Newsletter — June 2020

Dear friends,

We are happy to announce the appointment of Emmanuel Pisani, OP as the new director of the IDEO. Emmanuel is a specialist in the theological thought of Abū Ḥāmid al-Ġazālī (d. 505/1111), and he is interested in the interactions between Muslims of different currents of Islam as well as between believers of different confessions. He will head the Graduate Institute of Theology and Science of Religions (ISTR) at the Catholic University in Paris until June 2021, when he will move to Cairo. Dennis Halft, OP will then succeed him as Director of MIDEO. During this year, Jean Druel, OP will remain as assistant director.

The activities of the Institute and its members are still at a standstill, which fortunately benefits research. We wish you a great summer!

Lectures

On 21 June, Youssouf Sangaré gave an online lecture as part of the “Midan Mounira” cycle entitled “Islam of the Qurʾān vs Islam of the Hadith: Overcoming the divide between the ‘new thinkers of Islam’ and the ‘Ulamas’”. Click here to read the report and here to watch the conference online (in French, with Arabic subtitles).

On July 8, Jean Jacques Pérennès, OP gave a lecture in Tréguier, France entitled “Louis Massignon, a different approach to Islam”.

Anne-Sylvie Boisliveau (University of Strasbourg) is organising with Mehdi Azaiez (MCF University of Lorraine / KU Leuven) and Iyas Hassan (MCF Lyon-2), a series of lectures entitled “Composing, writing and transmitting the Qurʾān in the first century of Islam“ in the universities of Lorraine, Lyon-2 and Strasbourg. Click here to watch these lectures online… (in French).

Research Seminars

Anne-Sylvie Boisliveau organizes with Salomé Deboos (anthropologist, University of Strasbourg) a monthly research seminar at the University of Strasbourg entitled “Representations of Islams: panchronic views and experiences”. Click here to download the program… (in French).

Ifao-Ideo Scholarship

We are pleased to welcome in Cairo Sana Bou Antoun, doctoral student at Sorbonne-University under the supervision of professors Abdallah Cheikh-Moussa and Asma Hilali, during the academic year 2020-2021. She is studying on the epistemological implications of the use by the first orientalists in the 19ᵗʰ century in Qurʾānic studies of intellectual tools developed for Biblical studies.

Libraries of the Orient

The French National Library and the IDEO have signed a two-year collaboration agreement to finance the development of Diamond, the cataloguing software developed by the IDEO according to IFLA-LRM standards. The aim of this agreement is to enable partner libraries of the online portal “Libraries of the Orient” to use Diamond to catalogue manuscripts and printed materials that will then be added to the portal.

International Conference

The conference “From the Back of the Heart: Reciting in the Early Islamic Empire” which was planned in Cairo at the end of June has been postponed to October 16ᵗʰ-18ᵗʰ. This conference is coordinated by Anne-Sylvie Boisliveau and Asma Hilali.

MIDEO

MIDEO 35 on Shia-Christian interactions is expected to be published during the summer. It will be available online for free on the Open Edition website.

Publications

  • Dominique Avon, « Le nom chrétien sous la plume d’hommes de religion musulmans égyptiens », Les cahiers de l’EMAM 32 (2020).
  • Jean Druel, “The Kitāb Sībawayh of ʾAbū al-Ḥasan ʾAḥmad b. Naṣr: A non-Sīrāfian recension of the Kitāb”, in Zeitschrift für arabische Linguistik 71 (2020), pages 29‒56.
  • Emmanuel Pisani, « Dans le Coran, l’eau est douce et amère », Les cahiers « Croire » 329 (mai-juin 2020), pages 30‒32.
  • Emmanuel Pisani (dir.), avec la collaboration de Pierre Diara, Marie-Hélène Robert & Xavier Manzano, Maximum illud : vers une nouvelle ère missionnaire, Paris : Cerf, 2020 (Collection « Theologicum »).
  • Guillaume de Vaulx, La civilisation et ses bêtes : réécritures contemporaines de la fable médiévale des Épîtres des Frères en Pureté (Rasāʾil Ikhwān al-ṣafā), le procès animal de la domination humaine (blog hébergé sur le site Hypotheses.org).

