The Anawati Chair has opened three postdoctoral fellowships in partnership with the Institute of Arabic Manuscripts. This month, our three researchers presented, as part of the IDEO seminars, the progress, challenges, and prospects of their research towards establishing three critical editions of Islamic heritage. Dʳ. Mariam Shehata has begun an inquiry into The Commentary on al-Ḫuṭba al-Ġarrāʾ of Ibn Sīnā, by Šaraf al-Dīn al-Masʿūdī (6ᵗʰ/12ᵗʰ century). Dʳ. Ahmed Atiyya, meanwhile, is preparing an edition of the book Maḥāsin al-Ġurar fī Manāqib al-Bašar of Abū al-Suʿūd, by Muḥammad Ibn Ǧānī Bek al-Sayfī, an author from the 10ᵗʰ century of the Hijri, who does more than simply compile the sayings of earlier scholars on ethics but offers original teachings. Dʳ. Atiyya emphasized the uniqueness of this work’s reflections on the origins of ethics, its social consequences, the distinctiveness of each virtue through a precise definition of its characteristics and stakes, and an expansion into questions like politics… As for Dʳ. Abdulrahman Bin Khunayfir, he is preparing the study and critical edition of the manuscript Siyāsat al-Nufūs by Sinān Ibn Ṯābit ibn Qurra (d. 331/943), the only preserved work by this author. Intellectually, this epistle was written after the first generation of translators and authors in the field of moral philosophy (al-Kindī, al-Sarḫasī, Ibn Qurra, Ibn Abī Nūḥ, and al-Rāzī). It therefore, precedes the establishment of writing traditions in this field, that is, before the dissemination of al-Fārābī’s treatises, the Iḫwān al-Ṣafāʾ, and before the emergence of Ibn Sīnā, Miskawayh, and al-ʿĀmirī. In this initial presentation, our researchers have already conducted meticulous investigations, sometimes akin to detective work, to find manuscripts that will enrich their studies, enabling them to better delineate the context of writing, authenticate attribution, and understand the contributions of these works to the humanist heritage of Islam.

Anawati Chair

1. Observatory on the fight against extremism

On October 2ⁿᵈ, eight researchers from the French section of the Observatory participated in a seminar given by Dʳ. Ali Mostfa (UCLy) at IDEO on the topic of “Words Surrounding Islam in Debate: Semantic Issues and Discursive Derivations.”

2. Editions of Islamic Heritage Texts

On October 14ᵗʰ, the IDEO seminar welcomed Dʳ. Ahmed Abdel Basit from the Institute of Arabic Manuscripts (IMA), together with the three postdoctoral researchers at IDEO who are working on the edition of texts from Islamic humanist heritage. Their work contributes to the enhancement of knowledge regarding ethical approaches to medieval Islamic heritage.

• Dʳ. Mariam Shehata is preparing the edition of The Commentary on al-Ḫuṭba al-Ġarrāʾ of Ibn Sīnā, by Šaraf al-Dīn al-Masʿūdī (6ᵗʰ/12ᵗʰ century). 
• Dʳ. Ahmed Atiyya is preparing the edition of the book Maḥāsin al-Ġurar fī Manāqib al-Bašar of Abū al-Suʿūd, by Muḥammad Ibn Ǧānī Bek al-Sayfī (10ᵗʰ/16ᵗʰ century).
• Dʳ. Abdulrahman Bin Khunayfir is preparing the study and critical edition of the manuscript Siyāsat al-Nufūs by Sinān Ibn Ṯābit ibn Qurra (d. 331/943).

3. Conference “The Authority of Silence” – Call for papers

As part of the conference “The Authority of Silence: Constructing the Figure of the Salafs (7ᵗʰ-15ᵗʰ Centuries)” to be held on May 2ⁿᵈ and 3ʳᵈ, 2025, in Cairo, we invite researchers wishing to participate to submit an abstract of their proposal before the deadline of January 15ᵗʰ, 2025. For more information, please visit our website…

Lectures and talks

On October 14ᵗʰ, Jean Jacques Pérennès, OP gave a lecture in Tourcoing entitled “Israel-Palestine, One Year After October 7ᵗʰ: Situation and Perspectives”.

On October 25ᵗʰ, Jean Jacques Pérennès, OP led a training session for volunteers of the Catholic Delegation for Cooperation (DCC) in preparation for their departure to Egypt and the Maghreb”.

Visits

On October 7ᵗʰ and 8ᵗʰ, we welcomed Ms. Marie Monnet, Rector of Domuni Online University, Ameer Jajé, OP, Director for the Arab World, and Michel Van Aerde, OP. The purpose of this visit was to work on finalizing a Certificate 2 and implementing a Master’s degree in Islamic studies. They were accompanied by Ms. Laure Chocun, Assistant to Ms. Marie Monnet; Ms. Cécile Boucherle, General Secretary of Domuni; and Ms. Justine Pinto, Head of Educational Programs.

Scholars’ House

During the month of October, we had the pleasure of welcoming to the Scholars’ House:

• Mr. Onsi Kamel, PhD student in philosophy and religion at Princeton University;
• Mr. Zoltán Páll, anthropologist specializing in transnational Islamic movements at the Avicenna Institute for Middle Eastern Studies and the Institute of Social Anthropology at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna;
• Mrs. Rocio Daga, professor in religious studies at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich;
• Mr. Alexandre Coleman, volunteer student at the IDEO library until March 2025;
• Mrs. Rachida Chih, researcher specializing in Sufism, particularly in the context of Ottoman Egypt, at the Center for Turkish, Ottoman, Balkan, and Central Asian Studies (CETOBaC) at EHESS;
• Mr. 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

• Alberto Ambrosio, « Un goût de la danse soufie », Christus 284, octobre 2024, p. 36-42.
• Dominique Avon, « L’espace public sous la plume de penseurs catholiques et sunnites en milieu méditerranéen au XXᵉ siècle », Questions constitutionnelles.
• Dominique Avon, « Islam et pensée critique en contexte arabe au XXᵉ siècle. Explorations et sanctions », Recherches de science religieuse 4/112, 2024, p. 553-573.
• Emmanuel Pisani, « Enjeux théologiques du dialogue 60 ans après Nostra Aetate », Documents épiscopat 10, 2024, p. 31-42.
• Emmanuel Pisani, « Karim Arezki (dir.), Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, Paul Neuenkirchen, Les origines du Coran et de l’islam, St-Légier, HET-PRO, 2022 », Études théologiques et religieuses 3/99, 2024, p. 564-565.