Tunisia's Jews and Muslims join to celebrate religious tolerance

Tunisia is home to one of North Africa's largest Jewish communities, and Jews have lived in Tunisia since Roman times. Each year, dozens of Muslims participate in Jewish religious ceremonies in the oldest synagogue in Africa to promote interreligious tolerance. 

|
Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters
Tunisian Jews and Muslims attend a ceremony at Ghriba, the oldest Jewish synagogue in Africa, during an annual pilgrimage in Djerba, Tunisia on May 2, 2018.

Cyrine Ben Said, a Tunisian Muslim, carried candles and wrote her hopes for the future on an egg in religious ceremony at a synagogue on the southern island of Djerba.

She wanted to share the rituals with her Jewish friends because, for her, Tunisia is a country of tolerance, coexistence, and freedom of belief.

"I'm here to share rituals with my Jewish friends in new Tunisia of tolerance, coexistence, and freedom of belief.... Every one has his religion, but we have many common points; the flag, love, and peace," says Ms. Ben Said.

Tunisia is home to one of North Africa's largest Jewish communities. Jews have lived in Tunisia since Roman times, and the community once numbered 100,000.

But fear, poverty, and discrimination prompted several waves of emigration after the creation of Israel in 1948. Many left after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, most going to France or Israel.

They now number about 2,000, with more than 1,200 in Djerba.

Ben Said is one of dozens of Muslims who participated in the Jewish religious ceremonies in the oldest synagogue in Africa, Ghriba, during an annual celebration held this month. The eggs, covered in people's ambitions for love and prosperity, are stored in a cellar.

The event is a powerful sign of mutual tolerance in Djerba, where the two communities have long coexisted.

"The Jews and the Muslims of Djerba are all Tunisian citizens, so there is no difference between us," said Perez Trabelsi, a Jewish community leader. He added that despite their small number Jewish people have a strong presence in economic life, including tourism, restaurants, and the jewelry trade.

'No difference'

Each year, Muslim religious leaders and politicians from the Mufti to the head of the government take the chance to go to Ghriba to promote the message of interreligious tolerance.

"This is a peaceful island that embraces its Jews and Muslims in harmony, giving a message to the world that we must abandon hatred and hostility," said Tunisian Imam Hassen Chalghoumi, as he shook hands with one of the rabbis.

Ghriba synagogue was hit by an Al Qaeda truck bombing in 2002 that killed 21 people, most of them German visitors.

At the entrance to the synagogue, a young Muslim, Makrem Gaagaa, welcomes visitors with a broad smile and presents headscarves to those who need one.

"It's my job and my livelihood," he said. "My relationship with everyone who visits this place is good, they have their religion and I have my religion," added the guard, who has worked in the synagogue since seven years.

Most Jews in Djerba live in Hara Kbira neighborhood, their homes next to Muslim homes, where they exchange visits and gifts at religious events and weddings.

"Here, there is no difference between Jews and a Muslims," says Jewish resident Georgina, who gave only her first name. "We are good neighbors, some of them we visit all the time. They offer us food, and we give them food, too."

Despite the peaceful atmosphere, security is still tight. This year, during protests against government austerity measures in January, assailants threw petrol bombs at a small synagogue in Djerba, causing shock but no casualties.

In Djerba's old medina, Jewish tailor Mgissis Chabeh has worked for four decades sewing "jebba," a traditional Muslim dress.

"All my customers are Muslims and they love my work," Mr. Chabeh said from behind his sewing machine, in between jokes with a Muslim gold trader friend.

The old medina in Djerba is full of jewelry shops, most of which are run by Jews who have controlled the trade in Djerba for decades.

Nearby, a popular Jewish restaurant has a sign written in Arabic and Hebrew.

"In the old city there are many Jews," said Jewish chef Gabriel Yahich. "We cook meals for them that are compatible with the Jewish religion, but we also offer traditional meals accepted by the Muslims."

"For me the important thing is that trade is good, the rest is details."

This story was reported by Reuters.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Tunisia's Jews and Muslims join to celebrate religious tolerance
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2018/0514/Tunisia-s-Jews-and-Muslims-join-to-celebrate-religious-tolerance
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe