Jean-Marc Balhan
Jesuit, master’s degree in biology, degree in Islamology. Parish priest in Ankara and president of the Union of Religious of Turkey; involved at various levels in inter-religious dialogue in Turkey.
After spending several years in Egypt and studying Arabic and Islamology, Fr. Jean-Marc Balhan, S.J., has been living in Ankara, Turkey, since 2001, where he works in the service of the Catholic Church and inter-religious dialogue.
A foreign Christian living in a Turkish and Muslim environment, he is attentive to what is happening there, and is concerned about mutual understanding despite the prejudices that inhabit both sides.
Source : Centres Sèvres
Resources of this researcher
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article
Islam and the question of honor: the Quranic point of view and Ghazali’s reflection
- Jean-Marc Balhan
Honor is a theme of reflection present in Islam, both in its sources and in its “legal”, moral, and spiritual reflection. The Quran operates a moral and religious revolution by making m...
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article
Living together with Muslims in Europe. Overcoming fear: a “spiritual exercise”
- Jean-Marc Balhan
Original title : “Vivre ensemble avec des Musulmans en Europe. Dépasser la peur : un « exercice spirituel” In many European countries, the recent arrival of Muslims who have not direct...
Resources related to
Muslim-Christian Dialogue
article
Kenneth Cragg and the Event of the Qur’an
- Timo Güzelmansur
Article by Timo Güzelmansur published under the title Kenneth Cragg und das Ereignis des Koran on the theological portal feinschwarz.net (12 June 2026, open access). Timo Güzelmansur presents the A...
article
Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas and the Pluriel working group on AI-assisted interreligious dialogue
- Wael Saleh
Text by Wael Saleh, researcher at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and member of the Pluriel coordination committee. The simultaneous appearance of Leo XIV's encyclical Magnifica Human...
publication
The Recognition of a Hummingbird. Essays on Interreligious Dialogue and Missionary Work (2007-2025)
- Rémi Caucanas
Published in May 2026 by PISAI (Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, Rome), this collection brings together the essays of Rémi Caucanas on interreligious dialogue and missionary wor...
videos
From Lavigerie to PISAI: The Institutional History of the Missionaries of Africa’s Engagement with Islam
Delivered on 21 May 2026 at the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI) in Rome, this lecture opens the series of conferences marking the institute's centenary (1926-2026). Fr. ...
videos
Interreligious Dialogue and Ethnic Nationalisms in the Balkans
At the invitation of PISAI (Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, Rome) and Georgetown University, Ahmet Alibašić, professor of Islamic civilization at the Faculty of Islamic Studies...
publication
For a Christian Theology of Religions
- Michel Younès
Faced with contemporary religious diversity, how can Christian theology make sense of the place that other religions occupy in God’s design? Michel Younès examines the three traditional ̶...
publication
Intercultural Theology
- Jean Patrick Nkolo Fanga
Because every theology is culturally situated, Christian theology is inevitably multicultural. Yet one step remains to be taken: to become intercultural. Crossing languages, contexts, origins, ages...
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Bells and Muezzin in Harmony: Dialogue with Islam as a Spiritual Responsibility
- Timo Güzelmansur
Article by Timo Güzelmansur published under the title Glocken und Muezzin im Einklang. Der Dialog mit dem Islam als geistliche Verantwortung in Herder Korrespondenz (special issue devoted to Pope L...