Newsletter December 2025

Sometimes a place calls upon those who inhabit it to bring it out of oblivion. When Francesco Antonini came in September 2023 as a recipient of the IDEO-Ifao-IFI predoctoral fellowship, as a philosopher and historian by training, he did not remain long deaf to this call. Because our walls are not only meant for sleep and study; they carry a memory waiting to be heard again. Who, then, were these Dominican brothers who founded this Institute in 1953? What hope guided them, and what understanding of Islam did they wish to convey? How did this venture take shape, and by what paths did it become today’s Idéo? To such questions, one must turn either to the patience of conventual archives or to the biography that Jean Jacques Pérennès devoted to this history. It is this second path that Francesco chose. And he emerged deeply marked, not only by the scope but also by the rigor and boldness of a project that did not separate the intellect from faith, nor scholarship from hospitality. From this reading arose a conviction: the necessity of making this story known in his own language, for his country, Italy. From this conviction arose a gesture: an Italian translation, which we could only welcome with gratitude. Thus, day by day, with meticulous attention, he set to work, allowing the sentences and paragraphs written in French to pass into another language without losing their breath. The visit of Brother Jean-Jacques to Cairo helped refine his work, shed light on obscure points, and render the transmission he sought even more accurate. Thus this book was born, published at the very moment when we commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of Nostra Aetate, whose influence by Father Anawati was decisive for the fathers of the Council. Francesco Antonini is warmly thanked here for this remarkable, discreet, yet essential work. He reminds us that transmitting a history is answering a voice that precedes us, so that it may continue to call other readers, other brothers and scholars, elsewhere, today, here and there, in Alexandria as in Italy. Lectures and talks On December 3, as part of the Orient Institut Beirut lecture series, Emmanuel Pisani, OP gave the conference “From Ideology to Critique: History in the Thought of the Iraqi Philosopher ʿAbd al-Ǧabbār al-Rifaʾī (b. 1954)” at the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst in Zamalek. On December 13, Jean Jacques Pérennès gave a lecture on the topic “How Does One Become Henri Teissier?” For context, Mgr Henri Teissier (1929–2020), former Archbishop of Algiers, was an intern at IDEO from 1956 to 1958. Distinction On December 20, Jean Druel, OP alongside five other individuals, received an award from the Cairo Academy of the Arabic Language as a “Personality of the Year” on the occasion of World Arabic Language Day. Launch Ceremony On December 22 and 23, Jean Druel, OP was invited to the launch of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language in Doha, Qatar. He also attended the conference on artificial intelligence applied to the Arabic language. IDEO in the Medias On December 24, Mr. Raphaël Georgy published an article entitled “These Christians Who Pray in Arabic”, in Résonances Abrahamiques No. 12. In December, the French Embassy in Egypt produced two videos dedicated to IDEO. In the first, its director leads a tour in Arabic to introduce the Institute and some of its treasures. In the second, young Egyptian researchers share their experiences and impressions of IDEO. Thesis Defense On 12 December, at the University of Nantes, Emmanuel Pisani, OP second rapporteur, presided the thesis committee of Mr. Pierre Courtain, entitled “The Dominican Qur’an in Latin Europe in the 13th Century”, supervised by Mr. John Tolan, a 488-page thesis. The committee was composed of Mr. Mehdi Azaiez, Mr. Paul Bertrand, Mr. Thomas Burman, Ms. Candida Ferrero Hernández, and Mr. John Tolan. Visits On December 2, we welcomed for lunch Mr. Yousef Elzalabany, he has just defended his Master’s thesis at the Aga Khan University (London). On December 27, we welcomed Mrs. Reham Salamah (Al-Azhar Observatory), Mr. Ibrahim Salamah (British University in Cairo), and Mrs. Mona Sabry (CEF, Al-Azhar) to discuss planning of various activities for the Anawati Chair. Scholars’ House During the month of December, we had the pleasure of welcoming to the Scholars’ House: Mr. Walid Saleh, Professor at the University of Toronto (Department of Religious Studies), member of IDEO and specialist in the Qurʾān and the history of its interpretation (tafsīr). Publications Jean Jacques Pérennès, Georges Anawati (1905-1994). Un cristiano arabo, traduzzione Francesco Antonini, Castelvecchi, Collana Teologia dalle periferie, 2025. Dennis Halft,  “Ḥabīb al-ḥaqq’s Miftāḥ al-ḥuqūq: A Persian Treatise on the Qurʾān and the Bible by a Catholic Missionary in the Persianate World”, in: Mission Studies 42, 2025, Issue 3: Special Issue: Indo-Persian Missions and Their Interreligious Challenge, pp. 426‒450. Dominique Avon et Othman El Kachtoul, « Une fatwā saoudienne portant sur la question de ’l’unité des religions’ ». Deux versions : 1997 et 2023, Studia Islamica, 120, 2025, p. 1-22.

