Without mutual knowledge there can be no mutual understanding; without understanding, there can be no trust and respect; without trust, there can be no peace, only the danger of conflict. This means we have to be willing and able to familiarize ourselves with the way people of other cultures think and perceive the world around them, but without losing our own standpoint in the process. [1]

This quote is from Roman Herzog, the seventh president of Germany (1994-1999) after the Second War World. In line with this I had the pleasure of meeting Brother Mathieu Grenier, a 31 year old French seminarian in Cairo since getting an encounter with Islam is part of his studies. He is a member of the Missionaries of Divine Mercy and the parish of Toulon, in France, a city with a very high percentage of Muslims which explained his interest in getting to know more about Islam. He is in the middle of his studies to become a priest, and is currently based in Zamalek, a quarter in the center of Cairo, until mid-June.

When Cornelis Hulsman proposed to meet Brother Mathieu, I was so interested to have a talk with him about matters such as the relations between the Catholic Church and the Muslim community in Toulon. Besides, when we met, the final round of the French Presidential elections was approaching, with the two leading candidates   Emmanuel Macron (the new President Elect) and Marine Le Pen (far right                                                                                                            wing candidate).

Cornelis Hulsman, Brother Mathieu, and I met at the CAWU office. We had an awesome discussion, about how to best foster mutual interest between the many different communities of France, in addition to challenges that keep such understanding from taking place.

Initiating dialogue on serious matters beyond the trivia of daily life is a challenge, but at the same time there is an urgent need to begin the process of interfaith understanding. Indeed, unless one has a personal interest in the matter as, for example, an academic researcher, and the average person would rather not involve himself in such dialogue.

We then switched to a more sensitive topic. As a French Muslim I was particularly worried at that time about the growing importance of the far right Front Nationale party during the French Presidential elections. From my perspective as the second round of the presidential elections was intensifying, religious leaders should talk to their people about what was happening in the politic life of the country. As powerfully influential individuals, they have a role that is not necessarily proscriptive, but rather to make their community reflect upon on the future of the country. On the other hand Brother Mathieu pointed out that each of us has a freedom of conscience, which gives us the right to make our own decisions:

 “In my opinion, the role of the religious leader, especially in politics, is to give the people the possibility to discern by themselves instead of telling them what they have to think. And this is the reason why I consider that it is not the mission of a religious leader to give vote instructions”

Thus religious leaders in France don’t need to discuss politics with their people.  

Exchanging with Brother Mathieu has been a really interesting experience. I wish people from different backgrounds/communities would take the time to listen to and understand each other more often.

May 16, 2017

Dina Bouchkouch

Dina Bouchkouch is a Moroccan-French student of Foreign Applied Languages, English - Arabic, specialized in International Relations at the University of Bordeaux and interns at the Center for Arab-WestUnderstanding.