Initiatives of Change - Nigerian Imam and Pastor in French-Speaking Switzerland by Andrew Stallybrass, Switzerland

Cornelio Sommaruga, Honorary President of IofC International, with Pastor James Wuye and Imam Muhammad Ashafa from Nigeria (Photo: Danielle Maillefer)

It ran over a major story with photograph that brought many to the premier last week, at the University of Geneva of the international premier of the French version of the film ‘The Imam and the Pastor’. The two Nigerians, Imam Muhammad Ashafa and Pastor James Wuye, came specially, along with Alan Channer and Imad Karam of FlTfilms, the makers of the film.

‘Enemy militia chiefs make peace’ headlined an article, in ‘Le Courrier’, which talked of ‘a fantastic human and spiritual adventure, which they recount in unison, a sign of their symbioses. ‘From war to peace’ headlined a news agency release. The two Nigerians come from Kaduna, in the North of Nigeria, where in recent years thousands have been killed in inter-ethnic and inter-religious conflicts – and they themselves headed militias in the defense of their communities, and paid a heavy personal price, the pastor losing his hand, and the imam his spiritual master and several members of his family.

Again and again, they stressed the non-religious factors behind the conflicts in their country: poverty, the colonial heritage, bad governance, corruption. All too often, politicians stirred up feelings related to identity to strengthen their own positions. The situation in their country was volatile, but they noted that whereas in the past, there had been riots with thousands killed, in 2006, when there was anger among Muslims about the caricatures of the Prophet Mohamed in Denmark, there were no deaths, thanks to the building up of links of trust and friendship between the different communities.

Angelo Barampama, a Swiss originally from Burundi, now teaching in the department of geography at Geneva University, welcomed the some 200 guests to the ‘human rights’ auditorium for the film and an animated discussion that continued long after the showing. ‘This hall is a symbol and a challenge for us all,’ Barampama said. He concluded with his 13-year-old son’s message to the two Nigerians: ‘tell them that I admire them.’ Pastor Wuye thanked the Swiss government for returning some important sums of money that a previous head of state had stashed in Swiss banks – and asked the audience to be vigilant if future leaders tried the same trick. The moderator of the evening, Michel Kocher, the head of the Protestant Service of the Radio Suisse Romande, in his final remarks, noted the two Nigerian’s art of ‘being truthful without being hurtful’. He concluded that peaceful coexistence, where the dignity of the other was accepted as an absolute, was perhaps just as important as dialogue.

The premier was organized by Initiatives of Change International and Caux-IofC, with the support of the Nigerian diplomatic mission to the United Nations in Geneva, the Faculty of Theology and the Department of Geography of the University, as well as the Geneva International Peace Research Institute, the Geneva Inter-Faith Platform, the Muslim ‘Entre-Connaissance Foundation’, and the Lausanne centre for inter-faith dialogue, ‘L’Arzillier’. The Muslim foundation, which promotes dialogue and understanding, helped to finance the French version of the film.

Two press agencies sent out enthusiastic stories, and the group was interviewed three times on the radio. The evening following the Geneva premier, they were in Lausanne, for another showing and discussion, this time in ‘L’Arzillier’ the ‘house of dialogue’, a centre for inter-faith encounter in the capital of the Canton in which the Caux conference centre lies. The group was also received at the United Nations and at the Geneva Mosque, and met the ambassador in Geneva of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). At the World Council of Churches, they showed their film and met and discussed with 24 of the staff. In individual encounters with journalists, in public meetings and over meals, they tirelessly shared their convictions and experiences to fascinated and attentive listeners – and challenged their audiences to personal responsibility.

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