{"id":33138,"date":"2026-01-29T21:12:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T20:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/?page_id=33138"},"modified":"2026-01-29T21:13:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T20:13:02","slug":"cordoba-program","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/cordoba-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Program"},"content":{"rendered":"\ufeff\n<style>\nli{list-style-type: inherit;}\n\n\/* Style pour les informations de lieu *\/\n.prog-lieu {\n    font-size: 0.95em;\n    color: #555 !important;\n    margin: 5px 0 20px 0;\n    padding: 10px 16px;\n    background: #f8f9fa !important;\n    border: 1px solid #e0e0e0;\n    border-left: 3px solid #8b4513 !important;\n    border-radius: 10px;\n    display: block;\n    text-decoration: none;\n    transition: all 0.25s ease;\n}\n.prog-lieu:hover {\n    background: #f0ebe6 !important;\n    border-color: #d0c8c0;\n    border-left-color: #6b3410 !important;\n    color: #333;\n    box-shadow: 0 2px 8px rgba(139, 69, 19, 0.1);\n}\n.prog-lieu-icon {\n    margin-right: 8px;\n    transition: transform 0.25s ease;\n}\n.prog-lieu:hover .prog-lieu-icon {\n    transform: scale(1.1);\n}\n\n.page-template-content {\n    padding-top: 0;\n}\n\n\/* Modal pour les traductions *\/\n.cordoue-modal-overlay {\n    display: flex;\n    position: fixed;\n    top: 0;\n    left: 0;\n    width: 100%;\n    height: 100%;\n    background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.7);\n    z-index: 9999999; \/* Sup\u00e9rieur au menu sticky (999999) *\/\n    justify-content: center;\n    align-items: center;\n    padding: 20px;\n    box-sizing: border-box;\n    opacity: 0;\n    visibility: hidden;\n    transition: opacity 0.25s ease, visibility 0.25s ease;\n}\n\n.cordoue-modal-overlay.active {\n    opacity: 1;\n    visibility: visible;\n}\n\n.cordoue-modal {\n    position: relative;\n    background: #fff;\n    max-width: 900px;\n    width: 100%;\n    max-height: 90vh;\n    border-radius: 8px;\n    box-shadow: 0 10px 40px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3);\n    display: flex;\n    flex-direction: column;\n    overflow: hidden;\n}\n\n.cordoue-modal-header {\n    display: flex;\n    justify-content: space-between;\n    align-items: center;\n    padding: 16px 40px;\n    background: #f5f5f5;\n    border-bottom: 1px solid #ddd;\n}\n\n.cordoue-modal-title {\n    margin: 0;\n    font-size: 1.82rem;\n    font-weight: 600;\n    color: #333;\n    display: flex;\n    align-items: center;\n    gap: 8px;\n}\n\n.cordoue-modal-title svg {\n    flex-shrink: 0;\n}\n\n\/* Desktop : bouton int\u00e9gr\u00e9 dans le header *\/\n.cordoue-modal-close-btn {\n    display: flex;\n    align-items: center;\n    justify-content: center;\n    background: none;\n    border: none;\n    color: #666;\n    font-size: 28px;\n    cursor: pointer;\n    padding: 5px 10px;\n    border-radius: 4px;\n    transition: all 0.2s;\n    -webkit-appearance: none;\n    appearance: none;\n}\n\n.cordoue-modal-close-btn:hover {\n    background: #e0e0e0;\n    color: #333;\n}\n\n.cordoue-modal-close-btn:active {\n    background: #d0d0d0;\n}\n\n\/* Desktop : cacher le texte \"Fermer\", afficher le X *\/\n.cordoue-modal-close-btn .close-text {\n    display: none;\n}\n\n.cordoue-modal-close-btn .close-icon {\n    display: inline;\n}\n\n\/* Mobile : bouton fix\u00e9 en bas \u00e0 droite avec ic\u00f4ne *\/\n@media (max-width: 767px) {\n    .cordoue-modal-close-btn {\n        position: fixed;\n        bottom: 20px;\n        right: 20px;\n        background: #64161b;\n        color: #fff;\n        width: 56px;\n        height: 56px;\n        padding: 0;\n        border-radius: 50%;\n        box-shadow: 0 4px 15px rgba(0,0,0,0.3);\n        text-shadow: none;\n        z-index: 9999999;\n    }\n\n    .cordoue-modal-close-btn:hover,\n    .cordoue-modal-close-btn:active {\n        background: #8b2025;\n        color: #fff;\n    }\n\n    \/* Mobile : afficher l'ic\u00f4ne, cacher le texte *\/\n    .cordoue-modal-close-btn .close-text {\n        display: none;\n    }\n\n    .cordoue-modal-close-btn .close-icon {\n        display: inline;\n        font-size: 24px;\n    }\n}\n\n.cordoue-modal-body {\n    padding: 30px 40px;\n    overflow-y: auto;\n    font-family: \"EB Garamond\", serif;\n    font-size: 23px;\n    line-height: 1.6;\n    color: #1a1a1a;\n}\n\n.cordoue-modal-body p {\n    margin-bottom: 0.6em;\n}\n\n.cordoue-modal-body ul {\n    margin: 0 0 1em 0 !important;\n    padding: 0 0 0 1.5em !important;\n}\n\n.cordoue-modal-body ul li {\n    margin: 0 0 0.1em 0 !important;\n    padding: 0 !important;\n    line-height: 1.5;\n}\n\n.cordoue-modal-body strong {\n    color: #000;\n}\n\n.cordoue-modal-body hr {\n    margin: 1.5em 0;\n    border: none;\n    border-top: 1px solid #ddd;\n}\n\n\/* Conteneur des boutons d'actions *\/\n.prog-cong-actions {\n    display: flex;\n    flex-wrap: wrap;\n    gap: 8px 16px;\n    margin-top: 4px;\n}\n\n\/* Bouton pour ouvrir la traduction - m\u00eame style que summary de R\u00e9sum\u00e9 *\/\n.cordoue-trad-btn {\n    background: none;\n    border: none;\n    padding: 0;\n    cursor: pointer;\n    font-family: \"Raleway\", sans-serif;\n    font-weight: 600;\n    font-size: 14px;\n    color: #64161b;\n    display: inline-flex;\n    align-items: center;\n    gap: 4px;\n    transition: all 0.3s ease;\n}\n\n.cordoue-trad-btn:hover {\n    color: black;\n    text-decoration: underline;\n}\n\n\/* D\u00e9sactiver les effets hover quand la modale est ouverte *\/\nbody.cordoue-modal-open .cordoue-trad-btn {\n    pointer-events: none;\n}\n\n@media (max-width: 600px) {\n    .cordoue-modal {\n        max-height: 90vh;\n        margin-top: 25px;\n        border-radius: 8px;\n    }\n\n    .cordoue-modal-title {\n        font-size: 1.4rem;\n    }\n\n    .cordoue-modal-body {\n        padding: 20px;\n        font-size: 22px;\n    }\n}\n\n\/* ===== Modal vid\u00e9o YouTube ===== *\/\n.cordoue-video-modal {\n    max-width: 960px;\n    background: #000;\n}\n\n.cordoue-video-modal .cordoue-modal-header {\n    padding: 8px 20px;\n    background: #1a1a1a;\n    border-bottom: none;\n}\n\n.cordoue-video-modal .cordoue-modal-title {\n    font-size: 0.95rem;\n    color: #ccc;\n}\n\n.cordoue-video-modal .cordoue-modal-title svg {\n    stroke: #ccc;\n}\n\n.cordoue-video-modal .cordoue-modal-close-btn {\n    color: #ccc;\n    padding: 4px 8px;\n}\n\n.cordoue-video-modal .cordoue-modal-close-btn:hover {\n    background: #333;\n    color: #fff;\n}\n\n.cordoue-video-body {\n    padding: 0;\n    line-height: 0;\n}\n\n.cordoue-video-container {\n    position: relative;\n    width: 100%;\n    padding-bottom: 56.25%; \/* Ratio 16:9 *\/\n}\n\n.cordoue-video-container iframe {\n    position: absolute;\n    top: 0;\n    left: 0;\n    width: 100%;\n    height: 100%;\n    display: block;\n}\n\n@media (max-width: 600px) {\n    .cordoue-video-modal {\n        max-height: none;\n        margin-top: 25px;\n    }\n}\n\n\/* ===== Navigation par jours ===== *\/\n.prog-nav-jours {\n    display: flex !important;\n    flex-direction: row !important;\n    justify-content: flex-start !important;\n    align-items: center !important;\n    flex-wrap: wrap !important;\n    gap: 8px !important;\n    width: 100% !important;\n    margin-bottom: 20px;\n}\n.prog-nav-btn {\n    display: inline-block !important;\n    width: auto !important;\n    flex: 0 0 auto !important;\n    padding: 8px 16px;\n    border-radius: 20px;\n    background: #8b6f5e;\n    color: #fff !important;\n    text-decoration: none !important;\n    font-size: 0.95em;\n    font-weight: 500;\n    border: 1px solid #7a5f4f;\n    transition: background 0.2s;\n}\n.prog-nav-btn:hover {\n    background: #74594a;\n}\n.prog-nav-btn.prog-nav-today {\n    background: #64161b;\n    color: #fff !important;\n    border-color: #64161b;\n    font-weight: 700;\n    box-shadow: 0 2px 6px rgba(100,22,27,0.3);\n}\n.prog-nav-btn.prog-nav-now {\n    background: #8b1e25;\n    color: #fff !important;\n    border-color: #7a1a20;\n    font-weight: 700;\n    text-shadow: none !important;\n    box-shadow: 0 2px 6px rgba(139,30,37,0.3);\n    animation: prog-now-pulse 2s ease-in-out infinite;\n}\n.prog-nav-btn.prog-nav-now:hover {\n    background: #a52530;\n}\n@keyframes prog-now-pulse {\n    0%, 100% { box-shadow: 0 2px 6px rgba(139,30,37,0.3); }\n    50% { box-shadow: 0 2px 12px rgba(139,30,37,0.6); }\n}\n\n\/* ===== Styles pour le bouton calendrier (dans la nav jours) ===== *\/\n.prog-calendar-btn {\n    display: inline-flex !important;\n    align-items: center;\n    gap: 6px;\n    width: auto !important;\n    flex: 0 0 auto !important;\n    background-color: #64161b;\n    color: white !important;\n    text-decoration: none;\n    padding: 8px 16px;\n    border-radius: 20px;\n    font-size: 0.9em;\n    border: none;\n    cursor: pointer;\n    transition: all 0.3s ease;\n    box-shadow: 0 2px 4px rgba(100, 22, 27, 0.3);\n    text-shadow: 0 0 0 transparent !important;\n}\n.prog-calendar-btn:hover {\n    background-color: #8b1e25;\n    color: white !important;\n    box-shadow: 0 4px 15px rgba(100, 22, 27, 0.5), 0 0 20px rgba(139, 30, 37, 0.3);\n    transform: translateY(-2px);\n    text-shadow: 0 0 0 transparent !important;\n}\n.prog-calendar-btn svg {\n    width: 18px;\n    height: 18px;\n    fill: currentColor;\n    flex-shrink: 0;\n}\n\n\/* ===== Modal Agenda - Styles ===== *\/\n#agenda-modal.agenda-modal-overlay {\n    display: flex !important;\n    position: fixed !important;\n    top: 0 !important;\n    left: 0 !important;\n    right: 0 !important;\n    bottom: 0 !important;\n    background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) !important;\n    z-index: 999999 !important;\n    justify-content: center !important;\n    align-items: flex-start !important;\n    padding: 20px !important;\n    overflow-y: auto !important;\n    opacity: 0;\n    visibility: hidden;\n    transition: opacity 0.25s ease, visibility 0.25s ease;\n}\n#agenda-modal.agenda-modal-overlay.active {\n    opacity: 1 !important;\n    visibility: visible !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-modal {\n    position: relative !important;\n    background: #fff !important;\n    max-width: 800px !important;\n    width: 100% !important;\n    margin: 40px auto !important;\n    border-radius: 12px !important;\n    box-shadow: 0 20px 60px rgba(0,0,0,0.3) !important;\n    display: flex !important;\n    flex-direction: column !important;\n    max-height: calc(100vh - 80px) !important;\n    overflow: hidden !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-modal-header {\n    display: flex !important;\n    justify-content: space-between !important;\n    align-items: center !important;\n    padding: 20px 30px !important;\n    background: #f8f8f8 !important;\n    border-bottom: 1px solid #ddd !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-modal-header .agenda-modal-title {\n    margin: 0 !important;\n    padding: 0 !important;\n    font-size: 1.4rem !important;\n    font-weight: 600 !important;\n    color: #64161b !important;\n    display: flex !important;\n    align-items: center !important;\n    gap: 10px !important;\n    border: none !important;\n    background: none !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-modal-close-btn {\n    display: flex !important;\n    align-items: center !important;\n    justify-content: center !important;\n    width: 36px !important;\n    height: 36px !important;\n    border-radius: 50% !important;\n    background: #eee !important;\n    border: none !important;\n    cursor: pointer !important;\n    font-size: 20px !important;\n    color: #666 !important;\n    transition: background 0.2s, color 0.2s !important;\n    padding: 0 !important;\n    min-width: 36px !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-modal-close-btn:hover {\n    background: #e0e0e0 !important;\n    color: #333 !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-modal-close-btn .close-text {\n    display: none !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-modal-close-btn .close-icon {\n    display: inline !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-modal-body {\n    padding: 30px !important;\n    overflow-y: auto !important;\n    line-height: 1.6 !important;\n    color: #333 !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-modal-body p {\n    margin: 0 0 1em 0 !important;\n    padding: 0 !important;\n    font-size: 1em !important;\n    line-height: 1.6 !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-modal-body h2 {\n    color: #64161b !important;\n    margin: 30px 0 15px 0 !important;\n    padding: 0 !important;\n    font-size: 1.3em !important;\n    font-weight: 600 !important;\n    display: flex !important;\n    align-items: center !important;\n    gap: 8px !important;\n    border: none !important;\n    background: none !important;\n    text-decoration: none !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-modal-body h2:first-of-type {\n    margin-top: 0 !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-modal-body h3 {\n    color: #64161b !important;\n    margin: 20px 0 10px 0 !important;\n    margin-left: 25px !important;\n    padding: 0 !important;\n    padding-left: 0 !important;\n    font-size: 1.1em !important;\n    font-weight: 600 !important;\n    border: none !important;\n    background: transparent !important;\n    text-decoration: none !important;\n    display: block !important;\n    box-shadow: none !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-modal-body h3::before,\n#agenda-modal .agenda-modal-body h3::after {\n    display: none !important;\n    content: none !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-url-box {\n    background: #f5f5f5 !important;\n    border: 1px solid #ddd !important;\n    border-radius: 8px !important;\n    padding: 15px !important;\n    margin: 20px 0 !important;\n    font-family: monospace !important;\n    font-size: 14px !important;\n    word-break: break-all !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-url-box-label {\n    display: block !important;\n    font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, sans-serif !important;\n    font-size: 12px !important;\n    color: #666 !important;\n    margin-bottom: 5px !important;\n    font-weight: bold !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-copy-btn {\n    background: #64161b !important;\n    color: white !important;\n    border: none !important;\n    padding: 8px 16px !important;\n    border-radius: 5px !important;\n    cursor: pointer !important;\n    margin-top: 10px !important;\n    transition: background 0.3s !important;\n    font-size: 14px !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-copy-btn:hover {\n    background: #8b1e25 !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-steps {\n    background: #fafafa !important;\n    border-left: 4px solid #64161b !important;\n    padding: 15px 20px !important;\n    margin: 15px 0 !important;\n    border-radius: 0 !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-steps ol {\n    margin: 0 !important;\n    padding: 0 0 0 25px !important;\n    list-style-type: decimal !important;\n    list-style-position: outside !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-steps ol li {\n    margin: 10px 0 !important;\n    padding: 0 !important;\n    padding-left: 5px !important;\n    display: list-item !important;\n    list-style-type: decimal !important;\n    font-size: 1em !important;\n    line-height: 1.5 !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-steps ol li::marker {\n    color: #64161b !important;\n    font-weight: bold !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-tip {\n    background: #e8f4f8 !important;\n    border: 1px solid #b8d4e3 !important;\n    border-radius: 8px !important;\n    padding: 15px !important;\n    margin: 15px 0 !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-warning {\n    background: #fff3cd !important;\n    border: 1px solid #ffc107 !important;\n    border-radius: 8px !important;\n    padding: 15px !important;\n    margin: 15px 0 !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-modal-body code {\n    background: #e9e9e9 !important;\n    padding: 2px 6px !important;\n    border-radius: 4px !important;\n    font-size: 13px !important;\n    font-family: monospace !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-modal-body a {\n    color: #64161b !important;\n    text-decoration: underline !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-modal-body a:hover {\n    color: #8b1e25 !important;\n}\n#agenda-modal .agenda-modal-body hr {\n    margin: 30px 0 !important;\n    border: none !important;\n    border-top: 1px solid #ddd !important;\n}\n@media (max-width: 600px) {\n    #agenda-modal .agenda-modal {\n        margin: 20px auto !important;\n        max-height: calc(100vh - 40px) !important;\n    }\n    #agenda-modal .agenda-modal-header {\n        padding: 15px 20px !important;\n    }\n    #agenda-modal .agenda-modal-header .agenda-modal-title {\n        font-size: 1.2rem !important;\n    }\n    #agenda-modal .agenda-modal-body {\n        padding: 20px !important;\n    }\n    #agenda-modal .agenda-modal-close-btn {\n        position: fixed !important;\n        bottom: 80px !important;\n        right: 20px !important;\n        width: 56px !important;\n        height: 56px !important;\n        min-width: 56px !important;\n        background: #64161b !important;\n        color: #fff !important;\n        box-shadow: 0 4px 15px rgba(0,0,0,0.3) !important;\n        z-index: 9999999 !important;\n        border-radius: 50% !important;\n        padding: 0 !important;\n    }\n    #agenda-modal .agenda-modal-close-btn:hover,\n    #agenda-modal .agenda-modal-close-btn:active {\n        background: #8b2025 !important;\n        color: #fff !important;\n    }\n    #agenda-modal .agenda-modal-close-btn .close-text {\n        display: none !important;\n    }\n    #agenda-modal .agenda-modal-close-btn .close-icon {\n        display: inline !important;\n        font-size: 24px !important;\n    }\n    .prog-calendar-btn {\n        font-size: 0.85em;\n        padding: 8px 14px;\n    }\n}\n\n<\/style>\n\n<!-- Modal globale pour les traductions -->\n<div id=\"cordoue-trad-modal\" class=\"cordoue-modal-overlay\" onclick=\"if(event.target===this)cordoueCloseModal()\">\n    <div class=\"cordoue-modal\">\n        <div class=\"cordoue-modal-header\">\n            <h3 class=\"cordoue-modal-title\">\n                <span id=\"cordoue-modal-title-icon\"><\/span>\n                <span id=\"cordoue-modal-title-text\"><\/span>\n            <\/h3>\n            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-modal-close-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueCloseModal()\"><span class=\"close-text\">Fermer<\/span><span class=\"close-icon\">\u2715<\/span><\/button>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"cordoue-modal-body\" id=\"cordoue-modal-content\"><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<!-- Modal vid\u00e9o YouTube -->\n<div id=\"cordoue-video-modal\" class=\"cordoue-modal-overlay\" onclick=\"if(event.target===this)cordoueCloseVideoModal()\">\n    <div class=\"cordoue-modal cordoue-video-modal\">\n        <div class=\"cordoue-modal-header\">\n            <h3 class=\"cordoue-modal-title\">\n                <span id=\"cordoue-video-title-icon\"><\/span>\n                <span id=\"cordoue-video-title-text\"><\/span>\n            <\/h3>\n            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-modal-close-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueCloseVideoModal()\"><span class=\"close-text\">Fermer<\/span><span class=\"close-icon\">\u2715<\/span><\/button>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"cordoue-video-body\">\n            <div class=\"cordoue-video-container\">\n                <iframe id=\"cordoue-video-iframe\" src=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<script>\nvar cordoueModalIcons = {\n    video: '<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"18\" height=\"18\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>',\n    bio: '<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"18\" height=\"18\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>',\n    resume: '<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"18\" height=\"18\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>',\n    traduction: '<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"18\" height=\"18\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>'\n};\n\nfunction cordoueOpenModal(contentId, title, iconType) {\n    var content = document.getElementById(contentId);\n    if (!content) return;\n    document.getElementById('cordoue-modal-title-icon').innerHTML = cordoueModalIcons[iconType] || cordoueModalIcons.traduction;\n    document.getElementById('cordoue-modal-title-text').textContent = title;\n    var modalContent = document.getElementById('cordoue-modal-content');\n    modalContent.innerHTML = content.innerHTML;\n    modalContent.scrollTop = 0;\n    document.getElementById('cordoue-trad-modal').classList.add('active');\n    document.body.classList.add('cordoue-modal-open');\n    document.body.style.overflow = 'hidden';\n}\n\nfunction cordoueCloseModal() {\n    document.getElementById('cordoue-trad-modal').classList.remove('active');\n    document.body.classList.remove('cordoue-modal-open');\n    document.body.style.overflow = '';\n}\n\nfunction cordoueOpenVideoModal(videoId, title) {\n    document.getElementById('cordoue-video-title-icon').innerHTML = cordoueModalIcons.video;\n    document.getElementById('cordoue-video-title-text').textContent = title;\n    document.getElementById('cordoue-video-iframe').src = 'https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/' + videoId + '?autoplay=1';\n    document.getElementById('cordoue-video-modal').classList.add('active');\n    document.body.classList.add('cordoue-modal-open');\n    document.body.style.overflow = 'hidden';\n}\n\nfunction cordoueCloseVideoModal() {\n    document.getElementById('cordoue-video-modal').classList.remove('active');\n    document.getElementById('cordoue-video-iframe').src = '';\n    document.body.classList.remove('cordoue-modal-open');\n    document.body.style.overflow = '';\n}\n\n\/\/ Fermer avec Escape\ndocument.addEventListener('keydown', function(e) {\n    if (e.key === 'Escape') { cordoueCloseModal(); cordoueCloseVideoModal(); }\n});\n\n\n\/* =====================================================================\n   [Patch 2026-07-16 v2] Panels cliquables -> modale synth\u00e8se \u00e9tudiante\n   Am\u00e9liorations v2 :\n   - Preload async au montage : teste TOUS les liens \/videos\/ du panel jusqu \u00e0\n     en trouver un dont post_content contient un <details> block (la synth\u00e8se).\n   - Cache le bouton si aucun post du panel n a de synth\u00e8se publi\u00e9e.\n   - Fix regex nom d \u00e9tudiant : n accepte que \u00ab Pr\u00e9nom Nom \u00bb avec majuscule initiale.\n   ===================================================================== *\/\n(function () {\n    'use strict';\n\n    var style = document.createElement('style');\n    style.textContent = ''\n        + '.cordoue-panel-synthese {'\n        + '    display: none;'\n        + '    align-items: center; gap: 16px;'\n        + '    margin: 14px 0 22px 0; padding: 18px 22px;'\n        + '    background: linear-gradient(135deg, #64161B 0%, #7d1b21 100%);'\n        + '    color: #fff !important; text-shadow: none !important; 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\u0645\u0644\u062e\u0635 \u0627\u0644\u062c\u0644\u0633\u0629', subtitle: '\u0643\u062a\u0628\u0647\u0627 \u0637\u0627\u0644\u0628 \u0628\u0645\u0646\u062d\u0629 \u0628\u0644\u0648\u0631\u064a\u0627\u0644' }\n    };\n    var L = labels[lang] || labels.fr;\n\n    \/* [2026-07-17] Synth\u00e8ses hardcod\u00e9es + reformat\u00e9es (plus de fetch vers les vid\u00e9os) *\/\n    var SYNTHESES = {\"axe1-panel2-s1\": {\"name\": \"Hacene Kherchaoui\", \"html\": \"<h4>\u00c9thique et esth\u00e9tique dans le patrimoine islamique\u00a0: histoire, langage et philosophie<\/h4>\\n<p>Aziz Hilal (Institut dominicain d\u2019\u00e9tudes orientales, Le Caire) \u2014 docteur en philosophie arabe, sp\u00e9cialiste de la pens\u00e9e andalouse (Averro\u00e8s, al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b). Langue\u00a0: fran\u00e7ais. Constance Arminjon (EPHE\u2013PSL, chaire \u00ab\u00a0Histoire intellectuelle du shi\u2019isme contemporain\u00a0\u00bb) \u2014 historienne des doctrines de l\u2019islam contemporain et des renouvellements herm\u00e9neutiques. Langue\u00a0: fran\u00e7ais, visioconf\u00e9rence. Essaid Labib (Universit\u00e9 Chouaib Doukkali, El Jadida, Maroc) \u2014 chercheur \u00e0 l\u2019intersection de la philosophie, de l\u2019esth\u00e9tique et des \u00e9tudes de genre. Langue\u00a0: fran\u00e7ais.<\/p>\\n<p>Ce panel explore les fondements conceptuels de l\u2019articulation entre \u00e9thique et esth\u00e9tique dans la pens\u00e9e islamique classique, \u00e0 travers des figures majeures (Averro\u00e8s, al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b, R\u00fbm\u012b) et leurs r\u00e9ceptions contemporaines. Sa coh\u00e9rence repose sur le refus partag\u00e9 d\u2019une s\u00e9paration entre le beau, le bien et le vrai, et sur une conception du patrimoine islamique comme espace de pens\u00e9e vivant, ouvert au dialogue et \u00e0 la r\u00e9interpr\u00e9tation.<\/p>\\n<h4>Axes et arguments principaux<\/h4>\\n<h5>M\u00e9taphysique du beau\u00a0: fondements ontologiques chez Averro\u00e8s et al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b<\/h5>\\n<p>Mounia Ait Kabboura et Aziz Hilal s\u2019accordent sur une conception int\u00e9gr\u00e9e du vrai, du bien et du beau. Chez Averro\u00e8s, l\u2019Intellect universel fonde un pluralisme cognitif o\u00f9 la rigueur d\u00e9monstrative constitue une esth\u00e9tique du logos indissociable d\u2019une \u00e9thique de la responsabilit\u00e9 intellectuelle. Chez al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b, la doctrine de l\u2019\u00e9manation (fay\u1e0d) fait de la beaut\u00e9 non un suppl\u00e9ment au r\u00e9el, mais la manifestation sensible de l\u2019harmonie universelle\u00a0: ordre, proportion et intelligibilit\u00e9 sont \u00e0 la fois crit\u00e8res ontologiques et crit\u00e8res esth\u00e9tiques.<\/p>\\n<h5>Po\u00e9sie et herm\u00e9neutique comme vecteurs de renouvellement th\u00e9ologique<\/h5>\\n<p>Constance Arminjon montre que la po\u00e9sie spirituelle de R\u00fbm\u012b irrigue activement la r\u00e9flexion de trois philosophes iraniens contemporains (Sor\u00fbsh, Shabestar\u00ee, Malekiy\u00e2n), qui s\u2019en saisissent pour renouveler la th\u00e9ologie morale et la dogmatique shi\u2019ite. La po\u00e9sie classique devient ici instrument herm\u00e9neutique, m\u00e9diation entre un h\u00e9ritage sunnite m\u00e9di\u00e9val et les exigences d\u2019une pens\u00e9e religieuse contemporaine.<\/p>\\n<h5>\u00c9thico-esth\u00e9tique et dimension politique\u00a0: genre et citoyennet\u00e9<\/h5>\\n<p>Essaid Labib analyse un passage du Commentaire de La R\u00e9publique de Platon d\u2019Averro\u00e8s pour montrer que l\u2019art \u2014 et la musique en particulier \u2014 y devient argument en faveur de l\u2019\u00e9galit\u00e9 sociale et politique entre femmes et hommes. Contre la lecture de Renan, il d\u00e9gage les amorces d\u2019une \u00e9thico-esth\u00e9tique islamique \u00e0 dimension inclusive, mobilisant les cadres de Foucault et des \u00e9tudes de genre pour une relecture critique du texte classique.<\/p>\\n<h4>Points de discussion et d\u00e9bats<\/h4>\\n<p>Les \u00e9changes ont fait appara\u00eetre trois tensions principales. La premi\u00e8re porte sur le risque d\u2019anachronisme\u00a0: comment mobiliser des penseurs classiques pour \u00e9clairer des enjeux contemporains sans en r\u00e9duire la complexit\u00e9 historique\u00a0? Cette question, soulev\u00e9e \u00e0 propos d\u2019Averro\u00e8s comme d\u2019al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b, est rest\u00e9e ouverte. La deuxi\u00e8me concerne la coh\u00e9rence interne de l\u2019\u0153uvre d\u2019al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b\u00a0: la doctrine de l\u2019\u00e9manation \u00e9tant absente de plusieurs de ses trait\u00e9s, la salle s\u2019est interrog\u00e9e sur la possibilit\u00e9 d\u2019une esth\u00e9tique farabienne v\u00e9ritablement unifi\u00e9e. Enfin, la communication d\u2019Arminjon a suscit\u00e9 des questions sur la repr\u00e9sentativit\u00e9 des figures shi\u2019ites \u00e9tudi\u00e9es dans le paysage intellectuel iranien actuel, et sur le statut institutionnel de la po\u00e9sie dans la th\u00e9ologie.<\/p>\\n<h4>Apports et limites du panel<\/h4>\\n<p>Le principal apport de ce panel r\u00e9side dans la mise en \u00e9vidence d\u2019une conception int\u00e9gr\u00e9e du savoir, du beau et du bien \u00e0 travers plusieurs traditions et p\u00e9riodes de la pens\u00e9e islamique. En articulant philosophie m\u00e9di\u00e9vale, po\u00e9sie mystique et relecture contemporaine, il montre la pluralit\u00e9 des entr\u00e9es dans le patrimoine islamique et sa capacit\u00e9 \u00e0 alimenter des r\u00e9flexions actuelles sur le pluralisme, le genre et le dialogue interculturel.<\/p>\\n<p>Ses limites tiennent principalement \u00e0 l\u2019absence de questionnement sur les m\u00e9diations concr\u00e8tes \u2014 artistiques et sociales \u2014 par lesquelles ces cat\u00e9gories ont pu s\u2019incarner dans des pratiques effectives. La densit\u00e9 du dossier d\u2019Arminjon (trois auteurs, plusieurs si\u00e8cles) aurait m\u00e9rit\u00e9 un espace de discussion plus long. Parmi les pistes ouvertes\u00a0: une comparaison syst\u00e9matique des th\u00e9ories du beau chez al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b et Averro\u00e8s, et l\u2019\u00e9tude des r\u00e9ceptions non iraniennes de la po\u00e9sie mystique dans les d\u00e9bats th\u00e9ologiques contemporains.<\/p>\"}, \"axe1-panel3-s1\": {\"name\": \"Khalid El Khadiri\", \"html\": \"<h4>Esth\u00e9tique, connaissance et \u00e9thique dans la pens\u00e9e islamique m\u00e9di\u00e9vale\u00a0: approches crois\u00e9es<\/h4>\\n<p>Le panel consacr\u00e9 aux rapports entre \u00e9thique et esth\u00e9tique dans la pens\u00e9e islamique classique a interrog\u00e9 une intuition majeure\u00a0: le beau et le bien ne rel\u00e8vent pas de sph\u00e8res s\u00e9par\u00e9es, mais d\u2019une m\u00eame dynamique de connaissance et de transformation du sujet. \u00c0 travers trois figures Ibn Arabi, Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi et Ibn Barajan, les communications ont propos\u00e9 des approches distinctes de cette articulation. Entre m\u00e9taphysique, anthropologie morale et contemplation du monde, elles dessinent des pistes pour repenser aujourd\u2019hui notre rapport \u00e0 nous-m\u00eames et au vivant.<\/p>\\n<p>Le point de d\u00e9part du panel r\u00e9sidait dans une tension structurante\u00a0: l\u00e0 o\u00f9 la modernit\u00e9 occidentale a tendu \u00e0 dissocier le beau du bien, plusieurs penseurs de la tradition islamique ont \u00e9labor\u00e9 des cadres o\u00f9 l\u2019exp\u00e9rience esth\u00e9tique engage directement une transformation \u00e9thique. Les trois interventions ont toutefois \u00e9vit\u00e9 toute r\u00e9duction \u00e0 un continuum homog\u00e8ne, en mettant en \u00e9vidence des mani\u00e8res diff\u00e9renci\u00e9es de penser cette articulation.<\/p>\\n<p>La communication consacr\u00e9e \u00e0 Ibn Arabi a propos\u00e9 une lecture m\u00e9taphysique de la beaut\u00e9 comme th\u00e9ophanie. Le beau n\u2019y est pas seulement une cat\u00e9gorie esth\u00e9tique, mais une modalit\u00e9 de manifestation du divin dans le monde. \u00c0 partir d\u2019une approche mobilisant la r\u00e9cursivit\u00e9 et la complexit\u00e9, l\u2019intervenant a montr\u00e9 que, chez Ibn Arabi, l\u2019exp\u00e9rience esth\u00e9tique rel\u00e8ve d\u2019un processus de d\u00e9voilement sans fin\u00a0: chaque forme per\u00e7ue renvoie \u00e0 un niveau plus profond de r\u00e9alit\u00e9. Cette dynamique transforme le sujet en l\u2019engageant dans une reconnaissance progressive du R\u00e9el. L\u2019\u00e9thique ne s\u2019y pr\u00e9sente pas comme un ensemble de prescriptions, mais comme l\u2019effet d\u2019une transformation ontologique li\u00e9e \u00e0 la perception du beau.<\/p>\\n<p>La communication sur Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi a d\u00e9plac\u00e9 la r\u00e9flexion vers le terrain de l\u2019anthropologie morale. Loin d\u2019une ontologie du beau, al-Tawhidi pense l\u2019exp\u00e9rience esth\u00e9tique comme un moment de formation du sujet. Le beau y joue un r\u00f4le dans l\u2019affinement des facult\u00e9s, en particulier dans la capacit\u00e9 de discernement et dans l\u2019orientation du d\u00e9sir. \u00c0 travers l\u2019id\u00e9al de l\u2019adab, entendu comme culture de soi et juste mesure, l\u2019esth\u00e9tique participe \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9quilibre int\u00e9rieur et \u00e0 la construction d\u2019un comportement \u00e9thique. Ici, la transformation ne proc\u00e8de pas d\u2019un d\u00e9voilement m\u00e9taphysique, mais d\u2019un travail sur les dispositions humaines, o\u00f9 le sensible contribue \u00e0 former le jugement.<\/p>\\n<p>Enfin, l\u2019intervention consacr\u00e9e \u00e0 Ibn Barajan a ouvert une perspective herm\u00e9neutique centr\u00e9e sur la nature. Le monde y est compris comme un ensemble de signes appelant \u00e0 la contemplation et \u00e0 l\u2019interpr\u00e9tation. Cette approche a \u00e9t\u00e9 mise en dialogue avec les enjeux contemporains de l\u2019anthropoc\u00e8ne\u00a0: la nature n\u2019y appara\u00eet plus comme une simple ressource, mais comme une r\u00e9alit\u00e9 relationnelle engageant la responsabilit\u00e9 humaine. La contemplation devient alors une forme d\u2019attention \u00e9thique, fond\u00e9e sur l\u2019humilit\u00e9 et sur la reconnaissance d\u2019une interd\u00e9pendance entre l\u2019humain et le monde. Cette lecture permet d\u2019esquisser une \u00e9cologie spirituelle, dans laquelle le rapport au vivant est reconfigur\u00e9.<\/p>\\n<p>Les discussions avec la salle ont prolong\u00e9 ces analyses en interrogeant leurs conditions d\u2019actualisation. La relecture des notions de khal\u00eefa et d\u2019am\u00e2na comme responsabilit\u00e9 plut\u00f4t que comme domination a constitu\u00e9 une piste importante pour penser une \u00e9thique du soin de la terre. Toutefois, plusieurs tensions ont \u00e9t\u00e9 soulign\u00e9es\u00a0: la difficult\u00e9 de traduire ces perspectives en normes effectives, le risque qu\u2019elles restent limit\u00e9es \u00e0 une \u00e9lite spirituelle, ou encore la tension entre orientation vers l\u2019au-del\u00e0 et engagement concret dans le monde. La fragilit\u00e9 contemporaine de la figure du \u00ab\u00a0serviteur\u00a0\u00bb a \u00e9galement \u00e9t\u00e9 \u00e9voqu\u00e9e comme un obstacle \u00e0 cette transposition.<\/p>\\n<p>En d\u00e9finitive, le panel a fait appara\u00eetre non pas une doctrine unifi\u00e9e, mais une pluralit\u00e9 de mod\u00e8les articulant diff\u00e9remment esth\u00e9tique, connaissance et \u00e9thique. De la th\u00e9ophanie chez Ibn Arabi \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9thique des dispositions chez al-Tawhidi, jusqu\u2019\u00e0 l\u2019herm\u00e9neutique du monde chez Ibn Barajan, se dessine un ensemble de ressources conceptuelles pour repenser le rapport au beau comme vecteur de transformation. Cette pluralit\u00e9 ouvre des perspectives pour une actualisation contemporaine de la pens\u00e9e mystique, attentive aux enjeux \u00e9cologiques et anthropologiques, tout en maintenant une vigilance critique quant \u00e0 ses conditions de mise en \u0153uvre.<\/p>\"}, \"axe1-panel3-s2\": {\"name\": \"Chadia Gueddara\", \"html\": \"<h4>Esth\u00e9tique et soufisme\u00a0: hi\u00e9rarchie des plaisirs, conversion int\u00e9rieure, l\u00e9gitimation<\/h4>\\n<p>Les trois communications partagent une interrogation centrale\u00a0: comment la pens\u00e9e soufie classique articule-t-elle exp\u00e9rience sensible et \u00e9l\u00e9vation spirituelle\u00a0? Trois axes structurent l\u2019ensemble du panel.<\/p>\\n<p>Le premier est la hi\u00e9rarchisation des plaisirs et des modes de perception. Ridouane Bisdaoune (universit\u00e9 Ibn Zohr, Maroc), \u00e0 travers la Ris\u0101lat Dhamm Ladhdh\u0101t al-Duny\u0101 de Fakhr al-D\u012bn al-R\u0101z\u012b, propose une taxinomie des jouissances \u2014 sensibles, imaginaires, intellectuelles \u2014 dont la logique ascendante conduit \u00e0 une red\u00e9finition de la beaut\u00e9 comme r\u00e9alit\u00e9 int\u00e9rieure, la sagesse en constituant le sommet. Yasmine Karray (ENS de Lyon) identifie chez al-Ghaz\u0101l\u012b une gradation analogue de l\u2019exp\u00e9rience du sam\u0101\u2019 selon le degr\u00e9 de maturit\u00e9 spirituelle de l\u2019auditeur, tandis que Wael Tahhan (universit\u00e9 Paris 1) montre comment le ghadd al-basar instaure une hi\u00e9rarchie perceptive entre le regard ordinaire (nazar) et les formes sup\u00e9rieures de la vision (basira, mush\u0101hada).<\/p>\\n<p>Le deuxi\u00e8me axe est celui de la conversion int\u00e9rieure comme condition de l\u2019exp\u00e9rience esth\u00e9tique. Les trois interventions th\u00e9matisent la n\u00e9cessit\u00e9 d\u2019une transformation de l\u2019\u00e2me pour acc\u00e9der \u00e0 une perception authentique du beau\u00a0: polissage du miroir du c\u0153ur chez al-R\u0101z\u012b, compr\u00e9hension (fahm) pr\u00e9alable \u00e0 la commotion de l\u2019extase (wajd) chez al-Ghaz\u0101l\u012b, raffinement du go\u00fbt (tadhawwuq, tazkiyya) par la ma\u00eetrise du regard chez Tahhan. Le troisi\u00e8me axe concerne la normativit\u00e9 et la l\u00e9gitimation des pratiques esth\u00e9tiques. Al-Ghaz\u0101l\u012b appara\u00eet comme figure centrale de la l\u00e9gitimation\u00a0: il int\u00e8gre le sam\u0101\u2019 \u00e0 l\u2019orthodoxie en conditionnant sa lic\u00e9it\u00e9 \u00e0 la nature de la po\u00e9sie, de la musique et \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9tat spirituel de l\u2019auditeur. Tahhan prolonge cette r\u00e9flexion en proposant de lire le ghadd al-ba\u1e63ar non comme une simple injonction morale, mais comme le fondement d\u2019une esth\u00e9tique islamique dont l\u2019adjectif \u00ab\u00a0islamique\u00a0\u00bb est repens\u00e9 comme rep\u00e8re \u00e9pist\u00e9mologique plut\u00f4t que comme cat\u00e9gorie g\u00e9o-historique. Les communications mobilisent un r\u00e9seau conceptuel ancr\u00e9 dans les sciences islamiques classiques\u00a0: ladhdh\u0101t (jouissances) et leur hi\u00e9rarchisation chez al-R\u0101z\u012b\u00a0; sam\u0101\u2019 et ses op\u00e9rateurs \u2014 tanz\u012bl (incarnation de l\u2019image po\u00e9tique) et ta\u2019w\u012bl (retour au sens premier) \u2014 chez al-Ghaz\u0101l\u012b\u00a0; ghadd al-basar dans son double registre moral et esth\u00e9tique, articul\u00e9 aux notions de basira, tazkiya, tadhawwuq, \u1e25al\u0101wa et barakah chez Tahhan. Sur le plan th\u00e9orique, Bisdaoune articule \u00ab\u00a0sciences des Anciens\u00a0\u00bb (falsafa, m\u00e9decine) et \u00ab\u00a0sciences des Post\u00e9rieurs\u00a0\u00bb (kal\u0101m, ta\u1e63awwuf)\u00a0; Karray adopte une herm\u00e9neutique du Kit\u0101b \u0100d\u0101b al-sam\u0101\u2019 wa-l-wajd\u00a0; Tahhan en mobilisant les philosophes Taha \u2018Abd al-Rahman et Seyyed Hossein Nasr.<\/p>\\n<p>La centralit\u00e9 d\u2019al-Ghaz\u0101l\u012b dans les trois communications a soulev\u00e9 la question du risque d\u2019uniformisation\u00a0: dans quelle mesure cette figure \u00e9crase-t-elle la diversit\u00e9 des positions soufies sur la lic\u00e9it\u00e9 du sam\u0101\u2019 ou la th\u00e9orie du regard\u00a0? Le principal apport de ce panel est de poser les bases d\u2019une esth\u00e9tique islamique construite depuis l\u2019int\u00e9rieur des sciences islamiques, articulant \u00e9thique, \u00e9pist\u00e9mologie et exp\u00e9rience sensible. Il enrichit \u00e9galement les \u00e9tudes sur al-Ghaz\u0101l\u012b en valorisant des dimensions souvent secondaris\u00e9es\u00a0: po\u00e9tique du sam\u0101\u2019, m\u00e9decine de l\u2019\u00e2me, raffinement du regard. En revanche, la focalisation sur les grands textes classiques laisse dans l\u2019ombre les traditions soufies tardives et les pratiques concr\u00e8tes. Enfin, un dialogue plus explicite avec l\u2019esth\u00e9tique compar\u00e9e contemporaine permettrait de mieux situer la singularit\u00e9 \u00e9pist\u00e9mologique de la d\u00e9marche propos\u00e9e.<\/p>\\n<p>Chadia Gueddara<\/p>\"}, \"axe2-panel1\": {\"name\": \"Abdulrahman Usama Mahmoud\", \"html\": \"<h4>\u00c9thique, esth\u00e9tique et normes religieuses\u00a0: les pratiques artistiques et corporelles dans les soci\u00e9t\u00e9s musulmanes contemporaines<\/h4>\\n<p>Le 12 f\u00e9vrier 2026 \u00e0 Cordoue, le panel de l\u2019axe 2 du colloque s\u2019est r\u00e9uni sous la pr\u00e9sidence d\u2019Ali Mostafa. Trois communications y ont \u00e9t\u00e9 pr\u00e9sent\u00e9es\u00a0: l\u2019une sur les \u00ab\u00a0nouveaux voiles\u00a0\u00bb en Tunisie, une autre sur la pens\u00e9e de Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, et une derni\u00e8re sur les galeries du Zamalek au Caire. Ces travaux, issus de la sociologie, de l\u2019islamologie, de l\u2019histoire de l\u2019art et de la philosophie, partaient tous de la m\u00eame interrogation\u00a0: comment des pratiques artistiques, vestimentaires et corporelles permettent-elles de n\u00e9gocier le rapport aux normes religieuses\u00a0? Cette synth\u00e8se tente de restituer les \u00e9changes de la journ\u00e9e.<\/p>\\n<p>Les trois intervenants partageaient un m\u00eame refus\u00a0: celui de r\u00e9duire l\u2019islam \u00e0 une liste d\u2019interdictions. Ce type de lecture, m\u00eame quand elle se veut critique, finit par rater ce qui se passe vraiment dans les soci\u00e9t\u00e9s musulmanes c\u2019est-\u00e0-dire une n\u00e9gociation constante entre ce que la tradition prescrit et ce que les individus vivent, ressentent et choisissent. L\u2019\u00c9gypte et la Tunisie, les deux contextes retenus, ne se ressemblent pas. Leurs histoires politiques et religieuses diff\u00e8rent, leur rapport au corps aussi. Mais dans les deux cas, on observe quelque chose de similaire\u00a0: des individus qui investissent des espaces galeries d\u2019art, choix vestimentaires, pratiques calligraphiques pour vivre leur rapport \u00e0 la norme religieuse autrement, sans pour autant la rejeter.<\/p>\\n<p>Cl\u00e9mence Guinot (PISAI, Rome) a travaill\u00e9 sur Abu Zayd. Cette contribution propose l\u2019une des hypoth\u00e8ses les plus f\u00e9condes du panel\u00a0: l\u2019art, par nature, r\u00e9siste \u00e0 la fixation du sens. L\u00e0 o\u00f9 les discours religieux politis\u00e9s cherchent \u00e0 imposer une lecture unique du texte sacr\u00e9 ce qu\u2019Abu Zayd appelait la \u00ab\u00a0fermeture du sens\u00a0\u00bb, l\u2019\u0153uvre d\u2019art produit au contraire une pluralit\u00e9 d\u2019interpr\u00e9tations possibles. Cette ambigu\u00eft\u00e9 n\u2019est pas un d\u00e9faut \u00e0 corriger\u00a0; c\u2019est pr\u00e9cis\u00e9ment ce qui fait de l\u2019art un espace de r\u00e9sistance, discret mais r\u00e9el, face aux tentatives d\u2019uniformisation. Emmanuel Pisani (IDEO, Le Caire) a illustr\u00e9 cela \u00e0 travers les galeries du Zamalek. Les artistes de ce quartier du Caire jouent avec le r\u00e9pertoire islamique calligraphie, soufisme, r\u00e9f\u00e9rences coraniques mais le soumettent \u00e0 un travail de transformation formelle. Le cas de la \u00ab\u00a0m\u00e9ta- calligraphie\u00a0\u00bb est particuli\u00e8rement parlant\u00a0: en rendant le texte sacr\u00e9 visuellement illisible, ces artistes ne le nient pas, ils le transforment en exp\u00e9rience sensorielle. La parole divine cesse d\u2019\u00eatre une r\u00e8gle pour devenir un vecteur d\u2019int\u00e9riorit\u00e9. Ce n\u2019est ni une rupture ni une soumission\u00a0; Cette posture r\u00e9siste \u00e0 toute cat\u00e9gorisation univoque. Henda Ghribi (Facult\u00e9 des Sciences Humaines et Sociales de Tunis) a quant \u00e0 elle travaill\u00e9 sur le voile en Tunisie. Les femmes qu\u2019elle a interrog\u00e9es ne se reconnaissent ni dans le discours f\u00e9ministe qui y voit une soumission, ni dans le discours islamiste qui en ferait le signe d\u2019une identit\u00e9 collective homog\u00e8ne. Elles insistent sur une chose\u00a0: aucun texte ne leur impose un mod\u00e8le vestimentaire pr\u00e9cis. C\u2019est dans cet espace d\u2019ind\u00e9termination qu\u2019elles bricolent pour reprendre un terme qui leur conviendrait sans doute une pratique qui m\u00eale pudeur islamique, go\u00fbt contemporain et affirmation de soi.<\/p>\\n<p>Ce qui relie ces trois communications, c\u2019est finalement un m\u00eame glissement\u00a0: du normatif vers le sensible. Les artistes du Zamalek d\u00e9laissent la pri\u00e8re canonique pour les figures soufies. Le hijab tunisien devient moins l\u2019application d\u2019une r\u00e8gle que l\u2019expression d\u2019une \u00ab\u00a0disposition int\u00e9rieure\u00a0\u00bb. Ce d\u00e9placement dit quelque chose de plus large sur la mani\u00e8re dont les individus habitent aujourd\u2019hui leur appartenance religieuse.<\/p>\\n<p>La discussion a \u00e9t\u00e9 anim\u00e9e. Plusieurs points de tension ont \u00e9merg\u00e9, sans \u00eatre tranch\u00e9s. Le premier portait sur la nature du choix. Porter un \u00ab\u00a0voile moderne\u00a0\u00bb est-ce vraiment un acte r\u00e9flexif\u00a0? Ou reproduit-on, sous une forme nouvelle, une conformit\u00e9 \u00e0 un ordre qu\u2019on n\u2019a pas vraiment interrog\u00e9\u00a0? La salle ne s\u2019est pas accord\u00e9e l\u00e0-dessus, et La question demeure ouverte. Le deuxi\u00e8me point soulev\u00e9 \u00e9tait celui de la port\u00e9e sociale de ces pratiques. Galeries d\u2019art, discours acad\u00e9mique, r\u00e9seaux internationaux\u00a0: tout cela circule dans des milieux d\u00e9j\u00e0 dot\u00e9s de ressources culturelles. Qu\u2019en est-il ailleurs\u00a0? La question de la r\u00e9sonance de ces formes d\u2019expression dans les classes populaires ou les milieux plus conservateurs reste enti\u00e8re. Plusieurs participants ont \u00e9galement mentionn\u00e9 une h\u00e9g\u00e9monie culturelle d\u2019inspiration anglo- saxonne qui s\u2019impose parfois aux \u00e9lites connect\u00e9es sans produire les effets d\u2019\u00e9mancipation qu\u2019elle promet. La Tunisie post-2011 a \u00e9galement \u00e9t\u00e9 au c\u0153ur d\u2019un d\u00e9bat. L\u2019apparition du niqab apr\u00e8s la r\u00e9volution a suscit\u00e9 des lectures oppos\u00e9es\u00a0: libert\u00e9 retrouv\u00e9e apr\u00e8s des ann\u00e9es de r\u00e9pression vestimentaire, ou installation d\u2019un discours politico-religieux qui se pr\u00e9sente sous les dehors du choix personnel\u00a0? Les deux interpr\u00e9tations coexistent, et aucune ne s\u2019impose clairement. Enfin, une question structurelle a \u00e9t\u00e9 pos\u00e9e, peut-\u00eatre la plus d\u00e9rangeante\u00a0: ces espaces de libert\u00e9 esth\u00e9tique ne produisent-ils pas leurs propres normes\u00a0? L\u2019\u00e9tude tunisienne le montre bien\u00a0: des femmes en viennent \u00e0 juger la sinc\u00e9rit\u00e9 de la pudeur des autres, cr\u00e9ant de nouveaux conflits au sein m\u00eame des communaut\u00e9s. La lib\u00e9ration par l\u2019esth\u00e9tique ne supprime pas les fronti\u00e8res de la norme elle les d\u00e9place.<\/p>\\n<p>Ce panel aura contribu\u00e9 \u00e0 d\u00e9placer le regard\u00a0: plut\u00f4t que d\u2019\u00e9valuer si ces pratiques sont \u00ab\u00a0vraiment\u00a0\u00bb libres ou \u00ab\u00a0vraiment\u00a0\u00bb conformes, il s\u2019agit de comprendre ce qu\u2019elles rendent possible et ce qu\u2019elles produisent. L\u2019art, le v\u00eatement, le geste corporel ne s\u2019opposent pas aux normes religieuses ils les travaillent de l\u2019int\u00e9rieur, en en r\u00e9interpr\u00e9tant les marges.<\/p>\"}, \"axe2-panel2-s1\": {\"name\": \"Xuyen Parsy\", \"html\": \"<h4>Le corps, la transgression, l\u2019imagination\u00a0: trois mani\u00e8res de penser l\u2019\u00e9thique et l\u2019esth\u00e9tique musulmanes<\/h4>\\n<p>Concevoir le corps, la transgression et l\u2019imagination dans l\u2019\u00e9thique et l\u2019esth\u00e9tique musulmanes Jeudi 12 f\u00e9vrier 2026, Salle 1 (Amphith\u00e9\u00e2tre), sous la pr\u00e9sidence de Mohamed-Ali Mostfa, d\u00e9l\u00e9gu\u00e9 scientifique de Pluriel. Laure Zeghad est doctorante en litt\u00e9rature compar\u00e9e \u00e0 l\u2019Universit\u00e9 de Rouen (France). Sa communication \u00ab\u00a0Po\u00e9tique et esth\u00e9tique de la transgression dans Soufi, mon Amour\u00a0: le corps, la musique et la figure du po\u00e8te soufi\u00a0\u00bb \u00e9tait en fran\u00e7ais. Nada Amin est docteure en linguistique et civilisations arabes \u00e0 Universit\u00e9 Lumi\u00e8re Lyon 2 (France). Sa communication \u00ab\u00a0Esth\u00e9tiques, \u00e9thique et identit\u00e9\u00a0: le corps des femmes comme objet de d\u00e9bat dans l\u2019\u00c9gypte contemporaine\u00a0\u00bb \u00e9tait en fran\u00e7ais. Ahmed Kaza est docteur en philosophie \u00e0 l\u2019Universit\u00e9 Chouaib Doukkali (Maroc). Sa communication \u00ab\u00a0La constitution gnostique des valeurs esth\u00e9tiques \u2013 Ibn Arab\u00ee\u00a0\u00bb \u00e9tait en arabe.<\/p>\\n<p>Cette deuxi\u00e8me journ\u00e9e de colloque \u00e9tait consacr\u00e9e \u00e0 la th\u00e9matique de l\u2019\u00ab\u00a0Esth\u00e9tique, \u00e9thique et vie quotidienne\u00a0: interdits, repr\u00e9sentations et pratiques\u00a0\u00bb. Les trois communications de ce panel ont permis de croiser les regards, les temporalit\u00e9s et les aires culturelles, pour se questionner sur le quotidien et sur les enjeux de pouvoir li\u00e9s au corps, \u00e0 la transgression et \u00e0 l\u2019imagination dans le patrimoine islamique.<\/p>\\n<p>Le premier axe de r\u00e9flexion se concentre sur la question du corps comme lieu de spiritualit\u00e9 et de normes sociales. Le corps, que ce soit celui des hommes ou celui des femmes, est presque omnipr\u00e9sent. Laure Zeghad explique qu\u2019avec la danse du Sema dans le roman Soufi, mon Amour, le corps devient le m\u00e9dium de la spiritualit\u00e9 int\u00e9rieure. Les mouvements circulaires sont un miroir de l\u2019ordre du cosmos, selon la th\u00e9orie du microcosme et du macrocosme. La deuxi\u00e8me communication d\u00e9place le curseur sur la question du voile et du d\u00e9voilement, du corps des femmes dans une zone g\u00e9ographique diff\u00e9rente, l\u2019\u00c9gypte. Le corps f\u00e9minin n\u2019est plus simplement un espace domestique, mais devient une revendication collective visible dans l\u2019espace public\u00a0: il est le terrain de n\u00e9gociations entre norme sociale et autonomie des femmes. Cette r\u00e9gulation du corps f\u00e9minin n\u2019a pas besoin de faire appel \u00e0 la contrainte l\u00e9gale, mais s\u2019exerce par une pression symbolique et sociale. Et enfin, la troisi\u00e8me communication analyse les valeurs esth\u00e9tiques de la pens\u00e9e du philosophe Ibn Arab\u00ee, dans laquelle on retrouve un appel \u00e0 la \u00ab\u00a0transformation morale\u00a0\u00bb. Le but est de r\u00e9ussir \u00e0 s\u2019assimiler \u00e0 l\u2019essence divine, \u00e0 travers les noms divins, et de rejoindre le beau et le sublime, auxquels seul Dieu a acc\u00e8s.<\/p>\\n<p>Notre deuxi\u00e8me axe de r\u00e9flexion propose de traiter de la transgression, point de convergence entre l\u2019exp\u00e9rience soufie, le d\u00e9voilement et la contestation de l\u2019ordre social. Le personnage de Shams de Tabriz, dans le roman Soufi, mon Amour, est per\u00e7u comme un h\u00e9r\u00e9tique dans un contexte de cour du roi au Moyen \u00c2ge. Il refuse la conformit\u00e9 sociale pour d\u00e9fendre une exp\u00e9rience personnelle et int\u00e9rieure. En opposition \u00e0 la transgression, la question du port du voile et de l\u2019apparence vestimentaire des \u00c9gyptiennes devient une sorte d\u2019indicateur moral des femmes qui trahit donc une volont\u00e9 de normer la soci\u00e9t\u00e9. Pourtant, il n\u2019existe pas de texte juridique qui oblige les \u00c9gyptiennes \u00e0 porter le voile, contrairement \u00e0 d\u2019autres pays comme l\u2019Iran par exemple, ce qui a \u00e9t\u00e9 soulign\u00e9 lors des questions avec la salle. Le d\u00e9voilement peut alors \u00eatre compris comme une perturbation du dispositif de normalisation. La r\u00e9volution de janvier 2011 montre un tournant dans l\u2019h\u00e9g\u00e9monie du r\u00e9gime politique \u00e9gyptien\u00a0: la contestation et la r\u00e9volte ont d\u00e9sarticul\u00e9 l\u2019espace public et l\u2019autorit\u00e9. Le port et le non-port du voile par les \u00c9gyptiennes traduit de profondes transformations sociales, par exemple d\u00e8s la Nahda, le d\u00e9voilement du visage est per\u00e7u comme un moyen pour les femmes de participer \u00e0 la vie publique et donc au d\u00e9veloppement du pays.<\/p>\\n<p>Le dernier axe questionne la fonction de l\u2019image, de la musique et de l\u2019imagination dans l\u2019acc\u00e8s au bureau et au divin. Dans Soufi, mon Amour, en plus de la danse, la musique du ney joue un r\u00f4le essentiel. Elle devient un espace de m\u00e9diation de l\u2019indicible et elle se substitue au discours rationnel et verbal. Ahmed Kaza pose la question de la place du beau et de la v\u00e9rit\u00e9 dans la peinture et donc de la relation entre l\u2019art et la religion. La peinture, en tant qu\u2019art pictural, est une forme d\u2019imitation de la Cr\u00e9ation, elle ne peut donc pas \u00eatre divine, ce qui conduit \u00e0 un certain iconoclasme. Pourtant dans les textes d\u2019Ibn Arab\u00ee, nous pouvons retrouver une forme de manifestation divine dans la cr\u00e9ation artistique, car l\u2019humain a \u00e9t\u00e9 cr\u00e9\u00e9 \u00e0 l\u2019image de Dieu. Il porte donc en lui des significations divines, dont la facult\u00e9 d\u2019imagination. Selon le penseur, c\u2019est en rejoignant le beau que nous pouvons nouer des liens de fraternit\u00e9 entre les communaut\u00e9s, les peuples et a fortiori entre les religions, afin d\u2019aboutir \u00e0 une forme de coexistence et de coop\u00e9ration.<\/p>\\n<p>Ces trois axes de recherche se croisent plusieurs fois dans un enchev\u00eatrement d\u2019une grande richesse. La question du voilement et du d\u00e9voilement a suscit\u00e9 de nombreux \u00e9changes \u00e0 la fin du panel. Le sujet \u00e9tant \u00e0 la fois \u00e9minemment politique, social et m\u00eame \u00e9conomique avec la modest fashion, ce qui a fait l\u2019objet d\u2019une autre communication lors du Congr\u00e8s. L\u2019alt\u00e9rit\u00e9 et la pluralit\u00e9 religieuse ont \u00e9galement travers\u00e9 ce panel, que ce soit avec la conversion \u00e0 l\u2019islam dans Soufi, mon Amour, ou avec le dialogue interreligieux qui serait facilit\u00e9 par la voie spirituelle, contrairement \u00e0 la voie doctrinale dogmatique. Cette r\u00e9flexion, partag\u00e9e par de nombreux penseurs du monde arabo-musulman, est un excellent moyen de conclure cette synth\u00e8se.<\/p>\"}, \"axe2-panel2-s2\": {\"name\": \"Chadia Gueddara\", \"html\": \"<h4>\u00c9thique, esth\u00e9tique et patrimoine islamique dans la litt\u00e9rature<\/h4>\\n<p>Ce panel d\u00e9place la r\u00e9flexion du champ th\u00e9ologique et mystique vers le domaine litt\u00e9raire, en interrogeant la mani\u00e8re dont les textes fictionnels ou po\u00e9tiques h\u00e9ritent, mobilisent et parfois subvertissent les cat\u00e9gories \u00e9thiques et esth\u00e9tiques de l\u2019islam. Trois volets transversaux structurent l\u2019ensemble des communications.<\/p>\\n<p>Le premier est celui de la tension entre id\u00e9al \u00e9thique et r\u00e9alit\u00e9 institutionnelle ou politique. Siham Amraoui (City University Of New York), \u00e0 partir du Voyage d\u2019Ibn Fattouma de Naguib Mahfouz, montre comment le parcours initiatique de Quindil, structur\u00e9 sur le mod\u00e8le des maq\u0101m\u0101t soufies et orient\u00e9 vers la cit\u00e9 utopique de Dar al-Jabal, se heurte \u00e0 chaque \u00e9tape \u00e0 des soci\u00e9t\u00e9s qui d\u00e9tournent les valeurs qu\u2019elles proclament. La qu\u00eate spirituelle, nourrie des enseignements d\u2019al-Ghazali sur la purification int\u00e9rieure et d\u2019Ibn \u2018Arab\u012b sur le d\u00e9voilement progressif (kashf), devient ainsi une all\u00e9gorie de la tension entre cheminement \u00e9thique et corruption des structures de pouvoir. Cette dialectique entre \u00e9l\u00e9vation mystique et dystopie politique constitue le moteur narratif du roman.<\/p>\\n<p>Le deuxi\u00e8me axe est la litt\u00e9rature comme espace de transmission et d\u2019interrogation du patrimoine islamique. Noureddine Fadily (Universit\u00e9 de Settat), \u00e0 travers Sous le ciel d\u2019Oran de Najib Redouane, aborde l\u2019espace romanesque comme un lieu o\u00f9 se donnent \u00e0 voir les pratiques religieuses, les rituels et la qu\u00eate de bien-\u00eatre spirituel des personnages. Le roman, ancr\u00e9 dans l\u2019histoire de l\u2019Alg\u00e9rie avant et apr\u00e8s la colonisation, fait du patrimoine islamique un fil conducteur permettant de saisir l\u2019\u00e9volution d\u2019une soci\u00e9t\u00e9 et sa lutte pour restaurer ses valeurs face aux crises politiques. L\u2019esth\u00e9tique narrative devient ici un mode d\u2019enqu\u00eate sur la durabilit\u00e9 et les transformations des pratiques islamiques dans un contexte historique mouvement\u00e9. Le troisi\u00e8me axe, plus th\u00e9orique, est pos\u00e9 par Mohamed Ben Mansour (ENS Lyon)\u00a0: celui de la relation entre \u00e9thique et esth\u00e9tique dans la tradition critique arabe m\u00e9di\u00e9vale. En convoquant les th\u00e9oriciens de la po\u00e9sie (Tha\u2019lab, Qud\u0101ma b. Ja\u2019far, al-\u2018Askar\u012b, \u2018Abd al-Q\u0101hir al-Jurjani, Hazim al-Qartajanni) et les philosophes (al-Kind\u012b, al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b, Averro\u00e8s, Avicenne, Miskawayh), Ben Mansour met en lumi\u00e8re une oscillation permanente entre soumission du jugement esth\u00e9tique \u00e0 des consid\u00e9rations morales et affirmation d\u2019une autonomie du po\u00e9tique fond\u00e9e sur son efficace propre. Cette tension entre normativit\u00e9 \u00e9thique et pragmatique verbale offre un cadre th\u00e9orique \u00e9clairant pour les deux autres communications.<\/p>\\n<p>Les communications mobilisent des corpus distincts mais compl\u00e9mentaires. Du c\u00f4t\u00e9 de la tradition soufie, on retrouve les maqamat comme structure initiatique, le kashf (d\u00e9voilement) d\u2019Ibn \u2018Arab\u012b et la purification int\u00e9rieure d\u2019al-Ghaz\u0101l\u012b. Du c\u00f4t\u00e9 de la critique litt\u00e9raire arabe m\u00e9di\u00e9vale, Ben Mansour convoque la notion de \u00ab\u00a0fractales normatives\u00a0\u00bb \u2014 religieuse, logique, rh\u00e9torique \u2014 pour rendre compte des tensions sous-jacentes aux th\u00e9ories po\u00e9tiques. La notion d\u2019utopie dystopique, emprunt\u00e9e \u00e0 la modernit\u00e9 litt\u00e9raire, est articul\u00e9e chez Amraoui avec l\u2019imaginaire islamique classique pour produire une lecture crois\u00e9e originale. Enfin, la question du patrimoine islamique comme objet esth\u00e9tique et vecteur identitaire traverse les trois interventions, renvoyant \u00e0 des d\u00e9bats contemporains sur la m\u00e9moire, la transmission culturelle et la r\u00e9sistance.<\/p>\\n<p>Les trois communications, en se r\u00e9pondant, font \u00e9merger une question commune\u00a0: celle du statut du patrimoine islamique dans le texte litt\u00e9raire \u2014 est-il un horizon normatif que l\u2019\u0153uvre illustre ou interroge, ou bien une mati\u00e8re vivante que l\u2019\u00e9criture reconfigure\u00a0? Chez Mahfouz, le patrimoine soufi fonctionne comme un contre-mod\u00e8le critique\u00a0: les maqamat et le kashf ne sont pas illustr\u00e9s mais retourn\u00e9s, mis en tension avec l\u2019\u00e9chec r\u00e9p\u00e9t\u00e9 du h\u00e9ros. Chez Redouane, le patrimoine islamique est davantage un espace de continuit\u00e9 fragilis\u00e9e, que la narration s\u2019attache \u00e0 pr\u00e9server et \u00e0 transmettre dans un contexte colonial puis postcolonial. Ben Mansour, quant \u00e0 lui, montre que cette tension est d\u00e9j\u00e0 inscrite dans la tradition th\u00e9orique m\u00e9di\u00e9vale elle-m\u00eame\u00a0: le patrimoine po\u00e9tique arabe n\u2019a jamais \u00e9t\u00e9 monolithique, mais travers\u00e9 de part en part par le d\u00e9bat entre la loi morale et l\u2019efficacit\u00e9 du langage. Le panel dessine ainsi une continuit\u00e9 inattendue entre la querelle m\u00e9di\u00e9vale du po\u00e9tique et de l\u2019\u00e9thique et les usages contemporains du patrimoine islamique dans le roman.<\/p>\\n<p>Le principal apport de ce panel est d\u2019articuler deux temporalit\u00e9s de la r\u00e9flexion\u00a0: la th\u00e9orie m\u00e9di\u00e9vale (Ben Mansour) et la pratique romanesque contemporaine (Amraoui, Fadily), montrant ainsi la longue dur\u00e9e des tensions entre \u00e9thique et esth\u00e9tique dans la culture islamique. Il offre \u00e9galement une ouverture comparatiste bienvenue, en rapprochant litt\u00e9rature arabophone (Mahfouz) et litt\u00e9rature maghr\u00e9bine d\u2019expression fran\u00e7aise (Redouane). Par ailleurs, la question de la r\u00e9ception\u00a0: comment les lecteurs contemporains, musulmans ou non, lisent-ils ces textes \u00e0 la lumi\u00e8re du patrimoine islamique \u2014 est rest\u00e9e en suspens, ouvrant une piste de recherche en sociologie de la lecture.<\/p>\\n<p>Chadia Gueddara<\/p>\"}, \"axe2-panel3-s1\": {\"name\": \"Piotr S\u0119kowski\", \"html\": \"<h4>L\u2019esth\u00e9tique comme espace de n\u00e9gociation de la pr\u00e9sence publique de l\u2019islam<\/h4>\\n<p>Le panel consacr\u00e9 \u00e0 l\u2019esth\u00e9tique, \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9thique et \u00e0 la vie quotidienne avait une vocation interdisciplinaire et a fait appara\u00eetre un m\u00eame constat\u00a0: les formes esth\u00e9tiques \u2014 son, musique, v\u00eatement, rituel, mise en sc\u00e8ne de la m\u00e9moire \u2014 deviennent les vecteurs de contenus \u00e9thiques, identitaires et politiques. Les trois communications ont montr\u00e9 que les conflits contemporains relatifs \u00e0 la religion ne portent souvent pas directement sur la doctrine, mais sur la mani\u00e8re dont elle s\u2019incarne et se manifeste. Le panel a ainsi pr\u00e9sent\u00e9 la religion non seulement comme un syst\u00e8me de croyances, mais aussi comme une pratique sensiblement tangible, sociale et politiquement n\u00e9goci\u00e9e.<\/p>\\n<p>Les intervenants \u00e9taient Jaime Flaquer, Dirk Ansorge et R\u00e9mi Caucanas. Leurs communications, bien qu\u2019abordant des contextes diff\u00e9rents, peuvent se lire comme trois variations sur un m\u00eame th\u00e8me\u00a0: l\u2019esth\u00e9tique comme lieu de n\u00e9gociation de la pr\u00e9sence publique de l\u2019islam, \u00e0 travers l\u2019esth\u00e9tique de la r\u00e9bellion dans les musiques contre-culturelles, l\u2019audibilit\u00e9 religieuse \u00e0 travers l\u2019adh\u0101n, et la m\u00e9moire performative de la r\u00e9volte des Mal\u00eas. Dans chacun de ces cas, la religion est apparue non pas seulement comme un contenu doctrinal mais aussi comme une forme de pr\u00e9sence\u00a0: dans le son, le rythme, le v\u00eatement, la visibilit\u00e9 corporelle, la m\u00e9moire collective ou l\u2019occupation de l\u2019espace symbolique.<\/p>\\n<p>Le premier volet, pr\u00e9sent\u00e9 en fran\u00e7ais par Jaime Flaquer, portait sur l\u2019esth\u00e9tique de la r\u00e9bellion comme moyen d\u2019affirmation identitaire. Flaquer a analys\u00e9 les formes musicales contre-culturelles d\u00e9velopp\u00e9es par les communaut\u00e9s musulmanes aux \u00c9tats-Unis et en Europe, en particulier le rap, la trap, le punk et le taqwacore. Il a montr\u00e9 que ces genres ne conduisent pas n\u00e9cessairement \u00e0 une rupture avec la religion, comme cela a souvent \u00e9t\u00e9 le cas dans certains pans de la contre-culture occidentale\u00a0; au contraire, ils peuvent devenir un outil d\u2019affirmation de l\u2019identit\u00e9 musulmane et d\u2019expression de revendications de dignit\u00e9, d\u2019\u00e9galit\u00e9 et de justice. Particuli\u00e8rement marquante a \u00e9t\u00e9 la pr\u00e9sentation de l\u2019islam comme ressource symbolique mobilis\u00e9e dans la critique du capitalisme lib\u00e9ral, de l\u2019h\u00e9t\u00e9ropatriarcat et de l\u2019homog\u00e9n\u00e9isation sociale. L\u2019esth\u00e9tique de la provocation \u2014 qui englobe la musique, le corps, le v\u00eatement et le style \u2014 a \u00e9t\u00e9 pr\u00e9sent\u00e9e comme une forme de r\u00e9sistance politique, mais aussi comme un champ de r\u00e9interpr\u00e9tation de la normativit\u00e9 islamique elle-m\u00eame.<\/p>\\n<p>Le deuxi\u00e8me angle a port\u00e9 sur la religion comme ph\u00e9nom\u00e8ne sensoriel et spatial, en particulier dans sa dimension acoustique. Dirk Ansorge, intervenant en anglais, a trait\u00e9 de l\u2019adh\u0101n public comme pratique religieuse situ\u00e9e au croisement de la libert\u00e9 de religion, des r\u00e9glementations juridiques et de la perception sociale de l\u2019islam. Sa caract\u00e9risation de l\u2019adh\u0101n comme une forme d\u2019\u00ab\u00a0occupation acoustique de l\u2019espace\u00a0\u00bb a particuli\u00e8rement frapp\u00e9\u00a0: la formule saisit la mani\u00e8re dont l\u2019appel \u00e0 la pri\u00e8re est parfois per\u00e7u par certaines parties des soci\u00e9t\u00e9s occidentales non musulmanes. La communication a montr\u00e9 que les controverses contemporaines ne portent g\u00e9n\u00e9ralement pas sur le contenu de l\u2019appel lui-m\u00eame, mais sur son volume, sa port\u00e9e et son effet sur l\u2019espace public partag\u00e9. Le d\u00e9bat se d\u00e9place ainsi du registre th\u00e9ologique vers celui de la gestion de l\u2019audibilit\u00e9 de la religion. Autre apport notable\u00a0: la mise en \u00e9vidence de la profondeur historique de ces tensions et l\u2019analyse des tentatives de convertir l\u2019adh\u0101n d\u2019un ph\u00e9nom\u00e8ne acoustique en un ph\u00e9nom\u00e8ne visuel, \u00e0 l\u2019image de l\u2019\u00ab\u00a0adh\u0101n lumineux\u00a0\u00bb, qui soul\u00e8ve la question des rapports entre esth\u00e9tique, autorit\u00e9 et pr\u00e9sence de la religion.<\/p>\\n<p>Le troisi\u00e8me volet, pr\u00e9sent\u00e9 en fran\u00e7ais par R\u00e9mi Caucanas, portait sur l\u2019esth\u00e9tique de la m\u00e9moire et de la r\u00e9sistance. Caucanas, en analysant la m\u00e9moire de la r\u00e9volte des Mal\u00eas au Br\u00e9sil et ses comm\u00e9morations contemporaines \u2014 notamment dans le cadre du carnaval afro-br\u00e9silien \u2014, a pr\u00e9sent\u00e9 l\u2019esth\u00e9tique comme un outil de mise en r\u00e9cit d\u2019une histoire de violence, d\u2019esclavage et de marginalisation religieuse. Le v\u00eatement blanc des r\u00e9volt\u00e9s, les symboles rituels, les amulettes, la langue arabe et les formes contemporaines de comm\u00e9moration performative ont \u00e9t\u00e9 interpr\u00e9t\u00e9s comme des \u00e9l\u00e9ments qui constituent \u00e0 la fois la m\u00e9moire historique et les expressions actuelles de l\u2019activisme noir. La communication n\u2019a toutefois pas r\u00e9duit la r\u00e9volte des Mal\u00eas \u00e0 un mod\u00e8le simple de djihad ni \u00e0 une th\u00e9ologie islamique de la lib\u00e9ration formul\u00e9e de mani\u00e8re univoque\u00a0; elle a au contraire insist\u00e9 sur la complexit\u00e9 des rapports entre islam, r\u00e9sistance \u00e0 l\u2019esclavage, critique de la christianisation forc\u00e9e et alliances tactiques avec d\u2019autres groupes africains. La m\u00e9moire des Mal\u00eas est ainsi apparue comme un espace dans lequel l\u2019esth\u00e9tique ne se contente pas de repr\u00e9senter la r\u00e9sistance\u00a0: elle participe activement \u00e0 sa r\u00e9alisation.<\/p>\\n<p>La discussion a clairement fait \u00e9merger l\u2019enjeu de la pr\u00e9sence publique de l\u2019islam, th\u00e8me commun aux trois communications. Le panel a montr\u00e9 que les controverses qui entourent l\u2019islam dans l\u2019espace public d\u2019aujourd\u2019hui portent souvent sur des formes d\u2019expression jug\u00e9es trop bruyantes, trop visibles ou trop provocantes \u2014 qu\u2019il s\u2019agisse des musiques contre-culturelles, des appels \u00e0 la pri\u00e8re publics ou des esth\u00e9tiques de la m\u00e9moire qui se rapportent au pass\u00e9 musulman. En arri\u00e8re-plan se posait la question de savoir si l\u2019on peut parler d\u2019une \u00e9thique musulmane sp\u00e9cifique de la r\u00e9sistance, ou s\u2019il faut plut\u00f4t parler de configurations locales et historiquement situ\u00e9es dans lesquelles l\u2019islam devient l\u2019un des langages de la dissidence.<\/p>\\n<p>L\u2019un des principaux apports scientifiques du panel est de montrer que l\u2019esth\u00e9tique n\u2019est pas un simple appendice de la religion mais l\u2019une des formes fondamentales de son existence sociale. Les intervenants ont d\u00e9montr\u00e9 de mani\u00e8re convaincante que c\u2019est pr\u00e9cis\u00e9ment dans la sph\u00e8re esth\u00e9tique \u2014 son, image, rythme, costume, performance \u2014 que se r\u00e9v\u00e8lent les tensions entre norme et libert\u00e9, tradition et transgression, visibilit\u00e9 et exclusion. Malgr\u00e9 la diversit\u00e9 des contextes, le panel s\u2019est av\u00e9r\u00e9 coh\u00e9rent et stimulant intellectuellement, en d\u00e9montrant que l\u2019esth\u00e9tique constitue l\u2019un des espaces privil\u00e9gi\u00e9s dans lesquels la religion n\u00e9gocie aujourd\u2019hui sa pr\u00e9sence, son sens et sa l\u00e9gitimit\u00e9 dans la vie quotidienne. La question finale demeure ouverte\u00a0: jusqu\u2019\u00e0 quel point peut-on parler d\u2019une \u00e9thique musulmane de la r\u00e9sistance comme cat\u00e9gorie g\u00e9n\u00e9rale, et \u00e0 partir de quel moment faut-il plut\u00f4t parler de configurations locales et historiques de la r\u00e9sistance\u00a0?<\/p>\\n<p>\u2014 Piotr S\u0119kowski<\/p>\"}, \"axe3-panel3-s1\": {\"name\": \"Fr. Mina-Athanase Abdelmeseh Said O.P\", \"html\": \"<h4>Litt\u00e9rature, voyage soufi et dialogue interreligieux\u00a0: le barzakh comme espace tiers<\/h4>\\n<p>Intervenants du panel\u00a0: Beate Bengard, Gabriel Khairallah et Maria Gracia L\u00f3pez Anguita.<\/p>\\n<h4>Probl\u00e9matique commune des trois communications<\/h4>\\n<p>Le panel a interrog\u00e9 la mani\u00e8re dont l\u2019\u00e9thique et l\u2019esth\u00e9tique s\u2019entrelacent dans le patrimoine \u00e0 travers l\u2019\u00e9tude du roman contemporain et du r\u00e9cit de voyage soufi, en soulignant la capacit\u00e9 de ces productions litt\u00e9raires \u00e0 favoriser le dialogue interreligieux et la compr\u00e9hension des valeurs partag\u00e9es. La litt\u00e9rature y est apparue comme un moyen d\u2019expression pour comprendre l\u2019\u00eatre humain, sa relation au monde dans lequel il vit, sa position par rapport au divin et \u00e0 l\u2019universel, ainsi que pour explorer les questions de justice sociale, de m\u00e9moire historique collective et de contemplation spirituelle. Ces \u0153uvres ouvrent \u00e0 une relecture de l\u2019histoire, \u00e0 une r\u00e9flexion sur la violence et l\u2019hospitalit\u00e9, et permettent ainsi une lecture int\u00e9gr\u00e9e des dimensions \u00e9thiques et esth\u00e9tiques qui tissent la relation entre Dieu, l\u2019\u00eatre humain et le monde.<\/p>\\n<h4>Coh\u00e9rence scientifique du panel<\/h4>\\n<p>La coh\u00e9rence scientifique du panel repose sur une approche commune qui refuse de r\u00e9duire les traditions religieuses \u00e0 une lecture strictement doctrinale et qui valorise au contraire l\u2019analyse des formes litt\u00e9raires comme porteuses de sens th\u00e9ologique et \u00e9thique. Malgr\u00e9 la diversit\u00e9 des corpus \u00e9tudi\u00e9s, du roman contemporain \u00e0 la litt\u00e9rature moderne et jusqu\u2019au r\u00e9cit de voyage soufi de la p\u00e9riode pr\u00e9-moderne, les trois communications convergent vers une m\u00eame question\u00a0: celle des potentialit\u00e9s critiques, dialogales et herm\u00e9neutiques des esth\u00e9tiques dans des soci\u00e9t\u00e9s marqu\u00e9es par la pluralit\u00e9 religieuse et communautaire et par les conflits historiques.<\/p>\\n<h4>Axe 1. Les esth\u00e9tiques comme m\u00e9diation \u00e9thique et th\u00e9ologique<\/h4>\\n<p>Les trois communications ont mis en \u00e9vidence le r\u00f4le d\u00e9cisif des esth\u00e9tiques comme espace interm\u00e9diaire reliant la r\u00e9flexion \u00e9thique et le questionnement th\u00e9ologique. Chez D\u017eevad Karahasan, la symbolique eschatologique sert \u00e0 comprendre les catastrophes historiques telles que le si\u00e8ge de Sarajevo\u00a0: les lieux y deviennent des \u00ab\u00a0r\u00e9servoirs d\u2019\u00e2mes\u00a0\u00bb qui rassemblent les morts dans une sc\u00e8ne refl\u00e9tant le devoir de m\u00e9moire \u00e9thique et spirituelle, et r\u00e9v\u00e8lent le barzakh comme espace de communication entre les vivants et les morts, comme lieu tiers de la connaissance spirituelle. De m\u00eame, dans Awl\u0101d \u1e24\u0101ratin\u0101 (Les Fils de la M\u00e9dina) de Naguib Mahfouz, le r\u00e9cit all\u00e9gorique devient un outil philosophique et litt\u00e9raire pour penser le pouvoir, la justice et l\u2019agression\u00a0: Gabalawi y repr\u00e9sente l\u2019autorit\u00e9 sup\u00e9rieure dans le monde, la violence et l\u2019injustice y demeurent objets de m\u00e9ditation morale, tandis que la symbolique permet d\u2019explorer indirectement la relation entre l\u2019humain et le monde divin. Quant aux voyages d\u2019\u02bfAbd al-Ghan\u012b al-N\u0101bulus\u012b, ils font appara\u00eetre la nature et l\u2019architecture religieuse dans leur diversit\u00e9 confessionnelle comme des textes ouverts \u00e0 la contemplation soufie, qui relient le sensible et le m\u00e9taphysique et ouvrent l\u2019horizon d\u2019une exp\u00e9rience spirituelle refl\u00e9tant l\u2019unit\u00e9 de l\u2019\u00eatre (wa\u1e25dat al-wuj\u016bd) et la possibilit\u00e9 de saisir la v\u00e9rit\u00e9 divine \u00e0 travers les esth\u00e9tiques.<\/p>\\n<h4>Axe 2. Relire l\u2019histoire et la violence \u00e0 travers les formes symboliques<\/h4>\\n<p>La relecture de l\u2019histoire et de la violence constitue l\u2019un des axes transversaux du panel. Les communications ont mobilis\u00e9 les formes symboliques pour analyser les crises historiques. Dans la philosophie de Karahasan, les catastrophes sont comprises comme des moments de suspension du temps pour les morts, et la m\u00e9moire devient le seul moyen d\u2019emp\u00eacher la d\u00e9composition spirituelle et sociale de la cit\u00e9, reliant l\u2019histoire personnelle et collective au monde spirituel. Chez Mahfouz, les m\u00e9taphores narratives se font critique des dominations politiques et religieuses\u00a0: elles montrent comment chaque g\u00e9n\u00e9ration reproduit les m\u00eames conflits, en insistant sur les d\u00e9fis \u00e9thiques de la pratique de la justice. \u00c0 travers les voyages de N\u0101bulus\u012b, les paysages et les \u00e9difices sont r\u00e9interpr\u00e9t\u00e9s comme des stations d\u2019enseignement et de spiritualit\u00e9, et l\u2019histoire collective est revisit\u00e9e selon une perspective symbolique qui m\u00eale l\u2019exp\u00e9rience soufie et l\u2019exp\u00e9rience \u00e9thique.<\/p>\\n<h4>Axe 3. Esth\u00e9tiques et dialogue interreligieux<\/h4>\\n<p>Les communications s\u2019accordent \u00e0 reconna\u00eetre que les esth\u00e9tiques ouvrent un espace de dialogue entre les religions, non pas au niveau de la comparaison doctrinale, mais par l\u2019exp\u00e9rience herm\u00e9neutique partag\u00e9e. Les figures bibliques et chr\u00e9tiennes et les sacr\u00e9s communs apparaissent, dans les \u0153uvres litt\u00e9raires, comme des moyens de d\u00e9passer le confessionnalisme tout en pr\u00e9servant la diff\u00e9rence, ce qui ouvre la possibilit\u00e9 d\u2019un dialogue spirituel qui transcende l\u2019opposition th\u00e9ologique explicite. Les communications ont montr\u00e9 la difficult\u00e9 du dialogue autour des \u00ab\u00a0fins derni\u00e8res\u00a0\u00bb en raison des \u00e9carts entre les conceptions islamique et chr\u00e9tienne de l\u2019au-del\u00e0\u00a0: par exemple la compr\u00e9hension du jugement dernier ou de l\u2019\u00e2me, o\u00f9 la position du christianisme protestant diff\u00e8re de la conception islamique de la r\u00e9alit\u00e9 derni\u00e8re. Les trois \u0153uvres affirment cependant la possibilit\u00e9 d\u2019aboutir \u00e0 un respect et \u00e0 une reconnaissance mutuels entre ces deux visions, et pr\u00e9sentent une vision de l\u2019autre comme partie int\u00e9grante d\u2019une compr\u00e9hension \u00e9thique et esth\u00e9tique du monde et de l\u2019au-del\u00e0.<\/p>\\n<h4>Points de discussion<\/h4>\\n<p>Les \u00e9changes ont mis en lumi\u00e8re le fait que l\u2019efficacit\u00e9 dialogale de ces productions litt\u00e9raires n\u2019est pas seulement une fonction cognitive ou p\u00e9dagogique\u00a0: c\u2019est une exp\u00e9rience herm\u00e9neutique continue qui place le lecteur ou le destinataire devant des questionnements \u00e9thiques et spirituels portant sur la justice, la m\u00e9moire et la relation \u00e0 l\u2019autre, tout en renfor\u00e7ant le respect mutuel entre les visions chr\u00e9tienne et islamique de l\u2019au-del\u00e0, sans chercher \u00e0 r\u00e9duire ou \u00e0 effacer les diff\u00e9rences th\u00e9ologiques. \u00c0 la lumi\u00e8re des \u0153uvres de Karahasan, Mahfouz et N\u0101bulus\u012b, il est apparu clairement que la litt\u00e9rature et le r\u00e9cit de voyage soufi peuvent fonder un espace interm\u00e9diaire\u00a0:<\/p>\\n<p>\u2013 Karahasan cr\u00e9e un barzakh vivant o\u00f9 les \u00e9v\u00e9nements historiques croisent l\u2019exp\u00e9rience spirituelle, en insistant sur le devoir de m\u00e9moire \u00e9thique et sur la reconnaissance de l\u2019autre au sein du tissu de la ville et de l\u2019\u00e9v\u00e9nement historique. \u2013 Mahfouz reconstruit l\u2019histoire humaine par la symbolique de la ruelle (\u1e25\u0101ra), explicitant les d\u00e9fis \u00e9thiques du pouvoir et de la justice, et maintenant le lecteur dans un \u00e9tat de m\u00e9ditation permanente sur la relation entre l\u2019humain, le divin et le cosmos. \u2013 N\u0101bulus\u012b pr\u00e9sente la nature et l\u2019architecture comme des instruments contemplatifs reliant le sensible au m\u00e9taphysique, ouvrant un espace de rencontre spirituelle entre les fid\u00e8les des diff\u00e9rentes religions, tout en pr\u00e9servant l\u2019exp\u00e9rience individuelle de la saintet\u00e9 et de la beaut\u00e9.<\/p>\\n<h4>Apports et limites du panel<\/h4>\\n<p>Le panel a d\u00e9pass\u00e9 l\u2019exposition descriptive des textes pour produire d\u2019importantes conclusions th\u00e9oriques, parmi lesquelles\u00a0:<\/p>\\n<p>\u2013 Anthropologie du lieu\u00a0: la ville, dans l\u2019\u0153uvre de Karahasan, est red\u00e9finie comme entit\u00e9 spirituelle, \u00ab\u00a0r\u00e9servoir d\u2019\u00e2mes\u00a0\u00bb qui d\u00e9passe la simple existence mat\u00e9rielle. \u2013 Philosophie du r\u00e9cit\u00a0: la symbolique de Mahfouz transforme la ruelle d\u2019un simple espace g\u00e9ographique en laboratoire axiologique pour examiner la dialectique justice \/ pouvoir. \u2013 Dialogue esth\u00e9tique comme alternative doctrinale\u00a0: l\u2019exp\u00e9rience soufie chez N\u0101bulus\u012b est pr\u00e9sent\u00e9e comme voie de communication civilisationnelle avec l\u2019autre, par le commun esth\u00e9tique et spirituel, plut\u00f4t que par l\u2019affrontement doctrinal direct.<\/p>\\n<h4>Limites du panel<\/h4>\\n<p>\u2013 Th\u00e9matiques\u00a0: les contributions se sont concentr\u00e9es sur les dimensions herm\u00e9neutiques et philosophiques des textes, sans aborder l\u2019articulation de ces textes avec les aspects quotidiens contemporains du lecteur d\u2019aujourd\u2019hui. \u2013 Corpus\u00a0: l\u2019analyse s\u2019est restreinte \u00e0 des exemples choisis (litt\u00e9rature bosniaque avec Karahasan, litt\u00e9rature arabe moderne avec Mahfouz, litt\u00e9rature de voyage classique avec N\u0101bulus\u012b), ce qui rapporte les r\u00e9sultats \u00e0 ces contextes sp\u00e9cifiques.<\/p>\\n<p>\u2014 Fr. Mina-Athanase Abdelmeseh Said, O.P.<\/p>\"}};\n\n    function init() {\n        var panels = document.querySelectorAll('h6[id*=\"panel\"]');\n        panels.forEach(function (h6) {\n            var entry = SYNTHESES[h6.id];\n            if (!entry || !entry.html) return;\n\n            var btn = document.createElement('button');\n            btn.type = 'button';\n            btn.className = 'cordoue-panel-synthese';\n            btn.innerHTML = ''\n                + '<span class=\"cordoue-panel-synthese__icon\">'\n                +     '<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\">'\n                +         '<path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/>'\n                +         '<polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/>'\n                +         '<line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/>'\n                +         '<line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/>'\n                +         '<line x1=\"10\" y1=\"9\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"9\"\/>'\n                +     '<\/svg>'\n                + '<\/span>'\n                + '<span class=\"cordoue-panel-synthese__text\">'\n                +     '<span class=\"cordoue-panel-synthese__title\">' + L.title + '<\/span>'\n                +     '<span class=\"cordoue-panel-synthese__subtitle\">' + L.subtitle + '<\/span>'\n                + '<\/span>'\n                + '<span class=\"cordoue-panel-synthese__arrow\">' + (lang === 'ar' ? 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Joaqu\u00edn Alberto Nieva Garc\u00eda                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Dean-President of the Chapter of the Cathedral of C\u00f3rdoba<\/span>\n                                            <\/div>\n\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Pr. Mercedes Torres Jim\u00e9nez                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Vice-Rector of Loyola Andaluc\u00eda University<\/span>\n                                            <\/div>\n\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                M. Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda Bellido Roche                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Mayor of the City of C\u00f3rdoba<\/span>\n                                            <\/div>\n\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Mgr Jes\u00fas Fern\u00e1ndez Gonz\u00e1lez                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Bishop of C\u00f3rdoba<\/span>\n                                            <\/div>\n\n                    <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" >\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\"><\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Opening Speeches            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n<div id=\"prog-maconnerie\">\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                P. Paulin Batairwa Kubuya                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Representing Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue<\/span>\n                                            <\/div>\n\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Pr. Michel Youn\u00e8s                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">General Coordinator of <em>Pluriel<\/em>, Dean of the Faculty of Theology at the Catholic University of Lyon<\/span>\n                                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/opening-address-of-the-cordoba-congress\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-1', 'Pr. Michel Youn\u00e8s', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-1\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Professor of theology and Islamic studies, he directs the Centre for the Study of Cultures and Religions. He co-directed the university diploma 'Religion, Religious Freedom and Secularism' from 2013 to 2019. He coordinates Pluriel and the seminar 'Religions and Businesses'.\nIn 2020, he became deputy director of the Research Unit 'CONFLUENCE Sciences & Humanities', UCLy. On 1 September 2023, he was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Theology at the Catholic University of Lyon for a three-year term.