Interreligious encounters in schools
Farhana Hassanali My school (Saint Mary's) is a Christian school, but it accepts students of all religions and this has therefore helped me in my intermingling with students of different religious backgrounds. Also, all activities that are carried out in school are always multi-religious i.e. persons of all religions can participate. At school we are encouraged by teachers to intermingle with each other, although I think there is little need for such encouragement because between us students there isn't any problem on that score. We could of course create this barrier ourselves by not wanting to meet people of other faiths. My religous instruction both inside and outside the school has prepared me for being open minded and tolerant towards persons of different backgrounds. For example, in school there are religious lessons for each faith and in addition, it is compulsory to take Christian Religious Education (C.R.E.) until you prepare to sit for your final exams. If you want to know about the practices and activities of the other religions you are free to attend their instruction, whether or not you are a member of that particular religion. Also at least twice, at Christmas and Easter the whole school goes to church ( we have a church in school). I think that when we are in church we learn quite a lot about Christianity. I have made close friends with persons of different religious backgrounds, mainly in school. When we are together we rarely talk of our differences unless we are telling each other of our different religous activities or beliefs. We all respect each other's different cultures and racial backgrounds. Rarely have I heard my friends criticizing my religion i.e. Hinduism, and if they have criticized it they have done it not to hurt me but just to refer to some of the different activities we carry out. The suggestions I would have for making dialogue and interaction with people of different faiths an enrichment for Kenyans and for everyone is that we should make friends with people of different faiths. We should not let differences in skin colour or religion be a barrier. We should also not hold anyone as an outcast or not good enough to be your friend. We should have a positive attitude towards other people. Another suggestion is that there should be more recreational places aimed at young people where they can enjoy themselves, make new friends and generally socialise with their age-mates of different faiths.
QUOTES"Tolerance gives us spiritual insight, which is as far from fanaticism as the North Pole is from the South: true knowledge of religion breaks down the barriers between faith and faith." Mahatma GandhiRobert Gikonyo Differences in religion were of no significance in my early life. While I was in nursery or even in primary school, I don't remember anyone as a Muslim, Hindu or as belonging to a different Christian denomination. We were all either boys or girls, and even that was not all that important. All this changed when I went to secondary school. I began to notice that some of my friends called themselves Muslim and others Hindu.Still others were not Catholic like me, but Protestant. Since students admitted to the school were chosen purely on merit, it was not surprising that I found myself in an environment which was both multiracial and multireligious. The fact that we were in the same school with people of different backgrounds, made intermingling and interaction automatic. Meeting people of different religious backgrounds was a passive process, which did not need to be encouraged. Probably in anticipation of the fact that we would one day leave school and go out into the world, our teachers used to encourage us to be open-minded to people of different religions and to love one another like God's children. Tolerance was not only encouraged towards people of different religious backgrounds but towards everyone we might come across. At the university, I came across an even larger number of people from religious backgrounds different from my own.. Both in secondary school and at the university I had very close friends from different religious backgrounds. This helped me to get rid of any prejudices that may have been forming in me due to beliefs that others may have put across or aired in my presence. Having friends from different religious and cultural backgrounds helped me to think of, say, Muslims not just as a collective unit but as a group made up of individuals like my friends. Kenyans should learn to look at individuals from other religions as persons and not to foster prejudices about certain religions based on some individual they may have met. For example, Islam does not become a bad religion because of a bad Muslim individual I may have met. If this principle were applied by Kenyans when thinking of others of different racial, cultural and religious backgrounds, we would see more love and unity in our country and Kenya would have more peace. Farhana Hassanali My secondary school experience was limited to a Catholic-oriented school where I was the only Muslim in my class, there being two Hindus and a majority of Christians. Teachers constantly reminded us of equality and non-discrimination and encouraged interactions between students of different backgrounds. However, most emphasis was placed on Christianity and more specifically, Catholicism: for three of the four years it was compulsory as an academic subject for all students. This helped non-Christians to obtain more detailed knowledge of the religion. My religious background and upbringing had taught me to be open-minded to all people, irrespective of cast or creed. For this reason and since I was the only Muslim, I had no inhibitions about mingling and making close friends with other students. I soon realised that many of the other students were quite ignorant of the fundamentals of Islam. No doubt, Islam seemed a world apart from the other religions. My peers had a rather prejudiced view of the religion, identifying it with terrorism, fanaticism and fundamentalism, an impression largely created by the press. It took a while before the true impression of the religion became imprinted on their minds. No doubt the regulations were different in regard to many aspects of our lives, but with time other students grew to accept Muslims as they were. In our country, where Christianity is the predominant religion, a lot of information and knowledge is available about this religion. However, for minority religions, such as Islam and Hinduism, ignorance and wrong information seem to prevail. In order to promote a peaceful multi-religious environment in our country, we need to create an understanding and respect of all religious groups. This could be done by organizing get-togethers for youth of different religions, providing them with an opportunity to meet and mingle, discuss their respective religion and learn more about others. In schools, especially in secondary schools, religious education should be based on a common syllabus rather than cater for only one religion. I hope that with time, there will be more awareness among the people of our country about the various religious groups, thus serving to reduce inter-religious tension and enhancing more cordial relations among citizens. Rohit* I am a member of a Hindu minority sect who is attending a well-known Catholic educational institution. Although I was born into a Hindu family my beliefs and my morality have been determined by Christianity. Why? Mainly because my school environment is composed of Christians. The school has seen me through eight years of primary and three years of secondary. Since day one I've been a participant in the Christian Religion Education classes. Truthfully speaking, the first eight years were basically religious education classes for the benefit of knowing the subject for exams, and not really for the sake of my spiritual life. To my advantage, I made many Christian friends. They had a big influence on my life, especially the more devout ones. I admired those who attended mass daily. Having sat through eight years of primary, I was enrolled back in the school and this is where my actual spiritual education began. It was especially due to my secondary C.R.E teacher, a very wise and realistic person. He taught us Christianity in order to assist us in our lives, and not simply for passing an exam; he insisted on prayer. I took three classes with him: Doctrine, Bible history and Ethics. Not only was I becoming more knowledgeable about Christianity, but I was also beginning to understand why there were so many difficulties in my life. Lots of things have become clearer since, with the help of God. I know my life is much better now that I follow Christian moral teachings. Visits to the chaplain saw many of my questions answered and my difficulties put to rest. He has always been there to offer useful advice concerning "the diversity of religion," when my boat was capsizing. There have also been people who have offered exemplary spiritual advice and religious teaching (for instance about the sacraments). One of those was my tutor. I am grateful as well for having a devoted Christian as a friend. He is always ready with good advice and answers my questions when I'm in doubt. One thing that made me follow Christianity despite my ancestral religion is the realisation of the fact that there is neither a "right" religion nor a "wrong" religion. I used to have a problem with this but I now feel that it is wrong to condemn any religion, because they all aim at bringing you closer to God. I feel that whether you are a Christian, Muslim, or Hindu, whatever religion you follow, as long as you are trying to look for God in a virtuous mannerūgo for it. Having friends from various cultural and religious backgrounds has helped me to broaden my mind and to curb prejudice towards other people's culture and religion. I feel that if we are all different, then why should my religion necessarily be better than yours? If God can have variety in the people and creatures he has created then why should it be different in religion? Having acquired this attitude, I have come to have very close Christian, Hindu and Muslim friends and I love chatting with them. On a final note, I feel that true religious education as it is taught in our school, and not religious education with the aim of sitting an exam, is what every student and human being needs. It helps to prepare one with the knowledge with which to face all aspects of life, guided by the light of God. Ethics classes have taught me about many religions: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Shinto and Sikhism and these teachings have allowed me to appreciate the various religions with their pros and cons. This is what everyone needs to be tolerant towards persons of different cultural backgrounds. Moreover, one should face all religions with a broad and open mind. Never be biased but listen! Most importantly; pray! Religion is just a path; prayer is a means to reach the end of that path. *Not his real name. He preferred to write anonymously. Quote If people of faith are to uphold the integrity of their religious profession, then we must constantly condemn injustice, exploitation, oppression and the execution of innocents. They have no one to champion their cause except the adherents of the different religions who must stand up and speak out on behalf of the hungry, the homeless, the poor, the oppressed and the voiceless ones. If they fail to do so, then their faith deserves to be consigned to the limbo of the utterly irrelevant and useless.Desmond Tutu A JOURNAL OF SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS CONCERN Published Quarterly by DR. GERALD J. WANJOHI Likoni Lane - P .O. Box 32440 - Nairobi - Kenya Telephone: 720400 The Online publishing of WAJIBU is by Koinonia Media Centre. 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