Exposé au sein de ce village médiéval monastique de Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez, dont les murs témoignent d'une époque lointaine où la foi était au centre des vies, et où vivaient jadis des moines Chartreux,connus pour leur clôture perpétuelle. À présent, toujours dans le silence, ce sont des sourires, exprimant l'hospitalitéet l'amour, l’ouverture à l’autre et la tolérance, qui viendront s’inviter auprès de ce cadre historique, comme un message au passé, pour un futur moins austère, et plus lumineux. Cette exposition s’inscrira dans le cadre du Festin Musical, organisé par l’ensemble Canticum Novum, un festival de musiques du monde et de musiques anciennes, où se produiront des artistes de tous bords, afin de faire vibrer les lieux dans une symphonie de dialogue et de partage mais également, comme pour l’exposition qui y aura lieu, questionner la mémoire et célébrer la diversité.


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"The motto of this year's INTERPHOTO is "Limits of tolerance". Not all exhibitions refer directly to it, but it certainly applies to the exhibition of the Algerian artist Nassim M. Hadj-benali. Bright portraits of smiling Muslims, photographed in the mosques of America and Germany, and displayed in public places, remove the negative image of people professing Islam."

Fototapeta.art.pl (Translated from Polish)
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"...sociological attitudes are represented by Maria Kapajeva, Nassim Hadj-Benali, Aleksander Vasukovich and Janusz Połom, whose record directly concerns tolerance in the context of current events. Noteworthy are also the exhibition of the doyen of Lithuanian photographers and Antanas Sutkus as well as collection exhibitions - says Jarmocewicz."

Wyborcza PL. (Translated from Polish)

"In cooperation with two new partners, the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations in Stuttgart and the Center for Islamic Theology at the University of Tübingen, the exhibition "ReFrame Islam" by the young Algerian artist Nassim M. Hadjbenali was opened at the Christmas reception at the beginning of December. His black-and-white portraits show open, friendly, smiling Muslims in Germany and the USA – an attempt to break through the stereotypes of grim-faced, bearded men and veiled women."

D.A.I Tûbingen. Press release/Annual report  (Translated from German)

The 'PROJECT RE-FRAME. Islam in Germany' was created in 2012 on the initiative of the Algerian Photographers Nassim M. Hadj-benali. The goal was,Islam in a new media framework to put. The basic idea was in mosquesPortrait photos of smiling Muslims too make the negative stereotypes outCrisis regions face a different picture to deliver. Muslims should be seen assmiling neighbors, colleagues, friends and fellow citizens become visible. We from the non-Muslim majority society can looking at the pictures ask ourselves:“I will the people depicted are now more open-hearted and more responsive than normal neighbors?” Or: “What does it mean for himDialogue of cultures and religions when a young Muslim comes up with such an idea?” 2014 also photographed Nassim M. Hadj-benali Hamburg Muslims. The project in Hamburg was developed in cooperation with the association 'Culture connection',the academy for future issues of the church district Hamburg-West/Südholstein,  the department forChristian-Islamic dialogueof the Center for Mission and Ecumenism the North Church and the Centrum Mosquee.V. and the Al Nour Mosque. The exhibition will be part of the Open Church from February 1 to February 29, 2016 on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Kreuzkirche


Pastorin Gabriele Voigt (Translated from German)

"When Muslims find themselves portrayed in the Western media, photos often illuminate either the strict religious conservatism of some families, such as faceless women in burqas, or terror and fundamentalist violence based on mugshots and surveillance camera footage. In contrast, the reality of life of a large number of friendly, peaceful and well-integrated people of Islamic faith, who simply go about their everyday lives in our neighborhood, takes a back seat. The Algerian documentary artist Nassim M. Hadj-benali wants to capture this silent majority with his haunting black-and-white portraits and at the same time initiate inner dialogues: How much are we shaped by the brutal realities that the press and television convey to us? Can we be happy about the nice, appealing motifs in this selection or do they unsettle us? Hadj-Benali originally started his enlightening photo project in several New York mosques and later continued it in various German cities: a truly transatlantic approach, in other words, to take a fresh look at one of the central issues of our time, interreligious coexistence in mixed societies to dare new perspectives. The artist is present at the vernissage. With an introduction by Dr. Abdel-Hakim Ourghi, lecturer in Islamic theology at the PH Freiburg."

Center of German American Studies / University Of Freiburg
(Translated from German)

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