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                        \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" style=\"margin-top:10px;\">\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\"><\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Keynote Lecture            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n<div id=\"prog-maconnerie\">\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" style=\"width: 100%; \">\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Ghaleb Bencheikh                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Islamologist and President of the Foundation for Islam in France<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Axiological approaches to Islam<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/videos\/approches-axiologiques-du-fait-islamique\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Axiological approaches to Islam\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-2', 'Abstract : Axiological approaches to Islam', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-2\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Theological and metaphysical thought in Islamic contexts has contributed to the development of a value system that played a fundamental role as a social and cultural bond in Muslim-majority societies throughout history.\nWe will see that, beyond logic and rhetoric which constitute a sub-branch of modern axiology, the two major disciplines that are its preferred domains\u2014ethics and aesthetics\u2014are omnipresent in the moral, intellectual, and artistic determination of Islamic civilization.\nIndeed, ethical concern is central in the profusion of al-adab treatises and the long tradition of 'etiquettes of souls' with the appreciation of good conduct and savoir-vivre. And the particular importance of aesthetics characterized a hedonistic life sensitive to refinement and artistic production, with beauty as supreme theophany and magnificence as transcendent ideal; the contemplation of Creation's splendors in the 'spread book' being in perfect congruence with meditation on the verses of the 'revealed book'.\nFinally, we will question the disposition of contemporary theological thought, beyond a 'morality of prohibition,' to constitute itself in an innovative and bold vein, as a source of humanist ethics with the aesthetic experience of the love of beauty culminating in a life-giving and elevating spirituality.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-3', 'Ghaleb Bencheikh', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-3\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Ghaleb Bencheikh el Hocine, born January 25, 1960 in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), is a French-Algerian Islamologist, holder of a doctorate in physical sciences (fluid mechanics, Paris 6 University) and trained in philosophy. Son of Sheikh Abbas Bencheikh el Hocine, rector of the Great Mosque of Paris (1982-1989), and brother of Soheib Bencheikh, Grand Mufti of Marseille, he comes from an Algerian Sufi lineage.\nKnown for his liberal and reformist Islam, he advocates a 'theological refoundation' of Islam adapted to modernity and republican secularism. From 2000 to 2019, he hosted the program Islam on France 2, then produced Questions d'islam on France Culture. President of the World Conference of Religions for Peace (French branch), he teaches the history of monotheisms at Paris-Dauphine University and the Secular School of Religions.\nElected president of the Foundation for Islam in France (FIF) in December 2018, succeeding Jean-Pierre Chev\u00e8nement, he was re-elected in 2024. The FIF supports doctoral students in Islamic studies, trains imams in secularism, launches 'popular universities' and the Lumi\u00e8res d'Islam website. A member of the Council of Sages on Secularism, he works on radicalization and interreligious dialogue.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                        \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" style=\"margin-bottom: 40px;\">\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\">9pm \u2013 Evening<\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Cocktail            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n<hr \/>\n\n<div style=\"height: 50px;\"><\/div>\n\n<h4 id=\"jour-mercredi\">Wednesday, February 11, 2026<\/h4>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/maps.app.goo.gl\/871hGikrgziZgc3o9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"prog-lieu\"><span class=\"prog-lieu-icon\">\ud83d\udccd<\/span> Bishopric of the Mosque-Cathedral (Obispado de C\u00f3rdoba) \u2013 Calle Torrijos, 12<\/a>\n\n<h5 class=\"axe-title\">Axis 1: Ethics and Aesthetics in Islamic Heritage: History, Language and Philosophy<\/h5>\n<div class=\"conference-intro\">This axis aims to explore the historical dimensions of the relationship between ethics and aesthetics in Islamic heritage, the relationship to speech and its truth, and the place of their articulation within philosophy and Sufism.<\/div>\n\n<h6 style=\"font-weight: bold;\">9am: Welcome and distribution of badges and programme<\/h6>\n<p><em>Please keep your badge throughout the Congress, as it will give you free access to the Mosque-Cathedral on February 11 and 12. Simply show it at the building reception.<\/em><\/p>\n<h6 style=\"font-weight: bold;\">9:30am<\/h6>\n\n<div id=\"prog-maconnerie\">\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" style=\"width: 100%; \">\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Emmanuel Pisani                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Dominican Institute for Oriental Studies, Cairo<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Key Questions of the Congress<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/the-theme-of-the-cordoba-congress\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Key Questions of the Congress\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-4', 'Emmanuel Pisani', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-4\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>A Dominican, Emmanuel Pisani holds a doctorate in philosophy (Arab studies, University of Lyon-III) and a doctorate in theology (Catholic University of Lyon). Holding a canonical licentiate in theology and a DEA in political science (IEP Bordeaux), he received the Mohammed Arkoun Prize in 2014 for a thesis in Islamic studies entitled \"Heterodox and Non-Muslims in the Thought of al-Ghazali.\" Director of the Dominican Institute for Oriental Studies (IDEO, Cairo), he teaches at the Catholic Institute of Paris, where he directed the Institute of Sciences and Theology of Religions from 2013 to 2021.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-auto\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-auto-5', 'Automatic translation that may contain errors', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Automatic translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-auto-5\" style=\"display:none;\"><article>\r\n<header>\r\n<h2>Ethics and Aesthetics in Islamic Heritage<\/h2>\r\n<h2>An Outline of a Problematic<\/h2>\r\n<p><strong>Emmanuel Pisani<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>Dominican Institute for Oriental Studies, Cairo<\/p>\r\n<\/header>\r\n\r\n<p>During his stay in Spain in 1932, the Urdu-language philosopher and poet Muhammad Iqbal wrote one of his most famous poems, <em>Masjid-e-Qurtaba<\/em>. The experience of the journey\u2014and of his visit\u2014there becomes a historical and spiritual contemplation of Islam as it is tested by time. The poem appears in his collection <em>B\u0101l-e-Jibr\u012bl<\/em>, <em>Gabriel's Wing<\/em>. In the few stanzas retained here, he presents the sanctuary as follows:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class='poem'>\r\n<p>O sanctuary of Cordoba,<br\/>It is through love that you exist;<br\/>Love is pure permanence,<br\/>In it there is neither becoming nor decline.<\/p>\r\n<p>Color, brick or stone,<br\/>String, letter or sound,<br\/>The miracle of art does not appear<br\/>Except through the blood of the heart.<\/p>\r\n<p>(...)<\/p>\r\n<p>Your majesty and your beauty<br\/>Are proof of the man of God;<br\/>He too is majesty and beauty,<br\/>You too are majesty and beauty.<\/p>\r\n<p>Your building endures,<br\/>Your columns are innumerable,<br\/>Like a crowd of palm trees<br\/>In the Syrian desert.<\/p>\r\n<p>On your doors and on your roofs<br\/>The light of the Valley of Ayman shines;<br\/>Your minaret rises,<br\/>A place of Gabriel's epiphany.<\/p>\r\n<p>(...)<\/p>\r\n<p>Through you was unveiled<br\/>The believer's secret:<br\/>The burning of his days,<br\/>The fervor of his nights.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<p>By affirming that the monument's majesty is the same as the believer's, Iqbal invites us to think and to see aesthetics in Islamic heritage not as a mere adornment, but as an objectification of faith and of religious, spiritual, and moral virtue. The stone of Cordoba stands not by mortar, but by Love\u2014this \"pure permanence\" that reconciles sensible form and ethical demand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>How easy it is, in the light of this poem, to open the theme of our conference on \"ethics and aesthetics in Islamic heritage,\" since in this place nothing arrests the gaze and the eye opens onto infinity. For it knows neither where to stop nor where to begin. In these innumerable pillars, the mind lets go of every form; it no longer fixes itself; it moves on and abandons itself in an endless forest. But how are we to read and grasp the intelligibility of this artistic perception of infinity?<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Within the European philosophical tradition, the apprehension of Islamic aesthetics has been profoundly shaped by the reading proposed by Hegel in his <em>Aesthetics<\/em>. He recognizes in Oriental art the beauty of ornamental refinement, exemplified by the arabesque, yet he sees it as proof that, here, the Idea is incapable of fixing itself in a concrete form. The infinite repetition of motifs is, in his eyes, the mark of a spirit which, by escaping into abstraction, does not succeed in grasping the spiritual reality of the human being. For him, even if Oriental art is characterized by the Spirit's effort to express the absolute, it does not possess an adequate sensible form, which generates a persistent imbalance between the Idea and the artistic figure. As he puts it, Islamic art therefore belongs essentially to the sublime, the absolute being conceived as an abstract unity before which the individual is not yet able to affirm himself as a free subject. Islamic art manifests an authentic and historically established spiritual orientation, but it remains, for Hegel, a pre-classical art. It is an <em>unvollkommene, unangemessene, vorbereitende Kunst<\/em>\u2014that is, an unfinished, incomplete, inadequate, preparatory art. It is not able to attain the accomplished unity of form and subjective freedom that defines Greek classical art and, later, Romantic art. This inability to figure the Absolute prevents the conscious unity of form and content, the condition of accomplished art. This vision deeply marked nineteenth- and twentieth-century Orientalism. Even today, it shapes certain judgments about Islamic artistic aesthetics. Yet it must be acknowledged that the work of art historians\u2014whether from East or West, North or South\u2014has largely moved beyond this view. Oleg Grabar has shown, for example, that Islamic ornament is not compensatory: it does not replace an absent representation; it organizes aesthetic experience itself; it is a central structure for the production of meaning; it is an active mediation between the work, space, and the viewer. Contrary to the Hegelian perspective, Islamic art does not seek to \"say the Idea\" in a form, but to place the subject in a dynamic relation with space and the visible. The historian G\u00fclru Necipo\u011flu, for her part, has established that Islamic abstraction is conceptual and intellectual, not primitive or merely symbolic in the Hegelian sense. In <em>The Topkapi Scroll: Geometry and Ornament in Islamic Architecture<\/em>, she shows that geometry and repetition express a sophisticated visual rationality, not a primitive stage of art.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>By sounding and scrutinizing Islam's philosophical, theological, legal, and spiritual heritage, other scholars have also shown that it offers original perspectives for thinking the link between ethics and aesthetics, and that it possesses concepts of its own that translate a singular apprehension\u2014one that the Hegelian philosophical vision cannot reach, imprisoned as it is within a Eurocentric reading of the world. Our conference is thus situated in the light of this fertile ground of readjusted knowledge and renewed recognition. But to do so, it is first necessary to identify and remove a difficulty\u2014no minor one\u2014without which our ambition would risk reproducing, in another form, Hegelian Eurocentrism. For are not the very words we have used to formulate our theme historically and geographically situated? Do they not lead us away from that singular and specific gaze on Islamic heritage that we wish to study?<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Indeed, how have we translated \"ethics\" and \"aesthetics\" into Arabic? The terms <em>a\u1e2bl\u0101qiyya<\/em> and <em>\u01e7am\u0101liyya<\/em> seemed to us the most appropriate. However, these are modern neologisms, which we do not find as such in Ibn S\u012bn\u0101, in F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b, or in \u0120az\u0101l\u012b. They translate an eighteenth-century problematic and belong to philosophical distinctions between aesthetics and the beautiful, ethics and morality.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>If in Arabic \"aesthetics\" and \"the beautiful\" derive from the same root <em>\u01e7a.ma.la<\/em>, French draws on different etymologies: <em>beau<\/em> comes from the Latin <em>bellus<\/em>, which refers to the harmonious, the pleasing, a quality of the object or of experience. The beautiful is a value. <em>Aesth\u00e9tique<\/em>, by contrast, comes from the Greek <em>aisth\u0113sis<\/em>, which refers to the idea of sensation, of perception. In the eighteenth century, in a foundational and founding work, Baumgarten defined it as the science of sensible cognition; aesthetics refers to a theory of sensibility, of feeling, of perceptual experience. In this framework, it cannot be reduced to the beautiful, for aesthetics can include the ugly, the sublime, the shocking, the ambiguous, the disturbing. It can be invoked just as well to express the sacrality of a place\u2014whether a mosque or the Kaaba itself\u2014as to express resistance to a social or political order, or again an ambivalent relation to violence or blood\u2014as in the aesthetics of martyrs. Moreover, for Baumgarten, aesthetics is not limited to art, but embraces the whole field of knowledge that does not fall under a rational, logical, distinct science, and which includes in particular mnemonics (105, 241), astrology, physiognomy, mantics, and so on. What he calls the <em>analogon<\/em> of reason (<em>analogon rationis<\/em>) refers to the faculty of sensible cognition. It does not produce conceptual and distinct knowledge, but organizes the sensible coherently, according to its own logic. In relation to the beautiful, the difference is both structural and epistemological. Aesthetics refers neither to a property of being\u2014whether harmony or proportion\u2014nor to a metaphysics to contemplate. Aesthetics is the way in which the sensible knows.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>As for ethics, French again draws a decisive distinction by differentiating it from morality. Where Arabic uses the root <em>\u1e2ba.la.qa<\/em> both for ethics and for morality, French relies on two different etymologies that make the differentiation explicit: <em>morale<\/em> comes from the Latin <em>m\u014dres<\/em>, \"customs,\" and designates socially established rules of conduct. In Cicero and Seneca, <em>m\u014ds<\/em>\/<em>m\u014dr\u0113s<\/em> designates conduct in conformity with the virtues and laws of society. Thus morality prescribes what one must do in order to conform to usages or to collective virtues. In modern philosophy, morality is universalized with the Kantian categorical imperative, but it remains normative. Ethics, by contrast, comes from the Greek <em>\u0113thos<\/em>, \"character.\" Aristotelian ethics is practical: it aims at <em>eudaimonia<\/em>, the good life, by forming character through habit and reason. It concerns inner formation and the development of personal dispositions. In modern philosophy, it is reflective and contextual; it is bound up with the autonomy of the subject and with judgment. In Paul Ric\u0153ur's words, it is the aim of the \"good life, with and for others, in just institutions,\" a masterful definition that underscores the relational and political dimensions of ethics. Ethics is also affirmed there in a teleological dimension\u2014that of the good life\u2014since it orients existence toward fulfillment, an end, prior to any rule, whereas morality first introduces the normative demand. To translate Aristotelian ethics, Arabic philosophers used the word <em>a\u1e2bl\u0101q<\/em>, while the word <em>a\u1e2bl\u0101qiya<\/em> is used in the modern sense to translate the critical and reflective dimension of ethics.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>From these etymological considerations, we note that the Arabic terminology retained for the title of our conference actually inscribes it within a problematic that is not, at first sight, connected to a heritage-based inquiry. It does not immediately call for drawing on classical Islamic sources in order to think the relation between ethics and aesthetics. To be sure, the terminology does not exclude, from an Islamic standpoint, questioning the experience and expression of the sensible. It makes it possible to account for the pursuit of happiness, the desire to live well, the will to render visible a positive relation to others, to shape interreligious or intercultural dialogue grounded in aesthetics with multiple sources. It may also refer to questions concerning the artist's responsibility, the limits of transgression, the ethics of representing <em>\u01e7ih\u0101d<\/em>, violence, or the sacred, or again the aesthetic uses of technologies. All of this is possible, but all of this belongs to a modern and contemporary problematic that does not invite us to begin from Islamic heritage itself, as the primary source\u2014which, let us admit it, is no small paradox.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>A paradox all the more significant since many medieval Muslim thinkers addressed questions concerning the intertwining of beauty, sensibility, art, and perfection, and were able to forge concepts for their treatises in philosophy, theology, law, medicine, optics, or rhetoric. One may think, for example, of the notions of <em>\u01e7am\u0101l<\/em>, <em>\u1e25usn<\/em>, <em>z\u012bna<\/em>, or <em>i\u1e25s\u0101n<\/em>. Do they not say something specific about the intertwining of \"ethics\" and \"aesthetics\"? And how has this relation, in the believing Muslim world, been able to express a particular thought about God's transcendence and to shape a distinctive spiritual or mystical path?<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The question has been explored in the philosophy of art, and the work of \u02bfAf\u012bf Bahnas\u012b has notably shown that \u1e24ayy\u0101n al-Taw\u1e25\u012bd\u012b, the tenth-century philosopher of Baghdad, was not only a man of letters but also a theorist of the beauty of forms. Calligraphy has been read as a junction between the perfection of nature and the spirituality of the soul. In Ab\u016b \u1e24ayy\u0101n al-Taw\u1e25\u012bd\u012b, indeed, it is not a mere technique for transcribing Qur\u02beanic verses; it is the site of a fusion between metaphysics, psychology, and the plastic arts. In his famous <em>Ris\u0101la f\u012b al-\u1e2aa\u1e6d\u1e6d wa-l-qalam<\/em> (Epistle on calligraphy and the reed pen), he lays foundations that transform writing into a genuine \"phenomenology of spirit.\" Contrary to Hegel, who saw in calligraphy an incompleteness, an impoverishment, al-Taw\u1e25\u012bd\u012b speaks of \"spiritual geometry\" (<em>Handasa r\u016b\u1e25\u0101niyya<\/em>). He gives it a definition that has become famous: \"Writing is a spiritual geometry, although it manifests by means of a bodily instrument.\" With calligraphy, the beauty of the letter rests on proportion (<em>tan\u0101sub<\/em>) and measure (<em>tas\u0101w\u012b<\/em>). Like geometry, it seeks perfect balance (<em>i\u02bftid\u0101l<\/em>). This geometric perfection reflects the harmony of the universe created by God. By drawing a perfect line, the calligrapher imitates the precision of divine creation. But that is not all: the movement of the hand is only the result of a process that begins in the soul. The beauty of the stroke is the direct reflection of the purity of the scribe's soul. If the soul is troubled, the line will be hesitant; if the soul is in harmony with its Lord and with its character, the line will be firm and graceful. Thus aesthetics meets ethics (<em>a\u1e2bl\u0101q<\/em>). The calligrapher must cultivate his inner virtues so that his hand becomes a faithful instrument of the \"inner light.\" For Taw\u1e25\u012bd\u012b, the pen is the interpreter of the Intellect. In other words, calligraphic aesthetics is \"intelligible\" before being \"sensible.\" The admiration felt before a beautiful manuscript is not only visual; it is a recognition by the intellect of the wisdom and light deposited in calligraphic forms. This coherence, this intertwining of aesthetics and ethics, is articulated through concepts that refer at once to technical and aesthetic qualities: <em>w\u0101\u1e0di\u1e25<\/em>, clarity, is that of the letter which must be legible, for divine truth does not tolerate obscurity. <em>sahl<\/em>, fluidity and ease, is that of the stroke which must seem natural, without excessive effort, reflecting the generosity of nature. <em>ta\u0161r\u012bf<\/em>, ennoblement, concerns the way letters rise or join and must evoke a hierarchy and a nobility of form. From a theological point of view, calligraphy is the art of making visible the Word of God, the Qur\u02bean. Scripture becomes a bridge between the visible world (<em>\u0161ah\u0101da<\/em>) and the invisible world (<em>\u0121ayb<\/em>). Calligraphy is the human effort to give revelation an adornment worthy of its divine source. If one had to summarize in a few words, it becomes clear that for Taw\u1e25\u012bd\u012b, calligraphy is the art in which aesthetics\u2014the beautiful form\u2014ethics\u2014the discipline of the soul\u2014and theology\u2014the revelation of the Word\u2014are one. It is a \"spiritual geometry,\" the sensible trace of the uncreated Word through the mediation of the human intellect.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>If the art and beauty of calligraphy are thus integrated into an ethical and spiritual dimension, does beauty nonetheless not maintain ambiguous, even dangerous, connections with sensibility and the mind, by distracting\u2014or even leading them astray? The question is posed by Plato, and with even sharper acuity by Plotinus in the <em>Enneads<\/em> (I, 6), since he emphasizes that sensible beauty can become an ontological distraction, and that the soul, by letting itself be fascinated by visible forms, risks forgetting its own intelligible origin. How has this vision of an aesthetics that leads the soul astray been addressed by our philosophers and spiritual masters of Islam? And since we were speaking of Plato, does the Qur\u02beanic critique of poetry\u2014and that famous verse in which poets are seen as those who \"wander in every valley\" and \"say what they do not do\"\u2014not express suspicion toward the aesthetics of the word, toward rhetoric, capable of masking falsehood or, worse still, immorality? For the beauty of poetic form can serve to make vice attractive\u2014an ultimate threat to society.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Many Muslim thinkers thus warned against any sensible beauty that can become an obstacle to ethical and spiritual life. Aesthetics is \"dispersion.\" Thus the terms <em>z\u012bna<\/em> (adornment) and <em>zu\u1e2bruf<\/em> (ornamentation) were presented as forms of deception or distraction (<em>lahw<\/em>) that draw one away from truth. Deception, because external gilding can conceal inner ugliness. Going astray, because the pleasure of the eye distracts the heart from its orientation toward the One God. For a Sufi master such as al-Hu\u01e7w\u012br\u012b in his <em>Ka\u0161f al-ma\u1e25\u01e7\u016bb<\/em>, <em>z\u012bna<\/em> is always suspect. For him, the adornment of the world is the veil par excellence and therefore constitutes the very negation of the spiritual unveiling that is the object of the Sufi quest. It is therefore hardly surprising that he advocates an ethics of stripping away, in which beauty must never be an \"adornment of appearance\" (<em>z\u012bnat al-z\u0101hir<\/em>), but rather a \"transparency of being.\" In Hu\u01e7w\u012br\u012b, any ornament that does not come from the heart is an idol interposed between the believer and his Creator. Al-\u0120az\u0101l\u012b (d. 1111), in the same vein, castigates the vanity of those court scholars and jurists draped in their robes of display. In the <em>I\u1e25y\u0101\u02be<\/em>, he denounces this luxury of dress as the shroud of their own spiritual emptiness: by tending so carefully to worldly adornment, they only display the abyss that separates them from the heavenly realities they nevertheless claim to serve. By taking the money of the poor to cover themselves in gilding or to live in rich palaces, they commit an injustice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Before him, Ibn \u1e24azm of Cordoba, though a subtle theorist of love and beauty in <em>The Ring of the Dove<\/em>, belongs to a moral anthropology in which sensible beauty is fundamentally ambivalent. It is not only <em>z\u012bna<\/em>, ornamentation, that poses a problem, but <em>\u01e7am\u0101l<\/em>, beauty itself. In <em>\u1e6cawq al-\u1e25am\u0101ma<\/em> as in <em>al-A\u1e2bl\u0101q wa-l-Siyar<\/em>, it appears first as a trial (<em>fitna<\/em>), liable to tip the soul into <em>haw\u0101<\/em>, disordered passion, and to \"subvert\" reason through the senses. Bodily beauty is never innocent: it fascinates, but it deceives; it attracts, but it can blind the intellect if it is not strictly subordinated to moral virtue. Hence the ascetic discipline of the gaze by which Ibn \u1e24azm sets out to dissect its illusion: <em>fa-in a\u02bf\u01e7abta bi-\u01e7am\u0101lika, fa-tafakkar f\u012b isti\u1e25\u0101latika f\u012b al-qabr \u01e7\u012bfatan muntinatan yahrubu min qurbih\u0101, wa-f\u012b \u1e63ayr\u016bratika haraman qab\u012b\u1e25an<\/em> \u2014 \"If you admire your beauty, think of what you will become in the grave: a decomposing corpse from whose proximity one flees, and of what you will be in old age: a broken and ugly being.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This stance is not only moral; it rests on an implicit epistemology: the sensible is a site of danger for reason, and beauty\u2014far from being a path toward the true\u2014must be held in suspicion, watched, disciplined. But is this distrust of sensible beauty the mark of all medieval Islamic thought? Must <em>\u01e7am\u0101l<\/em> really be seen as a danger to reason, or can it, on the contrary, become a path toward the true and the good? It is precisely at this point that the perspective of al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b (d. 950) opens\u2014and, more radically still, that of Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b (d. 1240).<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In the <em>Kit\u0101b al-Siyasiya<\/em>, al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b understands <em>z\u012bna<\/em> as the reflection of divine splendor. For the philosopher, ethics and aesthetics are profoundly linked, because their relation is structural to the nature of being. Beauty is the expression of perfection and, as such, refers to God himself\u2014absolute Beauty, absolute Perfection. The more a being approaches its perfection, the more beautiful it is; conversely, ugliness is only the manifestation of defect or imperfection. Moreover, since abstract philosophical demonstration is not accessible to everyone, aesthetics becomes an instrument in the service of ethics: through imitation (<em>mu\u1e25\u0101k\u0101t<\/em>) and through imagination, poets and artists translate intelligible truths into sensible forms, making truth accessible to the greatest number. The beauty of images, poems, and works of art thus makes ethical principles desirable and intelligible, encouraging citizens to practice virtues and to avoid vices. Aesthetics is here subordinated to the moral and political end of the virtuous city: it \"clothes\" ethics so that it may reach all individuals. This mediation does not proceed only through the visible but also through the audible. In the <em>Kit\u0101b al-M\u016bs\u012bq\u0101 al-Kab\u012br<\/em>, F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b develops a genuine psychology of music. He thus distinguishes certain melodies capable of acting upon character (<em>al-al\u1e25\u0101n al-mu\u02bea\u1e6f\u1e6fira<\/em>), calming or exciting the passions. In his <em>Obituaries of Eminent Men<\/em>, Ibn \u1e2aallik\u0101n reports the legend attesting that F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b mastered the <em>maq\u0101m\u0101t<\/em>, musical modes, and their effects (<em>al-ta\u02be\u1e6f\u012br<\/em>): invited to the court of the Hamdanid emir Sayf al-Dawla in Aleppo, F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b was asked to take his place according to his rank. Displaying an unusual assurance, he sat beside the emir himself. Questioned about his talents as a musician, he produced an instrument of his own invention and asked: \"What emotion would you like me to awaken in the audience?\" He began by playing an air that unleashed irrepressible laughter among the courtiers. Changing mode, he played another melody that plunged the assembly into irresistible sadness. Finally, he played a harmony so gentle that a veil of lethargy fell over the gathering, sealing the courtiers' eyelids in an invincible sleep. He took advantage of it to leave, discreetly. Thus, because it acts upon character, music cannot be reduced to mere pleasure. It has a therapeutic and ethical function: it restores the soul's balance and fosters inner harmony, an indispensable condition for virtuous conduct.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>As for Ibn Arab\u012b (1165\u20131240), he breaks with the moral critique of worldly superficiality, or with the critique advanced by early Sufis of beauty as a path of misguidance\u2014a critique that al-\u0120az\u0101l\u012b adopts, at least in part. His reading of the \u1e25ad\u012bth, \"God is Beautiful and He loves beauty\" (<em>inna All\u0101ha \u01e7am\u012blun yu\u1e25ibbu al-\u01e7am\u0101l<\/em>), refers to the ontological structure of being. God is Beautiful in His essence; He loves beauty because He manifests in it; and He loves the one who recognizes Him in forms. <em>z\u012bna<\/em> is not merely an adornment; it is that through which God makes the world apparent, legible, lovable. It is not an ornament external to being; it is the visible form of a divine Name. In Ibn Arab\u012b, salvation does not come from the form itself but from the quality of the gaze (<em>na\u1e93ar<\/em>) one casts upon it, which sees in it God's self-revelation, divine manifestation (<em>ma\u1e93har<\/em> or <em>ta\u01e7all\u012b<\/em>). Thus, for Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b, the real danger is for the one who stops at the form and absolutizes the veil instead of passing through the form in order to recognize God there; salvation, before being penal or reward-based, consists in not being veiled from God, in seeing God in forms without imprisoning Him within them. It lies in <em>ta\u1e25q\u012bq<\/em>, spiritual realization, in <em>ka\u0161f<\/em>, unveiling, in <em>ma\u02bfrifa<\/em>, subtle knowledge. Yet ethics (<em>a\u1e2bl\u0101q<\/em>) is not peripheral for him; it is the very condition of right unveiling. For the veil is not in the form, but in inner dispositions. Ethics, because it is theomorphic\u2014that is, what conforms to the traits of God\u2014helps purify intention and rectify the gaze.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Arabic aesthetic terminology, far from being fixed, is therefore a terrain of tensions and debates. This lexical plasticity calls for philological vigilance and demands from us constant attention to diachrony: each term is a historical trajectory whose plurality of meanings must be identified, sometimes even within the writings of a single author. For even if certain Sufi authors warn against the dispersal produced by aesthetics, they also conceive it as a path of perfection that opens the human being to paradise. Confronted with warnings, critiques, and condemnations\u2014ancient and contemporary\u2014some, sometimes the very same authors, nevertheless saw in the link between aesthetics and <em>adab<\/em>, understood as literature, culture, and an ethics of beautiful action, the way to overcome the ambivalence between ethics and aesthetics. For if art is educated and formed by nobility of spirit, after the model of beauty embodied by the Messenger of Islam, whose body of \u1e25ad\u012bths sing the noble virtues (<em>mak\u0101rim al-a\u1e2bl\u0101q<\/em>), then it has the capacity to bring the individual back toward inner harmony. As the excellent work conducted under the direction of Catherine Mayeur-Jaouen, Luca Patrizi, Francesco Chiabotti, and Eve Feuillebois-Pierunek has brought to light, <em>adab<\/em> thus appears as the place of convergence between an ethics of behavior, an aesthetics of form, and knowledge as spiritual education. It articulates the beautiful and the good, formal perfection and moral rectitude. Initially linked to the figure of the literate man, versed in ancient poetry, eloquence, and the memory of great tribal epics (<em>ayy\u0101m al-\u02bfArab<\/em>), <em>adab<\/em> was transformed, through contact with the Persian legacy, into an ideal of distinction and savoir-vivre, becoming the very name of refinement (<em>\u1e93arf<\/em>), politeness, and the forms of civility proper to courtly milieus. The famous \u1e25ad\u012bth of the Messenger of Islam, \"<em>addaban\u012b rabb\u012b fa-a\u1e25sana adab\u012b<\/em> (My Lord taught me <em>adab<\/em> and brought it to perfection within me),\" constitutes its founding matrix by making <em>adab<\/em> the principle from which the unity of the beautiful, the good, and the true is thought, transmitted, and lived. Thus the <em>ad\u012bb<\/em> knows how to give his actions and his words a beautiful form. Ethics becomes an aesthetic performance: it is not enough to be good; one must be so with elegance, with measure and refinement. <em>\u1e25usn<\/em>, as beauty and goodness, is revealed in gesture and chosen speech. It is not morality abolished but morality transfigured, the mirror of divine beauty. In this framework, <em>adab<\/em> requires mastery of rhetoric (<em>bal\u0101\u0121a<\/em>). It is not reducible to Aristotelian rhetoric; rather, following \u01e6ur\u01e7\u0101n\u012b, it is \"the adequacy of discourse to the requirements of the situation.\" It is not the words that are beautiful, but the way they make meaning appear. The beauty of language is not a mere ornament; it is the condition for transmitting wisdom. Knowledge poorly presented lacks <em>adab<\/em>. But <em>adab<\/em> also aims to instruct while pleasing. It is <em>im\u1e6d\u0101\u02bf wa-mu\u02be\u0101nasa<\/em>. <em>im\u1e6d\u0101\u02bf<\/em>, because it consists in providing pleasure\u2014yet an active pleasure that sets intelligence and sensibility in motion. <em>mu\u02be\u0101nasa<\/em>, because it creates intimacy; it breaks intellectual or existential isolation; it expresses the warmth of exchange. Literary aesthetics serves to make moral and intellectual knowledge \"tasty\" to the soul. Finally, <em>adab<\/em> shapes the gaze and sensibility. To appreciate beauty\u2014whether that of a poem, a garden, a Mosque\u2013Cathedral, or a face\u2014one must have been educated. The person of <em>adab<\/em> (<em>mu\u02beaddab<\/em> or <em>muta\u02beaddib<\/em>) is not merely polite or courteous; he is well brought up. It is a cultivated aesthetics: sensibility is not only instinct; it is an art that is learned. The <em>ad\u012bb<\/em> is the one capable of perceiving, in literary, pictorial, or cinematic works of art, the subtle nuances (<em>la\u1e6d\u0101\u02beif<\/em>) of beauty and ethics expressed there. The link between <em>adab<\/em> and aesthetics makes it possible to resolve the tension between sensory pleasure and moral rigor: <em>adab<\/em> imposes the notion of balance (<em>i\u02bftid\u0101l<\/em>), a category that is at once aesthetic, through the harmony of proportions, and ethical, through the mastery of passions. Thus the ideal of the human being in classical Arab culture is that of one who realizes the fusion between nobility of character (<em>\u1e2buluq<\/em>) and the beauty of cultural expression.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In the Arabic tradition, beauty (<em>\u01e7am\u0101l<\/em>) is often understood as a moral or spiritual attribute, and virtue (<em>\u1e2buluq<\/em>) as a form of perfection or inner beauty. In this sense, the beautiful and the good respond to one another in action, creation, and perception. To work on one's <em>\u1e2buluq<\/em> is to sculpt one's character so that it reaches balance (<em>i\u02bftid\u0101l<\/em>). In his celebrated dictionary <em>al-Mu\u1e2ba\u1e63\u1e63a\u1e63<\/em>, Ibn S\u012bda shows that \"beauty (<em>\u01e7am\u0101l<\/em>) is at once moral beauty and physical beauty (<em>al-\u1e25usn f\u012b l-\u1e2buluq wa-l-\u1e2balq<\/em>).\" In the light of the lexicon at his disposal in his time, he lists terms related to beauty: radiance (<em>n\u0101\u1e0dir<\/em>), resplendence (<em>bah\u01e7a<\/em>), a spectacle that fills the eyes (<em>bah\u0101\u02be<\/em>), flamboyant color (<em>mashb\u016bb<\/em>), grace (<em>\u0121ar\u0101niq<\/em>), cleanliness (<em>\u01e7ah\u0101ra<\/em>), elegant grace (<em>\u1e6dal\u0101wa<\/em>). In Sufism, this work on character is essential: it is not only a matter of imitating the Prophet's <em>a\u1e2bl\u0101q<\/em>, but also of donning and assimilating the traits of God (<em>al-ta\u1e2balluq bi-a\u1e2bl\u0101q All\u0101h<\/em>), which is far from easy and which, in an author such as al-\u0120az\u0101l\u012b, always results from God's will and therefore from a given grace.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Thus Islamic heritage presents the beautiful, the just, and the true according to a plurality of registers that do not exclude one another but respond to one another. Sacred texts and theological reflection posit beauty as an emanation of the divine: in Sufi mysticism in particular, aesthetic experience is a path of spiritual knowledge, in which the sensible becomes transparent to truth. <em>Fiqh<\/em>, for its part, inscribes aesthetics within a concrete normativity, by framing artistic practices and regimes of perception within an order of life and shared social values. As for <em>falsafa<\/em>, it effects a decisive mediation between Greek heritage and Arab thought, by conceiving beauty as a form of intelligibility of the real, perceived by the intellect as a reflection of the truth of the world's order.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Silsalah-E Roz-O Shab, Naqsh Gar-E Hdsaati<\/em>: the chain of days and nights is the sculptor of events, writes Muhammad Iqbal in <em>Gabriel's Wing<\/em>. Through these verses dedicated to the Mosque of Cordoba, the poet recalled that human works, when inhabited by a spiritual vision, pass through time and continue to question history. It is in this spirit that this conference intends to situate itself: to think through the articulations between ethics and aesthetics in Islamic heritage, taking the measure of their tensions as well as of their promises, and recognizing in beauty not a mere ornament of meaning, but one of the sites where, across the centuries, the human relation to the true, the just, and the divine is played out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/article><\/div>\n                    \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n<h6 id=\"axe1-panel1\" style=\"font-weight: bold;\">10am-11:45am - Panel 1 | Chair : Beate Bengard<\/h6>\n<h6>Room 1<\/h6>\n\n<div id=\"prog-maconnerie\">\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, videoconference, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Yacine Baziz                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Paris Sorbonne Nouvelle University (Paris 3)<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Comparative and Intertextual Study: The Mirror Structure of Ibn \u1e24azm's K. al-A\u1e2bl\u0101q wa-l-Siyar<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/videos\/etude-comparative-et-intertextuelle-la-structure-en-miroir-du-k-al-a%e1%b8%ablaq-wa-l-siyar-dibn-%e1%b8%a5azm\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Comparative and Intertextual Study: The Mirror Structure of Ibn \u1e24azm&#039;s K. al-A\u1e2bl\u0101q wa-l-Siyar\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-6', 'Abstract : Comparative and Intertextual Study: The Mirror Structure of Ibn \u1e24azm\\'s K. al-A\u1e2bl\u0101q wa-l-Siyar', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-6\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>The famous polymath Ibn \u1e24azm of C\u00f3rdoba (d. 456 AH\/1064 CE), a figure as ambivalent as he is divisive, composed an ethical treatise, the K. al-A\u1e2bl\u0101q wa-l-Siyar. A late work, Ibn \u1e24azm presents, in a vivid and personal manner, a series of aphorisms resulting from his observation of his time.<\/p><p>Drawing on his own testimony, certain anecdotal events serve him to elaborate a practical ethics. His treatise differs from other works of the genre through its literary aestheticism and pragmatic adaptation to the tastes and customs of his cultural environment. While the tripartite soul and the presentation of cardinal virtues and vices conform to ancient Platonic or Aristotelian philosophical tradition as defined by Miskawayh, it seems pertinent to compare it with that of the Jacobite philosopher Ya\u1e25y\u0101 b. \u02bfAd\u012b, whose certain details are very similar if not identical. Both philosophers 'moralize' the schema of soul functions. Ibn \u1e24azm's definition of happiness\u2014namely, dispelling worries\u2014also closely resembles al-Kind\u012b's Ris\u0101la f\u012b-l-\u1e25\u012bla li-daf\u02bfi-l-a\u1e25z\u0101n (Epistle on the Means of Dispelling Sorrows). While there appears to be an influence of Stoicism or Epicureanism on Ibn \u1e24azm's ataraxia, its historicity remains difficult to trace. The \u1e6dard al-hamm, Ibn \u1e24azm's definition of happiness, semantically echoes al-Kind\u012b's daf\u02bfi-l-a\u1e25z\u0101n.<\/p><p>The K. al-A\u1e2bl\u0101q presents no guiding thread. This absence of structure or wandering of thought is, according to Gabriel Martinez-Gros, an attitude faithful to adab and surprising for such an ordinarily rigorous author. The mirror or necklace structure invites creative literary analysis. His ethical treatise is a learned explicit and implicit intertextual blend referring to endogenous and exogenous sources of the Arab-Andalusian cultural context. We therefore propose to examine, in a comparative approach, the ethical and moral treatises of Ibn \u1e24azm's time, and to examine the stylistic processes leading Ibn \u1e24azm to address politico-religious instability.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-7', 'Yacine Baziz', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-7\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Holder of a PhD in Oriental Languages, Civilizations and Societies (Sorbonne Nouvelle, 2022) and affiliated member of the Centre for the History of Medieval and Modern Societies (M\u00e9Mo, Paris Nanterre\/Paris 8), Yacine Baziz has also been a teacher in the Versailles Academy since 2013. His work focuses on Arab-Andalusian literature, cultural history, and memorial constructions around Ibn \u1e24azm of C\u00f3rdoba, from the medieval period to Orientalism and contemporary receptions. He is also interested in intertextuality in Arabic biographical dictionaries, employing digital humanities approaches (literometrics, text mining). He has taught practical Arabic and media Arabic at undergraduate level at Sorbonne Nouvelle and regularly publishes articles and papers on these themes.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                        \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Ali Mostfa                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Catholic University of Lyon, France<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">From Word to Virtue: Ibn \u1e24azm and the Aesthetics of Discourse<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/from-word-to-virtue-ibn-%e1%b8%a5azm-and-the-aesthetics-of-discourse\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : From Word to Virtue: Ibn \u1e24azm and the Aesthetics of Discourse\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-8', 'Abstract : From Word to Virtue: Ibn \u1e24azm and the Aesthetics of Discourse', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-8\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>This paper proposes a textual analysis of several excerpts from two emblematic works by the Cordoban philosopher Ibn \u1e24azm (d. 1064): <em>\u1e6cawq al-\u1e25am\u0101mah f\u012b&#160;al-ulfah wa al-ull\u0101f<\/em> and <em>al-I\u1e25k\u0101m f\u012b&#160;u\u1e63\u016bl al-a\u1e25k\u0101m<\/em>. Through specific passages, it examines the conditions of possibility for an aesthetic and ethical discourse, where the word becomes a site for the pursuit of beauty as much as moral commitment.<\/p><p>In <em>\u1e6cawq al-\u1e25am\u0101mah<\/em>, the analysis of amorous feelings is not reduced to subjective chronicle; it relies on subtle reflection about the formulation of emotions, the precision of words, and sincerity (<em>\u1e63idq<\/em>) as a criterion of truthfulness. Far from indulging in the expression of feelings, Ibn \u1e24azm implements a rhetoric of inner testimony, where stylistic elegance (<em>bal\u0101gha<\/em>) never obscures the quest for truth (<em>\u1e25aq\u012bqa<\/em>). The text mirrors a moral disposition founded on the loyalty of speaking truth.<\/p><p>In <em>al-I\u1e25k\u0101m<\/em>, this requirement takes a more normative but no less linguistic turn. The juridical text, seemingly cold, reveals the same attention to discourse structure, lexical rigor, and fidelity to scriptural statements. Respect for the letter (<em>\u1e93\u0101hir<\/em>) does not oppose thinking about language; it constitutes its very foundation. For Ibn \u1e24azm, language is not merely a tool for transmitting meaning but a divine institution\u2014a revealed deposit whose function is to preserve an order of truth. Thus, the act of speaking entails responsibility, and speech\u2014'the touchstone of true or false' (Roger Arnaldez)\u2014is invested with both ethical and aesthetic value.<\/p><p>Three lines of inquiry will guide this paper:\n<ul>\n<li>How does Ibn \u1e24azm articulate his \u1e92\u0101hirite fidelity to texts with writing deeply marked by emotion, nuance, and stylistic pursuit?<\/li>\n<li>How does the shaping of amorous discourse in <em>\u1e6cawq al-\u1e25am\u0101mah<\/em> engage an implicit conception of language as a vector of <em>\u1e25aq\u012bqa<\/em>?<\/li>\n<li>Finally, to what extent can we read, in this tension between normative rigor and aesthetic quest, the outline of a philosophy of language that prefigures certain insights of linguistic philosophy or contemporary discourse analysis?<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-9', 'Ali Mostfa', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-9\" style=\"display:none;\"><p><strong>Mohamed-Ali Mostfa<\/strong> holds a PhD in linguistics and Anglophone cultures, is Associate Professor at the Catholic University of Lyon (UCLy), and is accredited to supervise research (HDR) in sociology.<\/p><p>He is a member of the research unit <em>Confluence: Sciences and Humanities<\/em> (EA 1598), associate researcher at the Centre for the Study of Cultures and Religions (CECR), coordinating member of the PLURIEL platform (University Platform for Research on Islam in Europe and Lebanon), and co-director of the 'Mohammed Arkoun' Islamic studies training program, in partnership with UCLy, Jean Moulin Lyon 3 University, Lumi\u00e8re Lyon 2 University, and Sciences Po Lyon.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-auto\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-auto-10', 'Automatic translation that may contain errors', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Automatic translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-auto-10\" style=\"display:none;\"><article>\r\n  <h2>From Verb to Virtue: Ibn \u1e24azm and the Aesthetics of Discourse<\/h2>\r\n  <p><strong>Ali Mostfa<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Language as an Ethical and Aesthetic Demand<\/h2>\r\n  <p>In this paper, I propose a reflection on language in Ibn \u1e24azm, approached as the site of an ethical demand and an aesthetics of discourse whose modern relevance remains intact.<\/p>\r\n  <p>Approaching Ibn \u1e24azm through language sheds light on how he conceives the very status of Islamic norms within <em>u\u1e63\u016bl al-fiqh<\/em>, that is, the principles of Islamic legal theory. The hypothesis guiding my reflection is as follows: for Ibn \u1e24azm, language is never a neutral medium. It is at once the condition of possibility of juridical normativity, the locus of access to truth, and the support of an aesthetics of discourse grounded in the responsibility of the sign.<\/p>\r\n  <p>From the normative text to the affective sign, the theologian thus unfolds a single requirement: never to say more than the sign authorizes, and never to generate an obligation without linguistically established proof.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Signs of Love and the Discipline of Meaning<\/h2>\r\n  <p>From this perspective, my argument draws on excerpts from two works belonging to markedly different registers: <em>al-I\u1e25k\u0101m f\u012b u\u1e63\u016bl al-a\u1e25k\u0101m<\/em>, a systematic treatise on the principles of Islamic legal theory, driven by the ambition to refound <em>u\u1e63\u016bl al-fiqh<\/em> and Islamic legal normativity in response to the juristic schools that preceded it; and <em>\u1e6cawq al-\u1e25am\u0101mah<\/em> (<em>The Ring of the Dove<\/em>), a work devoted to love and its manifestations. At first glance, nothing seems to connect these two texts except the fact that they come from the same author\u2014an author who, very early on, develops a keen attention to the stakes of language, and even more to the question of the sign and the meaning to which it refers.<\/p>\r\n  <p><em>\u1e6cawq al-\u1e25am\u0101mah<\/em> (<em>The Ring of the Dove<\/em>) is often presented as a literary work that gathers observations, narratives, and analyses devoted to love and its manifestations. Yet it also offers a privileged field for observing\u2014upstream from the juridical discourse Ibn \u1e24azm will later develop\u2014how the author (a poet in the fullest sense) thinks about the sign, signification, and the conditions of their readability, within a register in which a demand for linguistic exactitude is elaborated independently of any explicit normative aim.<\/p>\r\n  <p>To illustrate what I am suggesting, I will linger on the opening of chapter II of <em>\u1e6cawq al-\u1e25am\u0101mah<\/em>, entitled <em>B\u0101b \u02bfal\u0101m\u0101t al-\u1e25ubb<\/em> (\"Chapter on the Signs of Love\"). Ibn \u1e24azm opens it with the following words (translation by Gabriel Martinez-Gros):<\/p>\r\n  <p><em>Love has signs that the discerning man detects and that any intelligent person notices. The first is prolonged contemplation of the beloved. The eye is the wide-open gate to the soul: it probes its secrets, expresses its most intimate thoughts, and serves as the interpreter of the inner forum. Thus one sees the lover who looks at the beloved never blink, move whenever the beloved moves, turn away when the beloved turns away, take the direction the beloved takes\u2014like the chameleon that always follows the sun.<\/em><\/p>\r\n  <p>The aesthetic order of this brief passage\u2014like the twenty-nine other chapters that make up <em>The Ring of the Dove<\/em>\u2014immediately establishes that love is given neither through proclamation (<em>ta\u1e63r\u012b\u1e25<\/em>, explicit declaration) nor through action (<em>fi\u02bfl<\/em>, act). Love is manifested and read through signs (<em>\u02bfal\u0101m\u0101t<\/em>, signs). It thus belongs to a regime of observable and legible indices, yielding an interpretation of the love experienced that admits neither ambiguity nor doubt.<\/p>\r\n  <p>In this sense, the discourse of love obeys, in Ibn \u1e24azm, a requirement close to that which governs normative discourse\u2014as we will see shortly: to assert nothing unless the sign can function as proof. The tension that arises between the sign (<em>\u02bfal\u0101ma<\/em>) and the meanings it authorizes can be resolved only on the condition that one posits a logical and non-arbitrary relation between the sign and the meaning to which it refers\u2014a relation that leaves no room for doubt, the implicit, or interpretation. In other words, Ibn \u1e24azm grounds the intentionality of meaning in the signs themselves: the sign is here the locus of an intentionality immanent to it, not the support of an external intention projected onto it. It thus makes possible the appearance of the invisible (<em>al-b\u0101\u1e6din<\/em>, the hidden) within the manifest (<em>al-\u1e93\u0101hir<\/em>, the apparent), without ever allowing signification to detach itself from the sign that founds it.<\/p>\r\n  <p>In this passage, the eye is far more than a merely poetic motif. It functions as a fully-fledged semiotic index and constitutes the keystone of Ibn \u1e24azm's dispositif, as the point from which interiority becomes legible without ever being directly exposed. The sustained gaze, the absence of blinking, and the body's orientation toward the beloved are all observable markers from which meaning imposes itself. In other words, meaning is nothing other than what the eye\u2014both as organ and as sign within the text\u2014legitimately allows one to infer. This relation is comparable to that which links, in a regulated grammatical construction, a noun and its epithet. Ibn \u1e24azm himself makes this analogy explicit in the two-line poem that immediately follows the chapter's prelude:<\/p>\r\n  <p><em>My eye rests on none but you; it seems that what is said of the magnet's properties applies to you.<\/em><br\/>\r\n  <em>My gaze follows you wherever you go, whatever movement you make\u2014just as, in grammar, the epithet follows the qualified noun.<\/em><\/p>\r\n  <p>The poetic image thus confirms, in an explicit mode, what the prose text had already established. Just as an epithet cannot detach itself from the noun it qualifies, meaning cannot detach itself from the sign that founds it. The gaze neither precedes love nor exceeds it; it is a regulated index of it, grammatically bound to what it signifies.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>From Text to Norm: The Primacy of Discourse in <em>al-I\u1e25k\u0101m<\/em><\/h2>\r\n  <p>This economy of the sign\u2014and the stakes of intentionality already at work in the discourse of love\u2014finds its most systematic and rigorous theoretical formulation in <em>al-I\u1e25k\u0101m<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n  <p>I have focused my reading on volume 7 of <em>al-I\u1e25k\u0101m<\/em>, and more specifically on chapter 37, entitled <em>f\u012b dal\u012bl al-khi\u1e6d\u0101b<\/em> (\"On the evidentiary force of discourse\"), where Ibn \u1e24azm develops a central reflection on the primacy of discourse (<em>awlawiyyat al-khi\u1e6d\u0101b<\/em>). The chapter's main thesis is that the Islamic norm never exists independently of its linguistic formulation: it is neither anterior to language nor deducible from considerations external to the text. It takes shape only through the utterance itself.<\/p>\r\n  <p>Ibn \u1e24azm's approach rests on the theory of <em>tawq\u012bf<\/em> (the original fixation of language), understood as God's original institution of language, grounded in the Qur\u02be\u0101nic verse according to which God \"taught Adam all the names\" (Q 2:31). Ibn \u1e24azm mobilizes this verse to refute the thesis of <em>i\u1e63\u1e6dil\u0101\u1e25<\/em> (linguistic convention), according to which relations of signification between words and things would be the product of human agreement. Words, in his view, were instituted by God to express determinate meanings; their relation to meaning is therefore not arbitrary but logical and natural.<\/p>\r\n  <p>From this point onward, the error consists in attributing to an utterance a meaning other than the one for which it was instituted. The apparent meaning (<em>\u1e93\u0101hir<\/em>, the manifest sense) is the condition of any normative validity. This requirement illuminates the earlier analysis of the eye as sign: just as the eye signifies only what it actually allows one to see, normative discourse, for Ibn \u1e24azm, produces meaning only within the exact limits of its enunciation\u2014any interpretive extension constituting a methodological excess.<\/p>\r\n  <p>This conception of language grounds, in Ibn \u1e24azm, a genuine epistemology of certainty. All juridical normativity is subordinated to a prior linguistic condition: discourse signifies only what it was instituted to signify, and nothing beyond. Language therefore does not merely transmit the norm; it strictly fixes its limits, excluding any extension based on analogy\u2014precisely because Ibn \u1e24azm rejects analogy insofar as it introduces into the Law an inference external to the text, akin to conjecture and thus to an illegitimate addition to a Revelation held to be complete.<\/p>\r\n  <p>It is from this standpoint that Ibn \u1e24azm distinguishes himself from earlier juridical approaches, which he criticizes and refutes in the name of a demand for certainty that structures his entire intellectual project. The decisive question that drives him can then be formulated as follows: how does one move from language to obligation, from text to <em>\u1e25ukm<\/em> (juridical ruling), without ever leaving the regime of proof?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Proof, Sources, and the Rejection of Interpretive Drift<\/h2>\r\n  <p>This linguistic rigor rests on inseparable principles, foremost among which are <em>dal\u012bl<\/em> (proof) and <em>burh\u0101n<\/em> (demonstration), which organize Ibn \u1e24azm's response to earlier juristic schools, notably the Andalus\u012b M\u0101lik\u012b school. Any normative claim thus involves a relation to truth (<em>al-\u1e25aq\u012bqa<\/em>, truth) which, for Ibn \u1e24azm, necessarily passes through the word\u2014as sign (<em>\u02bfal\u0101ma<\/em>), as bearer of signification (<em>dal\u0101la<\/em>), and ultimately as locus of proof (<em>dal\u012bl<\/em>). Without this articulation, no obligation can be legitimately established.<\/p>\r\n  <p>It is important, however, to specify what proof means for Ibn \u1e24azm. He determines the proofs of prescriptions to be four in number: the text of the Qur\u02be\u0101n; the text of the Sunna\u2014that is, what is reported from the Prophet; the consensus of the community's scholars as a whole; and a <em>dal\u012bl<\/em> (proof) derived from these three sources. According to him, there exists no other legitimate means of accessing knowledge of religious prescriptions outside these forms. On close inspection, these proofs are all directly or indirectly tied to the textual <em>na\u1e63\u1e63<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n  <p>From this perspective, <em>al-I\u1e25k\u0101m f\u012b u\u1e63\u016bl al-a\u1e25k\u0101m<\/em> stands out as one of the treatises in <em>u\u1e63\u016bl al-fiqh<\/em> that effects a radical reduction of normative procedures, methodically dismantling <em>qiy\u0101s<\/em> (analogical reasoning), <em>isti\u1e25s\u0101n<\/em> (juristic preference), <em>\u02bfamal<\/em> (established practice), and <em>taql\u012bd<\/em> (juridical imitation), as they appear notably in al-Sh\u0101fi\u02bf\u012b's <em>al-Ris\u0101la<\/em> or M\u0101lik b. Anas's <em>al-Muwa\u1e6d\u1e6da\u02be<\/em>. This orientation later opens the way to a renewed mobilization of reason and to its rigorous articulation with the text. In this regard, a title such as Ibn Rushd's <em>Fa\u1e63l al-maq\u0101l<\/em> (<em>Decisive Treatise<\/em>, 1198) can be regarded as a significant witness to this evolution.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Intentionality: From the Speaker to the Discourse<\/h2>\r\n  <p>This linguistic rigor directly entails a decisive reflection on intentionality (<em>qa\u1e63d<\/em>, intention) in the production of juridical norms. For Ibn \u1e24azm, intention is not a psychological disposition prior to discourse that the interpreter might reconstruct. It has normative value only insofar as it is inscribed in the utterance itself. In other words, the juridically relevant intention is not the intention of the speaking subject, but the intention of the discourse (<em>qa\u1e63d al-khi\u1e6d\u0101b<\/em>).<\/p>\r\n  <p>Consequently, any attempt to ground a norm on an external, derived, or contextualized intention is, for Ibn \u1e24azm, methodologically inadmissible insofar as it is not explicitly readable in the text. Intention does not precede language; it is an internal property of the statement, inseparable from its formulation.<\/p>\r\n  <p>The enunciative context\u2014what modern pragmatic linguistics calls the \"co-text,\" that is, circumstances, presumed aims, or even the accumulation of commentaries\u2014cannot, in Ibn \u1e24azm, produce normative effects. Any intention that exceeds the manifest meaning (<em>\u1e93\u0101hir<\/em>) of the discourse remains, in principle, juridically inoperative.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>When Scripture Becomes Normative<\/h2>\r\n  <p>This requirement also appears in the way Ibn \u1e24azm conceives the relation between language and obligation. The Qur\u02be\u0101n, in his view, is not a discourse that is exclusively normative: it contains descriptive, narrative, and exhortative statements, parables, promises, and threats\u2014none of which, as such, produces a juridical norm. Normativity emerges only through an explicit imperative form (<em>\u1e63\u012bghat al-amr<\/em>) or a clear and unambiguous prohibition (<em>nahy \u1e63ar\u012b\u1e25<\/em>).<\/p>\r\n  <p>The same rigor governs his treatment of the Sunna, structured according to a precise typology: Sunna-as-utterance (<em>qawl<\/em>, saying), Sunna-as-act (<em>fi\u02bfl<\/em>, act), and Sunna-as-approval (<em>taqr\u012br<\/em>, approval). Among these forms, only the Sunna-as-utterance has, in itself, normative scope\u2014provided that it takes an explicitly prescriptive formulation.<\/p>\r\n  <p>It follows that, for Ibn \u1e24azm, neither the Qur\u02be\u0101n nor the Sunna is normative \"as a whole.\" Any normativity founded on interpretive slippage belongs not to proof but to a methodological fault.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Human Language, Adamic Language, and the Ethics of Saying<\/h2>\r\n  <p>Pursuing the argument further, one can discern in Ibn \u1e24azm a decisive distinction between human language and Adamic language, articulated on the basis of the Qur\u02be\u0101nic reference according to which God taught Adam all the names (Q 2:31). The former, assumed by human speakers, is exposed to error, ambiguity, and interpretation: the system of signification rests on human usage of words, which opens the possibility of deviation and misunderstanding in interpretation. The latter, by contrast, presents itself as immediately true, without mediation or the possibility of divergence; it is, par excellence, the language of the indubitable, where the word coincides with the thing.<\/p>\r\n  <p>Once language is human, it can no longer claim such immediacy of truth. It must be subjected to the test of proof before any normative claim. Though a deposit of divine origin, human language thus requires a constant discipline and vigilance in the face of error. It is at this precise level that, for Ibn \u1e24azm, the ethical demand of saying takes shape: grammar is not a neutral science but a discipline of truth that ultimately falls under a requirement of faith.<\/p>\r\n<\/article><\/div>\n                    \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang prog-cong-lang-en\">English, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Amr Zakaria Abdallah                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Cairo University<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Critical Perspectives on Ibn Hazm's \u1e6cawq al-\u1e24am\u0101ma in Arabic Literary Discourse<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/videos\/critical-perspectives-on-ibn-hazms-%e1%b9%adawq-al-%e1%b8%a5amama-in-arabic-literary-discourse\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Critical Perspectives on Ibn Hazm&#039;s \u1e6cawq al-\u1e24am\u0101ma in Arabic Literary Discourse\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-11', 'Abstract : Critical Perspectives on Ibn Hazm\\'s \u1e6cawq al-\u1e24am\u0101ma in Arabic Literary Discourse', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-11\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi's \u1e6cawq al-\u1e24am\u0101ma (The Ring of the Dove) is considered one of the earliest literary works to address the theme of love. The text remained lost for centuries until it was edited and published by D. K. Petrov in 1914. Since then, scholarly studies have gradually begun to examine and analyze this epistle.<\/p><p>This article focuses on examining and analyzing Arab critical writings\u2014articles and books\u2014that have explored this treatise, employing Tzvetan Todorov's methodology of 'criticism of criticism.' It is evident that the corpus of Arab literary criticism devoted to \u1e6cawq al-\u1e24am\u0101ma is not as extensive as one might expect. The first known Arab critical study of the text was written by the Syrian poet Muhammad al-Bazm, who wrote an introduction to the Syrian edition published in 1930. Subsequent studies appeared sporadically, with a notable concentration of critical writings emerging during the 1960s.<\/p><p>The majority of these critical contributions took the form of journal articles, many of which remained scattered across various periodicals. Some were later compiled by their authors into essay collections, as was the case with Taha Hussein's article 'F\u012b&#160;al-\u1e24ubb,' originally published in al-K\u0101tib al-Mi\u1e63r\u012b&#160;in February 1946 and later included in his book Alw\u0101n. The only book entirely devoted to studying \u1e6cawq al-\u1e24am\u0101ma is C\u00e9za Q\u0101sim's monograph, which was initially submitted as a master's thesis at Cairo University in 1970.<\/p><p>Accordingly, this article aims to critically examine and evaluate these Arab writings, and to explore the development of modern Arab critical thought throughout the twentieth century by analyzing its engagement with \u1e6cawq al-\u1e24am\u0101ma. The study also seeks to situate each critical work within its historical and intellectual context and to assess the extent to which Arab critics have employed the methodologies and tools of modern literary theory in their interpretation of classical Arabic texts.<\/p><p>This article is based on a corpus of twenty-two critical articles published in various Arab literary journals, in addition to the aforementioned work by C\u00e9za Q\u0101sim, which\u2014although published in Cairo in 2014\u2014originated from a master's thesis defended in May 1970.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-12', 'Amr Zakaria Abdallah', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-12\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>A graduate in Arabic language and literature (Cairo University), this specialist in medieval Arab studies and information sciences has been working since 2018 at IDEO (Dominican Institute for Oriental Studies) as a reference cataloguer, conducting research on the editorial history of Arabic works and their authors for an innovative cataloguing system. A former collaborator at the Dar Comboni Institute, he served as junior editor for an academic journal of literary criticism. An Arabic teacher (private and online courses) and translator, he has published a study on theatre in Quaderni di Studi Arabi and translated several reference works.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                        \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang prog-cong-lang-ar\">Arabic, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Chadi Kahwaji                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Saint Joseph University in Beirut<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Semiotics of Discourse in the Bad\u012b'\u012b&#160;School: Manifestations of Ethics in the Aesthetics of Art<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/videos\/semiotique-du-discours-dans-lecole-baddiiyya-manifestations-de-lethique-dans-les-esthetiques-de-lart\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Semiotics of Discourse in the Bad\u012b&#039;\u012b&#160;School: Manifestations of Ethics in the Aesthetics of Art\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-13', 'Abstract : Semiotics of Discourse in the Bad\u012b\\'\u012b&#160;School: Manifestations of Ethics in the Aesthetics of Art', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-13\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Semiotics in bad\u012b'\u012b&#160;discourse represents one of the rhetorical and semantic phenomena that requires reconsidering the aesthetic function of art, not as a mere ornamental mechanism, but as a sign of ethical and cultural content. In the context of the bad\u012b'\u012b&#160;school's flourishing during the Abbasid and Mamluk periods, writers, particularly the authors of diwan\u012b&#160;letters, devoted themselves to employing bad\u012b'\u012b&#160;embellishments in highly elaborate linguistic structures that valorize expression and excel in formulating meanings according to solid rhetorical logic.<\/p><p>However, this intensive work on stylistic ornamentation stemmed not only from a desire for strangeness or dazzlement, but emanated from a deep awareness of the aesthetics of Quranic language, which constituted the supreme model of Arabic expression and an ultimate reference for art, truthfulness, and refinement. Writers assimilated this model as a rhetorical summit and an incarnation of harmony between word and meaning, between form and intention, between expression and ethics. Hence, imitating Quranic aesthetics in their letters was simultaneously an imitation of its rhetoric and its ethics.<\/p><p>In diwan\u012b&#160;letters, as in the texts of al-\u1e62\u0101\u1e25ib ibn 'Abb\u0101d, Ibn al-'Am\u012bd, and al-Qalqashand\u012b, verbal ornaments\u2014paronomasia, rhymed prose, antithesis, parallelism, and others\u2014are mobilized to highlight a system of political and ethical values such as wisdom, justice, humility, and good governance. These texts transcend the level of ornamentation to show language's capacity to convey ethical and cognitive meanings, where the signifier shows a close link with the signified, and where noble values such as wisdom and justice are transmitted through bad\u012b'\u012b&#160;formulation.<\/p><p>Thus, the bad\u012b'\u012b&#160;school is understood not only as an ornamental current, but as a semiotic expressive system embodying an interaction between aesthetics and ethics. Indeed, rhetoric in these texts contributes to shaping a political discourse carrying ethical values within it, reinforced by Quranic language symbolism, reflecting a profound influence on social and political construction.<\/p><p>From here emerges the research problem we will address using the analytical semiotic method, which consists of understanding how these linguistic signs express the ethical dimension in bad\u012b'\u012b&#160;discourse present in diwan\u012b&#160;letters. How can we interpret the relationship between the signifier and the signified in this context, particularly with the use of bad\u012b'\u012b&#160;embellishments to convey ethical and political meanings? Can this art be considered an imitation of Quranic rhetoric, such that it reflects the ethical values embodied in the Quranic text, such as truthfulness, wisdom, and justice? And how does this linguistic structure contribute to shaping the discourse of power and prestige, in light of imitating Quranic aesthetics and its commitment to supreme values?<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-14', 'Chadi Kahwaji', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-14\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Holder of a PhD in Arabic language and literature (Saint Joseph University of Beirut), his research focuses on narrative discourse and identity issues in Lebanon, through analysis of novelistic works. A public secondary school Arabic teacher since 2008, he also serves as lecturer at USJ (Institute of Oriental Literature) and has taught Arabic as a foreign language at AUB (CAMES program). In parallel, he works as proofreader and linguistic editor for research centers, academic journals, and publishing houses, and participates in designing textbooks and curricula for Arabic language teaching, particularly for university audiences and heritage learners. He publishes in peer-reviewed journals and contributes to international conferences.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-auto\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-auto-15', 'Automatic translation that may contain errors', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Automatic translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-auto-15\" style=\"display:none;\"><article>\r\n<header>\r\n<h2>The Manifestations of Ethics in the Aesthetics of Chancery Craft<\/h2>\r\n<p><strong>Dr. Chadi al-Qahwaji<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p><em>Discourse semiotics in the bad\u012b\u02bf tradition<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p><em>D\u012bw\u0101n\u012b (chancery) prose and bay\u0101n<\/em><\/p>\r\n<\/header>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>Historical and rhetorical context<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><strong>D\u012bw\u0101n\u012b prose \/ chancery writing<\/strong>: rhymed prose (<em>saj\u02bf<\/em>), ornamentation (<em>tar\u1e63\u012b\u02bf<\/em>), and balanced phrasing are structural pillars that produce a distinctly prosaic \"voice.\"<\/li>\r\n<li>This trajectory became intertwined with the formation of the sciences of <em>bay\u0101n<\/em> connected to the <strong>Qur'an<\/strong>: identifying <em>i\u02bfj\u0101z<\/em> (inimitability) and bringing its manifestations to light.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>Bad\u012b\u02bf at its peak<\/h3>\r\n<p>The <em>bad\u012b\u02bf<\/em> tradition reaches its peak in the <strong>4th century AH<\/strong> as a system for shaping discourse and intensifying its meanings.<\/p>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>Starting point<\/h3>\r\n<h4>Proposition<\/h4>\r\n<p>Advance a <strong>hermeneutic \/ semiotic<\/strong> reading: the embellishing devices (<em>mu\u1e25assin\u0101t<\/em>) are <strong>expressive signs<\/strong> that generate <strong>political<\/strong> and <strong>ethical<\/strong> meaning, not mere aesthetic dazzle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h4>Objection<\/h4>\r\n<p>Reject reducing <em>bad\u012b\u02bf<\/em> to the simple dichotomy <strong>form \/ content<\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<table>\r\n<thead>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th>Signs<\/th>\r\n<th>Values<\/th>\r\n<th>Content<\/th>\r\n<th>Form<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td colspan=\"4\">The point is not to oppose \"surface\" and \"substance,\" but to understand how form functions as a system of signs that produces value within a culture.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>Problem statement and central question<\/h3>\r\n<p><strong>To what extent does the rhetorical formulation of d\u012bw\u0101n\u012b discourse help construct an ethical discourse of authority by mimicking the Qur'anic model?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Qur'an<\/li>\r\n<li>Ethics<\/li>\r\n<li>Authority<\/li>\r\n<li>Bad\u012b\u02bf<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>Aim and method<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Analyze <strong>signs<\/strong> and <strong>relations<\/strong> within the text (not isolated units).<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<h4>Corpus<\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><strong>First model<\/strong>: a 4th-century letter\u2014<strong>Ibn al-\u02bfAm\u012bd<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Second model<\/strong>: another 4th-century letter\u2014<strong>al-\u1e62\u0101\u1e25ib ibn \u02bfAbb\u0101d<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<h4>Purpose<\/h4>\r\n<p>Show that <em>bad\u012b\u02bf<\/em>, in official texts, is a <strong>semantic dispositif<\/strong> that <strong>codes authority<\/strong> and <strong>frames ethics<\/strong> through a Qur'anic reference.<\/p>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>Theoretical framework: semiotic concepts<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Embellishing devices belong to the domain of the <strong>sign<\/strong>: they are not measured only by sonic pleasure, but by their <strong>symbolic reach<\/strong> within a culture.<\/li>\r\n<li>The value of the sign is built from its <strong>relations<\/strong> within the structure (a relational logic, not a logic of isolation).<\/li>\r\n<li>Moving from <strong>sound<\/strong> to <strong>value<\/strong>: distinguishing direct meaning from suggestive meaning.<\/li>\r\n<li>Expanding the notion of \"indication\": anything that can count as a clue or sign is <strong>interpretable<\/strong> in context.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>From sound to value: what embellishing devices do<\/h3>\r\n<table>\r\n<thead>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th>Device<\/th>\r\n<th>Axiological \/ semantic function<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Paronomasia \/ root play (<em>jin\u0101s<\/em>)<\/td>\r\n<td>Produce <strong>value pairings<\/strong> that orient the addressee.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Antithesis \/ counterpoint (<em>\u1e6dib\u0101q<\/em> \/ <em>muq\u0101bala<\/em>)<\/td>\r\n<td>Construct large-scale contrasts (justice \/ injustice) within a system of meaning.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Rhymed prose (<em>saj\u02bf<\/em>)<\/td>\r\n<td>Install a rhythm of <strong>gravity<\/strong> and <strong>balance<\/strong>, as a symbolic imitation of the ordered nature of authority.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>Theoretical framework: mim\u0113sis of Qur'anic bay\u0101n<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Qur'anic eloquence constitutes a superior model that combines stylistic power and truth, persuasive efficacy and moral purification.<\/li>\r\n<li>Imitating the Qur'an goes beyond stylistic resemblance: it is an <strong>affiliation<\/strong> with a sacred reference that gives speech <strong>legitimacy<\/strong> and an <strong>ethical aura<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Intertextuality<\/strong>: the text forms complex relations with prior texts; imitation can then be read as a <strong>value function<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>Theoretical framework: d\u012bw\u0101n\u012b discourse and values<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>The d\u012bw\u0101n\u012b letter is not a mere administrative message: it is addressed discourse within a hierarchical system that is both political and religious.<\/li>\r\n<li>Embellishing devices help construct the ruler's image: wise, merciful, just, humble.<\/li>\r\n<li>Quality of expression operates as a symbolic indicator of quality of governance; hence the d\u012bw\u0101n's need for a specialized scribe.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>First model: presentation and context<\/h3>\r\n<p>A letter by <strong>Ibn al-\u02bfAm\u012bd<\/strong> to <strong>Ibn Balk\u0101<\/strong>, when the latter shows resistance to the authority of <strong>Rukn al-Dawla<\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Reading hypothesis<\/strong>: <em>bad\u012b\u02bf<\/em> functions as an <strong>evaluative dispositif<\/strong> that reshapes the addressee's political and ethical consciousness.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Chain of legitimation<\/strong>: the discourse anchors itself in sacralized values so that obedience becomes an imperative that is both political and moral.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h4>Antithesis and counterpoint as an axiological \"balance\"<\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>The letter opens with oppositions that establish a <strong>moral balance<\/strong>: greed \/ despair, impulse \/ detachment, violence \/ clemency.<\/li>\r\n<li>The division does not oppose ornament to meaning; it stages the dilemma between punishment and reform.<\/li>\r\n<li>Politics is presented as <strong>practical ethics<\/strong>: punishment remains possible, yet the door to amendment is kept open.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<h4>Rhymed prose and enumeration as evidence of value<\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>The rhymed enumeration does not aim at mere pleasure; it turns benefits into a moral and political <strong>argument<\/strong> (gratitude \/ ingratitude).<\/li>\r\n<li>Betrayal is condemned through an ethical lexicon (misappropriation \/ treachery \/ annulment of deeds), expanding its symbolic scope.<\/li>\r\n<li>The repetition of \"then\" (<em>thumma<\/em>) constructs a path of repentance and repair: a gradual return, not an instantaneous conversion.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<h4>Intertext as a deterrent dispositif<\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>The citation \"a shadow with three branches\u2026 neither cooling shade nor protection from the flame\" turns the symbol against the addressee.<\/li>\r\n<li>Inversion of the sign: shade shifts from protection to punishment; an eschatological transposition is applied to a worldly situation to discipline obedience.<\/li>\r\n<li>Result: <em>bad\u012b\u02bf<\/em> produces legitimacy and administers allegiance through fear grounded in the sacred referent.