Inter-faith Dialogue in Saharawi refugee camps

Few nations within the Arab world are characterised by a socio-cultural identity common to all its members, Saharawi people often tell foreigners who visit them in the refugee camps near Tindouf, Algeria. But amongst the Saharawi, they will go on to explain, you will find that all share the same language, hassaniya, share the same ethnicity, which goes by different names, such as Moors or Bidan, and all profess the same religion: Malikite sunni Islam. It was this common religious identity that came to the fore in a two day inter-faith seminar held for Saharawi and Christians from the United States of America on November 9^th and 10^th 2008.

The seminar, held for the third year running, took the theme of “Religions serving peace” and was co-hosted by the Saharawi Union of the Youth of Saguia El Hamra and Rio de Oro, UJSARIO, and by Christ the Rock Church, from Wisconsin, USA. It took place in the cultural centre in 27^th February school. Some thirty citizens of the USA travelled to the camps to attend the seminar, from states including Wisconsin, Minnesota, Arizona and Alaska, where they met and discussed with religious leaders from the Saharawi refugee community as well as from Algeria, the country which has hosted the refugees since 1975. The seminar was attended by senior members of the Saharawi civil and military authorities as well as young Saharawi people interested in the discussion. Several other foreigners currently working on projects in the camps were also among the audience.

The seminar took the form of presentations from religious leaders from the Western Sahara, Algeria and the USA. Mousa Salma, the secretary general of UJSARIO, Abdelqader Omar, Prime Minister of the RASD, Hamada Daf, the minister of Justice and Relgious Affairs and Sheikh Mahjoob, were among the Saharawi who addressed the audience. The Algerian delegation included Imam Abu Abdasalam and Senator Mohamad Fellah. Presentations were made by Bill and Janet Lenz, Jeff Leatherwood and other members of the American delegation. There was also a chance for the audience to ask questions, to which the presenters could respond, and on the second day members of the audience could make further interventions. Simultaneous interpretation was provided thanks to members of both the Saharawi and American team, although Mr Jeff Leatherwood, a member of the Council for Arabic Translation in the USA, was able to captivate his Saharawi audience by making his presentation on similarities between the Quaraan, Old Testament and New Testament in fluent classical Arabic.

In answer to a question from the floor about how peace could help further the Saharawi cause, Janet Lenz explained how she saw the growing relations between the Saharawi in the camps and citizens from the USA as a series of events in which people had chosen a peaceful path and taken risks to try something new. The Saharawi had taken the risk of allowing their children to go to spend summers in the homes of American families whom they did not know, and then later on of setting up a school for teaching English in the camps, involving a long-term American presence in the camps. Americans had taken the risk of going to live in a society which they did not know, in conditions that they knew would be challenging. Now, over 400 Americans have come to visit the camps, she told her audience. Some of the Americans attending the seminar and visiting the camps for the first time took the floor to tell how moved they had been by their welcome in the camps. For some it was the first time that they had visited an Arab Muslim society.

 Muslim with Christian, Saharawi with American, Arabic with English… What can such a dialogue bring about? On this occasion, it was a chance for people from the two groups to realise beliefs, values and hopes in common. It was also an invitation to read and listen more to learn about the other faith and the people who subscribe to it. Thirdly, foundations were made for further dialogue, with plans not only to continue the annual seminar in the camps, but also to invite members of the American delegation to address audiences in Algeria both in mosques and in the media. Yet in a context of long-term dependence on aid such as the Saharawi refugees have experienced, this seminar series also stands out as a project in which foreigners are visiting the camps not only in order to assist in humanitarian projects, whether to provide material resources, training or otherwise, and to support the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination, but also to listen to and learn from the Saharawi talk about a dimension of their lives that is important to them: in this case their life as Muslims. Much of the discourse of the solidarity movement between Western Sahara and non-Muslim partners is secularised. This initiative is an example of how religious faith can also be brought into the discourse of the solidarity movement, a move that perhaps helps non-Muslim friends of Western Sahara understand their Saharawi colleagues in a way that is closer to how many Saharawi see themselves.

 It is planned to make the presentations and interventions from the seminar available on the website of the Saharawi Union of Writers and Journalists. Further information about the projects supported by members of Christ the Rock Church can be found at www.betheirvoice.org.