Religious identity is one of the most sensitive issues raised by ‘living together’ in the Mediterranean. Seen in this light, this inland sea seems to be an area of separation and conflict. To each their own god, their scriptures, their saints. At worst, exchanges result in religious wars and the clash of civilizations- at best, in scholarly debates, laborious and often sterile.

A religious phenomenon, little known to the general public but very present in the Mediterranean, will be brought to the attention of the Mucem visitors: the sacred places shared by the followers of different religions.

The fruit of several years of scientific research conducted by CNRS and Aix-Marseille University, this exhibition took a fresh look at the religious behavior of Mediterranean populations and highlighted some of the most interesting (and most overlooked) phenomena in the region, namely the sharing and exchange between religious communities.

The exhibition focused its attention on contact situations where sites and figures of sanctity place distinct traditions in communication. Without falling into the rhetoric of “a dialogue of cultures and religions”, it seems vital, amid debates about the clash of civilizations, to demonstrate that alienation and abhorrence of the other are not the required modalities of interaction between the religions of Mediterranean.

The principal objective of the exhibition was to inform a wide audience about these surprising phenomena that concern, today as in the past, millions of people around the Mediterranean. By introducing the places, figures and practices, the exhibition was designed as an invitation to explore this little known Mediterranean.

In the face of rising fundamentalism and exclusivist theologies, new handles are needed for a deeper understanding of the complexity of exchanges between Mediterranean religions. This is precisely what the exhibition aimed to offer its visitors.

The contents of the sections of the exhibition are detailed here.

French

English

download here

The catalogue Lieux Saints partagés was published by Actes Sud and received the Mediterranean Art Book Award

Public Conference
“Géopolitique des Lieux Saints en Méditerranée”, Villa Méditerranée, April 28, 2015

Diplomats and personalities from the Mediterranean intellectual world discuss the role of the Holy Places in conflicts and politics in the Mediterranean. Round table moderated by Jacques Huntzinger, French ambassador, with the participation of Régis Debray, philosopher, writer; Jean-Paul Chagnollaud, professor of political science, specialist in the Middle East, director of IReMMO; Leïla Shahid, former delegate of the Palestinian Authority in France, and ambassador of Palestine to the European Union; Elie Barnavi, Israeli diplomat, professor emeritus of history, University of Tel Aviv; Dionigi Albera, anthropologist, senior researcher at CNRS, curator of the exhibition Lieux Saints partagés (Mucem).

Scientific Conference
Holy places in the Mediterranean: between sharing and division, 3-5 June 2015

In parallel with the temporary exhibition “Lieux saints partagés” at the MuCEM, this international symposium focused on this theme which raises the question of religious identities and their interrelationships in the Mediterranean area. The conference was organized by the Mucem, IMéRA (Institut d’études avancées, Aix-Marseille Université) and IDEMEC (Institut d’ethnologie méditerranéenne européenne et comparative, CNRS, Aix-Marseille Université).

Participants : Dionigi Albera (IDEMEC-CNRS), Emma Aubin-Boltanski (CéSOR-CNRS), Michel Boivin (CEIAS-CNRS), Glenn Bowman (University of Kent), Susana Calvo Capilla (Complutense University), Maria Couroucli (École française d’Athènes, CNRS), Nour Farra-Haddad (Saint-Joseph University, Benoit Fliche (IDEMEC-CNRS), Mattia Guidetti (University of Vienne, Institut für Kunstgeschichte), Elizabeta Koneska (National Museum of Skopje), Sara Kuehn (IMéRA), Vincent Lemire (Paris-Est University), Yousef Meri (Jordan University), Manoël Pénicaud (IDEMEC-CNRS, LabexMed), Antonio Pusceddu (Barcelona University), Galia Valtchinova (EHESS-University of Toulouse II), Jan Vanderburie (Universitey of Kent), Thierry Zarcone (GSRL-EPHE-CNRS)

download the conference program

TV5 Monde : Moyen-Orient Express, reportage de Pascale Achard, 7 juin 2015

FRANCE 3 PROVENCE ALPES : extrait du JT du 30 avril 2015.

FRANCE 3 PROVENCE ALPES : reportage de l’émission “18:18”, France 3 Provence-Alpes, 30 avril 2015.

France Info: «Le MuCEM expose les "lieux saints partagés" en Méditerranée», mai 2015

RFI: Religions du monde de Geneviève Delrue, 3 mai 2015

RFI : «Pèlerinage sur les Lieux saints partagés» de Sébastien Jédor, 25 mai 2015

L’œil «Le sacré sous haute tension» par Bérénice Geoffroy-Schneiter, n°681, juillet-aout 2015, pp. 66-69

Panorama : «Religions en dialogues» par Fanny Cheyrou, juillet-aout 2015, p. 48

Le Courrier de l’Atlas, «Juifs, chrétiens musulmans. Prière d’entrer» par Fadwa Miadi, juin 2015, n° 93, pp. 68-69

Le Vif – L’Express: «Des dieux et des lieux… Et si on ouvrait les yeux ?» par Gwennaëlle Gribaumont, n° 22 / 29 mai 2015, pp. 74-77

La Provence: «Au Mucem, Lieux saints partagés. A la rencontre de témoins et de lieux», 2 mai 2015, numéro spécial de 4 pages

La Vie : «Des hommes et des lieux» par Isabelle Francq, 30 avril 2015, pp. 56-58

Pèlerin Magazine : «Pèlerinages en Méditerranée» par Philippe Royer, n°6909, 30 avril 2015, pp. 48-53

The Huffington Post: «Sacred Sanctuaries in the Fog of Death», par Franck Browning, 30 juin 2015.

Saphir News: «Lieux saints partagés», entre dévotions communes et divisions», par Fatima Khaldi, 2 mai 2015