RABAT: An unusual art exhibit is coming to Jerusalem this week. This unique exhibition — called the Essaouira Mogador Exhibition for Moroccan Heritage — depicts values of peace, such as brotherhood and tolerance, among various cultures and faiths through the exceptional work of a number of Moroccan artists and traditional artisans.
Organized by the Essaouira Mogador Association, the Moroccan city of Essaouira featured this exhibition about Moroccan heritage in September at the Moroccan Red Crescent Hall. The exhibition is mobile, and will open in Jerusalem on 18 November, which is Moroccan Independence Day. After this event, the exhibition will be hosted in a number of prominent cities throughout the Middle East.
Its paintings, sculpture, ceramics and jewelry tell a story of brotherhood, tolerance and peace among races and religions between Muslims, Jews and Christians.
For example, there are paintings that express unity through the symbols of the three divine religions: the Star of David, the cross and the crescent. Some of the pottery and ceramics are made of clay, which has religious significance in Islam and brings to mind the origins of existence: according to the Quran, God created Adam out of clay.
The exhibit also includes embroidered pieces featuring shapes of meaning and significance, such as what Moroccans call the Khmissa, i.e. the hand with the five fingers, the dagger and a variety of geometrical shapes from around Morocco. And there is pottery of various shapes and colors, silver accessories for women such as earrings and rings that feature designs from original Moroccan carvings, and wooden boxes made of the famous Moroccan juniper wood with its characteristically sweet scent from the city of Essaouira.
The importance of the exhibition’s trip from Essaouira to Jerusalem lies in the fact that the Moroccan community in Jerusalem will host the exhibition in the Eastern Orthodox Church. It will then move to other nearby cities, including Ramallah, Hebron, Nablus, Acre and Haifa, finally returning to stay in Jerusalem. The hope is that the exhibition’s messages of brotherhood and tolerance will reach a large number of people through art.
Art, a language that everyone understands, helps build bridges of communication and can carry messages of tolerance and coexistence. Throughout its history, Morocco has been known for practicing such tolerance when it comes to followers of other religions.
This exhibition is much more than a simple gallery showing; it is a message to the world from a Muslim country that has embraced Jews and Christians for centuries in peaceful coexistence. The Jewish community has always been considered one of the main communities in the country, particularly in Essaouira society, and both Jews and Muslims enjoy similar traditions. Their relationship is devoid of seclusion, exclusivity, and racial and religious conservatism.
There are many shared traditions between Muslims and Jews in Morocco — from marriage ceremonies and family festivities to traditions involving the application of henna. For example, Jewish and Muslim brides alike take a traditional bath before the wedding ceremony and dress similarly, donning the unique quftan (traditional Moroccan robe), differentiated only by the shapes of the embroidery.
Sadly, almost 98 per cent of the Jewish population of Morocco left between 1948 and the 1960s, primarily to emigrate to Israel. Within Morocco however, Jews have enjoyed special concessions provided by the law, including the right to maintain their religious beliefs and the right to protection, since the reign of Morocco’s Alawi dynasty.
And the late King Mohammad V took a strong stand during World War II when he refused to accept the Nazi laws of the Vichy government in France — the then colonial power in Morocco — and refused to hand over Jewish Moroccan citizens to the Germans, saying: “I am not the king of Muslims only, but all Moroccans.”
A strong message of modernity, peace and coexistence coming from Morocco is evidenced by the work of Andre Azoulay, the Chairman of the Essaouira Mogador Association, an advisor to the late King Hassan II and current advisor to the present Moroccan monarch, Mohammad VI. Azoulay has dedicated his life to enhancing coexistence between Arabs and Jews in North Africa, a legacy that is considered exceptional in the Arab and Muslim world.
Morocco is a model of tolerance in the Mediterranean region. Hopefully, this traveling exhibition will bring the universal message of diversity and acceptance to Jerusalem, a place where it is sorely needed.
Hind Al-Subai Al-Idrisi is a Moroccan blogger (hindapress.canalblog.com) and journalist. She participated in a citizen journalism workshop in Rabat organized by the international conflict transformation organization Search for Common Ground. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).