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>Second model: presentation and context<\/h3>\r\n<p>A letter by <strong>al-\u1e62\u0101\u1e25ib ibn \u02bfAbb\u0101d<\/strong> from the camp at <strong>Astar\u0101b\u0101d<\/strong>: announcing the defeat of <strong>Q\u0101b\u016bs ibn Wushmg\u012br<\/strong> by <strong>Mu\u02beayyad al-Dawla<\/strong> at <strong>Gurg\u0101n<\/strong> (371&nbsp;AH \/ 981&nbsp;CE).<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Function<\/strong>: reconstruct the military event within a horizon of values; the opponent is presented as rebellious, and the sovereign as the guardian of religious law.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h4>A rhetoric of oppositions that legitimizes decision<\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Guiding pairings: mercy before firmness, guidance before error, covenant before perjury, justice against oppression.<\/li>\r\n<li>The opponent is condemned at the axiological level: reactivation of injustice, bloodshed, extinction of the norms of justice.<\/li>\r\n<li>The sovereign is constructed as the one who restores the balance of religious law and justice.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<h4>Rhymed prose as the rhythm of sovereignty<\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Rhymed prose turns facts into \"benefits to be proclaimed\": enumeration of titles and achievements to produce majesty.<\/li>\r\n<li>Victory is narrated as coming \"from God\": oppositions of victory \/ rout, trust \/ illusion.<\/li>\r\n<li>The closing becomes a public rite: proclamation of victory from the pulpits, producing allegiance and stabilizing legitimacy.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>Comparing the two models: how does \"craft\" operate?<\/h3>\r\n<table>\r\n<thead>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th>Ibn al-\u02bfAm\u012bd<\/th>\r\n<th>al-\u1e62\u0101\u1e25ib ibn \u02bfAbb\u0101d<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>\r\n<p><strong>Bad\u012b\u02bf = evaluation \/ restoration<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Conditional threat plus an opening for return.<\/li>\r\n<li>Managing allegiance through a calibrated delay.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<p><strong>Bad\u012b\u02bf = proclamation \/ fixation of legitimacy<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Victory confirmed plus criminalization of the opponent.<\/li>\r\n<li>Transforming information into a public ritual of allegiance.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td colspan=\"2\">\r\n<p><strong>Common point<\/strong>: mim\u0113sis of Qur'anic <em>bay\u0101n<\/em> confers on official discourse a symbolic authority that <strong>moralizes politics<\/strong> and <strong>politicizes ethics<\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>Conclusion and research avenues<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><em>Bad\u012b\u02bf<\/em>, in its mature practice, is a symbolic structure with ethical and cognitive functions that goes beyond mere stylistic enhancement.<\/li>\r\n<li>The rhetorical signifier joins the axiological signified: every verbal equilibrium calls for a political and moral equilibrium.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Further work<\/strong>: extend the analysis to oratory and polemics, or to poetic deployments of <em>bad\u012b\u02bf<\/em> that carry an implicit politico-religious discourse.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<\/article><\/div>\n                    \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" >\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\">11:20am-11:45am<\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Discussion with the audience            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" >\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\">11:45am-12:15pm<\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Break            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n<h6 id=\"axe1-panel2-s1\" style=\"font-weight: bold;\">12:15pm-2pm : Panel 2 | Chair : Wasim Salman<\/h6>\n<h6>Room 1<\/h6>\n\n<div id=\"prog-maconnerie\">\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Mounia Ait Kabboura                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Royal Military College Saint-Jean, Canada<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Averroes and the Universal Intellect: Ethics of Truth and Aesthetics of Thought in Andalusian Heritage<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/averroes-and-the-universal-intellect-an-ethics-of-truth-and-an-aesthetics-of-thought-in-al-andalus\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Averroes and the Universal Intellect: Ethics of Truth and Aesthetics of Thought in Andalusian Heritage\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-16', 'Abstract : Averroes and the Universal Intellect: Ethics of Truth and Aesthetics of Thought in Andalusian Heritage', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-16\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>This paper explores the deep connections between ethics and aesthetics in Averroes' thought, drawing on the concept of Universal Intellect as it unfolds in his Aristotelian commentaries and within the cultural and philosophical framework of al-Andalus. It proposes a rereading of the Andalusian philosopher as an emblematic figure of ethical rationalism, founded on the recognition of cognitive pluralism and the search for intellectual harmony. Faced with the post-Averroist episteme, marked by an exclusive sacralization of revealed truth, Averroes affirms the unity of truth while valuing the diversity of rational paths leading to it, according to each person's intellectual dispositions. This pluralism grounds a genuine ethics of knowledge: a requirement for discernment, measure, and intellectual responsibility, where reason is conceived as humanity's common heritage. The quest for truth thus becomes a moral act, oriented toward the common good and nourished by a cognitive hospitality open to otherness.\nParallel to this, the reflection highlights an implicit aesthetics of thought in Averroes: through order, rigor, and demonstrative clarity, truth is embodied in a form that elevates the mind. This aesthetics of reasoning\u2014or beauty of logos\u2014articulates an ethics of discourse with a formal coherence reflecting a broader ontological order.\nThe Universal Intellect thus designates far more than a mere abstract faculty: it represents a living space of shared memory and co-construction of knowledge, the fruit of crossed rational efforts by thinkers from diverse religious traditions. Heir to an Andalusian pluralism founded on the transconfessional circulation of ideas, it also constitutes a normative horizon for our time: it calls for transcending closed affiliations, renewing intellectual dialogue, and conceiving a conviviality of knowledge anchored in mutual recognition. By revisiting this conception in light of contemporary challenges, this paper proposes to consider Averroes not as a figure from a bygone past, but as a transmitter of shared rationality, bearer of an ethical and aesthetic project of living together.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-17', 'Mounia Ait Kabboura', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-17\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Holder of a PhD in philosophy obtained in 2019, this specialist works at the intersection of the history of philosophy and contemporary religious studies. She was Assistant Professor in history of philosophy at the University of Moncton (Edmundston campus, humanities sector) from 2022 to 2024, and has been Associate Professor at the University of Sherbrooke, at the Centre for Contemporary Religious Studies (CERC), since 2022. She is currently Assistant Professor at the Royal Military College Saint-Jean.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                        \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Aziz Hilal                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Dominican Institute for Oriental Studies, Cairo<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">The Foundations of Beauty in al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/the-foundations-of-the-beautiful-in-al-farabi\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : The Foundations of Beauty in al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-18', 'Abstract : The Foundations of Beauty in al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-18\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>The theory of emanation poses a problem in the general economy of the philosopher al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b's system (d. 950). It is not found in all his treatises and only assumes its clear and distinct aspect in his work \"The Opinions of the Inhabitants of the Virtuous City.\" In this work, the question of beauty is never approached as a strictly aesthetic category; it is inscribed within a broader metaphysical and cosmological framework, based on a unified and hierarchical conception of being. Beauty is thus deeply rooted in a worldview dominated by order, unity, and intelligibility.\nOur paper therefore attempts to examine the role of beauty in this system, as it appears by articulating the notions of beauty, order, and ontological perfection. The aim is to show that beauty constitutes not merely a supplement to reality, but an essential expression of the very structure of being.\nAl-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b's metaphysical system rests partly (this restriction may be discussed at the conference) on the doctrine of emanation (fay\u1e0d), inherited from Neoplatonism, particularly in the Arabized version of Plotinian Neoplatonism through the Theology of Aristotle. According to this doctrine, being emanates gradually from a primary source, absolutely one, simple and immaterial\u2014God or the First (al-Awwal). Each degree of emanation gives rise to a level of reality that preserves, at its degree, a reflection of original unity and perfection.\nThe universe thus conceived is not a fragmented ensemble, but a continuous chain of beings (al-mawj\u016bd\u0101t), hierarchized according to their proximity to the First Cause. This gradation is not arbitrary: it is founded on principles of order, proportion, and intelligibility, which are also the criteria for what is held to be beautiful.\nWe will see that in the reading we propose, beauty is not external to the structure of the world; it is its sensible or intelligible manifestation. It constitutes the visible language of universal harmony.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-19', 'Aziz Hilal', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-19\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Holder of a PhD from Michel de Montaigne Bordeaux III University in Arabic philosophy (highest honors with distinction) and holder of the agr\u00e9gation in Arabic, this researcher conducts work at the intersection of Islamic philosophy, intellectual history, and literary studies. His research focuses particularly on logic and Andalusian thought (Averroes, F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b), the circulation of texts and concepts, as well as the political stakes of scriptural heritage. He has published in <em>Studia Islamica<\/em> and <em>MIDEO<\/em>, contributed to the <em>Encyclop\u00e9die philosophique universelle<\/em> (PUF), and authored studies on Mahmoud Darwish, medieval Arab theatre, and the Arab world's perspective on Pierre Loti.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-auto\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-auto-20', 'Automatic translation that may contain errors', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Automatic translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-auto-20\" style=\"display:none;\"><article>\r\n<header>\r\n<h2>The Beautiful in al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b<\/h2>\r\n<p><strong>Aziz Hilal<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<\/header>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>N.B.<\/strong> The text I am presenting retains its oral character. It is intended to be revised and refined for possible publication. I will include only the essential ideas here. Further details may be added on the day of my presentation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>Introduction<\/h3>\r\n\r\n<p>After several days devoted to preparing our presentation, we realized that it calls for a more precise and more pertinent title, namely: <em>Metamorphosis of the Beautiful, from Plato to al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Indeed, it is a comparative investigation that will allow us to identify the originality\u2014if there is originality at all!\u2014of al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b's approach to the beautiful. And this comparison can only be conducted with Plato, for reasons we will soon understand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b has partial knowledge of Plato\u2014we shall return to this. He offered an overview of Plato's dialogues in <em>\u0641\u0644\u0633\u0641\u0629 \u0623\u0641\u0644\u0627\u0637\u0648\u0646 \u0648\u0627\u062c\u0632\u0627\u0624\u0647\u0627 \u0648\u0645\u0631\u0627\u062a\u0628 \u0627\u062c\u0632\u0627\u0626\u0647\u0627 \u0645\u0646 \u0627\u0648\u0651\u0644\u0647\u0627 \u0644\u0622\u062e\u0631\u0647\u0627<\/em> (<em>The Philosophy of Plato, Its Parts and the Hierarchies of These Parts, from the First to the Last<\/em>). Admittedly, neither the beautiful nor its various declensions (<em>jam\u0101l<\/em> \u062c\u0645\u0627\u0644, <em>jam\u012bl<\/em> \u062c\u0645\u064a\u0644, etc.) are mentioned there. Yet the uses of the beautiful found in al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b's other writings belong within the extension of Plato and Platonism.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Let us begin by saying that this notion of the beautiful is among the most paradoxical in the history of ancient and medieval philosophy. At once omnipresent and elusive, it oscillates between sensible experience, moral value, and metaphysical principle. From Plato to al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b\u2014and this is what justifies the title of our presentation\u2014the beautiful does not disappear, but undergoes profound transformations: a genuine conceptual displacement. From an Idea contemplated and desired in Plato, it becomes, in al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b, a principle of order, perfection, and finality, inscribed at once in the cosmos and in the city. It is precisely this displacement that we would like to examine with you.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Our general problem is therefore the following: How does the Platonic beautiful pass from a separate Idea and object of contemplation to become, in al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b, a principle of order and perfection inscribed in the cosmos and in the city?<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>I. The Beautiful in Plato: an Idea that sets the soul in motion<\/h3>\r\n\r\n<p>In Plato, the beautiful (<span lang=\"grc\">\u03c4\u1f78 \u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u03cc\u03bd<\/span>) is never a purely aesthetic category. It belongs fully to metaphysics and to the formation of the soul.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In the <em>Symposium<\/em>, Diotima's discourse is presented as an ascent: the soul rises from the beauty of bodies to that of souls, to that of laws and sciences, until it attains the contemplation of Beauty itself. This Beauty is neither relative nor changeable. On the contrary, it is eternal, intelligible, and separate.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>\"Indeed, the one who has been guided up to this point by the instruction concerning matters of Eros\u2014who has contemplated beautiful things in their proper succession and order\u2014because he has now reached the highest end of the mysteries of Eros, will suddenly catch sight of something wondrously beautiful: precisely that, Socrates, which was the goal of all his previous efforts\u2014an entity that, first of all, is not subject to change, that neither comes to be nor perishes, that neither grows nor diminishes; an entity that, moreover, is not beautiful in one respect and ugly in another, beautiful at one time and ugly at another, beautiful in one relation and ugly in another, beautiful here and ugly there, beautiful for some and ugly for others\u2026 No: it will appear to him in itself and for itself, eternally united with itself in the unity of its form, while all other beautiful things partake of that beauty\u2026\" (<em>Symposium<\/em>, 210e\u2013211b)<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The Beautiful, as described by Diotima in the <em>Symposium<\/em>, is grasped first through sensible realities (bodies, souls, actions, works), but these realities are only a stage toward elevation and toward the contemplation of the Idea of the Beautiful\u2014defined as eternal, immutable, and identical with itself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Yet if, in the <em>Symposium<\/em>, the soul detaches itself from the sensible in order to advance toward the Idea of the Beautiful, in the <em>Phaedrus<\/em> the soul is seized by a divine madness that tears it from its ordinary condition. Where Diotima thinks eros as a rational mediation toward the intelligible, the <em>Phaedrus<\/em> thinks it as the shock of the Beautiful awakening the memory of the Ideas. Plato adds here a decisive determination: the beautiful is the only Idea that remains visible in the sensible world. It acts as a spiritual shock, awakening the soul's memory and producing eros\u2014that desire which presses toward the true and the good. The beautiful is here anagogic: it raises.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>\"Beauty was radiant to behold in that time when, mingled with a blessed chorus\u2026 we enjoyed a blessed and divine vision; when we were initiated into that initiation of which one may say it leads to the highest blessedness. We celebrated it in the integrity of our nature, sheltered from all the evils that awaited us later\u2026 This beauty shone among those apparitions; and it is still that beauty which, after returning here below, we grasp with that sense of ours that provides the clearest representations, while it itself shines with the most intense brilliance\u2026 The one whose eyes are filled with the visions of old\u2014when he happens to see a face of divine aspect, a happy imitation of beauty, or the form of a body\u2014begins by shuddering, for something of his former dread returns. Then he turns his gaze toward that object and venerates it as a god\u2026\" (<em>Phaedrus<\/em>, 250b\u2013251a)<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This passage highlights, with remarkable clarity, the anagogic function of the beautiful. Beauty comes to us from an ontological \"before\": it refers to the time when the soul, still pure, participated in a blessed and divine vision of intelligible realities. The vocabulary of initiation (<span lang=\"grc\">\u03c4\u03b5\u03bb\u03b5\u03c4\u03ae<\/span>) and blessedness assigns to the soul a vision far removed from mere knowledge: it is a total experience of the soul\u2014at once cognitive, affective, and spiritual.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>After the fall into the sensible and into bodies, beauty retains an exceptional privilege: it remains visible. It still \"shines\" here below and allows itself to be grasped by sight and sense. This visibility has nothing to do with a degradation of the soul; it is a luminous trace of the intelligible within the sensible. The Beautiful thus appears as the mediator par excellence between the two worlds, sensible and intelligible.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The Beautiful therefore takes on an essentially anagogic meaning: it does not hold the soul in the fascination of the sensible; rather, it tears the soul from immanence and orients it upward, toward its principle and origin. Eros, or desire, is born precisely from this tension: desire provoked by the visible, but immediately directed toward the invisible\u2014toward the true and the good. The Beautiful is thus the passage through which the soul resumes its ascent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In the <em>Republic<\/em>, finally, Plato assigns the beautiful an educational and political dimension. The beauty of forms, rhythms, and discourses contributes to the formation of the just soul. But it remains subordinate to the Good, the supreme principle and the foundation of intelligibility:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>\"Must we not seek out those craftsmen who display a natural talent enabling them to track the nature of what is beautiful and graceful, so that\u2014like those who inhabit a healthy region\u2014the young may benefit from everything, and so that, whatever the provenance of what emanates from beautiful works to strike their eyes and ears, they may welcome it like a breeze that brings health from salubrious lands, and from childhood be imperceptibly disposed to resemblance, love, and harmony with the beauty of reason?\" (<em>Republic<\/em>, III, 401c\u2013d)<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Here, beauty is no longer the object of a metaphysical erotics as in the <em>Symposium<\/em> or the <em>Phaedrus<\/em>; it is anchored in an educational and political reflection.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>\u2192 Thus, in Plato's works, the beautiful is articulated in three main ways:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n  <li><strong>The beautiful as Idea:<\/strong> the beautiful is fundamentally an intelligible, eternal, and immutable Idea. Sensible beauties are only imperfect and changeable participations in it.<\/li>\r\n  <li><strong>The beautiful as the motor of philosophical desire:<\/strong> the beautiful is partially visible in the sensible world and is what arouses eros\u2014desire which, far from stopping at the perceived object, guides the soul toward its principle: the true and the good.<\/li>\r\n  <li><strong>The beautiful as mediator between sensible and intelligible:<\/strong> the beautiful appears in sensible forms, but, through an anagogic movement, refers the soul back to the intelligible order of the Ideas.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<h3>Conclusion on Plato<\/h3>\r\n\r\n<p>The <em>Symposium<\/em>, the <em>Phaedrus<\/em>, and the <em>Republic<\/em> bring to light the singular status of the beautiful in Plato's work. The beautiful is not an aesthetic category; yet it can be read as a central metaphysical notion, inseparable from the Idea of the Good and from the formation of the philosophical soul. Although visible in the sensible world, it nonetheless orients the soul beyond that world, toward the intelligible. The beautiful thus appears as a mediator: it links the sensible to the intelligible, desire to knowledge, affective experience to truth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>One essential consequence must be emphasized: the beautiful, as Idea or sign of the Idea, is thought within a horizon of separation. Even when it is seen in the sensible, the beautiful never ceases to refer to a reality ontologically superior to it. The beautiful is what calls the soul out of the world, what turns it away from immanence and orients it toward the transcendence of the intelligible. It is the \"Good beyond being\" as one reads in <em>Republic<\/em> VI, 509b: <span lang=\"grc\">\u1f10\u03c0\u03ad\u03ba\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd\u03b1 \u03c4\u1fc6\u03c2 \u03bf\u1f50\u03c3\u03af\u03b1\u03c2<\/span>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>It is precisely this point\u2014the status of the beautiful as mediation oriented toward transcendence\u2014that opens the way to a new question: what becomes of the beautiful when the emphasis is no longer on the separation of the Idea, but on the order of the world itself, on the rationality of the cosmos, and on the finality of human existence? Put differently: how are we to conceive the beautiful when it refers no longer primarily to a beyond of being, but to the very structure of being and of reality?<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>\u2192 It is to this reconfiguration of the beautiful\u2014indebted to Plato, yet inscribed within another ontological framework\u2014that al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b's thought will invite us.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>II. The Arabic reception: an indirect and already transformed inheritance<\/h3>\r\n\r\n<p>At the beginning of Arabic philosophical activity (early 9th century), Plato, as we said, is only partially accessible. He is often known through:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n  <li>Aristotle,<\/li>\r\n  <li>Neoplatonic summaries,<\/li>\r\n  <li>paraphrases and adaptations.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<p>The overview of Platonic dialogues given by al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b in <em>\u0641\u0644\u0633\u0641\u0629 \u0623\u0641\u0644\u0627\u0637\u0648\u0646 \u0648\u0627\u062c\u0632\u0627\u0624\u0647\u0627 \u0648\u0645\u0631\u0627\u062a\u0628 \u0627\u062c\u0632\u0627\u0626\u0647\u0627 \u0645\u0646 \u0627\u0648\u0651\u0644\u0647\u0627 \u0644\u0622\u062e\u0631\u0647\u0627<\/em> (<em>The Philosophy of Plato, Its Parts and the Hierarchies of These Parts, from the First to the Last<\/em>) is somewhat perplexing. We do not know whether al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b truly read these dialogues\u2014which seems highly unlikely\u2014or whether he knew only summaries that reached him through late Platonism. In any case, the new context of Arabic philosophy gradually modifies the approach to the beautiful. The beautiful ceases to be thought as a separate Idea and is integrated into an ontology of order and perfection.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Within this context, a decisive factor will drive this modification: the meteorite called the \"<em>Theology of Aristotle<\/em>.\" It is not, by any means, a work by Aristotle, but an Arabic adaptation of certain passages from Plotinus' <em>Enneads<\/em>, chiefly <em>Enneads<\/em> IV, V, and VI, translated and reworked in Baghdad in the 9th century. This <em>Theology<\/em> was attributed to Aristotle for reasons that remain historically difficult to determine.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>With this <em>Theology<\/em>, one can speak of a major accident in the history of philosophy: emerging Arabic thought received, under Aristotle's name, a Neoplatonic metaphysics of emanation in which the supreme principle is beyond being, and from which the world proceeds by degrees.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Without entering into details that can be discussed later, it must be said that the effects of this accident were decisive and lasting. Our \"Platonic beautiful\" was profoundly transformed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This confusion\u2014for it is indeed a noteworthy confusion\u2014deeply oriented ontology and, with it, the understanding of the beautiful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In the <em>Theology of Aristotle<\/em>, the beautiful is no longer a separate Idea to be contemplated (in the Platonic sense), but the radiance of the intelligible within being, proportional to its degree of participation in the One. Beauty thus becomes inseparable from ontological perfection, hierarchical order, and the completion of form.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In other words, the beautiful is no longer what tears the soul out of the world; it is what manifests an entity's ontological completion. The more unified, ordered, and complete (<em>t\u0101mm<\/em>) an entity is, the more beautiful it is. Ugliness is never a positive principle; it is a privation of form and unity.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This Neoplatonic ontology, wrongly attributed to Aristotle, led Arabic philosophers to think that Aristotelian metaphysics itself included:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n  <li><strong>The radical transcendence of the Principle:<\/strong> the first principle is not a being, but the source of being, absolutely separate from all that is.<\/li>\r\n  <li><strong>An emanationist schema:<\/strong> according to this schema, the world does not proceed from the Principle by voluntary creation or by efficient causality, but by necessary emanation or procession: from the Principle's perfection flows, by superabundance (<em>j\u016bd<\/em>), a chain of realities that become ever more determinate. This causality is non-temporal and non-intentional. Received as Aristotelian, it suggested that supreme causality in Aristotle belonged to a hierarchical unfolding of being, and not only to final causality.<\/li>\r\n  <li><strong>A hierarchy of beings grounded in perfection:<\/strong> emanation implies an ontological hierarchy: each being possesses a lesser degree of perfection, unity, and intelligibility than the level that precedes it. Beings are hierarchized not by accident, but by their proximity to the Principle. In this framework, an entity's value\u2014and notably its beauty\u2014is measured by its degree of ontological perfection and by the completeness of its form.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<p>How does all this bear on al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b's conception of the beautiful?<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The beautiful is now integrated into the order of being: it is no longer an autonomous Idea, but an index of perfection, legible in the cosmos, in the soul, and in political order. The beautiful will be approached not as a separate reality, but as a function of order, harmony, and finality.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Let us move toward further details and implications.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>III. Al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b: from the contemplated beautiful to the realized beautiful<\/h3>\r\n\r\n<p>First, some preliminary remarks on the beautiful in al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>To begin with, our philosopher wrote several treatises on rhetoric and poetry. One might therefore expect that the notion of the beautiful would belong to these two arts (<em>\u1e63an\u0101'i\u02bf<\/em> - \u0635\u0646\u0627\u0626\u0639). This is not the case, for an obvious reason: like all philosophers from the 5th to the 12th century, rhetoric and poetics fall, for al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b, under logic and are integrated into what is called the expanded Organon. One speaks of a rhetorical or poetic syllogism just as one speaks of a demonstrative syllogism (<em>burh\u0101n\u012b<\/em>). Rhetoric occupies a particular place: it is concerned with the logic of the plausible, which brings it close to dialectic, to the point that it can be considered a prolongation\u2014indeed a \"replica\"\u2014of dialectic. But it is also an action-oriented discipline whose main aim is to persuade the listener. It is precisely this double status\u2014logical and practical\u2014that allows philosophers such as al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b to attach poetics to rhetoric and, through it, to the deductive disciplines. Without this dual affiliation, poetics would probably not have found its place among the logical treatises of the Organon. Poetic imagination (<span lang=\"ar\">\u0627\u0644\u062a\u062e\u064a\u064a\u0644 \u0627\u0644\u0634\u0639\u0631\u064a<\/span>) is thus tethered to logical reasoning. The result is that the beauty a poem can arouse is largely sacrificed or relegated to a secondary zone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Next, we know that al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b wrote a major treatise on music (<em>\u0643\u062a\u0627\u0628 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0648\u0633\u064a\u0642\u064a \u0627\u0644\u0643\u0628\u064a\u0631<\/em>). Here again, music, as a discipline, belongs for him to mathematics and thus to theoretical knowledge. He assigns music a privileged place within a rational science grounded in mathematical and acoustical principles, not in mere aesthetics or beauty.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Finally, the beautiful in al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b finds its place\u2014logically, as we shall see\u2014in the contemplation of the order and beauty of the cosmos and in the relation of this cosmos to its First Principle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>It is certain that the beautiful (<em>al-jam\u0101l<\/em>, <em>al-\u1e25usn<\/em>, etc.) is not for him an autonomous concept; it is always bound to notions such as unity (<span lang=\"ar\">\u0627\u0644\u0648\u062d\u062f\u0629<\/span>), proportion (<span lang=\"ar\">\u0627\u0644\u062a\u0646\u0627\u0633\u0628<\/span>), coherence (<span lang=\"ar\">\u0627\u0644\u0627\u0646\u0633\u062c\u0627\u0645<\/span>), completion (<span lang=\"ar\">\u0627\u0644\u0627\u0643\u062a\u0645\u0627\u0644<\/span> or <span lang=\"ar\">\u0627\u0644\u062a\u0645\u0627\u0645<\/span>), perfection (<span lang=\"ar\">\u0627\u0644\u0643\u0645\u0627\u0644<\/span>), order (<span lang=\"ar\">\u0627\u0644\u0646\u0638\u0627\u0645<\/span>), and finality (<span lang=\"ar\">\u0627\u0644\u063a\u0627\u064a\u0629<\/span>).<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The beautiful is not an Idea, we said, but the visible effect of an entity's perfection.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>A text by al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b will help us grasp his conception of beauty:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p lang=\"ar\" dir=\"rtl\">\u0648\u0627\u0644\u062c\u0645\u0627\u0644 \u0648\u0627\u0644\u0628\u0647\u0627\u0621 \u0648\u0627\u0644\u0632\u064a\u0646\u0629 \u0641\u064a \u0643\u0644 \u0645\u0648\u062c\u0648\u062f \u0647\u0648 \u0623\u0646 \u064a\u0648\u062c\u062f \u0648\u062c\u0648\u062f\u0647 \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0641\u0636\u0644. \u0648\u064a\u062d\u0635\u0644 \u0644\u0647 \u0643\u0645\u0627\u0644\u0647 \u0627\u0644\u0623\u062e\u064a\u0631\u060c \u0648\u0625\u0630\u0627 \u0643\u0627\u0646 \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0648\u0644 \u0648\u062c\u0648\u062f\u0647 \u0623\u0641\u0636\u0644 \u0627\u0644\u0648\u062c\u0648\u062f\u060c \u0641\u062c\u0645\u0627\u0644\u0647 \u0641\u0627\u0626\u062a \u0644\u062c\u0645\u0627\u0644 \u0643\u0644\u0651 \u0630\u064a \u062c\u0645\u0627\u0644\u060c \u0648\u0643\u0630\u0644\u0643 \u0632\u064a\u0646\u062a\u0647 \u0648\u0628\u0647\u0627\u0624\u0647. \u062b\u0645\u0651 \u0647\u0630\u0647 \u0643\u0644\u0647\u0627 \u0644\u0647 \u0641\u064a \u062c\u0648\u0647\u0631\u0647 \u0648\u0630\u0627\u062a\u0647\u061b \u0648\u0630\u0644\u0643 \u0641\u064a \u0646\u0641\u0633\u0647 \u0648\u0628\u0645\u0627 \u064a\u0639\u0642\u0644\u0647 \u0645\u0646 \u0630\u0627\u062a\u0647. \u0648\u0623\u0645\u0651\u0627 \u0646\u062d\u0646\u060c \u0641\u0625\u0646\u0651 \u062c\u0645\u0627\u0644\u0646\u0627 \u0648\u0632\u064a\u0646\u062a\u0646\u0627 \u0648\u0628\u0647\u0627\u0626\u0646\u0627 \u0647\u064a \u0644\u0646\u0627 \u0644\u0623\u0639\u0631\u0627\u0636\u0646\u0627 \u0644\u0627 \u0628\u0630\u0627\u062a\u0646\u0627\u060c \u0648\u0644\u0644\u0623\u0634\u064a\u0627\u0621 \u0627\u0644\u062e\u0627\u0631\u062c\u0629 \u0639\u0646\u0627\u060c \u0644\u0627 \u0641\u064a \u062c\u0648\u0647\u0631\u0646\u0627. \u0648\u0627\u0644\u062c\u0645\u0627\u0644 \u0641\u064a\u0647 \u0648\u0627\u0644\u0643\u0645\u0627\u0644 \u0644\u064a\u0633\u0627 \u0647\u0645\u0627 \u0641\u064a\u0647 \u0633\u0648\u0649 \u0630\u0627\u062a \u0648\u0627\u062d\u062f\u0629\u060c \u0648\u0643\u0630\u0644\u0643 \u0633\u0627\u0626\u0631\u0647\u0627.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Translation:<\/em> \"Beauty, splendor, and ornament in every being consist in this: that its existence is the most excellent existence, and that it attains its ultimate perfection. If the First possesses the most excellent existence there is, then His beauty surpasses every beauty belonging to what is beautiful, and likewise His ornament and His splendor. Moreover, He possesses all these perfections in His substance and essence, for they reside in Himself and in the intellection He has of Himself. As for us, our beauty, ornament, and splendor belong to us only as accidents and not by our essence; they depend on things external to us and not on our substance. In Him, beauty and perfection are nothing other than one and the same essence, and the same holds for all His attributes.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The text lays down a universal rule from the outset: beauty, splendor, and ornament are conditionally linked to the perfection of being. It then distinguishes a substantial beauty proper to the First Principle\u2014whose existence is fully complete\u2014from an accidental beauty proper to the human being, dependent on external factors. Divine beauty, inseparable from essence, coincides with ultimate perfection, whereas human beauty remains contingent and non-essential. A fundamental bipartition results between a necessary and ontological beauty and an acquired and relative beauty, each belonging to a distinct register of metaphysics.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Yet these two beauties\u2014necessary and contingent\u2014can communicate remarkably well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Indeed, this conception is inscribed in an emanationist framework: the closer a being is to the First Principle, the more it participates in order and intelligibility, and thus in beauty. Ugliness is never a positive principle; it is a privation of order and form.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p lang=\"ar\" dir=\"rtl\">\u0627\u0644\u0645\u0648\u062c\u0648\u062f\u0627\u062a \u0643\u062b\u064a\u0631\u0629\u060c \u0648\u0647\u064a \u0645\u0639 \u0643\u062b\u0631\u062a\u0647\u0627 \u0645\u062a\u0641\u0627\u0636\u0644\u0629. \u0648\u062c\u0648\u0647\u0631\u0647 \u064a\u0641\u064a\u0636 \u0645\u0646\u0647 \u0643\u0644 \u0648\u062c\u0648\u062f\u060c \u0643\u0627\u0646 \u0643\u0627\u0645\u0644\u0627 \u0627\u0648 \u0646\u0627\u0642\u0635\u0627\u064b. \u0648\u062c\u0648\u0647\u0631\u0647 \u0623\u064a\u0636\u064b\u0627 \u062c\u0648\u0647\u0631\u060c \u0625\u0630\u0627 \u0641\u0627\u0636\u062a \u0645\u0646\u0647 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0648\u062c\u0648\u062f\u0627\u062a \u0643\u0644\u0647\u0627 \u0628\u062a\u0631\u062a\u064a\u0628 \u0645\u0631\u0627\u062a\u0628\u0647\u0627\u060c \u062d\u0635\u0644 \u0639\u0646\u0647 \u0644\u0643\u0644\u0651 \u0645\u0648\u062c\u0648\u062f \u0642\u0633\u0637\u0647 \u0627\u0644\u0630\u064a \u0644\u0647 \u0645\u0646 \u0627\u0644\u0648\u062c\u0648\u062f \u0648\u0645\u0631\u062a\u0628\u062a\u0647 \u0645\u0646\u0647. \u0641\u064a\u0628\u062a\u062f\u0626 \u0645\u0646 \u0623\u0643\u0645\u0644\u0647\u0627 \u0648\u062c\u0648\u062f\u064b\u0627 \u062b\u0645\u0651 \u064a\u062a\u0644\u0648\u0647 \u0645\u0627 \u0647\u0648 \u0623\u0646\u0642\u0635 \u0645\u0646\u0647 \u0642\u0644\u064a\u0644\u0627\u060c \u062b\u0645 \u0644\u0627 \u064a\u0632\u0627\u0644 \u0628\u0639\u062f \u0630\u0644\u0643 \u064a\u062a\u0644\u0648 \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0646\u0642\u0635 \u0625\u0644\u0649 \u0623\u0646 \u064a\u0646\u062a\u0647\u064a \u0625\u0644\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0648\u062c\u0648\u062f \u0627\u0644\u0630\u064a \u062a\u062e\u0637\u0649 \u0639\u0646\u0647 \u0625\u0644\u0649 \u0645\u0627 \u062f\u0648\u0646\u0647 \u062a\u062e\u0637\u0649 \u0625\u0644\u0649 \u0645\u0627 \u0644\u0645 \u064a\u0645\u0643\u0646 \u0623\u0646 \u064a\u0648\u062c\u062f \u0623\u0635\u0644\u0627\u064b<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>\"Beings are many and, despite their multiplicity, they are hierarchized. From His essence proceeds every being, whether perfect or deficient. His essence is such that, when all beings emanate from it according to the order of their ranks, each being receives from Him its share of existence and its relative rank. This begins with the most perfect being, followed by what is slightly less perfect, and then successively by beings ever more deficient, until one arrives at the being beyond which what is inferior cannot exist at all.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This passage implicitly establishes an ontological aesthetics: an entity's value depends on its share of existence, determined by its proximity to the First Principle. The hierarchy of beings is thus a hierarchy of perfection and, consequently, of beauty. The beautiful is not an added quality, but the effect of order, form, and the completion of being. Conversely, what is deficient in existence is also deficient in beauty.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>IV. Cosmic beauty and political beauty<\/h3>\r\n\r\n<p>This objectification of the beautiful is especially manifest in two domains.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>1. The cosmos<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The world is beautiful because it is rationally structured. Beauty results from proportion, harmony, and the hierarchy of beings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>2. The city<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>A clarification: al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b almost never explicitly says \"the city is beautiful,\" but he provides all the ontological and political criteria that allow us legitimately to speak of a beauty of the city.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Political beauty is therefore structural: it resides in the harmonious arrangement of the city's functions, laws, and practices.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>The city is well ordered.<\/strong> In al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b, the virtuous city is beautiful because it reproduces a rational order analogous to that of the cosmos. Order is not decorative; it is the condition for the city's correct existence. A disordered city is deficient in its very being. Now, in al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b's ontology: degree of order = degree of perfection = ground of the beautiful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Here al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b appeals to the metaphor of the body:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p lang=\"ar\" dir=\"rtl\">\u0648\u0623\u062c\u0632\u0627\u0621 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u062f\u064a\u0646\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0641\u0627\u0636\u0644\u0629 \u062a\u0634\u0628\u0647 \u0623\u0639\u0636\u0627\u0621 \u0627\u0644\u0628\u062f\u0646 \u0627\u0644\u062a\u0627\u0645\u0651 \u0627\u0644\u0635\u062d\u064a\u062d\u060c \u0627\u0644\u0630\u064a \u062a\u062a\u0639\u0627\u0648\u0646 \u0623\u0639\u0636\u0627\u0624\u0647 \u0643\u0644\u0651\u0647\u0627 \u0639\u0644\u0649 \u062a\u062a\u0645\u064a\u0645 \u062d\u064a\u0627\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u062d\u064a\u0648\u0627\u0646 \u0648\u0639\u0644\u0649 \u062d\u0641\u0638\u0647\u0627 \u0639\u0644\u064a\u0647. (\u0622\u0631\u0627\u0621\u060c \u0635. 96)<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The parts of the virtuous city resemble the organs of a perfectly healthy body, all of whose members cooperate in completing the life of the living being and preserving it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>The city is hierarchically structured.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p lang=\"ar\" dir=\"rtl\">\u0625\u0646 \u0627\u0644\u0633\u0628\u0628 \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0648\u0651\u0644 \u0646\u0633\u0628\u062a\u0647 \u0625\u0644\u0649 \u0633\u0627\u0626\u0631 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0648\u062c\u0648\u062f\u0627\u062a \u0643\u0646\u0633\u0628\u0629 \u0645\u0644\u0643 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u062f\u064a\u0646\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0641\u0627\u0636\u0644\u0629 \u0625\u0644\u0649 \u0633\u0627\u0626\u0631 \u0623\u062c\u0632\u0627\u0626\u0647\u0627. \u0641\u0625\u0646\u0651 \u0627\u0644\u0628\u0631\u064a\u0626\u0629 \u0645\u0646 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0627\u062f\u0651\u0629 \u062a\u0642\u0631\u0628 \u0645\u0646 \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0648\u0644\u060c \u0648\u062f\u0648\u0646\u0647\u0627 \u0627\u0644\u0623\u062c\u0633\u0627\u0645 \u0627\u0644\u0633\u0645\u0627\u0648\u064a\u0629\u060c \u0648\u062f\u0648\u0646 \u0627\u0644\u0633\u0645\u0627\u0648\u064a\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0623\u062c\u0633\u0627\u0645 \u0627\u0644\u0647\u064a\u0648\u0644\u0627\u0646\u064a\u0629\u060c \u0648\u0643\u0644\u0651 \u0647\u0630\u0647 \u062a\u062d\u062a\u0630\u064a \u062d\u0630\u0648 \u0627\u0644\u0633\u0628\u0628 \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0648\u0651\u0644 \u0648\u062a\u0624\u0645\u0651\u0647 \u0648\u062a\u0642\u062a\u0641\u064a\u0647\u060c \u0648\u064a\u0641\u0639\u0644 \u0630\u0644\u0643 \u0643\u0644\u0651 \u0645\u0648\u062c\u0648\u062f \u0628\u062d\u0633\u0628 \u0642\u0648\u0651\u062a\u0647 (\u0622\u0631\u0627\u0621\u060c \u0635. 99)<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The relation of the First Cause to the rest of beings is the same as the relation of the king of the virtuous city to all its parts. Beings free of matter are closest to the First; next come the celestial bodies; beneath the celestial bodies come hylomorphic bodies. All follow the model of the First Cause, orient themselves toward it, and take it as their guide; and each being acts in this way according to its own power.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b grounds here a political hierarchy with ontological scope by bringing the city's order close to the order of the cosmos. Just as beings unfold according to their degree of proximity to the First Cause, the virtuous city is structured according to a rational hierarchy, at the summit of which stands the ruler. This hierarchy is not merely functional or political; it is aesthetic in the ontological sense of the term. The city's beauty lies not in its appearance, but in the correctness of its order, in the proportion between its parts, and in their common orientation toward a unifying principle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>The city is oriented toward happiness (<em>sa\u02bf\u0101da<\/em>).<\/strong> Here al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b insists on the criterion of finality. A city becomes virtuous\u2014and thus structurally beautiful\u2014when it takes happiness as its objective. This is, of course, true happiness, i.e., the ultimate perfection of the human being.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Political beauty is here teleological: it is measured by the adequation between means (institutions, laws, hierarchy) and the supreme end (happiness).<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The beautiful therefore is no longer contemplated: it is seen in the just organization of social functions and in the harmony among citizens.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Another text shows to what extent the beautiful is not an Idea but is embodied in the actions of each member of the virtuous city:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p lang=\"ar\" dir=\"rtl\">\u0627\u0644\u0630\u064a \u064a\u0647\u0648\u0649 \u0644\u0646\u0641\u0633\u0647 \u0627\u0644\u062e\u064a\u0631\u060c \u0627\u0644\u0630\u064a \u0647\u0648 \u0641\u064a \u0627\u0644\u062d\u0642\u064a\u0642\u0629 \u062e\u064a\u0631 \u0648\u0644\u064a\u0633 \u064a\u0643\u0648\u0646 \u0625\u0644\u0627 \u062e\u064a\u0631\u0627\u064b \u0641\u0627\u0636\u0644\u0627\u064b\u060c \u0644\u064a\u0633 \u062e\u064a\u0631\u0627 \u0641\u0627\u0636\u0644\u0627 \u0641\u064a \u0641\u0643\u0631\u0647\u060c \u0628\u0644 \u062e\u064a\u0631\u0627 \u0641\u0627\u0636\u0644\u0627 \u0641\u064a \u062e\u0644\u064f\u0642\u0647 \u0648\u0623\u0641\u0639\u0627\u0644\u0647. \u0648\u064a\u064f\u0634\u0628\u0647 \u0623\u0646 \u062a\u0643\u0648\u0646 \u0641\u0636\u064a\u0644\u062a\u0647 \u0648\u062e\u0644\u0642\u0647 \u0648\u0623\u0641\u0639\u0627\u0644\u0647 \u0639\u0644\u0649 \u0645\u0642\u062f\u0627\u0631 \u0642\u0648\u0629 \u0641\u0643\u0631\u0647 \u0639\u0644\u0649 \u0645\u0627 \u0644\u0647 \u0645\u0646 \u0627\u0633\u062a\u0646\u0628\u0627\u0637 \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0646\u0641\u0639 \u0648\u0627\u0644\u0623\u062c\u0645\u0644.  \u0641\u0625\u0646 \u0643\u0627\u0646 \u0625\u0646\u0651\u0645\u0627 \u064a\u0633\u062a\u0646\u0628\u0637 \u0628\u0641\u0636\u064a\u0644\u062a\u0647 \u0627\u0644\u0641\u0643\u0631\u064a\u0629 \u0645\u0646 \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0646\u0641\u0639 \u0648\u0627\u0644\u0623\u062c\u0645\u0644 \u0645\u0627 \u0647\u0648 \u0639\u0638\u064a\u0645 \u0627\u0644\u0642\u0648\u0651\u0629 \u0645\u062b\u0644 \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0646\u0641\u0639 \u0641\u064a \u063a\u0627\u064a\u0629 \u0641\u0627\u0636\u0644\u0629 \u0645\u0634\u062a\u0631\u0643\u0629 \u0644\u0623\u0645\u0651\u0629 \u0623\u0648 \u0644\u0623\u0645\u0645 \u0623\u0648 \u0645\u062f\u064a\u0646\u0629 \u0645\u0645\u0651\u0627 \u0634\u0623\u0646\u0647 \u0623\u0646 \u0644\u0627 \u064a\u062a\u0628\u062f\u0651\u0644 \u0625\u0644\u0627\u0651 \u0641\u064a \u0645\u062f\u0651\u0629 \u0637\u0648\u064a\u0644\u0629\u060c \u0641\u064a\u0646\u0628\u063a\u064a \u0623\u0646 \u062a\u0643\u0648\u0646 \u0641\u0636\u0627\u0626\u0644\u0647 \u0627\u0644\u062e\u0644\u064f\u0642\u064a\u0651\u0629 \u0639\u0644\u0649 \u062d\u0633\u0628 \u0630\u0644\u0643. \u0648\u0643\u0630\u0644\u0643 \u0625\u0646 \u0643\u0627\u0646\u062a \u0641\u0636\u0627\u0626\u0644\u0647 \u0627\u0644\u0641\u0643\u0631\u064a\u0651\u0629 \u0625\u0646\u0651\u0645\u0627 \u064a\u0642\u062a\u0635\u0631 \u0628\u0647\u0627 \u0639\u0644\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0634\u064a\u0627\u0621 \u0627\u0644\u062a\u064a \u0647\u064a \u0623\u0646\u0641\u0639 \u0641\u064a \u063a\u0627\u064a\u0629 \u062e\u0627\u0635\u0651\u0629 \u0648\u0639\u0646\u062f \u0648\u0627\u0631\u062f \u062e\u0627\u0635\u0651\u060c \u0641\u0641\u0636\u064a\u0644\u062a\u0647 \u0623\u064a\u0636\u064b\u0627 \u0639\u0644\u0649 \u0645\u0642\u062f\u0627\u0631 \u0630\u0644\u0643. \u0641\u0643\u0644\u0651 \u0645\u0627 \u0643\u0627\u0646 \u0645\u0646 \u0647\u0630\u0647 \u0627\u0644\u0641\u0636\u0627\u0626\u0644 \u0627\u0644\u0641\u0643\u0631\u064a\u0629 \u0623\u0643\u0645\u0644 \u0631\u0626\u0627\u0633\u0629 \u0648\u0623\u0639\u0638\u0645 \u0642\u0648\u0651\u0629 \u0643\u0627\u0646\u062a \u0627\u0644\u0641\u0636\u0627\u0626\u0644 \u0627\u0644\u062e\u0644\u0642\u064a\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0642\u062a\u0631\u0646\u0629 \u0628\u0647 \u0623\u0634\u062f\u0651 \u0631\u0626\u0627\u0633\u0629 \u0648\u0623\u0639\u0638\u0645 \u0642\u0648\u0651\u0629.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Translation:<\/em> \"The one who desires for himself the good that is truly a good\u2014his good is ultimately the virtuous good. This is not a virtuous good merely conceived in thought, but a virtuous good embodied in character and actions. His virtue, character, and actions are proportional to the strength of his intellect in deriving, by means of his intellectual virtue, what is most beneficial and most beautiful. If, by his intellectual virtue, he derives from what is beneficial and beautiful something of great power\u2014such as what is most beneficial with respect to a shared virtuous end for a nation, nations, or a city, of the sort that would not change except over a long duration\u2014then his moral virtues ought to correspond to that. Likewise, if his intellectual virtues are limited to things beneficial to a particular end and in a particular circumstance, his virtue too is proportioned accordingly. The more perfect and powerful these intellectual virtues are in leadership, the more perfect and powerful are the moral virtues associated with them.\" <em>(We emphasize.)<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This is a text of great importance because it shows that the virtuous city is a city that prioritizes happiness. This happiness is conceived as a good embodied in actions, not as an abstraction. Moral virtues are proportioned to intellectual virtues, and their concord conditions the perfection of political action. This lexical field of proportion, harmony, and perfection places us directly within al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b's conception of beauty as rational order, where the correctness of the relations between thought, conduct, and the common end grounds the very beauty of the city.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>By way of conclusion: Metamorphosis of the Beautiful\u2014continuity and rupture<\/h3>\r\n\r\n<p>We can now measure the transformation undergone by the notion of the beautiful from Plato to al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>There is continuity, because:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n  <li>the beautiful remains linked to the good, as we have just seen in the last text;<\/li>\r\n  <li>it retains an educational function. A slight difference should be noted here: in al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b, the beautiful no longer elevates the soul through the shock of contemplation; it educates through rational order, preparing the human being for virtue and happiness. Al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b says in <em>K. al-M\u016bs\u012bq\u012b al-kab\u012br<\/em>:<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<p lang=\"ar\" dir=\"rtl\">\u0648\u0644\u0645\u0651\u0627 \u0643\u0627\u0646 \u0643\u062b\u064a\u0631 \u0645\u0646 \u0627\u0644\u0647\u064a\u0626\u0627\u062a \u0648\u0627\u0644\u0623\u062e\u0644\u0627\u0642 \u062a\u0627\u0628\u0639\u0629 \u0644\u0627\u0646\u0641\u0639\u0627\u0644\u0627\u062a \u0627\u0644\u0646\u0641\u0633 \u0648\u0644\u0644\u062e\u064a\u0627\u0644\u0627\u062a \u0627\u0644\u0648\u0627\u0642\u0639\u0629 \u0641\u064a\u0647\u0627\u060c \u0639\u0644\u0649 \u0645\u0627 \u062a\u0628\u064a\u0651\u0646 \u0641\u064a \u0627\u0644\u0635\u0646\u0627\u0639\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u062f\u0646\u064a\u0651\u0629\u060c \u0635\u0627\u0631\u062a \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0644\u062d\u0627\u0646 \u0627\u0644\u0643\u0627\u0645\u0644\u0629 \u0646\u0627\u0641\u0639\u0629 \u0641\u064a \u0625\u0641\u0627\u062f\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0647\u064a\u0626\u0627\u062a \u0648\u0627\u0644\u0627\u062e\u0644\u0627\u0642 \u0648\u0646\u0627\u0641\u0639\u0629 \u0641\u064a \u0623\u0646 \u062a\u0628\u0639\u062b \u0627\u0644\u0633\u0627\u0645\u0639\u064a\u0646 \u0639\u0644\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0641\u0639\u0627\u0644 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0637\u0644\u0648\u0628\u0629 \u0645\u0646\u0647\u0645\u060c \u0648\u0644\u064a\u0633 \u0625\u0646\u0651\u0645\u0627 \u0647\u064a \u0646\u0627\u0641\u0639\u0629 \u0641\u064a \u0647\u0630\u0647 \u0648\u062d\u062f\u0647\u0627\u060c \u0644\u0643\u0646 \u0648\u0641\u064a \u0627\u0644\u0628\u0639\u062b\u0629 \u0639\u0644\u0649 \u0627\u0642\u062a\u0646\u0627\u0621 \u0633\u0627\u0626\u0631 \u0627\u0644\u062e\u064a\u0631\u0627\u062a \u0627\u0644\u0646\u0641\u0633\u0627\u0646\u064a\u0629\u060c \u0645\u062b\u0644 \u0627\u0644\u062d\u0643\u0645\u0629 \u0648\u0627\u0644\u0639\u0644\u0648\u0645<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>\"Since many dispositions, moral characters, and actions follow upon the soul's passions and the images that occur within it\u2014 as has been shown in the political discipline\u2014perfect melodies therefore become beneficial for dispositions and morals. They are beneficial insofar as they incite listeners to perform the actions required of them; but they are also beneficial in inciting the acquisition of other goods of the soul, such as wisdom and the sciences.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This text underscores the educational function of the beautiful through the role of harmonious melodies. Because moral dispositions and human actions depend on passions and images that affect the soul, beautiful forms\u2014here, perfectly proportioned melodies\u2014act as instruments of moral formation. Their efficacy lies not in the sensible pleasure they provide, but in their capacity to order the soul, to dispose it to rational obedience, and to orient it toward higher goods such as wisdom and science. The beautiful thus becomes, in al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b, an indirect but powerful pedagogical means: by habituating the soul to harmony and measure, it prepares access to virtue and, consequently, to happiness. In the same way that it is fitting to teach philosophy to the people by taking the path of imitation, persuasion, and imagination\u2014through rhetoric and poetics\u2014so too must music be able to be a \"representation\" or \"imitation\" of something extra-musical, which is nothing other than the philosophical archetypes (<em>mi\u1e6f\u0101l\u0101t \u016bl\u0101<\/em>).<\/p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n  <li>it participates in the elevation of the human being.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<p>But one can also speak of rupture between the two philosophers. With al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b's virtuous city:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n  <li>we pass, first, from the beautiful as Idea to the beautiful as realized perfection;<\/li>\r\n  <li>we pass, next, from inner experience to objective order;<\/li>\r\n  <li>we pass, finally, from erotic ascent to cosmico-political rationality.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<p>\u2192 The beautiful is no longer what tears the soul away from the world; it is what makes the world intelligible and inhabitable.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The metamorphosis of the beautiful, from Plato to al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b, should not be understood as an impoverishment, but as a profound philosophical reconfiguration. By integrating the beautiful into an ontology of order, finality, and the city, al-F\u0101r\u0101b\u012b transforms a contemplative notion into a structuring principle of reality.<\/p>\r\n<\/article><\/div>\n                    \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Constance Arminjon                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">\u00c9cole Pratique des Hautes \u00c9tudes - Paris Sciences & Lettres<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Spiritual Poetry, Hermeneutics and Theology in Contemporary Shi'ite Iran: Sor\u016bsh, Shabestar\u012b&#160;and Malekiy\u0101n in R\u016bm\u012b's Shadow<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/spiritual-poetry-hermeneutics-and-theology-in-contemporary-shii-iran-soroush-shabestari-malekian-and-rumi\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Spiritual Poetry, Hermeneutics and Theology in Contemporary Shi&#039;ite Iran: Sor\u016bsh, Shabestar\u012b&#160;and Malekiy\u0101n in R\u016bm\u012b&#039;s Shadow\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-21', 'Abstract : Spiritual Poetry, Hermeneutics and Theology in Contemporary Shi\\'ite Iran: Sor\u016bsh, Shabestar\u012b&#160;and Malekiy\u0101n in R\u016bm\u012b\\'s Shadow', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-21\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>In contemporary Iran, 'classical' spiritual poetry is not merely a living heritage preserved in memory and venerated near the tombs of \u1e24\u0101fe\u1e93, Sa\u02bfd\u012b, and others. It permeates the theological and even juridical reflections of religious scholars and philosophers of all orientations. On the one hand, they illustrate their arguments by citing spiritual poets from the medieval period, most of whom were Sunni. On the other hand, some theologians and philosophers draw on these poets to develop innovative proposals for the doctrine of faith, moral theology, and dogmatics.<\/p><p>Within their vast poetic heritage, these authors accord a privileged place to Jal\u0101l ol-D\u012bn R\u016bm\u012b&#160;(1207-1273) and his Mathnaw\u012b. The philosopher \u02bfAbd ol-Kar\u012bm Sor\u016bsh (1945- ) maintains multiple relationships with the poet. Not only are his works on epistemology and 'new theology' (in his own terms) punctuated with abundant citations from R\u016bm\u012b, but he has also edited and taught his works. By combining modern European philosophical hermeneutics with meditation on R\u016bm\u012b, the theologian Mo\u1e25ammad Mojtahed Shabestar\u012b&#160;(1936- ) has endeavored since the mid-2000s to rethink moral theology and dogmatics, including the dogma on the Quran. Finally, the philosopher Mo\u1e63\u1e6daf\u0101 Malekiy\u0101n (1956- ) elevates R\u016bm\u012b&#160;as a beacon to illuminate his questioning about the knowledge of God and his meditation on the place of silence and speech in moral life.<\/p><p>Considering the place of spiritual poetry in the religious culture of contemporary Shi'ite Iran, our proposal aims to analyze the relationships established with R\u016bm\u012b&#160;by three innovative figures in theology and philosophy of religion.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-22', 'Constance Arminjon', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-22\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>A historian of contemporary Islamic doctrines, Constance Arminjon is Director of Studies at EPHE-PSL (Religious Sciences Section), holding the chair in 'Intellectual History of Contemporary Shi'ism,' after serving as Associate Professor from 2012 to 2022. A former student at EHESS (doctorate, 2011) and accredited to supervise research (2020), she works on the recomposition of religious authority, relations between Shi'ism and the state, as well as debates on human rights and hermeneutical renewals. Author of several reference works (CNRS \u00c9ditions, Cerf, Labor et Fides), she also maintains sustained editorial activity (editorial boards, scientific expertise and evaluation). She works in Arabic, Persian, and English.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                        \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, videoconference, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Essaid Labib                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Chouaib Doukkali University, El Jadida, Morocco<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Aesthetics and Politico-Ethics of Islamic Thought: Towards a New Reading of Averroes<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/aesthetics-and-politico-ethics-of-islamic-thought-for-a-new-reading-of-averroes\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Aesthetics and Politico-Ethics of Islamic Thought: Towards a New Reading of Averroes\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-23', 'Abstract : Aesthetics and Politico-Ethics of Islamic Thought: Towards a New Reading of Averroes', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-23\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>In our forthcoming text, with which we aim to participate in this conference, we propose studying a famous passage from Averroes' text translated from Hebrew into Arabic: the Commentary on Plato's Republic, where he compares women and men regarding the place they should occupy for the city's development: 'Women differ from men in degree and not in nature. They are capable of everything men do\u2014war, philosophy, etc.\u2014only to a lesser degree. Sometimes they surpass them, as in music, so that the perfection of this art would be for music to be composed by a man and performed by a woman...'\nThe aim of our study is to try to understand the ethical, aesthetic, and philosophical dimensions of this text by Averroes, based on the analysis of other texts by Plato and Aristotle, against Ernest Renan's clearly racist reading, but also against any other laudatory reading. We believe it is necessary to understand the historical and intellectual motives behind such an attitude from an Arab-Muslim philosopher where gender identity poses no obstacle to participation in public affairs (politics), and how and why music (art) becomes an argument for defending equality in social and political responsibility. Without forgetting to problematize Averroes' idea: what interpretation do we give to this idea, which appears revolutionary for its time? How are the beginnings of an Islamic ethico-aesthetic articulated in this idea? How is the feminine represented while avoiding the socio-political commonplaces widely shared in Averroes' era?\nThus, our contribution will attempt to answer some questions formulated in the first axis: Ethics and aesthetics in Islamic heritage: history, language, and philosophy.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-24', 'Essaid Labib', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-24\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Holder of the agr\u00e9gation and a doctorate in literature (philosophy), Essaid Labib is a lecturer-researcher at the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences of Chouaib Doukkali University (El Jadida). Holding a bachelor's and master's degree in French studies, he develops work at the intersection of philosophy, aesthetics, and film studies, with a marked interest in gender issues and contemporary readings of Michel Foucault. He is a member of the Moroccan Association of Film Critics, the Association for Feminist and Gender Studies, and the Centre for Aesthetic and Artistic Research. His recent publications include 'Foucault and Queer Theory in Judith Butler' (2023) and <em>Fi ta'w\u012bl al-'amal al-fann\u012b<\/em> (2025), as well as articles in French on Moroccan cinema (2023).<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-validee\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-validee-25', 'Validated translation', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Validated translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-validee-25\" style=\"display:none;\"><p><article>\n<header>\n<h2>Aesthetics and politico-ethics of Islamic thought<\/h2>\n<p><em>For a new reading of Averroes<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Essaid Labib<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/header><\/p><p><p>In his commentary on Plato's Republic, Ibn Rochd comments on the main points of the community of women in paragraphs 138 to 145 (Ibn Rochd-Eddarouri fi essiyassa, 1998, p.123-126), the main points, that is, without details. For fear that a devil might be hiding in the details: the gods and myths of Plato and Aristotle are omitted.<\/p><\/p><p><p>At the beginning of the paragraphs dedicated to the community of women, the philosopher began (\u00a7 138-139) to suspect the difference of nature (tiba'a) between men and women. Then, when it is difficult to find differences of tasks between the tasks done by men and those done by women, one concludes that women are also capable of doing them. Women: philosophers, wise, guardians and warriors. If not, women will be destined to reproduction and raising children, tasks that men are spared by nature. This question of human nature (Platon 2004, 453a sq), becomes a question of tasks, and in the tasks one inquires about the most important and noble ones: the activity of war and that of governing.<\/p><\/p><p><p>However, even if 'woman is not entirely different from man in her nature,' activities can be distinguished from woman to man, as those that are distinguished in the world of nature from the female to the male. Thus, activities are attributed according to the belonging to a certain gender, that is to say according to whether the task is in accordance with the nature of the gender. The fact that one gives birth (Ibid., 454e ; Ibn Rochd, \u00a7139) while the other conceives, does not in any way affirm that the two differ in the exercise of the same occupations related to the city. The proof according to Averro\u00e8s is the belonging to humanity and having the same goal in their existence (el-ghaya el-insaniya) (In Rochd : \u00a7140), then, he sees nothing that could exclude women from the possibility 'that there are among them philosophers and governors'.<\/p><\/p><p><p>It is worth noting that the paragraphs of Averroes do not follow the logic of those of Plato. The one in 457a was for Plato a conclusion, but for Averroes (\u00a7141) it was a principle from which the distinction between men and women began. Of the tasks assigned to women, making war and guarding the city, they should only be given a 'lighter share than men, given the weakness of their gender' (Plato, 2004, 457a). Except that they should only be concerned with these tasks and nothing else. A condition that marks both the impossibility for women to perform several tasks at the same time, hence their double fragility and weakness. A detail that is absent in the text of Averroes.<\/p><\/p><p><p>Women, however, excel in specific activities, mostly domestic. Averroes is content with the example of the art of weaving when Plato cites alongside it 'the making of pastries and cooked dishes, arts in which the female sex seems to show its value and where it would be quite ridiculous to consider it inferior' (455d). The activities carried out by human beings are the same in nature, they only differ in degree of involvement and application. Is this degree itself not the effect of some kind of nature? A vicious circle. Yet, in an ambiguous sentence, Averroes spoke of two forms of Laws that refuse to allow women to govern (to be the Head of the city, the height prietshood in Rosenthal's translation, 1969: 165 and Lerner, 1974: 58; El-Imama el-koubra in the Arabic translation, Ibn Rochd, 1998: 125): those that, realising the rarity of wise women in their societies, prohibit the female sex from accessing power, and others that even if it is possible to find among them intelligent and courageous women, exclude them by preventing them from any command. This reminds us of the problem of the woman-imam, that of leading the prayer, described by Ibn Rochd in Bidayat el-mojtahid wa nihayat el-moq'tasid (Ibn Rochd, 1994: 354-355) by specifying that he is only content to report the common ideas on the matter. However, it is known that the woman in the texts of the Sharia'a (Muslim Law) is intellectually deficient.<\/p><\/p><p><p>So, in all the Laws, whatever the development of society, women are prohibited (ruling out) from any access to authority. Nature eliminates scarcity, the majority crushes the minority. Natural history leads us to accept such a finding: the females defend and guard their young against predators (Ibn Rochd, 1998 : \u00a7 143), social history, instead of correcting, it distorts the finding: women are assigned to reproduction, to raise and breastfeed, and to serve their husbands, they are, finally, like plants (Ibid : \u00a7144), which wait to be watered and fed. They will be an additional burden on their husbands and a cause of the poverty of our cities, since they only exercise the least and the simplest activities, such as the less indispensable ones, weaving for example. This condemns them to a lower position in the affairs of the city. Who is to blame? society or nature? When nature allows women the means of their equality with men, society comes to deprive them of it. Society constitutes a kind of regression with respect to nature. It distorts the original form, it denatures.<\/p><\/p><p><p>Between society and nature comes the gift. Nature provides the woman with a gift in relation to the man. It is up to society to develop it or to spoil its beauty: Socrates said: 'There is no occupation, my friend, in the administration of the city that belongs to a woman because she is a woman, or to a man because he is a man, but the natural gifts are distributed in the same way in both sexes.' (Platon, 2004, 455e). Certainly, in these activities, 'the woman is a weaker being than the man,' yet, 'there is, I think, as we affirm, a woman who is gifted for medicine, and another who is not, and such a woman who is gifted for music, and such another who is not a musician by nature.' (Ibid. : 456a). Except that for the guarding of the city, this natural aptitude shared by the man and the woman retains its strength for the former while it becomes weaker for the latter (Ibid. : 456b). How can it be made stronger? Through education. Education can restore nature to the female gender that has been deprived of these gifts. It is not, continued Socrates, 'against nature to grant the women guardians an education through the art of gymnastics and music.' (Ibid., 456b ; Ibn Rochd, 1998, \u00a7145).<\/p><\/p><p><p>If in the first part (Ibid. : 452 a) Plato puts music before gymnastics, in the last paragraph, the opposite is adopted, whereas Averroes kept music before gymnastics. The notion of nature in Socrates (Plato, 2004 : 453e and 545d) has two meanings: at the beginning it indicates everything that is in accordance with the biological sex, of which there are two: male and female, and then the notion will designate what makes a man and a woman a human being, when for example their souls are capable of medicine, that is to say, inner qualities and not morphological differences between the male and the female.<\/p><\/p><p><p>Averroes, probably as an observer of his time, does not limit himself to summarising the sentence of Plato, he even adds a comment based on an experience of him as a fa\u00eflassouf (Ibn Rochd: \u00a7140):<\/p><\/p><p><blockquote>\n<p>\u00ab it is not impossible that women are in some activities more efficient, as is though in respect of the art of practical music. for this reason it is said that melodies are perfect if men invent them and women perform them.\u00bb (Rosenthal, p.165).<\/p>\n<p>\u00ab thought it is not impossible that women should be more dilgent in some activities, such as is thought concerning the art of practical music. That is why it is said of melodies that they are perfected when men produce them and women do them well. \u00bb (Lerner, p. 58)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/p><p><p>Is it a light task for women to play the melodies, 'given the weakness of their gender' (457a)?<\/p><\/p><p><p>Like Plato, Ibn Rochd acknowledges that women are generally better at some tasks, but when Plato mentions cooking and weaving, he emphasises that women are better at playing music. For some readers, the interpretation of this important fragment depends on the type of task that Ibn Rochd has in mind (Melkbeek, 2021, p.15-16). For others, it is a matter of essential identity (Belo, 2009, p. 8), in which the difference is maintained at the biological level rather than the intellectual level. Nevertheless, this universal intellectual ability is restricted, as we find in The Decisive Treatise, which attempts to draw a line between the different ways of achieving certainty.<\/p><\/p><p><p>The learning of wisdom, for example, is a difficult task for those who are familiar with images (examples), since they cannot grasp the truth of faith or wisdom by rhetorical or sophistical methods, either because of a defect of nature (Fitra) or because of their customs or, finally, because the conditions for their learning are lacking (Ibn Rochd, 1997, \u00a7 47, p.109). The more so since religion makes a distinction between the apparent and the hidden, the exoteric and the esoteric.<\/p><\/p><p><p>An historian of the time of Ibn Rochd tells us that in Cordoba: 'there were, in the eastern suburb of the city alone, one hundred and seventy women engaged in transcribing the Koran in Kufic script.' (Abd El-Wahid Merrakechi, 1893, p. 315-316). Transcribing a text and playing music are light tasks compared to writing and composing. These women are in the realm of execution and interpretation, they neither invent nor produce. They are there to attest to a void. Instead of writing, they transcribe; instead of composing, they interpret. Meta-writing is the domain of the ulama, just as the art of governing is the monopoly of men, just as composition is the lot of musicians. In music theory, the voice of women is associated with that of children in soprano voices, while the tenor is male. A difference between the low and the high. A light voice against a heavy voice. If women are accepted among men, it is by concession for the good of the city.<\/p><\/p><p><p>In The Republic, 'the art of gymnastics exists for the body, and the art of music for the soul' (Plato, 2004, 376 e). These two means are used to impose a certain order between the body and the soul. The body precedes the soul only as nature precedes culture. Music is used to develop what gymnastics has ignored: harmony; and gymnastics is used to omit what music can generate: softness. Certain harmonies must be eliminated, which, along with speech and rhythm, constitute the three elements of melody (Ibid. : 398d), funeral dirges, and 'the mixed and sharp lydian harmony and a few others of the same kind,' because 'they are indeed useless, even for women who must be decent, not to mention men (\u2026) Furthermore, there is nothing more unbecoming for the guardians than drunkenness, softness and laziness.' (Ibid. : 399 a). These 'soft harmonies that are conducive to drunkenness, of the ionian or lydian type, which some call relaxed harmonies,' are ineffective for men of war.<\/p><\/p><p><p>It is the Dorian and Phrygian harmonies that must be adopted because 'these two harmonies, the violent and the voluntary, will best imitate the accents of those who suffer and those who are happy, of those who are wise and those who are courageous.' (Ibid., p. 399 d) The same goes for instruments, we only keep 'the lyre and the cithara, which are useful in the city' (Ibid., 399 e), against the flute, while giving preference 'to Apollo and the instruments of Apollo (= the lyre), rather than to Marsyas and the instruments of Marsyas (the flute).' Aristotle takes up the idea of his master, because 'the flute does not have an ethical effect but rather an orgiastic one (Aristotle, 2015, 1341a 15).' The goal is to purify the city of all that is 'lux and amollissant,' to establish between 'the excellence of discourse and harmony, the grace of gesture and rhythm' a certain complementarity from which 'excellence of character' (Platon, 2004, 400e) will result, against all euphemism, a clear sign of a lack of reflection.<\/p><\/p><p><p>The guardian and the guardianess need 'a genuine reflection of a character that combines the good and the beautiful.' In short, we are asked, with Plato, for a certain complementarity between the two arts: of war -gymnastics- and of music. Aristotle, following his master, recognises that 'every art and every education ultimately aim to complete nature.' (Aristotle, 2015: 1337a 5). Complementarity in which music has no other end than to develop in the individual, the future guardian of the city, an impassivity to soft and feminine harmonies. It is therefore dangerous not to pay more attention to teaching music to children, 'because rhythm and harmony, more than anything else, penetrate to the depths of the soul, touch it with a force of great power, bringing grace to it, and then imbuing it with this grace.'<\/p><\/p><p><p>The training in music for the guardians comes after the recognition of the virtues of the free citizen, (Plato, 2004, 402 c) 'the forms of moderation and courage, of liberality (quality of the free man) and magnanimity, and of the other virtues that are their sisters, as well as the forms that are their opposites.' Art has a moral and political effect here. Women should not produce music, because it is very possible that their music will be imbued with softness and passivity, it will be affected by a feminine frivolity given the weakness of their gender. A perfect art comes from a complementarity between an inventor and an executant. Art is the work of a free man.<\/p><\/p><p><p>After enumerating the three parts of the domestic administration (the function of master, that of father, and that of husband (Aristotle, 2015, 1259 a 40)), Aristotle concludes that 'the male is indeed more capable than the female of governing, except when his constitution is against nature' (1259b 5-10), and 'it is by nature that there is in most cases a commander and a commanded. For it is in a different way that the free man commands the slave, the man the woman, the man the child. All these people have the different parts of the soul (the rational and the irrational): the slave is totally devoid of the faculty of deliberation, the woman has it but without authority, the child has it but it is incomplete.' (Aristotle, 2015: 1260a 10-15).<\/p><\/p><p><p>The two genders also differ in terms of virtues, such as temperance, which 'is not the same in women and men, nor is courage or justice, as Socrates thought it was, but in one there is a courage of a leader, in the other a courage of a subordinate.' (Aristotle, 2015: 1260a 20) A subordinate is a mere executor, and no longer a prescriber, his courage is to try to interpret what the master has ordered. Even when he creates, his work remains of second order. Just like those women who are content to play music instead of composing it. The virtue of their task is a virtue of subordination.<\/p><\/p><p><p>Again, music occupies an important place among the disciplines to be taught, alongside letters, and gymnastics (Ibid., 1337 b 25) and graphic art. And when gymnastics 'develops courage,' it is music, not for pleasure, that 'leads a life of leisure nobly, for it is the principle of all, let us repeat it once more' (Aristotle, 2015, 1337b 30). That is, the goal of all labouring life is the life of leisure. Music belongs to the life of free men. Another reason for education in music, 'just as gymnastics gives a certain quality to the body, music gives a certain quality to the character by habituating its listeners to be able to enjoy pleasures (Aristotle, 2015, 1339a-25) rightly,' and 'that it contributes to a wise life of leisure.'<\/p><\/p><p><p>In rhythms and melodies (Ibid., 1340a-15), in a theory of imitation, one will find, for example, similarities with 'the true nature of anger and gentleness.' Music will be the means to judge 'honourable customs and beautiful actions,' love, hatred...etc., it will give 'the soul a certain character,' since 'our soul is akin to harmonies and rhythms. This is why many among the wise claim that the soul is a harmony (the Pythagoreans) or that it has a harmony (Plato).' But its learning 'must not be an impediment to later activities nor degrade the body and render it unfit for military and civic exercises' (Ibid., 1341a -5).' And the Dorian harmony (Ibid., 1342 b-15) will have this ethical effect on the minds of the young, since it is a mean, that is to say a virtue, against the excesses of the other harmonies. Generally, music provides relief accompanied by pleasure, even purification: 'purifying melodies provide men with innocent joy.' Music must be composed by men for the young, invented by free spirits, free souls, to purify still young spirits. And the women? that their nature condemns them to be commanded, oblige them to listen to, to perform music?