The tourist island of Djerba, in southern Tunisia, is hosting the Francophonie summit from this Saturday, November 19. Beyond the pragmatic reasons for this choice, the event is an opportunity to highlight the “cultural diversity” of this territory, echoing the values of La Francophonie.
From our special correspondent in Djerba,
Cross, star, crescent. In Djerba, it is ” not just one faith, but all the faiths that are expressed “, proclaims one of the promotional videos of the 18th Summit of La Francophonie. In its communication, the organization did not fail to highlight the Djerbian cliché: three monotheistic religions which have coexisted in relative harmony for centuries on this small piece of land and palm trees between the Mediterranean and sub-Saharan Africa. And above all, one of the last Jewish communities in the Arab world. A cultural exception that it resonates with the founding principles of the Francophonie: peace, tolerance and solidarity.
But the Franco-Tunisian historian Sophie Bessis immediately reminds us: “ Djerba was first chosen for security reasons. It’s an island, so easier to secure than the capital. Moreover, as it is a high place of tourism, the infrastructures were already there to welcome such a summit. The cultural aspect came later, to dress up this choice. »
“The coexistence we are talking about is not an empty slogan, it is lived on a daily basis”
Dressing up perhaps, but a reality, we are strongly assured here. Evidenced by the presence of some 300 mosques, a dozen synagogues and even the Saint-Joseph church, in the heart of Houmt Souk, the capital of Djerba, where a young Italian priest officiates for a small Catholic community. . ” But this plural identity, this cultural and religious diversity is not like a museum “, insists Naceur Bouabid. A retired teacher and former guide, he also worked on the island’s application for UNESCO World Heritage status. These are places of worship that are used daily or weekly. »
An image of Épinal which would almost tend to tire the Djerbians as it is similar here to the obvious. “ The coexistence we are talking about is not an empty slogan, it is lived on a daily basis “, underlines Naceur Bouabid. ” I understand that there is a curiosity in a context that is not necessarily favorable to coexistence, but for us, it is natural. We work together, there are cafes where people play, mingle, play dominoes together. A silly example: for the making of our wedding trousseaux, we buy the jewelry indiscriminately from Jewish and Muslim craftsmen. »
Considered the oldest synagogue in Africa, the Ghriba would house a stone from Solomon’s temple. Each year, the building, located in Hara Sghira, one of the two Jewish “villages” on the island, welcomes an important pilgrimage. Always under close surveillance since the place suffered two attacks, one in 1985, when a soldier responsible for ensuring the security of the site opened fire inside the synagogue, killing five people. The other in 2002, when a young Franco-Tunisian linked to Al-Qaeda killed 21 people using a truck bomb in front of the Ghriba. Last year, 6,000 faithful from Israel, but also from Europe or the United States gathered there. Muslims sometimes come to take part in the rites and pray alongside the Jews. ” Everyone is welcome, no problem “, emphasizes Perez Trabelsi. Responsible for the premises since 1966, he has seen the community dwindle with the upheavals of the Israeli-Arab conflict. ” Before, he says, many jews lived in Hara Sghira and on Saturday the synagogue was full. But after the Six Day War in 1967, many left. And more waves followed. According to estimates, there are only a thousand Jews left in Tunisia – compared to 100,000 at the time of independence in 1956 – including some 700 in Djerba. ” But they are fine here, they live as they want and don’t want to leave », assures the old man.
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The entrance to Hara Kbira, the second Jewish “village” of Djerba, is secured by police. At the end of school, groups of boys, yarmulkes on their heads, and girls, dark skirts below the knee, cheer up in the streets. The neighborhood is home to two girls’ and two boys’ schools, as well as a yeshiva, where boys go to study Torah. Here, we speak Arabic or Hebrew, French is often rudimentary. When the question of coexistence with Muslims is posed, the subject is quickly brushed aside. A discretion that recalls the fragile balance that governs relations between the two communities.
Sara* (her first name has been changed) works in a neighborhood crèche. She went to the secular school which adjoins the neighborhood. Like her, a handful of children of the Jewish faith continue to share the same benches as the little Muslims. The young woman has fond memories of it. We were two Jewish girls for 25 students, she remembers. Some of his former comrades still live in the neighborhood. Does she continue to see them? ” Yes, we say hello, we follow each other on Instagram “, she testifies. She shrugs. Their relationship ends there. “ Jews and Muslims live more side by side than together, analyzes the historian Sophie Bessis. This cohabitation is very old, but it has not been a cloudless relationship. The Jews of Djerba have always lived in their own villages, strict endogamy being the rule on both sides. »
Ibadism, the other minority on the island
But Djerba is home to another religious minority: Ibadism. This ” school of thought “, ultra-minority in the Muslim world, is often considered as ” the third way of islam alongside Sunnism and Shiism, explains Saïd Barouni, himself an Ibadi and curator of the Al Barounia library, which contains many writings on this current. Ibadism professes a tolerant and peaceful Islam, and opposes all proselytism. ” We believe in living with other religions and with secular people together. With the Malikites (the majority Muslim current in Djerba), we pray together and indifferently in the Malikite or Ibadi mosques. “, underlines Saïd Barouni. A principle of equality applies between all the faithful and the power must return to those who are most worthy of it, which means that they are sometimes called ” democrats of islam “. They are often compared to Protestants because of their rigor and their uprightness. An austerity visible in the architectural sobriety of their mosques.
It is this less known specificity of the island that Khaoula El Cadi, president of theAssociation for the safeguard of the island of Djerba, wants to highlight. Assidje has participated in restoration programs for several of these Ibadi mosques, such as that of El Bardaoui, in the east of the island. Some are also included in the tourist circuits offered by the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) on the occasion of the summit, alongside other points of interest on the island. A first step which, she hopes, will help to make tour operators aware of the richness of this heritage.