Since October, IDEO, in partnership with the French Institute of Islamic studies (IFI), has inaugurated a seminar on methodology applied to Islamic studies, whose studies unfold within the fertile soil of the human sciences. Ten students participate: enrolled in Egypt in master’s or doctoral programs, they attempt the challenging art of interrogating—and sometimes testing—the texts of the Islamic heritage, much like probing an ancient soil in search of its layers and eruptions. Under the guidance of Brother Adrien Candiard, they are introduced to research not as a body of knowledge, but as the unveiling of a heuristic tension. To define a research problem is to discern a paradox, a point of friction between the known and the unknown, where thought is born. To formulate a hypothesis is to embark on an adventure whose outcome is still elusive, for science does not consist in rehashing what it already knows, but in living through what it has yet to discover. Through carefully supervised presentations, our students are invited to present articles on Islamic studies—not to summarize them or paraphrase their ideas, but to extract their essence and interrogate them critically. In these initial sessions, we see them at work, engaging their minds in the traversal of these texts. The journey is not always easy, but we trust in the curiosity and vitality of their youth. This training in no way seeks to replace one method with another; rather, it aims to create a space for methodological transversality that allows these students to discover how each discipline within the human sciences illuminates the Islamic heritage according to its own genius: history, by restoring to the texts their context of origin and reception; sociology, by revealing the social and cultural dynamics that run through them; philosophy, by questioning their conceptual assumptions and universal significance. Anawati Chair Mobility Grant Mrs. Reham Salama, Director of the Observatory, received a mobility grant to participate in activities related to the 60th anniversary of the Nostra Aetate Declaration in Rome, on October 22 and 23. Lectures and talks From September 29 to October 2, Jean Jacques Pérennès, participated in the conference organized by the Dominicans of Istanbul (DOSTI) on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. The topic of this gathering was “Reflecting on the Mystery of God from the Ruins of the Empire”. On October 13, Mr. Dominique Avon gave the inaugural lecture of the “Mediterranean, Religions, and Societies Chair”, organized in partnership with the French Institute Saint-Louis Center, with IDEO as a partner. On October 14, Jean Jacques Pérennès, OP spoke in Saint-Brieuc on the topic “Can Shared Holy Sites Serve as Bridges Between Believers?”. On October 30, Emmanuel Pisani, gave a lecture in Rome on the topic “At the Service of Research and Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue: The Dominican Institute for Oriental Studies (IDEO) in Cairo, Egypt,” as part of the study day entitled “Constellations of Educational Networks”, organized by the Dicastery for Culture and Education. Formation in Islamic studies On October 7, we launched the Certificate in Islamic studies Methodology, led by Adrien Candiard, OP and attended by ten young students (eight Egyptians and two Congolese). For the inaugural session, we welcomed Professor Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge from the Collège de France, who gave a lecture entitled “What Is ‘Religion’? Constructing an Operational Concept”. Call for Abstracts | Conference “Priests and Sufis” The Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, Department of Linguistic Sciences and Foreign Literatures, in collaboration with the Dominican Institute for Oriental Studies (IDEO), invites researchers to participate in the international conference “Priests and Sufis: Rethinking Catholic Knowledge on Islamic Mysticism” (Cairo, June 6–7, 2026). Researchers from all disciplines are invited to submit an abstract by December 15, 2025. For more information… Visits On October 2, we had the pleasure of welcoming Professor Ibrahim Salama, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the British University in Egypt and Director of the Center for Human Rights Research and Training, as well as Ms. Reham