During
the coronavirus crisis and the second lockdown that followed, our
Shelter continued to operate thanks to donations and volunteers from
members of
our network. Thank you!
Indeed, because of the crisis, we
were not able to reach our financial
objectives, even if our shelter was welcoming at that time nine people
who,
already endangered by the first confinement (loss of employment,
housing), no
longer had any resources for most of them.
Today they have all found a
situation that is certainly precarious, but
more stable than before.
NOTA
BENE - Radical & non invasive welcome:
Furthermore, it has been reported to us that
certain individuals, who
are not part of our local network, engaged in harassment or financial
exploitation, vis-à-vis migrants or refugees in need of
support. We must recall here
our attachment to an irreproachable work ethic, in particular when
dealing with
vulnerable people.
Thus,
the Board of Directors of our organization reiterated,
during our Assembly of December 29, 2020, its desire to continue
defending the
rights of minorities and vulnerable individuals, without capitalist or
careerist ulterior motives, because we calls for a "radically inclusive
welcome". Our organization will not be able to collaborate in
the future
with individuals or associations, intellectuals or artists, who are not
animated by the same fraternal ideals.
Between two confinements, our activities boosted again, with social
distances
and secure measures, in premises compliant to legal standards, maintained and
sanitized on a daily basis:
During our big annual weekend, we
had the pleasure of welcoming the
Reiki Master, Abdullah
Qureshi, for an inclusive training in energy care,
dedicated to progressive imams from Europe or elsewhere:
Reiki
is a method of care from Japanese origin, based on
so-called "energy" care by laying on hands. It was founded by the
Japanese Mikao Usui following a mystical revelation that would have led
him at
the end of the 19th century to rediscover ancestral healing techniques.
Reiki
can be compared to the prophetic tradition in Islam of rukya (care by
laying on hands and reading the Koran) which would mean in classical
Arabic "incantation".
NB:
reiki can in no way replace
medical care. The individual sessions are confidential and
non-invasive,
neither psychologically nor bodily.
This year again
(September 2020 to May 2021)
The CALEM Institute provides its training, on the basis of renowned
scientific research, in particular for progressive imam-es from
France,
Europe
and beyond:
Now in France, after having been the
founder of the first inclusive
mosque in Europe, we have two progressive and inclusive Islamic
structures (in
Paris and Marseille), members of our international movement.
Note that to date half a dozen
future students have already passed the
first level of our certification this year, which began online last
September. Two of
them, one from France and the other from German, shall start inch'Allah
the second level of our training.
Manifesta
13, Artistic institutions and minorities exploitation
“For
us, the act of making ourselves visible is political” (Angela
Robertson, Our Dance of
Revolution)
LGBT+ artists and intellectuals,
Muslims and Migrants in France. We are a Marseille-based and
international network of artists, academics, activists and citizens,
who are interested in centering the voices of black, people of color,
LGBTQ*, disabled and migrant communities through cultural programs and
community building initiatives (* lesbians, gays, bisexuals,
transgenders, queers & plus).
Through
this statement, we would like to reiterate our desire for a truly
inclusive avant-garde creative environment, challenging international
artistic institutions that are most often radically above ground in
Marseille, such as the Manifesta biennale present this month in
Marseille.
Manifesta
had previously been accused of exploitation and opaque funds
management, today Manifesta's board is accused of racial
discrimination, Homonationalism, and the exploitation of the most
marginalized.
We call on the artistic, intellectual, activist communities and any one
engaged in this field to join us in this open discussion and debate
that will hopefully provide collective reflections and ways forward for
us as the creative and activist community in the city...
United
Nations
Our 2020 report concerning Islamophobia
and LGBT-phobia in France
Over
the
past fifteen years in France, and especially since the 2015 attacks in
Paris,
the image of Muslims and Islam has deteriorated. Thus, even though for
a large
majority of French people, Islam does not carry with it the seeds of
violence
but, on the contrary, would be a religion as pacifist as the others.
Moreover,
although nearly two-thirds of French people say they do not know the
Islamic
religion well, a majority of them believe that "Muslims highlight the
fact
that they are Muslims as much as possible". But neither left-wing
sympathizers, nor people who know Muslims well, share this view.
Furthermore,
French believe that Islamophobia, like anti-Semitism, is on the rise in
France.
A majority of them feel that it has been more difficult to be a Muslim
in
France, in recent years.
As
a
result, acts qualified as Islamophobic, racist or anti-Muslim, have
progressed
in connection with these tense identity representations: the mainstream
media
have seized on this issue to make it a favorite, redundant, sometimes
omnipresent topic; intersectional discrimination, towards Muslim
homosexuals
for example, or Muslim women wearing a headscarf, has increased in the
public
sphere, which has contributed, indirectly, to their community and
socio-political exclusion. More generally, injunctions of justification
and
identity assignments are now common, towards Muslims, who are supposed
to be
more committed than the rest of the population against terrorist
violence.
This
has
led many French intellectuals, mostly from the left, to engage in this
field of
the fight against Islamophobia and anti-Muslim acts. However, according
to the
French government, in 2019, openly islamophobic acts would have fallen
again,
reaching their lowest level since 2010…
Late 2020, our Cabinet had the honor to be part of several events (most
of the time online due to the COVID-19 crisis), in France or
internationally.
Follow the
activities of our CALEM Cabinet, and our interviews in French, English
and Arabic, on our Facebook page:
________________________________________
LIB
- German progressive Muslims
A sermon (khoutbah)
have been given by Dr. and Imam
Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed, rector of the CALEM institute in
Marseille, for
the German Progressive Muslims
:
________________________________________
Interfaith
or LGBT+
marriage blessings
We have been honored this year again, to
celebrate online most of the time, couples' unions, in France and
elsewhere. Learn more here
Webinar - sex work & Islam
In collaboration with the
STRASS,
French sex workers union
(Sunday 20th December 2020) :
____________________________________
Symposium -
American University of Paris
"Faith & Queer", on the
25th September 2020 we talked about marginalization,
citinzenship and nationalism
in minority context:
________________________________________
Quazar
- LGBT+ Center of Angers
We have been part of the radio du Quazar show, about the
LGBT-phobias of some
religious authorities in France :
AOZIZ is a
network of inclusive houses founded by two live performance companies
based in Marseille,
L’Autre Maison and Arthalie, as well as a humanities research
organization, the
CALEM Institute.
This year the annual inclusive weekend of the
CALEM institute was
organized in collaboration with Pride Marseille, as well as our local
network,
for inclusive and intersectional activities never seen before in
Marseille:
We
are members of the Festival de
Marseille, some of our members were part of exclusive
artistic and cultural activities:
