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 God’s friends or simple transmitters, the salafs emerge, in the presentations by Jawad Qureshi, Ahmad Khan, Mohammad Mushtak, Christopher Melchert, Abdullah Ridvan Gökbel, Shahanaz Begum, and Rana Mikati, as figures whose silence is alternately interpreted, mobilized, or strategically reconstructed. The conference highlighted the complexity of an authority based as much on what is said as on what is left unsaid. The silence of the salafs contributes to a hermeneutics that goes beyond simple transmission, reaching toward an implicit normativity that shapes a distinct Sunnism, yet one marked by internal tensions. From Rodrigo Adem’s critique of a “bad Salafism” in Ibn Taymiyya, to Adrien Candiard’s analysis of the salafs as a distinct school in al-Shahrastānī’s doxography, the very conditions of normative production were explored. The authority of the salafs appeared far from univocal, marked by hierarchies, peripheral dynamics, and differentiated uses—whether legal, political, or theological contexts. The conference allowed for a deeper understanding of how authority was constructed within the ambiguity of silence, between idealization, critique, and appropriation.
Anawati Chair
- Seminar at the al-Azhar French Teaching Center (CEF)
On April 15, 90 students from the Faculty of Humanities at al-Azhar University attended the seminar “Islam and Human Rights”, led by Professor Chérif Ferjani, Tunisian scholar of Islam and politics, Professor Emeritus at Université Lumière-Lyon II, and member of the steering committee of the higher Institute for the study of religion and secularism in France. This seminar, organized in collaboration with our partner the al-Azhar French Teaching Center, provided an opportunity to deepen understanding of the history and foundations of human rights and their Islamic appropriation.
- Creation of an Audiobook Library at al-Azhar University
In partnership with the al-Azhar French Teaching Center, IDEO acquired and donated 33 audiobooks to the al-Azhar University Library. This audiobook library aims to promote equal opportunity by improving access to educational resources in European languages for visually impaired students.
- Access to Scientific Works in Arabic
As part of its partnership with the Hindawi Foundation, the Anawati Chair is making 19 scientific works available in audio format, representing a total of 807,074 words, currently accessible online on the Hindawi Foundation website.
This initiative aims to expand access to scientific literature in Arabic, with the goal of reaching 7,000,000 recorded words, particularly for the benefit of visually impaired or audiences with reading difficulties.
Lectures and Conferences
On April 6, Jean Jacques Pérennès, O.P. gave a lecture in Valence entitled “Christians in a Middle East in Crisis: Situation and Perspectives”.
On April 11, Jean Jacques Pérennès, O.P. gave a lecture in Lyon for the Friends of IDEO association on the theme “A Shared Holy Place: The Islamic-Christian Pilgrimage of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus in Vieux-Marché”.
On April 22, Mr. Guillaume de Vaulx spoke at the seminar “Spiritualities and Nature”, organized by Georgetown University – Doha, with a lecture entitled “Muslim Animals in the Epistles of the Brethren of Purity”.
On April 23, Mr. Guillaume de Vaulx participated in the panel “Nature and Religious Values” at the Earthna Summit with a talk entitled “From the Current Ecological Mobilization of Religion to the Classical Religious Mobilization of the Environment”.
Teaching
From April 22 to 25, Emmanuel Pisani, O.P. taught a 24-hour course entitled “Introduction to the Major Religious Traditions” at the IERP of the Catholic Institute of Toulouse.
PhD Defense Committee
On April 28, Emmanuel Pisani, O.P. participated in the thesis defense committee of Florence Javel at the Faculty of Theology at the Catholic University of Lyon. The thesis was entitled “Maurice Borrmans and the Crisis of Islamic-Christian Dialogue: Is Islamic Studies at Stake?”, directed by Prof. Michel Younès (UCLy, Lyon). Committee members included Mr. Dominique Avon (EPHE, Paris), Guy Sarkis (Saint-Joseph University, Beirut), and Mr. Rémi Caucanas (Saint-Paul University, Ottawa).
Study Day on Ali Abd al-Raziq
On April 11, a study day dedicated to Ali Abd al-Raziq was held with the support of the IFI and IISMM. Speakers included:
- Mohammad Afifi, Head of the History Department at Cairo University’s Faculty of Arts, who presented “History and Legend: Political Islam and the Caliphate”;
- Abdelilah Belkeziz(Hassan II University, Casablanca) who discussed “The Stakes of an Ijtihad Attempt: Religion and Politics in the Thesis of Ali Abd al-Raziq”;
- Aziz Hilal, philosophy teacher and member of IDEO, who reflected on “Islam and the Foundations of Power: Between Condemnation and Legitimation”;
- Issam al-Zuheiri, who addressed the theme of renewing political thought.
The day was chaired and moderated by Mr. Abd al-Jawad Yassin.
Visits
On April 25, we welcomed a group of teachers and students from the Institut Chrétiens d’Orient. Accompanied by its director Antoine Fleyfel, they attended a lecture at IDEO by Mr. Ishak Ibrahim from the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. Jean Druel, OP accompanied the group to a Sufi prayer session of the Qādiriyya brotherhood.
Scholars’ House
During the month of April, we were pleased to host at the Scholars’ House:
- Gheorghe Pașcalău, researcher specialized in the Muslim reception of Greek philosophy, recipient of the IDEO-Ifao-IFI postdoctoral fellowship
- Edward Shawe-Taylor, PhD student (DPhil) in Islamic art and architecture, specialized in Fatimid-era calligraphy and Islamic medieval art and culture, studying at the University of Oxford’s Khalili Research Center.
Review
Emmanuel Pisani, « Houari Touati, L’arrivée de l’homme en Islam et sa disparition : d’Athènes à Bagdad, Paris, Vrin, 2024 », Chrétiens de la Méditerranée, published online March 15, 2025.
Publication
Emmanuel Pisani, “Les mots autour de l’islam en débat”, Un pas en avant 11, February 2025, p. 19-21.