Salama, Director of the al-Azhar Observatory. On October 3, we received Ms. Misun Pak Fedzer, Acting Deputy Management Counselor, Senior Financial Management Officer, U.S. Embassy Cairo, her husband, Mr. Glenn Fedzer, a retired Foreign Service Officer, and Mr. Rustin Zarkar, Field Director, Library of Congress Cairo Overseas Office. Scholars’ House During the month of October, we had the pleasure of welcoming to the Scholars’ House: Sophie Pommier, a researcher specializing in the Arab world and the Near East; Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge, Professor at the Collège de France, historian specializing in ancient Greek religion; Andrew Sutherland, a researcher holding a Master’s degree in History and History of Religions from the University of Lausanne. He is currently specializing in the history of medieval Islam, particularly Twelver Shiʿism; Charlotte Courreye, historian and lecturer in Arabic Studies at the University Jean Moulin Lyon 3, member of the Institute for Transtextual and Transcultural Studies; Nicolas Michel, Professor of Contemporary History at Aix-Marseille University, Head of the History Department, and Corresponding Member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. Publications Dominique Avon, « Récits de “Vie de Muhammad”. Auteurs sunnites et orientalistes. Une histoire tressée (XIXᵉ-XXIᵉ siècles) », dans Mohammad-Ali Amir-Moezzi et John Tolan (dir.), Le Mahomet des historiens, Paris, Cerf, 2025, p. 1193-1266. Jean Jacques Pérennès, Georges Anawati (1905-1994). Un cristiano egiziano davanti al mistero dell’islam, traduction de Francesco Antonini, Milano, Castelvecchi, 2025. Upcoming activities Sībawayh Seminar The next session of the Sībawayh Seminar, organized by Jean Druel, OP, will take place on Friday, November 7 at 5:00 PM, both in person at IDEO and on Zoom. The speaker will be Dr. Muhammad Gomaa al-Dirbi, a lecturer at the University of Luxor. He will present his project on the bibliogram of Sībawayh’s Kitāb. More information can be found here (In Arabic)… Teaching In 2025–2026, Jean Druel, OP will begin teaching a course in liturgical Arabic for first-year students at Dar Comboni (two sessions of 30 hours each). Conference | The Divine One and Its Multiples On November 27–29, Emmanuel Pisani, OP and Adrien Candiard, OP will

“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, the light of wisdom that illuminates and elevates both mind and body. While our research has resulted in numerous publications, from the very founding of the Institute, we have also been attentive to requests for teaching. Father Jacques Jomier, for example, trained generations of seminarians in Islamic studies in Kinshasa, and today, many of us teach in various academic settings. September 22 marks, however, a turning point in the Institute’s history, since for the first time, IDEO is taking on the risk and responsibility of institutionally offering a full university program: a Master’s in Islamic Studies, in partnership with Domuni Universitas. This initiative is both faithful and innovative. Faithful, because it continues IDEO’s original mission: to engage with Islamic thought “from within,” as close as possible to its texts and to their own intellectual logic. Innovative, because it commits the Institute to a new, structured pedagogy aimed at a broad audience, beyond traditional academic circles. Today in French, tomorrow in English, and soon also in Arabic: the project already embraces the multilingualism inherent in the Islamic tradition itself. By launching this program, IDEO does not turn away from its research vocation: it extends it, shares it, and puts it into motion. As al-Ghazālī (d. 1111) taught in the Iḥyāʾ – an unparalleled spiritual summa – knowledge without living transmission is sterile. It is precisely to this living transmission that we wish to contribute. Anawati Chair IDEO – CEF Volunteering On September 1ˢᵗ, we welcomed Mr. Jean-Baptiste Saliot, who began a volunteer assignment for IDEO at the French Teaching Center of al-Azhar, directed by Mrs. Mona Sabry and dedicated to the French-language training of “preachers”. Lectures From September 8 to 11, Jean Druel, OP and Dennis Halft, OP participated in the 35ᵗʰ Deutscher Orientalistentag (DOT), held in Erlangen, Germany. On September 8, Jean Druel, OP moderated a panel on the history of classical Arabic grammar, during which he presented a paper entitled: “Ṣīda ʿalayhi yawmāni: Sībawayhi’s Analysis of the Grammatical Logic behind Non-Analogical Expressions in Classical Arabic Usage and its Reception in the Grammatical Tradition”. On September 9, Dennis Halft, OP gave a lecture entitled: “Die Isfahaner Karmelitenbibliothek als Spiegel des Kulturaustauschs zwischen Europa und Persien (17.