After two years in “virtual” mode because of Covid-19, the “Ftour Pluriel” returns in person for its 10th edition, bringing together, Wednesday evening in Casablanca, Muslims, Jews and Christians around a meal to break the fast under the sign of tolerance, peace and coexistence.
Initiated by the association “Salam Lekoulam”, the association “Marocains Pluriels” and the Stade Olympique Casablancais (SOC), this “Ftour Pluriel” is an opportunity to convey a strong message for brotherhood, acceptance of the other and living together. On this occasion, Imam Omar El Mrini, Rabbi Joseph Israel and Father Manuel Corullon have transmitted, in perfect communion, a message of peace, understanding and brotherhood.
Speaking on this occasion, André Azoulay, Advisor to HM King Mohammed VI, stressed that “the Ftour Pluriel that brings us together tonight celebrates its 10th anniversary, in its continuity and exemplarity, this message carried by the enlightened and pioneering leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, embodies the national consensus of a society that now has the talent to make the historical wealth of its diversity the engine of its modernity.
“In Morocco, we are with each other in the respect of our respective spiritualities. And if elsewhere all the archaisms and all the extremisms are reborn today, the Morocco that we celebrate this evening proposes a reality that is much more exalting to a Community of Nations that is still in search of landmarks. And if we all pray in our own language, we have not forgotten that it is the same God that we implore,” added Azoulay.
Stressing that beyond our borders, “this Moroccan meeting of the Ftour Pluriel is now relayed with creativity and voluntarism by our diasporas, proud where they are, to oppose the speeches of fracture, denial and identity withdrawal, a Moroccan reality more valuable than ever for its teachings, its resilience and its universality,” HM the King’s Advisor also paid tribute to the late HM King Mohammed V, who at the heart of the greatest tragedy known to humanity with the Holocaust had already given to the rest of the world “the most beautiful lesson of courage, humanism and the most demanding ethics in politics by refusing to apply to Moroccans of the Jewish faith, the scurrilous laws of the Vichy French government”.
For his part, David Greene, chargé d’affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Morocco, welcomed this initiative to bring together representatives of the three monotheistic religions around a meal to break the fast, noting that the Kingdom has always been a land of coexistence between religions, tolerance and living together.
Greene also recalled the many actions of the late HM Mohammed V to protect the Jewish community in Morocco from the anti-Semitic laws of the Vichy government and the Nazi Holocaust.
The Spanish Ambassador to Morocco, Ricardo Diez Hochleitner Rodriguez, stressed that this event is “an opportunity to highlight the eternal, deep values carried by Morocco”.
Raphael Martin De Lagarde, Minister Counselor of the Embassy of France in Morocco, said he was “very happy” to take part in this 10th edition of the Ftour Pluriel, “a wonderful initiative that brings us together and allows us to experience a beautiful moment of sharing and brotherhood”.
According to De Lagarde, Morocco, under the enlightened leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, Commander of the Faithful, is a model of tolerance, openness and respect for the other. “This singularity of the Kingdom is an example for other countries in terms of moderate religious practice recognizing the plurality and advocating the living together,” he said.
Ahmed Ghayet, president of the association “Marocains Pluriels” and secretary general of the association Salam Lekoulam, welcomed the holding of this Ftour, which is a moment of sharing, conviviality and communion to celebrate the values of tolerance, peace and brotherhood advocated by Morocco.
President of the association Salam Lekoulam, Jeremie Dahan, told MAP that this Ftour is a “great” initiative to break the fast all together.
“In Morocco, we live this coexistence and this living together on a daily basis in all areas” and “we are aware of the chance to live these moments”, he noted.
