There were no summer holidays for IDEO. The summer was hot and warm. It began for us in the first week of July, with the conference organized by the NCCMR on interreligious dialogue. We had expected it to take place in Amman. It was held in Cairo instead, as Trump’s war in the Middle East had decided. Three years spent building this conference, patiently weaving a network that we could only see in the architecture of the website, and then finally the faces, the handshakes, the participants gathered together in the same room, under Antarctic air conditioning—and the map began to breathe. Then came the Institute’s summer rituals. The monthly introductory course in Arabic and Islamic studies welcomed seven Dominican friars, selected from thirteen applications: seven new faces, seven different ways of pronouncing words, learning, and blushing at the board in front of the teacher. Then came the Summer School in Islamic studies, organized in partnership with the IFI, focusing on the dialogue between Islamic studies and the traditional sciences of al-Azhar. A dense schedule for everyone, with classes, lectures, visits, seminars, and presentations, in which we made sure to multiply opportunities for encounters with our young Egyptian friends from al-Azhar, who had been trained the previous year in the methodology of the human sciences.

The European students who came for the summer school perhaps unknowingly made the journey in the opposite direction to that of Tahtawi and his students, who travelled to the West to bring back books and machines. Our students drank from the Nile; they saw the lights of Cairo, sometimes shadowy, sometimes harsh. Everyone understood that such a world cannot be contained within any label, that it always overflows a little—or even a lot—just as the river overflows its banks. And that is all for the better.

Anawati Chair

— Summer School in Islamic studies

From July 13 to 26, the Summer School “Islamic Sciences in Dialogue: Azhari Tradition and Critical Islamic Studies”, supported by the IFI, the Anawati Chair (IDEO), the IISMM, and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in Egypt, brought together twelve master’s and doctoral students for two weeks of exchange and sharing. We were delighted to welcome:

• Mr. Mina Abdelmeseh Said Hana, master’s student in Catholic theology at the University of Strasbourg.
• Mr. Akoule Aissah, student in interreligious studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome.
• Mr. Mehmet Balsever, PhD student in Islamic Studies at the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (Inalco), Paris.
• Ms. Hanadi Bekai, PhD student in Arabic language and literature at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and the École Normale Supérieure (ENS), Lyon.
• Ms. Safia Boudaoui, PhD student in Islamic Studies at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, and the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium.
• Mr. Yoannis Dirakis, student in the Master 2 Research program in Islamic Studies and History of the Muslim World at the University of Strasbourg and Sciences Po Toulouse.
• Ms. Nada al-Bantli, PhD student in the hermeneutics of Islamic philosophy and Sufism at Mohammed First University, Oujda, Morocco.
• Mr. Michael Jeanmonod, master’s student (Master 2) in Islamic Studies at Aix-Marseille University.
• Ms. Inès Liou, research trainee in Islamic Studies at the Jacques Berque Center, Rabat, Morocco.
• Mr. Laurent Ontere, student in the Master 2 program in Arabic Studies and Islamic Studies [Dar Comboni, Cairo – Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI, Rome)], Kinshasa.
• Ms. Manuela Ruggieri, PhD student in Islamic Studies at the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI), Rome.
• Mr. Stéphane Vincent, PhD candidate in the history of Islamic societies at the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (Inalco), Paris.

As part of the summer school, several speakers gave lectures:

• On July 14, Mr. Hišām al-Azharī gave a lecture on Uṣūl al-fiqh;
• On July 16, Dr. Mohamed Fadel gave a lecture on Sufism;
• On July 17 and 18, Dr. Mohamed Reda gave a lecture on ʿulūm al-dīn;
• On July 20, Mr. Teymour Morel led a day devoted to codicology – Digital Islam;
• On July 21, Professor Ziad Bu Akl gave a lecture on Kalām;
• On July 23, Professor Aziz Hilal gave a lecture on falsafa.

On July 20, the summer school students were received at the French Embassy by His Excellency Mr. Éric Chevallier, Ambassador of France.

— al-Azhar CEF Audio Library

We have just launched a French-language audio library for visually impaired Egyptian students and teachers at al-Azhar, as well as their elders. The audio library currently includes about thirty works read by artists. By the end of the Chair, it will contain about a hundred books. Among the titles currently available is a reading of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. In the coming weeks, the following are expected to be added: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Martinez-Gros, Ibn Khaldûn – Explorateur des Civilisations, Architecte du Savoir; Henri Corbin, La philosophie islamique; Bergson, Les deux sources de la morale et de la religion; Saint-Exupéry, Vol de nuit; Khalil Gibran, The Prophet; Victor Hugo, The Last Day of a Condemned Man; Rachid Benzine, L’homme qui lisait des livres; Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran; Boualem Sansal, La légende; Youssef Seddik, L’histoire du soufisme; Ahmed Djebbar, Les savants de l’islam.

Talks and lectures

From July 8 to 11, Ms. Anne-Sylvie Boisliveau took part in the annual conference of the International Qurʾānic Studies Association (IQSA), held in Vienna, Austria. During the conference, she presented a paper on the vocabulary of the sūrahs considered as the “earliest Meccan sūrahs”.

