Chouki Derrouiche, Muslim, wood sculptor and lover of interreligious dialogue
In the popular district of Moulins, in Lille, four Dominican brothers keep – “in the middle of precariousness”according to the formula of Brother Jean-Laurent Valois – the extension of the monastic community, rue de Condé. La Maison du 60 – named after its street number – is aimed at around a hundred people, accustomed to gathering in the Notre-Dame de Moulins chapel. Since December 23, thanks to the work of wood sculptor Chouki Derrouiche, its porch has displayed an imposing beech sign, 2.45 meters long by 45 centimeters wide and weighing 25 kg.
His engravings are intriguing. Combining Islamic eight-pointed stars and Christian crosses, the patterns are directly inspired by the wooden ceiling of the Palatine Chapel of Palermo, known for its syncretic art: Arab-Norman art. The architecture and ornaments of the chapel are strongly influenced by its Byzantine and Muslim history. “I like this mix of genres and styles. It was an opportunity to make a historical nod to it,” enlightens the 54-year-old Muslim artist, originally from Libercourt, a town in the mining basin located a good ten kilometers south of Lille.
Located in a neighborhood with a large number of Muslims, the Maison du 60 is an interreligious meeting place. In the aftermath of the 2015 attacks and in the face of “mutual suspicion” between Christians and Muslims, Brother Jean-Laurent Valois created a group bringing together, in “a goal of peace and friendship”believers of both faiths. It is the latter that Chouki Derrouiche joined in September 2024. The opportunity for Brother Jean-Laurent Valois to get to know the wood sculptor personally, whom he had already “crusader” during interreligious meetings, organized by a Jesuit house once or twice a year.
“Chouki is very subtle”
“Chouki is very subtle. He knows his subject well but doesn’t bring it back. He has a real knowledge of the Muslim faith”praises Brother Jean-Laurent. The Northerner says he is “fell into the pot of interreligious dialogue”at the beginning of the 1990s. At that time, he returned from Algeria where he had just spent three years during which he worked to obtain his CAP in wood sculpture. “At the time, my head was on the handlebars, I did not suspect the presence of a metaphysical language in the motifs. They didn’t explain to us what they were sculpting.”remembers Chouki Derrouiche.
It was while attending a conference – organized by Father Michel Lelong and a Muslim representative –, highlighting the similarity between the prayer of the Our Father and the first sura of the Koran, that Chouki “opens a door”. “I say to myself: this is crazy! Christians have a prayer like us. I tell myself that I have so much to learn. » From then on, he immersed himself in the readings of Titus Burckhardt, a Swiss metaphysician, or René Guénon, a 20th century French intellectual.e century.
An insatiable thirst for understanding
He then puts his art at the service of his convictions. Recently, the Museum of Jewish Memory in Béziers contacted him to create a “Abrahamic pole”where each monotheism has its sculpture: the Our Father in Aramaic, a verse from the Koran in Arabic and the Ten Commandments in Hebrew. Chouki Derrouiche assures us: “We cannot get tired of dialogue, it is the only and rare opportunity to move forward fraternally. Walking alone is not the solution. »
He is very attached to the fifth surah of the Koran. He finds important similarities with the Last Supper. “She explains that all the people of the Bookwill return to God. Once we face him, he will explain to us that our differences are an invitation to spiritual elevation”insists the wood sculptor. “In the same way that we are in awe of Islam, I think Chouki is also in awe of Christianityunderlines Brother Jean-Laurent. He is someone rooted in his faith and who, at the same time, has a sensitivity strong enough to understand others, those who are different. »
