooted in Africa,” the SECAM Second Vice President said.
The Nigerian Catholic Bishop, who has been recognised widely for his peace initiatives in the West African nation, said, “In the traditional society, somebody will leave his bedroom to go and sleep outside, so that the kids that he has never met can go in and put up in his room… even the best meal that you don’t ordinarily eat, an African will prepare for that feast.”
Bishop Mamza lamented the decline of these values in the face of rising violence across the continent, particularly in Nigeria, his home country.
“Things have changed as soon as before, and we see a lot of violence across Africa. I can say, we can blame the leadership of the two major religions. Those who are inflicting violence are doing so little, while the majority are quiet,” he said.
He went on to recount his own experience of responding to the Boko Haram crisis with concrete acts of interreligious solidarity.
“I built a mosque as a mission. I took care of internally displaced people in my neighbourhood when Boko Haram took over half of my city. I built a church, I built a school, and houses for both Christians and Muslims,” the Local Ordinary of Yola Diocese said, referring to his initiative to build a mosque for Muslims and homes for the displaced in his Episcopal See.
But his actions were met with opposition from both sides, he recalled, and explained, “I was persecuted by the Muslims. Why should an infidel build a mosque for a Muslim to go and pray inside? I was also persecuted by the Christians. Why should you go and build a mosque instead of building a church? Nobody could understand.”
Bishop Mamza went on to recognise the long-term success of his efforts, saying, “At the end of the day, these people are living peacefully in the same community now.”
He called for a collective commitment from Africa’s key influencers to end religious intolerance. “The key persons that should be involved should be the world leaders, the religious leaders, the traditional leaders, and the community leaders in Africa.”
“If these four agree in any part of Africa regarding religious freedom, there will be no conflict, and everybody will be able to worship freely, because that is part of our culture,” Bishop Mamza said.
Addressing the meeting, Kenyan Chief Justice Martha Karambu Koome called upon delegates at the conference to have a “united stance” in fostering religious liberty.
“Let this summit be remembered as a turning point — a moment when Africa stood up, not merely in defense of freedom of religion or belief but in pursuit of a richer, deeper peace grounded in dignity, justice, and the recognition of our shared humanity,” Koome said.
“Around the world, and particularly in parts of Africa, we are witnessing an alarming rise in incidents of religious persecution, restrictions on religious expression, and violent extremism and violence.
“These violations are not just attacks on religious freedoms,” Koome added. “They strike at the very fabric of our societies and threaten the social cohesion essential for sustainable peace and development,” she said.
In a series of sessions, the co-chairs of the IRF Summit “and an array of civil society leaders from across the continent” facilitated discussions around “the context, the challenges, and the path forward for freedom of religion and belief” in the world’s second largest and second most populous continent after Asia in both cases. – ACI AFRICA
