In a global context of raging extremism and intolerance, Sélim Ben Hassen wanted to give voice to a message that could be visible to all at the most sacred site for Muslims. A challenge that was viewed as impossible before the project came to fruition. 

It was in the city of Gabès, in the south of the country, that the challenge materialised. Having first persuaded the city’s religious authorities, Sélim Ben Hassen invited the artist “El Seed” to write a verse from the Quran onto the country’s biggest mosque, some 60 metres high: “Oh Mankind, (…) We have made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another”.

The work was produced with graffiti as its weapon, a way of highlighting the power of art to fight against violence and extremism in all of its forms.

Since its completion, the work has never been vandalised. Today it is one of the foremost symbols of urban art promoting peace in the Arab world.