<\/p><\/p><p><p>In Ibn Rochd's sentence, music will only be perfect when it is invented by men and performed by women. Perfection, as we all know, is an attribute exclusive to the divine, as in The Decisive Discourse, in which only complete knowledge (atam), the good knowledge of the creation (san'\u00e1) of the creatures -beings- allows the complete knowledge of their creator (their demiurge) (Ibn Rochd, 1997, p. 86). The incompleteness of knowledge engenders ignorance and arrogance. God remains unknown if our knowledge of his nature remains imperfect. His creatures, men and women, must perfect their knowledge together in order to have a good knowledge of him, that is to say, their creator. A good knowledge is a good path to the knowledge of God. Music, a spiritual and virtual knowledge, since it is the result of an harmony that arouses in the soul the good feelings, the most noble, must be created by men and performed by women. Music will remain imperfect when men compose and play it. But is it imperfect when it is played or created by women? absolutely not. It will become imperfect when it is composed by women. The task of women is to perform music not to form it. Neither to form nor to do, but to Per-form and to par-do. A balance ? Or a balance of difference?<\/p><\/p><p><p>To reconcile the masculine and the feminine as one reconciles between faith and falsafa? as fire and water in Bachelard, 'United, these two elements create everything.' (Bachelard, (1942) 2021, p.117)?<\/p>\n<\/article><\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" >\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\">1:35pm-2pm<\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Discussion with the audience            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" >\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\">2pm-3:30pm<\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Lunch            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n<h6 id=\"axe1-panel3-s1\">3:30pm-5pm<\/h6>\n<h6 style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Panel 3<\/h6>\n<h6>Room 1 | Chair : Wael Saleh<\/h6>\n\n<div id=\"prog-maconnerie\">\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang prog-cong-lang-ar\">Arabic, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Toni Kahwaji                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Saint Joseph University, Beirut<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Annihilation in Beauty, Subsistence in Ethics: The Unity of Unveiling and Moral Refinement in Ibn Arabi's Experience<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/annihilation-in-beauty-subsistence-in-ethics-the-unity-of-unveiling-and-ethics-in-ibn-%ca%bfarabi\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Annihilation in Beauty, Subsistence in Ethics: The Unity of Unveiling and Moral Refinement in Ibn Arabi&#039;s Experience\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-26', 'Abstract : Annihilation in Beauty, Subsistence in Ethics: The Unity of Unveiling and Moral Refinement in Ibn Arabi\\'s Experience', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-26\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Research question: How does the relationship between beauty and ethics manifest in Ibn Arabi's thought? And can the aesthetic experience be considered a form of ethical and spiritual realization?\nAbstract:\nThe aesthetic vision in Ibn Arabi constitutes an entry point to the knowledge of the Truth, where beauty is a divine attribute that manifests in existence and opens the way to a spiritual experience based on taste (dhawq) and unveiling (kashf). Art and beauty do not aim at practical utility or traditional convention, but at lifting the veils from truth and establishing a direct connection with the Absolute. From this standpoint, the aesthetic and the ethical intertwine, as the human being who tastes divine beauty embarks on a spiritual ascension through which they rise through the stations of perfection, where truth is not attained through sense or reason alone, but through taste and the adoption of divine attributes.\nIbn Arabi considers that aesthetic manifestation is one of the faces of divine theophany, and that love springs from beauty, so that love of the world for its beauty becomes love of God, for there is no beauty but Him. In this context, extinction (fana') becomes an aesthetic experience par excellence, in which the perfect human being is realized as the true connoisseur of divine beauty. Thus, beauty in Ibn Arabi acquires an ethical dimension, where the human being is called to abandon blameworthy attributes and adorn themselves with praiseworthy qualities, in pursuit of union with divine Truth through love and beauty.\nThis study seeks to explore this circular causality between beauty and ethics in Ibn Arabi, through analysis of the concepts of theophany, taste, extinction, and striving toward God, to reveal how the aesthetic experience transforms into an ethical and spiritual experience, leading the human being to perceive the Truth through beauty and to embody His attributes through love.\nMethodologically, this study relies on an approach adopting the method of Jean-Louis Le Moigne and Edgar Morin in complex modelic thinking, which deconstructs cognitive and symbolic systems as dynamic and interactive structures that can only be understood in their relational context. Ibn Arabi's aesthetic-ethical vision resembles, in its structure, an intelligible model that links multiple levels (sensory, rational, gustatory, ethical, spiritual...), through processes of symbolization, abstraction, and interpretation that transcend linear explanation. Thus, adopting this method allows reading Ibn Arabi's thought not as a closed system of ideas, but as a living system of intertwined meanings, where 'taste,' 'theophany,' 'love,' and 'extinction' each constitute a functional component in the process of realizing the Truth, where the aesthetic and the ethical intertwine in a single experience.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-27', 'Toni Kahwaji', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-27\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Lebanese researcher and educator specializing in philosophy (logic and epistemology), he has taught general philosophy and coordinated social science content in several secondary schools. Holding a State Doctorate in Philosophy from the Lebanese University (with distinction), he has been an associate professor at the Lebanese University since 2014 and also teaches at Saint Joseph University of Beirut. Since September 2022, he has directed the Institute of Oriental Letters. He participates in conferences in Lebanon and internationally. His research focuses on epistemology and complex thinking, formal and mathematical logic, the connections between philosophy, architecture, and Arab music, as well as hermeneutics and methods of scientific reasoning. Among his publications: Mabahith fi al-ibistimulujiya (Dar al-Jil) and Textes philosophiques traduits (Dar al-Kutub al-Haditha).<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-auto\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-auto-28', 'Automatic translation that may contain errors', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Automatic translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-auto-28\" style=\"display:none;\"><article>\r\n<header>\r\n<h2>Fan\u0101\u02be in Beauty, Baq\u0101\u02be in Ethics<\/h2>\r\n<p><strong>The Unity of Unveiling (kashf) and Moral Formation (takhalluq) in Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b's Experience<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Prepared by:<\/strong> Toni Kahwaji<\/p>\r\n<\/header>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>Introduction \u2013 General Problematic<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><strong>The modern separation between beauty and ethics<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Beauty is reduced to consumer pleasure.<\/li>\r\n<li>Ethics is reduced to a dry system of duty.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b's position: the unity of beauty and ethics<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Beauty and ethics belong to an ontological unity (wahdat al-wuj\u016bd).<\/li>\r\n<li>The \"beautiful\" (al-\u1e25usn) correlates with the Real (al-\u1e24aqq) in its diffusion and manifestation.<\/li>\r\n<li>Beauty is a path of unveiling (kashf), the engine of love, and a stimulus for moral \"self-formation\" (takhalluq).<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>Working Hypothesis<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Beauty is a <strong>condition of possibility<\/strong> for ethics.<\/li>\r\n<li>Ethics is the <strong>practical continuation<\/strong> of a prior aesthetic experience.<\/li>\r\n<li>The link is not mere juxtaposition, but a <strong>mutual generation<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>Multiple Approaches to Understanding a Thought<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><strong>Methodological integration of disciplines<\/strong>: articulating diverse fields of knowledge in order to grasp phenomena more deeply and comprehensively.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Complex integration of knowledge<\/strong>: valuing recurrence, complementarity, and \"hologrammatic\" logic so as to enrich knowledge and multiply perspectives.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Systemic modeling and the comprehension of meaning<\/strong>: treating meaning within systems of thought, and foregrounding relations among elements.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Creative imagination and social responsibility<\/strong>: phenomenology underscores the role of creative imagination; a transformative hermeneutics stresses \"abiding\" (baq\u0101\u02be) and responsibility within society.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>I. Ontological Framework: Beauty as the Structure of Theophany and the Principle of Cosmic Motion<\/h3>\r\n<p><strong>Guiding thesis:<\/strong> beauty provides an ontological foundation for ethics; being is a movement of love and beauty.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h4>1.1 Beauty and love: cosmic laws that set being in motion<\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Beauty is a cause of existence and of knowledge.<\/li>\r\n<li>The world comes to be through love and moves through love.<\/li>\r\n<li>Beauty is a force of cosmic attraction.<\/li>\r\n<li>Ethics is <em>adab<\/em>: the courtesy of the path of being.<\/li>\r\n<li>A critique of the duty\/inclination split: moral duty is transfigured into an inclination toward divine beauty.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<h4>1.2 The circular movement of love, beauty, and restored time<\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Circular causality \/ recurrent loop.<\/li>\r\n<li>Phases of the dynamic cycle:<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<table>\r\n<thead>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th>Input<\/th>\r\n<th>Process<\/th>\r\n<th>Output<\/th>\r\n<th>Feedback<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Theophany \/ manifestation (tajall\u012b)<\/td>\r\n<td>Spiritual taste and response (dhawq &amp; istij\u0101ba)<\/td>\r\n<td>Moral self-formation (takhalluq)<\/td>\r\n<td>Feedback: intensification and adjustment<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><strong>Results of circularity<\/strong>: beauty and ethics are jointly constructed; ethics becomes a continuous creative process; time is understood as \"restored circular time.\"<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<h4>1.3 Hologrammatic metaphysics: the whole in the part<\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Each existent bears divine beauty within itself.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Ethical effect of the hologrammatic principle<\/strong>: cosmic responsibility; respect for the part as respect for the whole; ethics as an inner merit and an intimate demand.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>II. Epistemology of \"Taste\" (dhawq) and \"Creative Imagination\": Mechanisms of Meaning and Self-Formation<\/h3>\r\n<p><strong>Guiding idea:<\/strong> beauty becomes ethical value through specific modes of knowing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h4>2.1 Taste (dhawq): knowledge through participation and commitment<\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Taste is an immediate, existential knowledge that surpasses demonstrative rationality.<\/li>\r\n<li>From the standpoint of meaning:\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Processing information (theoretical reason).<\/li>\r\n<li>Processing meaning (taste).<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<li>Ethical transformation: from informational content to a disposition (\u1e6dab\u02bf), that is, a \"second nature.\"<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<h4>2.2 Creative imagination (al-khay\u0101l al-khall\u0101q)<\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Perceiving the imaginal world (\u02bf\u0101lam al-mith\u0101l).<\/li>\r\n<li>Embodying the intelligible and refining the sensible.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Ethical effect<\/strong>: seeing in the other a divine quality; transforming conduct into an \"adab of Presence\" (adab al-\u1e25a\u1e0dra).<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<h4>2.3 \"The one who has two eyes\": double vision and the integration of knowledge<\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><strong>The eye of unity<\/strong>: respecting the individual's singularity, rights, and needs within society.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>The eye of multiplicity<\/strong>: attending to social diversity, collective needs, and strengthening solidarity.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Ethical balance<\/strong>: achieved by adjusting between individual rights and the demands of the common good.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>III. Dynamics of Transformation: From Fan\u0101\u02be in Beauty to Baq\u0101\u02be in Ethics<\/h3>\r\n\r\n<h4>3.1 Fan\u0101\u02be (annihilation): radical aesthetic experience and the recalibration of the self<\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Radical aesthetic immersion.<\/li>\r\n<li>The collapse of the ego.<\/li>\r\n<li>Re-tuning the inner \"system.\"<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Functions of fan\u0101\u02be<\/strong>: purification of the heart; preparation of the ethical edifice.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<h4>3.2 Baq\u0101\u02be (abiding \/ subsistence): ethical reconstruction and responsibility<\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Returning to the world with new qualities.<\/li>\r\n<li>Converting spiritual energy into responsibility.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Self-formation and social action<\/strong>: mercy; justice; the removal of social ugliness.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<h4>3.3 Between spiritual phenomenology and social praxis<\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><strong>Phenomenological baq\u0101\u02be<\/strong>: sustaining one's identity through self-awareness within the social fabric.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Transformative social baq\u0101\u02be<\/strong>: working to modify social structures in order to realize justice and reconfigure relationships.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Complementarity<\/strong>: articulating self-preservation and world-transformation so as to balance and foster the growth of both individual and community.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>IV. Takhalluq and Futuwwa: Ethics as an Aesthetic System and Social Practice<\/h3>\r\n\r\n<h4>4.1 Forming oneself through the Divine Names: ethics-as-art<\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Human conduct reflects the Names: embodying the Divine Names in daily life produces an inner beauty that appears in one's relations with others.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Moral fulfillment<\/strong>: the ideal of the \"perfect human\" functions as an \"artistic\" model of refinement and ethical beauty.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Beauty of conduct<\/strong>: attained by adorning oneself with virtues (\u1e25usn al-khuluq) and avoiding what is ugly, so as to become a figure of clarity and elevation.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<h4>4.2 Futuwwa: spiritual chivalry and social responsibility<\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Futuwwa combines spiritual chivalry with social obligation: protecting others and diffusing virtues.<\/li>\r\n<li>Sincerity of intention and rectification of conduct: \"returning to creatures through the Real\" (al-ruj\u016b\u02bf il\u0101 al-khalq bi-l-\u1e24aqq) means acting for the good with authentic values and a right intention.<\/li>\r\n<li>Spirituality as the ground of justice: it gives justice ethical depth and directs action toward the common good.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>V. Complex Systemic Modeling of the Experience<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><strong>System of processing and perception<\/strong>: includes taste, unveiling, and love; the experience is analyzed and understood in an integrated manner.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>System of decision and balancing<\/strong>: includes the heart and the arbitration between fan\u0101\u02be and baq\u0101\u02be; it makes decisive choices and the attainment of equilibrium possible.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>System of action and feedback<\/strong>: includes self-formation (takhalluq), futuwwa, and feedback; it reinforces continuous development and sustainable improvement of the system.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>VI. Contemporary Applications: Eco-Sufism and Social Aesthetics<\/h3>\r\n\r\n<h4>6.1 Eco-Sufism: environmental beauty as an ethical origin<\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>The contemporary \"Akbarian\" model proposes a vision in which nature is a sacred Presence, to be treated with respect and regard.<\/li>\r\n<li>Beauty, beyond an aesthetic value, becomes an ethical origin that orients human behavior.<\/li>\r\n<li>Developing spiritual sensibility and ecological responsibility: a call for a responsible interaction with the environment, strengthening the ethical bond with nature.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<h4>6.2 Social aesthetics and justice<\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><strong>The ethical beauty of justice<\/strong>: the beauty of human relations appears when justice prevails and secures social equilibrium.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Confronting social ugliness<\/strong>: resisting injustice and discrimination; promoting equality for all.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Justice as a human value<\/strong>: not merely a legal mechanism, but a value that grants the social body beauty and balance.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>Conclusion \u2013 General Findings<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><strong>Beauty as the source of taste<\/strong>: taste is born from beauty, opens the path of unveiling, and leads to the verification and actualization of aesthetic values in everyday life.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Love as the force of fan\u0101\u02be and baq\u0101\u02be<\/strong>: love arises from the unveiling of beauty and becomes the driving force of annihilation and abiding within human existence.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Takhalluq as the operative form of beauty<\/strong>: moral self-formation appears as a practical form of beauty, and continuously regenerates it through conduct and character.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>The integration of ethics and beauty<\/strong>: they are articulated in an ongoing circle of taste, unveiling, love, fan\u0101\u02be, which strengthens human harmony.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<\/article><\/div>\n                    \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Faisal Kenanah                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">University of Caen Normandy, France<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Ethics and Aesthetics in the Thought of Ab\u016b&#160;\u1e24ayy\u0101n al-Taw\u1e25\u012bd\u012b&#160;(d. 414\/1023)<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/ethics-and-aesthetics-in-the-thought-of-abu-%e1%b8%a5ayyan-al-taw%e1%b8%a5idi-d-414-1023\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Ethics and Aesthetics in the Thought of Ab\u016b&#160;\u1e24ayy\u0101n al-Taw\u1e25\u012bd\u012b&#160;(d. 414\/1023)\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-29', 'Abstract : Ethics and Aesthetics in the Thought of Ab\u016b&#160;\u1e24ayy\u0101n al-Taw\u1e25\u012bd\u012b&#160;(d. 414\/1023)', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-29\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Classical Islamic thought abounds with figures whose intellectual richness remains largely unknown. Among them, Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi (d. 414\/1023) stands out for his singular approach to humanity, blending philosophy, literature, spirituality, and social critique. This work proposes a cross-analysis of two central dimensions of his thought: ethics (akhlaq) and aesthetics (jamaliyya). These two domains, although rarely articulated together systematically in the Islamic tradition, occupy an essential place in al-Tawhidi's writings, particularly in al-Imta' wa al-mu'anasa and al-Hawamil wa al-shawamil.\nOur study highlights an ethics founded on reason, lived experience, and human nature, conceived in connection with the three souls of man (rational, irascible, and concupiscent) and constantly illustrated through social and literary observations. In parallel, aesthetics in al-Tawhidi is constructed from a dual source: Greek and Islamic, between sensible perception and transcendent ideal, with beauty perceived as a reflection of harmony, perfection, and ultimately, divinity.\nBy articulating the good and the beautiful, ethics and aesthetics, al-Tawhidi proposes a philosophical anthropology where man is both mirror of the cosmos and artisan of his own perfection. Far from being a mere transmitter of ancient ideas, he asserts himself as an original thinker, concerned with expressing the profound movements of human consciousness. This study thus aims to restore his thought to its rightful place in the field of Islamic philosophy, both as a living heritage and as a source of contemporary reflection.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-30', 'Faisal Kenanah', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-30\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Associate Professor of Arabic Language, Literature, and Civilization at the University of Caen Normandy, Faisal Kenanah also teaches classical literature at Sorbonne Nouvelle. Holding a doctorate from the University of Bordeaux III, he devotes his research to Abbasid prose, exploring humanism and ethics through the work of Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi, particularly through the lens of animal figures and scholarly sociabilities. His work extends to the didactics of Arabic as a foreign language and the history of ideas. Author of works on medieval thought and pedagogical methods, he directs international conferences promoting dialogue between East and West.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                        \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Florence Ollivry                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Ibn Haldun University, Istanbul, Turkey<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Contemplation of the Signs of God according to Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n of Seville: Foundations for an Ethics Respectful of the Natural World<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/the-contemplation-of-gods-signs-according-to-ibn-barrajan-of-seville-towards-an-ethics-respectful-of-the-natural-world\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Contemplation of the Signs of God according to Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n of Seville: Foundations for an Ethics Respectful of the Natural World\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-31', 'Abstract : Contemplation of the Signs of God according to Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n of Seville: Foundations for an Ethics Respectful of the Natural World', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-31\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>This paper examines the invitation extended by Ibn Barrajan (d. 536\/1141) to contemplate the divine signs (ayat Allah) in the world. In the age of the Anthropocene, while modernity has spread a materialist vision of nature and the religions of the Book are often criticized for their anthropocentric view, examining his work leads us to rediscover another vision of the natural world. This work exhorts us to reconsider the link between aesthetic, spiritual, and philosophical contemplation of the natural world and the adoption of an ethical stance towards it.\nIbn Barrajan, following the philosophical and spiritual tradition of the Muta'birun (or contemplatives) of al-Andalus, invites his reader to immerse themselves in the contemplation of nature considered as theophany, as divine manifestation.\nThis author maintains that true spiritual knowledge does not reside solely in reading the Quran, but also in attentive observation of nature. For him, contemplation of divine signs in nature allows one to transcend visible forms, thus offering a path to knowledge of higher spiritual realities.\nHe advocates a contemplative meditation on the natural world which, far from being limited to a mere accumulation of knowledge, becomes a means of interpreting divine signs. This contemplative approach leads to a deeper understanding of divine wisdom and the harmony of creation. Thus, nature is no longer an object to be exploited, but a sacred text to be deciphered.\nFor this author, the person who contemplates and adopts a posture of cosmic humility draws closer to the divine: spiritual lowering constitutes a vector for elevation. Ibn Barrajan argues that every natural being or element should be recognized as a master providing teaching ('ibra), leading to wisdom and harmony. The contemplation of divine signs provides teaching that grounds an ethics based on humility and respect for the natural world. Rereading this work from the past will help us redefine our relationship with the natural world today. By examining the articulation between a contemplative approach and the adoption of an ethical stance towards the natural world, we will identify the possible foundations for an ethics respectful of nature.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-32', 'Florence Ollivry', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-32\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Holding a doctorate in Religious Studies (2020), obtained jointly from the University of Montreal and the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (PSL), she conducted several religious anthropology surveys in Syria and Lebanon before pursuing doctoral research between Paris and Montreal. Her thesis, published by Brill in 2023 under the title Louis Massignon et la mystique musulmane, examines the epistemology of Islamic studies and the role of subjectivity in religious studies. Since June 2024, she has been an assistant professor at Ibn Haldun University (Istanbul) in the philosophy department. Her work focuses on the vision of the natural world in classical Sufism and environmental ethics. ORCID: 0009-0000-1883-3615.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-auto\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-auto-33', 'Automatic translation that may contain errors', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Automatic translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-auto-33\" style=\"display:none;\"><article>\r\n<header>\r\n<h2>Contemplation of the Signs of God according to Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n of Seville: Toward the Foundations of an Ethic of Respect for the Natural World<sup>1<\/sup><\/h2>\r\n<p><strong>Florence Ollivry<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<\/header>\r\n\r\n<h3>Introduction<\/h3>\r\n<p>Hello, and thank you to everyone who organized this event and made it possible for us to gather here today for these exchanges.<\/p>\r\n<p>Today, I would like to share a few reflections on the work of Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n of Seville (d. 1141), a disciple of Ibn Massara (d. 931) and a forerunner of the emergence of the intellectual Sufism of Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b (d. 1240).<\/p>\r\n<p>The reading I propose today approaches his work through the ethical questions raised by the environmental crisis we are currently experiencing.<\/p>\r\n<p>Over the course of the twentieth century, humanity entered a new geological era: the Anthropocene. This means that humanity has become a geological force, capable of transforming climate, soils, and oceans, and exerting unprecedented pressure on terrestrial ecosystems. In the field of environmental ethics, scientists and philosophers have established a causal link between anthropocentrism and the ecological crisis. As early as 1967, Lynn White, Jr., in his article \"The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crises,\" advanced this idea. Very recently, Allen Thompson wrote that environmental crises occur when we treat everything in the non-human world as having no intrinsic moral significance, as if we had no moral duties toward nature.<sup>2<\/sup><\/p>\r\n<p>The term Anthropocene suggests a causal relationship between human action and the disruption of natural environments. Yet if human beings can have a negative impact on their environment, does this not conversely imply that adopting a respectful relationship\u2014ethical rules of life\u2014between human beings and the created world could help bring the destruction of ecosystems to an end and restore balance?<\/p>\r\n<p>In this regard, might Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n's work not offer insights for our time?<\/p>\r\n<p>Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n first lived in Seville, where he studied the Islamic sciences as well as arithmetic, logic, philosophy, astronomy, astrology, and medicine.<sup>3<\/sup> At a certain point in his life, he left to live in the countryside, 17 km west of Seville. There he led a contemplative life, moving from <em>mu\u1e25addi\u1e6f<\/em> to <em>mu\u02bftabir<\/em><sup>4<\/sup>. He devoted himself to agricultural activities such as the olive harvest<sup>5<\/sup> and paid heightened attention to the natural world.<\/p>\r\n<p>Thanks to the efforts of several scholars (Denis Gril, Jos\u00e9 Bellver, \u1e24asan al-Q\u0101r\u012b, Amina Gonzalez, and more recently Yousef Casewit), Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n's work is now better known.<sup>6<\/sup> Our study is based on the reading of his two commentaries:<\/p>\r\n<p><em>His shorter commentary:<\/em> <em>al-Kit\u0101b I\u1e0d\u0101\u1e25 al-\u1e25ikma bi-a\u1e25k\u0101m al-\u02bfibra<\/em> (The Book of Clarifying Wisdom by Means of the Principles of Symbolic Transposition from the Sensible to the Intelligible).<\/p>\r\n<p><em>His major commentary:<\/em> <em>Tanb\u012bh al-afh\u0101m il\u0101 tadabbur al-kit\u0101b al-\u1e25ak\u012bm wa-ta\u02bfarruf al-\u0101y\u0101t wa-l-naba\u02be al-\u02bfa\u1e93\u012bm<\/em> (Alerting Intellects to Meditate on the Signs and the Momentous News [of the Day of Judgment]).<sup>7<\/sup><\/p>\r\n<p>Upstream, he received multiple influences, such as that of his master Ibn Masarra.<sup>8<\/sup> And the Ism\u0101\u02bf\u012bl\u012b influence of the Epistles of the Brethren of Purity (<em>Ras\u0101\u02beil I\u1e2bw\u0101n al-\u1e63af\u0101<\/em>). The notions of the Universal Servant (<em>al-\u02bfAbd al-kull\u012b<\/em>) and the Particular Servant (<em>al-\u02bfAbd al-juz\u02be\u012b<\/em>) attest to this,<sup>9<\/sup> concepts that would later be taken up and reworked by Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>I. Nature as a Site of Disclosure, a Book to Be Deciphered<\/h3>\r\n<p><strong>The visible and the invisible: when creation becomes a source of instruction.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>For Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n, correspondences<sup>10<\/sup> exist between the visible world (<em>al-wuj\u016bd<\/em>) and the knowledge of the Preserved Tablet (<em>al-law\u1e25 al-ma\u1e25f\u016b\u1e93<\/em>)<sup>11<\/sup>, between Qur\u02be\u0101nic verses and human anatomy<sup>12<\/sup>. Divine self-disclosure occurs in three loci: the human being, creation, and revelation.<sup>13<\/sup> After Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n, representatives of philosophical Sufism would express this idea through the terms \"<em>al-Qur\u02be\u0101n al-takw\u012bn\u012b<\/em>\" (the cosmic Qur\u02be\u0101n) and \"<em>al-Qur\u02be\u0101n al-tadw\u012bn\u012b<\/em>\" (the written Qur\u02be\u0101n).<sup>14<\/sup> The believer is therefore required to seek guidance in three complementary books: Revelation, Creation, and the Self.<sup>15<\/sup><\/p>\r\n<p>Contemplation enables the believer to move from the invisible to the visible, and through the reading of signs to return to the origin, the Creator: \"The act points to its agent; what is ordered points to the One who orders; the created points to its Creator; what is raised points to the One who raises; what is established points to the One who establishes; the plant points to the One who makes it grow.\"<sup>16<\/sup> And the totality of testimonies refers back to the copy of the Mother of the Book (<em>Umm al-Kit\u0101b<\/em>).<sup>17<\/sup><\/p>\r\n<p>Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n articulates unity and multiplicity by drawing a parallel between water\u2014one in its principle yet generating multiple life\u2014and God, One and Creator of all things.<sup>18<\/sup> This pattern also grounds his conception of revelation: the descent (<em>nuz\u016bl<\/em>) of verses makes manifest what was hidden.<sup>19<\/sup> For this exegete, every existing thing here below is a sign (<em>\u0101ya<\/em>) of a higher reality.<\/p>\r\n<p>Around the age of forty, Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n refers to himself as \"<em>mu\u02bftabir f\u012b \u0101y\u0101t All\u0101h<\/em>\" (contemplator of the signs of God). The term <em>mu\u02bftabir<\/em> is built on the consonantal root \u02bf-BR, which conveys the idea of passing, crossing, traversing; it also yields <em>\u02bfabbara<\/em> (to interpret, to explain), the noun <em>\u02bfibra<\/em> (example, lesson, reminder)<sup>20<\/sup>, and finally the word <em>i\u02bftib\u0101r<\/em>.<sup>21<\/sup> Here he draws inspiration from his master Ibn Masarra, who in his Epistle on Symbolic Transposition (<em>Ris\u0101lat al-i\u02bftib\u0101r<\/em>)<sup>22<\/sup> wrote that \"[God] commanded us to carry out a symbolic transposition (<em>i\u02bftib\u0101r<\/em>) [of His signs].\"<sup>23<\/sup><\/p>\r\n<p>Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n calls for an effort of attentive consideration (<em>tadabbur<\/em>) of the verses or signs (<em>\u0101y\u0101t<\/em>), in order to interpret them by symbolic transposition (<em>i\u02bftib\u0101r<\/em>).<sup>24<\/sup> He cites Q 88:17\u201321: \"So remind; you are only a reminder\" (<em>fa-\u1e0fakkir innam\u0101 anta mu\u1e0fakkir<\/em>).<sup>25<\/sup> He emphasizes that the Qur\u02be\u0101n is an invitation to remember what one has forgotten.<\/p>\r\n<p>The signs he interprets in his commentary are sometimes immeasurable: he compares the Qur\u02be\u0101n to a blazing sun, and the Prophet Mu\u1e25ammad's <em>a\u1e25\u0101d\u012b\u1e6f<\/em> to a brilliant new moon.<sup>26<\/sup><\/p>\r\n<p>Sometimes they are minuscule: such as a mosquito<sup>27<\/sup> or the eggs of ants.<sup>28<\/sup><\/p>\r\n<p>The bee, for him, is a source of instruction. He observes that nectar becomes honey through the work of the workers, and draws from this an insight into the way God brings all things from the unmanifest to the manifest.<sup>29<\/sup> Likewise, as the bee gathers, the believer extracts from contemplation of creatures the ingredients of healing. Healing consists in feeding on remembrance (<em>\u1e0fikr<\/em>) and drinking from reflection (<em>fikr<\/em>): God has placed healing in His signs, in their correspondences and resonances.<sup>30<\/sup><\/p>\r\n<p>With regard to plants, Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n draws a parallel between their life cycle and that of human beings.<sup>31<\/sup> He writes: \"We drive (the cloud) to a land dead [from drought]; then We send down water upon it; then We bring forth from it every kind of fruit. Thus shall We bring forth the dead. Perhaps you will remember.\"<sup>32<\/sup><\/p>\r\n<p>Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n aligns spiritual realities with a network of vegetal metaphors and develops a moral and theological allegory of the \"forbidden tree,\" understood as an arboreal structure of sin. The proliferation of faults leads to forgetting the divine covenant, to negligence in remembrance (<em>\u1e0fikr<\/em>).<sup>33<\/sup> Vegetal nature here serves to map the human moral life.<\/p>\r\n<p>For the Andalusian commentator, nature has no ontological autonomy. Every natural phenomenon is a direct manifestation of divine agency. Nature is thus God's visible discourse\u2014a symbolic language addressed to those who hear and reason. Contemplation of the natural world can provide an instruction (<em>\u02bfibra<\/em>): a means of passing from what one sees to what is absent from sight, and of learning about the life to come.<sup>34<\/sup><\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>II. Contemplating Creation, Caring for It<\/h3>\r\n<p>Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n repeatedly states that everything in Creation sings God's praise, and that all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth prostrates itself to God, willingly or unwillingly.<sup>35<\/sup><\/p>\r\n<p>He also refers to the creation of the human being (<em>ba\u0161ar<\/em>) from clay, to the injunction addressed to the angels to prostrate themselves before this being (Q 38:71\u201372), and to Ibl\u012bs's refusal\u2014created from fire\u2014to prostrate himself before him.<\/p>\r\n<p>In striking pages, he evokes the prostration of shadows: \"Have they not seen that the shadows of everything God has created incline to the right and to the left, prostrating (<em>su\u01e7\u01e7adan<\/em>) before God in all humility?\" (Q 16:48).<sup>36<\/sup><\/p>\r\n<p>All of creation bears witness to God's oneness and His absolute dominion, while believers are called to meditate on these signs in order to strengthen their faith and their submission.<sup>37<\/sup><\/p>\r\n<p>But what, for this commentator, should the human posture be within Creation? How, according to Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n, should the believer inhabit this world?<\/p>\r\n<p>Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n repeatedly recalls that God is the Living One, the giver of life<sup>38<\/sup>, who encompasses all existence and all names.<sup>39<\/sup><\/p>\r\n<p>He is also the cultivator, the gardener, on a planetary scale.<sup>40<\/sup> He brings forth from the earth a crop of diverse colors; it then withers, yellows, and He reduces it to crumbs.<\/p>\r\n<p>He is the One who disperses and fertilizes: \"His mercy fertilizes the clouds in the air,\" and He sends down from them sweet and pure water.<sup>41<\/sup><\/p>\r\n<p>He is the One who makes human beings grow like plants and returns them to the earth<sup>42<\/sup>: \"And it is God who has made you grow from the earth like plants\" (Q 71:17).<\/p>\r\n<p>God is the true cultivator, yet He also uses us to cultivate the earth. In the <em>Tanb\u012bh<\/em> we read: \"He makes use of us and accomplishes His wonders through our actions.\"<sup>43<\/sup> Working the land reminds human beings that they are servants, not masters.<\/p>\r\n<p>However, our stay in this world must not make us forget God: we must not become attached to things here below.<sup>44<\/sup> In this world, goods are presented to us under deceptive appearances\u2026 Yet this is only the fleeting enjoyment of life, and the best place of return is with God.<\/p>\r\n<p>He writes: \"We should take nothing from this world except with moderation.\"<sup>45<\/sup> This posture of renunciation and asceticism enables us to avoid the world and its snares.<\/p>\r\n<p>Repeatedly, the world is described as a place of purification, a mosque.<sup>46<\/sup> God created water as a means of purification that nothing defiles, except what changes its color, odor, or taste\u2014and His Throne was upon the water.<sup>47<\/sup><\/p>\r\n<p>We are thus called to contemplate, to take from the world only with moderation, and to purify ourselves during our sojourn.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>III. Is Contemplation of Creation a Call, or a Reminder?<\/h3>\r\n<p><strong>This world as a threshold for contemplating the Hereafter.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>For the Sevillian, the human being\u2014distracted by the world and by multiplicity\u2014sometimes becomes forgetful of self and of God.<sup>48<\/sup> Just as God sends down from the sky knowledge that revives hearts after their spiritual death and enables them to remember and no longer be heedless,<sup>49<\/sup> so too God sends down water as a reminder of Paradise.<sup>50<\/sup><\/p>\r\n<p>Creation is a reminder. In <em>I\u1e0d\u0101\u1e25 al-\u1e25ikma<\/em> he writes: \"Each time your eyes fall upon a creature (\u2026) remember the Creator.\"<sup>51<\/sup><\/p>\r\n<p>The Qur\u02be\u0101n is a call to contemplate the signs, to decipher the book of the cosmos. God's self-disclosure through Creation is a theophany. Yet this meditation, more than a discovery, is a remembrance of what we already know.<sup>52<\/sup><\/p>\r\n<p>Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n comments on: \"Its gathering (<em>\u01e7am\u02bfahu<\/em>) (in your heart and its fixation in your memory) is upon Us, as well as the manner of its recitation\" (Q 75:16). The point is to gather<sup>53<\/sup>\u2014to bring together scattered fragments of what we knew before our arrival on earth.<\/p>\r\n<p>This world is a reminder of Paradise: the entire universe, all existence, is filled with remembrance (<em>\u1e0fikr<\/em>). It is incumbent on us to recall what has been forgotten or lost. We do not learn today what we did not previously know; rather, we now remember the knowledge that was given to us on the day He took a covenant (<em>\u02bfahd<\/em>) with each soul before Creation.<sup>54<\/sup> It is not a matter of learning what we ignore, but of remembering what we once knew.<sup>55<\/sup><\/p>\r\n<p>The function of our sojourn in this world is to allow us to glimpse Paradise. In the <em>Tanb\u012bh<\/em>, he writes that honey evokes the Nile, the river of honey in Paradise; milk evokes the Tigris, the river of milk in Paradise; water evokes the Say\u1e25\u0101n, the river of water in Paradise.<sup>56<\/sup> Concerning the Euphrates, the river of the wine of Paradise, he writes that the pleasures of this world lead to the loss of reason and to distancing oneself from the path of God and from prayer.<sup>57<\/sup><\/p>\r\n<p>Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n reprises a prophetic \u1e25ad\u012bth: \"The most excellent is to worship God as though you see Him,\" and adds: \"If you do not see Him, He sees you.\" He invites his readers to carry out every action with sincere intention and to turn toward God with sincerity (<em>al-niyya<\/em>).<sup>58<\/sup><\/p>\r\n<p>In sum, according to the exegete, the task is to remember God at every moment, to orient one's thoughts, actions, and desire toward Him.<\/p>\r\n<p>For Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n, knowledge is acquired through praise and contemplation. Reflective contemplation (<em>tafakkur<\/em>) is a door God has left open, giving access to remembrance (<em>ta\u1e0fakkur<\/em>) of this generative knowledge known previously, on the day of the pact (<em>mi\u1e6f\u0101q<\/em>) and the entrusted deposit (<em>am\u0101na<\/em>).<sup>59<\/sup> Reflective contemplation enables access to remembrance\u2014to recall what, one day, we knew.<\/p>\r\n<p>This world prefigures the other world. This world will perish; only the Face of God will remain.<\/p>\r\n<p>Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n warns his readers: on the Day of Resurrection, this earth will be replaced by another.<sup>60<\/sup> Life is a cycle to be lived, and the earth has no value in itself.<\/p>\r\n<p>In the <em>Tanb\u012bh<\/em>, he cites Q 29:64: \"Truly, the Hereafter is the real life\u2014if only they knew!\"<sup>61<\/sup> God, he continues, will change the earth into another earth; the earth and the sky will be transformed; the sun, the moon, and the stars will be extinguished; the mountains will be displaced\u2026 (\u2026) The same will be true of believers and scholars.<sup>62<\/sup> This world will pass; it is not eternal; it is a foretaste of Paradise.<sup>63<\/sup><\/p>\r\n<p>Thus, for Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n, this world has no intrinsic value. He cites a \u1e25ad\u012bth: \"This lower world, compared with the Hereafter, is comparable only to what one of you draws from the sea when he dips his finger into it; let him consider, then, what he draws out.\"<sup>64<\/sup> For Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n, the earth is not an end in itself: it is a passageway, a space for spiritual preparation. One is to worship not the earth, but God.<sup>65<\/sup><\/p>\r\n<p>In <em>I\u1e0d\u0101\u1e25 al-\u1e25ikma<\/em>, Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n writes that those who worship the sun, the moon, or any other idol will not find the Lord. Only believers who have sought refuge in God\u2014God will come to them, and they will recognize Him.<sup>66<\/sup> He condemns all idolatry: contemplation of nature allows one to glimpse the world to come and to receive spiritual teachings, but it is not an end in itself.<\/p>\r\n<p>What does not perish is the Face of God. He cites Q 2:115: \"To God belong the East and the West. Wherever you turn, there is the Face of God, for God is All-Encompassing and All-Knowing.\"<sup>67<\/sup> \"All things must perish, except His Face.\"<sup>68<\/sup><\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>Conclusion: Why Might This Vision Ground an Ethic of Respect for the Natural World?<\/h3>\r\n<p>A comparative reading of these two commentaries allows us to discern Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n's account of the human relationship to the natural world and his ethical posture toward the created order.<\/p>\r\n<p>A first fundamental lesson is humility. In Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n's thought, the smallest creature can become a source of instruction: human beings do not dominate creation; they must accept a posture of learning within it. Contemplation of the natural world therefore requires self-abasement and the stripping away of arrogance.<\/p>\r\n<p>For the Andalusian <em>muta\u02bfbir<\/em>, one can glimpse Paradise only by renouncing the will to dominate nature. This vision contrasts sharply with modern representations of progress marked by desacralization, objectification, and even the instrumentalization of the natural world.<\/p>\r\n<p>Creation retains a mediating value, without ever becoming an object of idolatry<sup>69<\/sup> or veneration in itself. Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n insists on an essential point: creation is a sign, a medium, not an end in itself. It teaches, orients, and prepares\u2014but it must never become the ultimate object of contemplation. Only the majesty of God may be contemplated for its own sake. If nature is beautiful, it is by resemblance to Paradise.<\/p>\r\n<p>The task is to learn to read the world without becoming attached to it: to live within creation without being lost in it; to perceive God through it without confusing the sign with what it signifies.<\/p>\r\n<p>Contemplation is not, here, a simple intellectual exercise; it is a source of ethical knowledge\u2014an inner reminder that illuminates good and evil and generates a posture of detachment.<\/p>\r\n<p>In his commentaries, Ibn Barra\u01e7\u0101n calls for a life of sobriety, prayer, and attentiveness to the world\u2014oriented not toward appropriation or hoarding, but toward learning and inward transformation: \"We should take nothing from this world except with moderation.\" Without making the preservation of nature an autonomous finality, this theocentric perspective nonetheless profoundly transforms the human relationship to the world. Through renouncing domination and reorienting desire, it fosters a more just and measured relationship to the living, whose effects can contribute\u2014indirectly yet decisively\u2014to the balance of the natural world.<\/p>\r\n<\/article><\/div>\n                    \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" >\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\">4:30pm-5pm<\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Discussion with the audience            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n<h6 id=\"axe1-panel3-s2\">Room 2 | Chair : Guy-Raymond Sarkis<\/h6>\n\n<div id=\"prog-maconnerie\">\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang prog-cong-lang-ar\">Arabic, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Ridouane Bisdaoune                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Ibn Zohr University, Agadir, Morocco<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Fakhr al-D\u012bn al-R\u0101z\u012b: From Physical Healing to the Beauty of the Soul - A Study of 'Ris\u0101lat Dhamm Ladhdh\u0101t al-Duny\u0101'<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/fakhr-al-din-al-razi-from-bodily-healing-to-the-aesthetics-of-the-soul-a-study-of-the-risalat-dhamm-ladhdhat-al-dunya\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Fakhr al-D\u012bn al-R\u0101z\u012b: From Physical Healing to the Beauty of the Soul - A Study of &#039;Ris\u0101lat Dhamm Ladhdh\u0101t al-Duny\u0101&#039;\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-34', 'Abstract : Fakhr al-D\u012bn al-R\u0101z\u012b: From Physical Healing to the Beauty of the Soul - A Study of \\'Ris\u0101lat Dhamm Ladhdh\u0101t al-Duny\u0101\\'', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-34\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>This paper examines Fakhr al-Din al-Razi's (1150-1210) vision of the beauty of the soul in his epistle 'Condemnation of Worldly Pleasures' (Risalat Dhamm Ladhdhaat al-Dunya). This vision can be described as a critique of the concept of material beauty and a defense of inner beauty. Al-Razi considers that wisdom is the pinnacle of spiritual beauty, and that neglecting it opens the door to physical and spiritual illness.\nHe divides worldly pleasures into three categories: the first concerns bodily pleasures, which al-Razi considers the lowest; the second category comprises imaginary pleasures, namely the pleasure of leadership and prestige, of which he exposes the good and bad aspects; the third category is intellectual pleasure obtained through knowledge, of which he shows the aspects of attraction and repulsion.\nThis vision will be discussed in the context of the influence of Platonic philosophy (purification of the soul) and Islamic thought (al-Ghazali's Ihya' 'ulum al-din) on al-Razi.\nKeywords: beauty of the soul - physical healing - pleasure.\nResearch question: How does al-Razi conceive spiritual beauty?<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-35', 'Ridouane Bisdaoune', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-35\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Holder of a doctorate in private law, he works at the Oued Souss High School in Ait Melloul. He defended his thesis at the Faculty of Legal, Economic and Social Sciences of Ibn Zohr University on \"ethics of medical work in Morocco\" using a comparative legal approach. Holding a master's degree in private law specializing in family law in Moroccan and comparative law (FSJES, Agadir), he also holds a degree in Sharia and law (Faculty of Sharia, Ait Melloul). He completed his training with a summer program at Georgetown University on \"Religion and Society\".<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-auto\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-auto-36', 'Automatic translation that may contain errors', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Automatic translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-auto-36\" style=\"display:none;\"><article>\r\n<header>\r\n<h2>Fakhr al-D\u012bn al-R\u0101z\u012b: From Bodily Healing to the Aesthetics of the Soul<\/h2>\r\n<p><strong>Study<\/strong> of the <em>ris\u0101la<\/em> \"Censure of the Pleasures of This World\" (\u0630\u0645 \u0644\u0630\u0627\u062a \u0627\u0644\u062f\u0646\u064a\u0627).<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Dr Ridouane Bisdaoune<\/strong>, researcher in law and ethics (Ibn Zohr University \u2013 Morocco).<\/p>\r\n<\/header>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>Introducing Im\u0101m Fakhr al-D\u012bn al-R\u0101z\u012b (544\u2013606 AH)<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>An articulation between the \"sciences of the Ancients\" (medicine, philosophy) and the \"sciences of the Later scholars\" (kal\u0101m, Sufism).<\/li>\r\n<li>The <em>ris\u0101la<\/em> \"Censure of the Pleasures of This World\" as a model of intellectual and aesthetic maturity.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>Introduction<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>How does al-R\u0101z\u012b conceive of spiritual beauty?<\/li>\r\n<li>A critique of material beauty and a defense of inner beauty.<\/li>\r\n<li>Wisdom as the summit of spiritual beauty and as a remedy for the soul's maladies.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>Research Question<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Pleasures occupy the lowest rank among forms of enjoyment.<\/li>\r\n<li>They are not perfections in themselves, but merely the \"relief of a pain\" (as eating alleviates hunger).<\/li>\r\n<li>Their attachment to finitude and materiality renders them deceptive and unstable.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>Categories of Pleasure<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><strong>Sensory pleasures<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Imaginal pleasures<\/strong>: the pursuit of precedence, prestige, and domination. Al-R\u0101z\u012b exposes the forces of attraction and repulsion at work here and shows how such pleasures unsettle the soul through the fear of their loss.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Intellectual pleasure<\/strong>: the highest degree of beauty and perfection. It arises from certain knowledge and from knowledge of God; it effects a comprehensive cure for the ignorance bound to matter and constitutes an enduring pleasure that does not vanish.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>Intellectual and Aesthetic Influences<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><strong>Platonic influence<\/strong>: the idea of purifying the soul from the body's \"prison.\"<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Influence of al-Ghaz\u0101l\u012b<\/strong>: the notion of polishing the \"mirror of the heart\" in the <em>I\u1e25y\u0101\u02be \u02bful\u016bm al-d\u012bn<\/em>.<\/li>\r\n<li>Moving beyond the bewilderment of demonstration toward the lights of intimate communion.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>Conclusion<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>A passage from the \"seeker\" of beauty to one who \"tastes\" the majesty of the Real.<\/li>\r\n<li>Acknowledgment of the limits of philosophical methods before the power of Revelation.<\/li>\r\n<li>The highest aesthetic lies in the breadth of divine mercy and in the heart's certitude.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<section>\r\n<h3>Title Reminder<\/h3>\r\n<p><strong>Fakhr al-D\u012bn al-R\u0101z\u012b: From Bodily Healing to the Aesthetics of the Soul<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>Study of the <em>ris\u0101la<\/em> \"Censure of the Pleasures of This World\" (\u0630\u0645 \u0644\u0630\u0627\u062a \u0627\u0644\u062f\u0646\u064a\u0627).<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Dr Ridouane Bisdaoune<\/strong>, researcher in law and ethics (Ibn Zohr University \u2013 Morocco).<\/p>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n<\/article><\/div>\n                    \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Yesmine Karray                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">\u00c9cole Normale Sup\u00e9rieure de Lyon, France<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Beyond the Licitness of Ecstasy: The Poetry of Sam\u0101\u02bf as an Aesthetic and Cognitive Experience in al-Ghaz\u0101l\u012b<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/beyond-the-licitness-of-ecstasy-the-poetry-of-sama%ca%bf-as-an-aesthetic-and-cognitive-experience-in-al-ghazali\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Beyond the Licitness of Ecstasy: The Poetry of Sam\u0101\u02bf as an Aesthetic and Cognitive Experience in al-Ghaz\u0101l\u012b\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-37', 'Abstract : Beyond the Licitness of Ecstasy: The Poetry of Sam\u0101\u02bf as an Aesthetic and Cognitive Experience in al-Ghaz\u0101l\u012b', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-37\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>In his Kitab Adab al-sama' wa-l-wajd (Book on the Etiquette of Mystical Audition and Ecstasy), the theologian al-Ghazali (1058-1111) tackles the thorny and polemical question of mystical ecstasy within sama' ceremonies, Sufi rituals of listening to music and spiritual poetry. The treatment of this question fits into one of the main aims of Ihya' 'ulum al-din-of which this book is a chapter-namely, to fully integrate Sufism into Muslim orthodoxy by defining it as a 'purification of hearts' and an ethics indispensable for salvation. While condemning conceptions of ecstasy that seem theologically problematic to him (al-Hallaj's hulul), he defines the etiquette of religiously licit sama' according to various criteria (spiritual or profane context, music, poetry, place, company, permitted physical gestures, etc.). This text has aroused great interest, particularly for its polemical stakes and its condemnation by Ibn Taymiyya [Michot, 1991] and for the question of the influence of falsafa's musical theory [Weinrich, 2019 and 2024].\nIn this paper, we will focus beyond music on the role played by poetry within this aesthetic experience. Al-Ghazali treats it in a way that neither reduces it to a mere stimulus enabling the shift into trance, nor to a dimension of ritual to be regulated by the distinction between profane and sacred. He offers considerations on what might be called a 'hermeneutics of trance' and a relationship to meanings (ma'ani) that is profoundly modified within the sama' experience: the field of possible interpretation expands, offering greater latitude to choose, in an instrumental relationship to the text, the one most likely to favor the shift into trance. Conversely, the sama' experience also allows one to grasp the true hidden meaning of the text, and even to access knowledge of a higher order in a mystical vision that is not exhausted by the ineffable. Ghazali thus proposes through sama' a specific path of knowledge that he links to an aesthetics-musicality playing a key role-as well as to an ethics, emphasizing the purification of the heart that sama' promotes and which is indispensable to this knowledge.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-38', 'Yesmine Karray', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-38\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Doctoral student in philosophy and Arab studies at ENS Lyon, she is preparing a thesis on political metaphors in al-Ghazali, examining the links between mysticism, morality, and political theory. Her background combines contemporary philosophy (EHESS), religious studies (EPHE), and management (ESCP), with research on Sufism, secularization in Islam, and political-economic dynamics. As a teaching assistant and then lecturer at ENS Lyon, she teaches master's courses on Arab political thought, Islamic philosophy, legal doctrines, Middle East conflicts, and research methods. She publishes on mystical epistemology and contributes to edited volumes and reviews, while regularly participating in seminars and academic conferences. Active in the Diwan association, she helps coordinate networks of young researchers.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                        \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Wael Tahhan                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Paris 1 Panth\u00e9on-Sorbonne University<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">\u0120a\u1e0d\u1e0d al-ba\u1e63ar as a Paradigm of Islamic Aesthetics: Interpretations and Perspectives<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/gha%e1%b8%8d%e1%b8%8d-al-ba%e1%b9%a3ar-as-the-paradigm-of-an-islamic-aesthetics-interpretations-and-perspectives\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : \u0120a\u1e0d\u1e0d al-ba\u1e63ar as a Paradigm of Islamic Aesthetics: Interpretations and Perspectives\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-39', 'Abstract : \u0120a\u1e0d\u1e0d al-ba\u1e63ar as a Paradigm of Islamic Aesthetics: Interpretations and Perspectives', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-39\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>The lowering of the gaze (ghadd al-basar), a fundamental principle of Islamic ethics, has rarely been approached through an aesthetic lens. This paper, informed by the interdisciplinary perspective of Islamic sciences proposed by Taha 'Abd al-Rahman and Seyyed Hossein Nasr, explores how a moral value could constitute conceptual ground conducive to the emergence of an Islamic aesthetics, where sensory experience, taste, self-discipline, pleasure, and spirituality intermingle. The aim is thus to interrogate an aesthetics that does not approach the adjective 'Islamic' as a geo-historical or stylistic category (Grabar, Papadopoulo, Naef), but rethinks it as an epistemological marker, examining in this light the concept of ghadd al-basar as a demonstrative paradigm.\nThe study begins with a semantic analysis of the term basar, distinguishing it from other forms of visual perception (nazar, mushahada, ru'ya, lahz, tahdiq), before examining its conceptual evolution in the writings of three Sufi thinkers: al-Muhasibi, al-Qushayri, and al-Ghazali. This analysis highlights how, in Sufi interpretations, ghadd al-basar transcends a simple moral injunction related to chastity or sexual desire to become an active operator of taste refinement (tadhawwuq, tazkiyah, 'iffah), applying to the perception of various forms of beauty (ayat). This theoretical approach is then related to phenomena in Islamic art and architecture, where certain elements were designed not to captivate the gaze, but to guide it toward lateral beauty, thus acting as mediators (wasita).\nThe originality of this approach lies in the inversion of ontologies: while conventional aesthetics places sensory attention as a sine qua non condition of sensory experience and taste judgment, ghadd al-basar proposes an inverted epistemology, opening the way to other perceptive modalities and to a dialectical dynamic of an Islamic science of beauty, situated at the intersection of sensory regimes (halawa, tadhawwuq, 'uns) and extra-sensory ones (basira, barakah, fath).\nThis reflection thus seeks to open new perspectives for academic research in aesthetics and Islamic arts, anchoring these fields in Islamic sciences as conceptual grounds.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-40', 'Wael Tahhan', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-40\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>PhD candidate in Aesthetics at Universit\u00e9 Paris 1 Panth\u00e9on-Sorbonne, trained both in aesthetics and Arabic studies, he is currently a teaching and research assistant at Universit\u00e9 Paris 1 Panth\u00e9on-Sorbonne, where he teaches aesthetics and philosophy of art. His research is structured around two complementary axes: the first focuses on aesthetics within the Arabic and Islamic tradition, with research dedicated to aesthetics in the thought of Ab\u016b \u1e24ayy\u0101n al-Taw\u1e25\u012bd\u012b; the second examines contemporary issues related to artistic and spatial practices (architecture, urban studies, cartography) in the Middle East and the Islamic world. He is also a published poet in Arabic.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-auto\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-auto-41', 'Automatic translation that may contain errors', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Automatic translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-auto-41\" style=\"display:none;\"><article>\r\n  <h2>\u0120a\u1e0d\u1e0d al-ba\u1e63ar as a Paradigm of an Islamic Aesthetic: Interpretations and Perspectives<\/h2>\r\n  <p><strong>Wael Tahhan<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Introduction<\/h2>\r\n  <p>This paper forms part of a broader body of research that seeks to identify the epistemological foundations of an Islamic aesthetic\u2014conceived, as Seyyed Hossein Nasr suggests, on the basis of an Islamic cosmology understood as a coherent ensemble of knowledge, values, and worldviews. This entails relocating the aesthetic question beyond the Hegelian horizon, which tends to assimilate it to a philosophy of art grounded in a linear conception of history and a geo-historical hierarchy of the beautiful. The challenge, therefore, is to effect an epistemological shift: from an aesthetic confined to art history to an aesthetic understood as a genuine perceptual culture, in Wendy Shaw's terms, capable of producing forms of sensory knowledge. It is within this framework that our analysis takes as its point of departure the notion of mastery of the gaze (\u0121add al-ba\u1e63ar), in order to think the aesthetic from within the fields of knowledge in Islam and to open a dialogue with other Islamic sciences.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Sources and Structure<\/h2>\r\n  <p>We draw on Sunni Sufi readings of a corpus of Qur\u02be\u0101nic verses and \u1e25ad\u012b\u1e6fs, especially in the writings of al-\u0120az\u0101l\u012b, al-Mu\u1e25\u0101sib\u012b, and al-Qu\u0161ayr\u012b. The argument unfolds in three stages: first, an account of \u0121add al-ba\u1e63ar in its normative and ethical dimension; second, an examination of its interpretations and its potential for outlining a perceptual culture grounded in ethical principles such as moderation, original nature, temperance, and the rejection of the superfluous; finally, a consideration of these hypotheses through the lens of Islamic art.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>\u0120add al-ba\u1e63ar as a Normative and Ethical Imperative<\/h2>\r\n  <p>\u0120add al-ba\u1e63ar\u2014translatable as the lowering, restraint, or mastery of the gaze\u2014is a moral obligation explicitly formulated in the Qur\u02be\u0101n, notably in S\u016brat al-N\u016br, through two verses (24:30\u201331) that enjoin men and women to \"lower their gaze\" (<i>ya\u0121u\u1e0d\u1e0d\u016b min ab\u1e63\u0101rihim<\/i>). This injunction is reinforced by numerous \u1e25ad\u012b\u1e6fs of the Prophet that explicitly call for mastery of the gaze, such as the report stating that \"the gaze is one of Ibl\u012bs's arrows.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>In fact, the verse does not command \"lowering the whole gaze,\" but lowering \"a part\" of it. This formulation suggests that the injunction does not aim at abolishing sight, but at regulating it. This semantic nuance between <i>na\u1e93ar<\/i> and <i>ba\u1e63ar<\/i> is significant: <i>al-na\u1e93ar<\/i>, as the linguist \u1e62\u0101li\u1e25 al-S\u0101mirr\u0101\u02be\u012b notes, simply refers to directing the eye toward a specific direction, whereas <i>al-ba\u1e63ar<\/i> implies, more strongly, the perceptual completion of that operation. The Qur\u02be\u0101n reinforces this distinction when it says of the disbelievers: \"You see them looking at you, but they do not see\" (al-A\u02bfr\u0101f, 7:198), indicating that there can be <i>na\u1e93ar<\/i> without genuine <i>ib\u1e63\u0101r<\/i>\u2014in other words, a gaze without effective perception.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Modalities of the Gaze and the Qur\u02be\u0101nic Vocabulary of Perception<\/h2>\r\n  <p>Islam classically distinguishes two types of divine signs (<i>\u0101y\u0101t<\/i>): written signs (<i>\u0101y\u0101t mast\u016bra<\/i>), namely the Qur\u02be\u0101n, and visible signs (<i>\u0101y\u0101t man\u1e93\u016bra<\/i>), namely the created world. This distinction sheds light on the Qur\u02be\u0101nic use of <i>na\u1e93ar<\/i>, rather than <i>ba\u1e63ar<\/i>, when it calls believers to \"look\" at God's visible signs, since <i>na\u1e93ar<\/i> designates an invitation to contemplation that may\u2014or may not\u2014culminate in <i>ba\u1e63ar<\/i>, that is, in accomplished perception.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>Arabic also differentiates other modalities of looking (<i>ta\u1e25d\u012bq<\/i>, <i>ramq<\/i>, <i>la\u1e25\u1e93<\/i>) and distinguishes <i>ru\u02bey\u0101<\/i>, a form of perception that can extend beyond ordinary spatio-temporal experience, as in dreams or inspiration. Finally, there are notions that are not strictly sensory, such as <i>al-ba\u1e63\u012bra<\/i> (inner vision) and <i>al-fir\u0101sa<\/i> (spiritual intuition), to which we will return.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>From Chastity to an Ethics of Attention<\/h2>\r\n  <p>The primary meaning of \u0121add al-ba\u1e63ar refers to refraining from any gaze likely to arouse sexual desire, aiming at the preservation of chastity and purity. Yet the Qur\u02be\u0101n and various \u1e25ad\u012b\u1e6fs attribute broader implications to the notion: not looking into other people's homes, not coveting others' possessions, nor directing toward others a gaze of superiority or contempt, among other applications. These usages belong to a more encompassing ethic in which mastery of the gaze is embedded in renunciation of the superfluous and of idle curiosity (<i>al-fa\u1e0d\u016bl<\/i>). The Prophet expresses this in a \u1e25ad\u012b\u1e6f: \"Part of a person's perfection in Islam is leaving aside what does not concern him.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>Al-\u1e24\u0101ri\u1e6f al-Mu\u1e25\u0101sib\u012b (d. 243\/857), one of the earliest Sufi authors, goes so far as to claim in the <i>Ris\u0101lat al-mustar\u0161id\u012bn<\/i> that every calamity that enters the heart necessarily arises from the effects of the superfluous (<i>al-fa\u1e0d\u016bl<\/i>). He specifies that the superfluous has several paths of entry into the heart, among which one of the most powerful is precisely the gaze. Ibn \u02bfA\u1e6diyya al-Andalus\u012b likewise states that sight is the widest gate of the heart and the deepest route by which the sensible enters it. One may thus speak of a veritable hold exerted by the gaze, to the point that several Sufis cite this line of poetry: \"All accidents have their origin in the gaze.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Sufi Deepenings of \u0120add al-ba\u1e63ar<\/h2>\r\n  <p>In the Sufi tradition, however, mastery of the gaze has prompted more far-reaching interpretations that touch various aspects of sensible life. It consists in diverting the gaze from everything that distracts from the remembrance of God, as al-\u0120az\u0101l\u012b underscores in the <i>I\u1e25y\u0101\u02be \u02bful\u016bm al-d\u012bn<\/i>. One may also cite the story of \u1e24ass\u0101n ibn Ab\u012b Sin\u0101n, whose attention was entirely absorbed by the beauty of a richly decorated room; realizing that he had allowed himself to be diverted by the created work rather than by the Creator, he imposed on himself a year of continuous fasting as penance.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Toward an Aesthetic Dimension of \u0120add al-ba\u1e63ar<\/h2>\r\n  <p>To identify more concretely a potentially aesthetic dimension of \u0121add al-ba\u1e63ar, we propose bringing into relation a \u1e25ad\u012b\u1e6f, a Qur\u02be\u0101nic verse, and a Sufi interpretation. Among the most frequently invoked \u1e25ad\u012b\u1e6fs on mastery of the gaze is the saying addressed to \u02bfAl\u012b b. Ab\u012b \u1e6c\u0101lib: \"O \u02bfAl\u012b, do not follow one glance with another: you are not blamed for the first, but you have no right to the second.\" The Qur\u02be\u0101n also presents humanity as constituted in a register that precedes physical existence, known as the world of the Primordial Covenant (<i>\u02bf\u0101lam al-\u1e0farr<\/i>), where God addressed human beings while they were still spirits: \"Am I not your Lord?\" and they replied: \"Yes\" (al-A\u02bfr\u0101f, 7:172).<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>Read in parallel with this \u1e25ad\u012b\u1e6f, this foundational scene constitutes, in Sufi hermeneutics, a coherent starting point for thinking the dynamics of the gaze and its mastery. The attraction elicited by a beautiful object then finds its justification in the first glance, insofar as it belongs to an innate (<i>fi\u1e6dr\u012b<\/i>), involuntary, and unpremeditated inclination oriented toward the infinite beauty before which souls have already been placed in the extra-temporal register of <i>\u02bf\u0101lam al-\u1e0farr<\/i>. The first glance may thus be understood as a non-intentional aesthetic attraction, motivated by an innate \"aftertaste\" of infinite beauty. As al-\u0120az\u0101l\u012b recalls, love of beauty is innate and already inscribed in human nature, which helps clarify the moral justification of the first glance as tolerated in the \u1e25ad\u012b\u1e6f.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>The second glance, by contrast, exits the field of pure aesthetic attraction and enters that of normative obligation (<i>takl\u012bf<\/i>). It marks the moment when the beautiful shifts from an aesthetic register to an ethical one, and when desire turns away from the sign\u2014understood as an <i>\u0101ya<\/i>, that is, an indication calling to <i>\u1e0fikr<\/i>\u2014in order to fix upon the object as such, thereby losing its ultimate reference. Whatever the object of this beauty, natural or human-made, it is, in the theological perspective\u2014especially in Ash\u02bfarite doctrine\u2014considered above all a creation by God, since God creates even the acts of the servants, including the works they produce.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Beauty as Remembrance and the Discipline of Attention<\/h2>\r\n  <p>The encounter with beauty thus resonates with an originary event of the past, inaccessible to reflective memory and to discursive rationality. The very idea of this encounter can nevertheless become a sensible matter, capable of being reactivated by a spiritual taste, depending on its degree of refinement and its capacity to restore, in the present instant, an attunement to the horizon of absolute beauty. Thus \u1e0e\u016b al-N\u016bn al-Mi\u1e63r\u012b (d. 245\/859) said of the divine address \"<i>Alastu birabbikum<\/i>\": \"It is as though it still echoes in my ear.\" Al-Qu\u0161ayr\u012b also reports in his <i>Ris\u0101la<\/i> a saying attributed to al-Junayd: asked why souls are moved by a beautiful voice (<i>al-sam\u0101\u02bf<\/i>), he said that when God addressed the beings of the Primordial Covenant with the words \"<i>Alastu birabbikum<\/i>,\" the souls tasted a sweetness whose memory is reawakened upon hearing a beautiful voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>In this context, beauty is assigned a clear function: to recall God, one of whose Names is <i>al-\u01e6am\u012bl<\/i> (\"the Beautiful\"). Hence, any relation to beauty that does not lead back to this divine remembrance may be regarded, in the Sufi reading, as a faulty experience and calls for a discipline of attention. Al-Niffar\u012b expresses this in <i>al-Maw\u0101qif wa-l-mu\u1e2b\u0101\u1e6dab\u0101t<\/i> through a divine saying: \"O servant, if you do not look at Me when you look at a thing, then you have looked only at it.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>Yet this gesture of renunciation\u2014voluntary and mastered\u2014produces in itself a spiritual pleasure of a higher order, surpassing the pleasure abandoned, as indicated by the \u1e25ad\u012b\u1e6f quds\u012b in which God says: \"Whoever leaves [the gaze] out of fear of Me, I will replace it with a faith whose sweetness he will find in his heart.\" This is a kind of pleasure to which the famous saying attributed to Ibr\u0101h\u012bm ibn Adham also points: \"If kings knew the joy and happiness we are in, they would fight us with swords to wrest it from us.\" This process of refining taste thus opens a third horizon: the preservation of innate (<i>fi\u1e6dr\u012b<\/i>) taste, oriented toward the beatific vision of God on the Day of Resurrection, evoked in S\u016brat al-Qiy\u0101ma (75:22\u201323).<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>In this perspective, as \u02bfAl\u012b al-\u01e6ifr\u012b\u2014a contemporary figure of Sunni Sufism\u2014recalls, beauty appears as an oscillation between the memory of a first exposure and the constant desire to return to it, until the promised vision of God. All worldly beauty lies between these two poles, within a circular temporality in which attraction to the beautiful is understood as a lack seeking fulfillment. Worldly beauty becomes an intermediary, not an end in itself; mastery of the gaze thus belongs to a discipline of the self: not a mere abstention, but a displacement that mobilizes sensible beauty as a passage toward supreme beauty and toward a more noble pleasure. In other words, it is a passage from beauty as veil (<i>\u1e25i\u01e7\u0101b<\/i>) to beauty as path.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Connected Beauty and Detached Beauty<\/h2>\r\n  <p>On this basis, we propose a distinction between two modes of aesthetic experience in Islam: connected beauty (<i>\u01e7am\u0101l maw\u1e63\u016bl<\/i>) and detached beauty (<i>\u01e7am\u0101l maf\u1e63\u016bl<\/i>). Connected beauty denotes an experience in which the pleasure of perception remains linked to God, and in which recognition of this beauty as created by Him and loved by Him becomes a vector of remembrance (<i>\u1e0fikr<\/i>). The beauty of the world is thus requalified as a set of signs, or <i>\u0101y\u0101t<\/i>. In this framework, mastery of the gaze consists not only in lowering it before any beauty that does not lead back to this connection with God, but also in this: the very act of restraining the gaze becomes an aesthetic experience in its own right, as suggested by the \u1e25ad\u012b\u1e6f concerning the superior pleasure granted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>By contrast, detached beauty corresponds to an undisciplined pleasure situated outside this epistemic frame. Such states produce intellectual and perceptual imprecision (<i>zay\u0121<\/i>, even <i>\u0121afla<\/i>), a condition the Qur\u02be\u0101n describes as having eyes yet not truly seeing (7:179).<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Ba\u1e63ar and Ba\u1e63\u012bra<\/h2>\r\n  <p>If connected beauty manifests as a sign (<i>\u0101ya<\/i>), Sufi authors propose a reading according to which every <i>\u0101ya<\/i> possesses both an outward meaning (<i>\u1e93\u0101hir<\/i>) and an inward meaning (<i>b\u0101\u1e6din<\/i>), as al-\u0120az\u0101l\u012b notes in the <i>I\u1e25y\u0101\u02be<\/i>. Thus, if outward beauty is perceived by ocular vision (<i>ba\u1e63ar<\/i>), inward beauty is accessible only through inner vision (<i>ba\u1e63\u012bra<\/i>).<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p><i>Ba\u1e63ar<\/i> and <i>ba\u1e63\u012bra<\/i> derive from the same root but belong to different registers: the former designates sensible vision, whereas the latter refers to an intelligible faculty. Al-\u0120az\u0101l\u012b describes this inner vision in <i>al-Ris\u0101la al-laduniyya<\/i> as the heart's capacity to penetrate the realities of things and to unveil their meanings. The Qur\u02be\u0101n emphasizes this distinction when it states: \"It is not the eyes that become blind, but the hearts within the breasts\" (al-\u1e24a\u01e7\u01e7, 22:46). In the Sufi perspective, access to <i>ba\u1e63\u012bra<\/i> presupposes mastery of outward vision and renunciation of the superfluous and of temptation\u2014conditions for opening to an inner vision. Al-\u0120az\u0101l\u012b also insists in the <i>I\u1e25y\u0101\u02be<\/i> that whoever is deprived of inner vision cannot taste true aesthetic pleasure. He writes, in this regard, that \"there is an immense difference between one whose admiration is limited to ornaments drawn on a wall and one who loves the inward beauty of the Prophet's figure.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Fir\u0101sa, Inner Light, and True Perception<\/h2>\r\n  <p>Alongside <i>ba\u1e63\u012bra<\/i>, Sufis recognize the existence of many other extra-sensory perceptual capacities, among which is <i>al-fir\u0101sa<\/i>, often translated as \"spiritual intuition.\" It is cultivated through self-mastery and the discipline of the sensible faculties, but it may also be a divine gift, as al-Qu\u0161ayr\u012b suggests in his <i>Ris\u0101la<\/i>. The Prophet thus declared: \"Beware the believer's <i>fir\u0101sa<\/i>, for he sees by God's light.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>In Sufi thought, this light of vision corresponds to divine love, by which realities are grasped without the need for prolonged sensible observation. It is in this perspective that the meaning of the famous \u1e25ad\u012b\u1e6f quds\u012b becomes clear: \"When I love him, I become the hearing by which he hears and the sight by which he sees.\" For Sufis, God's becoming the servant's \"sight\" designates precisely this inner light, through which things are perceived in their truth, and from which follows the possibility of tasting the true beauty of things.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Conclusion: An Islamic Perceptual Culture and the Horizon of Islamic Art<\/h2>\r\n  <p>In conclusion, one may argue that an Islamic aesthetic, understood in this perspective, proposes a specific perceptual culture grounded in an economy of attention that aims to limit dispersion and to secure a fully inhabited presence in the present, sustained by the remembrance of God\u2014the very purpose of human existence according to the Qur\u02be\u0101n (Q 51:56). Where modern and postmodern aesthetics tends to valorize intensification of attention, immersion, and at times sensory saturation, this approach instead privileges perceptual sobriety, rejection of the superfluous, and a disciplined gaze, consistent with Islam's ethical horizon. In this respect, al-\u0120az\u0101l\u012b recommends habituating the child, from an early age, not to prolonged exposure to a multiplicity of forms and colors, so as to preserve attention and avoid dispersion of the heart.