Living peace in a plural society is Boureima Diallo’s goal. Born into a Muslim family, he is now pastor of the Jam Tan (Peace) Church in Burkina Faso. He works to bring all religious communities closer together and encourage them to work together for the harmonious development of the country. During his recent visit to Geneva, he agreed to talk to us about his work.

Boureima Diallo

You wrote an article entitled From Religious Freedom to religious Responsibility: Peace Making in a Destabilized World. What led you to take an interest in the issue of religious freedom?

In today’s world, religion is often understood as a source of conflict. That’s an aspect I’ve explored in this article. But, fundamentally, it’s the theme of religion as a force for peace that interested me. This article is in response to an invitation from the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue. At its annual conference, representatives of Christianity, Islam and Judaism meet to discuss issues such as social cohesion and the preservation of peace. To put it in our Burkinabe French, we live in a “whirlwind” world. Indeed, certain religious figures are causing a great deal of turbulence.

This article therefore appeals to religious leaders’ sense of responsibility, and reminds us of a simple principle: religious freedom is not without responsibility. And that responsibility means accepting the fact that we are stewards of the environment in which we exercise our religious freedom. This implies that we are accountable to the people who live in our constituencies and, ultimately, to God. In short, this article calls for good stewardship in the practice of our respective religions, so that we all contribute to peace.

You seem to assume that practicing a religion is a fundamental right. How can you say that this is the case?

Religious freedom is a fundamental right. But exercising this right requires education. For how do we exercise this right? As a Christian, recognizing this right takes me back to the Book of Genesis. If people are “imago Dei”, created in the image of God, then we must reflect God in the way we treat others. Even before “Human Rights” defended this freedom, the Bible had laid down the principle. God calls people to approach him freely. This is the foundation of our religious freedom. It is an invitation from the Creator God to come to Him.

If this is your perspective, how do you work with groups that have a hegemonic vision of their religion and use violence and terrorism to establish their domination over certain populations?

This question deserves a thesis (smile). Our world is such that the challenges are multiplying. But to face them, we have love, the love of God as expressed by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Love, for example, means praying for the representatives of these groups. It also means building bridges of communication with them, because they too are created in the image of God. Loving them means not returning evil for evil, but seeking peace with them. Love is the foundation. When we act with sincere love, God opens the doors to communication. For example, I spend a lot of time eating with representatives of different religions, whether Catholic, Muslim or traditional African. My aim is always to act with love and respect for them.

In practical terms, what are you trying to achieve by building “communication bridges” with representatives of these various religions?

In developing these bridges, my aim is to act as a good steward of our society. I’m not looking out for the interests of Christians alone, but for the interests of everyone, whether believers or staunch opponents of our faith. For me, acting as a good steward of society means being like Christ for its members. Jesus had to face all kinds of adversaries, right up to the ultimate opposition: crucifixion. This reminds us that by acting like Christ, we too can be “crucified”. In the Sahel, terrorists have destroyed mosques and churches. They have desecrated cemeteries and, in particular, places of worship of traditional African religion. As a servant of God, my role is not limited to my Church. I am also responsible for what happens to other members of our society.

What forms does your solidarity with them take?

People have many physical needs. But in our country, most doctors practice in cities, while the majority of the population lives in rural areas. Despite the government’s efforts to promote health care to the whole population, some cannot benefit from it. This is where the Church can help. Every three months, we invite around 50 medical specialists to spend a day working in a village to provide community health care. Thousands of people come for treatment. Among them are Muslims, animists and Christians. In a very positive sign, government officials and religious leaders come to the site and endorse this work. In this way, the platform we have created helps to ensure a degree of social cohesion.

Youth is a second area in which we are involved. Africa is said to be a continent of young people. There are many of them, and they face a number of challenges, including unemployment. To help young people become self-employed, we offer practical training in various trades.

Many of them also love sport. So we use the “sports platform” to organize competitions. Every three months, we offer cycling races, soccer tournaments or marathons. We also offer board game tournaments. Anyone can take part, whatever their religious beliefs. During these competitions, young people from different backgrounds “rub shoulders” with each other, and social cohesion is greatly enhanced. All this reminds us that we are human beings, created in the image of God.

Watch: a film about reconciliation work between Muslim and Christian communities in Nigeria. Click here to view: The Imam and the Pastor

In Baghdad, Andrew White, an Anglican vicar, works for reconciliation between Muslims and Christians. According to him, “the enemy is the one whose history you don’t know”. In Burkina, your work consists in bringing together members of different communities so that they can discover their respective histories and live together. Does your work have the effect of weakening the hold of extremist groups on the Muslim community?

I’ll answer your question with an illustration. When the traditional fisherman casts his net, he does so with the hope of bringing in fish. He casts it wide. Then he starts to pull it in, and it’s only when he’s finished bringing it in that he sees what he’s caught. He’s cast his net with a certain fish in mind. But he often finds toads, crabs or turtles in his net, and sometimes even pieces of wood.

The same applies to us. We seek to serve our people with excellence, excluding no one, because they are the image of God. All the services we offer in the fields of health, education or vocational training are provided with good intentions, relying on God’s grace. We cannot predict who will benefit. We don’t target particular religious groups. We seek to serve society as a whole. That’s why we see people of different religions and social status coming in. We can’t tell if there are terrorists among them because it’s not written on their foreheads.

Creating these “platforms” requires a major communication effort. We have to meet with religious and traditional leaders to get everyone involved, so that everyone feels responsible for the activity. When you work this way, you don’t serve people a ready-made meal. You invite them to participate in the work of the kitchen. And it’s great to see how some people come up with ideas to improve the project. In all this, people see our heart of love and our intention.

