Christian Muslim relations in the Gambia

The Rt Rev Prof Peter Stephens, bishop of Gambia, in his regular 'Reflections' in the Methodist Recorder discusses Muslim Christian relations in this weeks edition.

The Gambia has a population that is 90% Muslim and less than 5% Christian, however, he records that all major gatherings begin with both Muslim and Christian prayers.  Bishop Stephens writes that good relations depend on, and are helped by, 'knowing Muslims personally, by seeing them and their faith at their best, not their worst, and by discovering the similarities and differences'.  He also reflects that 'besides sharing with Muslims we can also learn from them.  They can help us to discover what we have lost in many churches.  Through contact with them we may recover a sense of the sovereignty of God, the rhythm of a life punctuated by prayer and the reality of his concern for the whole life of our society (political, social and economic) and not just our personal life'.

It is not my usual practice to quote extensively as I have above, but what Bishop Stephens wrote seemed to be what each of us need to hear.