Adrien Candiard, OP, director of MIDEO, kept to his goal of publishing MIDEO 2026 in 2026, and we thank him warmly for it, especially as the result is a very fine volume. Together with Sumi Shimahara, he edited the special section “The Literal Meaning between Christian Worlds and Muslim Worlds”, which examines how medieval Christian and Muslim traditions understood and interpreted the literal meaning of the Scriptures. Arising from three study days held in Cairo, the volume brings biblical and Qurʾānic exegesis into dialogue with theology, law, and philosophy.
The contributions show that the literal meaning cannot be regarded as a single, immediate, and unchanging meaning. It takes many forms, is constructed through interpretive processes, and is rooted in specific historical contexts. By moving beyond simple comparative approaches, the section highlights the richness and creativity of medieval hermeneutic practices, while also bringing out the intellectual and theological questions involved in interpreting sacred texts.
It is a very fine volume, and its editorial quality also owes a great deal to the work of the IFAO Press and to the exceptional operational follow-up of Florence Albert.
Anawati Chair
- Mobility
As part of its commitment to academic mobility and intercultural and interreligious dialogue, the Anawati Chair has supported the mobility of Mr. Girgis Mounir, enabling him to pursue the Diploma in Ecumenical Studies at the Institute of Ecumenical Studies of the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), in Rome, Italy. He will undertake this program during the 2026–2027 academic year.
- Visit by the European Union
On September 17, IDEO welcomed representatives of the European Union, including Mr. Sébastien Lorion, Mr. Karim Kettani, Ms. Ilaria Betti, and Ms. Maha Abu el-Naga.
Lectures and talks
On September 1, 2 and 3, Jean Druel, OP took part in the Fifth Arab Forum on Manuscript Heritage Management, organized by ICESCO in Cairo. He gave a lecture on the use of artificial intelligence in migrating bibliographic databases from UNIMARC to LRM/RDA.
On September 7, Jean Druel, OP spoke at the workshop on manuscript cataloguing in the LRM/RDA model, organized by the Institute of Arabic Manuscripts in Cairo.
On September 16, Mr. Guillaume de Vaulx gave a lecture at the College of Islamic Studies of Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Doha, entitled “Cosmic and Animal Piety in Islam”.
On September 22, Jean Jacques Pérennès, OP gave a lecture in Lund (Sweden) on the topic of “Blessed Pierre Claverie: Witness to Fraternity for our Time”.
On September 27 and 28, Jean Druel, OP took part in the workshop “Unlocking Arabic Manuscripts: The Potential of Digital Humanities for Egypt’s Collections”, organized in Cairo by the Freie Universität Berlin and the Institute of Arab Research and Studies (IARS). He gave a lecture on manuscript cataloguing according to the LRM/RDA model, entitled “Digital Infrastructure for Discovery: The Role of Technology in Modern Manuscript Cataloguing”.
On September 30, Jean Druel, OP gave an online lecture at the Juma al-Majid Center in Dubai on manuscript cataloguing according to the LRM/RDA model.
Conference
On September 16, 17 and 18, Jean Druel, OP took part in the eighth edition of the Foundations of Arab Linguistics conference, held at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. He gave a paper entitled “Authorities quoted in the recensions of Sībawayh’s Kitāb: Different sets of glosses signed Abū ʿUbayda”.
Teaching
Jean Druel, OP has resumed his teaching of Biblical Greek at the Coptic Catholic Seminary in Maadi and at the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Sakakini (two courses of 36 hours each), and of liturgy in Arabic at Dar Comboni (36 hours).
Emmanuel Pisani, OP is teaching two online courses at the Theologicum this semester: “The Foundations of Islam” and “The Keys to Christianity”.
Islamic studies
At the beginning of September, Laurent Ontere, OP went to Rome to continue his second year of the canonical licentiate in Islamic studies at the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI).
Meetings
On September 4, Emmanuel Pisani, OP met His Eminence Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, in Vatican City.
On September 4, Emmanuel Pisani, OP met Dr. Wassim Salman, President of PISAI, in Rome.
On September 12, Emmanuel Pisani, OP met Dr. Marie Monnet, Rector of Domuni University, in Paris in order to finalize phase 2 of our training programs in Islamic studies, which consists of launching the Master’s in Islamic Studies in English.
Visit
On September 29, we had the pleasure of welcoming Mr. Matthieu Combe, the new Cultural Counselor at the Embassy of France and Director of the French Institute in Egypt.
Scholars’ House
During September, we were delighted to welcome to the Scholars’ House:
Mr. Simon Mozziconacci (Paris); Ms. Beni Peterkova (University of Prague); Mr. Peter E. Pormann, Professor of Classics and Greco-Arabic Studies at the University of Manchester; and Mr. Ricardo Parodi, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Global Fellow at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan and at New York University Abu Dhabi.
Publications
Guillaume de Vaulx, « Lā yuḥṣā : on ne vient jamais au bout des choses. L’émerveillement chez Zakariyyā al-Qazwīnī et sa validité philosophique », Midéo 41, 2026, p. 243-266.
Adrien Candiard, « In Memoriam. Père Claude Gilliot o.p. (6 janvier 1940-15 mars 2025) », Midéo 41, 2026, p. 267-272.
Emmanuel Pisani, « La dignité au fondement du dialogue interreligieux. Considérations philosophiques et théologiques », Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies 18, 2023.
Recensions
Jean Druel, Julien Sibileau, Une entreprise de légitimation de la grammaire arabe : Les Ḫaṣāʾiṣ d’Ibn Ǧinnī, Midéo 41, 2026, p. 176-181.
Aziz Hilal, Catherine Mayeur-Jaouen, Le culte des saints musulmans. Des débuts de l’islam à nos jours, Midéo 41, 2026, p. 300-311.
عزيز هلال، رمزي منير بعلبكي، مقوّمات النظرية اللغوية العربيّة. دراسة في المقاربات المنهجية نحوًا ودلالةً، مجلّة المعهد الدومنيكيّ، عدد ٤١.