Nairobi, 31 January, 2020 / 4:56 am (ACI Africa).
The Italian Ambassador in Kenya, Alberto Pieri, is exploring the possibility of collaborating with the Institute of Religious Dialogue and Islamic Studies (IRDIS), one of the nine Institutes of the Kenya-based Catholic Institution of higher learning, Tangaza University College (TUC) on issues related to dialogue between members of different religions, ACI Africa has been told after the Ambassador paid a courtesy call to the institute Tuesday, January 28.
“The ambassador wanted to see what we are doing as an institute, the impact we are making in the society and how we can collaborate in matters of interreligious dialogue, (and) how the Italian embassy can help facilitate our activities,” IRDIS director, Fr. Innocent Maganya told ACI Africa in an interview Wednesday, January 29.
Ambassador Pieri visited IRDIS on Tuesday, January 28 and held a meeting with TUC’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. David Wang’ombe together with a couple of those at the helm of IRDIS.
“The ambassador is very interested in what we are doing,” Fr. Maganya disclosed and added referencing Ambassador Pieri, “he was asking if we are in contact with Muslims to which we said yes and if we are willing to organize some meetings with Muslims and Christians together.”
The Ambassador’s interest in interreligious dialogue seems consistent with the concerns about the tension between Muslims and Christians in many African countries, with the year 2019 having been described as “one of the bloodiest for Christians in history.”