Christian Muslim Dialogue in the Context of Interfaith Relations in Africa.

Abstract

The scientific work, presented in two articles, focuses on the characteristic of interreligious dialogues in Africa in historical retrospect and at present. The complexity of this problem is explained by the diversity of the religious situation on the African continent. The article analyses the region of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where there are currently three religious traditions: two world religions (Islam and Christianity) and one autochthonous traditional religion in various ethno-cultural variations. The author focuses on the dialogues that arise when Africans practicing the traditional religion convert to Islam or Christianity. The first article addresses the question of the role and place of traditional religions in contemporary Africa, on which there are different views. The historical and cultural nature of African traditional religions and the reasons for their persistence in contemporary Africa are considered. The article also highlights the problem, new to African studies, of the specific nature of dialogue in Africa and its traditional form, the “palabra”. The second article examines the peculiarities of relations and dialogues between Islam and Christianity and the autochthonous religions of Africa. The article focuses on the relationship of Sufi Islam and Christianity with autochthonous religions and the possibility of their interaction, mutual adaptation and dialogue. The study of the problem of the current state of interreligious dialogues concludes with an analysis of the peculiarities of the Muslim-Christian dialogue.