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Newsletter – April 2017

Dear friends, Many people wonder if it is naïve to believe that Pope Francis’s visit to Egypt could lead to anything. Firstly, we should not minimize the symbolic impact of such a visit and of the meeting between Pope Francis and al-Sheikh Aḥmad al-Ṭayyib. This visit clearly affirms that there is no war between Christians and Muslims, and, contrary to thinking, we are unified to combat extremism and violence. Secondly, and more profoundly, it was an opportunity for hundreds of people to gather, meet, and to work together with others who, for both the Muslim and the Christian, now have a name and a face. Our world is suffering, above all, from our mutual apprehensions of each other, and the contacts exchanged on this visit (email addresses, selfies, mobile phone numbers) are an opportunity to build bridges between us, if we are willing to open ourselves and continue the adventure. Al-Azhar’s Congress for Peace Several members of the IDEO attended the World Congress for Peace organized by al-Azhar on the occasion of Pope Francis’s visit to Cairo. Among the many talks that were given, we were particularly interested in the discussion between Muslim scholars on the possibility of using interpretative methods extraneous to Islam to read the Qurʾān. Some thinkers consider the Qurʾānic text as incomparable to any other text, making it illicit to use any of these non-traditional methods. Others, however, see the possibility of a renewal in the interpretation of the text. Study Trip From April 25th to May 2nd, Jean-François Bour, OP organized a study tour for the National Service of the Bishops of France for Relations with Muslims, SNRM. As part of this trip and the ongoing collaboration between IDEO and the University of al-Azhar, a full day of sessions was dedicated to the topic of šarīʿa law and it’s purposes (maqāṣid al-šarīʿa). This branch of Islamic studies looks at the principles which guide all Islamic law and jurisprudence. For many authors, mercy (al-raḥma) is the greatest attribute of God, along with his corresponding name, the Merciful (al-Raḥmān), and toward which all law must strive. Lectures From April 18th to 21st, Jean Druel, OP gave a series of lectures on his new book Je crois en Dieu! — Moi non plus. Click here to watch the lecture held in Paris (in French)… On April 28th, Dennis Halft, OP gave a lecture entitled “Notes on the So-Called Persian Diatessaron and its Author and Commentator.” It was given at the international conference titled “Translators, Copyists and Interpreters: Jews, Christians and Muslims and the Transmission of the Bible in Arabic in the Middle Ages,” held at the Casa Árabe center in Cordoba, Spain. On April 28th, Adrien Candiard, OP gave a lecture to the SNRM group on the history of Islamic theology. On April 29th, Emilio Platti, OP gave a lecture to the SNRM group on the correspondence between Jacques Jomier, OP and father Maurice Borrmans. For more details… Interviews On April 6th, Jean Druel, OP was interviewed by Mr. Olivier Bonnel from Radio Vatican about the cooperation between the IDEO and the University of al-Azhar. Click here to listen to the interview (in French)… On April 7th, Jean Druel, OP was interviewed by Mr. François-Xavier Mathieu from the French Catholic television channel KTO about the work of the IDEO. Click here to watch the interview (in French)… On April 13th, Jean Jacques Pérennès, OP gave an interview to La Vanguardia website on the interreligious dialogue. Click here to read the interview (in Spanish)… On April 24th, Jean Druel, OP was interviewed by Mrs. Geneviève Delrue from Radio France Internationale (RFI) about his book on the interreligious dialogue. Click here to listen to the interview (in French, from 19:40)… On April 26th, M. Dominique Avon took part in a radio program devoted to al-Azhar on France Inter. Click here to listen to the program (in French)… On April 30th, Catalonia television put online the interview given by Jean Jacques Pérennès, OP on the occasion of receiving the “Cassià Just” prize for the dialogue of religions and cultures. Click here to listen to the interview (in Spanish)… IDEO Seminars On April 21st, the fourth session of the IDEO’s ongoing Arabic seminar “Religion in Light of Human Sciences” was held with el-Sayed el-Aswad, Egyptian-American professor of anthropology at al-Ayn University in the United Arab Emirates. The topic for reflection was “Religious Ritual in Light of Anthropology”. Prof. el-Aswad began by presenting an outline of the various schools of anthropology. The students then studied analytical texts of some Islamic rituals, such as ḏikr. Analyses were based on Prof. el-Aswad’s book Religion and Folk Cosmology, of which he has also written an Arabic translation: al-dīn wa-l-taṣawwur al-šaʿbī li-l-kawn. For many of the participants, this was their first exposure to anthropology, a discipline rarely taught in Egypt. Visits On April 3rd, we received Mr. Richard Yung, a French Senator representing the French citizens abroad. On April 10th, we received Mrs. Nadja Germann, Islamologist at the University of Fribourg. On April 11th, we received Mr. François Zabbal, writer for Qantara, a magazine of the Arab World Institute, and Mrs. Eva Saenz-Diez Jaccarini, journalist. On April 12th, we received a group of Arabic-speaking teachers in France as part of a training course organized by the DEAC. On April 15th, we welcomed for lunch Mrs. Jenna Le Bras (La Croix) and Mr. François Hume-Ferbatadji (Radio France). The Scholars’ House During the month of April, we had the pleasure to receive at the Scholars’ House, Mr. Guillaume Lurton, Mr. Olivier Rampnoux, and Mr. Hadrien Coutant, three teachers at the University of Poitiers on mission at Ain shams University. Also, we welcomed Mrs. Anne-Bénédicte Hoffner, journalist in La Croix, Mr. Mikael Corre, journalist in Pélerin, and Mr. el-Sayed el-Aswad professor of anthropology. Click here to subscribe or unsubscribe to our newsletter. If you would like to receive our invitations for the seminar, please mark the corresponding box.

