Paolo Branca
Paolo Branca is professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the Catholic University of Milan. Specialized in the problems of the modern Islam-world relationship, he has published: Voices of modern Islam: Arab-Muslim thinking between renewal and tradition (Marietti, Genoa 1991), Introduction to Islam (San Paolo, Milan 1995), Muslims (Il Mulino, Bologna 2000), Il Corano (Il Mulino, Bologna 2001), Yalla Italia! The real challenges of integrating Arabs and Muslims into our country (Edizioni Lavoro, Rome 2007) and, with Barbara de Poli and Patrizia Zanella, The smile of the crescent (Carocci, Rome 2011). He translated the novel of the Egyptian Nobel Prize winner Nagib Mahfuz, Vicolo del Mortaio (Feltrinelli, Milan 1989).
Author of numerous articles on Islam, interfaith dialogue, cultural integration and other subjects, he is associated with or participated in university seminars in various institutions, including the Pontificia Universitas Urbaniana; the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris; the Accademia della Guardia di Finanza in Bergamo; the universities of Lausanne, Pisa, Florence and Turin; and Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
He is a member of the scientific committee of Oasis, of SeSaMo (Middle East Studies Society) of which he was a founding member and president; and the Committee for Italian Islam, created by the Ministry of the Interior.
Resources of this researcher
-
article
The term “dahr” (fate) in the Arabic language and its literature
- Paolo Branca
It is obviously not possible to examine the entire Arab literary production: we will therefore start from the many examples of pre-Islamic verses to dwell then over the centuries on the repropositi...
-
publication
Religious Traditions in the Face of the Crisis of the Liberal System: The Case of Islam
- Paolo Branca
- Antonio Cuciniello
Proceedings of the conference organised by the Cathoilic University of Milan on October 9th, 2019. Abstract : Religions have regained a considerable role in the public space, to an extent that was...
-
publication
For a human fraternity – Christians and Muslims united in diversity
- Antonio Cuciniello
- Paolo Branca
Beginning with the Document on Human Brotherhood, signed in Abu Dhabi by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmad Al-Tayyib on 5 February 2019, the volume re-reads this document in the lig...
-
article
Disease, death and cure. Muslims and the health emergency
- Antonio Cuciniello
- Paolo Branca
Original title : Malattia, morte e cura. I musulmani e l’emergenza sanitaria The health emergency caused by Covid-19 has also had a strong impact on believers and religious communities of all relig...
-
publication
Pope Francis and Christian-Islamic Dialogue
- Paolo Branca
It is ridiculous if not absurd to think of God as someone whose intention is to “defeat”. His omnipotence stops before our freedom, called to be if not “convinced”, at least...
-
article
Arab and islamic humour
- Paolo Branca
First lines of the introduction “The stereotype of the grim-faced Arab brandishing a scimitar is part of our collective imagination and is the result of centuries of struggle between the two ...
-
publication
Voices of a modern Islam. Arab-Muslim thought between renewal and tradition
- Paolo Branca
Original title : “Voci dell’Islam moderno. Il pensiero arabo-musulmano fra rinnovamento e tradizione” Review by Filoramo, G., in L’Indice 1993, n. 3 Since Weber, much has be...
-
publication
Yalla Italy! The real challenges of integrating Arabs and Muslims in our country
- Paolo Branca
Publisher’s Introduction Increasingly large communities of Arabs and Muslims are changing the face of many Italian cities. This phenomenon, combined with the legitimate concerns raised by ter...
Resources related to
Islam in Europe
article
Two Seas, One Course: The 2026 Jesuit Migrant Service Report on Spain’s Southern Border
- Josep Buades
The annual report of the Jesuit Migrant Service (SJM), the social apostolate body of the Society of Jesus in Spain, written by Josep (Pep) Buades Fuster, examines the migratory dynamics of Spain’s ...
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...
article
“The Reception of Rūmī’s Work in France: Cultural Mediations, Symbolic Transfers and the Recomposition of Belief”, by Khalid El Khadiri
- Khalid El Khadiri
In the journal La Clé des Langues (ENS de Lyon, March 2026), Khalid El Khadiri, a PhD candidate in the history and sociology of religions at the École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), examines th...
videos
Political and religious anarchism in the musical forms of rebel Islam: from rap to taqwacore
Paper presented at the fifth international congress of the University Platform for Research on Islam (Pluriel), held in Cordoba from 10 to 14 February 2026 on the theme "Ethics and Aesthetics in Is...
videos
From regulating religious sound to transforming it into light: public, legal and architectural debates on the adhān
Paper presented at the fifth international congress of the University Platform for Research on Islam (Pluriel), held in Cordoba from 10 to 14 February 2026 on the theme "Ethics and Aesthetics in Is...
article
The Immigrant-Origin Population in Spain (2025)
- Josep Buades
Report of the Jesuit Migrant Service (SJM), prepared by Josep (Pep) Buades Fuster, offering a statistical portrait of the immigrant-origin population in Spain. It provides a framework for understan...
article
The Immigrant-Origin Population in the Canary Islands (2025)
- Josep Buades
Report of the ECCA Social Foundation, prepared by Josep (Pep) Buades Fuster, on the immigrant-origin population in the Canary Islands, the main gateway of the Atlantic route. It documents a migrato...