Tahar Ben Jelloun, a member of the writers’ Académie Goncourt and Morocco’s distinguished author and artist, was commissioned to design eight stained glass windows for a French church in the village Le Thoureil. The invitation request came from the Heritage Foundation and Jérôme Clément, ARTE’s former president, Clément was baptized in the church of Saint Genulf and Saint Charles which borders the Loire river. He discovered late in life that his maternal grandparents were deported to Auschwitz. As a former French Embassy, Cultural advisor his intent for this project was to bring together a sensibility of peace and religion through art.
The stained glass windows for the church designed and painted by Tahar Ben Jelloun were inspired by the three monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. They will be installed in Saint-Genulf Church and are hand made by Master glassmaker, Philippe Brissy.
The exchange between the Mediterranean and Western world is not something new for Ben Jelloun who established himself throughout his life and career as a proponent for peace and personal identity. He wrote passionately about Moroccan culture, human rights sexual identity and the immigrant experience,
In Tahar Ben Jelloun’s view: “the church is unassuming. Stained-glass windows in colors that are reminiscent of both the Loire and the Mediterranean might endow it with a more striking, more open presence. Stained-glass windows that come to life in the dancing light can only add joyful spirit to a spirituality that fills people with a sense of happiness. ”