Before the Bosnian War in the early 90’s, Bosnia and Herzegovina enjoyed a long-held tradition of Christians hosting Muslims for Iftar during Ramadan, and Muslims hosting Christians during Lent and around Christmas or Easter. Before the war, it was very normal for neighbors to celebrate one another’s religious holidays with them through hospitality in one another’s homes, especially in Sarajevo where there was such diversity and even intermarriage between people of different faiths. Things like this happened all the time. But that was before the war. Now, in 2019, when our pastor suggested not only inviting members of the congregation to show up to an Iftar somewhere, but to actively host one on our own turf – well, that was a little unusual.

In the aftermath of recent shootings, many Christians are expressing the desire to show solidarity with Muslim communities around them. Solidarity is defined as “unity or agreement of feeling or action,” but what does that really mean, and how is it actually done?

Christian refugee workers and ministry leaders from around the world visited a mosque in Sarajevo this month to learn from local Muslims about Islam, the refugee crisis, and the opportunities and challenges that occur when doing humanitarian work and talking about faith. Here’s what we can all learn from their conversation.

A few days ago over coffee, I enjoyed a good conversation with a Muslim friend whom I met on my first trip to Bosnia. He shared with me how much he loved a recent message from Pope Francis that called Christians to focus on simplicity, charity, and love instead of the materialism and greed that usually accompanies the holiday season. He also lamented how Muslims are often trained to try to persuade Christians through arguments, rather than spending time learning about and from them.

In mid-December, an NGO in Bosnia and Herzegovina that we partner with called Small Steps hosted over 100 youth from around the country for a celebration concluding a 2-year program, “Encouraging Children to Accept Differences.” Over these last two years, the kids have gotten to know each other while participating in nonviolent communication workshops and traveling to neighboring municipalities to spend time with youth of other ethnic and religious backgrounds.