The European Community of Alsace (CEA) announced Monday July 6 the creation of a “Council of Faiths of Alsace” bringing together representatives of eight religions in order to relaunch an interreligious dialogue “to be rebuilt” in a region under Concordat.
“We believe in this development of interreligious dialogue, in this capacity to reach out to populations, young people in priority because they need to understand better, but also all residents,” declared Frédéric Bierry, president (various right) of the CEA, a community resulting from the merger of the former departmental councils of Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin, at a press conference.
“In Alsace, we are rich in this capacity for inter-religious dialogue, in a context of tensions at the international level,” he added, in reference to the concordat regime still in force in Alsace-Moselle, where the 1905 law of separation of Church and State does not apply.
The Concordat, a breeding ground for dialogue
The new body brings together representatives of Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Orthodox, Buddhist and Bahaist faiths, as well as those responsible for the faculties of theology and religious law. “Things have deteriorated a little, certain events may have created certain distances, gaps”, particularly after the bloody attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023 and the war in Gaza, recognized Harold Weill, chief rabbi of Strasbourg and Bas-Rhin.
“It is important that we can all come together to give a boost to this interreligious dialogue, it is something interesting to rebuild,” he continued. “Of course, we have working groups, we meet with religious leaders, but this is the first time that we have a structured framework with the ambition of permanent work,” greeted Saïd Aalla, rector of the Grand Mosque of Strasbourg.
“There is a dialogue, but it is occasional, in the event of a crisis,” he said. “The wisest thing is to work together upstream.” The Council of Worship plans to develop various awareness-raising events, particularly aimed at middle school students. Its members will participate in a “day of interreligious dialogue”, on November 12, and in a “Forum of religions”, scheduled for October 8.
