Friday, 29 March 2024 15:08

Montreal: André Azoulay highlights the secular links between Islam and Judaism in Morocco and its plural identity

Wednesday, 17 June 2015

Mr. André Azoulay, advisor to His Majesty the King Mohammed VI, highlighted Monday night in Montreal, the centuries-old ties between Islam and Judaism in Morocco, as well as the uniqueness and richness of the Moroccan identity, nurtured and forged by the convergence of its various tributaries and components.

Mr. Azoulay, who was taking part in a conference under the theme "Morocco, another story for another future in Islam" organized by the "Memory and Dialogue" Association, said that Morocco has “ a great Jewish history ", enriched by the sharing, exchange and the natural and constant contact for centuries between Imams and Rabbis, adding that" beyond the ground link, Moroccan Jews, wherever they are present, claim their attachment to Morocco and its culture. "

Speaking before an assembly of personalities from various backgrounds, Azoulay commended the "Moroccan exception", while declaring his pride in being Arabic, Berber and Jewish, recalling that Islam and Judaism have coexisted over a thousand years in the Kingdom, and influenced each other.

In this sense, he said that the Moroccan Jewish has no "reluctance" to assert his identity or his Moroccan roots, arguing that no one can deny the different facets of the Moroccan identity or ignore this diversity, otherness and complexity that characterize the Moroccan society.

He has, in this regard, recalled that aid to the Jewish people during the Second World War came from Morocco first, before other countries such as Tunisia and Turkey, adding that during the period of the Inquisition, the Jewish families also found refuge with Muslim Moroccan families.

For her part, Morocco's ambassador to Ottawa, Ms. Nouzha Chekrouni emphasized the particularity of Morocco, "land of tolerance and inter-community dialogue," noting that "in a regional context characterized by rifts and uncertainties, and facing the risks of isolationism and civilizational fractures, we can only be proud of belonging to Morocco, whose cultural and spiritual diversity is a major asset and whose commitment to the values ​​of openness, tolerance and dialogue gives it singularity and recognition. "

Chekrouni further stated that Morocco is proud of this Muslim community as well as Jewish which has successfully managed to integrate in the host country and to participate actively in its development.

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