MSOLA Commitment in a Muslim Milieu

The MSOLA communities in a Muslim milieu are a sign that pluralism is possible in the Maghreb, and that beyond mere tolerance, a common future is possible. Our mere presence, say our Maghreb friends, calls their society to not close in on itself.
At present there are 48 sisters living in 15 insertions:  9 in Algeria, 5 in Tunisia and 1 in Mauritania. We are 12 nationalities, among us are 6 Africans of 5 different nationalities.

It is in these countries, almost 100% Muslim, that we Christians are living. Not that we do extraordinary things here, but we are aware that the world we are immersed in alters the way we think about everything: the way we understand God and the world, our relation to time, to others and to the universal Church.
In the context of North Africa, inter-religious encounter is not just another activity or commitment. It is not limited to a schedule of work, nor is it conditioned by a program of activities. It gives a particular coloring to our whole way of life.

The time that Jesus spent in Galilee is a call for us in the Maghreb. He walked a lot and met many people along the roads, even those who were not part "of the tribe."  He broke many taboos. The encounters apparently had no preconceived plan. They resulted in very different attitudes, ranging from hostility to recognition.  After that many of them returned to anonymity.
What happened between Jesus and those he met?  What was changed in them? The Gospel does not tell us, or very little. Some became his disciples. Others, no, but all were shaken in one way or another.

Most of us see ourselves in this description of Jesus' life. Yes, that is how it happens. And so it happened at the beginning of the Church. "The Christians of that time were aware of living as strangers among the people but united among themselves because, despite their dispersion, they were called by God to be witnesses of God's mercy revealed in Jesus Christ."

In contact with the church, Algerian Muslims say they are challenged by our respect for differences and they too want to live it in this way.  Thus we become "All things to All", "Women with the women" and "Ad gentes in Africa".
All this is certainly not easy. We just have to see how things happen in everyday life with those closest to us. This is a very ascetic mission!

Bonds of friendship with Algerians are certainly the characteristic sign of our life in Algeria. Often the youngest sisters inherit the friendships formed by their elders. These relationships bear witness to a remarkable faithfulness and loyalty.
Through the individual persons, it is, in some way, communities of believers who are meeting—communities of Christians and Muslims, lively and pluralistic, far from being monolithic or uniform.
A special example of the relations between the believing communities is their collaboration in serving society both through Algeria's public or private sectors as well as through Church institutions (e.g: libraries, Caritas, etc..)

Religious difference is a challenge which is not always easy to accept, but above all it is a source of richness. Far from falling into a facile relativism, we are forced to ask ourselves some basic questions about our faith and our life together.
Religious difference gives us the opportunity "to see our faith in the mirror of the other."  By our presence, no matter how few we may be, we offer the other believer the possibility of doing likewise.
Without leaving their respective communities, Christians and Muslims can sometimes find themselves on the same spiritual ground, sharing in the same search for God.  It is by no means unusual to hear one of our sisters say how much her faith has been deepened and confirmed through contact with her Muslim friends.   

 

Seeing Islam from Tunis to Johannesburg -
Intervention by Msgr Maroun Elias Nimeh Lahham (Bishop of Tunis) from the Synod on Africa: (2009)

Throughout the world of Islam, Christian-Muslim relations are of great variety.  We find them in Europe, in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Arab Middle East (there is an upsurge of proselytism in the oil countries) and in the Maghreb.  The Synod literally ignored Islam in North Africa. It was mainly concerned with Sub Saharan Africa.
But there is a specificity of the Church and its Muslim-Christian relations in the Maghreb: This is a Church of the Encounter: Despite the sad events in Algeria, we see a relatively wide margin of freedom for the Christians' religious practice.
The Church is not persecuted. We live among a population which is almost 100% Muslim, and the overwhelming majority of Catholics is composed of foreigners who have been here only a few years.
Since independence, the Church is strongly engaged in social, educational and human services for the country. We see developing the beginning of a movement of critical thinking vis-à-vis a legalistic and fanatic Islam.

The collaboration of the Church is often sought in these new ways of living Islam (increased demands since the appointment of Arab bishops). Our experience of dialogue can defuse reactions of fear and refusal of Islam that we begin to see, and it can enrich the dialogue experiences lived elsewhere.

Bishop Lahham would like to see a Conference on Islam in Africa, taking into account the variety of African experiences from Johannesburg to Tunis.