Algeria, Muslim and Christian young people together

The story of a group of young Muslims of the Focolare community in a north African country. The discovery of the power of love that goes beyond every difference.

For a long time we thought that it wouldn’t be possible to have any relationship with Christian young people in such a deep way. But the things that come from God can’t lack harmony.

We are Muslims, by culture and by conviction. We come from a country, Algeria, where nearly everyone is Muslim, where contacts with other religions are extremely rare or, more usually, completely inexistent.

Certainly, introducing into our lives a Movement rooted in Christianity is a real challenge. In first place, this is because our cultures are so different – with differences encouraged by political ideas and by history, which are made more intense by many social and cultural obstacles.

How can we take up this kind of commitment without damaging our religious faith? What is this idea for which we are so ready to sacrifice so much? These are not easy questions.

Our experience has been rich and ground-breaking. Cautiously we started along a path that, bit by bit, fascinated us, and we found we were able to overcome every discord.

Over the years we’ve been surprised by how our acceptance of one another has become spontaneous and natural, and we’ve realized that our understanding of our own religion has been growing. In fact, sharing the same principles has infinitely increased for us the human dimension of things.

We are committed by acts far more than by words, and we constantly go beyond the limitations of an environment that still needs a huge amount of love and greater openness. But every difficulty gives us another reason to carry on.

Nowadays, we meet in various towns in Algeria. They are sometime hundreds of kilometres apart. The relationship among us, Muslims and Christians, is enriched by what each one of us experiences, and this is helped by the Youth for a United World spread all over the globe.

We think that humanity’s greatest mission is to work for us all to live together, despite different religious convictions and cultures, so that love may triumph over every contrast.