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 inspire our work. This masterful translation by our friend Aziz Hilal is also a bridge between cultures, traditions, and sometimes distant sensitivities. Making the life story of a Dominican religious figure engaged in Christian-Muslim dialogue accessible in Arabic is also a pedagogical challenge. How can we convey the vocabulary of a specific tradition, that of the “Catholic tribe”, to readers unfamiliar with it? How can we express in Arabic concepts such as “convent”, “vows”, or “Dominican province”, and how can we convey the uniqueness of a religious commitment in an academic setting in a way that is understandable to an Arabic-speaking Muslim audience? This translation work has been an opportunity for clarification and contextualization. It was not merely about transposing words but about making this “Dominican” universe intelligible—where the scholar, who is also a preacher, found himself immersed for several years in Rome in the whirlwind of a council. May this translation allow new Arabic-speaking readers to discover the richness of a life dedicated to encounter, dialogue, and knowledge!
Anawati Chair
- Sībawayh Seminar
On February 28, Professor Abderrahmane Boudraa, a specialist in Arabic linguistics at the University of Tétouan, delivered a lecture titled “Reflections on the method of reading Sībawayh’s Kitāb” as part of the “Sībawayh Seminar”, coordinated by Jean Druel, OP. Read the report of this session…
Talks and lectures
On February 10, Mr. Guillaume de Vaulx gave a bilingual lecture at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies on the topic “Facing untranslatability: in Praise of a Multilingual Thinking”
On February 13, Mr. Guillaume de Vaulx also participated—through the voice and free interpretation of Frédéric Abécassis—in the event “Animal Condition and Area Studies”, with a presentation entitled “Animalist Issues in Muslim Cosmography”.
Board of Directors of the Friends of IDEO
On February 13, Emmanuel Pisani, OP remotely participated in the board meeting of the Friends of IDEO association.
Networks
On February 11, Emmanuel Pisani, OP participated remotely in a meeting of the Scientific Committee of the NCCRM network.
On February 19, he also participated remotely in a meeting of the Scientific Committee of the PLURIEL network.
Intern
Starting February 12, we are welcoming Mr. Hildemar de Cointet for a seven-week internship at the library. His work will focus on authority cataloging and the indexing of old books (published before the 19ᵗʰ century). This internship marks the final stage of his academic program as an archivist paleographer at the École des Chartes.
Visits
From January 31 to February 4, we welcomed Mr. Bertrand Wallon, Secretary General of the Friends of IDEO association, as well as Mr. Martin de Bartillat and Mr. Guillaume Gorge, board members.
On February 4, we received a visit from Shaykh Ibrahim Ibn Rashid al-Marikhi, President of the Islamic court of Bahrain.
On February 5, we welcomed Mrs. Mona Sabry, Director of the French Language Teaching Center of al-Azhar.
On the same day, we also welcomed Mr. Sadek Beloucif, professor and director of the Advisory Board of the French Foundation « l’Islam de France ».
On February 6, we welcomed Mr. Islam Dayeh, a researcher and lecturer in Arabic and Islamic studies at the Department of Languages and Cultures of Ghent University.
On February 6, we also received a delegation of major donors from French association Œuvre d’Orient, including:
- Mr. Philippe Meunier, Vice President of the Rhône-Alpes Region,
- Mr. Bruno Chiaverini, Director of International Relations,
- Ms. Christiane Grosjean Cervantes, Mission Officer.
- Mr. Fabrice Balanche, Lecturer in Geography at Lyon II
On February 16, we welcomed Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline and Patriarch Ibrahim Ishaq, Head of the Coptic Catholic Church.
Scholars’ House
During the month of February, we had the pleasure to receive at the Scholars’ House:
- Mr. Flavio Canuzzi, beneficiary of the MEAE scholarship in Islamic Studies;
- Ms. Chloé Bordewich, PhD in History and Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University.
Publications
- Dominique Avon, « Auteurs sunnites syro-libanais face à la problématique de la modernité européenne », Annuaire de l’École Pratique des Hautes Études, 2024, t. 131 (2022-2023), p. 637-654.
- Jean-Jacques Pérennès, al-Ab Ǧurǧ Qanawātī. Ḥayāt min aǧl ḥiwār al-diyānāt wa al-ṯaqāfāt, al-Qāhira, Dār al-Akwīnī, 2025, 195 p.
Upcoming activities
From March 17 to 21, Matthieu Palayret, OP will participate in the Spring School “Comparative Analysis of Religious Metaphor”, at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, organized by Dr. Nikita Artemov and Dr. Vicky Ziegler. Learn more…