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Newsletter – June 2016

Dear friends, At the end of June, five members of IDEO participated in a symposium organized in Paris by the Catholic University on dialogue of religious and cultural rationales. The many discussions that we have in Cairo between Muslims and Christians sometimes stumble on the following point: how do we take seriously the rationale of the other, when I consider that his/her beliefs are stupid (God’s incarnation, for example, or the literal descent of the Qurʾān)? As was proved by Adrien Candiard’s lecture on June 15, the only possible starting point for a serious discussion between Christians and Muslims is to postulate that the other is rational. Otherwise, the discussion will only be about proselytism or contempt ‒ or violence, as was dramatically proven once more by the terrorist attacks in Istanbul, Dhaka, Baghdad. MIDEO is Online We are happy to announce that the last issue of MIDEO (number 31) is now entirely available to read for free online, thus ensuring a wider distribution. We hope we can soon publish the older issues as well. Click here to access the MIDEO online… Thesis Committee On June 3rd, Emilio Platti, OP, took part in a thesis committee for the defense of a PhD thesis at the Doctoral School in Theology and Religious Sciences of the University of Strasbourg. Mr. Safwan Ebaji defended a thesis entitled “The influence of strategic teaching on the learning and motivation of Syrian students in religious education classes”. Breaking the Fast After the lecture on June 15th, a “breaking-fast” party (Ifṭār) was organized for all the participants, about 80 persons in total, who were mainly students. The event lasted late into the night and gave the opportunity for everybody to share questions raised by the lecture. Lectures On June 14th, Jean Jacques Pérennès, OP, director of the French Biblical and Archaeological School (École biblique) in Jerusalem, took part in round table in Madrid, along with the Imam of Madrid Riay Tatary and the Rabbi Baruj Garzon. The event was entitled “Religions in Today’s World”. It was organized by the Spanish Lay Dominicans and was given for journalists, religious leaders and diplomats. Click to read the report in Spanish…->Click to read the report in Spanish… On June 15th, Jean Jacques Pérennès, OP, gave a lecture in Madrid for the general public entitled “Muslims Among Us: The Challenge of Otherness”. On June 27th, Jean Druel, OP, moderated an interreligious discussion on religions and the protection of the environment, at the invitation of the German Scientific Center. The three guests were a Professor from al-Azhar, a Copt-Orthodox priest, and a Protestant pastor. Teaching On June 1st and 2nd, Emmanuel Pisani, OP, gave a lecture on Islam and the theology of religions at the seminary of the Priestly Fraternity Saint Peter in Wigratzbad, Germany. Interviews On June 26th, Alberto Ambrosio, OP, was interviewed during the RFI program “Religions of the World” on the following topic: “The visit of the Pope to Armenia: Peace and ecumenism”.Click here to listen to the program in French… On June 29th, Jean Druel, OP, gave an interview for the website Copts United on relations between Christians and Muslims. Click here to watch the program in Arabic… Visits Between June 7th and 16th, we were very happy to receive a visit by Mr. Jean-Michel Coulot and Mr. Jean-François Leprince-Ringuet from the French Catholic charity organizationŒuvre d’Orient (“Work of the East”). This visit was an occasion for numerous exchanges on the situation of Christians in Egypt and the importance of conducting joint projects, Christians and Muslims together. This month, we received visits from M. Máté Lakatos, PhD student of Arab Studies, as part of our ongoing cooperative agreement with the Avicenna Institute of the Catholic University, Pázmány Péter, in Hungary. Conferences From May 30th through June 1st, René-Vincent du Grandlaunay attended the 38th MELCom International Conference (European Association of Middle East Librarians) held at the University of Leiden (the Netherlands). Five members of IDEO took part in a symposium on the dialogue of religious and cultural rationales at the Catholic University in Paris, from June 27 to 30: Alberto Ambrosio, OP: “The unity of religions among the Ottoman Sufis”; Adrien Candiard, OP: “Universal rationality and interreligious controversy: The status of reason in the Kitāb al-fiṣal by Ibn Ḥazm of Cordoba”; Rémi Chéno, OP: “The providential nature of irreducible differences between religions”; Amir Jajé, OP: “The Muʿtazilite School: An ephemeral rationalist approach in the early centuries of Islam”; Emmanuel Pisani, OP: “The recourse to rationality in the debate on apostasy in Islam: The position of Mawdudi”. Elections Emilio Platti, OP, was elected president of El Kalima, a Christian center for the relations with Muslims in Brussels. He took over from Mr. Vincent Legrand (UCL), after his resignation.

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