Ethiopian Priest on quest to build a church and mosque

An Ethiopian priest is set to do the unexpected as he plans to complete the construction of a church and a mosque, a project he has started.

According to the BBC, the priest, Abba Aklilemariyam Komos, started collecting funds for the construction since October 2018 in order to rebuild Lange town's church and mosque that have fallen into disrepair because the local congregations located in a town in the East Hararge area of Oromia region lack the funds to refurbish them.

He told the BBC that building a church alone and ignoring the poor state of the mosque would "disappoint God".

His idea to raise funds started in 2015 during a visit to Lange, when he noticed the poor condition of the church.

He soon expanded the plan to include building a new mosque.

"If I only raise funds for the construction of my church while my Muslim brothers' mosque is in the same situation, I shall disappoint God. Our faith is different, but not our love," he explained.

He reached out to leaders of The Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council to vouch for him in mosques across the capital, Addis Ababa.

“I started collecting the money in October 2018 first going to the Nur mosque in Addis Ababa. In less than two months we collected more than 200,000 Ethiopian birr [$6,200, £4,700]," he said.