MERRY CHRISLAMHERB:

In Africa, Islam and Christianity are growing - and blending (Abraham McLaughlin | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor)

[W]orshipers at "The True Message of God Mission" say it's entirely natural for Christianity and Islam to co-exist, even overlap. They begin their worship by praying at the Jesus alcove and then "running their deliverance" - sprinting laps around the mosque's mosaic-tiled courtyard, praying to the one God for forgiveness and help. They say it's akin to Israelites circling the walls of Jericho - and Muslims swirling around the Ka'ba shrine in Mecca.

This group - originally called "Chris-lam-herb" for its mix-and-match approach to Christianity, Islam, and traditional medicine - is a window on an ongoing religious ferment in Africa. It's still up for debate whether this group, and others like it, could become models for Muslim-Christian unity worldwide or whether they're uniquely African. But either way, they are "part of a trend," says Dana Robert, a Boston University religion professor.

Just another step towards Reformation.

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 25, 2006 11:13 PM