How do the authorities view your work?

The authorities saw what we were doing in terms of unifying actions in society and how this contributed to peace. In 2023, much to our surprise, they awarded us the distinction of “Nation Builders”. You see, when people “rub shoulders”, dream and build together, amazing things happen.

As I said before, I have many Muslim friends, imams and sheikhs, and I love them. I also count among my friends pastors and priests, people of traditional religion and traditional chiefs. While I was in Geneva, I wrote to one of them: “I’m in Geneva to visit friends at a conference. Thank you for your blessings”. That’s how we support each other.

In what we do, we want the whole company to work in harmony. It’s true that there are often extreme elements at play. But if politicians, religious leaders and economic players show that they are working together, this has a deterrent effect on them. We’ve been doing this for fifteen years now, and we’re encouraged by it. For me, all this is the practical Gospel.

The authorities know that you are a religious organization. They recognize the value of your work and appreciate it. But how does the state relate to religions?

Burkina Faso is a secular country.

A legacy of colonization…?

It’s possible that this is a legacy of colonization. But successive governments have chosen to have a secular government. The constitution respects all religions and religious freedom. So the State does not promote one religion to the detriment of others. That doesn’t stop our leaders, after their speeches, from asking that “God bless Burkina”. They recognize that above their position as leaders of the nation, they have God as their supreme leader. I admire them greatly because they have the fear of God and invite us to pray for the nation. On certain occasions, the government has asked all religions, without distinction, to pray for the peace and stability of the country, and more particularly for the national re-conquest of the territory.

I also admire those who govern us for their humility. They respect the religious authorities because they understand that the resolution of many problems and the progress of the country are not just a political matter, but are multidimensional.

In recent years, Islamic terrorism has hit Burkina Faso quite hard. Where does it originate and why is it targeting your country?

That’s a difficult question for me to answer. I can, however, say that the manifestations of this terrorism are constantly evolving, and that it affects all ethnic groups in the country. I salute our defense and security forces for their efforts. The identity of the terrorists they have arrested shows that all ethnic groups are affected by the temptation of terrorism. The toll of terrorism is heavy. Africa Services in Burkina gives the following figures: 1,500 churches closed, 90 church buildings destroyed, 1,200 pastors displaced, 10 pastors and 5 priests killed, and 800,000 Christians displaced within the country.

Read the Portes Ouvertes report on religious persecution in Burkina Faso

Are these terrorists instrumentalized by countries near and far?

Sometimes I think it might be the case, because I don’t know their sources of funding or the identity of their supporters. What amazes me is their ability to acquire sophisticated weaponry and communications equipment. Some of them didn’t go to school, but they’ve learned to handle certain weapons and make explosives. What are their sources of funding? And who trains them? Clearly, there are things going on behind the scenes, but at our level, we don’t know anything for sure. What is certain, however, is that there isn’t a single family, as far as I know, that hasn’t been affected by terrorism. Everyone mourns a death or the disappearance of a loved one.

Terrorism also “hurts us” because it distracts the country from its objectives. Instead of devoting themselves to achieving them, our authorities need to focus on resolving this problem. I can assure you that if terrorism didn’t plague our country, with the President we have, Burkina would have taken off. But, as we say back home, this situation is keeping the country “crouched”.

That’s why our ministers are so keen to encourage religious communities to work together. And they don’t just speak from their offices. They go out into the field and visit the various religious umbrella organizations. They remind people of the importance of social cohesion. Their message is always the same: “Let’s live in peace with one another, let’s pray for peace in Burkina and let’s work together to achieve it!

In such a context, isn’t peace a fragile reality? How can it be maintained once it has been achieved?

I’m no expert on the subject, but I would say that when you start talking about peace, you have to anticipate the question of how you’re going to maintain it. And to do that, you have to “involve a lot of people”, because it’s not a foregone conclusion. Unforeseen twists and turns often follow peace agreements. Some people want to pull out. When I say “anticipate”, I mean that we must avoid a group presenting itself as the author of the peace agreement. No, there is peace because we all worked together. Each player needs to feel a sense of collective success, a shared victory, and for the authorities to recognize this officially.

Secondly, community leaders need to demonstrate the reality of the peace agreement by visiting each other and continuing to work together. When followers of different religions see this, they conclude that it is possible to live together with our differences.

The trap, once a peace agreement has been reached, is to imagine that there’s not much left to do. But the opposite is true, because we need to nurture this culture of peace and tolerance. Not just today, but for generations to come. We must also respond to the needs of communities to prevent new conflicts. If one community needs water, let’s work to meet that need! If another needs health or education, let’s get to work! No community should feel excluded or marginalized. Often, it is this feeling of exclusion that manifests itself under religious pretexts. Certain social feelings lead to conflict. On the other hand, if everyone works together, if communication bridges are maintained, a form of collective accountability becomes possible and prevents many conflicts.

Read also: Preserving the right to convert one another

If Christians are convinced that we need to work for peace and “living together”, how can we prevent them from concluding that the Christian faith is just about living in peace with others, and that Christ’s fundamental message is secondary?

As we have just seen, acting for peace means working hard to build relationships with followers of other religions. At the same time, we can’t forget Christ’s mission to make disciples. If, as a Christian, I live to promote peace, it will show. So it’s possible that someone will choose to follow Christ because of the example of my life. When Jesus said, ” I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me”, he weighed his words carefully. It’s not just a matter of seeking the good of society. The way we seek it must manifest the Christ who lives in us. And when we see him, we pray that people will decide to follow him.