Before I write about my recently concluded mountain expedition in the West, I would like to draw attention to the work of two prelates who live in the Central African Republic.  They are Archbishop Dieudonne Nzapalainga and Imam Oumar Kobine Layama.  Nzapalainga is a Christian, Layama a Muslim.  Although Christianity and Islam agree on some issues of faith and God (or, for a Muslim, Allah ("Al"), which is simply the Arabic name for God, just as "El" is the Hebrew name for God), they differ rather pointedly on the person of Jesus Christ.  For the Muslim, Jesus is a great prophet who will one day return to inaugurate a new kingdom in the world.  But he is not God.  Christians, on the other hand, believe Jesus to be God, birthed on earth as a flesh and blood human being.  As Jesus' person and work is the cornerstone of Christianity, it is not likely that Christians and Muslims will agree on who he is anytime soon.
     However, this does not mean that people from both faiths cannot come together in common cause on specific issues.  This is what the Archbishop and the Imam are doing in the Central African Republic.  Amidst the immense carnage and turmoil that is rocking this pitiable and forgotten (at least by the West) nation, these two clergy are investing much time and energy in encouraging and nurturing a spirit of tolerance and reconciliation among its people.  They are putting aside their theological differences to promote a meaningful peace and comity among the country's religiously diverse population.  Believing that Christianity as well as Islam advocate care and concern for one's neighbor, Nzapalainga and Layama are working hard to get their fellow citizens to see that love for one's neighbor overrides parochial concerns, that in the end how we love is more important, practically, than how we believe.  There will always be time for theological debate; for now, however, the health and welfare of the nation are prime, and these clerics are therefore telling their neighbors to look beyond themselves and love each other for the common good of all.
     We indeed applaud them for their efforts.  We cannot live together if we do not love together.