Christianity and Islam share a fifteen hundred year history in the heart of Africa, which began in 615 AD when Prophet Mohammed sent dozens of his followers to Abyssinia (modern day Ethiopia) to find refuge. Within a decade of his death more Muslims fled east across the Nile to settle in parts of southern Sudan and as far as Timbuktu, along the tenth parallel. Today, this line of latitude, 700 miles north of the equator, is home to 60 per cent of the world�€™s Christians and 75 per cent Muslims, across Africa and Asia alone. Here, along this fault line, in the crowded cities and tenements of Asia, and the insect infested jungles of Africa, the two religions meet and clash, continuously shaping the others future. 

�€œThe Tenth Parallel�€, by Eliza Griswold, is a record of her travels over seven years, between the equator and the tenth parallel, from Nigeria to Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia, and across an ocean to Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Griswold�€™s journey from Africa to Asia is an important one; one that tells us about the complexities that intertwines religion with history and geography, where faith is shaped by a sense of belonging. Through her anecdotes and experiences, she explores the notion of just how strongly demographic trends, the race for resources, the threat of climate change and global warming intensifies conflict. Most importantly, her journey reaffirms the truism that �€œreligion links us to one another, whether we like it or not�€. 

For centuries, Muslim traders carried the religion inland over from Saudi Arabia through the deserts of northern Africa to the grassy savannah bush, till they couldn�€™t cross the swampy jungle that begins south of the tenth parallel. This is where, in the tsetse fly infested jungles, the spread of Islam halts, creating a lasting demarcation between Islam and Christianity. Five thousand miles east of Africa, natural forces once again dictated the spread and settling of the two religions. The trade winds, moving in from either pole towards the equator, propelled Muslims and Christians ships to the same islands and kingdoms in Asia, prompting them to mark and defend territory. 

As Griswold aptly states, for centuries, wind patterns and the climate have bound together these two religions, and today, it is the changes in the sane climatic patterns that exacerbates tensions. As the climate alters and the earth grows warmer and drier, as crop cycles shift and as drought becomes more frequent, people are forced to flee their natural habitat and move into new territory. This movement of people, borne out of distinct religions, culture, cosmologies and practices, is causing unavoidable clashes. Today, desertification is forcing Muslims from the north in Africa to migrate southwards, into lands that hold a quarter of the worlds Christians. She cites specific examples in the villages of Todja in Sudan, surrounding areas of Jos and Wase in Nigeria, and innumerable number of fields across Ethiopia. In these villages, it is only too clear how the tenth parallel, a line drawn on a map, marks the division between two faiths. 

Asia presents a different story, where in each country the lines are a little more blurred, but the systems perhaps harsher. In rich Malaysia, the system promotes Islam and ensures compliance with �€˜Shariah�€™ or Islamic law, making it illegal for a Muslim to leave the faith. Indonesia with 240 million people is the most populous Muslim country in the world, but with an extremely vocal Christian community, and constant clashes are experienced in the numerous villages that dot her islands; clashes over resources and an inherent right to the land. Across the towns and cities, rich Christians are eyed with a simmering anger by young Muslims, certain that their culture will be destroyed by fast food restaurants; where western influences are equated with the Christian religion. 

The population growth experienced in both these parts of the world is extremely high adding to the scramble for resources, with Asia growing at 1.4 per cent and Africa almost double at 2.4 per cent. Across this fragile zone, sometimes called the �€˜Torrid Zone�€™ by the author, the growing population and hardening views, is constantly increasing the pressure on food, oil and water. With a gamut of millions to convert, clashes are not only seen across the border, but are played across within each religion, with every priest or cleric vying to be the last word. From her accounts, it only seems a matter of time before there are eruptions along the faultline; eruptions that have moved far beyond the call of religion.

In many ways, Griswold�€™s journey is a storehouse of information that can be used to envisage and predict the future of the millions living along the tenth parallel, and the impact this will have on the world order. As a result of the 2011 referendum, Sudan has been split, largely along the tenth parallel, with an Arab north and a black Christian south. As Griswold writes, people are extremely aware of the significance of this parallel, which divides them along geographic and ethnic lines, straight down the middle of some of the largest oil fields in the continent. Through her interactions with people on the ground, from Imams and Reverends determined to bring more people into their faith, to the villager trapped between two competing worlds, and the disgruntled youth with little means of survival, Griswold records the pulse of the people, which will dictate the movements of tomorrow. Any theory of shifting politics will be incomplete without a reference to this book. 

While the author seems hesitant to state her argument in places (a difficult task given the complexities of these places), what is clear and most important to take away from the book and her journey, is that along this fault line, the notion of religion transcends God and faith. Here religion is a messy chessboard of geography, the climate, resources, and politics; and a game that is unlikely to end anytime soon.