Paper long abstract:

Many institutions work to promote an image of peace and brotherhood between Jews and Muslims. In this respect, music concerts play a prominent role. This can be explained by the proximity and affinity that really exists between repertoires sung on both sides by Jews and Muslims, especially those from North Africa. Jewish and Muslim musicians are programmed in the same concert, sometimes playing and singing together on the scene, in Arabic and in Hebrew. This is the case recently in concerts programmed in Paris by the Institut du Monde Arabe (2022). It is also frequently the case in Strasbourg where there is a festival dedicated to such interfaith musical encounters ( Sacrées Journées). This presentation will focus on the activity of this Festival and the rhetoric with which it presents itself. But beyond the institutional and official aspect, this presentation will approach what is at stake between Jewish and Muslim musicians who participate in such activities. More generally, this presentation will examine the way in which musical practice brings Jews and Muslims together for concrete musical reasons, far from institutional rhetoric.