Traditionalists, Muslims, and Christians in Africa: Interreligiou ...

Africa has been helpful in mediating ‘between the world of Islam and that of the West, and in so doing has itself received the imprints of the two influences while adding its own accent’ (1996, 3). The added African accent shows how Africans hold tenaciously to their indigenous beliefs.

In chapter 4 of his work, Sanneh provided analysis of the 1888 debate on Islam and Christianity, which was prompted by Edward Blyden’s aforementioned book ([1887] 1994). The subject of the debate was, ‘Is Christianity or Islam best suited to promote the true interests of the Negro race?’ This appears to have been the first organised interreligious debate in Freetown, Sierra Leone. This debate, as the subject implies, was intended to examine which one of these two foreign faiths most suitably promoted African interest and identity. The debate, like the book that prompted it, testified to Blyden’s passion for interreligious understanding and cooperation. It portrayed the engagement of the three religious traditions under study.

Sanneh’s analysis of this debate is very helpful for interfaith debate and dialogue today. He discussed the debate, the manner and style of its proceedings, its issues, its meaning and relevance for our contemporary religious landscape, and the religious rules of engagement. This discussion makes the book crucial to our study.

The essays in Olupona (1991) reflect the issues and themes discussed at a conference hosted by the Council for World Religions (CWR) in Nairobi, Kenya, 10–14 September 1987, on ‘The place of African Traditional Religion in contemporary Africa’. The CWR conference was called in response to the struggle ATR continues to face with the degradation it suffers from Islam and Christianity. It brought together scholars and religious leaders from the three faith backgrounds to engage in dialogue, share ideas, and discuss issues of common concern. Although these essays, unlike the aforementioned works, do not specifically featured Sierra Leone, the relevance of this book for our study should not be underemphasised. It promises to be helpful in several ways, as follows: