The Focolare began to establish contact with Muslims in the 1960’s. In Algeria a deep friendship blossomed between Christians and Muslims in the 1970’s and then spread in the city of Tlemcen, giving life to a Focolare community that was almost totally comprised of Muslims. This not only overcame barriers between Islam and Christianity but also the cruel years of the civil war.

This experience of friendship was the basis for eight international gatherings of “Muslim Friends of the Focolare” between 1992 and 2008. Now there are several thousand Muslims who are in contact with the Movement around the world. 

The Focolare began to establish contact with Muslims in the 1960’s. In Algeria a deep friendship blossomed between Christians and Muslims in the 1970’s and then spread in the city of Tlemcen, giving life to a Focolare community that was almost totally comprised of Muslims. This not only overcame barriers between Islam and Christianity but also the cruel years of the civil war.

This experience of friendship was the basis for eight international gatherings of “Muslim Friends of the Focolare” between 1992 and 2008. Now there are several thousand Muslims who are in contact with the Movement around the world. 

At the end of the 1990’s in the United States a new page was begun in relations between Christians in Muslims. Chiara Lubich, a white Catholic woman was invited by Imam W. D. Mohammed, charismatic leader of African-American Muslims, to present her message to the faithful gathered at the Malcolm X Mosque in Harlem, N. Y. At the conclusion of that day in May 1997, the Imam stated: “Today, here in Harlem, New York, a new page of history has been written.” The two leaders made a pact of brotherhood which extended to their respective Movements. Since then there have been regular encounters between Muslim and Christian communities, blacks and whites, who look toward universal brotherhood and are having an impact on their local environments. More than forty mosques and local Focolare communities are involved in this experience in several U.S. cities.

This path of discovery between the spirituality of unity and Islam has had some noteworthy moments: the meeting for Muslim friends held in 2008 in Rome, Italy which was entitled “Love and Mercy in the Bible and in the Holy Koran”. The presentation by Muslim Professor Adnane Morkrani, entitled “Reading the Koran with the Eye of Mercy” was very much appreciated by the Imam and Muslims who were present.

In Tlemcen, Algeria, which was one of the capital cities of Muslim culture for 2011, a meeting was held for Muslim members of the Focolare Movement, with the title “Living Unity”. The eighty participants came from ten countries. The presence of Muslim professors also proved valuable because they were able to develop themes and topics of sprituality from a Muslim perspective that were based on an experience of a common life.