With End to Civil War in Sight, Religious Tolerance a Key Issue for Future

January 28, 2004

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0128/p06s01-woaf.html

On January 28, 2004 The Christian Science Monitor reported, "[A]n end to Sudan's 20-year civil war - between mostly Muslim northerners and Christian and traditional southerners - is in sight. Conciliation is in the air. Officials appear to be moderating their religious policies. Now the test is whether Sudan can morph from an ethno-religious killing ground into a modern melting pot with robust religious tolerance. The outcome will deeply affect the future of Africa's vastest country. And it could set a tone of religious civility for the nearby Middle East, and for Africa, where Muslim-Christian tensions are rising. 'The government is beginning to support all faiths,' the [Episcopal] Bishop of Khartoum, Ezekiel Kondo, tells the congregation. 'But we will not succeed unless we continue knocking on the door,' he says, meaning they must raise money, scout land, and lobby for permission to build [a church]."