The Programme for Christian-Muslim Relations in Africa has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Protestant University of Central Africa (PUCA) in Cameroon to officially start training of its personnel from the French–speaking countries in the field of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations (ICMR) in the region.

For several years now, PROCMURA under its Personnel development programme, has been able to train and build the capacity of hundreds of theologians from different churches across the continent of Africa on Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations (ICMR) which is a fundamental aspect and core to its work of Christian-Muslim relations in Africa over the past sixty years of the Organisations existence.

PROCMURA has, over the past few years, trained the Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations (ICMR) experts at St. Pauls University in Limuru, Kenya. Prior to this, the training was conducted at Birmingham University in the UK. Under its new strategic focus of strengthening and deepening its programmes and work in all its constituencies in Africa and, at the same time, expand into other countries in need of Christian-Muslim relations, PROCMURA has always seen and felt the need and importance of training personnel from the Franchophone region in the field of ICMR as well. The PROCMURA Executive Committee as a matter of fact, deemed it necessary and important to ensure that the course is instituted in the Francophone Region to enable theologians from the French speaking countries to also benefit and be empowered with skills in Christian–Muslim relations amidst the growing trends and challenges of violent extremism and conflict which have and continue to affect the region over the past few years.

Today, there is a greater need to empower church leaders in peace building and conflict transformation through religious peace building as they are, indeed, stakeholders in the quest for peace as well.

It is to this effect that PROCMURA’s General Adviser Rev. Dr. Komi Adrake, after several discussions and preliminary meetings with senior leadership of PUCA led by Rev. Prof. Bouba Mbima finally signed a Memorandum of Understanding to formalize this journey which started some years back. The agreement which was signed on April 21, 2021, in Yaounde, will also see to it that PROCMURA collaborates and partners with the university in other mutual programmes and activities that are of importance to the two organisations.

The first intake for the training on the ICMR programme at the Protestant University of Central Africa is set for October 2021.

Launch of the PROCMURA Chapters in Protestant University of Central Africa (PUCA)

Having signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), one of the PROCMURA programmes that was immediately launched was the ‘PROCMURA Chapters in Learning Institutions’ programme. This programme is tailored to employ proactive measures to raise awareness on and improve religious tolerance and resilience against radicalization and violent extremism among the youth in learning institutions.

PROCMURA, in its new Strategic Plan focuses on Youth and Religious Tolerance to explore the perceptions of young people on positive and negative influences of religion, the use of religion to promote tolerance and build peace and diffuse fear and insecurity among people of different religious beliefs in Africa. It is against this backdrop that the PROCMURA Chapters in Learning Institutions programme was developed in order to enhance mutual religious tolerance among Christian and Muslim youth in institutions of learning and explore the role that the young people’s religious beliefs and perceptions of religion can play in contributing to peace and peaceful coexistence.

The launch of the programme brought together university dons, lectures and students who formed the ‘PROCMURA PUCA Chapter’. The General Adviser also had the opportunity to train the group on how the chapters work under different contexts of each institution, in most cases, as a club within the university. The club works as a platform which, from time to time, brings students from different religious backgrounds to constantly engage and learn from one another in innumerable ways on emerging issues affecting peace, religious tolerance and peaceful co-existence within the university community.

It is, certainly, a fact that goes without mentioning that the youth are more vulnerable to cases of religious intolerance, radicalization and violent extremism and those in learning institutions are not an exemption.

The PROCMURA Chapters in Learning Institutions programme was piloted in Kenya and has been launched in various universities in Kenya like the Garissa University that suffered the most shocking and turbulent terrorist attack in the world in which at least 147 people, mostly students, were killed. Cameroun is the second country in Africa to launch the Programme at the Protestant University in Central Africa (PUCA).

A number of other universities are in line to launch the programme across the PROCMURA constituencies in Africa, later this year.