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>Within this logic, as numerous studies have shown\u2014and as one finds, under various formulations, in the works of Seyyed Hossein Nasr, G\u00fclru Necipo\u011flu, and Wendy Shaw\u2014a large part of Islamic art, despite the richness of its forms and motifs, does not aim at a prolonged capture of the gaze, but rather at its passage and orientation. Minarets, for example, orient the gaze along an ascending vector, from below to above. Likewise, in calligraphy, the act of seeing proceeds through a gradual progression, in a perceptual dynamic that organizes reading as a sensory itinerary. Ornaments and geometric motifs, through repetition, shift the experience from an isolated detail toward rhythm and totality. These forms lead the observer beyond the visible frame toward a continuity that the imagination can extend\u2014potentially to infinity. This continuity may imprint itself as an inner image that the subject reactivates, up to a sensory saturation comparable to that of a musical motif. Al-\u0120az\u0101l\u012b underscored this persistence of the perceived form in the imagination by noting that the image of the observed object does not vanish when the gaze turns away: one who looks at the sky and the earth continues to see their image within himself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>Islamic art may thus be understood as a pedagogy of perception grounded in training the gaze and refining taste. The work functions less as an end in itself than as an intermediary (<i>w\u0101si\u1e6da<\/i>), in which beauty manifests without seeking to capture attention in a closed and prolonged fixation, but by leading it back toward a broader horizon. It thereby inscribes itself within a coherent ensemble of values and prescriptions articulated with the teachings of Islam and, more particularly, with the mastery of the gaze presented here\u2014forming an integrated aesthetic and ethical corpus.<\/p>\r\n<\/article><\/div>\n                    \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" >\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\">4:30pm-5pm<\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Discussion with the audience            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" style=\"margin-bottom: 40px;\">\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\">8pm: Evening<\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                \"The Soul of C\u00f3rdoba\" - Sound and light show at the Mosque-Cathedral (Group 1).\nGroup assignments will be displayed on site.\nFree evening            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n<hr \/>\n\n<div style=\"height: 50px;\"><\/div>\n\n<h4 id=\"jour-jeudi\">Thursday, February 12, 2026<\/h4>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/maps.app.goo.gl\/871hGikrgziZgc3o9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"prog-lieu\"><span class=\"prog-lieu-icon\">\ud83d\udccd<\/span> Bishopric of the Mosque-Cathedral (Obispado de C\u00f3rdoba) \u2013 Calle Torrijos, 12<\/a>\n\n<h5 class=\"axe-title\">Axis 2: Aesthetics, Ethics and Everyday Life: Prohibitions, Representations and Practices<\/h5>\n<div class=\"conference-intro\">This second axis focuses on the concrete expressions of the relationship between ethics and aesthetics in everyday life, examining practices, representations and the limits imposed by religious and cultural norms.<\/div>\n\n<h6 style=\"font-weight: bold;\">9am: Welcome<\/h6>\n\n<h6 style=\"font-weight: bold;\">9:30am-10:30am | Presentation<\/h6>\n\n<div id=\"prog-maconnerie\">\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" style=\"width: 100%; \">\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang prog-cong-lang-en\">English<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Ida Zilio-Grandi                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Associate Professor at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Department of Asian and North African Studies<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Aesthetics, ethics and everyday life: prohibitions, representations, and practices<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                    \n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-42', 'Ida Zilio-Grandi', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-42\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Ida Zilio-Grandi is an Associate Professor at Ca' Foscari University of Venice (DSAAM), specializing in Arabic language and literature as well as Islamic thought. A graduate in Oriental languages from Ca' Foscari and holder of a doctorate from L'Orientale University of Naples, her research focuses on the Quran (evil, figures such as Mary, Cain, Jonah), Islamic ethics, and Judeo-Christian-Islamic convergences. From 2019 to 2023, she directed the Italian Cultural Institute in Abu Dhabi. She teaches at several Italian universities, coordinates master's programs (LEISAAM, MIM), and participates in the Islam Committee in Italy (Ministry of the Interior). A member of the Mediterranean Dialogue (College des Bernardins), she has published Le virtu del buon musulmano (2020) and studies on Islamic environmental morality.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                        \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n<h6 id=\"axe2-panel1\" style=\"font-weight: bold;\">10:30am-12pm - Panel 1<\/h6>\n<h6>Room 1 | Chair : Jaime Flaquer<\/h6>\n\n<div id=\"prog-maconnerie\">\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Henda Ghribi                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">University of Tunis<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">The \"New Veils\": A Means of Articulating Ethics and Aesthetics in Tunisian Society<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/the-new-veils-articulating-ethics-and-aesthetics-in-tunisian-society\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : The &quot;New Veils&quot;: A Means of Articulating Ethics and Aesthetics in Tunisian Society\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-43', 'Abstract : The &quot;New Veils&quot;: A Means of Articulating Ethics and Aesthetics in Tunisian Society', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-43\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>The body has a double and contradictory reality that oscillates between interior and exterior. It is both subject and object of representations and imaginaries. A psychic and physical entity that presents different modes of self-presentation.\nIslam implies a particular culture of the body that manifests itself, among other things, through clothing. Indeed, Islam presents a variety of ethical norms whose objective is to discipline this body to achieve higher spirituality. The body thus becomes a 'privileged space of discipline and self-management, but also a social showcase that displays the believer's performance.' The mode of dress then serves to communicate our relationship to religion and allows emphasis on negotiations between religious ethics on the one hand and modernity on the other.\nAppearance is, in fact, an act underpinned by several requirements and desires. On the one hand, the requirement of conformity to the dress ethics of the society in which one lives, and on the other, the desire for personalization, for self-affirmation in the act of appearing.\nIt is in this sense that we have noticed, from the 2000s onwards, the emergence of hijab wearing in Tunisian society as a dress trend that privileges modesty while valuing aesthetics. By claiming both their faith and their style, young Tunisian women seek to express their respect for Islamic ethics of modesty without renouncing taste. This dress choice is part of a concern for bodily ethics: to cover without hiding, to respect without going unnoticed. The 'new veils' thus become a medium for artistic creation, between tradition and modernity.\nCurrently, the hijab is characterized by a diversity of models and colors and an adoption of new dress styles; a 'bricolage' that veil wearers make between modern and traditional clothing, trying to conform to Quranic prescriptions. The veil, like any other garment, is exposed to multiple changes. It is open to several innovations that current fashion establishes through the reconciliation between tradition and novelty on the one hand, and openness to other cultures on the other.\nHow then is this relationship between ethics and aesthetics articulated through clothing in Tunisian society?<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-44', 'Henda Ghribi', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-44\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Holder of a doctorate in sociology and graduate of the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences of Tunis (University of Tunis), she has developed expertise focused on the analysis of contemporary social dynamics. Her doctoral training combines theoretical approaches and field research, with particular attention to institutional transformations, the recomposition of social ties, and issues of knowledge production. Her work is part of a sociology attentive to contexts, actors, and power relations, contributing to academic debate within the human and social sciences.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-auto\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-auto-45', 'Automatic translation that may contain errors', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Automatic translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-auto-45\" style=\"display:none;\"><article>\r\n    <p><strong>The \"New Veils\": A Way of Articulating Ethics and Aesthetics in Tunisian Society<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Introduction<\/h2>\r\n  <p>The body is a fundamentally ambivalent reality, situated at the intersection of subjective experience and social order. It is never a purely biological given, but a social and symbolic construction, invested with cultural meanings that structure the individual's relationship to self and to others.<\/p>\r\n  <p>In the religious sphere, and more particularly in Islam, the body is subject to a specific normative framework. These prescriptions can be understood as \"technologies of the self,\" that is, practices through which individuals act upon their bodies and conduct in order to conform to a moral and spiritual ideal. In this sense, Islamic dress norms participate in a process of bodily discipline aimed at forming a pious subject. The body thus becomes \"a privileged space for self-discipline and self-management, but also a social showcase that makes visible the believer's performance.\" Clothing becomes a site where beliefs and religious understandings are expressed.<\/p>\r\n  <p>In contemporary Tunisian society, the <em>hijab<\/em> has become increasingly visible in public space, especially since the 2000s. This visibility has been accompanied by a marked diversification of forms, styles, and uses of the veil\u2014developments that cannot be explained solely by a \"return to religion\" or by a logic of normative conformity.<\/p>\r\n  <p>The <em>hijab<\/em> is now embedded in complex dynamics at the crossroads of religious prescriptions, fashion logics, social norms of respectability, and individual strategies of self-presentation.<\/p>\r\n  <p>In this context, women's religious dress becomes a privileged site for observing transformations in the relationship to the body, faith, and modernity. This raises a central question: how are ethics and aesthetics articulated in clothing practices associated with the <em>hijab<\/em>? How do Tunisian women manage to reconcile Islamic requirements of modesty with contemporary norms of visibility, femininity, and sartorial creativity? In what ways do these practices simultaneously express forms of conformity to religious norms and active strategies of reinterpretation and appropriation? Studying the <em>hijab<\/em> thus allows us to interrogate, more broadly, the contemporary reconfigurations of religion in Tunisian social space.<\/p>\r\n  <p>Adopting a socio-anthropological approach, we seek to show how the contemporary <em>hijab<\/em> is part of a logic of self-staging in public space, where women negotiate their appearance in order to reconcile social expectations, religious norms, and the desire for recognition. The growing aestheticization of the <em>hijab<\/em> testifies to a specific form of female agency, in which adherence to religious norms does not preclude innovation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Methodology<\/h2>\r\n  <p>In order to analyze the articulation between ethics and aesthetics through wearing the <em>hijab<\/em>\u2014or what are often called the \"new veils\"\u2014in contemporary Tunisian society, this study adopts a qualitative approach, particularly suited to the investigation of symbolic practices, subjective meanings, and processes of identity construction.<\/p>\r\n  <p>The fieldwork was conducted with Tunisian women wearing the <em>hijab<\/em>, aged 18 to 40, residing mainly in Tunis, the capital. This site was chosen because of the increased visibility of the <em>hijab<\/em> in urban public space and the diversity of dress styles observed since the 2000s.<\/p>\r\n  <p>The sample was constructed through a strategy of reasoned diversification, taking into account variables such as age, educational level, occupational status, and socio-cultural milieu, in order to capture the plurality of experiences and discourses.<\/p>\r\n  <p>To gain an in-depth understanding of the meanings Tunisian women attribute to the <em>hijab<\/em> in their relationship to the body, modesty, and spirituality\u2014and of the way they negotiate tensions between religious prescriptions, social norms of respectability, and contemporary fashion logics\u2014this study relied on three research techniques:<\/p>\r\n  <ul>\r\n    <li><strong>Ethnographic observations:<\/strong> conducted in different public spaces (universities, workplaces, shopping centers, social events), enabling analysis of dress styles, social interactions, and the concrete uses of the <em>hijab<\/em> in everyday life.<\/li>\r\n    <li><strong>Semi-structured interviews:<\/strong> carried out with 15 participants, making it possible to explore individual trajectories, motivations for wearing the <em>hijab<\/em>, representations of the body, modesty and aesthetics, as well as the tensions experienced between religious and social norms.<\/li>\r\n    <li><strong>Visual analysis:<\/strong> examining photographs, social media content, and specialized shop windows in modest fashion, in order to apprehend aesthetic trends and the cultural circulations of the <em>hijab<\/em>.<\/li>\r\n  <\/ul>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Body Covered, Meanings Revealed: The <em>hijab<\/em> in Tunisian Women's Experience<\/h2>\r\n  <p>In Tunisian society, from the 2000s onward, one can observe a significant transformation in women's dress practices, marked by the emergence of reworked forms of the <em>hijab<\/em>. These new expressions of veiling are distinguished by greater attention to aesthetics, stylistic diversity, and their integration into contemporary fashion codes. The <em>hijab<\/em> thus ceases to be perceived solely as a normative religious marker and becomes a hybrid object, located at the intersection of the religious, the cultural, and the social.<\/p>\r\n  <p>From this perspective, the reworked <em>hijab<\/em> establishes a compromise between the imperatives of fashion and Islamic dress prescriptions. It resembles a style that might be described as \"baroque,\" characterized by a richness of colors, cuts, and designs, drawing both on local cultural heritage and on dress influences from other cultural worlds, Eastern and Western alike. In public space, it is not uncommon to see young women carefully made up, pairing, for instance, a long flowing skirt with a shirt and a tailored jacket. These clothing choices express an assumed coquettishness, making it possible to articulate modernity and religious references without renouncing aesthetic appeal.<\/p>\r\n  <p>The discourses collected from participants illustrate this dynamic of appropriation. Dora (25, holder of a master's degree in mathematics, single and seeking employment), veiled for two years, explains that she has maintained her previous style while integrating the <em>khimar<\/em>, ensuring at the same time that she chooses longer, looser garments. She states: \"I like being fashionable and I buy what I like and what catches my attention. I don't want to dress just anyhow.\" This testimony highlights a stylistic continuity rather than a rupture, with the veil being integrated into an already constituted clothing identity.<\/p>\r\n  <p>Similarly, among working women such as Raja (35, teacher, married) or Imen (25, holder of a master's degree in economics, single and a civil servant), trousers are preferred for their practical and functional dimension. As Imen puts it: \"Given that I work with men, I feel more comfortable wearing trousers and a long tunic; it's more practical.\" Here, clothing appears as a tool for adapting to professional space, enabling women both to respect certain norms of modesty and to meet the constraints of everyday life.<\/p>\r\n  <p>These contemporary forms of the <em>hijab<\/em> are mainly adopted by educated women, generally urban, who seek to reconcile religious commitment with adherence to modernity. This choice appears to result from an individual and reflective demarche, oriented more toward self-affirmation than toward strict submission to religious prescriptions. The plurality of veiling styles is therefore not the outcome of a uniform application of Islamic norms, but reflects personal preferences that are evolving and contextual. In this view, the veil is no longer limited to a function of concealing the body; it also participates in a renewed form of social visibility.<\/p>\r\n  <p>The adoption of these new dress forms produces a double distinction. On the one hand, veiled women distinguish themselves from unveiled women by claiming a chosen Muslim identity, free from family constraint or rigid ideological adherence. This identity affirmation crystallizes primarily around the headscarf, a symbolic element intended to cover the hair and to signify adherence to a particular interpretation of religious prescriptions concerning appearance.<\/p>\r\n  <p>On the other hand, these women also distinguish themselves from those who adopt forms of veiling deemed stricter, such as <em>al-libas al-shar'i<\/em>, the <em>'abaya<\/em>, or the <em>niqab<\/em>. By opting for more flexible and aesthetic styles, they claim an understanding of Islam perceived as more modern and open. In their view, the sacred texts\u2014the Qur'an and the Sunna\u2014do not impose a single dress model, leaving room for interpretation so long as the principles of modesty and ethics are respected.<\/p>\r\n  <p>Young veiled women thus seek to construct a self-image combining modesty, femininity, and modernity. They wish to be perceived as elegant, respectable, and sincerely practicing. Nour (22, student, veiled) remarks: \"I don't see why a veiled woman can't follow new clothing trends. Personally, I like others to find me elegant and chic; it strengthens my confidence in myself and in my decision to wear the veil.\"<\/p>\r\n  <p>However, certain clothing practices\u2014such as pairing a headscarf with very tight trousers or with form-fitting and transparent garments\u2014give the impression of a gradual loss of the <em>hijab<\/em>'s initial meaning, now perceived as a cultural object or a mere trend. This gap is underscored by Jihene (34, unveiled, married, homemaker), who says: \"I can't understand why some young women wear the veil while dressing in a very seductive way. Even though I'm not veiled, I feel more <em>mohtachma<\/em> than they are.\"<\/p>\r\n  <p>In Islamic thought, the body is conceived as the site of a permanent conflict between spiritual aspiration toward God and instincts that must be mastered. It is also the theater of virtue's triumph and a reflection of internal struggles aimed at purifying <em>al-nafs<\/em> (the soul). This purification proceeds through several stages:<\/p>\r\n  <ul>\r\n    <li><em>al-nafs al-ammara bi-l-su'<\/em> (the soul that incites to evil),<\/li>\r\n    <li><em>al-nafs al-lawwama<\/em> (the self-reproaching soul),<\/li>\r\n    <li>and finally <em>al-nafs al-mutma'inna<\/em> (the tranquil soul), considered the highest spiritual degree.<\/li>\r\n  <\/ul>\r\n  <p>Meriem's example illustrates this spiritual trajectory. Although she decided to veil with the aim of concealment and restraint, she still felt the desire to attract attention and appear beautiful, which was reflected in wearing fitted clothes and using makeup. She interprets this tension as the expression of <em>al-nafs al-ammara<\/em>, which must be subdued. Her dissatisfaction and self-reproaches correspond to the phase of <em>al-nafs al-lawwama<\/em>, prior to attaining the tranquil soul.<\/p>\r\n  <p>This spiritual process helps to explain why some participants move from fashionable veiling styles to stricter dress forms such as the <em>'abaya<\/em>, the <em>jilbab<\/em>, or the <em>niqab<\/em>. This choice aims at closer conformity to an Islamic ethics of dress centered on modesty and on a quest for coherence between outward appearance and inner journey.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Body, Modesty, and Modernity among Tunisian Women<\/h2>\r\n  <p>Clothing choices cannot be understood independently of the meanings social actors attribute to their bodies. In Islam, these meanings are largely structured by the notion of <em>'awra<\/em>, a central principle of bodily and sartorial ethics. Drawing on an analysis of Ibn al-Qattan al-Fasi's work <em>Al-Nazar fi ahkam al-nazar bi-hassat al-basar<\/em>, Eric Chaumont highlights the existence in Islam of a genuine \"deontology of the gaze\" that grounds Muslim \"dress ethics,\" according to which the body's visibility is morally and socially regulated, and the gaze is considered to carry normative effects. <em>'Awra<\/em> is defined relationally: it delineates what must be concealed depending on the nature of the social bond, especially in relation to unrelated men (<em>non-mahrams<\/em>).<\/p>\r\n  <p>Dominant juridical interpretations thus establish precise criteria for women's clothing (looseness, opacity, sobriety, absence of ostentation), embedded in a broader ethics of modesty (<em>haya'<\/em>), considered a central value of Islam and a branch of faith. Modesty, far from being a simple outward behavior, is understood as an inner moral disposition acquired through learning and orienting the whole of social, bodily, and relational practices.<\/p>\r\n  <p>In contemporary societies, this ethics of modesty also functions as an identity marker and a principle of demarcation vis-a-vis norms perceived as Western immodesty. In Tunisia, it intersects with local notions such as <em>hishma<\/em>, <em>'ib<\/em>, and <em>haram<\/em>, which frame women's behavior and contribute to the social regulation of respectability and purity.<\/p>\r\n  <p>Abu Hamid al-Ghazali's reflection on modesty (<em>haya'<\/em>) and dress ethics, developed in <em>Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din<\/em>, provides particularly fruitful conceptual tools for analyzing contemporary <em>hijab<\/em> practices. Al-Ghazali does not reduce clothing to a formal juridical prescription; rather, he situates it within an overall moral and spiritual approach grounded in intention (<em>niyya<\/em>), restraint, and the search for balance. This makes it possible to move beyond a strictly normative reading of the veil and to consider the <em>hijab<\/em> as a lived practice, in which appearance becomes the extension of an inner disposition.<\/p>\r\n  <p>For al-Ghazali, modesty is an inner virtue stemming from a constant awareness of the divine presence (<em>muraqaba<\/em>) and manifested in the way one moves, speaks, and dresses. Applied to contemporary <em>hijab<\/em> practices, this conception makes it possible to move beyond a strictly normative reading of the veil. Wearing the <em>hijab<\/em> is not reducible to applying a uniform legal rule; it is embedded in a lived experience in which outward appearance is the prolongation of an inner disposition.<\/p>\r\n  <p>Current forms of the <em>hijab<\/em> can thus be interpreted as attempts to reconcile modesty, femininity, and inscription in modernity\u2014provided that aesthetics do not tip into ostentation (<em>tabarruj<\/em>). Yet this plurality generates internal tensions: some women consider beauty and Islam compatible, while others, claiming a more rigorist interpretation, hold that contemporary <em>hijab<\/em>s do not meet the criteria of the \"true <em>hijab<\/em>\" as defined by the Qur'an and the Sunna.<\/p>\r\n  <p>Al-Ghazali's emphasis on moral intention thus sheds light on the plurality of dress practices observed today. The same <em>hijab<\/em> style may carry distinct ethical meanings depending on the wearer's motivations: spiritual affirmation, the pursuit of social respectability, a search for identity coherence, or, conversely, a desire for self-exposure. The diversity of contemporary <em>hijab<\/em>s therefore refers not only to a plurality of tastes, but also to differentiated ways of living modesty and spirituality in specific social contexts.<\/p>\r\n  <p>Finally, the Ghazalian conception of the body as a deposit entrusted by God helps us understand that the contemporary <em>hijab<\/em> does not necessarily entail the invisibilization of the female body. The body is not denied; it is framed by an ethics of restraint aimed at regulating its visibility in public space. The <em>hijab<\/em> thus appears as a mediating device between corporality, spirituality, and social order, contributing to the structuring of interactions and to the construction of a moral framework founded on respect and dignity. In light of this perspective, the contemporary <em>hijab<\/em> can be understood as an evolving ethical practice, arising from a process of interpreting and reappropriating religious norms, articulating faith, modernity, and inscription in the social world.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\r\n  <p>The contemporary <em>hijab<\/em> is part of a process of sartorial recomposition that can be analyzed as a form of symbolic \"bricolage,\" articulating traditional references and modern aesthetic codes. Far from opposing tradition and modernity in a binary fashion, this dynamic testifies to the veil's inscription within logics of cultural circulation and the globalization of fashion, in which religious norms are continually reinterpreted in light of contemporary social contexts.<\/p>\r\n  <p>Although dress norms are largely structured by religious prescriptions, their implementation nevertheless appears differentiated, varying according to individual trajectories and socio-cultural contexts. As Najoua Kefi emphasizes, these norms are never applied uniformly; rather, they are subject to multiple adaptations and appropriations.<\/p>\r\n  <p>Accordingly, the key issue lies less in the garment as an object than in the ways it is worn and the meanings attributed to it. It is these differentiated uses of the <em>hijab<\/em> that give rise to specific forms of regulating appearance, situated at the intersection of social and religious norms and exercised both by instances of authority and by individuals themselves.<\/p>\r\n<\/article><\/div>\n                    \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Cl\u00e9mence Guinot                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI), Rome<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Art Facing Authoritarian Discourses: The Contribution of Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/art-in-the-face-of-authoritarian-discourse-the-contribution-of-nasr-hamid-abu-zayd\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Art Facing Authoritarian Discourses: The Contribution of Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-46', 'Abstract : Art Facing Authoritarian Discourses: The Contribution of Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-46\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>How can we think about art in a context of religious tension? This paper will shed light on the influences that nourished Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd's reflection on art, and which ground his inscription in the reformist current. Whether it be currents of thought (Mu'tazilism, Sufism, al-Andalus heritage, modern hermeneutics) or events of his time, Abu Zayd knew how to articulate heritage and context to defend an open, dialogical, and pluralist approach. Faced with the rise of Islamisms, he maintained an ethical stance, embodied in his relationship to freedom of conscience. His thought will be put into perspective with that of Sayyid Qutb, whose transition from a sensitive literary criticism to a reductive ideological vision (hakimiyya) illustrates, for Abu Zayd, the danger of doctrinal withdrawal. Where Qutb assigns art to a moral function, Abu Zayd sees the expression of an existential need. Through his writings and his attachment to hermeneutics, he opposes any attempt to confiscate meaning. This reflection also opens, implicitly, perspectives for dialogue with certain contemporary Christian approaches to theological aesthetics.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-47', 'Cl\u00e9mence Guinot', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-47\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Clemence Guinot is an independent researcher, prison intervention specialist, and author-illustrator. Trained in Islamic studies, anthropology, and communication, she dedicated her master's thesis (PISAI, Rome) to conceptions of art in Islam according to Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd. From 2022 to 2025, she worked within prison services on combating violent radicalization, providing individual follow-up, building reintegration pathways, and facilitating cultural mediation workshops in multidisciplinary coordination. She also develops writing and visual creation activities, and is involved in educational and intercultural dialogue projects.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                        \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Emmanuel Pisani                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Dominican Institute for Oriental Studies, Cairo<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Ethics and Aesthetics in Zamalek Art Galleries: Contemporary Perspectives and Reinterpretations of Islam and Muslim Faith<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/ethics-and-aesthetics-in-the-art-galleries-of-zamalek\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Ethics and Aesthetics in Zamalek Art Galleries: Contemporary Perspectives and Reinterpretations of Islam and Muslim Faith\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-48', 'Abstract : Ethics and Aesthetics in Zamalek Art Galleries: Contemporary Perspectives and Reinterpretations of Islam and Muslim Faith', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-48\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>This paper proposes to address how the ethics and aesthetics of Islamic heritage are being reinvented in contemporary art through a case study examining exhibitions in Zamalek art galleries, Cairo's cultural epicenter. Through the exhibited works of Mohamed Hasan, Rana Chalabi, and Katherine Bakhoum in particular, we will analyze the visual expressions of Muslim spirituality and ask how Islamic heritage inspires these artists' approaches. What dialogues do they establish between tradition and modernity? How do they translate Islamic concepts into contemporary mediums? What dialogues are established between the sacred and the profane? By combining iconographic analysis with interviews conducted with actors in the field, our paper will thus question the place of Islamic faith in an artistic space perceived as secularized, thereby revealing a subtle but significant reappropriation of Islamic heritage and its resonance with contemporary ethical sensibilities.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-49', 'Emmanuel Pisani', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-49\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>A Dominican, Emmanuel Pisani holds a doctorate in philosophy (Arab studies, University of Lyon-III) and a doctorate in theology (Catholic University of Lyon). Holding a canonical licentiate in theology and a DEA in political science (IEP Bordeaux), he received the Mohammed Arkoun Prize in 2014 for a thesis in Islamic studies entitled \"Heterodox and Non-Muslims in the Thought of al-Ghazali.\" Director of the Dominican Institute for Oriental Studies (IDEO, Cairo), he teaches at the Catholic Institute of Paris, where he directed the Institute of Sciences and Theology of Religions from 2013 to 2021.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-auto\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-auto-50', 'Automatic translation that may contain errors', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Automatic translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-auto-50\" style=\"display:none;\"><article>\r\n<header>\r\n<h2>Ethics and Aesthetics in the Art Galleries of Zamalek<\/h2>\r\n<p><em>Contemporary Perspectives and Reinterpretations of Islam and Muslim Faith<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Emmanuel Pisani<\/strong><br \/>\r\nDominican Institute for Oriental Studies, Cairo<\/p>\r\n<\/header>\r\n\r\n<h3>Introduction: Zamalek as a Laboratory for an Aesthetic Islam<\/h3>\r\n<p>Since the 1960s\u20131970s, the island of Zamalek has gradually established itself as a major artistic center in Cairo. The presence of Helwan University's Faculty of Fine Arts, local and international artists, and art collectors has undoubtedly contributed to the emergence of this hub, which today includes around twenty contemporary art galleries\u2014SafarKhan, Ubuntu, Misr Gallery, ArtTalks Gallery, and others. Zamalek is not the only exhibition district: Downtown, with galleries such as Townhouse and Mashrabia, is also known for contemporary art shows. Yet while Downtown galleries played an important role during the 2011 revolution, this was not the case for those in Zamalek, whose themes and ethos appear more aestheticizing than socially and politically engaged. In that respect, the use of religion is not the same: in Downtown it is more subversive. One encounters a fragmented, ironized religiosity, hybridized with profane symbolism. It presents itself less as a spiritual horizon than as an object of inquiry\u2014particularly since 2011, when religion has been associated with a triangle of power and symbolic violence that art seeks to denounce. By contrast, Zamalek's galleries offer a different horizon. The works are less conflictual, more aesthetic than political, more meditative than critical. Why? Probably because the audience is more international\u2014Zamalek has been a residential district since the nineteenth century, and it is now the neighborhood of expatriates and embassies, whereas Downtown is more student-oriented and \"bohemian.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In this artistic space, religion is understood as an identity and aesthetic resource. The question of modernism and orientalism, once a central and fiercely debated artistic problem in the previous century, is now largely surpassed here. Artists travel and exhibit in European capitals; one can discern surrealist or minimalist influences; yet the contemporary art shown in Zamalek is hybrid, situated in-between\u2014an international aesthetic serving a local environment and local concerns. One could speak of contemporary art globalized in its forms but deeply local in its questions and obsessions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>It is within this framework that Islamic cultural codes are mobilized.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Among Zamalek's best-known galleries is SafarKhan, founded in 1968 by Roxanne Petridis. It was initially a venue for selling art objects and Islamic antiquities, until Sherwet Shafei joined the gallery in 1989 and restructured it into a reference point for Egyptian modern and contemporary art, drawing on a deep knowledge of modernist artists. The link to the modernist period is affirmed, yet the ambition is to unearth contemporary Egyptian talent. SafarKhan therefore brings together both modern and contemporary works. During Ramadan, it offers a cultural event\u2014<em>Ramadan Collective<\/em>\u2014which foregrounds more explicitly spiritual dimensions. ArtTalks, founded in 2009 by Fatenn Mostafa-Kanafani, an art historian and specialist of Egyptian modernism, promotes twentieth-century Egyptian modern art, supports emerging and mid-career contemporary artists, and above all seeks to educate the public in Egyptian art history through seminars, conferences, publications, and various mediation initiatives. Ubuntu Art Gallery opened in Zamalek in October 2014. Its curatorial strategy differs from SafarKhan's: it is not centered solely on Egyptian modernity but on an intergenerational and interdisciplinary dialogue. With its \"ubuntu\" philosophy, it highlights cultural interdependence, diversity, and sharing\u2014so that religion is integrated into social or identity-related themes. Ubuntu has exhibited works featuring spiritual motifs or references to Islam, but in a transversal, indirect way, as in exhibitions on Ramadan lanterns and on calligraphy. Zamalek also hosts around ten smaller, lesser-known yet dynamic galleries that mount regular exhibitions of painting, drawing, and visual arts\u2014Art Corner, al-Masar, Yassin Gallery, Picasso Art Gallery, and the very recent Cairo Gallery founded in 2024 by the artist and writer Ahmed Shawky Hassan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Most recently, the exhibition <em>\"Mawlana the Lover of God\"<\/em> has opened at Demi Gallery (since 10 February).<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>If SafarKhan claims an infra-spiritual dimension for each of its exhibitions, others\u2014such as Liwan Gallery\u2014do not make such a claim.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>How should one read the religious or spiritual philosophy of these galleries? If Zamalek functions as a mediating space between tradition and contemporaneity, between religious heritage and an international plastic language, between local reference and global reception, how is Islamic heritage presented there in relation to Islamic faith? Is it merely a cultural referent, or does one find an engagement with Islamic faith: the pillars of faith\u2014<em>\u012bm\u0101n<\/em>, which refer to a <em>doxa<\/em>\u2014and the pillars of Islam, which refer to <em>praxis<\/em>: the profession of faith, prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, <em>zak\u0101t<\/em>\u2026 And what of Islam's Book\u2014sacred writing\u2014and calligraphy as a major aesthetic and mystical expression of Islam?<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>For us, questioning Zamalek's art galleries and the place they grant to Islamic heritage is not incidental. The artist is always the mirror of their time. Here, the artist expresses how Islam is situated and understood in Egyptian society today\u2014articulating a vision, a relationship to the Islamic epic, a poetics, a theology. The artist is also a prophet: their message both deciphers and anticipates. As Walter Benjamin wrote, \"Each epoch dreams the one to follow,\" adding that \"it forgets to transmit its dreams.\" The artist's vocation is precisely to transmit these dreams\u2014or these nightmares. Finally, the artist is never neutral. Even if art in Zamalek is less overtly engaged than in Downtown, behind the aesthetics of an atmosphere lies an ethics: a spiritual vision, a relation to the profane, a relation to the religious, to the spiritual, to God.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>To scrutinize how Islamic heritage is invested with ethical and aesthetic meaning, we visited over the past year the various exhibitions held in Zamalek's galleries; we also consulted the galleries' websites, which archive a large share of the works exhibited over the last ten years.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>How can the results of this inquiry be summarized?<\/p>\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n<li><p>The Islamic dimension is largely a minority presence, but it is not absent; it becomes especially visible during Ramadan, with exhibitions devoted to Islamic themes, such as <em>\"Ramadan Lanterns,\"<\/em> <em>\"Dhikr,\"<\/em> or <em>\"al-Maqam.\"<\/em> Often, the cultic dimension is presented as belonging to the past. One does not see the practice of worship today; when it appears, it is as if to show the trace of what no longer exists. By contrast, Islamic symbols and architecture are mobilized to sketch a cultural environment rather than a religious one.<\/p><\/li>\r\n<li><p>The second point concerns text\u2014writing, speech\u2014in other words, calligraphy. Across the galleries one always finds calligraphic works on display; but what do they say? Which Qur\u02beanic verses are exhibited\u2014and what message? We shall see that while classical calligraphy is present, abstract calligraphy dominates: letters interweave to the point that it is not always possible to discern a text. The letter is sacred, but the word is not. The letter carries a spiritual message, separating it from any literalism that can also become idolatry: a calligraphy made of letters without a text.<\/p><\/li>\r\n<li><p>Third, ethical or political engagement on religious questions is less powerful than in Downtown, but it is still present\u2014particularly through critiques of the physical or symbolic violence associated with certain forms of Islamism.<\/p><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n\r\n<h3>Islam: More Cultural Than Religious<\/h3>\r\n<p>The notion of \"Islamic art\" has been the object of discussion and debate among art historians. In a strict sense, it would mean identifying art produced within a normative religious framework and serving a cultic function\u2014for example, fundamental elements of the mosque, or decorations specific to prayer spaces, or objects integrated into a setting with an explicitly Islamic identity. In art history, however, the category \"Islamic arts\" has more broadly designated artistic productions from societies shaped by Islamic civilization\u2014whether they express faith, political power, scientific knowledge, or a way of life. This terminological choice avoids restricting such production to a strictly confessional definition and highlights the cultural, historical, and aesthetic dimensions of works united by a common cultural horizon, marked by Arabic calligraphy, geometric and vegetal motifs, and a particular relation to ornament, writing, and space.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In Zamalek's art galleries, pictorial and sculptural production does not fit this definition\u2014even when works mobilize symbols, motifs, or scenes associated with Islam. Why? First, because these are contemporary creations produced within a globalized artistic field, where Islam is no longer an all-encompassing civilizational framework but a reservoir of signs, forms, and references. Second, the vast majority of artists exhibited in Zamalek do not work in continuity with normative artistic traditions (learned calligraphy, arts of the book, Islamic decorative arts), but rather through appropriation, displacement, or personal re-reading. Islamic motifs are often decontextualized and hybridized with international plastic languages (abstraction or photography), and are thus freed from their ritual or institutional functions. Moreover, these works aim neither at a cultic function nor at a normative representation of faith. Islam rarely appears as a coherent doctrinal or cosmological system; it is more often invoked as cultural memory, symbolic horizon, or poetic material. We are therefore dealing with an expressive and reflexive approach, not the production of an art embedded in a continuous religious tradition. Finally, Zamalek's very framework\u2014private galleries, the contemporary art market, the international circulation of works\u2014places these productions within a global economy and reception foreign to the historical logics of Islamic arts. Islam becomes one language among others, not the structuring matrix of artistic form.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In this sense, Zamalek's works belong less to \"Islamic arts\" than to contemporary art that works with an Islamic referent\u2014hence the fundamental gap between their status and the classical museum definition of the arts of Islam. One might speak of a reconfiguration of Islamic aesthetics.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Among the resources and signs present, one naturally finds the question of the human relation to God: Who is God? What do I know of Him? While this question is mainly addressed through calligraphy, a painting by Omar El Nagdi (1931\u20132019), currently exhibited (January 2026) at al-Masar gallery, expresses that God is light\u2014He who illuminates the heavens and the earth. The painting is titled <em>All\u0101h N\u016br al-Sam\u0101w\u0101t wa-l-Ar\u1e0d<\/em>; yet far from a solar light, it conveys the harshness of the believer's relation to this God of light, in a manner characteristic of Sufism.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Omar El Nagdi (1931\u20132019) \u2014 al-Masar<br\/>\u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0646\u0648\u0631 \u0627\u0644\u0633\u0645\u0648\u0627\u062a \u0648 \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0631\u0636<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The painting appears almost mineral: the material is thick, rough, gouged. Against this ochre ground, akin to desert stone, the calligraphic inscription emerges\u2014\u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0646\u0648\u0631 \u0627\u0644\u0633\u0645\u0648\u0627\u062a \u0648\u0627\u0644\u0623\u0631\u0636, \"God is the light of the heavens and the earth.\" Yet rather than a luminous or celestial aesthetic, light appears here only through matter's struggle with shadow. The lower forms reveal no face, no body: the human being seems swallowed by the earth. Nothing is fluid; everything is heavy, hampered, almost painful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The contrast is radical: the Qur\u02beanic word affirms universal light, yet the painting shows the opacity of the path toward it. Light is not given as immediate clarity; it is sought in darkness, extracted from a thickness of night. Here the painting touches Sufi experience: not easy illumination, but asceticism, an erosion of the self, a slow disintegration of the ego's forms. Divine light does not abolish the hardness of existence; it passes through it, works it, burns it. The verse is not illustrated but interpreted: God is light, yet for the human being that light is first a trial. It reveals by consuming, purifies by abrasion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>A second dimension to probe is prayer. What is striking\u2014and what contrasts with certain typical orientalist paintings\u2014is that prayer is not presented in a canonical form. One sees worshippers, but it is a Sufi prayer practiced with a <em>misbaha<\/em>, as in the work of the painter Mamdouh Ammar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Mamdouh Ammar (1928\u20132012), ArtTalks, 2016.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Here one notices that the <em>misbaha<\/em> does not have 33 beads and that the red bead carries no particular meaning. The painter sees and depicts a prayer, but he does not master its codes\u2014or he expresses the loss of those codes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>With Ibrahim Khattab, we encounter a calligraphic work entitled <em>Prophet's Prayer<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Ibrahim Khattab, Prophet's Prayer, 2021.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The letters of the <em>\u1e63al\u0101t \u02bfal\u0101 al-nab\u012b<\/em> intertwine until they form a central presence, as though the word itself were giving birth to the prophetic figure. One can scarcely distinguish the text; the repetition proper to <em>dhikr<\/em> transforms the phrase into vibration, shifting from language to presence. The frontal mass then acts like a <em>barzakh<\/em>, a site of intersection between the invisible flow of the Word and its crystallization in the sensible world. The swirling fiery reds and blue-greens simultaneously suggest the burning love and the universal mercy attributed to Mu\u1e25ammad. The prayer upon the Prophet thus appears not as a simple homage but as a participation in a \"Mu\u1e25ammadan reality\" that inwardly shapes the one who pronounces it. The painting does not represent a text; it shows what happens when the word descends into being, until the human person becomes a living calligraphy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>It is also worth noting that the mass representing Mu\u1e25ammad resembles the dome (<em>hubba<\/em>) of a mosque.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Another praying figure appears in the dervishes of Rana Chalabi, exhibited at SafarKhan in 2022.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Rana Chalabi, Dervish Mint, 2022.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Chalabi's canvas does not depict a mere dancer but the body's quest toward a spiritual orbit: the dervish becomes the axis around which movement is organized. The erased face expresses <em>fan\u0101\u02be<\/em>, the disappearance of the ego sought in <em>sam\u0101\u02bf<\/em>. The vertical headdress seeks to connect heaven, while the circular skirt figures the created world\u2014making the dancer a true <em>barzakh<\/em>, a spiritual mediator between this world and the next, between the visible and the invisible. The sober yet vibrant colors convey a mastered inner intoxication rather than emotional ecstasy. The painting shows that the human being becomes a center not by self-assertion but by allowing oneself to be traversed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In another work from 2024, <em>Dervish Cream<\/em>:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Rana Chalabi, Dervish Cream, SafarKhan, 2024.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The contrast with the previous representation is immediate: the face appears, slightly inclined upward, eyes closed, as if seized in an inhabited interiority. Whereas the first dervish figured the pure effacement of <em>fan\u0101\u02be<\/em>, this one manifests <em>baq\u0101\u02be<\/em>, \"subsistence\" after extinction. Something of the subject returns, but transfigured. The intense red of the <em>sikke<\/em> introduces a spiritual warmth, almost an inner ember, where the other canvas remained in sobriety. The circular movement remains cosmic, but it no longer abolishes the person; it carries the person, as if consciousness now participates in the rotation instead of dissolving in it. Chalabi thus moves from a mysticism of effacement to a mysticism of inhabited presence: no longer only the human being traversed by God, but the human being awakened in God.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Pilgrimage is also evoked, but we found it only as a nostalgic expression of the period when Egypt produced the <em>kiswa<\/em>, the black cloth draped over the Ka\u02bfba during the pilgrimage\u2014before production was ensured, from 1962 onward, by Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Ahmed Saber offers a painting exhibited in 2024.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Ahmed Saber, Al Kiswa, 2024, SafarKhan Gallery, November 2024.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>He juxtaposes two symbolic registers. Above, fruits (apples) float among translucent veils suggesting abundance, blessing, and the promise of life. Set in an almost unreal space, they represent a spiritual or mythical world, the invisible source of what nourishes human beings. Below, men carrying the covering, dressed in white and wearing red <em>tarb\u016bsh<\/em>, embody collective ritual and the transmission of the sacred. The white clothing and <em>tarb\u016bsh<\/em> assert Egyptian cultural identity. The work thus stages a dialogue between spiritual gift and human effort in pilgrimage, nature and tradition, showing that this pillar of Islam rests at once on what is received and on what is carried together. Yet the painting, made in 2024, is also nostalgic: the scene belongs to a world that no longer exists.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>A further question arises: by calling the painting <em>al-Kiswa<\/em>, the artist signals the erosion of the meaning of words. The men are not carrying the <em>kiswa<\/em>\u2014a black cloth\u2014but the <em>man\u1e25al<\/em>, a secondary, ornamented fabric not produced by Egypt; and one can make out the <em>mahmal<\/em>, a richly decorated ceremonial palanquin carried at the head of Egypt's pilgrimage caravan, which accompanied the <em>kiswa<\/em> but never covered the Ka\u02bfba.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Another example of pilgrimage painted by Ahmed Saber, in a very different style:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Ahmed Saber, Paon Manhal, 2021, SafarKhan exhibition \"Al-Maqam\" (2022).<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In an expression that is at once surreal and mystical, the camel is replaced by the peacock, which in Islamic symbolism evokes the fall, pride, nostalgia for paradise, and a wounded <em>fi\u1e6dra<\/em>. The colors give the scene both its desert-like and its vintage atmosphere.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Beyond these paintings that draw on the pillars of Islam, the Islamic referent is mostly tied to memory and history. It points to a heritage visuality, to a Muslim Egyptian identity, before it becomes a specifically confessional, exhortative, or Islamically normative representation. The works depict an atmosphere anchored in Islamic history; they show medieval Cairo, yet the viewer remains outside the mosques. These mosques are part of an environment, the trace of a history, but the viewer does not inhabit them. One example is the work of Hend Hegazy exhibited at Yassin Art Gallery.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Hend Hegazy, 2023.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Her works unfold within an Egyptian, Arab cultural context: monumental minarets, a colorful and sensitive local atmosphere, but without explicit religious manifestation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>With Hebah Nabeih, we find a painting that revisits the temporality of Islamic Cairo.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Maze of Life.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>With <em>Maze of Life<\/em>, she shows how a poetics of time dialogues with the city's cultural and spiritual referent and with Islam. One can see a kind of labyrinth that suggests the complexity of choices, detours, and unforeseen moments that traverse an existence, of which the medieval city is the symbol. In this sense, time is not simply chronological; it is qualitative. The viewer is invited to perceive\u2014or half-perceive\u2014passages, bifurcations, repetitions, and pauses, as so many stages of a lived life. It is a departure, a human journey\u2014inevitable\u2014in which each choice, each detour, each ordeal carries value and meaning: a necessary passage before finding the <em>\u1e63ir\u0101\u1e6d al-mustaq\u012bm<\/em>, the straight path.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>With <em>Another Moon<\/em>:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Nabeih, Another Moon.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Nabeih does not depict a calendar or a specific religious event, but a repeated full moon that establishes a cyclical temporality, resonant with implicit Islamic markers. She expresses both return and continuity\u2014yet another moon\u2014and transformation and novelty\u2014it is another moon. The cosmic and temporal cycle recalls the Islamic lunar calendar and the ritual experience of time as something that returns and renews itself. Minarets and domes function as landmarks in the maze of life, guiding through pictorial time and space. Here mosques are not invoked to represent the call to prayer or the place of worship; they operate rather as architectural and poetic symbols. They anchor the landscape within an Islamic world and give it a precise cultural horizon (Islamic Cairo). At the same time, the cyclical moon rises above these sites of worship, reminding us that natural time and religious time answer one another and overlap.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>With Fathy Afifi:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Fathy Afifi, Ubuntu Gallery, October 2025.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>We enter a culturally Islamic universe, walking through the city. At the turn of streets and gates, we discover its inhabitants\u2014its worshippers, here its sleepers. Yet mosques remain landscapes that overlook life; they are not places of life. One does not enter them. We are not in the place where canonical prayer is performed. The only prayer repeatedly exposed across several exhibitions and by different artists is that of the dervishes in their rounds, or that of a Sufi praying while playing the flute.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In the 2025 exhibition <em>\"People and the City\"<\/em> at Demi Artgallery, Youssef Mekawy presents an Islamic urban universe in which all creation participates in festivity and dance\u2014human beings, animals, and angels alike.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Youssef Mekawy, Demi Artgallery, 2025, exhibition \"People and City.\"<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>We see a vibrant and dynamic scene, where color and abstract, symbolic forms intertwine to create a dialogue among the human, animal, and spiritual worlds. A multitude of stylized human figures appears, along with landscape elements, houses, mosque domes, animals, and subtler evocations of transcendence through spiritual symbols. It is an art that pays tribute to the human figure by representing it in the form of <em>alif<\/em>s\u2014the symbol of unity, verticality, and spirituality. By transforming people into <em>alif<\/em>s, Mekawy gives each individual a spiritual dimension, suggesting that every human being is part of a greater whole, an integral part of the divine totality. The mixture of warm colors (yellow, orange, red) and geometric forms evokes elements of Islamic architecture, particularly tilework patterns, often associated with places of worship and spiritual reflection. These shapes allow Mekawy to link people to their cultural and architectural environment while remaining within a free abstraction. Animals (gazelles, birds) and figures that seem like angels add a cosmic dimension. Birds, for example, often symbolize the soul seeking transcendence\u2014a recurring theme in Islamic art where spiritual elevation is central. They may also evoke Qur\u02beanic verses or Islamic concepts such as the mystical journey (the <em>mi\u02bfr\u0101j<\/em> of Mu\u1e25ammad), or spiritual creatures close to the divine. Angels, as intermediaries between the divine and the human, reinforce this link between earth and heaven, between the human and the sacred. The city here is celebrated as a place of festivity, joy, freedom: an exuberant exteriority rather than a silent interiority\u2014a search for the divine through bodily expression.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In the same exhibition, Gamal Maleka (2023):<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Gamal Maleka, Demi Artgallery, \"People and the City,\" 2023.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This urban scene is marked by a crowd that seems to move or gather in public space, oriented toward the city's heart. The mosque is clearly evoked, with a majestic dome and minarets rising into the sky. The blurred contours of the mosque can be read as a metaphor for the vulnerability of traditions under the pressures of time and modernity. Represented here in an almost washed-out manner, the mosque seems to suggest that Islamic religious and cultural heritage is not as stable as one might think. It may also reflect the challenge of preserving the integrity of that heritage. The color contrast between the grey mosque and the warm tones of modern buildings and the crowd reinforces the idea of a sharp separation between yesterday and today\u2014a temporal distance and discontinuity between a religious world of the past and the city's present reality. The people are in motion, as if in a pilgrimage, heading toward the sacred.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>Calligraphy, or Sacred Writing Decomposed<\/h3>\r\n<p>This colloquium highlighted the importance of calligraphy in Islamic art, as an expression of transcendence and through the aesthetic it deploys to reach the depth of sacred speech. It is doubtless through calligraphy that Zamalek's galleries most clearly reveal their anchoring in Islamic heritage. Many of them make room for it, and Picasso Gallery regularly exhibits renowned Cairo calligraphers. Exhibitions themselves also become spaces where calligraphy is unfolded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>At the exhibition <em>Dhikr<\/em>, for example, one finds calligraphic works by Mohammad Hassan:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Mohammad Hassan, 2010 \u2014 \"Bismillah.\"<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p><em>Mohammed Hassan, 2024 \u2014 S\u016brat al-Ikhl\u0101\u1e63.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Alongside classical calligraphy that respects established criteria, one also finds abstract calligraphy\u2014such as certain works by Ibrahim Khattab.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Ibrahim Khattab, Abstract Calligraphy, 2022.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The calligraphy resembles a <em>h\u0101\u02be<\/em>, a <em>m\u012bm<\/em>, an inverted <em>w\u0101w<\/em>, and a <em>r\u0101\u02be<\/em> or perhaps a <em>t\u0101\u02be marb\u016b\u1e6da<\/em>, but it carries no meaning. It is a warm, colorful expression, purely aesthetic\u2014or aestheticizing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The same is true of the following calligraphies:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Ibrahim Khattab, Abstract Calligraphy, 2017 \u2014 no semantic content.<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p><em>Ibrahim Khattab, Abstract Calligraphy, 2024.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Sometimes one can make out a word, as here: <em>\u02bfab\u012br<\/em>, \"fragrance.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Ibrahim Khattab, Abstract Calligraphy, 2015 \u2014 \u02bfab\u012br: fragrance.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>During the 2025 Ramadan exhibition <em>Dhikr<\/em>, Mohammad Hassan exhibited the following work at SafarKhan:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Mohammad Hassan, \"\u062e\u0637 \u0645\u0639\u0627\u0635\u0631\" (Contemporary Calligraphy), 2023, shown at SafarKhan (Dhikr, 2025).<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In this contemporary calligraphy, one can sense the <em>shah\u0101da<\/em>, but it no longer appears as a readable sentence; it becomes a field of forces. The letters are still there\u2014strokes, curves, the thrust of the <em>l\u0101m-alif<\/em>, the breathing of the <em>h\u0101\u02be<\/em>\u2014but they no longer allow themselves to be deciphered: they intertwine, overlap, disperse in a continuous movement that dissolves the boundary between writing and texture. The eye recognizes a sacred text, but can no longer pronounce it. We are no longer in reading; we are in presence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Theologically, the gesture is decisive. The <em>shah\u0101da<\/em> is normally the clearest of utterances: it distinguishes, affirms, cuts\u2014there is no god but God. It establishes separation between the true and the false, the worshipped and the idol. Here, however, graphic distinction disappears. Words melt into a visual unity that no longer lets the elements of the phrase appear. Writing ceases to be informative and becomes ontological: it no longer says oneness; it makes oneness felt.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The work thus translates plastically a classic shift in spiritual theology: from discourse about oneness to experience of oneness. As long as the phrase is legible, consciousness stands before it; when the letters fuse, the gaze can no longer analyze\u2014it must inhabit. The intellect loses its distinctive bearings and is led toward a unitive perception. Calligraphy then functions as an apophatic pedagogy: God is affirmed through the profession of faith, but His unity exceeds any literary expression. The eye searches for words and finds only a movement without beginning or end, as if speech were returning to the silent source from which it comes. One could say that the painting stages the very limit of religious language. The <em>shah\u0101da<\/em> remains\u2014it is neither erased nor denied\u2014but it is rendered nearly indecipherable to signify that divine oneness cannot be possessed by the formulation that proclaims it. Writing no longer teaches; it absorbs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>With Aly Sirry, we find the same theme:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Aly Sirry, 2017, exhibition \"Calm Chaos,\" ArtTalks.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The work presents an abstract, dense, gestural calligraphy, dominated by dynamic red strokes on a light ground, structured by a textured grey rectangle. Legibility is deliberately broken: we are faced with writing liberated from its linguistic function. The signs clearly evoke the Arabic alphabet, but they are fragmented, stretched, superimposed. Calligraphy no longer carries verbal meaning; it becomes rhythm, movement, and matter. The forms sometimes appear incised or scratched, intensifying a sense of urgency and tension\u2014typical of Aly Sirry's approach: using writing as a visual structure rather than as a readable message. The grey rectangle offers a stark contrast: it introduces a zone of silence, almost neutral. It can be read as a censored space, an absence of speech, or a meditative pause before the chaos of signs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>At Demi Artgallery, Antonella Leoni's papyrus exhibition brings together calligraphy and the dervish.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Demi Artgallery, Antonella Leoni, 2025.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This work by Antonella Leoni, made on papyrus, combines Arabic calligraphy and a dancing figure in a composition of strong spiritual resonance. The blue calligraphy\u2014legible and fluid\u2014provides visual and symbolic stability, evoking wisdom and sacred speech. The dervish's silhouette, sketched and almost dissolved into the material, embodies movement, inner quest, and mystical surrender. The textured papyrus ground, with its aged tones and irregular traces, reinforces the idea of memory and temporality. The work creates a harmonious dialogue between writing, body, and matter, where spirituality is lived as much through gesture as through word.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Antonella Leoni, Demi Artgallery, 2025.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This papyrus painting stages the <em>shah\u0101da<\/em> through monumental calligraphy dominated by the word <em>huwa<\/em> (\"He\"), which refers to divine oneness. The intense red expresses the force of faith and spiritual intensity, while the textured ground, with its diffuse hues, evokes an ancient support loaded with memory. The small black inscriptions, repeated like a whisper, create a litany effect that reinforces the work's meditative and sacred dimension. The composition favors movement and verticality, transforming religious speech into a living pictorial gesture. The artist thus fuses calligraphic tradition with a contemporary plastic language to offer a sensitive, inward reinterpretation of Islamic creed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>We are therefore faced with a mystical, Sufi-oriented aesthetic turned toward God\u2014one in which calligraphy oscillates between classical forms and abstraction.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>What, then, of artists' engagement with a particular vision of Islam?<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>Artists Committed to Critiquing Traditionalism and Despiritualization<\/h3>\r\n<p>In the introduction, I noted that Downtown galleries are more engaged than those of Zamalek from a political standpoint. In 2025, for example, one could see a photographic exhibition devoted to Gaza, whereas in Zamalek there was no allusion to the war in Palestine. Yet political engagement in relation to religious questions is not absent here\u2014particularly with regard to Islamist violence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Kareem El Qurity's painting <em>\"The Golden Imam\"<\/em> is significant in this respect.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Kareem El Qurity \u2014 \u0643\u0631\u064a\u0640\u0645 \u0627\u0644\u0640\u0642\u0640\u0631\u064a\u0640\u0637\u064a, El Imam.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Kareem El Qurity was born in Cairo in 1982 and graduated in painting from Helwan University in Egypt. In this work, the figure is the imam Mu\u1e25ammad \u1e24usayn al-Dhahab\u012b (1915\u20131977), an al-Azhar scholar and recognized specialist of <em>tafs\u012br<\/em>, who served as Egypt's Minister of Awq\u0101f (Religious Endowments) and authored, among other works, <em>Al-Tafs\u012br wa-l-Mufassir\u016bn<\/em>, a standard reference on the history of Qur\u02beanic exegesis. In July 1977, he was kidnapped and murdered by the extremist group <em>Takf\u012br wa-l-Hijra<\/em>, which he had criticized and which considered him a symbol of al-Azhar's institutional Islam\u2014an institution the movement violently rejected. The golden background refers to the epithet <em>al-Dhahab\u012b<\/em>, which literally means \"the Golden\" \/ \"of gold.\" The work is thus a tribute to an imam who became a victim of violence. The artist was born five years after the events, but he documented them, and his painting also reveals the density of his culture.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Another theme is Islam and secularization. The question of secularization re-emerged with renewed acuity during COVID, which emptied houses of worship and suspended <em>m\u016blids<\/em>. In a 2022 exhibition entitled <em>al-Maqam<\/em>\u2014which the gallery loosely translated as \"from ascension to illumination\"\u2014Ahmed Saber (born in 1987) expresses an anxiety: the erasure of Islamic customs and beliefs. He articulates the desire to commemorate the <em>mawlid<\/em>s, beginning with that of the Prophet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Ahmed Saber, Al-Mouled, SafarKhan exhibition, 2022.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The <em>m\u016blid<\/em> appears here as a time of celebration and play\u2014a suspension of ordinary life in which collective joy, popular sociability, and religious expression are woven together. The presence, on the left, of a woman dressed in black introduces a visual and symbolic dissonance. Turning her back to the rides and the festive space, she stands at a distance from the celebration. The body and the direction of the gaze become meaning-bearing operators. By turning away from the festival\u2014and, by extension, from the playful and communal dimension of the ritual\u2014the female figure materializes a rupture with the religiosity of <em>m\u016blid<\/em>s. The black garment, contrasted with the celebration's chromatic liveliness, participates in a visual economy of opposition: it inscribes the figure in a register of withdrawal, closure, and refusal. The face, as the painter shows it, is not merely individual expressivity; it gives form to what one might call an \"ideological affect\"\u2014a normalized sadness produced by a rigorist and disenchanted reading of religion. The <em>m\u016blid<\/em> thus appears as a site of knowledge and tension, where struggles over the legitimate definition of \"religion\" become visible. The painter condenses a critique of Salafi ideology, known for denouncing <em>m\u016blid<\/em>s as illegitimate or deviant practices.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In another painting, Ahmed Saber depicts the Islamic sociability implied by the <em>m\u016blid<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Ahmed Saber, Before al-Mouled, 2021, SafarKhan exhibition \"al-Maqam.\"<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In this painting, Sufi friendship is not merely represented; it is offered as a relational experience. The scene renders visible a form of spiritual sociality in which bonds among Sufis are built in and through the ritual preparation for the festival. The green background functions as a major symbolic operator: it inscribes the <em>m\u016blid<\/em> within an Islamic horizon while opening an eschatological dimension, recalling at once sanctity, hope, and the continuity of the invisible world.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The ritual shown by the painter is not the strict purification that precedes canonical prayer, but an aesthetics of the body: grooming and self-preparation\u2014shaving\u2014appear as relational gestures performed in a logic of mutuality and friendship. Here shaving is not ascetic but ordering: it participates in a bodily beauty that becomes a site of mediation for spiritual and social bonds, a space where ethics, aesthetics, and communal belonging are articulated. The <em>m\u016blid<\/em> can then be thought as a time of co-presence, sharing, and mutual recognition, where friendship constitutes a central modality of religious life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In the contemporary context marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and the state's ban on <em>m\u016blid<\/em>s, this representation takes on a critical force. What is at stake is not only the defense of a ritual practice, but the illumination of the potential loss of a form of Islamic solidarity. The disappearance of the <em>m\u016blid<\/em> would then appear as an assault on the very conditions of production and transmission of social and spiritual bonds, revealing how deeply ritual is a site of knowledge, relation, and cohesion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Finally, a last painting, by Mohamed Taman, addresses the relationship between women, Islam, and culture. Its title is <em>Cello under the Veil<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Mohamed Taman, Cello under the Veil.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Here we find an engaged art that uses the full-body female garment to pose a question and provoke reflection through a paradox: a fully veiled woman\u2014reduced to a faceless silhouette, without eyes\u2014occupies the space, while between her gloved hands appears a stringed instrument whose golden surface becomes the only area of light and almost the sole place of expression. Everything in the figure signals closure: the <em>niq\u0101b<\/em> abolishes physiognomy, effaces the reciprocity of the gaze, withdraws from the body its social and expressive dimension; the black gloves, by preventing direct contact with the strings, make musical execution technically impossible. And yet the paradox is that it is precisely from this impeded body that the music that should be impossible seems to arise\u2014if one follows a radical Salafi ideology. The painting thus organizes a series of reversals: what should speak\u2014the face\u2014falls silent, and the instrument becomes the woman's true voice; the opaque material of the garment encloses, yet the instrument gives back an opening and a freedom. Visible constraint allows an invisible freedom to appear. Even if her skin, gaze, and touch are hidden, she plays. The work stages a radical paradox of freedom: it resides in an inner presence irreducible to external conditions. If the painter asks whether inner expression can be prevented\u2014whether inner musicality can be stopped by external constraint\u2014his answer is clearly no.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This surprising painting is therefore, in my view, a way of associating freedom with a traditionalist Islam\u2014against what such an Islam would claim.<\/p>\r\n<\/article><\/div>\n                    \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" >\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\">11:30am-12pm<\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Discussion with the audience            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" >\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\">12pm-12:30pm<\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Break            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n<h6 id=\"axe2-panel2-s1\" style=\"font-weight: bold;\">12:30pm-2pm - Panel 2 | Chair : Ali Mostfa<\/h6>\n<h6>Room 1<\/h6>\n\n<div id=\"prog-maconnerie\">\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Laure Zeghad                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">University of Rouen, France<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Poetics and Aesthetics of Transgression in The Forty Rules of Love: The Body, Music and the Figure of the Sufi Poet<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/poetics-and-aesthetics-of-transgression-in-the-forty-rules-of-love-the-body-music-and-the-figure-of-the-sufi-poet\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Poetics and Aesthetics of Transgression in The Forty Rules of Love: The Body, Music and the Figure of the Sufi Poet\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-51', 'Abstract : Poetics and Aesthetics of Transgression in The Forty Rules of Love: The Body, Music and the Figure of the Sufi Poet', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-51\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Dans Soufi, mon amour, roman publi\u00e9 en 2010, Elif Shafak constitue plusieurs temporalit\u00e9s narratives et construit un espace o\u00f9 s'entrelacent cr\u00e9ation artistique et spiritualit\u00e9&nbsp;: quel est l'h\u00e9ritage du po\u00e8te Rumi et de la spiritualit\u00e9 musulmane du XIIIe si\u00e8cle \u00e0 aujourd'hui&nbsp;? \u00c0 travers la figure de Rumi et celle de son guide Shams de Tabriz, le roman exp\u00e9rimente une r\u00e9flexion sur la puissance de l'esth\u00e9tique, notamment par le biais de la danse, de la musique et de la po\u00e9sie, face aux interdictions de l'Islam, son histoire et son patrimoine.\nDans cette communication, nous proposons d'analyser la tension entre l'esth\u00e9tique (entendue ici comme une repr\u00e9sentation et une pratique artistique) et les contraintes religieuses au sein du roman. De quelle mani\u00e8re la figure du po\u00e8te soufi incarne-t-elle une posture esth\u00e9tique et \u00e9thique encore \u00e9clairante aujourd'hui&nbsp;? Comment la danse des derviches tourneurs et la po\u00e9sie peuvent-elles \u00eatre encore des formes de r\u00e9sistance&nbsp;? Quels enjeux culturels soul\u00e8ve cette repr\u00e9sentation dans la litt\u00e9rature contemporaine, notamment pour un lectorat occidental, l'autrice \u00e9crivant en turc et en anglais des romans tr\u00e8s largement diffus\u00e9s en Europe et aux \u00c9tats-Unis&nbsp;?\nNous explorerons les dimensions esth\u00e9tiques de l'\u0153uvre tel que le corps dansant comme un vecteur d'\u00e9l\u00e9vation spirituelle, la musique comme un langage mystique ainsi que la parole po\u00e9tique comme lieu de transmission du divin. \u00c0 travers ces formes, Soufi, mon Amour interroge l'\u00e9quilibre fragile entre respect des croyances et libert\u00e9 cr\u00e9atrice, dans un contexte o\u00f9 l'esth\u00e9tique est toujours travers\u00e9e par des enjeux religieux, politiques et identitaires.\nCette analyse mettra en lumi\u00e8re les rapports complexes entre l'\u00e9thique, l'art et la religion, tout en questionnant la place du sacr\u00e9 dans une \u0153uvre litt\u00e9raire.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-52', 'Laure Zeghad', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-52\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Holding a bachelor's degree (2020) and a master's in modern literature with honors from the University of Rouen (2022), this doctoral student in comparative literature has been conducting since 2023 a thesis on \"The Algerian War in Theater: Through Memories and Descendants.\" Alongside her research, she teaches French: home tutor at Acadomia since 2020, teacher at College des Ormeaux (Le Havre) since September 2024, and lecturer at the University of Le Havre from September to December 2024. A French native speaker, she is fluent in Spanish (C1) and Italian (B2), with basic knowledge of English (A2) and Arabic (A1). Her interests include literature, theater, the arts, and travel.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-auto\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-auto-53', 'Automatic translation that may contain errors', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Automatic translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-auto-53\" style=\"display:none;\"><article>\r\n<h2>Ethics and Aesthetics of Islam in <em>The Forty Rules of Love<\/em><\/h2>\r\n<p><em>Rumi, Shams, and the Poetics of Spiritual Transformation<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p>Laure Zeghad<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>The Forty Rules of Love<\/em> (French: <em>Soufi, mon amour<\/em>) entered my life the way Shams of Tabriz entered Rumi's: suddenly. The book passed from hand to hand before landing in mine. Then, a few days later, I came across a call for papers: \"Ethics and Aesthetics in Islamic Heritage.\" Elif Shafak's novel immediately seemed the obvious choice. The novel offers a fictional retelling of the encounter between the poet Rumi and the Sufi dervish Shams of Tabriz, while linking this medieval story to a contemporary narrative centered on Ella. Ella functions as a narrative device through which a Western reception of Sufism is staged.