Gaza drives a wedge in Paris imam's dialogue with Jews

When young believers seek his counsel, he says, "You can't hide the magnitude of this catastrophe; you can't cheapen it or water it down. No one will listen. The [graphic] images of children in Gaza mean that the young Muslim is coming to me on fire …. You move slowly; you pray what to say ... you say that only God brings justice.... I know it isn't what anyone wants to hear, but reconciliation will take time."

While the French like to speak of the close quarters that Jews and Arabs share in neighborhoods like the 19th district in Paris, studies show that Jews have been moving out of proximity from Arabs for many years.

Does interfaith dialogue help?

Though President Sarkozy has called for interfaith dialogue to help bring harmony, that approach has many questioners.

A French astrophysicist at the Paris protest, Emmanuel Rollinde, suggests that the cause of the tension in France is not old hatreds between local communities. "Sarkozy is taking a political problem in the Middle East and turning it into a religious community problem in France."

Karim Bitar, an intellectual with the International Institute of Strategic Relations in Paris, offers that "Interreligious dialogue can unconsciously reinforce the idea that the real problem is between faiths. It treats both sides, Jews and Muslims, as a monolith, when what's needed is the breakdown of these identities. Peoples have complex identities today that can't be reduced to a set of beliefs. "

Chalghoumi wants Muslims to critically examine their beliefs to find a "true Islam." But he supports faith dialogue – disengaged from politics – as a way to build ties; his recently built Nour mosque in Drancy, a town infamous as a way station for French Jews being sent to Nazi camps, has an informal Jewish adviser.

During a month of protests here, Parisians heard the cry of "Allah Akbar" in their streets – something new. Secular, moderate Arabs expressed dismay, though Mohan the businessman interprets the call not as a rise of extremism, but as a link between a dozen nationalities, ranging from Iraqis to Moroccans, who don't know one another and don't socialize. "They don't have any other common ties but being Muslim. So you hear a Muslim call."

Debate over 'rising' anti-Semitism

One large debate is over anti-Semitism – and whether it is rising. Catholic France has a history of anti-Semitism, as intellectuals and members of the media readily admit. Yet Arabs see the debate itself as a canard. They complain of being called "anti-Semitic" simply for criticizing Israel. At one point during the Gaza war, says a Moroccan journalist, "I heard more talk in the media about anti-Semitism than about bombs falling on defenseless people."

Benbassa strongly states that she "can't agree with the anti-Semitism phobia the Jews in France are speaking of" in the midst of a brutal attack by Israel. The Jews have "overplayed" this, she says. Yet she and Prasquier agree that old stereotypes about "rich Jews" are coming back among North Africans. She also sees a more subtle anti-Semitic sensibility creeping into the language of "ordinary white French people ... as they talk about Israel and Jews in the context of Gaza."

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