Alexandria

Think of the village baby.

A scene of adventure – the dream of Europe.

The eyes of marching armies fostered perplexity

that marred all its books and intellectuals

and opened their minds to the encyclopaedia of algebra

and carmine bear remembrances.

The tumult of the bears has maintained the fear.

(d'après la traduction officielle en anglais du discours du ministre français des Affaires étrangères Dominique de Villepin, au Caire, le 12 avril 2003, The Mediterranean World and the Middle East)

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Autres poèmes de John Tranter d'après ce discours

Other poems by John Tranter from the same speech

Ladies and gentlemen,

How could one choose a more obvious country than Egypt to call on this part of the world's memories and ambitions? What other more symbolic place could we choose as the meeting point between East and the West, and to address the challenges of the future? (...)

We might also think of the village of Bethlehem where a Jewish baby was born, founder of Christianity and a prophet revered by the Muslims. Places like Jerusalem and Nazareth, the scene today of tragic conflict, speak to us of our common history and our particular origin.

The confrontation of East and West has always been synonymous with adventure &endash; from the dream of Andalusia under the Khalifate of Cordoba, the epic legends of Charlemagne, the fascinated discovery of "The Thousand and One Nights" by Classical Europe, the critical eye of the Persians of Montesquieu seeking self-discovery through other persons' eyes, to the lesson of happiness penned by Voltaire through the voice of Zadig the Babylonian. Let us remember the great adventure of poetry and love songs, from Rumi to Dante or to Aragon. I also have in mind Naguib Mahfouz, who discovered the very idea of the novel in the work of Balzac and Charles Dickens.

The confrontation was also, of course, that of arms and marching armies, as when Tarik brought Islam to Europe, as when later the Crusades fostered the brutality and perplexity described by Francesco Gabrielli, as when much later again the Europeans embarked upon colonialism.

I do not wish to gloss over the violence and spoliation that marred this period. However, the exemplary bravery and clear-sightedness of visionary Arab world leaders enabled the Middle East to seize the opportunity offered by this challenge. From Egypt's Mohamed Ali who sent the young Mohammed Rifaa Al-Tahtawi to Paris to translate all its books and absorb all its science, and Turkey's Kemal Ataturk to Iran's pioneers of oil autonomy, they regained their sovereignty while appropriating the West's contributions. The Arab intellectuals, so as to nurture the hoped-for renaissance of their countries, the Nahda, tamed the outside world and opened their minds to the fertile enrichment it provided.

In his Lettre aux Français, the illustrious Emir Abdelkader proclaimed his faith in the Arab world's rebirth through progress and culture. He succeeded in building a relationship of respect and trust with Napoleon III, who planned to form an alliance between France and an Arab kingdom headed by the Emir.

France, having turned her back on conquests, realizes what she owes to the Arab and Middle Eastern heritage. Without Averroes, would we have discovered Aristotle? Without Avicenna's encyclopaedia of medicine, what would we have known of Galien and Hippocrates? Could the social sciences have done without someone like Ibn Khaldoun, astronomy without Abu Al Biruni, or mathematics without Al Khawarizmi?

The heritage extends beyond science and ideas. Your presence in our history is embedded in our language. Arab words like algebra, sofa, admiral and carmine bear witness to the intermingling of our worlds.

Our cultures are today inseparable from one another. France's population includes nearly five million Muslims, two-thirds of them of Arab origin, who alter the country's aspirations and outlook. I pay tribute to these Muslims of France who practise Islam in a spirit of authenticity, hospitality and openness. Paris is gifted with an important Arab-language press, many Arab and Muslim students, and the Institut du Monde Arabe, a matchless centre for cultural promulgation.

France has spun a web of ever-closer links in a dialogue shot through with echoes and remembrances. The illustrious Rachi, meditating on the Bible and the Talmud near Troyes away from the tumult of the Middle Ages, bears testimony to the age-old ties binding us to the Jewish people, to its often tragic history but also to its vast and varied culture. Down the years, this people, carrying the imprint of the world's most terrible dramas as well as of its diversity and wealth of talents, has maintained a profound relationship with a French nation wedded to the values of respect and tolerance. Our bond draws its strength from this shared past.

There are ample reasons here for building new bridges and increasing the number of passageways between Europe and the Middle East. They hold out promise, providing that we do not succumb to the temptation of fear. In our interdependent world, isolation and shelter from harm are both impossible.

Our future depends on our ability to live and develop together (...)