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Drawing on references to the Qur'an and to mystical poetry, the novel questions the place of Sufism in the Western imagination while advancing a vision of spirituality grounded in inner transformation, tolerance, love, and conflict. Far from any dogmatic discourse, <em>The Forty Rules of Love<\/em> brings ethics and aesthetics together as inseparable dimensions of a single search for meaning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Ella embodies the \"ideal\" woman: a committed mother, she runs the household, takes care of her children (perhaps too much), and prepares home-cooked dinners every evening. She invests herself fully in her life\u2014yet she is bored. Regretting that she cannot work, she becomes an assistant to an assistant at a publishing house. One day, her supervisor sends her a manuscript: she must read it and write a summary. Strangely, the story of Shams and Rumi moves her, and she contacts its author, Aziz. From that precise moment, Ella's life takes an unexpected turn: Shams's Sufism upends her contemporary values, and Aziz's charm does so as well. The story of Shams and Ella unfolds in parallel, on different timelines. Unwittingly, Shams and Rumi affect Ella's life in all its dimensions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>How does the figure of the Sufi poet embody an aesthetic and ethical stance? How do the whirling dervishes' dance and poetry become forms of resistance? What cultural stakes does this representation raise in contemporary literature, especially for a Western readership?<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The novel sustains a constant dialogue between a Sufi spiritual ethics and its aesthetic embodiment, offering a unified vision of Islam grounded in the transformation of the self and in poetic experience\u2014thus creating a Sufi aesthetic. Aesthetics here does not appear as decorative narration, but as an ethical vector granting access to an embodied and transmissible spirituality.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>I. Religious and Historical References: The Novel as a Bridge<\/h2>\r\n<p>In an interview for Radio France, Eric Geoffroy suggested that \"Islam was lived as a whole: of course there was, above all, the spiritual dimension, since a religion without a spiritual message is no longer a religion but an ideology; and therefore the esoteric, spiritual dimension was lived together with the ethical dimension\" (Geoffroy 2014). This observation should be taken up in order to highlight the many religious references mobilized by Elif Shafak. Religion is not dissociated from spirituality; the two converge to convey a message.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>1. Rumi and Shams: between myth-making and historicity<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>The relationship between Rumi and Shams of Tabriz belongs to a literary and spiritual tradition that exceeds strict historicity to reach a mythic dimension\u2014much like other foundational narratives of love, from Aristophanes' myth to the figures of Orpheus and Eurydice. The story of Shams and Rumi is presented as a transformative event capable of crossing cultures and centuries.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>From the beginning of Aziz's manuscript, the novel explains their meeting to the reader: in 1244, the two souls encountered each other and upended one another's lives\u2014\"it also marked the beginning of a strong and unique friendship that Sufis of later centuries have compared to the union of two oceans\" (Shafak 2010, trans. D. Letellier, Kindle ed., p. 29). Rumi\u2014relegated to the rank of an \"average cleric\"\u2014moves toward an engaged mysticism. Great figures, such as the apothecary and perfumer Farid al-Din 'Attar, discern in him a man of importance: \"this boy will open a door in the heart of love and kindle a flame in the hearts of all mystical lovers\" (Shafak 2010, p. 29). The spiritual bond that unites them exceeds any simple master\u2013disciple relationship. It is a spiritual communication that transcends body, language, and even the dream world.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In this way, the novel reconfigures the master\u2013disciple relation as a universal model of transformation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>2. The Qur'an and exegesis<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p><em>The Forty Rules of Love<\/em> is interwoven with many references to the Qur'an. These are not mobilized in a normative perspective; rather, they serve as supports for a spiritual and symbolic reading of the sacred text.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Adam's name, for example, is invoked to speak of human beings on earth: \"The children of Adam have been honored with such great knowledge that neither mountains nor skies could bear it\u2026 That is why the Qur'an says: 'We offered the trust to the heavens, the earth, and the mountains; they refused to bear it and were afraid of it, but man undertook it.' Having assumed so honorable a position, human beings should not aim lower than what God intended for them\" (Shafak 2010, p. 141).<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Elsewhere: \"Moses was an exemplary man\u2026 But there was a time when he greatly needed a companion to open his third eye, and that companion was none other than Khidr\" (Shafak 2010, p. 272). The presence of Moses or Khidr inscribes the narrative in a spiritual continuity while emphasizing the importance of inner transmission. This episode functions as an explicit parallel to the relationship between Shams and Rumi: the spiritual guide is not the one who possesses knowledge, but the one who opens the inner eye.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Finally, the novel suggests that religious wars stem largely from a \"linguistic problem\" (Shafak 2010, p. 211). The Tower of Babel exemplifies this: misunderstanding arises from a linguistic failure\u2014an inability to move beyond literal meaning toward a symbolic and ethical understanding of the religious message.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In sum, the novel argues that religious conflict is born of misunderstanding.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>3. Religious plurality in the novel<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>The novel stages a religious plurality deeply anchored in its historical setting: a space of cohabitation among Muslims, Christians, and Jews. Difference is not presented as an obstacle but as a spiritual richness.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The character Kerra suggests that if everyone ate the same way, sang together, shared the same superstitions, and dreamed the same dreams at night, the world would hold together far better. Yet she also touches on a decisive point: the plurality of religions. \"I have known Christian babies with Muslim names, and Muslim babies fed on the milk of Christian mothers. Our world is a great liquid in which everything flows and mingles\" (Shafak 2010, p. 234).<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Kerra\u2014formerly Christian and converted to Islam\u2014embodies this religious hybridity. She never stops thinking of the Virgin Mary, who comforts her. Shams asserts that faith cannot be reduced to belonging. This stance challenges rigid identity categories and proposes an open conception of spirituality.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Spiritual identity has no fixed affiliation: \"Neither Christian, nor Jew, nor Muslim\u2014Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi, or Zen. My place is placeless, a trace beyond tracing\" (Shafak 2010, p. 239). Rumi suggests that religion can become an identity that does not truly represent us. By expressing the wish to transcend religious boundaries in order to access a universal spiritual experience, the novel makes Sufi Islam a space of dialogue founded on the essence of traditions rather than on their outward forms.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>4. Contemporary transposition and Western reception<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>As a reminder, Ella functions as a narrative device for the contemporary reception of Sufism. Critical of religions and atheist, she sees religion as a source of conflict: \"with their unparalleled arrogance and their self-proclaimed belief in the supremacy of their way of seeing things, religious people got on her nerves\" (Shafak 2010, p. 211). She gradually enters a process of spiritual questioning as she discovers the story of Shams and Rumi.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Her evolution is not a religious conversion but a shift in ethical and existential outlook. Through reading Aziz's manuscript, Ella confronts a spirituality that undermines her certainties about marriage, love, and individual freedom. The medieval narrative acts as a catalyst linking the spiritual stakes of the thirteenth century to the fractures of the contemporary world.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Following Antoine Faivre, the similarities between Sufism and esotericism\u2014understood as a set of \"forms of thought\"\u2014are numerous. Francesco Piraino highlights several convergences: metaphysical knowledge, philosophy, elitism, initiation, esoteric transmission, and inner transmutation (Piraino 2024, 73). In these resemblances, the reader recognizes Ella's initiatory path: despite her skepticism, she is compelled to confront religion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Through this novel, the story of Shams and Rumi raises the question of religion's place in the contemporary world. It serves as a catalyst for thinking about present-day fractures.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>From this perspective, religion prompts an ethical reflection: it invites us to reconsider individual and collective responsibility, as well as a coexistence grounded in love and tolerance.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>II. Sufi Ethics: An Inner Spirituality<\/h2>\r\n<p>In <em>The Forty Rules of Love<\/em>, Sufi ethics appears as an experience of inner transformation. Through the relationship between Rumi and Shams, the novel stages a morality grounded in love and the Sufi path. This ethics invites the reader to rethink individual responsibility toward the other. Elif Shafak offers a contemporary reworking of Sufism in which ethics becomes a principle bridging the spiritual and the social.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>1. Love as the founding principle<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>In Shafak's work, love is the central ethical principle around which the entire spiritual itinerary is organized. Far from being defined as an affective or romantic feeling, love is presented as a force capable of overturning the established order, revealing the being in its deepest truth, and destroying the ego.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>\"It's always the same: when you tell the truth, people hate you. The more you speak of love, the more they hate you\" (Shafak 2010, p. 46). Such contradictions compel the reader to question love itself as a radical experience, irreducible to ordinary moral categories. Philosophically, one often says \"there is only a step between love and hate.\" Love attracts hatred because it shatters illusions\u2014something we see with Ella, who begins to feel hatred toward her husband as she discovers love for Aziz. \"Either pure love or pure hate\": no compromise is possible between the two. This duality is pervasive. \"Love is the water of life, and a beloved is a soul of fire\" (Shafak 2010, p. 449).<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In <em>The Forty Rules of Love<\/em>, love exceeds language: \"Most problems in the world come from linguistic mistakes and simple misunderstandings. Never take words at face value. When you enter the zone of love, the language as we know it becomes obsolete\" (Shafak 2010, p. 90). The novel insists on the paradoxical and, at times, violent character of this spiritual love.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Yet Shams seeks to spread the word of love: \"the only caress is the one that fills our hearts.\" Love does not manifest through codified outward gestures, but through a transformation of the heart. Natural metaphors suggest that Sufi love transcends language and renders inherited conceptions obsolete: \"the universe turns differently when fire loves water\" (Shafak 2010, p. 449). The present moment most powerfully exemplifies this love.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Ella's experience transposes this ethics into a contemporary framework. Her resistance, turmoil, and anger in the face of love reveal how difficult it is to receive such an experience; it calls into question social, marital, and moral norms. The novel thus juxtaposes two modalities of Sufi love: one concerned with teaching and transmission, embodied by Shams; the other, lived by Ella, as an inner trial in a secularized world.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>2. Hermeneutical Sufism: from apparent meaning to hidden meaning<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p><em>The Forty Rules of Love<\/em> advances a conception of Sufism as a practice grounded in the passage from apparent meaning to hidden meaning. This distinction structures Shams's stance toward religious prescriptions and toward the Qur'an. Whereas jurists and scholars focus on the textual letter, the Sufi claims an inward reading attentive to the spiritual dimension of the message: \"Scholars who focus on the Sharia know the outer meaning. Sufis know the inner meaning. Saints know the inner meaning of the inner meaning\" (Shafak 2010, p. 68).<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The novel criticizes a normative approach to religion, deemed superficial when limited to mere observance. The metaphor of swimming illustrates this hierarchy of interpretations by opposing those who remain at the surface to those who dive into depth. Shams denounces such superficiality: \"those who like to swim near the surface are satisfied with the outer meaning of the Qur'an.\" The radicality of his words explains the hostility he provokes within the Muslim community.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The interpretation of certain terms\u2014especially those evoking relations between the sexes\u2014also participates in this Sufi hermeneutics. By proposing a reading grounded in the principles of masculinity and femininity, the novel invites the reader to move beyond literal interpretations that can be used to legitimize domination. It evokes the <em>batn<\/em> (inner meaning) and the sura <em>An-Nis\u0101\u02be<\/em>: \"The third approach is an esoteric reading, the <em>batn<\/em>. If you read <em>An-Nis\u0101\u02be<\/em> with your inner eye open, you will see the verse does not speak about women and men but about femininity and masculinity. For every man has a share of femininity, and every woman has a share of masculinity.\" \"The Qur'an is a shy young bride\" (Shafak 2010, p. 254): the reader must tame it, discover it, study it\u2014never content with the surface.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This inward reading of the Qur'an becomes an ethics of discernment. By integrating a plurality of interpretations across the major legal schools of Islam (Sh\u0101fi\u02bf\u012b, \u1e24anaf\u012b, \u1e24anbal\u012b, and M\u0101lik\u012b), Sufism appears as an ethics of discernment grounded in the interpreter's individual responsibility. According to Henry Corbin, Sufism is an \"imamology without an Imam, a diverted Shi\u02bfism\" (Cavagnis 2012, 115). This suggests that Sufism rests on a lived interpretation of the sacred text, in which meaning is revealed not by institutions but by transformation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>3. Asceticism, quest, and transformation<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>The spiritual quest constitutes a pillar of Sufi ethics. Shams's path is marked by an asceticism rooted in humility and self-stripping. Asceticism may be defined as a discipline imposed by the will in order to strive toward an ideal\u2014whether moral perfection or artistic\/intellectual creation (CNRTL, s.v. \"asc\u00e8se\").<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Everyday objects\u2014such as the wooden bowl Shams uses for begging\u2014take on symbolic value: they recall the necessity of renouncing pride and vanity. Asceticism is accompanied by a strong capacity for resilience in the face of suffering, which is not conceived as a fatality but as a stage of the inner path and a search for God: \"I have searched East and West, up and down, for God\" (Shafak 2010, p. 54).<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The shared dream between Shams and Rumi illustrates the intensity of their spiritual bond: \"Finally, guided by a sinister intuition, I approached the well and looked into its dark waters, far below.\" That Rumi dreams the same as Shams suggests a communion of souls that exceeds physical space and is grounded in a shared spiritual intuition. This dimension reinforces the idea that transformation is not a purely intellectual learning process, but a lived experience\u2014often painful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Sufi spirituality, as staged in the novel, appears as a process of deconstructing the ego in pursuit of inner unity. The transformations of Ella and Rumi follow an ethical logic: accepting loss in order to reach a truth of the self.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In this sense, spiritual transformation is a painful inner process that unites Shams and Rumi and connects Ella to their legacy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>4. Ethical conflict between orthodoxy and mysticism<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>The novel foregrounds a major conflict between, on the one hand, an orthodox conception of Islam linked to social conformity and, on the other, a mystical approach centered on inner experience. Shams embodies this tension as sage, provocateur, and heretic at once. Maurice Barr\u00e8s defines Sufism as follows: \"from this comes that indefinable poetry of Sufism which is, depending on the man and the hour, sometimes the outpouring of a supreme pity at which orthodoxy need not be alarmed; sometimes the bold effort of man to identify with God by annihilating himself in Him\" (Barr\u00e8s 1922, 131).<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>An onlooker declares: \"And those Sufis\u2014they have such a bad influence! How dare they call themselves Muslims when they speak of things Muslims should not even think about?\" (Shafak 2010, p. 197). The accusations directed at Sufis testify to a fear of transgression and a distrust of all spirituality. By asserting that evil can take unexpected forms\u2014\"sometimes it comes as a gambler inviting us to bet; sometimes it is a young and beautiful woman trying to seduce us\u2026 Satan can also take the most unexpected forms, such as that of a wandering dervish\" (Shafak 2010, p. 330)\u2014Shams destabilizes established moral categories.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The episode of wine, especially provocative, illustrates this trial. Because Rumi is renowned as a man of faith, the people are outraged to see him consume alcohol, which is forbidden. Yet the point is not to deny the prohibition, but to reveal what it conceals: \"If the wine drinker is deeply kind, it will show when he is drunk. But if he harbors anger or arrogance, they will appear\u2014as is the case for most people\" (Shafak 2010, p. 313).<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Through Sufi ethics, <em>The Forty Rules of Love<\/em> stages an inner spirituality grounded in symbolic interpretation, the transformation of the ego, and love. This ethics does not merely propose an alternative to Islam; it initiates a reflection on individual responsibility, spiritual freedom, and the possibility of dialogue between tradition and modernity. The novel presents Islam as a plural space traversed by internal debates. Yet this ethics is not articulated only discursively: it is also conveyed through poetic choices. Spiritual experience finds its expression in an aesthetic in which narrative, voices, and images converge in the process of inner transformation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>III. Sufi Aesthetics and Poetics: Beauty as a Path<\/h2>\r\n<p>Since Antiquity, reflection on aesthetics has generated many debates. Art was criticized when artists were accused of producing \"an imitation three degrees removed from nature\" (Glicenstein 2022). Such critiques helped ground a questioning of art's social function and utility. From the eighteenth century onward, the philosophy of art emerged out of aesthetics, understood as a theory proper to art itself: \"there would be an internal logic to creation and to its appreciation that cannot be understood outside the central principle of the autonomy of the artistic sphere\" (Glicenstein 2022). The novel's aesthetics offers an internal link with Sufi spirituality that cannot be separated from its ethics.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>1. A mirrored narrative construction: an aesthetics of transmission<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>One of the novel's most significant features lies in its mirrored narrative construction, which, in itself, gives form to the aesthetics of Sufi thought. The novel embeds a medieval narrative within a contemporary plot centered on Ella, establishing a play of reflections between two temporalities and two spiritual experiences.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This narrative device is not a mere formal technique; it materializes a Sufi principle: inner transmission. Shams's \"forty rules,\" scattered throughout the novel, structure both the historical narrative and Ella's existential itinerary. Ella becomes an indirect recipient. Through her reading of Aziz's manuscript, Shams is positioned as a spiritual master, while Ella becomes a disciple in transformation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Aesthetically, <em>The Forty Rules of Love<\/em> is structured around several elements:<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n  <li>The epistolary exchange between Aziz and Ella.<\/li>\r\n  <li>The natural elements marking each part\u2014water, earth, fire, and emptiness\u2014associated with different stages of the spiritual quest.<\/li>\r\n  <li>The multiplication of narrators, giving voice to marginalized figures (prostitute, beggar, disciple) and contributing to a fragmentary aesthetics that reflects the plurality of spiritual experiences.<\/li>\r\n  <li>The novel is divided into five parts, echoing the number of letters in the word \"Soufi.\"<\/li>\r\n  <li>Each chapter begins with the letter \"B,\" linked to the opening prayer of the F\u0101ti\u1e25a in the Qur'an; it signifies opening\u2014what grants access to something greater.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<p>In this way, the novel's form mirrors the mystical approach: proceeding through detours, fragments, and resonances. Linear, doctrinal discourse is not prioritized.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>2. Sufi symbolism and the imaginative world of the elements<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>The poetics of <em>The Forty Rules of Love<\/em> rests on a dense network of symbols drawn from the Sufi imagination, with natural elements in the foreground. Water, earth, fire, and emptiness are not merely decorative motifs; they are symbols through which inner transformation is thought.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Water, frequently associated with knowledge and spiritual transmission, is invoked to designate Shams's destiny. The comparison with stagnant water refers to both transmission and destiny: \"Knowledge is nothing but stagnant water at the bottom of an old jar if you do not let it flow. For years, I prayed to God to grant me a companion with whom to share the knowledge I have accumulated within me\u2026 In a vision at Samarkand, I was told to come to Baghdad to fulfill my destiny\" (Shafak 2010, p. 79). In Islam, water represents the purification of humanity and sustains life; the point of this comparison, then, is the transmission of knowledge so that people may be purified (Faruqui 2001). From the opening pages, the movement of water also evokes Shams's destiny: the surface may seem calm, yet the slightest ripple can disrupt that calm\u2014so that a simple stone, skipping across the water, can have far-reaching consequences.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Fire, by contrast, embodies the intensity of mystical love and the violence of transformation: \"Love is the water of life, and a beloved is a soul of fire\" (Shafak 2010, p. 449). Symbolically associated with Shams, whose name means \"sun,\" fire appears as an ambivalent force, both illuminating and destructive. Traditionally linked to hell in Islamic imaginaries, it is here re-invested as the metaphor of a burning love that can consume the self to reveal one's essence. Light\u2014sometimes linked to fire\u2014guides the soul's movement toward truth and recalls philosophical motifs such as Plato's cave allegory. The novel suggests convergences between spiritual and philosophical traditions around knowledge: \"Rumi's eyes follow Shams as a sunflower follows the sun. Their love for each other is so visible and intense; what they share is so unique\" (Shafak 2010, p. 253). The sunflower becomes an image of the human being turning toward the sun, toward luminosity.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Finally, travel runs through the entire narrative as a central metaphor of the Sufi quest. It designates both geographical displacement and inner movement, underscoring the inseparability of soul and body in spirituality.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>3. The aesthetics of the <em>Sema<\/em>: the moving body and ecstatic experience<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>The <em>Sema<\/em> ceremony is inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (UNESCO, \"Sema ceremony, Mevlevi\"). Dance occupies a central place in the Sufi aesthetics staged by Shafak.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Dance is presented as an embodied prayer in which the body becomes the medium of spirituality. Christine Kossaifi relates Rumi to Leibniz's theory, which holds that elements merge into the totality while retaining their constitution: they are links contributing to a whole. \"Rumi and Leibniz converge in the perception of correspondences that unite microcosm and macrocosm: man is the mirror of the universe, whose logical organization is in turn reflected in him. Such is one of the symbolisms of Rumi's sacred dance\" (Kossaifi 2002, 239). Sacred dance thus becomes an embodied staging of cosmology: the dancer's body, through circular movement, reenacts the order of the universe and offers an invisible harmony. It is not a mere aesthetic performance but an act of knowledge, enabling human beings to find their place within the cosmic order and their bond with the divine.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The novel also highlights the social misunderstanding that surrounds this practice. Perceived as entertainment or exhibitionism, dance generates incomprehension and even suspicion. Shams's anger at applause and at a king's financial reward underscores the danger of an aesthetics detached from ethics: when dance becomes an object of social recognition, it loses its spiritual dimension. \"The <em>Sema<\/em> is a spiritual dance performed for love and love alone\" (Shafak 2010, p. 351). External recognition does not matter because it can inflate a person's ego. This depth permeates the dancing gesture.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The conflict between inner experience and outward gaze reveals a fundamental tension between aesthetics and spectacle. The mobility of the <em>Sema<\/em> inscribes itself within a poetics of performance. Through their geographical movements, dervishes are often presented as foundational figures of Sufism; they introduced a bodily dynamic grounded in crossing and movement. In the study of artistic practices, some authors prefer the notion of \"scene\" to that of the \"art world\" to better account for the diversity of sound practices (Aterianus-Owanga, Gaulier &amp; Navarro 2022, 254). This notion of \"scene\" resonates with the <em>Sema<\/em> as a form of choreographic expression.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Ultimately, the novel argues that Sufi aesthetics cannot be separated from its ethics: beauty has meaning only insofar as it leads to love and inner transformation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>4. Rumi's poetics: language, music, and poetry as spiritual mediations<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>Rumi's transformation is one of the novel's major culminations. Before encountering Shams, Rumi is above all a scholar. After his companion's disappearance, poetry becomes for him a creative space shaped by absence, pain, and love. Loss acts as a poetic motor that brings forth a hidden voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Rumi's poetry\u2014scattered throughout the novel in quotations\u2014is presented as a language of the unsayable. It expresses what discursive language cannot grasp. Spiritual truth can be spoken only through images and rhythms. Music is personified: the sound of the <em>ney<\/em>, a reed flute \"that sounds like the lover's sigh for his beloved\" (Shafak 2010, p. 348), materializes the experience of longing. The novel extends this poetics into a contemporary context through the character of Aziz: the creation of a Sufi foundation and interreligious musical collaborations in C\u00f3rdoba, Spain (Shafak 2010, p. 415) testify to a desire to create a space of dialogue. Music and poetry thus become sites of cultural mediation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The novel's recourse to allegorical storytelling\u2014through tales featuring symbolic figures\u2014reinforces this poetic dimension. The story of the grape sellers functions as an ethical condensation, reminding us that spiritual essence lies not in outward form but in the interior. Three sellers of grapes\u2014yellow, green, and red\u2014argue over the value of their varieties. A Sufi mocks them, mixes the three bunches, and explains that what matters is the fruit's essence, not its outward appearance. Christians, Jews, and Muslims are like these grape sellers: while they argue over versions of religion and external forms, the Sufi concentrates on the essence of spirituality.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Thus, the Sufi aesthetics staged by Shafak is inseparable from her ethical project. Dance, poetry, music, and narration are not mere literary ornaments; they are paths into a spiritual experience grounded in transformation. By conceiving beauty as a path toward divine love, the novel proposes a poetics of interiority capable of dialogue with contemporary questions of coexistence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\r\n<p>In <em>The Forty Rules of Love<\/em>, Elif Shafak offers a fictional reading of the encounter between Rumi and Shams. She elaborates a poetics of transformation in which ethics and aesthetics intertwine to think an embodied and transmissible spirituality.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The figure of the Sufi poet embodies an inseparable ethical and aesthetic posture. Rumi is not only a thinker; he becomes the focus of all gazes. His poetic speech, born of absence and loss, becomes an aesthetic experience and an inner trial through which ethics is lived. Sufi poetry functions as a language of the unsayable, capable of translating the transformation of the self. Aesthetics is not merely ornamental; it acts as a vector of ethics.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>From this angle, the dervishes' dance and poetry appear as forms of resistance\u2014to the rigidity of identity affiliations and to religious norms. The movement and poetry of this dance open a symbolic space in which interpretive plurality becomes an ethical responsibility. They constitute critical practices that intertwine spirituality, embodiment, and politics.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Finally, this representation raises major cultural stakes for contemporary literature and for Western readerships. By using Ella as a figure of reception, the novel probes the often conflictual relations between \"the West\" and Islam. Sufism presents itself as a space of cultural mediation, able to hold together spirituality, ethics, and aesthetics in an accessible language without simplifying them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>However, this opening also exposes tensions: it raises the question of Western reception of \"Eastern\" spirituality, between fascination and reappropriation. The novel invites readers to move beyond an exoticizing reading of Sufism in order to recognize its critical and universal scope.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Ultimately, <em>The Forty Rules of Love<\/em> suggests that Sufism can be understood only through the unity of ethics and aesthetics at its core. Between tradition and modernity, West and East, interiority and the social world, Sufism becomes a passageway founded on the transformation of the self. Shafak inscribes her work within a contemporary reflection on living together, offering a privileged space for dialogue and symbolic resistance.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Bibliography<\/h2>\r\n<ul>\r\n  <li>Aterianus-Owanga, A., Gaulier, A., &amp; Navarro, C. (2022). \"Introduction: Translocal Art Worlds\u2014Mobilities, Routes, and Conventions.\" <em>Ethnologie fran\u00e7aise<\/em>, 52(2), 254.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Barr\u00e8s, M. (1922). <em>Mes Cahiers<\/em>, t. 14, 131.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Cavagnis, J. (2012). \"Corbin, Hadot, Foucault: A Dialogue with <em>Qu'est-ce que la philosophie islamique ?<\/em> by Christian Jambet.\" <em>Cahiers philosophiques<\/em>, 128(1), 111\u2013115.<\/li>\r\n  <li>CNRTL. \"Asc\u00e8se.\" <em>Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales<\/em>.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Faruqui, N. I. (2001). \"Islam and Water Management: General Principles.\" In <em>Water Management in Islam<\/em>.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Geoffroy, E. (2014, March 2). \"Le soufisme avec Eric Geoffroy\" [radio interview]. Radio France.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Glicenstein, J. (2022). \"Introduction: Ethics and\/or Aesthetics?\" <em>Marges<\/em>, 34(1), 10\u201317.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Kossaifi, C. (2002). \"Sacred Dance and Monadological Harmony: Jal\u0101l al-D\u012bn R\u016bm\u012b and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.\" <em>Bulletin de l'association Guillaume Bud\u00e9<\/em>, 2, 239.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Piraino, F. (2024). \"Chapter 3: The Origins of Sufism in Western Europe.\" In <em>Le soufisme en Europe : Islam, \u00e9sot\u00e9risme et new age<\/em>, 73. Karthala.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Shafak, E. (2010). <em>Soufi, mon amour<\/em> (trans. D. Letellier). 10\/18. Kindle edition.<\/li>\r\n  <li>UNESCO. \"The Sema ceremony (Mevlevi).\" Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/article><\/div>\n                    \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Nada Amin                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Lumi\u00e8re Lyon 2 University, France<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Aesthetics, Ethics and Identity: Women's Bodies as Objects of Debate in Contemporary Egypt<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/aesthetics-ethics-and-identity-womens-bodies-as-an-object-of-debate-in-contemporary-egypt\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Aesthetics, Ethics and Identity: Women&#039;s Bodies as Objects of Debate in Contemporary Egypt\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-54', 'Abstract : Aesthetics, Ethics and Identity: Women\\'s Bodies as Objects of Debate in Contemporary Egypt', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-54\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Cette communication propose une r\u00e9flexion sur les liens entre esth\u00e9tique et \u00e9thique dans les pratiques quotidiennes, \u00e0 travers l'analyse des choix vestimentaires f\u00e9minins dans l'\u00c9gypte post\u00e9rieure \u00e0 la r\u00e9volution de janvier 2011. En prenant pour point de d\u00e9part le d\u00e9veloppement de la Modest Fashion, le mode vestimentaire conciliant respect des prescriptions religieuses et inscription dans une modernit\u00e9 globalis\u00e9e, ainsi que le ph\u00e9nom\u00e8ne de d\u00e9voilement croissant observ\u00e9 au lendemain de la r\u00e9volution, il s'agira d'interroger les rapports entre normes esth\u00e9tiques port\u00e9es par les femmes \u00e9gyptiennes, les valeurs morales, revendications identitaires et aspirations f\u00e9ministes ayant \u00e9merg\u00e9 dans ce contexte de transformation.\nLe contexte \u00e9gyptien, marqu\u00e9 depuis 2011 par une recomposition complexe des rapports entre pouvoir politique, autorit\u00e9 religieuse et soci\u00e9t\u00e9 civile, place les apparences f\u00e9minines dans l'espace public au c\u0153ur d'enjeux politiques, sociaux et symboliques majeurs. Loin de constituer une simple expression individuelle du go\u00fbt, le v\u00eatement f\u00e9minin devient un vecteur d'affirmation de soi, de libert\u00e9, de contestation - ou, \u00e0 l'inverse, un instrument de contr\u00f4le - d'identit\u00e9s multiples, prises entre tradition et modernit\u00e9, religiosit\u00e9 et \u00e9mancipation, conformit\u00e9 sociale et agentivit\u00e9 individuelle. La Modest Fashion comme le d\u00e9voilement, \u00e0 travers leurs formes locales et leurs circulations transnationales, cristallisent ces tensions. Ils peuvent \u00eatre envisag\u00e9s tant comme des strat\u00e9gies de r\u00e9appropriation du corps et de l'image de soi par les femmes, que comme des outils de normalisation mobilis\u00e9s par divers acteurs (\u00c9tats, institutions religieux, classes sociales, m\u00e9dias) au nom d'une certaine conception de la morale publique.\nCette intervention s'inscrit dans le prolongement de notre recherche doctorale intitul\u00e9e \"Genre et transitions politiques&nbsp;: la politisation du genre en \u00c9gypte post-r\u00e9volutionnaire\". En articulant les dimensions esth\u00e9tique, \u00e9thique et politique des pratiques vestimentaires, cette communication met en lumi\u00e8re la complexit\u00e9 des r\u00e9gimes de visibilit\u00e9 f\u00e9minine dans un contexte de transition et de recomposition identitaire, o\u00f9 le corps des femmes notamment depuis l'\u00e9mergence de la quatri\u00e8me vague du f\u00e9minisme, devient un vecteur central des luttes pour le pouvoir symbolique et politique.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-55', 'Nada Amin', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-55\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Doctoral student in Arabic linguistics and civilizations at Lumiere Lyon 2 University (ED 3LA, CERLA laboratory), Nada Amin is preparing a thesis on \"Gender and Political Transitions in Post-revolutionary Egypt (2011-2024),\" analyzing the politicization of gender issues in the \"New Republic\" project. Her background combines gender studies, international relations, and Islamic studies (DU in Islamology, certificate in religious studies and social sciences at IDEO). Lecturer and course instructor (Paris 8, Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris Cite, INALCO), she teaches Arabic language, history, and political sociology of Arab worlds. Active in academic events, she co-organizes study days with HALQA\/IISMM and regularly presents her work at conferences. She publishes on feminisms, political Islam, and minorities in Egypt.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                        \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">Arabic, videoconference, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Ahmed Kaza                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Chouaib Doukkali University, El Jadida, Morocco<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">The Gnostic Constitution of Aesthetic Values - Ibn Arabi<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/the-gnostic-constitution-of-aesthetic-values-in-ibn-%ca%bfarabi\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : The Gnostic Constitution of Aesthetic Values - Ibn Arabi\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-56', 'Abstract : The Gnostic Constitution of Aesthetic Values - Ibn Arabi', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-56\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>The title of this research raises a fundamental question linked to values in their ethical and aesthetic dimensions, and to gnosis ('irf\u0101n) as a method of Sufi experience that grounds its knowledge on a creative gustatory-affective terrain. In this regard, Ibn Arabi considers that taste (dhawq) is 'the first of the principles of divine theophany,' and that the science of theophany is for him the noblest and highest of sciences. The ethical principles that Akbarian gnosis seeks to construct possess 'merciful' (ra\u1e25m\u0101niyya) meanings, through which the 'Breath of the Merciful' is actualized. This mercy, in its cosmic extension, is the 'value of values,' for it encompasses all beautiful and delicate educational acts such as mutual aid, tolerance, coexistence, proximity, and mutual knowledge... The ethical objective is to realize 'creative happiness' in this world as a condition for happiness in the hereafter, through awareness of the rank of 'existence as pleasure and sweetness which is pure Good,' as the 'Sheikh al-Akbar' sees it.\nToshihiko Izutsu considers that the concept of God in Abrahamic religions is that of an 'ethical God.' Therefore, the relationship to the divine must necessarily be ethical, for God acts toward the world as 'Good' and 'Just.' The human being has only to respond to this divine act aesthetically: does this require an aesthetic synthesis between the gustatory and the ethical, between reason and heart? Is it through this taste founded on feelings that the essence of Islamic aesthetics is formed?\nThe aesthetic synthesis required in Akbarian gnosis gathers existence in its transformations\u2014theophanies\u2014and the Good in its luminous force. This is the solid foundation of the theosophy\u2014the wisdom\u2014of Islamic art, which unites Light (Unity) and shadows (multiplicity) through radiance. The place of this union\u2014this synthesis\u2014Ibn Arabi calls the 'center of Light, radiance, and shadows,' where it is possible to conjugate Majesty (jal\u0101l) and Beauty (jam\u0101l)\u2014aesthetic Majesty.\nThrough the aesthetic synthesis is determined the wisdom of gnostic ethics leading to beauty (al-\u1e25usn, natural beauty) and to beneficence (al-i\u1e25s\u0101n, spiritual beauty), as well as to the highest gustatory aspiration, what Ibn Arabi calls the 'religion of Love,' capable of being shared among individuals, societies, and religions. The epistemological result of this synthesis is to reconsider the meanings of Truth outside the unilaterality of abstraction and incarnation\u2014transcendence (tanz\u012bh) and resemblance (tashb\u012bh)\u2014but rather to see them in a single focus, that is, in their interpenetration.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-57', 'Ahmed Kaza', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-57\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Ahmed Kaza holds a PhD in philosophy and is a professor of higher education at Chouaib Doukkali University (El Jadida, Morocco). He defended his thesis in 2005 at Mohammed V University in Rabat and obtained his habilitation in 2018. His work focuses on philosophical and mystical thought, particularly the work of Ibn Arabi, to which he devoted the book <em>The Image between Occultation and Manifestation in Ibn Arabi<\/em> (Mouminoun Bila Houdoud, 2018). He regularly participates in national and international conferences (Turkey, United Arab Emirates) on hermeneutics, metaphysics, religious phenomena, digitization, and ethics.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-validee\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-validee-58', 'Validated translation', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Validated translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-validee-58\" style=\"display:none;\"><p><article>\n<header>\n<h2>The Formation of Aesthetic Values<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Ibn Arabi<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Dr. Ahmed KAZA<\/p>\n<p>Chouaib Doukkali University, Morocco<\/p>\n<\/header><\/p><p><h2>Introduction<\/h2>\n<p>\nThe field of ethics belongs to the study of values, or axiology, which has been a fundamental component of philosophy since ancient Greece. It includes knowledge such as logic, ethics, and aesthetics. Ethics, with its aesthetic component, is considered a common practice in all human experiences, through which societies are built towards the better, the good, and the best.\nThe most important question that arises is: How can ethics be linked to beauty and perfection? Does this require an aesthetic view of existence and life? Is connecting and combining the aesthetic and ethical perspectives a way to achieve justice and moderation, and thus what is good?\n<\/p>\n<p>\nIn Ibn Arabi's thought, there is a call to embody the divine names in order to resemble the origin and achieve divinity in the world, through the perfection that combines the attributes of majesty and beauty existentially, and the \"laws of virtues\" socially.\nThe most important question that arises is: Is the Sufi call to embody the attributes of the Truth what makes it a complement to religion? Can this field of gnosis be considered the aesthetic manifestation of religion? Is gnosis, with its revelatory approach, the foundation for the aesthetic rule of morality? What is the place of aesthetic meanings\u2014majesty\u2014in the construction of tasteful practices between individuals and religions?\n<\/p><\/p><p><h2>1. The ethical between the aesthetic and the theological<\/h2>\n<p>\nIn the Middle Ages, art was linked to the sacred in order to create harmony with religion and elevate the human self in terms of faith. The origin of the presence of religion is the existential relationship between God and the world\u2014humanity.\nThe triumph of the medieval theological view turned art into a subject of questioning, particularly with regard to the issue of representation, through the following questions: If representation is a creative act, could it not be considered an imitation of the divine act? Is the issue of imitation what led to some reservations about creative artistic practices?\n<\/p>\n<p>\nIslamic art has a deep connection to religion, but this characteristic should not negate its universal nature. The most important creation that crystallized this art is \"architecture.\"\nAfif Bahensi believes that Islamic art has experienced prohibition and repression, which has hindered its integration because historically there has been a cautious attitude towards representation, paving the way for Western centrality as if it were the origin of art.\nThese reductive attitudes towards Islamic art have resulted in, as he says:\n<\/p>\n<p>\"The belief that plastic art, as defined by the West in the Greek era, the Renaissance, the Baroque period, and even today, is the only legitimate form of art.\"<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>The view of Arab and Islamic art as decorative art did not rise to the level of the correct image of art according to Western art.<\/li>\n<li>The reason for the absence of plastic arts in Arab countries, as was the case during the Renaissance, is attributed to Islam's prohibition of figurative representation, which gave way to abstract Arabic calligraphy.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>\nThe fundamental question that arises in this context is: Is Islamic decorative art more valuable than plastic art (depiction)? Does reducing Islamic art to its abstract and decorative dimensions diminish its status and creativity?\n<\/p><\/p><p><h2>The status of art \u2014 beauty between caution and fear<\/h2>\n<p>\nReducing art to its quantitative aspect limits its meaning to what is apparent and superficial, which differs from its essence as depiction and formation, or approximation of what is transcendent and sublime. The quantitative dimension makes art attached to physicality, i.e., to what is material.\nIn contrast, the Islamic gnostic view, with its spiritual dimension, works to expand the space of creativity by combining art, religion, and philosophy. This trinity is the basis of the discursive discourse of art, and it cannot be reconciled with quantitative measurement, because the power of this vast space lies in its being a repository of the spiritual.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nTherefore, in Islamic art, there is a plastic art practice that resulted from Muslims' interest in Arabic calligraphy, architecture, cities, and places of worship.\nClaude Obeid believes that Islam prohibited the depiction or imitation of the sublime and transcendent, which led to an interest in basic practices, the most important of which are:\n<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Calligraphy as a tool used to write the words of the Holy Quran, which became the basis for aesthetics embodied in the field of architecture.<\/li>\n<li>The unity of Islamic arts, which is to present an aesthetic religiosity, as it is based on ideological and spiritual concepts.<\/li>\n<\/ol><\/p><p><h2>3. The mystical meanings of aesthetic values<\/h2>\n<p>\nThe contemporary moment has seen a resurgence of religion in order to rebuild existential and moral ties with the transcendent divine. This return is not a political reduction of religion, transforming it into a fixed social project, but rather an effort to understand it according to mystical meanings.\nIn this context, Toshihiko Izutsu developed a thesis on the possible relationship between God and man in the Qur'an through four determinants:\n<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>The existential relationship between God and man has meanings specific to creation and human destiny.<\/li>\n<li>The communicative relationship between God and man, which has a non-linguistic basis founded on worship.<\/li>\n<li>Linguistic communication between God and man, which relates to the status of revelation, i.e., the word of God.<\/li>\n<li>The ethical relationship between God and man, which relates to the God of mercy or the \"moral God.\"<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>\nThe moral relationship between God and man in Islam constitutes the problematic depth of religious meanings, defined by concepts such as gratitude, disbelief, faith, thankfulness, mercy, etc.\nRegarding this, the moral foundation states:\n\"The most prominent legacy of religious thought that arose in the Semitic world, whether in Judaism, Christianity, or Islam, is that the concept of God is ethical in essence.\nThe relationship between God and man must also be ethical in nature. In other words, God behaves towards man in an ethical manner, that is, as a God of justice and goodness, and man is expected to respond to this divine initiative in an ethical manner as well.\nIt is a crucial and delicate moment in the structure of a religion such as Islam that humans truly respond in the correct moral manner.\nIt is not merely a question of human good or evil, as it was in the pre-Islamic era. Morality was an integral part of religion, and religion as a whole is rooted in it and certainly depends on the moral response of humans.\"\n<\/p>\n<p>\nThe value relationship between God and man\u2014the world\u2014is defined in moral responsibility, whereby man works to respond aesthetically to divine discourse by practicing just and good deeds.\nThis concept, developed by Toshihiko based on the moral image of God, is not unique to Islam but is also present in Christianity and Judaism, that is, in the Abrahamic religions in general.\nHumans must work to actualize this moral image in the world through their multiple relationships with the Creator in order to spread the values of justice and goodness.\nThis is because morality complements and completes religion; it is not merely a distinction between good and evil. It has a universal dimension shared by all religions and identities.\nWhat is the nature of humanity's response to this universal divine value? What is the path to establishing existential bonds with God?\n<\/p>\n<p>\nIf ethics are inherent in religious discourse in general, what are their spiritual determinants as ethics? How are they socially circulated? Is art, as an aesthetic perspective on reality, the ideal way to present these meanings in a tasteful manner that complements religion itself?\n<\/p><\/p><p><p>\nIt should be noted that Islamic aesthetics includes a rich vocabulary related to religion, such as the dot, the letter, the crescent, the arc, the cube (the Kaaba), circles... In other words, there are geometric shapes with symbolic meanings, embodying meanings and beliefs related to the universe and life.\nIslamic mysticism's interest in the aesthetics of shapes and the symbolism of letters (the initial letters of the surahs) is intended to express the spirit of religion and its hidden meanings through aesthetic ethics.\nThis is embodied in the shapes of letters, which are characterized by their tendency toward circularity and, therefore, perfection.\nIbn Arabi crystallized this by drawing circles and multiple shapes in his books to express the truth of the universe, represented by the perfection of the circle, whose origin is the line, and the latter's origin is the point.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nThe essence of life, according to the \"Great Sheikh,\" is its aesthetic nature, represented by its tendency toward circularity, from the leaves of trees to human beings.\nThis is because all beings strive for perfection, and thus for the divine meaning, or the womb of existence, where the being is a point or a sperm.\nThis aesthetic use extends to everyday and social use, with attention paid to places of worship in order to encourage meditation, making these \"circular\" shapes a catalyst for tastes, desires, and morals, as is the case in the methods of circumambulation and remembrance circles.\nThis combination of Sufi meditation and worship is evident in Eastern Sufi art, particularly Buddhist art, as represented in the \"Mandala.\"\n<\/p><\/p><p><p>\nIn Ibn Arabi's experience, these rounded shapes take shape through the images of letters to highlight their esoteric meanings, which symbolize existential truths.\nIn his book <em>Al-Mim, Al-Waw, and Al-Nun<\/em>, he highlights the importance of the rotation in these letters, which determines their honor because the first is the last.\nHe says:\n\"The M, W, and N, whose last is their first, have neither first nor last. Know, may God guide you, that letters are a secret of God Almighty, and knowledge of them is among the most noble sciences stored with God.\"\n<\/p>\n<p>\nThe honor of these letters lies in their rounded shape, with the M pointing downwards, the W pointing upwards, and the N originating from the letter L, which consists of two letters: A and the hollow of the L. The latter is the lower nun.\nThis is what the Great Sheikh says about these rounded letters:\n\"What appears of it in the number is only half a circle, like what appears of the heavens and like what appears of creation, for the creation of the world is spherical, half of it is visible and half of it is unseen.\"\n<\/p><\/p><p><h2>Theology of Manifestations<\/h2>\n<p>\nSouad Ayada addresses Sufi theology through the idea of manifestations, emphasizing that Sufism is the practice of what she calls \"Islam of manifestations,\" combining the transcendent meanings of monotheism with analogical meanings.\nLooking at truth from only one perspective is a fall into what she calls \"reductionist epistemology,\" which has resulted in religious intolerance as a rejection of contemplative mediation, i.e., the practice of shaping realities into images and ranks, and thus hostility toward representation.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nSouad Ayada believes that the possibility of constructing an Islamic aesthetics is most strongly present in Ibn Arabi's treatment of the theory of existence and ethics, through the following issues:\n<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>The idea of manifestations, as a metaphysical horizon for God's relationship with the world, defined by existential media and ranks.<\/li>\n<li>The assertion that, in the gnostic perspective, God is moral, based on the attribute of mercy (mercy preceding wrath).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>\nThe concept of divine mercy occupies a central place in Ibn Arabi's thought, derived from divine wisdom, manifested in various forms in the practice of the prophets.\nIbn Arabi's purpose is to return this concept\u2014mercy\u2014to its divine origin, that is, to the divine names manifested in the world, and the existence of the prophets is nothing but the actualization of this mercy in the world.\nThis manifestation brings the existential meanings of truth out of their abstraction, because, as Suad Ayad sees it, abstract reduction is based on an authoritarian moral religion.\n<\/p><\/p><p><h2>5. The aesthetics of manifestations or aesthetic composition<\/h2>\n<p>\nThe aesthetics of gnostic ethics are guided by the laws of virtue and the avoidance of vice.\nThrough these laws, a merciful existence is achieved, through which the human soul is refined to embody acts of goodness and benevolence by awakening a hidden and mystical world, which is the world of feelings shared by all people and all religions.\nWith this feeling, aesthetic composition is achieved as a free creative act, subject neither to reason, nor to the senses, nor to ordinary imagination, but rather to free and creative imagination.\nWith the latter, Sufi aesthetics is built outside of any interest or benefit, because the world of feelings expands to include the other and the dissenting through scientific companionship as a spiritual and emotional relationship.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nIn scientific companionship, the spiritual relationship with others is directed toward coexistence, thereby liberating humans from doctrinal authority by developing human tastes aesthetically, connecting them with life and its spiritual meanings.\nIbn Arabi crystallized this aesthetic approach to life in his encounter with an image-maker from Konya, saying:\n\"I was impressed by what I saw in Konya, Greece, in an image-maker we had tested, who benefited us in his craft with his imagination, which he did not have.\nOne day, he painted a bird and concealed a flaw in it that was imperceptible, and he brought it to us to test our judgment of painting.\nWe had a falcon, and when he saw it, he released it from his hands, and it ran towards it with its feet, imagining that it was a bird in its image, with the colors of its feathers.\nThose present marveled at his skill, and he said to me: What do you say about this image?\nI said to him: It is perfect, except that there is a hidden flaw... I said to him: Her legs are slightly too long in proportion to the image.\nHe stood up, kissed my head, and said: I did that on purpose to test you.\"\n<\/p>\n<p>\nThe encounter with the image-maker from Konya reflects a judgmental attitude toward the act of image-making, as expressed by the \"Great Sheikh\" in his statement about what was missing from the image-maker's picture, namely the spiritual component, or life, symbolized by the hair.\nThe life of the picture is in the body, which is nothing but a form, as image-makers define it, but its meaning lies in its hidden depth, which is those feelings that cannot be depicted, but are the subject of feeling because they are the source of manifestations.\nIbn Arabi calls on the image-maker to adopt the \"balance of image-making,\" because, in his view, it is necessary to connect image-making with manifestation in order to adopt the divine name of the image-maker.\nHe says:\n\"From this name they take, and it is the source of image-makers' skill in the balance of good images...\"\n<\/p><\/p><p><p><em>A bishop of the daughters of the spirit, unemployed<br \/>\nYou see on her the lights of law<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\nBeauty stripped of embellishments carries in its gaze the divine secret of enlightenment, stripped of the cosmetic enhancements women add to their bodies.\nThis is what makes her\u2014the system\u2014the embodiment of moral perfection, for with her knowledge and refinement, she is a model of pure goodness.\n<\/p><\/p><p><p>\nAs a result, aesthetic knowledge combines \"constancy and color\": It is specific knowledge about \"Ibn Arabi\" as \"stability in color,\" meaning that it is a collection of tastes whose source is the people of the face.\nThe people of the hands only take it through the mediation of the people of the face, just as the people of the face only obtained it from those images, they did not obtain it from the face.\nThe reason for this is that those sciences have different tastes, and the face has no difference.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nThe owners of the face are described as the people of manifestation, for they are knowledgeable about the truth in its entirety (its unity), while the owners of the hands are the people of detailed truths.\nThe owners of the hands have no choice but to take from the owners of the face in order to preserve what Ibn Arabi calls \"the moderate viewer,\" in order to preserve the gift of names in creativity.\nFor this reason, the \"Great Sheikh\" of Konya warned of the importance of this gift\u2014the gift of names\u2014for image-makers, because the power of creativity is the combination of majesty and beauty, of permanence and color, as long as the aesthetic goal is gnostic, which is to follow the movement of manifestations.\n<\/p><\/p><p><h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>\nBasing ethics on what is spiritual and aesthetic is to build a universal vision of existence and truth, beyond identity-based isolation, because an aesthetic view of life makes humans beings who belong to humanity and its majestic ethics\u2014aesthetics.\nIt is that beautiful belonging, an identity open to others, beyond any ideological fanaticism, and belonging to humanity and to the universe in general, which is to preserve and protect life, not to destroy it through killing or violence, by making it a \"work of art,\" as Michel Maffesoli sees it.\nThis deepens the judgmental view based on moderation, in which ethical practices are embodied aesthetically and tastefully.\n<\/p>\n<\/article><\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" >\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\">1:30pm-2pm<\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Discussion with the audience            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n<h6 id=\"axe2-panel2-s2\">Panel 2 - Room 2 | Chair : Ren\u00e9e Hattar<\/h6>\n\n<div id=\"prog-maconnerie\">\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Noureddine Fadily                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Hassan I University, Settat, Morocco<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Highlighting an Ever-Evolving Islamic Heritage: Literary Ethics and Aesthetics in Najib Redouane's Under the Sky of Oran<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/highlighting-an-islamic-heritage-in-constant-evolution-literary-ethics-and-aesthetics-in-najib-redouanes-under-the-sky-of-oran\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Highlighting an Ever-Evolving Islamic Heritage: Literary Ethics and Aesthetics in Najib Redouane&#039;s Under the Sky of Oran\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-59', 'Abstract : Highlighting an Ever-Evolving Islamic Heritage: Literary Ethics and Aesthetics in Najib Redouane\\'s Under the Sky of Oran', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-59\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>La litt\u00e9rature a constamment interrog\u00e9 les grandes questions qui pr\u00e9occupent la condition et la vie humaines. Plusieurs approches sont alors employ\u00e9es pour lire telle ou telle \u0153uvre litt\u00e9raire, ce qui situe la litt\u00e9rature au carrefour de nombreuses disciplines et th\u00e9ories.\nLa litt\u00e9rature maghr\u00e9bine d'expression fran\u00e7aise, depuis ses d\u00e9buts, a attach\u00e9 plus d'importance au patrimoine islamique qui d\u00e9finit amplement les motivations des personnages et l'orientation de la trame narrative. Nous pensons plus particuli\u00e8rement \u00e0 un r\u00e9cent roman de Najib Redouane intitul\u00e9 Sous le Ciel d'Oran et revenant sur l'histoire de l'Alg\u00e9rie avant et apr\u00e8s la colonisation. C'est un arri\u00e8re-plan o\u00f9 se d\u00e9roulent les situations humaines et existentielles, mais aussi un espace o\u00f9 le lecteur est invit\u00e9 \u00e0 d\u00e9couvrir des pratiques et des rituels religieux d\u00e9finissant le bien-\u00eatre spirituel des personnages, lequel bien-\u00eatre est \u00e0 la fois une source de r\u00e9confort et une aspiration \u00e0 la libert\u00e9 et \u00e0 la justice individuelle et collective.\nCela \u00e9tant, notre \u00e9tude du roman de Najib Redouane concerne deux points importants. D'une part, il est question de sonder le paysage islamique en termes de rituels, de relations et de pratiques \u00e0 travers leur durabilit\u00e9 et leurs changements. D'autre part, l'accent est mis sur l'esth\u00e9tique du patrimoine islamique tel qu'il est fa\u00e7onn\u00e9 et relat\u00e9. Autrement dit, il s'agit de montrer comment le romancier associe ce patrimoine islamique \u00e0 un fil conducteur permettant de voir l'\u00e9volution de la soci\u00e9t\u00e9 alg\u00e9rienne, sa lutte pour restaurer les valeurs islamiques pendant les crises politiques.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-60', 'Noureddine Fadily', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-60\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Senior lecturer at the Faculty of Languages, Arts and Human Sciences (FLASH) in Settat since September 2022, Noureddine Fadily specializes in French literatures. After teaching experience at middle school level (2008-2015) then high school level (2015-2022), he continues his teaching and research activities at Hassan I University. Coordinator of the \"Literature and Culture\" program, he is a permanent member of the LIDEAL laboratory and an associate member of the Laboratory of Languages, Arts and Human Sciences of Settat. He participates in research on French language didactics within the Moroccan section of AIRDF. He also contributes to academic events (journals, conferences).<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-auto\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-auto-61', 'Automatic translation that may contain errors', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Automatic translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-auto-61\" style=\"display:none;\"><article>\r\n  <h2>Maghrebi Francophone Fiction and the Promotion of an Islamic Heritage in Constant Evolution<\/h2>\r\n  <p><em>Under the Sky of Oran<\/em> by Najib Redouane as an example<\/p>\r\n  <p>Paper presented by: Noureddine Fadily \u2014 Hassan I University of Settat (Morocco)<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>General framing<\/h2>\r\n  <p>From its very beginnings, Maghrebi literature written in French has attached particular importance to Islamic heritage, which more decisively shapes both the characters' motivations and the narrative's overall direction.<\/p>\r\n  <p><em>Under the Sky of Oran<\/em> is a novel by Najib Redouane that revisits Algerian history before and after colonization. This historical backdrop provides the stage for human and existential situations, while also offering the reader an invitation to discover religious practices and rituals that define the protagonists' spiritual well-being\u2014at once a source of comfort and a yearning for freedom and for justice, both individual and collective.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Purpose of the study<\/h2>\r\n  <p>The analysis seeks to clarify two complementary dimensions:<\/p>\r\n  <ul>\r\n    <li>To examine the Islamic landscape in terms of rituals, relationships, and practices, considering both their durability and their transformations.<\/li>\r\n    <li>To foreground the aesthetics of Islamic heritage as it is shaped and narrated in the novel.<\/li>\r\n  <\/ul>\r\n\r\n  <h2>The Islamic landscape in the novel<\/h2>\r\n  <p>Beyond the historical information it conveys, the novel traces Algerian culture through its attachment to religious values and its cautious encounter with modernity. Religious reference points permeate cultural practices specific to Algerian society and to its Arab-Muslim identity.<\/p>\r\n  <p>The narrative alternates between moments of joy and periods of sorrow. Happy and painful occasions alike provide opportunities to return to religious rituals that constitute an unmistakable identity. Weddings, engagements, religious feasts, and funerals punctuate the story's chronological unfolding, functioning as a background that resonates with the broader Arab-Muslim civilizational horizon.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>An example of a somber event<\/h2>\r\n  <p>As the deceased is accompanied to a final resting place, funeral rites come to the fore as a way of presenting local customs.<\/p>\r\n  <p>The first stage is the washing of the dead. Those who perform the washing must purify themselves beforehand. The unclothed body is placed on an elevated table, oriented toward Mecca. While the deceased's private parts are covered with an opaque cloth, the washers begin with the left hand, slide a piece of fabric underneath, remove all traces of blood, gently empty the abdomen, pack wounds with cotton, and cleanse the teeth, mouth, and nose.<\/p>\r\n  <p>It is imperative to start on the left side before moving to the right, and to proceed from top to bottom during the ablutions, beginning with the head and face. For the ritual to be properly carried out, it is advised not to turn the body face-down against the table. This solemn moment is performed with particular attentiveness, accompanied by Qur'anic recitations and devotional invocations.<\/p>\r\n  <p>The body is washed with soap, dried three consecutive times with clean white cloths, and wrapped in a white cotton shroud. Before enclosing the body in the shroud, the washers perfume it with musk. A whole sequence then follows:<\/p>\r\n  <p>\"The three sheets were slipped under the remains, their corners sprinkled with musk, then folded one after the other\u2014the left panel first, then the right, and so on for each layer. The whole was secured with strips that they tied at the head, the sides, and the feet.\" <span>(<em>Under the Sky of Oran<\/em>, p. 204)<\/span><\/p>\r\n  <p>The next stage is to transport the body to the mosque. In a room in the basement, a man stands facing the coffin and chants Qur'anic verses. Farewells are said at the end of this recitation. Immediately afterward, the community awaits the funeral prayer, performed before the coffin that contains the body and is draped in a cover embroidered with Qur'anic verses. Following the prayer, the shroud is placed in the ambulance, and a procession heads to the cemetery, where the body is laid in the grave before being covered with stone slabs and earth. The burial takes place as the Qur'an is read, followed by prayers of leave-taking.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>An example of a joyful event<\/h2>\r\n  <p>Accounts of joy are likewise tied to religious feasts and make visible cultural practices rooted in ancestral traditions. The narrative recalls the protagonists' happiness as the Feast of Sacrifice approaches and is celebrated. The sheep is the emblematic animal, and selecting it is done with meticulous care: one ensures it is uninjured by lifting it from the hindquarters and palpating the lumbar vertebrae and tail. Once the ideal ovine animal has been chosen, it is brought to the home and welcomed with ululations.<\/p>\r\n  <p>The ritual slaughter begins after the Eid prayer. The sacrificial area is set up beside a pit (called <em>mejra<\/em>) that serves as a drainage channel to facilitate the immolation. The <em>debbah<\/em> slaughters the sheep, on whose forehead a patch of henna has been placed. At the same time, people hurry to remove the blood spilled during the slaughter, and \"set about cleaning the offal and preparing the first day's meal, reserved for charcoal grilling of <em>el-fwad<\/em>: skewers and <em>melfouf<\/em>. Meanwhile, the men carried the heads and feet to an oven to treat them with fire and thus remove any remaining fleece. To celebrate this family feast in grand fashion, dinner included a tagine with <em>bouselouf<\/em> and couscous with <em>osbane<\/em>.\" <span>(<em>Under the Sky of Oran<\/em>, p. 111)<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>The aesthetics of Islamic heritage<\/h2>\r\n  <p>The novel's construction gradually and chronologically reveals \"the novel's capacity to draw temporal and historical links\u2014links that can be understood as symbolic, as ties that figure, over time, the relations of the self to itself, of the self to others, and of others to others, within the evident singularity of contemporary representations.\" <span>(Jean Bessi\u00e8re, <em>The Contemporary Novel, or the Problematics of the World<\/em>, p. 149)<\/span><\/p>\r\n  <p>Muslim identity forms the narrative's pivot. The continuity of religious practices and the attachment to Muslim rituals make the story a crossroads where tradition and modernity intersect. The older generation remains closely bound to Muslim values; through its actions, teaching, and learning, it ensures both the prominence and the endurance of an Islamic heritage in constant evolution.<\/p>\r\n<\/article><\/div>\n                    \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, videoconference, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Siham Amraoui                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Graduate Center - City University of New York (CUNY), USA<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Sufi Ethics and Dystopian Aesthetics in Naguib Mahfouz's The Journey of Ibn Fattouma<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/sufi-ethics-and-dystopian-aesthetics-in-naguib-mahfouzs-the-journey-of-ibn-fattouma\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Sufi Ethics and Dystopian Aesthetics in Naguib Mahfouz&#039;s The Journey of Ibn Fattouma\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-62', 'Abstract : Sufi Ethics and Dystopian Aesthetics in Naguib Mahfouz\\'s The Journey of Ibn Fattouma', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-62\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Dans Le Voyage d'Ibn Fattouma de Naguib Mahfouz, Quindil entreprend une travers\u00e9e initiatique \u00e0 travers diff\u00e9rents royaumes, chacun pr\u00e9tendant incarner un mod\u00e8le de soci\u00e9t\u00e9 id\u00e9ale. Cette qu\u00eate vers Dar al-Jabal, cit\u00e9 utopique jamais atteinte, s'inscrit \u00e0 la fois dans un imaginaire islamique soufi et dans une structure litt\u00e9raire empruntant \u00e0 la fable philosophique et au r\u00e9cit de voyage.\n\u00c0 travers cette fiction, Mahfouz construit une critique \u00e0 la fois \u00e9thique et politique&nbsp;: les soci\u00e9t\u00e9s qu'explore Quindil se r\u00e9v\u00e8lent chacune comme des utopies corrompues, o\u00f9 le pouvoir s'approprie les langages de la vertu, de la libert\u00e9 ou de la foi pour mieux asseoir sa domination. La qu\u00eate spirituelle du h\u00e9ros, inspir\u00e9e des maqamat soufies, est d\u00e9tourn\u00e9e \u00e0 chaque \u00e9tape par des logiques institutionnelles dysfonctionnelles. En mobilisant les enseignements d'al-Ghazali (notamment dans Ihya' 'ulum al-din) sur la purification int\u00e9rieure, et ceux d'Ibn 'Arabi sur le d\u00e9voilement progressif de la v\u00e9rit\u00e9 (kashf), on peut lire ce voyage comme une all\u00e9gorie de la tension entre cheminement \u00e9thique et entrave politique.\nL'esth\u00e9tique du r\u00e9cit, fond\u00e9e sur une narration all\u00e9gorique, un lexique symbolique, et une structure circulaire (le voyage comme boucle), joue un r\u00f4le fondamental. Elle permet de faire dialoguer le patrimoine islamique classique avec les formes modernes du roman dystopique. Cette tension entre qu\u00eate int\u00e9rieure et chaos ext\u00e9rieur, entre \u00e9l\u00e9vation mystique et corruption politique, donne au texte sa force critique.\n\u00c0 travers une lecture crois\u00e9e de l'\u00e9thique soufie et de l'esth\u00e9tique narrative du voyage, cette communication mettra en lumi\u00e8re la mani\u00e8re dont Mahfouz \u00e9labore une critique subtile des institutions politiques, en r\u00e9v\u00e9lant comment celles-ci d\u00e9tournent ou trahissent les finalit\u00e9s spirituelles de l'islam. Cette analyse s'inscrit dans une r\u00e9flexion plus large sur le patrimoine islamique et sur la mani\u00e8re dont la litt\u00e9rature contemporaine r\u00e9active ses questionnements essentiels \u00e0 travers l'imaginaire dystopique.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-63', 'Siham Amraoui', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-63\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Siham Amraoui is a doctoral student in the Ph.D. French Program at the City University of New York (CUNY), where she conducts research in literature and Francophone studies. She has been teaching French at Hunter College (CUNY) since 2023 and Arabic at City College of New York (CUNY) since 2024. Her interdisciplinary background combines literature, law, and humanities, with training in digital law and litigation, as well as advanced studies in French language. She has also worked in education in France and in the legal sector. She presented her work at Columbia University (2025) and Harvard University (2025) on dystopia in Boualem Sansal's writings.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-auto\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-auto-64', 'Automatic translation that may contain errors', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Automatic translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-auto-64\" style=\"display:none;\"><article>\n<p>Siham AMRAOUI<\/p>\n<p><strong>Axis 1:<\/strong> Ethics and Aesthetics in Islamic Heritage: History, Language, and Philosophy<\/p>\n\n<h2>Sufi Ethics and Dystopian Aesthetics in Naguib Mahfouz's <em>The Journey of Ibn Fattouma<\/em><\/h2>\n\n<p>The novel opens with a sentence that functions as a metaphysical threshold: \"Life and death, dream and wakefulness: phases the bewildered soul passes through step by step, gathering signs and clues, groping in the ocean of darkness, clinging stubbornly to a hope that is renewed, and smiling enigmatically\" (Mahfouz, Naguib. <em>The Journey of Ibn Fattouma<\/em>, p. 5). With this incipit, Naguib Mahfouz immediately warns the reader: Ibn Fattouma's journey (Qindil's journey) will not be a simple geographical displacement on a physical map. From the outset, it is an oneiric and spiritual architecture. The \"stages\" mentioned are not mere cities, but <em>maq\u0101m\u0101t<\/em>\u2014stations in the soul's bewilderment before a world that has lost its meaning. The journey is thus presented not as a conquest of space, but as a navigation through an \"ocean of darkness\" in search of a light that the material world seems to have extinguished.<\/p>\n\n<p><em>The Journey of Ibn Fattouma<\/em> was published in 1983, a period marked by profound political disillusionment in the Arab world\u2014and in Egypt in particular\u2014following Sadat's assassination and the exhaustion of the major twentieth-century ideologies. The work represents a radical metamorphosis of the classical genre of the Arabic <em>ri\u1e25la<\/em> (travel narrative), notably parodying the famous fourteenth-century travels of Ibn Battuta. Yet whereas Ibn Battuta journeyed through geographical space to document the unity of <em>D\u0101r al-Isl\u0101m<\/em>, Mahfouz's protagonist travels through historical time. The novel (1983) traces the spiritual and political quest of Qindil, a man disenchanted with his homeland, who sets out in search of an ideal society called <em>D\u0101r al-Jabal<\/em>. Along the way, he crosses a series of symbolic lands, each named \"D\u0101r,\" representing different institutional models: tribalism (<em>D\u0101r al-Mashriq<\/em>), theocracy (<em>D\u0101r al-\u1e24ayra<\/em>), liberalism (<em>D\u0101r al-\u1e24alba<\/em>), and totalitarian security (<em>D\u0101r al-Amn<\/em>). Each \"D\u0101r\" initially appears as a utopia, but ultimately reveals its internal contradictions, moral decay, and spiritual emptiness. The novel becomes a philosophical allegory in which the failure of each system reflects the deep crisis of meaning in human existence.<\/p>\n\n<p>Mahfouz abandons the social realism of his earlier works (such as <em>The Cairo Trilogy<\/em>) in favor of a universal allegory structured around exile from <em>D\u0101r al-Isl\u0101m<\/em>. Qindil thus explores the \"ruins\" of human history, visiting lands (D\u0101rs) that function as archetypes of failing political systems: Mashriq's primitive tribalism, \u1e24ayra's absolute authoritarianism, \u1e24alba's capitalist freedom, and Aman's communist security. Each land is a \"false utopia\": a political experiment that promised happiness but delivered only corruption and spiritual emptiness.<\/p>\n\n<p>To grasp Mahfouz's critical strategy fully, it is essential to situate his narrative at the intersection of two conceptual axes: the ethics of the Sufi path and the aesthetics of dystopia. Sufi ethics\u2014particularly in thinkers such as al-Ghaz\u0101l\u012b and Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b\u2014is not a doctrine of withdrawal but of disciplined inner transformation (<em>tazkiyat al-nafs<\/em>), whereby truth is reached through progressive stages of unveiling (<em>kashf<\/em>). Against this inward ethics, Mahfouz constructs an outward aesthetics of deception. Each D\u0101r seems to embody a utopia\u2014peace, equality, security\u2014yet is revealed to be a dystopia in disguise. The term \"utopia,\" coined by Thomas More in 1516, originally designated a \"no-place\" (from the Greek <em>ou-topos<\/em>): an ideal society that exists nowhere. Its dark double, dystopia, emerges when those ideals are betrayed\u2014when the promise of justice becomes a mechanism of oppression. Mahfouz's genius lies in staging this betrayal repeatedly, making the reader complicit in the hope\u2014and the disillusion\u2014generated by each political system. The novel is therefore not merely a critique of external regimes; it is a meditation on the impossibility of earthly salvation without inner transfiguration.<\/p>\n\n<p>To understand this trajectory, one must recognize that Mahfouz\u2014trained as a philosopher\u2014deploys mysticism not as an escape from reality, but as a critical weapon, a tool for denouncing the failures of materialist and institutional worldviews. The journey functions as a \"waking dream,\" to borrow Ernst Bloch's concept (Bloch, Ernst. <em>The Principle of Hope<\/em>, p. 3): a dream not of evasion, but of confrontation. Significantly, the novel begins with a scene that blurs the boundaries between memory and dream, suggesting that Qindil narrates not only a journey but a symbolic vision shaped by a deep historical trauma.