The art of tolerant coexistence

[Public Diplomacy Network]

Paris: the Jewish-Muslim butcher's shop

The art of tolerant coexistence

As France deals with the aftermath of religiously motivated attacks, a small butcher's shop in Paris employing both Muslims and Jews offers lessons on good interfaith relations. Elizabeth Bryant reports from Paris

29/02/2016 - "Yaya, come out!" Two Moroccan butchers laughingly coax their diminutive Algerian colleague who is hiding in a back room, wary of a reporter. Customers smile. Yaya is the jokester in the group.

It's Friday morning. In about an hour, the Boucherie de l'Argonne will be closed. The Muslims working here will head to afternoon prayers. The Jews will prepare for Shabbat. A practical accommodation for staff sharing similar roots and cultural references.

"We work well together," says Philippe Zribi, a Tunisian-born Jew whose family runs the butcher's store. The Zribis have installed a prayer room for their Muslim employees. They sometimes lunch together. Conversations are sprinkled with the Arabic from their homelands.

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