At Taizé, a countercurrent dialogue between young Christians and Muslims

Jul 19, 2024

By Fanny Uski-Billieux
On the occasion of the seventh edition of the Christian-Muslim friendship meetings, roughly 100 young people gathered in Taizé (Saôneet- Loire) from July 7-12 to share their faith. This encounter is not always easy, especially in a year marked by tumultuous national and international conflicts.

Every year since 2017, the ecumenical monastic community of Taizé has organised Christian-Muslim friendship meetings. For a week, around a hundred young people from France and around the world are invited to attend each other's prayers and engage in discussions on themes such as fraternity or mercy. This allows young people to start an unburdened dialogue, especially in the tense context of the war in Gaza since Oct 7, 2023, and the legislative elections. Taizé takes on the appearance of a refuge.

“I had never entered a church, and before today, I had never talked this way with a Christian,” said Rayan, 19, who came with a group from the Massy mosque (Essonne). “On social media, there are many selfish debates between religions w i t h o u t any desire to understand the other. At Taizé, there is a real desire to learn. For example, today I wore a qamis all day and didn’t feel any stares. In Paris, people would have stared at me,” the young student said, adding that he was “pleasantly surprised” by this interfaith experience.

“In Taizé, you are not Christian, Muslim, or Jewish; you are yourself first, you are a worshiper of God,” added his friend Younès, 20. “In the media, it seems like they talk a lot about us Muslims but never talk with us. Here, it’s the first time I can explain what being a Muslim means to me.”

Bro Jean-Jacques, the organiser of the Christian-Muslim friendship days, noted that “here, they are surprised to be themselves without having to defend themselves.“Our goal is for each to recognise the depth of the other’s faith and to mutually respect each other,” he continued, hoping that the events will create “real friendships.”

Marion, 25, and Ilyas, 24, met last year at Taizé during the interfaith week. She, a Catholic, and he, a Muslim, created a WhatsApp group with other young people to organise interfaith events and maintain the dynamic in Lille, where they both come from.

“We realised during these meetings that we understood each other mutually, contrary to what one might think. It wasn’t possible to experience this for a week and then act as if nothing had happened when we returned home,” Ilyas, a law student, explained.

“Like a group of friends,” the informal WhatsApp conversation has some rules: “No proselytism; the goal is not to convince others. We are here to share our experience as believers,” explained Marion. Given the situation in Gaza and the political tensions in France, the group has avoided these divisive topics and focused on the essential: “the importance of strengthening our bonds. Our meetings are already political in themselves,” Marion emphasised.

Moreover, the young woman who works in communication knows well that this dialogue is not always unanimously accepted. “Some Catholics have already reproached me for engaging in interfaith activities. I’ve even been asked, ‘Do you prefer Muslims or Jesus?’ I was moved to tears,” she confided.

Sherin, a 24-year-old Muslim co-founder of the German branch of Coexister, an “interfaith” association, admits she also faces difficulties. After the attack on Oct 7 and in the context of rising far-right sentiment in her country, some members of the association were afraid to organise meetings. “We thought about it and ultimately decided that it was absolutely essential to continue this year. It’s by meeting other people that we dismantle prejudices.” --LCI (https://international.la-croix.com/)