–19. Jahrhundert)”. Program | Master’s in Islamic studies On September 22, registrations opened for the Master’s in Islamic studies of Domuni University, directed by Emmanuel Pisani, with personalized mentoring provided by Jean Druel. Scholarships are available and awarded based on students’ financial situation. This online program offers rigorous academic guidance along with close support for research. Three main topics will be covered during the e-seminars: “Spiritual Figures of Islam” “Islam and Modernity” “Authority in Islam” Teachings Since September 20, Mr. Aziz Hilal has been giving weekly courses on Arab-Islamic philosophy at the Coptic Catholic Seminary in Maadi, while Adrien Candiard, OP teaches Introduction to Islam there. On September 24, Jean Druel, OP resumed his introductory course in Biblical Greek (60 hours) at the Faculty of Religious Sciences of Sakakini. Emmanuel Pisani, OP is teaching two online courses at the Theologicum as part of the Certificate Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Secularism, including a course on The Foundations of Islam. Dominican Students This year, we are welcoming two Congolese brothers, Laurent Ontere and Steve Sinelide, who are enrolled in Arabic studies at Dar Comboni, in their second and first years, respectively. The Islamic studies courses will be offered at IDEO. Framework agreement On September 29, Emmanuel Pisani, OP signed in Rome a framework agreement and a specific agreement with Father Wassim Salman, President of Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI), in order to promote the formation in Islamic studies of Dominican students. Media On August 13, Emmanuel Pisani, OP gave an interview to al-Bawabh News (in Arabic) with journalist Mrs. Reem Mokhtar. Visits On September 9, we had the honor of welcoming Mr. Makram Abbes, Director of the Department of Contemporary Arabic Studies (DEAC) and of the University Institute for Teacher Training (IUFP), accompanied by Ms. Manal Guindi, Assistant Director of both institutions. On September 15, Emmanuel Pisani, OP visited al-Azhar to present to the Grand Imam issue 40 of MIDEO. He was received in a friendly and warm manner by the Grans Imam, who expressed his satisfaction with the cooperation activities carried out with IDEO. On the same day, we had the honor of welcoming a delegation of eight French senators on a mission as part of the preparation of a report on cooperation with Egypt in the fields of education and research. The French delegation was composed of: Mr. Laurent Lafon, President of the Committee; Ms. Catherine Morin-Desailly, Vice-President; Ms. Laure Darcos, Senator; Ms. Béatrice Gosselin, Senator; Mr. Jacques Grosperrin, Senator; Mr. Pierre-Antoine Levi, Senator; Ms. Marie-Pierre Monier, Senator; Mr. Mathieu Teoran, Administrator of the French Senate, Head of the Commission’s Office. Scholars’ House During the month of September, we had the pleasure of welcoming to the Scholars’ House Ms. Zsuzsanna Németh, researcher at the Avicenna Institute for Middle Eastern Studies in Piliscsaba, Hungary; Mr. Aurélien Lederer, PhD student at the Center for Studies and Research on the Ottoman World and the Maghreb (CERMOM), at the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO); Mr. Xavier Baki-Mignot, Doctor of Law and Lecturer at Jean-Moulin University Lyon 3. Publication Emmanuel Pisani, « Réinventer le dialogue : François au-delà d’Ecclesiam Suam ? », Chemin de dialogue 65, juin 2025. Upcoming Introductory Webinar for the Conference “Ethics and Aesthetics” The Pluriel network, in partnership with IDEO, is organizing a webinar on October 16, 2025, on the topic “Continuities, Transformations, and Reinventions in Muslim Societies” with Maria del Mar Griera Llonch (Spain), Emilio Gonzalez Ferrin (Spain), and Mohamed El Maâzouz (Morocco), as a prelude to the international congress “Ethics