This is the 26th edition of the Montreal Arab World Festival, and the FMA is unfolding in a more difficult context than ever before. Toxic debates on immigration can spill over into the peaceful territory of culture, as Joseph Nakhlé, artistic director and founder of the FMA, can attest. The increasingly toxic climate surrounding immigration has led his team to suspend the thematic editions, which aimed to build bridges between Arab culture and the other cultures with which it interacts today.

All the more reason to seek refuge in mythical Andalusia, the land of convivencia, which refers to the peaceful and harmonious coexistence of different (often religious) communities within the same society, as was the case in Andalusia during the Moorish rule and its tolerant regimes towards the Jews and Christians who lived there for nearly eight centuries on the Iberian Peninsula. This Andalusian culture still exists today, and its manifestations are scattered throughout the 26th FMA. In complete harmony.

This content is produced in partnership with La Vitrine culturelle, with the aim of promoting the culture of all regions of Quebec through PAN M 360 content.

PAN M 360: In an increasingly difficult intercultural context, the FMA continues its mission nonetheless. How so, Joseph?

Joseph Nakhlé: The global context is extremely turbulent at the moment, but we are persisting and signing, that is to say, we are continuing to spread Arab culture internationally and locally.

PAN M 360: That’s what you’ve been doing since the late 1990s, and it continues, for better or worse.

Joseph Nakhlé: Yes, as you know, since you’ve been with us since the first edition. It’s not a space that seeks to promote Arab culture; it’s a festival that celebrates the Arab world in its connections with the rest of the world.

PAN M 360: That’s a very important distinction, indeed.

Joseph Nakhlé: The FMA is not an identity-based festival. We are not here to celebrate Arab nationalism or the political Arab world. On the contrary, our Arab world is a world of connections with the Persians, the Spanish, the Indians, the Asians, the Quebecois, the French… It is the Arab world in its connections with the world. That is to say, everywhere the Arab world has been, where it is today, and where it will be tomorrow.

You and I live in the West, and there have always been Arab influences throughout the West for a very long time. So it is an Arab world that is culturally connected to the world. And it is also an Arab culture that suffers, that suffers from a failed modernity, but a modernity that is still desired. The Arab world was in contact with this ideal of the Enlightenment, it saw a certain renaissance begin to emerge.

But this renaissance was stifled by the West. In any case, the West contributed enormously to this stifling. Since the Second World War, the West has been very negative towards Arab democratic and civilizational development.

PAN M 360: Today, many people still have the impression that the Arab world is synonymous with strict Islam, which is completely false.

Joseph Nakhlé: Thirty years ago, we rejected the PLO, then we financed Hamas… and now we find ourselves with a Hamas that we cannot accept. And there was a secular Palestinian resistance movement which, at one point, accepted Israel’s existence. There was hope for peace. All of that fell apart because the politics and geopolitics of the Western world were built on objectives other than peace and fairness.

PAN M 360: In short, the FMA is not a festival celebrating the political Arab world.

Joseph Nakhlé: The FMA is there to show that the Arab world, and Arab culture in particular, is a diverse culture. There are many artistic scenes, groups of artists who are trying, creating, producing, etc. But there, we are still stuck in archaic structures, still far from achieving a modernity that we can enjoy. So, it is an Arab world that is out of step with the Western world, but it is also stifled by that Western world.

PAN M 360: But things are different here with the FMA.

Joseph Nakhlé: From the outset, we promoted the idea of a space dedicated to cultural encounters, a space dedicated to exchange, and therefore to the possibility of proposing, being heard and listening. The very existence of the FMA came from this need to reconcile two identities: the culture from which we originate and the culture to which we belong, which is Western Quebec culture. So the FMA wanted to be a place for dialogue, a place for exchange.

PAN M 360: You always had themed editions to highlight this dual identity.

Joseph Nakhlé: Yes, but this year we announced the suspension of themes. Since Gaza, there’s no need to beat around the bush; the ideal of the Enlightenment to which the FMA has aspired since its inception has collapsed before our eyes. And how has the Western world dealt with this tragedy in Gaza? This lack of willingness to face up to something that we see unfolding before our eyes and that is absolutely incompatible with our values. We see these values collapsing before our eyes! So we said to ourselves, what’s the point, if there is no longer any exchange, if there is no longer any listening, what’s the point of holding thematic editions that propose dialogue?

PAN M 360: What do you mean by ‘there is no longer any exchange’?

