May 2 - Ecumenicity

I briefly discuss ecumenicity in other places in this blog. I heard that Central Conferences have ecumenical officers and programs. Everyone I asked said they had good relations with Islamic groups in their country.

There was one exception. The African country of this former student of Chomee’s is relatively small and new. When I asked him about Islam there, he told me it had a very small presence, one which was not conducive to normal ecumenical interaction. There seemed to be no meeting place or leader.

What was happening, he said, was that men came to work in his country, took wives there, and when the children were old enough, they were sent back for schooling to the country of origin of the men.

The movement had started only in the last ten years or so. The children had not returned yet so how their schooling would affect them, he didn’t know.

The group is not outgoing, is not organized in such a way as to be engaged in activities with Christians in joint ventures, and keeps to themselves. Hence, he said, they are not yet recognized as a religion in his country.

“Your government has not shown hesitance about any other religious body, right?” I asked.

“No,” he replied. “Our constitution is very open and tolerant in that regard. The problem is that this group has shown none of the characteristics of a religion in the traditional sense and they have not applied for recognition. So we all watch, wait, and try to make friendly contact which so far has been rebuffed.”

I described this movement to an Islamic friend here in the States and he has never heard of such an Islamic sect and will research it for me.

This was an extraordinary exception to everything else I’d heard about United Methodists in other parts of the world in crossing religious lines.