Publikation

Kenya is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society with the major religions being Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and the Baha’i Faith. Others are the Jews, Buddhists and African Traditional Religions. The interaction, on a daily basis, among people of different faiths therefore, in this kind of a society is inevitable. The potential for violent conflicts within this context is insurmountable, and to change from a culture of violence into a culture of peace requires a transformation of problems to creative and constructive solutions that answer the needs of those involved. (…) 

With the backdrop of the 2007/2008 post election violence, and the recent Al-Shabab attacks in Garissa and parts of Nairobi, the urgency for religions to have dialogue can no longer be left to be a theoretical discourse for civil society to continue having in isolation.

Religious organizations can no longer be left to live separately as a result of their implantation in different geographical spaces and cultures. Though there is sizeable documentation on interreligious dialogue in the form of essays, thesis and reports, there is no substantial manual that exists in print to give practical handles on the “how” of conducting an IRD session, making this manual a probable first of its kind.

This manual was developed with the trainer in mind, to be a “one stop shop” where he/she can be able to find concepts as well as content within the context of his/her scope of training. It aims at providing guidelines that are practical and reproducible, such that the trainer may not really need to be a religious scholar to bring out principles that would enrich an interreligious training program.