Joseph Nakhlé: I don’t know if you’ve had time to browse the FMA’s social media pages: they are full of hatred, racism and threats. This is the first time we have seen such a large number of hateful messages. We’re talking about hundreds, if not thousands, of aggressive and threatening messages. So we said to ourselves, we did the right thing in not proposing a theme, because it’s clear that dialogue has broken down, that there’s no room for it anymore.

PAN M 360: But these are far-right, ultra-conservative people who intervene wherever they can be seen and who have probably targeted you. You are among the victims of this phenomenon.

Joseph Nakhlé: Possibly, but before..

PAN M 360: What has changed?

Joseph Nakhlé: When comments like that were made, native Quebecers would respond on our social media to defend us. Now, we see that those voices are no longer there. The reality is that this dialogue has become very, very difficult and painful. And we are unable to handle it. That’s why we decided to stop discussing these issues and do what we know how to do, which is to present the performing arts. Once again, we can hope for something because I think that art, culture and music are not just slogans. I think culture is the last refuge against intolerance, against these stupid and unfounded notions.

So for us, that’s it, we’re taking a break, we’re no longer in reflection mode, we’re in support mode for a scene we love because what we offer and everything that comes from this Arab culture can be, as we’ve seen over the course of these 26 editions, a subject for reflection, a subject for creation, a subject for producing something new. I think that Arab culture is still a very rich culture, capable of inspiring us who live here in Montreal.

PAN M 360: Historically, you have always attracted a mix of diverse Eastern communities, not only Lebanese, but also Egyptians, North Africans, Kurds, Iranians, Turks, etc. And you also had a large proportion of native Quebecers who were curious to immerse themselves in other cultures. With the rise of intolerance towards immigration, are you forced to serve an even more community-based market?

Joseph Nakhlé: Yes, and that’s unfortunate. In 2006, we had our peak year in terms of ticket sales, with $425,000 in ticket revenue, which was huge for a festival like ours. At the time, our audience was mainly native Quebecers. In 2007, things changed with the reasonable accommodation crisis, and we saw that proportion drop to 10%. The FMA took a hit. Today, we are very vulnerable.

PAN M 360: So you are victims of this change in perception.

Joseph Nakhlé: Indeed. After 2007, we managed to recover, but not to the same extent as before. Today, we see that last year’s audience was made up of about 40% native Quebecers.

PAN M 360: That’s still 40%!

Joseph Nakhlé: Our concern is to see what will happen next. We didn’t conduct our own survey this year, but we hope we won’t see the same phenomenon as in 2007, i.e. another dramatic drop in the participation of native Quebecers. In any case, we are sensing a rise in Islamophobia, Arabophobia, call it what you will. And so, Arabness is becoming a bit like other forms of racial or cultural intolerance.

PAN M 360: You have decided to continue, to persevere. And PAN M 360 will continue to support you! So where are we going this year?

Joseph Nakhlé: We’re heading for mythical Andalusia. For Arabs, it’s a refuge. Andalusia, for us, is convivencia. It’s the place where Arab culture succeeded in offering a viable model of living together. Of course, the Andalusia we have in our dreams is not what Andalusia really was. But even so, the power of the myth here is significant. If Andalusia was a land of convivencia, if this Arab culture succeeded in offering the world a model of coexistence between Jews, Christians and Muslims, in a common desire, then for us today, this is perhaps the symbolic place that will save us from ourselves.

PAN M 360: How does this manifest itself?

Joseph Nakhlé: You can see it in the programme. For example, Olé Persia, the opening concert, is flamenco that goes back to its gypsy roots, but with a little bit of Iranian and Arabic influence. Olé Persia celebrates this connection. Then we have other shows that explore Andalusia through a female lens, where women celebrate and perpetuate this musical tradition that was traditionally reserved for men, but in which women have played a significant role throughout history.

So here we have five women, five projects celebrating Andalusia through a female lens. La Mia Aït Amara, Lila Borsali. In the same spirit of mythical Andalusia, we have the themed evenings Y Una Noche and Songe d’une nuit andalouse.

PAN M 360: Which is a progressive choice in itself. And, as in previous years, you are seeking to showcase emerging talent.

Joseph Nakhlé: Exactly. We have some new names in the line-up, such as the Lebanese singer Moeen Shreif, who will be performing at the closing ceremony. He is a great artist, somewhat in the vein of quality Lebanese pop, and somewhat the heir to a great name in Lebanon, Wadih El Safi.

PAN M 360: So we’ll see each other several times between now and November 16!