On July 17, Mr. Mohamed Fadel gave a lecture in French at the IDEO entitled “The Qurʾān Commentary of the Moroccan Sufi Aḥmad Ibn ʿAjība (d. 1809)”, on the occasion of the publication of his book by Vrin, Études musulmanes, 2026.

On July 27, Jean Druel, OP, was a guest at the 8ᵗʰ Salah al-Gamali Days for Critical Editing, held at Bayt al-Sinnari in Cairo. He presented his edition of Sībawayh’s Kitāb.

On August 6, Jean Jacques Pérennès, OP, gave a talk in Trévou-Tréguignec entitled “Israel-Palestine: When the Bible Is Used as a Political Tool”.

On August 19, in Tréguier, he gave a lecture on the topic “The Fruitfulness of the Life Given by the 19 Blessed Martyrs of Algeria”.

Study Trip

In July, Jean Jacques Pérennès, OP and Adrien Candiard, OP, accompanied a group of Dominican student friars to Algeria, as part of a discovery and formation trip.

Introductory Course in Arabic Language and Islamic Studies

This year, seven Dominican friars took part in the introductory course in the Arabic language and Islamic studies, from July 13 to August 7. We were delighted to welcome:

• Tite Nsabimana, OP, from Burundi
• Julien Mbepaye, OP, from the Central African Republic
• Yusuph Waryuba, OP, from Tanzania
• Brian Witila, OP, from Kenya
• Stanislas Hollo, OP, from Côte d’Ivoire
• Déo-Gratias Zinsou, OP, from Benin
• Piotr Skibiński, OP, from Poland

Framework Agreement

IDEO is pleased to announce the signing of a framework agreement with the Institut für Arabistik und Islamwissenschaft and the Avicenna-Forschungsstelle at Ruhr-Universität Bochum, aimed at facilitating collaboration and the exchange of students, teachers, and researchers.

NCCMR conference

Emmanuel Pisani, OP, took part in the symposium of the Network of Centers for Christian-Muslim Relations (NCCMR), held in Cairo from July 6 to 7. He gave a talk entitled “The Future of Christian-Muslim Dialogue in Africa”.

Scientific Committee

Emmanuel Pisani, OP, took part in the NCCMR scientific committee meeting, held in Alexandria from July 8 to 10.

Call for Papers | Conference “The Composition of the Qurʾān”

IDEO and the Orient-Institut Beirut are organizing a conference on March 19‒20, 2027, in Cairo, dedicated to the composition of the Qurʾān, its structure, style, and meaning. Researchers are invited to submit contributions exploring the literary, rhetorical, philological, historical, and exegetical dimensions of the Qurʾānic text, among others. Proposals should be sent before September 30, 2026. Read the call for papers…

Call for applications

As part of the Chaire Méditerranée, religions et sociétés, of which IDEO is a partner, the Institut français – Centre Saint-Louis is launching a call for applications for the 2026–2027 academic year, open to doctoral students to take part in five sessions over the course of the year, three held remotely and two in person, in Rome and Cairo. The application deadline is 20 September 2026. View the call for applications (in French) …

Visits

On July 16, we welcomed:

• Mr. Mohammed Mehanna, professor of international law at al-Azhar University, former advisor for international cooperation to the Grand Imam.
• Mr. Abdel Hamid Madkur, professor at the Dar al-Ulum Faculty of Cairo University, Secretary General of the Cairo Academy of the Arabic Language.
• Judge Khaled al-Adriss, Vice-President of the Egyptian Council of State.

On July 17, we welcomed Professor William Sweet, member of the International Institute of Philosophy, Paris.

On August 5, we welcomed M. Jérôme Payen, Director General of the French Institute of Islamic Civilization.

IDEO Intern

From June 20 to August 20, we welcomed Mr. Alexandre Guenault, a student at the École des Hautes Études d’Ingénieur (HEI). He completed his International Break at IDEO, where he handled the logistical coordination of many of the Institute’s activities.

Scholars’ House

During July and August, we were pleased to welcome to the Scholars’ House:

• Mr. Adnane Mokrani, Professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome;
• Mr. Teymour Morel, Researcher in the Department of Mediterranean, Slavic, and Oriental Languages and Literatures, University of Geneva;
• Mr. David Miloš, Researcher at Charles University, Prague;
• Mr. Alexander Van Dijk, historian of science and Researcher at Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge;
• Ms. Katia Urgolo, lecturer and researcher in Islamic studies, specializing in the study of Sufism.

Publications

• Guillaume de Vaulx, Walid Ghali, Asmaa El Maaroufi and Nicolas Payen (dir.), Cosmic and Animal Piety in Islam: Everything Glorifies God, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2026, 360 pages.
• Dominique Avon, « Les conditions de justification de la violence selon les oulémas », Bulletin du Parquet général sur le terrorisme 18, Juillet 2026, p. 2-14.