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In “Two Angry Women” a Jewish and a Muslim woman team up to discuss the issues that unite them and those that divide them, seeking to bridge their differences and create understanding between the communities.
“Two Angry Women” is a book against intolerance, the rise of communitarian division and discriminations in French society.
The book is the result of a chance meeting between a Jewish and a Muslim woman, Olivia and Kenza. “We wanted to discover everything that unites us,” Olivia Cattan comments.
During their meetings, Olivia and Kenza realised they have a lot of common. “We saw we had common values and that we identified with Republican vales. We are both French before being Jewish and Muslim, without having to choose between the two.”
With no taboos, these two French citizens speak about their hopes, the position of women in religion, the wearing of the veil, secularism, commununity issues, integration in the suburbs, racism and anti-Semitism.
They ask people to learn know ourselves, in respect of religious and politic convictions of each one.
However, Olivia and Kenza also talk about the issues that divide them: lack of knowledge about the other religion, intolerance, and their opposite views about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which has in their views been exploited and used in other contexts.
“A new dialogue needs to be initiated between two peoples who are in many ways alike but reject each other.”
Olivia Cattan is a journalist for the “Tribune Juive” magazine. She is a practicing Jew and is proud of her roots, though she is also critical. “I have even received threatening letters after I criticised the archaic nature of some religious practices in Judaism.”
Kenza Breiga, a Muslim woman brought up in Iraq until the age of 14, is on the same wave length. As a journalist she also speaks up against certain aspects of her religion: “In Islam, women are veiled to prevent sparking male desires. Why don’t they avert their gaze? Why should women be responsible for the impure thoughts of men?”
Worries for the future
“In writing this book, we realise that we are raising several polemics,” said Olivia. Denouncing the position of women and encouraging Jewish-Muslim dialogue is not very popular with certain people.
We have meet people who told us we should change our names in order to integrate. It’s a scandal!”
“I’m against the anonymous CV, and positive discrimination. It is a non-issue. The concept of ‘positive discrimination’ still includes ‘discrimination’. Our message is that everyone is French, and we all have the same opportunities,” says Kenza.
Both of the women are essentially worried for future. “The violence in suburbs, the cartoon incident, the death of Ilan Halimi... all this will tip the balance towards the extreme right in 2007,” Olivia predicts. “People are frightened”.
”Two angry women” is prefaced by Marek Halter and published at Ramsey editions.
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