Newsletter October 2025
“Al-ʿilm ḥayāt al-qalb min al-ǧahl” – knowledge is the life of the heart against ignorance – and Imam al-Nawawī (d. 1277) added, “the lamp of the eyes against darkness, the strength of the body against weakness.” This phrase summarizes a conviction we share at IDEO: to seek, in the sources of Islam and their contexts, […]
Newsletter August-September 2025
Summer is always, for scholars, a season both of writing and of intense reading. This year, we immersed ourselves in several works recently published by members of IDEO, and it was with particular enthusiasm that we delved into the critical edition of part of the Kitāb of Sībawayh, the great grammarian of the Arabic language. […]
Newsletter July 2025
We are always delighted to announce the release of our Institute’ journal, MIDÉO. This year’s volume is devoted to a topic as fascinating as it is urgent, particularly given its profound relevance to the current Middle Eastern landscape, where war wounds and kills innocent people with horror and savagery. The fruit of the study days […]
Newsletter June 2025
A Shared Understanding of Religions IDEO remains steadfast in its conviction that only a patient, rigorous, and shared understanding of religious knowledge can open paths to collaboration and reconciliation. But words alone are not enough—they must be put into action. The “Islam and Religions” certificate program, held this May as part of the Anawati Chair […]
Newsletter May 2025
The conference organized by IDEO, The Authority of Silence: Constructing the Figure of the salafs (7ᵗʰ–15ᵗʰ centuries), held in the prestigious Oriental Hall at the American University in Cairo, offered an original and unprecedented perspective on the figure of the salafs through the prism of silence—not as absence, but as a source of authority. Far from being merely […]
Newsletter April 2025
A hundred years ago, L’Islam et les fondements du pouvoir by Ali Abdelrazek was published, a landmark work in the history of Islamic political thought. Through a methodical and well-argued approach, the author examined scriptural and historical sources to demonstrate that the caliphate was not a religious necessity but a political construct. His analysis, based […]
Newsletter March 2025
It is with great joy that we announce the publication in Arabic of the biography of Father Georges Anawati, written by Jean Jacques Pérennès. A founding figure of IDEO, a man of dialogue and intellectual rigor, Father Anawati has left a lasting impact on generations of researchers far beyond the Christian sphere and continues to […]
« Nadwat Sībawayh »
“Nadwat Sībawayh”: strengthening the dialogue between eastern and western academic approaches The “Nadwat Sībawayh” is a joint initiative led by Jean Druel (Dominican Institute in Cairo) and Zübeyt Nalçakan (Kahramanmaraş University, Turkey). This project aims to bridge the gap between Arabophone researchers and those working in European languages in the field of studies on Sībawayh […]
The Foundations of Arabic Linguistic Theory and the Influence of Sībawayh’s Kitāb on it
Dr. Ramzi Baalbaki, January 25, 2025 Session report Introduction The lecture delivered by Dr. Ramzi Baalbaki focused on the Arabic linguistic theory, with particular emphasis on grammar and lexicography. For a system to be considered a linguistic theory, it must be based on a comprehensive, well-defined, and coherent corpus, establish precise and structured rules, and […]
Newsletter February 2025
“In the beginning was the Word”: this is the topic of the 56ᵗʰ edition of the Cairo International Book Fair, which this year honored the Sultanate of Oman. As every year, our teams gathered with enthusiasm. By 6 a.m., the cataloguers were hard at work recording the titles and authors of the books acquired the […]