<\/p>\n\n<p>We posit that the political corruption observed in the cities is the symptom of a deeper illness. The state's outward tyranny is merely a projection of the inner disease of the human heart. Consequently, the text operates on two levels: a psychoanalytic level, where the cities represent the collective \"return of the repressed\" (the violence and neuroses of history), each D\u0101r repeating\u2014pathologically\u2014the unresolved tensions of human history, from primitive violence to hypermodern control; and a Sufi level, where repetition signals not the failure of evolution but a disorientation of the heart. Healing, as Mahfouz suggests, does not lie in institutional reform.<\/p>\n\n<p>This brings us to the central questions of our analysis:<\/p>\n<ul>\n  <li>How does the dystopian aesthetics deployed in the depiction of each D\u0101r reveal the internal contradictions and ethical decay of institutional systems?<\/li>\n  <li>In what way does Sufi ethics offer an alternative vision of justice that transcends political reform?<\/li>\n  <li>How does the narrative silence surrounding <em>D\u0101r al-Jabal<\/em> function as a strategy for protecting the utopian ideal from corruption?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>Our argument unfolds in three stages:<\/p>\n<ol>\n  <li>The geography of dystopias.<\/li>\n  <li>Sufi ethics: diagnosing diseased hearts.<\/li>\n  <li><em>D\u0101r al-Jabal<\/em> \/ <em>Al-Bid\u0101ya<\/em>: a protected utopia in the Invisible.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<h2>I. The Geography of Dystopias: \"Retrotopias\" and the Return of the Repressed<\/h2>\n\n<p>This section analyzes the failure of the cities visited by Qindil not simply as geographical places, but as a pathology of human history. We argue that the D\u0101rs represented in the novel are not steps toward progress; they are manifestations of historical regression.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>1. Cities as \"retrotopias\" (Zygmunt Bauman's analysis)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The cities through which Qindil passes\u2014Mashriq, \u1e24ayra, \u1e24alba, Aman, al-Ghuroub\u2014function as what the sociologist Zygmunt Bauman calls \"retrotopias\": \"It is this double negation of 'Morean' utopia\u2014negation of its negation\u2014that currently generates 'retrotopias': visions which, instead of being linked, like their 'ancestors,' to a not-yet-born and therefore nonexistent future, take root in a lost\/escaped\/abandoned past that nonetheless continues to exist in ghostly form\" (Bauman, Zygmunt. <em>Retrotopia<\/em>, p. 13). Bauman argues that when a society loses faith in the future and becomes unable to imagine a new horizon, it inevitably turns toward the past, recycling old models to provide a false sense of security. Mahfouz's cities perfectly match this diagnosis: they are worlds that, unable to envisage a genuine future, regress into historical repetitions.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Mashriq (The Land of the Rising Sun)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This land represents a regression toward primitive tribalism and pure instinct. It reflects the \"return to tribes\" described by Bauman as a reaction to the confusion of the modern world. In Mashriq, society is organized around pagan moon worship and a sexual permissiveness that precedes the establishment of moral law:<\/p>\n<p>\"F\u0101m puffed himself up: 'He brought architects and workers from D\u0101r al-\u1e24ayra, and furnished it with the finest furniture and works of art that D\u0101r al-\u1e24alba prides itself on producing\u2026' I paused for a moment of silence before saying: 'Sayyid F\u0101m, tell me about your religion\u2026' 'The people of al-Mashriq worship the moon. On the night of the full moon the divinity appears in its perfection, and they gather in the desert to pray around the priest; then they perform the rituals by dancing, singing, getting drunk, and making love\u2026'\" (Mahfouz, Naguib. <em>The Journey of Ibn Fattouma<\/em>, p. 21).<\/p>\n\n<p>This is humanity's childhood, where \"primitive\" instincts are fully unleashed\u2014illustrating the stage prior to culture that Freud evokes when he writes that \"it is impossible not to see to what a great extent the edifice of civilization is built upon the renunciation of instinctual satisfactions, and how much it presupposes precisely the non-satisfaction \u2026 of powerful instincts\" (Freud, Sigmund. <em>Civilization and Its Discontents<\/em>, p. 28). Qindil observes a society that has not yet acceded to reason, representing the oldest and rawest stage of human association.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>\u1e24ayra (The Land of Confusion)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u1e24ayra represents a return to the feudal model of the God-King and sovereign inequality. Here, regression is political: the ruler claims absolute divinity, declaring, \"The land of \u1e24ayra is the land of Gebel\" (Mahfouz, Naguib. <em>The Journey of Ibn Fattouma<\/em>, p. 43). This city recycles the historical trauma of absolute monarchy and despotism. It is a retrotopia that seeks stability through the subject's total submission to a deified authority, effectively canceling human autonomy and repeating the \"nightmare of history\" in which power is centralized in a single terrifying figure.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Aman (The Land of Security)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Aman is a critique of the totalitarian security state (in parallel with a failed communist model). Bauman notes that in the absence of a viable future, societies often trade freedom for security, creating a closed system: \"the spirit of utopia \u2026 is to reconcile, at last, security and freedom\u2014an achievement that the original vision and its first negation did not attempt, or failed to accomplish\" (Bauman, Zygmunt, p. 16). Aman offers justice and employment for all, but at the price of annihilating the individual. Qindil is told\u2014while being shown the Citadel\u2014that \"This is the court of history. Here the enemies of the people have been sentenced to death\" (Mahfouz, Naguib. <em>The Journey of Ibn Fattouma<\/em>, p. 111). It is a society where individual freedom is punishable by death and where \"the law is sacred!\" (Mahfouz, Naguib. <em>The Journey of Ibn Fattouma<\/em>, p. 113). Here the state replaces God, and the \"horizon\" is deliberately closed by government to prevent any vision beyond the material world.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>2. The Freudian Dream: History as Neurosis<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We now move from a sociological analysis of \"retrotopias\" to a psychoanalytic reading. If the D\u0101rs are regressions, they function in the narrative as \"anxiety dreams.\" We propose that Qindil's journey is not merely spatial exploration but a descent into the traumatic memory of the human species, in which the \"repressed\" elements of history return to haunt the present.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>The return of the repressed<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Freud posits that civilization is built upon the repression of primitive instincts, particularly aggression and immediate gratification (Freud, Sigmund. <em>Civilization and Its Discontents<\/em>, p. 28). However, the \"uncanny\" (<em>das Unheimliche<\/em>) emerges when what has been repressed reappears: \"If psychoanalytic theory is right in asserting that every affect belonging to an emotional impulse, whatever its kind, is transformed into anxiety by repression, it follows that among anxiety cases there will be a group in which it can be demonstrated that what is frightening is something repressed that has returned\" (Freud, Sigmund. <em>The Uncanny<\/em>, p. 56). In <em>The Journey of Ibn Fattouma<\/em>, the cities visited by Qindil represent precisely such a return.<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>Mashriq (the primitive):<\/strong> In D\u0101r al-Mashriq, Qindil confronts humanity's \"infantile,\" uninhibited stage: nudity, moon cult, and the absence of moral law\u2014where one hears: \"We know neither eternity nor paradise; we have only the night of the full moon!\" (Mahfouz, Naguib. <em>The Journey of Ibn Fattouma<\/em>, p. 29). This is not a \"new\" society, but the resurgence of primordial instincts that modern civilization (represented by Islam or Western liberalism) believed it had overcome.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>\u1e24ayra (the despotic father):<\/strong> In D\u0101r al-\u1e24ayra (the Land of Bewilderment), repression takes the form of the \"God-King.\" This society embodies the traumatic memory of the \"primordial father\": the absolute tyrant who demands total submission and whose authority is maintained through the spectacle of violence (heads on stakes). Freud argues that the \"compulsion to repeat\" (<em>Wiederholungszwang<\/em>) is a feature of neurosis, whereby the subject unconsciously repeats a traumatic event: \"The automatism of repetition \u2026 the man suffering from traumatic neurosis \u2026\" (Freud, Sigmund. <em>The Uncanny<\/em>, p. 23). \u1e24ayra is a historical repetition of the trauma of tyranny.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>The novel suggests that humanity is trapped in a neurotic cycle. Mahfouz is famously attentive to time's passage and to the mutability of civilizations; yet in these cities, time does not lead to progress\u2014it loops back to violence.<\/p>\n\n<p>Just as Freud maintained that the unconscious ignores time and that the repressed remains unchanged, Bloch notes: \"The only function Freud recognizes for the unconscious is to collect what has been rejected elsewhere. Or, at most, it would be an Id encircling the conscious like a closed ring: a sort of inherited instance, transmitted by tribal memory and enveloping the conscious human being\" (Bloch, Ernst. <em>The Principle of Hope<\/em>, p. 61). The D\u0101rs exist in a suspended temporality in which ancient crimes (war, slavery, idolatry) are perpetually replayed. Through a Freudian lens, we understand that Qindil does not travel toward \"new\" places; he uncovers an archaeology of human suffering. The failure of these societies is the symptom of their inability to assimilate their own history, condemning them to repeat it as dystopia.<\/p>\n\n<h2>II. Sufi Ethics: The Guide and the Diagnosis of Diseased Hearts<\/h2>\n\n<p>Having established that the novel's political systems operate as neurotic repetitions of history, we now turn to the Sufi remedy. Mahfouz suggests that the political failure of these cities is fundamentally a spiritual failure.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>1. The journey as unveiling (<em>isf\u0101r<\/em>): an aesthetics of allegory<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p><strong>A. The initiatory structure of the journey (<em>safar<\/em>)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The narrative structure of <em>The Journey of Ibn Fattouma<\/em> is not merely picaresque; it is initiatory. We should interpret the journey (<em>safar<\/em>) through its etymological and mystical link to unveiling (<em>isf\u0101r<\/em>). As al-Qushayr\u012b and Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b note, the word <em>safar<\/em> (journey) shares a root with <em>isf\u0101r<\/em> (unveiling \/ dawning). The Sufi tradition holds that a journey is so named because it \"unveils the character of men\" (Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b, Mu\u1e25yidd\u012bn. <em>The Secrets of Voyaging<\/em>, p. 135). Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b further explains that it is also linked\u2014both in its sense of travel and its sense of lifting a veil\u2014to danger: the first because of the obvious perils inherent to any journey, and the second because, in times and places where it is customary for a woman to veil her face, her unveiling is an ominous sign of something troubling (Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b, Mu\u1e25yidd\u012bn. <em>The Secrets of Voyaging<\/em>, p. 135).<\/p>\n\n<p>Qindil's passage through the D\u0101rs is thus a pretext for an inward revelation. He is not a tourist observing foreign customs; he is an \"individual outside the world,\" to borrow Louis Dumont's concept of the renouncer\u2014one who deliberately separates from the social order in order to diagnose its pathologies and seek an absolute truth no earthly city can contain (Elmarsafy, Ziad. <em>Sufism in the Contemporary Arabic Novel<\/em>, p. 4). He lifts the \"veil\" of political rhetoric imposed by leaders (\u1e24ayra's God-King, Aman's technocrats) to expose the repressed reality of human suffering and the underlying corruption.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>B. The structure of the <em>maq\u0101m\u0101t<\/em> (stations) and the closure of the horizon<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Mahfouz subverts the traditional Sufi structure of the <em>maq\u0101m\u0101t<\/em> (spiritual stations). In classical hagiography, the traveler ascends from station to station (repentance, patience, trust), drawing ever closer to God. In the novel, each city (D\u0101r) represents a \"petrified station\" (<em>maq\u0101m<\/em>), defined by Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b as follows: the station is the fruit of the efforts of those who follow the spiritual path; it is generally permanent, accompanying the disciple along the path and disappearing only if certain circumstances justify its removal. In reality, the station is acquired through works; it implies striving, reaching, seeking. Through the station, gnostics attain perfection. It is a good never taken from them, never hidden or veiled; it is constant (Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b, Mu\u1e25yidd\u012bn. <em>The Secrets of Voyaging<\/em>, p. 244). In Mahfouz, the \"station\" is no longer a rung in spiritual ascent; it becomes a stage of historical arrest. Mashriq is frozen in the station of primitive instincts; \u1e24ayra is frozen in the station of authoritarian idolatry.<\/p>\n\n<p>The circularity of Qindil's journey\u2014constantly seeking a perfection that eludes him, often ending in prison or exile\u2014illustrates what Fredric Jameson calls the need for \"utopian closure\" (Jameson, Fredric. <em>Archaeologies of the Future: The Desire Called Utopia<\/em>, p. 290). The traveler feels he is advancing, but he is trapped in a loop of \"retrotopias\" because these societies refuse to open themselves to the Transcendent. They are closed horizons that try to force the absolute into a material and political form\u2014inevitably producing dystopia.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>C. Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b's contribution: the infinite journey<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To break this closure, Mahfouz mobilizes Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b's metaphysics.<\/p>\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>The infinite journey:<\/strong> For Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b, the journey toward Truth (<em>\u1e25aq\u012bqa<\/em>) \"has no end, neither in this world nor in the hereafter.\" In the prologue of <em>The Secrets of Voyaging<\/em> (<em>Kit\u0101b al-Isf\u0101r<\/em>), he adds: \"In reality, we never cease traveling\u2014from the moment we and our roots are created\u2014without end\" (Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b, Mu\u1e25yidd\u012bn. <em>The Secrets of Voyaging<\/em>, p. 43). If the earthly world (the D\u0101rs) appears as a dystopian loop, it is because it denies this infinite nature of the quest. The cities attempt to say \"We have arrived\" (we are the perfect state), whereas Sufi ethics is that of perpetual movement.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>The return to the self:<\/strong> At the end of his own spiritual path, Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b realizes that \"the journey he had made was only within himself, and it was toward himself that he had been guided\" (Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b, Mu\u1e25yidd\u012bn. <em>The Secrets of Voyaging<\/em>, p. 3). Likewise, Qindil's journey is a return to his own \"heart.\"<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2>III. D\u0101r al-Jabal: The Utopia of the Invisible (The Theoretical Pivot)<\/h2>\n\n<p>In this crucial section, we show how Mahfouz transcends the dystopian impasse of the D\u0101rs by shifting the very concept of utopia from the political map into the domain of the Invisible (<em>al-ghayb<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>1. A protected utopia: the strategy of the unsaid<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p><strong>A. \"Saving repression\": a utopia outside the text<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Unlike the detailed sociological and political descriptions provided for Mashriq, \u1e24ayra, \u1e24alba, and Aman, the land of <em>D\u0101r al-Jabal<\/em> (Gebel) is never described in the manuscript. It remains structurally \"outside the text.\" The novel ends precisely at the moment of arrival, at the foot of the mountain, when the caravan leader declares: \"This is where the caravan ends\" (Mahfouz, Naguib. <em>The Journey of Ibn Fattouma<\/em>, p. 96). The text refuses to cross the threshold. We argue that this silence is not a lack of imagination, but a deliberate narrative strategy.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>B. Protecting the ideal: from \"eutopia\" to \"u-topia\"<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Had Mahfouz described <em>D\u0101r al-Jabal<\/em>, he would inevitably have made it finite\u2014and therefore corruptible. As Bauman observes, when utopian projects are fixed to a specific <em>topos<\/em> (a state or sovereign territory), they tend to lose their future-oriented momentum and regress into \"retrotopias,\" recycling past models of security or tribalism (Bauman, Zygmunt. <em>Retrotopia<\/em>, p. 13). If Gebel were described as a concrete city, it would risk resembling Aman (communist security) or \u1e24alba (capitalist freedom), both of which fail to deliver \"total purity.\" By leaving Gebel undescribed, Mahfouz protects it from becoming a retrotopia.<\/p>\n\n<p>We interpret Gebel through the concept of \"anticipatory consciousness.\" Jameson argues that the authentic utopian function is driven by an anticipatory consciousness that reaches toward what has not yet come to pass, because it refers to real possibilities not yet actualized, since they have not yet fulfilled all the conditions of their realization (Jameson, Fredric, <em>The Politics of Utopia<\/em>, p. 8). Such realization is often accompanied by a \"melancholy of fulfillment,\" since reality never matches the dream.<\/p>\n\n<p>Gebel is thus a \"wish-image\" (<em>Wunschbild<\/em>) that guides the traveler while refusing to congeal into a material \"fact,\" in Bloch's sense: \"interested wishing is the 'melody of the drive'; it is what liberates the will and whispers to it what it must will\" (Bloch, Ernst. <em>The Principle of Hope<\/em>, p. 51). It remains a <em>u-topia<\/em> in the strict etymological sense (from Greek <em>ou-topos<\/em>): a \"no-place,\" a place that exists nowhere in the physical world and therefore cannot be corrupted by history.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>2. The passage to <em>kashf<\/em> (direct unveiling)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p><strong>A. Beyond political reason<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The necessity of access to <em>kashf<\/em> at <em>D\u0101r al-Jabal<\/em> is structurally different from access to the previous cities. Whereas Mashriq, \u1e24ayra, and Aman can be analyzed through sociology or political science (Freud\/Bauman), Gebel resists rational categorization.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Definition of <em>kashf<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In Sufi doctrine\u2014especially in Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b and al-Qushayr\u012b\u2014<em>kashf<\/em> (\"unveiling\") is a state of direct divine disclosure attained not by the intellect but by the \"unveiling of the heart\" after spiritual struggle. Kashf enables human beings to transcend the boundaries of sensory perception and reasoning, opening insight into the essence of God\u2014an access pure reason alone cannot achieve (Hidayatulloh, Taufik. <em>Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b's Hermeneutics<\/em>, p. 65). It is a knowledge that bypasses sensory and rational faculties, allowing divine truths to pour directly into the heart.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>The limits of reason<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Mahfouz suggests that political reason\u2014the reason that built Aman's and \u1e24alba's failed systems\u2014is insufficient for the final stage. As Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b maintains, one who confines himself to rational arguments cannot receive divine knowledge; the spiritual world lies \"beyond the intellect\" (Abrahamov, Binyamin. <em>Ibn al-\u02bfArab\u012b and the Sufis<\/em>, p. 159). Qindil cannot enter Gebel as a mere traveler; he must \"unveil\" it.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>B. Ghuroub as a chamber of ascetic discipline (<em>khalwa<\/em>)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Before reaching the mountain, Qindil must cross <em>D\u0101r al-Ghuroub<\/em> (the Land of the Setting Sun). Within the narrative economy, this land functions as a Sufi <em>khalwa<\/em> (spiritual retreat).<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Purifying the heart<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In Ghuroub, the Sage teaches that those preparing for Gebel must draw out \"hidden powers\" from within themselves and purge \"depraved desires\" (Mahfouz, Naguib. <em>The Journey of Ibn Fattouma<\/em>, p. 91). This echoes the Sufi practice of <em>tazkiya<\/em> (purification of the soul), a prerequisite for receiving <em>ma\u02bfrifa<\/em> (gnosis).<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>C. Not \"The End\" (<em>nih\u0101ya<\/em>), but \"The Beginning\" (<em>al-bid\u0101ya<\/em>)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The most important structural element of the novel is the title of its final chapter. Instead of ending with \"The End\" (<em>nih\u0101ya<\/em>), Mahfouz titles the last stage \"<em>Al-Bid\u0101ya<\/em>\" (\"The Beginning\") (Mahfouz, Naguib. <em>The Journey of Ibn Fattouma<\/em>, p. 95).<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>The metaphysical cycle<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This choice transforms the narrative from a linear geographical quest into a metaphysical cycle. In Sufi cosmology\u2014particularly in Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b\u2014the journey toward the Real has no end: \"the journey has no end, neither in this life nor in the hereafter\" (Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b, Mu\u1e25yidd\u012bn. <em>The Secrets of Voyaging<\/em>, p. 7). Arrival at the mountain's foot is not a conclusion but the beginning of a higher cycle of existence.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>An open horizon<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The manuscript ends with Qindil standing at the foot of the mountain, gazing at a summit \"that rose to the clouds and defied the will\" (Mahfouz, Naguib. <em>The Journey of Ibn Fattouma<\/em>, p. 134), where the caravan stops. By refusing to write \"The End,\" Mahfouz suggests that true utopia is not a destination one reaches and possesses (which would make it a static retrotopia), but a perpetual beginning\u2014an infinite opening toward the Divine.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>3. The sovereignty of <em>al-ghayb<\/em> (Sufi transcendence)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p><strong>A. The final seal: the limits of the text and the authority of the Invisible<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The novel ends not with political victory nor with the colonization of a new land; it concludes with a theological resignation that operates as an epistemological shift. The manuscript closes with a Qur\u02beanic formula: \"Only He knows\u2014He who knows what is hidden and what is manifest\" (<em>\u02bf\u0100lim al-ghaybi wa ash-shah\u0101da<\/em>) (Mahfouz, Naguib. <em>The Journey of Ibn Fattouma<\/em>, p. 135).<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Transfer of authority<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>By invoking this Qur\u02beanic attribute of God, Mahfouz transfers the authority of \"Truth\" from the human narrator (Qindil \/ the traveler) to the Divine. The text acknowledges its own incapacity to grasp the Absolute.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>The two worlds<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This ending rests on the Ghaz\u0101lian distinction between the World of the Visible (<em>\u02bf\u0100lam al-Shah\u0101da<\/em>, perceived by the senses) and the Domain of the Invisible (<em>\u02bf\u0100lam al-Ghayb<\/em>, perceived by the light of the heart): \"This relation is of the same nature as that which exists between the visible world and the invisible world. By the visible world\u2014also called <em>\u02bf\u0100lam al-Shah\u0101da<\/em>\u2014I mean the world perceived by the senses; and by the invisible world\u2014also called <em>\u02bf\u0100lam al-Ghayb<\/em>\u2014I mean the world perceived by the light of the spirit. The heart belongs to the invisible world, while the members of the body and their activities belong to the visible world\" (al-Ghaz\u0101l\u012b. <em>I\u1e25y\u0101\u02be \u02bfUl\u016bm al-D\u012bn: The Revival of the Religious Sciences<\/em>, p. 241). Qindil has traversed the <em>shah\u0101da<\/em> (the visible political systems of the D\u0101rs) and found them insufficient. The ending indicates that the solution lies beyond the physical map, in the <em>ghayb<\/em>\u2014a domain \"without limits\" and infinite in contrast to the finite visible world.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n<p><em>The Journey of Ibn Fattouma<\/em> functions not only as a picaresque novel but also as a \"waking dream\" (Bloch, Ernst. <em>The Principle of Hope<\/em>, p. 3) in Bloch's sense: a narrative structure that does not flee reality but reshapes it through the projection of a \"wish-image\" (<em>Wunschbild<\/em>) (Bloch, Ernst. <em>The Principle of Hope<\/em>, p. 51). Through this dreamlike prism, Mahfouz diagnoses the neuroses of history.<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n  <li>Drawing on Freud, we established that the cities visited by Qindil (Mashriq, \u1e24ayra, \u1e24alba, Aman) are not progressive stages of evolution but pathological repetitions. They illustrate the \"discontents\" of civilization, in which social order is purchased at the high cost of repressing spiritual freedom and instinctual life, generating a collective neurosis.<\/li>\n  <li>These societies also function as \"retrotopias\" (Zygmunt Bauman): unable to project a viable future, they regressively recycle past models\u2014tribalism, feudalism, or totalitarian security\u2014to ward off the anxieties of the present.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>Our analysis revealed the need for a theoretical division of labor in order to capture the full scope of the novel:<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>Pathology (the D\u0101rs):<\/strong> We used psychoanalysis to decode the sickness of the D\u0101rs. These cities operate through a mechanism of pathological repression: they suffocate spiritual needs in order to maintain rigid political control. Yet, as Freud explains with regard to the <em>Unheimliche<\/em> (the uncanny), what is repressed inevitably returns in the form of symptoms\u2014violence and hypocrisy (Freud, Sigmund. <em>The Uncanny<\/em>, p. 23).<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Remedy (orientation):<\/strong> Psychoanalysis reaches its epistemological limits at the gates of Gebel. To grasp Mahfouz's proposed solution, we turned to Sufism. The remedy is not political but ontological: an orientation toward the Invisible (<em>al-ghayb<\/em>). As al-Ghaz\u0101l\u012b teaches, healing the \"diseased heart\" is not a change of regime, but purification (<em>tazkiya<\/em>) that enables the perception of the \"Domain of the Invisible\" beyond the corrupted visible world.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>The novel demonstrates that political systems fail when they attempt to embody the utopian ideal fully in the material world, transforming it into a \"closed horizon\" (Fredric Jameson). To address this problem, Mahfouz employs a narrative strategy that we define as \"saving de-repression\" (<em>d\u00e9-redoulement<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>Mechanism of protection:<\/strong> Unlike the pathological repression present in the D\u0101rs, \"de-repression\" is a deliberate literary act in which the author \"represses\" the description of Utopia (<em>D\u0101r al-Jabal<\/em>) by leaving it outside the text. By keeping Gebel \"off-text,\" Mahfouz protects the Ideal from the corruption of time, language, and historical decay.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>From utopia to u-topia:<\/strong> This strategy aligns with the definition of <em>u-topia<\/em> as a \"no-place.\" Gebel is not a place to be colonized; it remains a pure aspiration. By refusing to describe it, Mahfouz prevents it from becoming finite and corruptible. It remains the \"not-yet\" (<em>Noch-Nicht<\/em>) described by Bloch\u2014a real possibility that has not yet manifested in history.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>The convergence of Sufi ethics (Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b) and the philosophy of hope (Bloch) culminates in the novel's open ending.<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>The horizon of <em>kashf<\/em>:<\/strong> The journey ends not in political victory but in spiritual opening. Access to truth is no longer a matter of geographical travel but of <em>kashf<\/em> (revelation). The true city is not built by force; it is revealed to the purified heart.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>The eternal cycle:<\/strong> The final sentence\u2014\"Only He knows\u2014He who knows what is hidden and what is manifest\" (Mahfouz, Naguib. <em>The Journey of Ibn Fattouma<\/em>, p. 136)\u2014is the ethical key of the work. By anchoring ultimate utopia in the Invisible (<em>al-ghayb<\/em>), Mahfouz frees it from the inevitable failure of human history. The journey is transformed from a linear quest into an infinite cycle (<em>al-bid\u0101ya<\/em> \/ the beginning), ensuring that even if political systems collapse, the human aspiration to the Absolute remains an indestructible and eternal promise.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>Yet if Mahfouz anchors the utopian horizon in the Invisible (<em>al-ghayb<\/em>), it is not to close the narrative but to reopen it. The dystopian ruins Qindil encounters are not an end in themselves; they are the soil from which something else may emerge\u2014something unexpected. In Derrida's terms, what matters is not the future in the ordinary sense, but the <em>\u00e0-venir<\/em>: a future-to-come that is irreducible to any institutional scheme.<\/p>\n\n<p>Can the Sufi ethics of interiority and detachment still offer\u2014amid the ruins of failing systems\u2014the necessary conditions for imagining a justice that has not yet come to pass?<\/p>\n\n<h2>Bibliography<\/h2>\n\n<ul>\n  <li>Mahfouz, Naguib. <em>Le Voyage d'Ibn Fattouma<\/em>. Translated by Martine Houssay, Anchor Sindbad \/ ACTES SUD, 2021.<\/li>\n  <li>Bloch, Ernst. <em>Le Principe esp\u00e9rance<\/em>. Translated from German by Fran\u00e7oise Wuilmart, 3 vols., Gallimard, 1976\u20131991.<\/li>\n  <li>Bauman, Zygmunt. <em>Retrotopia<\/em>. Polity Press, 2017.<\/li>\n  <li>Freud, Sigmund. <em>Malaise dans la civilisation<\/em>. Translated by Ch. and J. Odier, Payot, 2010.<\/li>\n  <li>Freud, Sigmund. \"L'inqui\u00e9tante \u00e9tranget\u00e9.\" <em>Essais de psychanalyse appliqu\u00e9e<\/em>, translated by Marie Bonaparte et al., Gallimard, 1933.<\/li>\n  <li>Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b, Mu\u1e25yidd\u012bn. <em>The Secrets of Voyaging: Kit\u0101b al-Isf\u0101r \u02bfan Nat\u0101\u02beij al-Asf\u0101r<\/em>. Translated by Angela Jaffray, Anqa Publishing, 2015.<\/li>\n  <li>Jameson, Fredric. \"The Politics of Utopia.\" <em>New Left Review<\/em>, no. 25, Jan.\u2013Feb. 2004.<\/li>\n  <li>Jameson, Fredric. <em>Arch\u00e9ologies du futur: Le d\u00e9sir nomm\u00e9 utopie et autres sciences-fiction<\/em>. Translated from English by Nicolas Calv\u00e9, Les Prairies ordinaires, 2007.<\/li>\n  <li>Abrahamov, Binyamin. <em>Ibn al-\u02bfArab\u012b and the Sufis<\/em>. Anqa Publishing, 2014.<\/li>\n  <li>Al-Ghaz\u0101l\u012b. <em>I\u1e25y\u0101\u02be \u02bfUl\u016bm al-D\u012bn: The Revival of the Religious Sciences<\/em>. Vol. 1, translated by Fazlul Karim, Islamic Book Service, 2008.<\/li>\n  <li>Elmarsafy, Ziad. <em>Sufism in the Contemporary Arabic Novel<\/em>. Edinburgh University Press, 2011.<\/li>\n  <li>Hidayatulloh, Taufik, et al. \"Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b's Hermeneutics as an Alternative Religious Exegesis for Contemporary Urban Muslim Communities.\" <em>Akademika<\/em>, vol. 30, no. 1, 2025.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/article><\/div>\n                    \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Mohamed Ben Mansour                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">\u00c9cole Normale Sup\u00e9rieure de Lyon, France<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Defining Beauty in Islam: Oscillation Between Submission and Transgression of Ethical Norms<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/defining-the-beautiful-in-islam-between-submission-to-and-transgression-of-ethical-norms\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Defining Beauty in Islam: Oscillation Between Submission and Transgression of Ethical Norms\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-65', 'Abstract : Defining Beauty in Islam: Oscillation Between Submission and Transgression of Ethical Norms', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-65\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Qu'elle soit d'inspiration grecque ou d'ob\u00e9dience arabo-musulmane, l'intrication de l'\u00e9thique et de l'esth\u00e9tique traverse la critique litt\u00e9raire arabe. Dans les travaux des th\u00e9oriciens de la po\u00e9sie arabe (Tha'lab, Qudama b. Ja'far, al-'Askari, 'Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjani, al-Amidi, Hazim al-Qartajanni, etc.), le jugement esth\u00e9tique oscille entre une soumission \u00e0 des consid\u00e9rations morales (en particulier le bien et le mal), et une transgression des principes \u00e9thiques motiv\u00e9e par une pragmatique verbale. Dans cette configuration, l'efficace du discours pr\u00e9vaut sur son inscription dans un paradigme axiologique ou un contexte doctrinal. La sph\u00e8re philosophique (al-Kindi, al-Farabi, Averro\u00e8s, Avicenne, Miskawayh, etc.) s'est \u00e9galement empar\u00e9e de cette probl\u00e9matique et s'est interrog\u00e9e sur la place des consid\u00e9rations \u00e9thiques dans l'\u00e9laboration d'un canon esth\u00e9tique. D'o\u00f9 une question centrale qui traverse la po\u00e9tique et la rh\u00e9torique arabes m\u00e9di\u00e9vales&nbsp;: le po\u00e9tique ob\u00e9it-il \u00e0 l'\u00e9thique&nbsp;? Quelle est la place de la morale dans la d\u00e9finition de l'esth\u00e9tique po\u00e9tique&nbsp;?\nNotre intervention vise \u00e0 mettre au jour l'existence de fractales normatives (religieuse, logique, etc.) qui sous-tendent les travaux de ces deux \u00e9coles et la permanence de tensions entre les horizons esth\u00e9tique et \u00e9thique.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-66', 'Mohamed Ben Mansour', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-66\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Holder of the agregation in Arabic and a doctorate in philosophy (Arabic languages and civilizations), Mohamed Ben Mansour has been a senior lecturer in Arab studies at ENS Lyon since 2018 and is a member of the Triangle laboratory (UMR 5206 CNRS). His research focuses on the connections between poetics, rhetoric, and power in medieval Islam, particularly during the Abbasid period, as well as on mirrors for princes and freedom of speech. He published Le poete et le Prince (Geuthner, 2021) and several articles on poetic parrhesia, politics, and translation. He directs master's programs and contributes to ENS Lyon recruitment examinations.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-auto\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-auto-67', 'Automatic translation that may contain errors', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Automatic translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-auto-67\" style=\"display:none;\"><article>\r\n  <p><strong>Mohamed Ben Mansour<\/strong><br\/>ENS de Lyon<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Defining Beauty in Islam: Oscillation Between Submission and Transgression of Ethical Norms<\/h2>\r\n  <p><em>\"Variations on the Good and the Beautiful, the Sayable and the Unsayable\"<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Introduction<\/h2>\r\n  <p><strong>A double judgement<\/strong><\/p>\r\n  <ul>\r\n    <li><strong>Aesthetic:<\/strong> the beauty of images and metaphors, figures of speech, and the architecture of the verse.<\/li>\r\n    <li><strong>Ethical:<\/strong> respect for\u2014or transgression of\u2014ethical norms: morality and religious prescriptions.<\/li>\r\n  <\/ul>\r\n  <p><strong>Guiding questions<\/strong><\/p>\r\n  <ul>\r\n    <li>Is the moral dimension superior to aesthetic considerations?<\/li>\r\n    <li>Can ethics and aesthetics be separated when judging a line of verse or a poem?<\/li>\r\n  <\/ul>\r\n\r\n  <h2>I. The School of Beauty<\/h2>\r\n  <p><strong>Imru\u02be al-Qays, <em>D\u012bw\u0101n<\/em>, p. 31<\/strong><\/p>\r\n  <p dir=\"rtl\" lang=\"ar\">\u0633\u0645\u0648\u062a\u064f \u0625\u0644\u064a\u0647\u0627 \u0628\u0639\u062f\u064e \u0645\u0627 \u0646\u0627\u0645\u064e \u0623\u0647\u0644\u064f\u0647\u0627 ... \u0633\u0645\u0648\u064e\u0651 \u062d\u0628\u0627\u0628\u0650 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0627\u0621\u0650 \u062d\u0627\u0644\u0627\u064b \u0639\u0644\u0649 \u062d\u0627\u0644<\/p>\r\n  <p dir=\"rtl\" lang=\"ar\">\u0641\u0642\u0627\u0644\u062a\u0652: \u0633\u064e\u0628\u0627\u0643\u064e \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647\u064f \u0625\u0646\u064e\u0651\u0643\u064e \u0641\u0627\u0636\u0650\u062d\u064c ... \u0623\u062a\u0631\u0649 \u0633\u064f\u0645\u0627\u064a\u064e \u0627\u0644\u0646\u0627\u0633\u0650 \u062d\u0648\u0644\u064a \u0623\u064e\u0648\u0650 \u0627\u0644\u0646\u0627<\/p>\r\n  <p dir=\"rtl\" lang=\"ar\">\u0641\u0642\u0644\u062a\u064f: \u064a\u0645\u064a\u0646\u064e \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647\u0650 \u0623\u0628\u0631\u062d\u064f \u0642\u0627\u0639\u062f\u0627\u064b ... \u0648\u0644\u0648 \u0642\u0637\u0639\u0648\u0627 \u0631\u0623\u0633\u064a \u0644\u062f\u064a\u0643\u0650 \u0648\u0623\u0648\u0635\u0627\u0644\u064a<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p><strong>Translation by Pierre Larcher<\/strong> (<em>Arabica<\/em>, vol. 40, no. 1, March 1993, p. 122) \u2014 rendered here in English:<\/p>\r\n  <p>1. I rose to her when her people had fallen asleep,<br\/>Like bubbles of water, little by little.<\/p>\r\n  <p>2. \"May God take you!\" she said to me, \"you are my disgrace!<br\/>Do you not see the watchers and the people all around?\"<\/p>\r\n  <p>3. \"By God,\" I replied, \"I will not move from where I sit,<br\/>Even if they cut off my head before you\u2014and my limbs.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>\u21d2 An ethico-political controversy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p><strong>Ibn Rash\u012bq, <em>Kit\u0101b al-\u02bfUmda<\/em> \u2014 Chapter on the new and the unprecedented<\/strong><\/p>\r\n  <p dir=\"rtl\" lang=\"ar\">\u0628\u0627\u0628\u064f\u0627\u0644\u0645\u062e\u062a\u0631\u0639\u064f\u0648\u0627\u0644\u0628\u062f\u064a\u0639\r\n\u0627\u0644\u0645\u062e\u062a\u0631\u0639\u064f\u0645\u0646\u064f\u0627\u0644\u0634\u0639\u0631\u064f\u0647\u0648\u064f:\u0645\u0627\u064f\u0644\u0645\u064f\u064a\u0633\u0628\u0642\u064f\u0625\u0644\u064a\u0647\u064f\u0642\u0627\u0626\u0644\u0647\u064f\u060c\u0648\u0644\u064f\u0639\u0645\u0644\u064f\u0623\u062d\u062f\u064f\u0645\u0646\u064f\u0627\u0644\u0634\u0639\u0631\u0627\u0621\u064f\u0642\u0628\u0644\u0647\u064f\u0646\u0638\u064a\u0631\u0647\u064f\u0623\u0648\u064f\u0645\u0627\u064f\u064a\u0642\u0631\u0628\u064f\u0645\u0646\u0647\u064f\u060c\u0643\u0642\u0648\u0644\u064f\u0627\u0645\u0631\u0626\u064f\u0627\u0644\u0642\u064a\u0633:\r\n\u0633\u0645\u0648\u062a \u0625\u0644\u064a\u0647\u0627 \u0628\u0639\u062f \u0645\u0627 \u0646\u0627\u0645 \u0623\u0647\u0644\u0647\u0627 ... \u0633\u0645\u0648 \u062d\u0628\u0627\u0628 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0627\u0621 \u062d\u0627\u0644\u0627 \u0639\u0644\u0649 \u062d\u0627\u0644\r\n\u0641\u0625\u0646\u0647\u064f\u0623\u0648\u0644\u064f\u0645\u0646\u064f\u0637\u0631\u0642\u064f\u0647\u0630\u0627\u064f\u0627\u0644\u0645\u0639\u0646\u0649\u064f\u0648\u0627\u0628\u062a\u0643\u0631\u0647\u064f\u060c\u0648\u0633\u0644\u0645\u064f\u0627\u0644\u0634\u0639\u0631\u0627\u0621\u064f\u0625\u0644\u064a\u0647\u064f\u060c\u0641\u0644\u0645\u064f\u064a\u0646\u0627\u0632\u0639\u0647\u064f\u0623\u062d\u062f\u064f\u0625\u064a\u0627\u0647.<\/p>\r\n  <p>\"In poetry, <em>al-mukhtara\u02bf<\/em> (the unprecedented) refers to whatever has been invented by a poet\u2014something for which none of his predecessors produced an equivalent or even a close analogue. This is the case with Imru\u02be al-Qays's line:<\/p>\r\n  <p>'I rose to her when her people had fallen asleep, \/ Like bubbles of water, little by little.'<\/p>\r\n  <p>Imru\u02be al-Qays was the first to bring forth and coin this poetic image. Once other poets acknowledged this, none could claim its paternity.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p><strong>Al-\u02bfAskar\u012b, <em>Kit\u0101b al-\u1e62in\u0101\u02bfatayn<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n  <p dir=\"rtl\" lang=\"ar\">\u0648\u0636\u0631 \u064c\u0628 \u0645\u0646\u0647 \u0622\u062e\u0631\u060c \u0648\u0645\u0646\u0647 \u0642\u0648\u0644 \u0627\u0645\u0631\u0626 \u0627\u0644\u0642\u064a\u0633:\r\n\u0633\u0645\u0648\u062a \u0625\u0644\u064a\u0647\u0627 \u0628\u0639\u062f \u0645\u0627 \u0646\u0627\u0645 \u0623\u0647\u0644\u0647\u0627 ... \u0633\u0645\u0648 \u062d\u0628\u0627\u0628\u0650 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0627\u0621\u0650 \u062d\u0627\u0644 \u0639\u0644\u0649 \u062d\u0627\u0644\r\n\u0641\u062d\u0630\u0641\u064f\u062d\u0631\u0641\u064f\u0627\u0644\u062a\u0634\u0628\u064a\u0647\u064f.<\/p>\r\n  <p>\"He omitted the comparative particle.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p><strong>Ibn al-Mu\u02bftazz, <em>\u1e6cabaq\u0101t al-shu\u02bfar\u0101\u02be<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n  <p dir=\"rtl\" lang=\"ar\">\u0648\u0645\u0645\u0627 \u064a\u0633\u062a\u062d\u0633\u0646 \u0644\u0647\u060c \u0648\u0625\u0646 \u0643\u0627\u0646 \u0634\u0639\u0631\u0647 \u062d\u0633\u0646\u0627\u0627 \u062c\u064a\u062f\u0627\u0627\u060c<\/p>\r\n  <p>\"Among his fine compositions\u2014even though his poetry as a whole is of very high quality\u2026\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p><strong>Al-\u0100mid\u012b, <em>al-Muw\u0101zana<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n  <p>He considers it \"the most beautiful and eloquent of the verses devoted to concealing one's movement and slipping quietly into women's quarters.\"<\/p>\r\n  <p dir=\"rtl\" lang=\"ar\">\u0648\u0645\u0627\u064f\u0642\u064a\u0644\u064f\u0641\u064a\u064f\u0625\u062e\u0641\u0627\u0621\u064f\u0627\u0644\u062d\u0631\u0643\u0629\u064f\u0648\u0627\u0644\u062f\u0628\u064a\u0628 \u0623\u0628\u0644\u063a\u064f\u0648\u0644\u064f\u0623\u0628\u0631\u0639\u064f\u0645\u0646\u064f\u0628\u064a\u062a\u064f\u0627\u0645\u0631\u0626\u064f\u0627\u0644\u0642\u064a\u0633\u064f\u0647\u0630\u0627.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>II. The School of the Good<\/h2>\r\n  <p>\u21d2 A moralizing approach.<\/p>\r\n  <p>\u21d2 Content determines form.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p><strong>Ibn Qutayba, <em>Kit\u0101b al-shi\u02bfr wa-l-shu\u02bfar\u0101\u02be<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n  <p dir=\"rtl\" lang=\"ar\">\u0648\u064a\u0639\u0627\u0628 \u0639\u0644\u064a\u0647 \u062a\u0635\u0631\u064a\u062d\u0647 \u0628\u0627\u0644\u0632\u0646\u0627 \u0648\u0627\u0644\u062f\u0651\u0628\u064a\u0628 \u0625\u0644\u0649 \u062d\u0631\u0645 \u0627\u0644\u0646\u0627\u0633. \u0648\u0627\u0644\u0634\u0639\u0631\u0627\u0621 \u062a\u062a\u0648\u0642\u0651\u0649 \u0630\u0644\u0643 \u0641\u064a \u0627\u0644\u0634\u0639\u0631\u064f \u0648\u0625\u0646 \u0641\u0639\u0644\u062a\u0647\u064f:<\/p>\r\n  <p>\"He has been reproached for speaking explicitly of adultery and for stealing quietly into other people's womenfolk. Poets are supposed to refrain from evoking such situations in their poems, even if they have lived them\u2014 as this tercet shows:\"<\/p>\r\n  <p>1. I rose to her when her people had fallen asleep, \/ Like bubbles of water, little by little.<\/p>\r\n  <p>2. \"May God take you!\" she said, \"you are my disgrace! \/ Do you not see the watchers and the people all around?\"<\/p>\r\n  <p>3. \"By God,\" I replied, \"I will not move from where I sit, \/ Even if they cut off my head before you\u2014and my limbs.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>\u21d2 To silence debauchery and libertinage (the register of the ineffable, the unsayable).<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p><strong>Ibn Sall\u0101m al-Juma\u1e25\u012b, <em>\u1e6cabaq\u0101t fu\u1e25\u016bl al-shu\u02bfar\u0101\u02be<\/em> (taken up by al-Marzub\u0101n\u012b in <em>al-Muwa\u0161\u0161a\u1e25<\/em>)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n  <p dir=\"rtl\" lang=\"ar\">\u0643\u0627\u0646 \u0645\u0646 \u0627\u0644\u0634\u0639\u0631\u0627\u0621 \u0645\u0646 \u064a\u062a\u0623\u0644\u0647 \u0641\u064a \u062c\u0627\u0647\u0644\u064a\u062a\u0647\u060c \u0648\u064a\u062a\u0639\u0641\u0641 \u0641\u064a \u0634\u0639\u0631\u0647\u060c \u0648\u0644 \u064a\u0633\u062a\u0628\u0647\u0631\u064f \u0628\u0627\u0644\u0641\u0648\u0627\u062d\u0634 \u0648\u0644 \u064a\u062a\u0643\u0644\u0645 \u0641\u064a \u0627\u0644\u0647\u062c\u0627\u0621 \u0648\u0645\u0646\u0647\u0645 \u0645\u0646 \u0643\u0627\u0646 \u064a\u0646\u0639\u0649\r\n\u0639\u0644\u0649 \u0646\u0641\u0633\u0647 \u0648\u064a\u062a\u0639\u0647\u0631. \u0645\u0646\u0647\u0645 \u0627\u0645\u0631\u0624 \u0627\u0644\u0642\u064a\u0633\u060c \u0642\u0627\u0644:<\/p>\r\n  <p>\"In the pre-Islamic period, some poets devoted themselves to piety and practiced restraint in their poetry: they did not boast of obscenities and did not indulge in invective against others. Others\u2014Imru\u02be al-Qays among them\u2014vaunted such matters publicly and committed adultery. It is he who declaimed:<\/p>\r\n  <p>'I rose to her when her people had fallen asleep, \/ Like bubbles of water, little by little.'\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>\u21d2 Anachronistic readings and retrospective judgement.<\/p>\r\n  <p>\u21d2 The prism of propriety.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p><strong>The philosophical sphere<\/strong><\/p>\r\n  <ul>\r\n    <li>Moralizing Aristotle's <em>Poetics<\/em>.<\/li>\r\n    <li>Total subordination of aesthetics to ethics.<\/li>\r\n    <li>Rejection of every form of transgression.<\/li>\r\n    <li>A radicalized aesthetics.<\/li>\r\n  <\/ul>\r\n\r\n  <p><strong>Averroes (Ibn Rushd), <em>Tal\u1e2b\u012b\u1e63 Kit\u0101b al-shi\u02bfr<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n  <p dir=\"rtl\" lang=\"ar\">\u0641\u0645\u062b\u0627\u0644 \u0645\u0627 \u0648\u0631\u062f \u0645\u0646 \u0630\u0644\u0643 \u0641\u064a \u0627\u0644\u0641\u062c\u0648\u0631\u064f \u0642\u0648\u0644 \u0627\u0645\u0631\u0626 \u0627\u0644\u0642\u064a\u0633:<\/p>\r\n  <p>\"An example of what appears in this regard in licentious discourse is Imru\u02be al-Qays's statement:\"<\/p>\r\n  <p>1. I rose to her when her people had fallen asleep, \/ Like bubbles of water, little by little.<\/p>\r\n  <p>2. \"May God take you!\" she said, \"you are my disgrace! \/ Do you not see the watchers and the people all around?\"<\/p>\r\n  <p>3. \"By God,\" I replied, \"I will not move from where I sit, \/ Even if they cut off my head before you\u2014and my limbs.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>III. What Purpose(s) for Poetry?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p><strong>a. Reforming morals and conduct<\/strong><\/p>\r\n  <p>\u21d2 A pedagogical and ethical instrument.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p><strong>Miskawayh, <em>Tahdh\u012bb al-akhl\u0101q<\/em><\/strong> (French trans. M. Arkoun, <em>Trait\u00e9 d'\u00e9thique<\/em>, p. 95)<\/p>\r\n  <p>\"One will require him to know the finest profane traditions (<em>akhb\u0101r<\/em>) and the finest verses that have such an educational function that, through repeated recitation, memorization, and quotation in conversation, all the previously mentioned qualities are consolidated within him.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p><strong>Ibn Rash\u012bq, <em>al-\u02bfUmda<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n  <p>\"Everything was once composed in prose until the Arabs felt the need to sing, in poems, their noble customs and the distinction of their lineage; to preserve the memory of their honorable battles, their dwellings endlessly abandoned, their valiant horsemen, and the greatness of soul of exemplars of generosity\u2014so as to incite souls to liberality and guide subjects toward the acquisition of virtues.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p><strong>Excluding certain genres<\/strong><\/p>\r\n  <ul>\r\n    <li><strong>Sentimental (love) poetry:<\/strong> Averroes, <em>Tal\u1e2b\u012b\u1e63 Kit\u0101b al-shi\u02bfr<\/em> \u2014 it is \"nothing other than an incitement to debauchery.\" Therefore, children should avoid this kind of poetry and learn from poems that call to courage and generosity.<\/li>\r\n  <\/ul>\r\n  <p>\u21d2 Aesthetics at the service of ethics.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p><strong>b. Beyond good and evil: poetic efficacy<\/strong><\/p>\r\n  <p>\u21d2 Aesthetics at the service of aesthetics.<\/p>\r\n  <p>\u21d2 Poetic efficacy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p><strong>Qud\u0101ma b. Ja\u02bffar, <em>Naqd al-shi\u02bfr<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n  <p dir=\"rtl\" lang=\"ar\">\u0648\u0639\u0644\u0649\u064f\u0627\u0644\u0634\u0627\u0639\u0631\u064f\u0625\u0630\u0627\u064f\u0634\u0631\u0639\u064f\u0641\u064a\u064f\u0623\u064a\u064f\u0645\u0639\u0646\u0649-\u064f\u064f\u0643\u0627\u0646-\u064f\u064f\u0645\u0646\u064f\u0627\u0644\u0631\u0641\u0639\u0629\u064f\u0648\u0627\u0644\u0636\u0639\u0629\u064f\u060c\u0648\u0627\u0644\u0631\u0641\u062b\u064f\u0648\u0627\u0644\u0646\u0632\u0627\u0647\u0629\u064f\u060c\u0648\u0627\u0644\u0628\u0630\u062e\u064f\u0648\u0627\u0644\u0642\u0646\u0627\u0639\u0629\u064f\u060c\u0648\u0627\u0644\u0645\u062f\u062d\u064f\u0648\u063a\u064a\u0631\u064f\u0630\u0644\u0643\u064f\u0645\u0646\r\n\u0627\u0644\u0645\u0639\u0627\u0646\u064a\u064f\u0627\u0644\u062d\u0645\u064a\u062f\u0629\u064f\u0623\u0648\u064f\u0627\u0644\u0630\u0645\u064a\u0645\u0629\u064f\u060c\u0623\u0646\u064f\u064a\u062a\u0648\u062e\u0649\u064f\u0627\u0644\u0628\u0644\u0648\u063a\u064f\u0645\u0646\u064f\u0627\u0644\u062a\u062c\u0648\u064a\u062f\u064f\u0641\u064a\u064f\u0630\u0644\u0643\u064f\u0625\u0644\u0649\u064f\u0627\u0644\u063a\u0627\u064a\u0629\u064f\u0627\u0644\u0645\u0637\u0644\u0648\u0628\u0629\u064f.<\/p>\r\n  <p>\"Whatever the nature of the subject the poet undertakes\u2014noble or base, obscene or decent, handled with extravagance or restraint, concerned with sincere praise or deceitful praise, and other praiseworthy or blameworthy themes\u2014he must strive, in treating it, to reach the utmost degree of perfection.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p><strong>Qud\u0101ma b. Ja\u02bffar, <em>Naqd al-shi\u02bfr<\/em> (continued)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n  <p dir=\"rtl\" lang=\"ar\">\u0641\u0625\u0646\u064a\u064f\u0631\u0623\u064a\u062a\u064f\u0645\u0646\u064f\u064a\u0639\u064a\u0628\u064f\u0627\u0645\u0631\u0623\u064f\u0627\u0644\u0642\u064a\u0633\u064f\u0641\u064a\u064f\u0642\u0648\u0644\u0647:<\/p>\r\n  <p dir=\"rtl\" lang=\"ar\">\u0641\u0650\u0645\u062b\u0644\u064f\u062d\u064f\u0628\u0652\u0644\u0649 \u0642\u062f\u0650 \u062a\u064e\u062d\u064e\u0645\u064e\u0651\u0644\u0652\u062a\u064f\u0647\u0627 ... \u0645\u064f\u062d\u0652\u0648\u0650\u0644\u0650 \u0642\u064e\u062f\u0652 \u0623\u0644\u0647\u064a\u062a\u064f\u0647\u0627 \u0639\u064e\u0646\u0652 \u0630\u0650\u064a \u062a\u064e\u0645\u0627\u0626\u0645\u0650<\/p>\r\n  <p dir=\"rtl\" lang=\"ar\">\u0625\u0630\u0627 \u0645\u0627 \u0628\u064e\u0643\u0649 \u0645\u0650\u0646\u0652 \u062e\u064e\u0644\u0652\u0641\u0650\u0647\u0627 \u0627\u0646\u0652\u0635\u064e\u0631\u064e\u0641\u064e\u062a\u0652 \u0644\u064e\u0647\u064f \u0628\u0650\u0634\u0650\u0642\u064d\u0651 \u0648\u062a\u064e\u062d\u0652\u062a\u064a \u0634\u0650\u0642\u064c\u0651 \u0645\u064f\u062b\u0652\u0642\u064e\u0644\u064f<\/p>\r\n  <p>\"Some criticize Imru\u02be al-Qays for having said:<\/p>\r\n  <p>1. 'Like another\u2014pregnant\u2014nursing a one-year-old son, wearing talismans: \/ like you, I would visit her at night, distracting her from him.'<\/p>\r\n  <p>2. 'When he cried behind her, she would turn her upper body toward him, \/ while her belly, beneath me, remained firm.'<\/p>\r\n  <p>They also point to the vulgarity contained in these two lines. Yet vulgarity in the subject matter, in itself, does not erase the quality of the poetry when it is well-crafted. It is like fine carpentry: its excellence is not diminished by the poor quality of the wood itself.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p><strong>c. Beyond the poet's convictions<\/strong><\/p>\r\n  <p>\u21d2 Belief \/ unbelief.<\/p>\r\n  <p>\u21d2 Sounding the invisible.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p><strong>Al-\u1e62\u016bl\u012b, <em>Akhb\u0101r Ab\u012b Tamm\u0101m<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n  <p dir=\"rtl\" lang=\"ar\">\u0648\u0642\u062f \u0627\u062f\u0639\u0649 \u0642\u0648\u0645 \u0639\u0644\u064a\u0647 \u0627\u0644\u0643\u0641\u0631\u060c \u0628\u0644 \u062d\u0642\u0642\u0648\u0647\u060c \u0648\u062c\u0639\u0644\u0648\u0627 \u0630\u0644\u0643 \u0633\u0628\u0628\u0627\u0627 \u0644\u0644\u0637\u0639\u0646 \u0639\u0644\u0649 \u0634\u0639\u0631\u0647\u060c \u0648\u062a\u0642\u0628\u064a\u062d \u062d\u0633\u0646\u0647\u060c \u0648\u0645\u0627 \u0638\u0646\u0646\u062a \u0623\u0646 \u0643\u0641\u0631\u0627\u0627 \u064a\u0646\u0642\u0635 \u0645\u0646\r\n\u0634\u0639\u064d\u0631\u060c \u0648\u0644 \u0623\u0646 \u0625\u064a\u0645\u0627\u0646\u0627\u0627 \u064a\u0632\u064a\u062f \u0641\u064a\u0647.<\/p>\r\n  <p>\"Some accused him of unbelief\u2014indeed, they asserted it as fact\u2014and made that a pretext for attacking his poetry and disfiguring its beauty. Yet I do not think unbelief diminishes poetry, nor belief increases it.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p><strong>Al-Q\u0101\u1e0d\u012b al-Jurj\u0101n\u012b, <em>al-Was\u0101\u1e6da bayna al-Mutanabb\u012b wa-khu\u1e63\u016bmih<\/em><\/strong> (French trans. A. Trabulsi, <em>La critique po\u00e9tique des arabes\u2026<\/em>, p. 84)<\/p>\r\n  <p>\"If lack of religious sense were an affront to poetry, if false belief lowered a poet's rank, then one would have to eliminate Ab\u016b Nuw\u0101s's <em>d\u012bw\u0101n<\/em> and erase his name from the classes of poets. The same penalty would have to be inflicted\u2014above all\u2014on the Pre-Islamic poets, who, in everyone's view, were pure unbelievers. One would also have to deem as deaf-mutes, or as miserable stutterers, poets who dared hurl satires against the Prophet and his companions, such as Ka\u02bfb b. Zuhayr, Ibn al-Ziba\u02bfr\u0101, and others. But the two things are different: religion is independent of poetry.\"<\/p>\r\n  <p dir=\"rtl\" lang=\"ar\">\u0639\u0627\u0631\u0627 \u0639\u0644\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u0634\u0639\u0631\u060c \u0648\u0643\u0627\u0646 \u0633\u0648\u0621 \u0627\u0644\u0639\u062a\u0642\u0627\u062f \u0633\u0628\u0628\u0627\u0627 \u0644\u062a\u0623\u062e\u0631\u064f \u0627\u0644\u0634\u0627\u0639\u0631\u060c \u0644\u0648\u062c\u0628 \u0623\u0646 \u064a \u0645\u062d\u0649 \u0627\u0633 \u0645 \u0623\u0628\u064a \u0646\u0648\u0627\u0633 \u0645\u0646 \u0627\u0644\u062f\u0648\u0627\u0648\u064a\u0646\u064f\u060c \u0627 \u0644\u0648 \u0643\u0627\u0646\u062a \u0627\u0644\u062f\u064a\u0627\u0646\u0629\r\n\u0648\u064a \u062d\u0630\u0641 \u0630\u0643\u0631\u0647 \u0625\u0630\u0627 \u0639 \u062f\u0651\u062a \u0627\u0644\u0637\u0628\u0642\u0627\u062a\u060c \u0648\u0644\u064e\u0643\u0627\u0646 \u0623\u0648\u0644\u0647\u0645 \u0628\u0630\u0644\u0643 \u0623\u0647\u0644 \u0627\u0644\u062c\u0627\u0647\u0644\u064a\u0629\u060c \u0648\u0645\u0646 \u062a\u0634\u0647\u062f \u064f \u0627\u0623\u0644\u0645\u0629 \u0639\u0644\u064a\u0647 \u0628\u0627\u0644\u0643\u0641\u0631\u060c \u0648\u0644\u0648\u062c\u0628 \u0623\u0646 \u064a\u0643\u0648\u0646 \u0643\u0639\u0628\r\n\u0627\u0644 \u0648\u0623\u0636\u0631\u0627\u0628 \u0647\u0645\u0627 \u0645\u0645\u0646 \u062a\u0646\u0627\u0648\u0644 \u0631\u0633\u0648 \u064e\u0644 \u0647\u0644\u0644\u0627 \u0635\u0644\u0649 \u0647\u0644\u0644\u0627 \u0639\u0644\u064a\u0647 \u0648\u0633\u0644\u0645 \u0648\u0639\u0627\u0628 \u0645\u0646 \u0623\u0635\u062d\u0627\u0628\u0647 \u0650\u0632 \u0628\u0646 \u0632\u0647\u064a\u0631\u064f \u0648\u0627\u0628\u0646 \u0651 \u0628\u064e \u0652\u0639\u0631\u0649\r\n\u0628 \u060c \u0652\u0643\u0645\u0627\u0627\r\n\u0650\u0643\u0627 \u0627\u0621 \u0627\r\n\u062e\u0631\u0633\u0627 \u0648\u0628\r\n\u0645\u0641\u062d\u0645\u064a\u0646\u061b \u0648\u0644\u0643 \u0651\u0646 \u0627\u0623\u0644\u0645\u0631\u064a\u0646 \u0645\u062a\u0628\u0627\u064a\u0646\u0627\u0646 \u0648\u0627\u0644\u062f\u064a\u0646 \u0628\u0645\u0639\u0632\u0644 \u0639\u0646 \u0627\u0644\u0634\u0639\u0631.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\r\n  <p><\/p>\r\n<\/article><\/div>\n                    \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" >\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\">1:30pm-2pm<\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Discussion with the audience            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" >\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\">2pm-3:30pm<\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Lunch            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n<h6 id=\"axe2-panel3-s1\" style=\"font-weight: bold;\">3:30pm-5:20pm - Panel 3 | Chair : Claudio Monge<\/h6>\n<h6>Room 1<\/h6>\n\n<div id=\"prog-maconnerie\">\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang prog-cong-lang-sp\">Spanish, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Jaime Flaquer                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Loyola University, Seville, Spain<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Political and Religious Anarchism in Musical Forms of Rebellious Islam: From Rap to Taqwacore<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/political-and-religious-anarchism-in-the-musical-forms-of-rebel-islam-from-rap-to-taqwacore\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Political and Religious Anarchism in Musical Forms of Rebellious Islam: From Rap to Taqwacore\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-68', 'Abstract : Political and Religious Anarchism in Musical Forms of Rebellious Islam: From Rap to Taqwacore', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-68\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>During the second half of the 20th century, numerous musical expressions of protest emerged in the United States, in reaction to a capitalist and racist system that marginalized large segments of the population. These movements generally also expressed a rejection of religion, perceived as part of the established order. Hip-hop, rap, and punk rock embody the most radical forms of this phenomenon, deeply rooted in urban peripheries.\nThese musical styles also developed within marginalized Muslim communities in the United States, even incorporating more electronic forms like trap or more extreme ones like punk rock. However, the appropriation of this culture by these communities is not always accompanied by a rejection of religion. On the contrary, we often observe a reaffirmation of Muslim identity, resonating with certain anarchist tendencies in Islam, to the point of seeing the emergence of what has been called taqwacore, a fusion between taqwa (piety) and hard rock. In this way, a transgressive aesthetic becomes a vehicle for expressing a counter-cultural ethics.\nIn our presentation:\n1. We will describe these movements through the analysis of their songs and the examination of some interviews.\n2. We will observe how they spread to Europe - including Spain - as well as to Muslim, African, or Asian countries, particularly Indonesia.\n3. We will study how artists perceive the compatibility between this type of music and their Muslim identity.\n4. We will analyze how this rebellious musical aesthetic is rooted in authentically Muslim values - particularly the demand for equality and justice in the face of capitalist inequalities - and how their rejection of authority aligns with anti-hierarchical elements of Islam. Thus, without proposing an anarchist political system per se, these movements outline certain libertarian-inspired practices, resonating with an Islamic anarchist tradition.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-69', 'Jaime Flaquer', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-69\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Dr Jaime Flaquer is a full professor at Loyola University (Faculty of Theology of Granada) and director of the Andalusian Chair for Dialogue of Religions (CANDIR). Specializing in theology of religions, fundamental theology, and Christian-Muslim relations, he participates in several interreligious dialogue forums. He coordinates the Islam cluster of the Kircher Network and sits on the academic council of the PLURIEL platform. Trained in philosophy (University of Barcelona) and theology (Loyola Faculties, Paris), he obtained a doctorate in Islamic studies at EPHE-Sorbonne with a thesis on Jesus in Ibn 'Arabi (with distinction summa cum laude). His international background has nurtured research focused on Ibn 'Arabi, Islam-science relations, and doctrinal issues between Quran and Logos.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-auto\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-auto-70', 'Automatic translation that may contain errors', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Automatic translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-auto-70\" style=\"display:none;\"><article>\r\n<header>\r\n<h2>Political and Religious Anarchism in the Musical Forms of Rebel Islam: From Rap and Trap to Taqwacore<\/h2>\r\n<p><strong>Dr. Jaime Flaquer<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<\/header>\r\n\r\n<h3>Introduction<\/h3>\r\n<p>During the second half of the twentieth century, many musical forms of protest emerged in the United States against a capitalist and racist system that marginalized large segments of the population. These groups also typically expressed a rejection of religion, which was seen as part of that very system. One need only recall John Lennon singing, \"imagine no religion.\" Hip-hop, rap, and punk rock represent some of the most radical expressions of this phenomenon, which developed largely in suburban and inner-city contexts.<\/p>\r\n<p>In this paper, we will examine how, within marginalized Muslim communities in the United States, these musical styles likewise developed\u2014eventually extending into more electronic forms such as trap and into harsher genres such as punk rock. Yet unlike the original rap or punk rock scenes, the adoption of this culture in marginalized Muslim communities does not often entail a rejection of religion. On the contrary, in many cases it involves a reassertion of Muslim identity that connects with anarchist currents within Islam, culminating in what has been called <em>taqwacore<\/em>, which combines \"piety\" (understood in a very particular way) with the rebelliousness of hard rock. In this way, a disruptive aesthetic becomes a vehicle for the expression of a countercultural ethic.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In what follows, we will:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n  <li>Describe these movements by analyzing their lyrics.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Show how they have spread to European countries, including Spain, as well as to Muslim-majority, African, and Asian contexts\u2014Indonesia in particular.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Note how, and in what ways, these artists consider this kind of music compatible with being Muslim. We will examine how they root this rebellious, oppositional aesthetic and these musical forms in values they regard as authentically Muslim\u2014especially the demand for equality and justice against capitalist inequality\u2014and how they connect their rejection of power with anti-hierarchical elements of Islam.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n\r\n<h3>Rebel Music: Hip-Hop, Rap, and Punk Rock<\/h3>\r\n<p>A brief description is in order, even at the risk of oversimplification. \"Hip-hop\" refers to a broad culture of rebellion against the system, in which a musical style plays a central role but which extends beyond music alone. It emerged in the Bronx block parties of the 1970s. It is commonly said to rest on four pillars. The first is its musical component, MCing (rap), characterized by rhythmic recitation of protest texts. Unlike musical genres in which melody predominates, the text here is fundamental. The second, DJing, consists in isolating and repeating instrumental rhythmic sections of songs by using two turntables. These were not merely devices for playing music; they enabled new sounds and rhythms to be produced by manipulating the record by hand in particular ways. This made possible the third pillar: the distinctive dance associated with the genre, known as breakdance. Finally, graffiti culture, the fourth pillar, made protest visible on the walls of cities and on trains.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Hip-hop rap evolved and gave rise to what is known as \"trap,\" a similar but more synthetic music, often using autotune. Its origins are usually located in the southern United States\u2014Atlanta in particular\u2014at the end of the 1990s or the early 2000s. Alongside rap's social critique and identity emphasis, it introduces themes such as drugs, money, and street-level hardship.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Punk rock, for its part, relies on drums and distorted electric guitars, pushing music and voice to extreme decibel levels. Its themes convey deep rebellion, political and social critique, and anti-authoritarianism. Although its underground origins differ from those of hip-hop, hybrids have emerged, such as punk-rap. A detailed discussion of the musical and thematic crossovers currently taking place would take us too far from our aim.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>It is, however, important to note how punk, according to David Pearson, \"experienced musical stagnation in the late 1980s and violent confrontations with right-wing and hypermasculine elements within its own ranks,\" yet achieved a revival in the 1990s through the incorporation of Latinos and even gay protest. In its beginnings in the 1970s and 1980s, most punk was situated on the political left, though a minority adopted Nazi aesthetics and was violently expelled.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The triumphalism of U.S. success as the world's hegemonic power contrasted with \"internal conflicts around patriarchy, the oppression of Black people, immigration, and other social issues,\" including dramatic economic inequalities. Punk would deepen this radically critical stance toward liberal capitalism.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>The Adoption of Rebel Music by Muslim Artists<\/h3>\r\n<h4>Muslim rap and trap<\/h4>\r\n\r\n<h5>Hip-hop within the Nation of Gods and Earths (Five Percenters) movement<\/h5>\r\n<p>No discussion of this topic would be complete without mentioning the Nation of Gods and Earths, also known as the Five Percenters. This African American movement emerged in Harlem in the 1960s as a split from the Nation of Islam associated with Malcolm X. The Five Percenters adopted Islamic language and symbols, but developed a thoroughly heterodox doctrine: they teach that \"Allah\" is the Black man, regarded as the original father and creator, and that the Black race possesses a superior wisdom that must be rediscovered through \"knowledge of self.\" In any case, rebellious rap with Muslim elements cannot be understood without the influence of this movement. A prominent example is the Wu-Tang Clan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h5>Trap from Granada's Albaic\u00edn: Khaled<\/h5>\r\n<p>A successful example of Spanish trap that foregrounds Arab roots can be found in an artist of Moroccan background who grew up in the Albaic\u00edn: Khaled. He produces neighborhood music in which themes of drugs, money, and prostitution are recurrent\u2014especially in his early period, when he shared a project with Yung Beef in <em>Los Santos<\/em>. He defends the legitimacy of a mixed Arab-and-Spanish culture, though his songs are not, strictly speaking, ideological. While he does not say whether he is a practicing believer, he states in an interview: \"I consider myself Muslim, in my own way. I've got the best from here and the best from there: I'm a Spanish Muslim. I have no homeland.\" Another highly successful artist in a similar orbit\u2014this time from the Barcelona area\u2014is Morad, who often combines trap with reggaet\u00f3n. In his song \"Normal,\" he offers a harsh critique of the police against a backdrop of crime in his neighborhood.<\/p>\r\n<p>This kind of trap, focused on the street-level realities of marginalized neighborhoods, can be found across Europe. Although it is performed by Muslims, it often articulates a cultural rather than a religious claim.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h5>Zoufriya<\/h5>\r\n<p>By contrast, Zoufriya, of Moroccan origin, explicitly foregrounds Islam. She is one of the most provocative examples in France of this broad musical register (she is often classified as dark trap). Her real name is Lamisse, and she is a practicing Muslim. Her persona is strikingly dark. On Instagram she uses the slogan:<\/p>\r\n<p>\"Don't change for the rules, change the rules.\"<\/p>\r\n<p>along with the hashtag in dialectal Arabic \"#FREEKOULCHI\" (Free everything).<\/p>\r\n<p>With her provocative and oppositional aesthetic, she embraces\u2014so she says in an interview\u2014what she considers one of France's \"demons\": the veiled woman. She does not wear a simple hijab but a jilbab\u2014and at times even the niqab or full-face veil\u2014because she believes this aesthetic is \"disturbing in France.\" In this way, she denounces the stigmatization of Muslim women, who are treated as accomplices of Islamic fundamentalist regimes. Through this unsettling look, she seeks to express the violence of the gazes of French society that she experiences and that, in her view, no one acknowledges. In the music video for one of her songs, she appears dressed in different forms of burqa or the Afghan full-body veil. She sings:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<blockquote>\r\nMy madness (x7) overwhelms me.<br\/>\r\nI become homeless.<br\/>\r\nI have lost my body, but not my mind at all.<br\/>\r\nI run super fast, I leap super high,<br\/>\r\nMy life is fantastic.<br\/>\r\nI am free, I fly high\u2014no umbrella needed<br\/>\r\n(when) the downpour engulfs me.\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n<h4>Taqwacore<\/h4>\r\n<p>At the intersection of (1) immigration and the racialization of people from Muslim-majority countries, (2) Western underground culture, and (3) the rebellious music of punk rock, the phenomenon of <em>taqwacore<\/em>, or Muslim punk, emerged. \"Taqwa\" is an Arabic word designating religious piety, while \"core\" refers to hardcore punk.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The first to use the term was an American writer and convert to Islam, Michael Muhammad Knight. In 2004 he published a novel titled <em>The Taqwacores<\/em>, recounting the experience of a young, pious, shy American Muslim who moves into a punk squat where he encounters other Muslims who lead him to rethink his faith. The house is the center of a novel that attempts to portray conflicts among diverse Islamic currents. Each character represents one: a mystical, queer, charismatic leader; a strict Salafi; a nihilistic drug addict; and a radical feminist who breaks expectations by wearing a niqab\u2014along with other characters who appear over time, including a Shi\u02bfi skinhead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The novel was adapted to film in a work of the same title directed by Eyad Zahra. The house becomes the setting for discussions that reach a certain degree of violence, as well as self-destructive behavior through drug use. Normative frameworks in Islamic sexual ethics are also disrupted through the introduction of gay themes and the radical feminism of the woman who always wears a niqab. All of this unfolds in a space where, at certain moments, a punk band plays, and at others the small room is transformed into a mosque. One especially striking scene is the Friday prayer and the words, in the manner of a <em>khutba<\/em>, delivered by the house's charismatic leader:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<blockquote>\r\n\"Islam is total surrender\u2014damn it!<br\/>\r\nThat's it.<br\/>\r\nKnowing you're not in control.<br\/>\r\nKeeping it in mind in everything you do.<br\/>\r\nTake your hands off the wheel<br\/>\r\nand see how it feels.<br\/>\r\nIslam isn't about verses or hadiths,<br\/>\r\nnot about niches and lamps.<br\/>\r\nIt's about us. All of us.<br\/>\r\nGod is too vast and too open<br\/>\r\nfor my Islam to be small and closed.<br\/>\r\nI'm so Muslim\u2026 I'm so Muslim<br\/>\r\nthat I can say: to hell with Islam!<br\/>\r\nYou know, Imam Husayn said:<br\/>\r\n'Whoever has no religion should at least<br\/>\r\nbe free in this present life.'<br\/>\r\nLet us pray.\"\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n<p>In the book, the full text appears, interpreting Islam as total surrender to God\u2014who is responsible for everything\u2014and as an absolute liberation from the narrowness of norms:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<blockquote>\r\nThe earth does not turn because you command it.<br\/>\r\nYour intestines do not digest at your order.<br\/>\r\nYou are made of a billion cells<br\/>\r\nthat do not ask your permission before doing their work.<br\/>\r\nAnd we think that \"submission\" (<em>islam<\/em>)<br\/>\r\nmeans imposing strict discipline on our worship.<br\/>\r\nWe think that submission is not eating pork.<br\/>\r\nFor me, it is not something so small.<br\/><br\/>\r\nI cannot put my <em>d\u012bn<\/em> in a little box,<br\/>\r\nbecause for me everything comes from God.<br\/>\r\nBirds sing the name of God.<br\/>\r\nTo say that God is in this book and not that one,<br\/>\r\nor that He likes this and not that\u2026<br\/>\r\nyou know who you are talking about?<br\/><br\/>\r\nGod is too vast and too open<br\/>\r\nfor my faith to be small and closed.<br\/><br\/>\r\nDoes that make me a <em>k\u0101fir<\/em>?<br\/>\r\nI say <em>All\u0101hu Akbar<\/em>.<br\/>\r\nIf that is not enough, then to hell with Islam\u2014<br\/>\r\nyou can keep it.\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n<p>We see a highly provocative aesthetic and discourse. In this passage, the leader foregrounds what he takes to be Islam's fundamental element: total surrender to God. He also draws a key conclusion from the principle that God is \"always greater\": God cannot be confined by the smallness of human understanding; consequently, Islam \"is not about rules drawn from the Qur'an or hadiths.\" A Sufi background is discernible not only here but also in his final blasphemous provocation, which recalls the early <em>mal\u0101mat\u012b<\/em> tradition\u2014figures who sought people's reproach and contempt by voluntarily concealing good works and even living as if they were unbelievers. They saw themselves as wholly surrendered to God and rejected all worldly acclaim. Their will to scandalize reappears in the aesthetic of taqwacore.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Within the house there is no organization or hierarchy, constituting a radical critique of authority. It intentionally seeks an atmosphere of \"chaos,\" experienced in the energetic, unstructured dancing of punk-rock concerts, which finds an echo in the extreme Sufi dances of the Rif\u0101\u02bf\u012b order. It must be acknowledged that, more than explicitly grounding a political anarchism, this phenomenon draws on cultural and egalitarian anarchism. It flees stereotypes of a monolithic Islam while simultaneously rejecting the convenience of a unified Islam.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Michael Muhammad Knight, the novelist who coined the term and imagined a Muslim punk-rock scene, recounts his personal trajectory in a documentary titled <em>The Birth of Punk Islam: Taqwacore<\/em>. The son of an American Catholic mother who was abused and abandoned by her husband when Knight was young, he had a difficult childhood that led him to convert to Islam and travel to Pakistan for Islamic training in a massive mosque affiliated with the Tablighi movement, financed with Saudi money. The rigidity of the education he received turned his initial naivety into disillusionment and led him to explore themes of rejecting authority in his works. Yet he has remained a practicing Muslim.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>One of the main bands to adopt the taqwacore label, emerging around 2005, is The Kominas, formed by two Americans of Pakistani origin. They have even tried to establish themselves in Pakistan in the hope that taqwacore might take root there. Their work is less an Islamic self-assertion than a leftist political activism that reads Islam as liberating. Some songs have religious content, while others focus on political issues. They are especially provocative in their aesthetics, breaking gender boundaries and even performing in drag on some occasions. Their album covers often extend this critique of rigid gender characterization. In the song \"Pigs Are Haram\" (pigs are forbidden), they denounce abusive police power:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<blockquote>\r\nI'll show you where to plant the drugs<br\/>\r\nI'll show you my badge and my ass crack<br\/>\r\nI'll book him up front and shoot him in the back<br\/>\r\nYou'll tell me he's wanted (by the police) when he's just Black<br\/>\r\nI'll show you how to run this country<br\/>\r\nI'll show you how to plant palm trees<br\/>\r\nI'll show you how to run this country<br\/>\r\nI'll show you how to ruin the country<br\/><br\/>\r\nNot today<br\/>\r\nNot today<br\/>\r\nThe pigs won't get away with it<br\/>\r\nNot today<br\/><br\/>\r\nDropping the bomb<br\/>\r\nSo keep calm<br\/>\r\nRead the Qur'an<br\/>\r\nPIGS ARE HARAM\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n<p>Another particularly active group is The Thawra. Their name already signals their oppositional character: it is an Arabic word meaning \"revolution.\" Their creator and driving force, Marwan Kamel, is the son of a Syrian father and a Catholic mother, but he acknowledges himself as strongly influenced by Sufism. Since their emergence in Chicago, they have blended punk and metal with Arabic <em>maq\u0101m<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Other active groups in the United States include Sarmust; Vote Hezbollah (San Antonio); Sagg Taqwacore Syndicate (Oregon); and the queer, all-female group Secret Trial Five (Toronto).<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Although taqwacore remains a very minor phenomenon, it has found resonance in other Muslim contexts, especially in Indonesia\u2014for example, with the band Trotoar Chaos.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>Conclusion<\/h3>\r\n<p>We have seen that trap made by Muslims often asserts Arab cultural origins in a Western context of marginalization more than it asserts belonging to Islam. Although this \"street music\" can enable greater commercial success, such songs cannot be straightforwardly placed on the political left. They often express the hedonism of drugs and sex, along with the objectification of women's bodies.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Within trap there are exceptions in which religious self-assertion is central, as in Zoufriya; yet this tends to confine the artist to far more marginal spaces. Given this religious emphasis, Zoufriya\u2014while making dark trap rather than hardcore\u2014has felt an affinity with the concept of taqwacore.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Strictly speaking, despite appearances, taqwacore is not primarily a religious self-assertion but a form of political activism centered on critiquing a bourgeois, capitalist, heteropatriarchal, and white world. It defends the rights of foreigners and denounces formalism and homogenization. In fact, not all members of groups that claim the taqwacore label are Muslims, though they tend to introduce religious references more frequently. Without ever offering a structured religious presentation, taqwacore nonetheless seems to articulate a more reflective kind of rebellion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Islam is conceived in its most liberating and egalitarian dimension. It embraces, in all its radicality, the principle that \"God is (always) greater\" (<em>All\u0101hu Akbar<\/em>). Religious norms (even those purportedly grounded in the Qur'an and the Sunna) are treated as \"busybodies\" that constrain the person\u2014and God Himself. In this way, a symbiosis takes shape between the far left and Islam.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Do we find the same symbiosis between Christianity and the far left within a context of rebel music? In principle, it could have emerged from liberation theology. In the trap of the young Kaydy Cain (also part of the <em>Los Santos<\/em> project), we find Christian references in the song \"Blessed\" from the album <em>Fallen Angel<\/em>: the singer greets the evangelical community and appears confessing in a Catholic church in a song steeped in a macho hedonism. The same could be said of a song by Yung Beef titled \"Trappin en el Vaticano,\" recorded in a cemetery. In such cases, however, religious elements function aesthetically and are not, in any sense, claims of faith.