In Search of Zambian Traditional Insights for Interreligious Dialogue between Christians and Muslims: Ubwananyina, Interrreligious Marriages, and Dialogue of Life.

This research sets out to investigate the tradition of ubwananyina to identify insights that might enhance dialogue of life between Christians and Muslims in Zambia. The rapid growth of Islam in Zambia has caused a level of islamophobia among Christians, manifesting attitudes of mistrust, suspicion, and stereotyping directed at Muslims. This has posed a threat to co-existence between Christians and Muslims at Zambia’s grassroots. These attitudes are contrary to the Zambian tradition of ubwananyina which helps to bind people together as a wider family in community. Despite the social and religious changes caused by the impact of Islam, Christianity, and contemporary phenomena, indigenous Zambians have continued upholding the tradition of ubwananyina. However, little scholarly work has been done to explore this tradition for useful insights that might contribute to effective interreligious dialogue in the Zambian context. The primary argument in this study is that there are fruitful insights available for interreligious relations between Christians and Muslims from the indigenous Zambian tradition of ubwananyina. Therefore, this study asks: What insights of ubwananyina from the case of interreligious marriages might facilitate dialogue of life between Christians and Muslims? Focusing on the case of interreligious marriages among the Lamba people of Chief Chiwala, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine spouses. As a contribution to the existing body of knowledge, the study found out that solidarity, Jando and Sondo, iciima, tribal cousinship, African cultural values, and dispositions are helpful insights from ubwananyina that can actualise a fruitful dialogue of life between Christians and Muslims. Interreligious marriages too, should be perceived as a bridge to unity. These insights are significant to addressing islamophobia at Zambian grassroots. This research therefore provides resources to the Christian majority in Zambia, identifying ways that Christians can cultivate social harmony by embracing ...