The Imam was one of the co-founders of the Platform of Religions of CAR (PCRC), which since 2012 has brought together Catholic and Protestant churches, as well as the Muslim community he represented.
Other founders are Cardinal Nzapalainga who represents the Catholic Church and Pastor Nicolas Guerekoyame-Gbangou, the head of the Evangelical Alliance.
The three have reportedly sought to move attention away from religious motives for violence, highlighting that religious differences did not cause the conflict.
“We fought together to preserve unity, invited to respect and appreciate each other,” recalls the 53-year-old Cardinal, who referred to the late Imam as “my elder brother.”
At the height of tension in CAR, Seleka fighters launched an offensive against CAR government in December 2012, and both seized the capital city of Bangui and staged a coup in March 2013.
In response to brutality by Seleka forces, “anti-balaka” coalitions of Christian fighters formed to carry out reprisal violence against Seleka fighters, adding an element of religious animosity to the violence that had previously been absent.
In September 2013, anti-balaka forces began committing widespread revenge attacks against mostly Muslims civilians, displacing tens of thousands of people to Seleka-controlled areas in the North.
PCRC’s key message since the armed conflict began has been to remove religious animosity from the violence.
The PCRC, which received the UN Human Rights Award in 2015 as a tribute to its peace work was among the early actors to disseminate the non-religiosity of the conflict through various media outlets and, particularly to the international community.
