c. 2005 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) Contemporary Christian artists and Moroccan musicians are making plans to share the stage at a three-day festival in Marrakech in May, with the goal of building bridges between evangelicals and Muslims.

“The Friendship Fest,” scheduled for May 6-8, is the result of meetings last year between evangelical Christian and Moroccan leaders on how the two faiths can find “common ground,” officials said.

“There’ll be some sessions where Christian musicians are playing with the Moroccan musicians and vice versa,” said the Rev. Harry Thomas, the festival’s director and leader of the Creation Christian music festivals for more than two decades in the United States.

“I found the Moroccan musicians really enjoy improvisation and enjoy what we would call jamming.”

Jeremy Camp, who was named male vocalist of the year for the second year in a row at the recent Gospel Music Association’s annual awards, is among the artists who’ll be taking part in the trip to the predominantly Muslim country in northwest Africa.

“It’s going to be a good eye-opener to really see what their religion is about and to be able to share what God has meant in my life,” he said in an interview. “It’s exciting for me to just be a part of this.”

Camp, who describes himself as a “progressive pop rock” musician, said he expects the audience to be different from the hand-raising, Jesus-worshipping crowds he’s accustomed to seeing at his appearances in America.

“I’m going to be definitely sensitive,” the 27-year-old artist said of the country where proselytizing is not the custom. “I’m not going to run in and say, `Hey, everybody. Listen to me. I know what’s right.’ I’m just going to go in and just be loving, hang out with the people and share the music that God’s given me.”

Other Christian performers include Delirious, Newsboys, Out of Eden, Joy Williams, Phil Keaggy and Rock N’ Roll Worship Circus. Moroccan performers will include contemporary and traditional musicians.

The concert was to be held in conjunction with ongoing talks between U.S. evangelical leaders and Moroccan officials, but that dialogue has been postponed.

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The Rev. Richard Cizik, vice president for governmental affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals, said the discussion will be revived after the festival “on account of the Moroccan decision that they want to give this their full attention.”

Cizik said he hopes the future dialogue will continue to address potential joint humanitarian projects and efforts to build understanding between the two faiths.

“It’s not an interfaith dialogue about truth claims of our respective belief systems, but rather on the points of common ground that we have culturally, politically, educationally _ and not insignificantly _ as people equally committed to meeting human and humanitarian needs,” he said.

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In a statement, the Moroccan ambassador to the United States expressed his hopes about the festival’s potential impact.

“Exciting projects such as the Friendship Festival in Marrakech will serve to reinforce goodwill and understanding between our peoples,” Ambassador Aziz Mekouar said in a statement provided by festival organizers.

“As Rick said to Captain Renault at the end of the film `Casablanca,’ `I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”’

Thomas has made several trips to Morocco in the past year in his role as director of the festival. Last June, he introduced the ambassador to a crowd at his Creation East festival in rural Mount Union, Pa.

“They applauded him and opened arms to him,” he said of the crowd of 50,000. “I think people are hoping for something better than what we are facing in the world today. … I entered into this never knowing that I would have those kinds of friends but now I think of them as friends.”

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