ABSTRACT
The soul of Africa is laid claim to by adherents of African traditional religion, Islam, Christianity, and other forces. Conquering empires, missionary evangelization, atavistic nativisms, and millenarian prophets all promote their beliefs against those of their rivals. Religious strife has occurred in, and damaged many, communities in Africa. Yet understanding and tolerance across religious affiliations is a vision realized occasionally. This chapter details the career of David Shenk, global diplomat for interfaith dialogue, especially between Christianity and Islam. Once a Mennonite missionary kid in western Tanganyika, then a missionary in his own right, he earned a PhD in education and anthropology and became a university professor in comparative religion. A seminal phase in this journey was his friendship with academic colleague Ugandan Sufi Muslim professor and diplomat Badru Kateregga. Together they modeled a path to Christian-Muslim dialogue, one founded on mutual respect and conversation between those with deep convictions of their own.
