While Global Anglicanism struggles, dialogues, weathers misunderstandings, fractures, and builds new connections, Global Islam faces similar strains and challenges. Some of our core dilemmas are even the same as we re-think the place of women (or try to hold them in their ‘traditional’ or ‘scriptural’ roles) and in different cultural contexts ask whether we can honestly acknowledgment other human differences in a broad Christian (or Muslim) faith community.
NPR reporter Philip Reeves story on an important use of radio in Pakistan tells how a progressive Muslim launched a local radio station to take his more progressive case directly to the women of the Swat Valley. He was following the lead of a Taliban Mullah who was also trying to win the women’s allegiance via radio. The progressive radio station’s skilled competition changed the political landscape, especially the progressive stations use of music (forbidden by the Taliban) and their genuinely open invitation of Taliban call-ins and on air dialogue. As the radio station with the more open message won listeners, it radically damaged the Taliban’s grassroots power base in Swat.
Could Reeves’ story of a progressive’s using of poor people’s media to get fresh thinking to the widest audience help us Anglicans find similar ways to talk past and around an Archbishop like Peter Akinola?
Listen to Reeves’ program here.
Thanks to Daily Episcoplian contributor Donald Schell for this story.