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>By contrast, there does exist a self-assertive Christian hardcore that could be considered equivalent to taqwacore. One example is the song \"Jesus Is Not Dead\" by the band Living Fire, among others. The Protestant pastor Brad Rocks emphasizes the subversive character of Jesus in his time, assimilating it to the punk spirit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Nevertheless\u2014whether because most Western countries are of Christian tradition, or because of the clerical character of the Catholic confession (which punk principles must reject along with all authority)\u2014the truth is that Islam has been the tradition to monopolize the banner of rebel, anarchist, revolutionary far-left music, even when it is carried by groups that are not Muslim.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>As early as 1988, the provocative Italian group with a communist name, CCCP Fedeli alla Linea, sang \"Punk Islam\" on the public television channel RAIDUE, going so far as to exclaim: \"ALLAH E' GRANDE E GHADDAFI E' IL SUO PROFETA!!!\" (God is great and Gaddafi is His prophet).<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Islam is used as a symbol of rejection, alterity, and rupture with the Western world, reductively conceived as Catholic and bourgeois.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>It is true that Gulf countries have made accommodations with capitalism and established profoundly unequal societies. It is true that Salafism\u2014which controls the smallest details of an individual's public and private life\u2014stands at the opposite extreme from punk. Yet many Muslim-majority countries (Algeria, Nasser's Egypt, Syria, Iran, etc.) aligned with the Eastern bloc after decolonization and found in Islam a religious foundation for socialism's egalitarian aspiration. Likewise, Sunni Islam's non-clerical character and its claimed direct relationship with God, without intermediaries, resonated with anarchism. For this reason, anarchist leftist currents have been one avenue of access to Islam in the West.<\/p>\r\n<\/article><\/div>\n                    \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang prog-cong-lang-en\">English, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Dirk Ansorge                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology, Frankfurt am Main, Germany<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">From the Regulation of Religious Sound to its Transformation into Light: Public Debates, Legal Discussions and Architectural Perspectives on the Adhan<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/from-regulating-religious-sound-to-transforming-it-into-light-public-legal-and-architectural-debates-on-the-adhan\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : From the Regulation of Religious Sound to its Transformation into Light: Public Debates, Legal Discussions and Architectural Perspectives on the Adhan\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-71', 'Abstract : From the Regulation of Religious Sound to its Transformation into Light: Public Debates, Legal Discussions and Architectural Perspectives on the Adhan', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-71\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>The muezzin's public call to prayer (adhan) is an integral component of Islamic societies' religious and cultural heritage. Nevertheless, it is frequently subject to legal restrictions, even within these societies. In liberal societies, the adhan is frequently perceived as the epitome of missionary Islamism and rejected accordingly. The adhan's function as an overt proclamation of Islamic faith contrasts with the multifaceted meanings attributed to church bells, critiques argue.\nUndoubtedly, the adhan is an \"acoustic occupation of space\" that is perceived very differently by different groups in society. In light of this, judicial bodies at all levels - local, national and international - have repeatedly addressed the adhan in recent decades. Significantly, it is often not the content but the loudness of the adhan that is the subject of legal proceedings. The reason for this is to protect the human right to public practice of religion (UDHR, Art. 18; ECHR, Art. 9). However, this right must not conflict with the human right to respect for privacy, family life and home (ECHR, Art. 8).\nThe rejection of public calls to prayer is not a new phenomenon in Europe. Historically, there have been various attempts in regions where Christians and Muslims have coexisted to impose legal restrictions on the adhan, dating back to the Middle Ages. More recently, attempts have been made to neutralise existing or foreseeable conflicts either through virtual calls to prayer via radio or the internet, or through architectural concepts such as the \"minaret of light\".\nAgainst this backdrop, the paper will firstly delineate contemporary debates in liberal societies concerning the public call of the muezzin (1). Following this, historical debates about the adhan will be recalled (2). The third section of the paper will address the delicate balancing act between noise pollution control and religious freedom at various levels of jurisdiction (3). Finally, novel mosque designs that seek to transpose the adhan from the acoustic to the optical realm will be presented (4).<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-72', 'Dirk Ansorge', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-72\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>A Catholic theologian, Dirk Ansorge trained in philosophy and Catholic theology at several European universities and in Jerusalem. After teaching at the Catholic Academy of the Diocese of Essen, he has held the chair of dogmatic theology and history of dogma at Hochschule Sankt Georgen (Frankfurt am Main) since 2011. Vice-rector from 2014 to 2018, he currently directs the Alois Kardinal Grillmeier Institute, dedicated to the history of dogma, ecumenism, and interreligious dialogue. His work focuses on creation, sacraments, Christology, and ecclesiology, as well as the links between religion and politics in the Middle East. In 2023, he was elected president of the association of Catholic faculties and institutes in Germany.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                        \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, videoconference, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                R\u00e9mi Caucanas                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI), Rome<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">The Mal\u00ea Carnival: Signs of a Muslim Ethics of Resistance<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/the-carnival-of-the-males-signs-of-an-ethics-of-muslim-resistance\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : The Mal\u00ea Carnival: Signs of a Muslim Ethics of Resistance\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-73', 'Abstract : The Mal\u00ea Carnival: Signs of a Muslim Ethics of Resistance', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-73\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>'Campo Grande was the scene of one of the most exciting performances at the Salvador Carnival: the parade of the Afro bloc Mal\u00ea Debal\u00ea on Carnival Saturday (March 1st). Considered the largest Afro ballet in the world, with more than 2,000 dancers, the group brought beauty and joy to the avenue with a procession full of colors, rhythms, and cultural expressions. With about fifteen wings, percussion groups, and ensembles, Mal\u00ea Debal\u00ea reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining the traditions of Salvador's Black community' (https:\/\/www.ba.gov.br\/cultura\/noticias\/2025-03\/63142\/male-debale-celebra-os-190-anos-da-revolta-dos-males, March 2, 2025). In March 2025, the Salvador de Bahia Carnival, one of the most important in Brazil, was once again marked by the captivating presence of Mal\u00ea Debal\u00ea.\nFounded in 1979, the Afro 'bloc' Mal\u00ea Debal\u00ea was born as a tribute to the Hausa people who participated in the Mal\u00ea Revolt, an uprising of Black Muslims that took place in 1835 in Salvador and continues to generate some editorial success (Gilvan Ribeiro, Mal\u00eas. A r\u00e9volta dos escravizados na Bahia e ses legado, Planeta, S\u00e3o Paulo, 2023). Among other movements, this aesthetic mobilization of the Mal\u00eas' memory in the context of the Bahia Carnival continues to fuel a form of Afro-Brazilian cultural resistance within contemporary Brazilian society. These manifestations join a broader current of Black resistance in the Americas which, like the Nation of Islam in the United States, have clearly displayed a Muslim dimension. Can we therefore speak of a Muslim ethics of resistance?\nStarting from this transatlantic context and some aesthetic manifestations of Muslim-characterized revolts, this contribution will seek to question the existence of a Muslim ethics of resistance.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-74', 'R\u00e9mi Caucanas', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-74\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Associate researcher at PISAI (Rome) and IREMAM (Aix-Marseille University), he works on the history of Christian-Muslim relations and Mediterranean mediations in the 20th century. Holder of a PhD in history (AMU) and a Master's in philosophy (Dominican University College, Ottawa), he has been conducting post-doctoral research since 2023 in Belo Horizonte on the White Fathers' approach to Islam. He teaches history, literary history, and the geopolitics of religions, following positions in Nairobi, Rome, Marseille, and Ottawa. His working languages include French, Italian, English, Portuguese, and Swahili.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-auto\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-auto-75', 'Automatic translation that may contain errors', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Automatic translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-auto-75\" style=\"display:none;\"><article>\r\n  <header>\r\n    <p><strong>R\u00e9mi Caucanas<\/strong><\/p>\r\n    <p>PLURIEL 2026<\/p>\r\n    <p>February 2, 2026<\/p>\r\n  <\/header>\r\n\r\n  <section>\r\n    <h2>The Mal\u00eas Carnival<\/h2>\r\n    <p><em>Clues toward an ethic of Muslim resistance<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n    <p>On this side of the Atlantic, streets and squares have already begun to come alive to the sounds and rhythms of Carnival. In Belo Horizonte, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais where I am staying, but also of course in Rio de Janeiro and in every coastal city\u2014especially in Salvador, Bahia, where the Afro bloco Mal\u00ea Debal\u00ea will almost certainly parade again this year. \"Considered the largest Afro ballet in the world, with more than 2,000 dancers,\" the group brought \"beauty and joy\" to Campo Grande Square last year, thanks to \"a procession bursting with colors, rhythms, and cultural expressions. With some fifteen parade lines, percussion sections, and groups, Mal\u00ea Debal\u00ea reaffirmed its commitment to keeping alive the traditions of Salvador's Black community,\" as one could read on the website of the Bahia state government. In March 2025, the Salvador Carnival\u2014one of the largest in Brazil\u2014was once again marked by Mal\u00ea Debal\u00ea's infectious presence, and there is every reason to believe it will be so again in a few days.<\/p>\r\n\r\n    <p>Founded in 1979, the Afro bloco Mal\u00ea Debal\u00ea was created in homage to the participants in the Mal\u00eas Revolt, an uprising of Black Muslims that took place in 1835 in Salvador and has attracted renewed attention in recent years through several Brazilian cultural productions, including a very recent film directed by Ant\u00f4nio Pitanga. This aesthetics of Mal\u00eas memory thus continues to sustain the mobilization of Black activism within contemporary Brazilian society\u2014a form of cultural and social resistance to political currents that, even in recent years, have sometimes given voice to intolerance toward non-Christian religions, which remain largely dominant in Brazil. Does the aesthetics of the Mal\u00eas revolt illustrate\u2014or more specifically contribute to\u2014a Muslim ethic of resistance?<\/p>\r\n\r\n    <p>I would like first to return to the context and to a few major features of this Mal\u00eas revolt, which seems to me little known in the West\u2014at least in Europe\u2014yet remains a significant episode in what one might hastily call a global history of Islam. The aesthetics of the movement are especially illuminating for grasping some of the revolt's main dimensions. Starting from the aesthetics of the Mal\u00eas revolt, I will then, in a second step, seek to examine the ethic of this uprising that presented itself as Muslim. It goes without saying that this paper offers only initial lines of thought toward a reflection and research agenda largely begun since my arrival in Brazil in 2023; and I will be all the more grateful for your comments and questions after my presentation, since I readily recognize its limits.<\/p>\r\n  <\/section>\r\n\r\n  <section>\r\n    <h2>The Aesthetics of a Revolt<\/h2>\r\n\r\n    <p>Let us begin by returning to a few key aspects of this rebellion. On the night of January 24\u201325, 1835, nearly 600 enslaved people rose up in Salvador, Bahia. With the help of a few other individuals and bands coming from nearby plantations, they fought for four hours in the streets of Bahia's capital. Jo\u00e3o Jos\u00e9 Reis\u2014author of a remarkable book on the subject and still the leading historian of this episode in Brazilian history\u2014recounts the event as follows. I translate it here freely:<\/p>\r\n\r\n    <p><em>A report was filed and the police went to the places identified as African gathering points in order to attack them. They reached a spot where a sizeable group had indeed assembled. As they entered, the Africans present came out armed and a first fight began, against some sixty rebels. From there, the rebels scattered throughout Salvador. The men moved through the city shouting that it was time to rise up, and other Africans joined them. They covered a very large part of the city. And one could hear cries in the streets: \"Death to the Whites, long live the Nag\u00f4s!\" But in the middle of the way stood the cavalry barracks. The horsemen attacked the rebels, and there came the final fight, the bloodiest one. Around seventy Africans\u2014perhaps more\u2014were killed. And the revolt ended there.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n    <p>The episode was relatively brief, but the Mal\u00eas revolt belongs to the series of rebellions that shook this period\u2014the so-called Regency period\u2014opened by the abdication of Emperor Pedro I in 1831, leaving on the throne his very young son Pedro II. In fact, distant Brazil did not escape the tremors produced by Enlightenment philosophy and the French Revolution of the previous century. A quick reminder for those unfamiliar with the modern history of the Iberian Peninsula, and particularly of its Lusophone neighbor: in 1807, the invasion of Portugal by Napoleon Bonaparte's armies forced King Jo\u00e3o VI and his court to flee Lisbon and settle in Rio de Janeiro under the self-interested protection of England. That crossing only accelerated the process of Brazilian independence\u2014achieved in 1822\u2014while nevertheless preserving the unity of the vast Brazilian colony, subject to the same centrifugal forces that shattered the unity of Spanish America.<\/p>\r\n\r\n    <p>The presence of the Portuguese monarchy on Brazilian soil in effect prevented a division of the \"Brazils,\" as people commonly said at the time to underscore a diversity still easy to observe today. A moment of acute tension, the period of Brazilian independence was marked by a multitude of regional revolts, which found resolution only in the founding alliance between the imperial monarchy and the Brazilian elite\u2014above all large agricultural producers\u2014who sought at all costs to preserve slavery, even against the British. Paradoxically, while England exerted pressure for abolition, the slave trade experienced one of its most prosperous periods in the nineteenth-century South Atlantic. In short: the more the threat of an end to the trade loomed, the more Brazilian slaveholders worked to consolidate their stock of enslaved people.<\/p>\r\n\r\n    <p>In 1831, Emperor Pedro I abdicated under pressure from the slaveholding elite, who viewed with deep suspicion an abolitionist legislative project conceived under British pressure; and after Pedro I's departure, more than half a million enslaved people were still imported from Africa over the next twenty years. This demographic pressure, however, helped trigger multiple slave uprisings. In Bahia, which received one of the largest contingents arriving from the Gulf of Guinea, there were no fewer than sixteen revolts between 1826 and 1831. Minas Gerais, for its part, was the stage of the Carrancas Revolt in May 1833, whose violence traumatized public opinion, and at the end of which several rebellious enslaved people were sentenced to death\u2014a very rare punishment, given that large landowners first and foremost viewed enslaved people as valuable property, meriting correction rather than execution. In this tense context, the distinctiveness of the Mal\u00eas revolt lies in its Muslim character, made visible through a particular aesthetic.<\/p>\r\n\r\n    <p>It is first of all striking that the revolt broke out at the end of Ramadan. For Jo\u00e3o Jos\u00e9 Reis, it is not impossible that the date was chosen in relation to this celebration\u2014of the highest importance for Muslims\u2014in which the community gathers around its singular destiny. Next, the rebels were dressed in the <em>abad\u00e1<\/em>, the long white tunic that haunted Salvador's streets on the night of the uprising. The diffusion of this garment was perhaps not specifically religious, but in Africa itself Muslims were accustomed to covering their bodies more fully than other segments of the African population, thereby marking yet another form of distinctiveness. Yet unlike its African counterpart, the Bahian <em>abad\u00e1<\/em> was never worn in public, so as not to attract attention to the Mal\u00eas and the police persecutions that followed\u2014authorities who were then particularly vigilant toward \"foreigners\" among the Black population. It thus acquired a strictly ritual function. The revolt thereby took on an additional religious dimension, noted by a witness of the episode\u2014the French consul at the time\u2014quoted by Jo\u00e3o Jos\u00e9 Reis. In his view, the Nag\u00f4s had put on their finest clothes to go to war, hoping that if they died, they would be reborn in their native lands\u2014thus conflating, deliberately or not, the Muslim paradise with ancestral Africa, where the <em>abad\u00e1<\/em> could also be used in wartime. At this intersection of meanings, the <em>abad\u00e1s<\/em> appearing in Salvador's streets therefore looked like \"war garments\"\u2014a war all the more religious in that these clothes had, until then, been reserved for times of prayer and other rituals.<\/p>\r\n\r\n    <p>Other garments, more colorful, were also found the day after the street battle, suggesting a kind of hierarchy within Mal\u00eas society; but that hierarchy does not seem to have played a major role during the night's events. During the uprising, some Mal\u00eas also appear to have worn a white sash draped over their shoulders and tied at the waist. The Mal\u00eas also wore head coverings described sometimes as caps, sometimes as hoods. According to Jo\u00e3o Jos\u00e9 Reis, they had a ritual function, since the uninitiated were not allowed to wear them. One finds only a single mention of \"a strip of white cloth like a truffle,\" or a turban (\u2026). For Reis, \"the sashes could have been turbans, taken off and placed around the body during combat as additional protection. It is possible that, at least for the hoods, these were in fact Mal\u00eas turbans.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n    <p>The Mal\u00eas also wore protective amulets. They typically reproduced passages from the Qur'an on sheets of paper that were placed in small leather pouches or pieces of fabric worn around the neck. More than superstition or Qur'anic devotion, these amulets highlight the learned dimension of the Mal\u00eas: in a Brazilian society that was broadly illiterate\u2014including within the Catholic elite\u2014Mal\u00eas who could read and write could appear as scholars. Yet because their language\u2014Arabic\u2014was largely unintelligible to their immediate environment, it could also inspire fear and fantasies of secret and dangerous societies. Around Arabic and the Qur'an, an entire educational system developed in the shadow of Bahian society. Accustomed as he is to North American screens, today's Westerner can only be surprised by this Muslim presence on American soil. In the northern hemisphere of the American continent\u2014and more specifically in the United States\u2014the slave system sharply limited the concrete possibility of reproducing cultural phenomena. Debate remains lively between sociological and ethnological approaches regarding the relationship between cultures and institutions. But in practice, Muslim enslaved people in the United States did not manage to practice their faith\u2014or to draw on it as an instrument of liberation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n    <p>As the only slave society in the Americas where Islam could constitute a significant factor of collective mobilization in the nineteenth century, Brazil thus displays a particularity within the American and Atlantic context of the time: following Lidice Meyer Pinto Ribeiro, one may speak here of an \"Islam of slavery.\" Most African Muslims arrived in Brazil during the first half of the nineteenth century. The majority were Hausa and Yoruba, called Nag\u00f4s in Bahia\u2014hence the term \"Mal\u00eas,\" from the Yoruba <em>imale<\/em>. This Muslim population, which also included Fulani, represented around 10% of the roughly 350,000 enslaved people who arrived in Bahia between 1791 and 1850 from the coasts of the Gulf of Benin; many of them were in fact prisoners of wars raging in northern present-day Nigeria, in the context of Islam's expansion in this central region of the old Sudan. It is therefore tempting to see in the Mal\u00eas revolt a Brazilian transposition of the holy war initiated by Usman dan Fodio, which led to the establishment of the Sokoto Caliphate. Looking at the Mal\u00eas' origins, one might suggest a transatlantic continuity in Islam's martial expansion. It is tempting, too, to adopt an Atlantic framing that foregrounds connections between movements that seem to echo one another. Yet one must resist this, for the ethic that appears to sustain\u2014or at least to emerge from\u2014this uprising seems more complex.<\/p>\r\n  <\/section>\r\n\r\n  <section>\r\n    <h2>The Ethics of an Uprising<\/h2>\r\n\r\n    <p>Against the grain of the dominant historiography since the early twentieth century (from Nina Rodrigues to Jack Goody and Paul Lovejoy), Jo\u00e3o Jos\u00e9 Reis argues that the Mal\u00eas rebellion cannot be understood as a <em>jih\u0101d<\/em>, still less as a struggle continuous with that waged by the Fulani in Hausa territory. First, the Mal\u00eas movement's leadership was not Hausa but Yoruba\u2014designated by the term \"Nag\u00f4s.\" Yet at least at the time, the Islam professed by the Nag\u00f4s remained more heterodox than that of the Hausa and, even more, than that of the Fulani. Unlike the latter, Yoruba history is not underpinned by a jihadist tradition. And even among the Fulani who founded Sokoto, if one cannot deny an initial religious fervor, political subjugation and territorial ambitions quickly took precedence over religious conversion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n    <p>More generally, as Roberto Magalh\u00e3es dos Santos emphasizes, Islamization on the African continent did not entail the abandonment of traditional cultures by the peoples of this vast region. Drawing, on the one hand, on the <em>General History of Africa<\/em> edited by Mohammed El Fasi for UNESCO, and, on the other hand, on the Muslim affirmation that all human beings belong to a single race\u2014the \"Adamic race\"\u2014Roberto Magalh\u00e3es dos Santos underscores the process of religious syncretism that characterized the Islamization of West Africa in the form of acculturation, of which the marabout is a key figure. In Africa as in Bahia, Yoruba Islam would thus have displayed greater tolerance\u2014understood as acceptance of the other's religion\u2014at least in everyday life. The widespread use of amulets, the syncretism of tribal spirits with <em>jinn<\/em>, and the recurrent interactions between Muslim literati and Yoruba chiefs all testify to a fertile cultural exchange between Muslims and adherents of traditional African religions. Another aesthetic expression, the color white represents one such point of contact between Islam and the religion of the <em>Orix\u00e1s<\/em>, notably the divine figure of Oxal\u00e1. The role reserved for women by the Mal\u00eas in planning the uprising\u2014if not in carrying it out\u2014also illustrates a pattern of gender relations more African than strictly Islamic.<\/p>\r\n\r\n    <p>If it seems to express a form of accommodation with the African environment, the Mal\u00eas episode might nonetheless reveal a rejection of Catholicism. One might even be tempted to see in the Mal\u00eas revolt a new episode in the long, conflictual history between Islam and Christianity. In a sense, the kingdom of Portugal itself emerged from this conflictual relationship, and the Portuguese language\u2014spoken as far as Brazil\u2014still bears traces of this striking proximity to the Islamic world. In many respects, the history of the Portuguese colonial venture can be thought in relation to this Muslim face-to-face, especially in Morocco and along the African coast. In the Atlantic world, Islam had already been able to present itself as a source of resistance to evangelization. In his doctoral dissertation defended in 2028 at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) on the Atlantic history of Islamization in West Africa in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Thiago Henrique Mota showed how Islam could appear as a bulwark against Christian expansion\u2014not only in Senegambia, the main focus of his thesis, but also at various points on the South American continent, in particular in certain port cities such as Cartagena de Indias, where one can observe a certain Muslim unity across the diverse origins of the enslaved people disembarked there. Along this line, Islam helped consolidate a space of intense circulation of people and knowledge among different peoples. On the other side of the African continent, the massacre of Portuguese Augustinian friars by rebels led by a Muslim prince baptized under the name Jeronimo in 1631, in Mombasa, offers another example of religiously charged confrontations and foreshadows the expansion of the Sultanate of Oman along the Swahili coast at the expense of Portuguese power. It would, however, be risky to impose this logic of religious confrontation on the Bahian context at the beginning of the nineteenth century\u2014particularly because nothing proves that Catholicism, through its symbols and architecture, was targeted in a specific way by the rebels. Nevertheless, the Mal\u00eas rose up against a form of religious intolerance expressed through forced conversion to Christianity within the system of slavery.<\/p>\r\n\r\n    <p>Was the Mal\u00eas uprising, then, an act of resistance to the slave system? It would no doubt be more accurate to specify: to a slave system dominated by Christian Europeans, but not to the institution of slavery as such. The Mal\u00eas themselves came from African slave societies, and it would be imprudent to imagine them animated by a project of complete social upheaval. Certainly, the example of the Haitian Revolution haunted Brazilian society, especially among slaveholding elites; and in the nineteenth century many people of mixed ancestry drew on it as inspiration for the abolitionist movement in Brazil. But the Mal\u00eas did not belong to those circles, and it would be hazardous to see in them the influence of an egalitarian revolutionary utopia. If they had a model in mind, it was likely rather that of Islam, which did not then repudiate the institution of slavery but modified it in favor of Muslim masters. In his thesis, Thiago Henrique Mota also notes\u2014quite rightly\u2014that slavery was denounced by African Muslims insofar as it led to conversion to Christianity and, worse still from a Muslim perspective, to unbelief, since according to the Qur'an unbelief leads straight to Hell. Far from the salvation of souls promised by Christian missionaries, the baptism of enslaved people would thus lead, for Muslims, only to eternal damnation: Islamic resistance to slavery and resistance to conversion to Christianity therefore go hand in hand in this perspective.<\/p>\r\n\r\n    <p>The uprising therefore encompassed a set of principles, perhaps mirroring the very label \"Mal\u00eas,\" which refers to a plurality of social and cultural situations: they were first and foremost practitioners of Islam, whether enslaved or free, African or Brazilian. As Roberto Magalh\u00e3es dos Santos observes, when one speaks of the Mal\u00eas one is not referring to a particular people, but rather to a \"group of persons\" from various countries or nations, brought to Brazil as enslaved people, all of whom were Muslim. This did not prevent tactical alliances: if one needed to break with white domination\u2014even when that domination could involve non-Europeans\u2014any African could represent a potential ally. More than a single social revolt, the Mal\u00eas uprising was thus political, driven by an ambition to seize power. As Jo\u00e3o Jos\u00e9 Reis notes, this interpretation contradicts the reading of a jihad against unbelievers of all colors and origins aimed at imposing Islam on Africans, since the rebellion could lead to an alliance between Mal\u00eas and non-Muslim Africans. Without denying Mal\u00eas hegemony stemming from a central core of rebels, Jo\u00e3o Jos\u00e9 Reis thus imagines a scenario of the rebellion in several circles of insurgents, more or less attached to Islam. In this scenario, the Mal\u00eas fight alongside <em>k\u0101fir<\/em> who worship the <em>Orix\u00e1s<\/em> but who were also Nag\u00f4s: in this perspective, one may say that the rebellion was Mal\u00ea, and the uprising African.<\/p>\r\n\r\n    <p>Did the movement symbolize resistance to racism? The risk here is anachronism. Speaking of racism at the beginning of the nineteenth century may be hazardous\u2014at least in the sense of a well-defined scientific ideology shared by elites, such as it would become at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It remains, however, that a hierarchical vision of human beings and \"races\" existed from the eighteenth century onward. And conversely, this may be the interpretation that resonates most today with the Mal\u00eas episode\u2014and that helps explain its recent aesthetic reinvention. Several Brazilian cultural productions testify to the renewed interest in this little-known episode, largely neglected by school curricula, and to the reappropriation of a forgotten memory. I am thinking here of Ana Maria Gon\u00e7alves's sprawling novel <em>Um defeito de cor<\/em>, recently named by <em>Folha de S\u00e3o Paulo<\/em> as the most important novel of the first quarter of the twenty-first century. Or again, in cinematic form, the film <em>Mal\u00eas<\/em>, just released in Brazilian theaters, which echoes other films that\u2014like <em>Ainda estou aqui<\/em>\u2014denounce the injustices of Brazilian history. These productions of course belong to the broader renewal of scholarship on slavery and subaltern memories in Brazil, fostered by the Workers' Party's election of Lula at the turn of the millennium\u2014and even more by Lula's re-election in 2022, after four years of Bolsonarist policies marked by the deliberate weakening of public policies and by a strengthening of religious intolerance toward non-Christian religions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n    <p>Should one then conclude with the Mal\u00eas' defeat? For, as in the United States\u2014and unlike traditional African religions\u2014the Islam of slavery ultimately did not survive in Brazil. Nonetheless, the Mal\u00eas episode today reminds us of the long-standing presence of Muslims in Brazil. Larger today, though still very much a minority, this presence is explained by two other waves. The first is Arab immigration\u2014often called \"Turkish,\" in reference in fact to populations from the former Ottoman Empire\u2014that arrived in Brazil and South America in the first half of the twentieth century. Their rapid integration into Brazil's economy, however, did not create a demand for recognition. By contrast, a third and last wave\u2014corresponding to an Islam of conversion\u2014is much more recent and, though marginal, is often the target of intolerance, generally in connection with Middle Eastern conflicts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n    <p>One thus finds, in the Mal\u00eas episode, a highlighting of Islam as a principle of liberation\u2014such as it was promoted by advocates of the Black cause in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s (I am thinking in particular of Malcolm X and his Nation of Islam), or such as it was analyzed by Michel Foucault in connection with the Iranian Revolution in 1979. At a time when Brazil, like other Western countries, struggles to move beyond the tragic confrontation between Hamas and Israel, commemorating the Mal\u00eas episode may also have sought to join a global movement against the crushing of the Palestinian people and in favor of justice. Between the indignity of slavery\u2014denounced in countless ways\u2014and the dignity of the Mal\u00eas, made visible in their white garments, was the 1835 rebellion not first and foremost a Muslim, profoundly human cry against humiliation? In a country marked in the twentieth century by Christian liberation theology, this may open a suggestive field of study for those interested in Muslim\u2013Christian relations.<\/p>\r\n  <\/section>\r\n<\/article><\/div>\n                    \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" >\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\">4:50pm-5:20pm<\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Discussion with the audience            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" >\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\">6pm<\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Arabo-Andalusian music concert with Eduardo Paniagua \u2013 Auditorio. Centro de Recepci\u00f3n de Visitantes.\nPl. del Triunfo, s\/n, Centro, 14003 C\u00f3rdoba            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" >\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\">8pm: Evening<\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                \"The Soul of C\u00f3rdoba\" - Sound and light show at the Mosque-Cathedral (Group 2).\nGroup assignments will be displayed on site.            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n<hr \/>\n\n<div style=\"height: 50px;\"><\/div>\n\n<h4 id=\"jour-vendredi\">Friday, February 13, 2026<\/h4>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/maps.app.goo.gl\/dy9JNsgA2yEvxq7S8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"prog-lieu\"><span class=\"prog-lieu-icon\">\ud83d\udccd<\/span> Loyola Andaluc\u00eda University \u2013 C. Escritor Castilla Aguayo, 4<\/a>\n<h5 class=\"axe-title\">Axis 3: Aesthetic and Ethical Heritages: Tensions, Dialogues and Hospitality<\/h5>\n<div class=\"conference-intro\">This third axis explores how aesthetics can be a source of hospitality towards the other or the expression of their rejection, a space for constructive encounters or domination.<\/div>\n\n<h6 style=\"font-weight: bold;\">9am: Welcome<\/h6>\n<h6 id=\"axe3-panel1\" style=\"font-weight: bold;\">9:30am-11am - Panel 1 | Chair : Michel Youn\u00e8s<\/h6>\n<h6>Room 1<\/h6>\n\n<div id=\"prog-maconnerie\">\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Jean Patrick Nkolo Fanga                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Al Mowafaqa Ecumenical Institute of Theology, Rabat<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Dance(s), Spirituality(ies) and Religions: Stakes and Challenges for Developing Interreligious Dialogue Practices in Contemporary Africa<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/dances-spiritualityies-and-religions-stakes-and-challenges-for-developing-interreligious-dialogue-practices-in-contemporary-africa\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Dance(s), Spirituality(ies) and Religions: Stakes and Challenges for Developing Interreligious Dialogue Practices in Contemporary Africa\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-76', 'Abstract : Dance(s), Spirituality(ies) and Religions: Stakes and Challenges for Developing Interreligious Dialogue Practices in Contemporary Africa', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-76\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Dance(s) and Spirituality(ies): Stakes and Challenges for Developing Interreligious Dialogue Practices in Contemporary Africa\nWhile dance is rarely associated with spirituality in Christian traditions imported by missionaries who established historical, evangelical, or charismatic churches in Francophone Africa, or by those from Salafist or Wahhabi movements returning from Mecca, it is part of the religious and spiritual heritage of African peoples' traditions. This reality shows how dance occupies a complex and even controversial, but above all crucial place in religious and spiritual movements in Francophone Africa. Protestant, charismatic, or Catholic churches, as well as Sufi brotherhoods in Africa such as Tijaniyya or Mouride, have developed liturgical practices marked by the important place of dance, considered as a means of uniting visible and invisible realities. How could spiritual dance, which is a trans-confessional reality, be an important element in developing discourses and practices of dialogue between various religious traditions in Francophone Africa? Our presentation will explore the place, role, and relationships of spiritual dance in various religious traditions in Francophone Africa, as well as its potential in developing theological discourses and practices from an interreligious perspective.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-77', 'Jean Patrick Nkolo Fanga', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-77\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Holding a PhD in practical theology, Jean Patrick Nkolo Fanga is a professor of practical theology and academic director, engaged in pastoral training and applied research on African and migratory ecclesial realities. His work focuses particularly on ministry practice, homiletics, church governance, competency-based management, and conflict resolution. He has conducted several research stays in France and Northern Europe, with international support for publication. Author of reference monographs and numerous articles, he has also served as president of the International Society for Practical Theology and contributes to ecumenical and interreligious dynamics.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-auto\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-auto-78', 'Automatic translation that may contain errors', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Automatic translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-auto-78\" style=\"display:none;\"><article>\r\n  <p><strong>Ethics and Aesthetics in Islamic Heritage<\/strong><br \/>\r\n  Dance(s) and Spirituality: Issues and Challenges in Developing Interreligious Dialogue Practices in Contemporary Africa<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Introduction<\/h2>\r\n  <p>Dance is seldom immediately associated with religious practice, and when it becomes part of a liturgical celebration it often gives rise to controversy, since the tendency toward a body-soul dichotomy-or a Cartesian dualism-has been widespread since the modern era. Dance may be defined as \"a movement of the body performed by one or more persons, in rhythm, with measured steps, ordinarily to the sound of instruments and sometimes to the voice.\" Over time, dance has come to be framed primarily as play, making it difficult-if not impossible-to associate it with sacred music. Yet in certain cultures, especially in Africa, dance still forms part of liturgical celebrations. In many African societies, music accompanies life events and, alongside language and religion, constitutes one of the most important foundations of traditional communities. In most African languages, \"music\" and \"song\" are interchangeable terms. Song and music serve as media of communication that are both material (physical, acoustic) and immaterial (mystical, initiatory, esoteric, spiritual). Music is generally used in religious rites-particularly within African traditions-as an accompaniment or as a mediator capable of creating a connection between interiority and exteriority, up to the highest spiritual spheres. Music performed by initiates can alter states of mind and heighten human capacities or sensibilities.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>During fieldwork in a Protestant parish in the Paris region of France, the pastor we interviewed expressed surprise at the fact that congregants danced enthusiastically during the Sunday worship liturgy. In his view, this euphoria during the time of adoration and praise was incompatible with the devotion inherent in worship; above all, he wondered whether preaching still had its proper place within such a festive and joyful liturgy. In other words, his concern related to the link between music, dance, and the meditation on Scripture. The parish community was largely made up of people of African origin. The pastor was a native Frenchman. This cultural mismatch made it difficult to understand the place of dance in liturgical activities. In a Reformed church in Togo, the faithful strongly called for the introduction of dance into liturgical celebrations, as is the case in charismatic or Pentecostal services that draw large crowds.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>In Senegal, the Mourides organize the <em>thiant<\/em>, a night of prayer made up of liturgical chants and praises. The recitation of poems by the founder of the brotherhood, Amadou Bamba-known as <em>khassaides<\/em>-is accompanied by dance steps. This liturgical activity concentrates most of the movement's most radical criticism. The Gnawa of Morocco include, within their liturgical rites, a circular dance that belongs to their tradition and can lead to ecstasy. This practice is strongly criticized by the guardians or proponents of Muslim orthodoxy. Yet dance continues to be associated with various liturgies of religious traditions present in Africa, and elsewhere (Sufi brotherhoods, charismatic renewal, etc.).<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>Why this interest in, and attraction to, liturgical dance despite the contrasting positions of different religious lawmakers?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>In the pages that follow, we seek to show that if the place of music and the dance that accompanies it in various religious liturgies is controversial today, this is largely because of different ways of conceiving spirituality. A conception of spirituality as a \"reality\" makes the human body the privileged locus of spiritual manifestation. Since this conception is shared by various religious traditions, music and the dance that accompanies it can provide a framework for organizing interreligious encounters. To do so, we will examine the relationship between dance and spirituality throughout history, as well as the place of dance in Islam and Christianity in Africa, and its contribution to interreligious dialogue.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Dance and Spirituality through History<\/h2>\r\n  <p>Dance can refer to a wide range of activities: from improvisation to a choreographed performance before an audience accompanied by an orchestra; from a personal escape to a social activity for couples or friends in a nightclub; from a ritual circle dance to a meditative movement of a body inspired by profound communion with the environment. Etienne Pouliot identifies three epistemological perspectives on the relationship between spirituality and dance. The first is characterized by an opposition between materiality and spirituality, implying a conception of dance shaped by a certain body\/mind opposition, with the body becoming the instrument of dance. A second perspective understands spirituality as a dimension of the real and thus as one aspect of human life; through movement or dance, it becomes possible to express one's spirituality. Finally, a third perspective views spirituality as part of reality itself, and the body as enabling the human being to enter into communion with the environment; dance thus serves as a means of attuning oneself to the reality of the surrounding world.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>Drawing on Platonic philosophy, Monteil-Laeng argues that dance makes it possible to produce, within the human soul, harmony and balance that reflect the divine order. It is therefore a means by which human beings can control what naturally eludes their control-namely emotions and feelings-since, through dance, the body-soul dichotomy is dissolved. This may explain why dance has often been integrated into religious rituals of a communal scope, privileging a quest for spiritual elevation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>The relationship between dance and spirituality has evolved in several ways over the course of history. First, conceptions of the body have changed: one moves from a body regarded as an \"obstacle\" to the harmony of the soul with the surrounding universe, to a body conceived as the \"ideal place\" for the manifestation of the divine presence as felt and lived by human beings. The sensory body makes it possible to become aware of the surrounding world and influences the experiences and reflections attached to it. Second, the practice of religious, ritual, or spiritual dance has shifted from a largely communal scale to an individual practice. According to Jean-Sebastien Viard, dance would have been used in antiquity as a means of integrating society. Third, there has been a change in how ecstasy-or the state in which the body is animated by the breath of the spirit-is described. The divine presence in a human body can lead it to display joyful, sometimes disorderly movements associated with a feeling of floating. It is a fact that human beings are not exclusively matter: within them there exists an immaterial entity that is sensitive to the immaterial dimension of the surrounding environment. Through music and the dance it elicits, the human soul becomes more sensitive to the reality of the spiritual world that surrounds it. How has this reality been taken into account by different religious traditions?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>The Status of Music and Dance in Islam<\/h2>\r\n  <p>From one region of the globe to another, music is an indispensable mode of expression for Islamic spirituality, even though there is no unanimity regarding the status granted to it by religious law. In general, proponents of dogma (reluctant to use music) and proponents of mysticism (who make it a privileged means of access to the divine) hold opposing views. Some thinkers have attempted to reconcile these approaches by indicating criteria for the permissibility of music, as did al-Ghazali. According to Luis Velasco-Pufleau, Salafi and Wahhabi leaders consider music <em>haram<\/em> because, in their view, it prevents listening to and meditating on the Qur'an. Yet, to disseminate their ideology, they make use of musical practices-particularly through <em>anasheed<\/em>, recited or sung poems that serve to amplify a religious ideology. Some theologians opposed to music appeal to verse 6 of surat 31 (Qur'an 31:6), which primarily concerns poetry and, by extension, art, construed as a deviant practice because it is playful and liable to produce feelings and behaviors that would distance the human being from the worship of God. For Eric Geoffroy, when one consults works dealing with the \"Circumstances of Revelation,\" the dominant view is that this verse was revealed concerning a man who sought to compete with the Prophet by offering information about ancient peoples, or, somewhat later, concerning a man who had acquired a slave-girl who sang day and night. The term used is <em>lahw<\/em>, which denotes futile entertainment that distracts human beings from God and from their religious duties. This is why a distinction is drawn between <em>sama'<\/em>, spiritual audition practiced by Sufis, and <em>ghina<\/em>, profane music with a pejorative connotation. Certain <em>hadiths<\/em> that interpret this verse as a prohibition of music and of the instruments used to produce it are also contested. Another verse that includes references to musical practice-whistling and handclapping (Qur'an 8:35)-is interpreted by Eric Geoffroy as referring to pre-Islamic pagan rites associated with \"idolatrous practices and their bacchic manifestations.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>Several theologians and scholars of Muslim culture argue that Islam has always been associated with a musical culture and a repertoire of sacred music. Many of them cite the call to prayer as evidence of the presence of music in Muslim practices. The call to prayer consists of a melody and words intended to gather believers in a given place for communal prayer. In choosing the muezzin, practical considerations (a far-carrying voice) combine with aesthetic and artistic considerations (a voice that is pleasant to hear). Music is also found in the Qur'an's psalmody, which may serve a practical purpose by enabling the verses of the Qur'anic text to be memorized more easily. The use of musical instruments belongs to Sufi practices, and those who promote it argue that the Qur'an never prohibited them. Moreover, such instruments are praised in the Bible, notably in the Book of Psalms (Psalm 150). The Book of Psalms is a collection of poems and praises that the Qur'an repeatedly recognizes as a gift from God to David (Qur'an 5:163; Qur'an 17:55). Since Islam presents itself as a universal religion, it has developed in different countries according to local culture, including musical genres and practices. The <em>gamelan<\/em>, a percussion ensemble used before the arrival of Islam in Indonesia, was introduced into Muslim liturgies, notably during the call to prayer on Ramadan evenings or in traditional mosques. The term <em>sama'<\/em>, meaning spiritual audition, refers to religious songs of praise addressed to God or to the Prophet, sometimes with instruments and dancers. In Turkey, these dancers-members of the Mevlevi Sufi brotherhood (a Muslim order founded in Konya in the thirteenth century by Jalal al-Din Rumi)-are called the \"whirling dervishes,\" in reference to their clothing and their dance movements, which resemble those of a spinning top. In Algerian <em>diwane<\/em>, a Sufi music with Guinean influences, the <em>guimbri<\/em> (a plucked string instrument) and <em>karkabous<\/em> (iron castanets) of the Afro-Maghrebi Gnawa are used. <em>Dhikr<\/em> is a sung practice, rhythmically shaped by breathing and the swaying of the body within Sufi brotherhoods; it consists in repeating the divine attributes in order to enter into communion with God. The permissibility of music is assessed according to the criterion of the author's intention, which shapes the use and the effects of music, capable either of elevating or of defiling.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>Dance is the object of even more intense debates than music. Its detractors locate its origins in the time of the golden calf fashioned by the Hebrews while Moses was on Mount Sinai, and they believe that dance facilitates promiscuity and incites sexual libertinism. Aline Tauzin argues that music and dance were rejected in Islam because of their sensual character, which is associated with femininity. Advocates of dance appeal to the <em>hadith<\/em> recounting that Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet's cousin, began to dance for joy when the Prophet told him that he resembled him; this expression of joy was not condemned by the Prophet. The theologian al-Baqillani and the \"sultan of the 'ulama',\" Ibn 'Abd al-Salam (d. 1261), danced during sessions of <em>sama'<\/em> in which they participated. Indeed, from the ninth century onward, sessions of <em>sama'<\/em> were organized in mosques, in a <em>zawiya<\/em>, or in private homes in Muslim cities, bringing together scholars and <em>muftis<\/em> to listen to or sing poems of praise to God or to the Prophet-sometimes with musical instruments, clapping of hands or feet, dance, or ecstasy. One of the instruments most used by Maghrebi Sufis is the <em>bendir<\/em>, which is associated with religious rituals because it can reconcile musical intervention with submission to the worship of God. It is linked to Sufi rituals that highlight sacred dance and create harmony among musicians, reciters, singers, and dancers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>Music and dance are thus associated with various liturgical celebrations as means of elevation toward God, despite the contrasting positions of Muslim leaders. This practice is reinforced in Africa and on other continents.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>The Place of Music and Dance in African Christianity<\/h2>\r\n  <p>The historical evolution of musical practice in the Church helps us understand how, over time, doctrinal concerns gradually gave way to taking local musical culture into account, as well as the needs of the people, with increased participation by the assembly. The Church Fathers, concerned with the doctrinal transmission of the Christian faith, drew attention to the dangers of musical pleasures. During the Middle Ages, music composed from popular melodies had primarily a liturgical and ritual purpose. Dance and popular music were opposed because they entertained the people and drew them away from worship. Sixteenth-century Reformers emphasized the content of the message-especially its conformity with the Gospel-as well as the use of language accessible to the community of the faithful. Some analysts have spoken of the \"logic of music's threefold office,\" or of a Trinitarian reinterpretation of music in Luther's theology. In relation to the Father as Creator, music plays the role of preserving the order of things. In relation to the Son as Redeemer, music serves the proclamation of the Gospel. In relation to the Holy Spirit, music-understood as prayer-makes it possible to take human existence into account. Other Reformers such as Bucer, Calvin, and Cranmer worked so that praise would be offered in the people's language in order to edify the assembly. John Calvin insisted that music should be only the means of conveying the message of Scripture. Puritans in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries had an ambivalent relationship with a written liturgy, emphasizing praise directly inspired by the Psalms. Later, popular songs were composed from the Bible or in light of human experience. Maurice Mondengo Lyoga observes that Protestant hymnology created and preserved Protestant choral song as early as 1517 through Martin Luther and his collaborators: a choral repertoire characterized by four-part harmonization within a strophic structure, developing the use of the Psalms through the adaptation and harmonization of melodies. In the Congo, as throughout Africa, Protestant hymnology was born with the work of Christian missions from the West beginning in the eighteenth century; it then developed within various local churches and institutions, even if it now seems to be neglected. One finds hymnals from the revival period in Europe translated into vernacular languages, written around the Psalms, arranged from popular melodies, and presented according to various theological and doctrinal themes (the Trinity, evangelization, Christian life, trials and consolation, etc.). In general, these are translations of hymns already existing in Europe. However, in the Congo-as elsewhere in Africa-one observes a need to adapt, to take contemporary musical practices into account, and sometimes to draw closer to Pentecostal musical practices, whose rhythms are closer to local, contemporary, or popular music. Based on a study in the Presbyterian Church of Togo during the first half of 2000, Maditoma was able to identify the need among members of Reformed churches for a sung and danced liturgy that goes beyond the traditional hymnal inherited from the missionary period and comes closer to the joyful liturgies observed in Pentecostal churches in Togo-liturgies that echo the traditions of African traditional religions, even as these churches seek to break with them. Drawing on interviews, she shows the attraction of charismatic spirituality for members of the Presbyterian Church of Togo, emphasizing the struggle against the forces of evil, a rigorist Christian ethic, and a joyful celebration of worship services. This attraction to a spirituality close to Pentecostal movements, found in several other countries, could be explained by the cultural background of church members. Celestin Kiki notes that elements of traditional worship in Africa shape the expectations of church members when they participate in various liturgical celebrations-especially prayer (requests presented by initiates to the spiritual world), offerings (elements of nature offered to foster communion with the spiritual world), and sacrifice (the shedding of an animal's blood to repair a harm)-as means of calling upon spiritual forces. Recourse to these elements draws on various notions that undergird ritual practice in African traditional religions: the notion of time (determined by events), the rite (accompanying all moments of life and intended to gather and to reconcile spiritual forces), songs and dances (circumstantial means of communication among the living and with the invisible world), and the spoken word (a means of action capable of directing the power acquired through the rite). In these elements of traditional rites in Africa there are similarities with liturgical celebrations-prayer, music, dance, offerings, and blessings. It is therefore possible that Africans, in the liturgical celebrations of the Christian faith, feel the need to contextualize Christianity within their own reality when they do not simply desire syncretism. Ambroise Kua-Nzambi Toko notes that, although scientific debate about the religious character of music is intense (see Gilbert Rouget's theses on \"the relationship between music and trance\" and Erwan Dianteill's on \"music and trance in Afro-American religions\"), field observations show that there is indeed ritual or sacred music in African traditional religions. Song and dance may be associated with prayer and provoke trance. However, the rejection of traditional worship elements by Western Christian missionaries caused these elements to disappear for a time from liturgical celebrations in Africa. They later regained interest thanks to new religious movements, African-initiated churches, Pentecostal movements, and the dynamic of reappropriating the Gospel by African theologians observed since the 1950s through the development of so-called theologies of incarnation, which integrate such elements into their religious celebrations for various reasons. Churches emerging from Pentecostal movements emphasize the struggle against the forces of evil through an operational mode that resembles that of African traditional religions. Pastors, prophets, and evangelists organize prayer sessions in which one finds suggestive songs of personal self-development accompanied by dance, supplicatory prayers, declarations of victory over evil spirits, proclamations of healing, and revelations about the causes of suffering. Maditoma notes that, even if Pentecostal discourse excludes any compromise with African traditional religions, its mode of action takes into account the worldview of African peoples. These are attempts to reinvent a form of Christianity that takes African spiritual categories seriously.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>All these elements that enter the liturgy of worship among sub-Saharan African peoples influence those who have become Christians or were born into Christian families when they come to worship to adore God our heavenly Father. These elements suggest that worship as lived within the cultures of sub-Saharan African peoples tends to be more pragmatic than speculative in orientation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>In addition to these cultural elements, we should note the non-negligible influence of a socio-political context marked by precariousness and poor governance, which increases the need to rely on a transcendent force to transform daily life. How can the reading of the Bible help manage these contemporary expectations in the practice of liturgical music?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>In the Bible, music is present in liturgical celebrations. First, in the Old Testament, music is the means by which believers express gratitude to God for his benefits, notably deliverance from a threat or a danger (Exodus 15). The Book of Psalms is a collection of praises in which the experiences of life, as realized by believers in their walk with God, are expressed in poetic form for liturgical singing. Among the Levites consecrated and dedicated to the service of God, there is a class of singers (1 Chronicles 25) charged with praise in cultic celebrations. These singers are placed on the same level as other members of the clergy. Music, which plays an important role in the life of the people of Israel, is associated with prophecy, presented by some commentators as celebration and praise addressed to God. In Psalm 150, there is an invitation to praise God with precise indications concerning places (where his power bursts forth, the sanctuary or the firmament: 150:1), motivations or reasons (his mighty deeds, the immensity of his greatness; see verses 2-3), instruments (lute, harp, tambourine, cymbals, etc.), and the corporeality that accompanies them (dances; see 150:4), and finally the actors concerned (everything that breathes; see 150:6). Through this psalm, we understand that praise expressed through words, instruments, and dances is the expression of believers' worship and praise before the greatness and goodness of the Creator and the Savior. The transformative effects of music played by a person consecrated by God upon the human being are illustrated by this text. Music is presented here as a means of exorcism. David is depicted as a valiant hero, a good musician, and someone who visibly bears God's favor. The conjunction of well-executed instrumental music and David's anointing contributed to Saul's deliverance (1 Samuel 6:13). Music is a means of entering into communion with God and of manifesting his presence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>In the New Testament, music is marked by the concern to make the Word of God known, hence its use in church gatherings or meetings of Christians. From a few New Testament texts (1 Corinthians 14:26; Ephesians 5:19; and Colossians 3:16), we get an idea of the kinds of songs used in the gatherings of the first Christians: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Perspectives for Interreligious Dialogue<\/h2>\r\n  <p>According to Benjamin Simon, while the tendency observed in recent years has been to privilege a comparative approach in interreligious dialogue, this should be done on the basis of what he calls interreligious conviviality-that is, making religious multiplicity a source of mutual enrichment rather than of divisions, tensions, or conflicts. Music, with its capacity to transform people's state of mind, could be mobilized to develop practices of interreligious dialogue marked by conviviality. Music occupies an important place in religious practices in Africa because it fulfils several functions:<\/p>\r\n  <ul>\r\n    <li><strong>Educational:<\/strong> proverbs, riddles, and the like.<\/li>\r\n    <li><strong>Liturgical:<\/strong> chants dedicated to the divine, to ancestors, and to tutelary spirits.<\/li>\r\n    <li><strong>Playful:<\/strong> family or community celebrations such as weddings.<\/li>\r\n    <li><strong>Functional:<\/strong> accompanying each ritual gesture of life.<\/li>\r\n    <li><strong>Cathartic:<\/strong> channeling the mystical powers of the otherworld, acting as an intercessor.<\/li>\r\n  <\/ul>\r\n  <p>Music belongs to the sphere of religious power insofar as it participates in the domestication and staging of the cosmic order. Instruments, songs, and dances carry a spiritual value, since they are consecrated to a form of worship.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p>Since interreligious dialogue is a dialogical undertaking, the interactive construction of a moment of encounter around a shared event is in itself a sufficient reason to facilitate the meeting of distinct religious communities. It is a co-construction, not a clash of abstract ideas. \"Being together to pray\" is a concept previously invoked by John Paul II at the Assisi meeting in 1986 to express the willingness to pray for peace without dissolving the specificity of each religious tradition. This also gives rise to the concepts of multi-religious or interreligious prayer. Depending on the context and on the willingness of stakeholders, religious leaders may indeed come together to pray, or arrange to pray together when possible. Common preparation is necessary for such times of shared prayer. The essential point is to avoid relativism and syncretism, which are threats hanging over interreligious dialogue. To achieve this, Risto Jukko suggests introducing into the program of multi- or interreligious prayer the fundamental elements of the liturgy of the religious traditions concerned, such as the Psalms, the <em>Pater Noster<\/em>, surat al-Fatiha, the names of God, and so forth. These liturgical elements are most often sung in order to praise or worship God, and this could give rise to the organization of a common prayer in music, potentially accompanied by specific dances. Prayer reminds us of our status on earth: we are weak, limited beings dependent on the divine will. Through prayer, we place our needs and intentions in God's hands so that his will may be done. Prayer thus invites us to the humility of the creature before the Creator.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p><em>Nostra Aetate<\/em> is an important declaration of the Second Vatican Council, promulgated on 28 October 1965 by Pope Paul VI. It is one of the most significant documents of the twentieth century for the Catholic Church regarding openness and dialogue with the world. It is a remarkable text that invites Catholic Christians to forge ties with believers of other religions across the world. Although it was published by the Catholic Church, its structure, content, and numerous references to Scripture make it a text that can inspire Christians of other confessional traditions-notably Protestants-and believers more generally. Its many references to Scripture make it a particular text that should serve as a source of inspiration for faith practices. Whether it is Matthew 5:45, which recommends expressing love for our neighbor so as to resemble God our heavenly Father who makes it rain on the good and the wicked alike; Acts 17:26, which reminds us that we are God's creatures whom he causes to dwell together on the earth; Romans 12:18, which calls us to live in peace with all human beings as far as it depends on us; Galatians 3:7, which invites us to show consideration for the children of Abraham; or 2 Corinthians 5:18, which reminds us of the ministry of reconciliation given by Christ to his disciples-these scriptural references invite us to universal fraternity, mutual respect, and love of neighbor, especially those who show respect for revealed writings. Jesus particularly insisted in his teaching on love of neighbor as the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. For example, in his teaching through the parable of the Good Samaritan, he shows that respect for the human person should matter more than our religious affiliation. After him, the apostle Paul presented love of neighbor as the only condition for exercising a ministry within the church in order to serve God (1 Corinthians 13). He wrote that without love of neighbor, miracles, sacrifices, and charisms are nothing. The apostle John clearly showed that love of neighbor is a capacity given to the human being by God the Creator (1 John 4).<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\r\n  <p>We set out to explore the place of dance in different religious traditions in Africa, given the attraction it exerts in practice despite the controversy over whether it is licit. We have observed that, throughout history, conceptions of spirituality and its relationship to the human body have evolved. From Cartesian dualism to an understanding of spirituality as a reality of life, the human body has shifted from being considered an obstacle to spirituality to being viewed as the ideal place for spiritual manifestation. Through dance, Platonic philosophy suggests that human beings can master what escapes rationality-namely emotions and feelings. Dance reunifies body and soul through movements that accompany musical sounds. This recognition of the spiritual value of music justifies its use in spiritual and religious practices that privilege elevation toward the divine or communion with the spiritual world. This is the case in Sufi brotherhoods within Islam and, within Christianity, in forms of worship marked by the quest for the manifestation of the Holy Spirit across confessional tendencies. The declaration <em>Nostra Aetate<\/em> invites Christians to dialogue with members of other religions. Pope John Paul II elaborated the concept of \"being together to pray\" at the Assisi meeting in 1986. On the basis of this concept, it is possible to co-construct times of prayer between Christian and Muslim communities-to pray, praise, and worship God-by drawing on liturgical elements that resonate with both religious traditions and are regularly sung. Liturgical dance for the praise of God can enable interreligious encounters marked by conviviality...<\/p>\r\n<\/article><\/div>\n                    \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Salma Rouyett                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Mohammed V University, Rabat<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Spiritual Eroticism and Erotic Spirituality in Sufi Mystical Thought<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/spiritual-eroticism-and-erotic-spirituality-in-sufi-mystical-thought\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Spiritual Eroticism and Erotic Spirituality in Sufi Mystical Thought\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-79', 'Abstract : Spiritual Eroticism and Erotic Spirituality in Sufi Mystical Thought', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-79\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>The mystical moment, in the Sufi tradition, stands at the summit of human experience. It is that point of incandescence where the being, exceeded by itself, opens to the invisible. It touches the ultimate, beyond forms, beyond the sayable. Eroticism, too, is a crossing\u2014but through the body. It is fire, breath, loss, cry. Two experiences that everything seems to oppose, yet which meet in their intensity, their gentle violence, their power of transfiguration. This paper proposes a reflection on erotic-mystical thought as it manifests in Sufi texts. We will read there an aesthetics of continuity, where carnal love and divine love extend into each other, interpenetrate, seek each other. Unity is not given; it is lived in ecstasy, in fusion, in loss\u2014until effacement. We will propose a poetic and philosophical reading of what we call spiritual eroticism, through the figures of Abu Nawas, Al Hallaj, Rabia al-Adawiyya, Ibn Arabi, and also forgotten or contested authors, whose verses, often marginalized for their audacity, are nonetheless traversed by the presence of the divine. Their poems speak of intoxication, the nakedness of the soul, the trembling of the flesh, the thirst for fusion. For eroticism and spirituality are two poles of the same desire: to transcend the limits of being, to open oneself to the other, to the Other, without partition or judgment. Together they offer a path of freedom, a deep breath of the human\u2014in breath and in touch. What this thought reveals is this: there are bodies that pray in silence, and souls that delight in the invisible, as Al Hallaj's words so profoundly testify: 'I am the one I love, and the one I love is me. We are two souls melted into a single body.'<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-80', 'Salma Rouyett', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-80\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Holder of a PhD in Literature, Education and Humanist Culture, she is a lecturer-researcher at the Faculty of Educational Sciences in Rabat (Morocco). Her work examines the links between eroticism, aesthetic education, and Moroccan francophone writing, combining literary, cultural, and pedagogical approaches. She regularly participates in conferences and cultural events in Morocco and internationally, particularly in France, Belgium, the United States, and several African countries. She recently published 'Inhabiting Exile in Khatibi's Writing: Towards a Poetics of Plurality' in the journal LOXIAS.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-auto\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-auto-81', 'Automatic translation that may contain errors', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Automatic translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-auto-81\" style=\"display:none;\"><article>\r\n<header>\r\n<h2>Spiritual Eroticism and Erotic Spirituality in Sufi Mystical Thought<\/h2>\r\n<p><em>Ethics and Aesthetics in the Islamic Heritage \u2013 C\u00f3rdoba \u2013 10\u201314 February 2026<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p>Salma Rouyett \u2013 Paper<\/p>\r\n<\/header>\r\n\r\n<p>\"Whoever speaks about Sufism is not a Sufi;<br\/>\r\nWhoever bears witness to Sufism is not a Sufi.<br\/>\r\nTo live Sufism is to be absent from it.\"<br\/>\r\n\u2014 \u00c9ric Geoffroy, <em>Le soufisme<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>To begin with these words is to accept, from the outset, an essential difficulty: that of speaking about an experience which, by its very nature, eludes any attempt to grasp it. Sufism allows neither definition nor possession; it is lived as a self-effacement, as a presence that cannot be named. Any discourse about it is therefore necessarily modest\u2014aware of its limits and attentive to what exceeds it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Some experiences surpass language, and yet exist only through it. The mystical moment in the Sufi tradition is one of these: a point of ignition where being, saturated with itself, sheds its contours in order to yield to the invisible. The Sufi does not seek God as an object of knowledge; he desires Him, tastes Him, loses Him. Now, this grammar of loss, vertigo, and crossing is strangely familiar. It is also that of eroticism. Eroticism\u2014in the deep, philosophical sense rather than the moral one, as Bataille reminds us\u2014is a limit-experience: one in which the body ceases to be a boundary and becomes a passage. It engages the whole being in a movement of self-transcendence through the other, in an intensity that is not merely pleasure but a transformation of presence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Everything seems to set mysticism and eroticism in opposition: elevation and flesh, the divine and the sensible. Yet Sufi thought invites us to shift our gaze. It leads us to ask: what if eroticism were one of the paths to the sacred? What if spirituality, far from negating the body, were its most subtle fulfillment? From this trace, we would like to examine what we shall call a spiritual eroticism and an erotic spirituality in Sufi mystical thought\u2014not as provocation, but as fidelity to a tradition in which desire, love, and the body are never excluded from the experience of the divine, but are often its most intense loci. For if Sufism exceeds language, it does not refuse it: it inhabits it otherwise. It makes of it a place of passage, a breath, a trace. This reflection will unfold in three movements. We will first approach desire as the primary language of the Sufi experience, through poetry and amorous intoxication. We will then attend to the ways in which God is spoken of in the feminine, in the voices of male and female mystics. Finally, we will linger over the body as a place of passage, where surrender becomes a way of knowing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>1. Sufi Mysticism as an Erotics of Desire<\/h3>\r\n\r\n<h4>1.1. The Aesthetics of Desire Tested by Absence<\/h4>\r\n\r\n<p>Eroticism inscribes the body within a dispossession of the self that later leads to continuity\u2014first physical, through an \"eroticism of bodies,\" and then to emotional unity through an \"eroticism of hearts.\" We develop the same hypothesis from a comparative perspective with mysticism. Mysticism, like eroticism, calls for self-giving\u2014in other words, the loss of everything that in principle constitutes being: one's body. Mysticism is a movement of stripping down, of voluntary abandonment. It presents itself as a path of knowledge and communication with the divine; that is, as whatever can make accessible a communal experience, far from religious representations that may tend toward dogmatism. This knowledge is not theoretical but experiential. \u00c9ric Geoffroy states it with sober clarity: \"There is no Sufism without experience. Sufism is not a knowledge about God, but a knowledge through God.\" Every mystical experience is thus intrinsically governed by sensitivity and intuition. In Sufi mysticism in particular, it is a matter of correspondences between the veiled and the unveiled, the apparent and the hidden, presence and absence. Mysticism makes the body the place where desire is felt for what is sought yet remains unattainable: God. There is always a gap, even if only physical. There is enjoyment, but it remains impossible to grasp fully.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In searching for God's presence, the mystical being encounters a presence-in-absence: a presence that is also a non-presence, one that does not quench thirst. Hence an enduring quest in which God proves to be the name of an impossible satisfaction. Mysticism is a movement of self-dispossession, but it takes place only in order to give another meaning to loss and stripping away. What is lost is replaced by what is absent, and cannot be absorbed. When what one believed oneself to be, or to possess, disappears, another relation to lack and desire opens up. It is not only a matter of letting the trappings of the ego fall away; it is also a matter of rebuilding from what is missing\u2014making lack itself what creates a being. Mysticism thus creates a particular aesthetics of pleasure: it turns unsatisfied desire into a desire for dissatisfaction. Dissatisfaction becomes the sought-after object through every practice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Michel de Certeau writes in this sense: \"Mystical is the man or the woman who cannot stop walking and who, with the certainty of what is lacking, knows of each place and of each object that it is not that; that one cannot dwell here nor be content with this. Desire creates an excess.\" This is why we can say that mysticism is an erotics. And this is what allows us to connect spirituality and eroticism.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h4>1.2. Words of Intoxication: In Praise of the Elusive<\/h4>\r\n\r\n<p>Sufi mysticism does not seek to name God head-on; it approaches Him through desire, intoxication, and amorous address. That is why Sufi poetry unhesitatingly borrows the lexicon of the body, wine, the gaze, and self-loss. In <em>The Great T\u0101\u02beiyya<\/em>, Ibn al-F\u0101ri\u1e0d addresses at length a \"She.\" The poem presents itself as an unbroken declaration of love, without explicit indication of its addressee. A profane reader could read it as a poem of human love, so carnal, unsettling, and incarnate is its language. Nothing dispels the ambiguity; on the contrary, the poem deepens it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p dir=\"rtl\">\u0633\u0642\u062a\u0646\u064a \u062d\u064f\u0645\u064a\u064e\u0651\u0627 \u0627\u0644\u062d\u0628\u0650\u0651 \u0631\u0627\u062d\u0629\u064e \u0645\u0642\u0644\u062a\u064a\u060c<br\/>\r\n\u0648\u0643\u0623\u0633\u064a \u0645\u062d\u064a\u064e\u0651\u0627 \u0645\u064e\u0646 \u0639\u0646\u0650 \u0627\u0644\u062d\u064f\u0633\u0646\u0650 \u062c\u0644\u062a\u0650<br\/>\r\n\u0641\u0623\u0648\u0647\u0645\u062a\u064f \u0635\u062d\u0628\u064a \u0623\u0646\u064e\u0651 \u0634\u0631\u0628\u064e \u0634\u0631\u0627\u0628\u0647\u0645\u060c<br\/>\r\n\u0628\u0647\u0650 \u0633\u0631\u064e\u0651 \u0633\u0631\u0650\u0651\u064a \u0641\u064a \u0627\u0646\u062a\u0634\u0627\u0626\u064a \u0628\u0646\u0638\u0631\u0629\u0650<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>She gave me to drink the burning wine of love,<br\/>\r\nand my eyes found rest in it, as if in calm.<br\/>\r\nMy cup was her face,<br\/>\r\na radiance of beauty freed from every limit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>I let my companions believe<br\/>\r\nthat I was drinking their drink,<br\/>\r\nwhile the secret of my intoxication<br\/>\r\nlay in a single vision.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The poet feigns here a visible intoxication, shared and almost social, while the true source of his ecstasy remains secret, inward, bound to an intimate vision. Mystical intoxication hides beneath the appearances of profane intoxication. The boundary between the two becomes indistinguishable. Nothing allows one to affirm with certainty whether the beloved is human or divine. This confusion is not the poem's weakness; it is its strength. Carnal desire and spiritual desire speak the same language. This language of desire is ubiquitous in Sufi poetry. It is articulated through terms that do not belong to abstract symbolism but to lived experience: <em>\u02bfishq<\/em>, passionate love that consumes; <em>shawq<\/em>, burning longing; <em>wajd<\/em>, ecstasy\u2014literally what is \"found\" by losing oneself. This vocabulary is not decorative. It builds an aesthetics of continuity, in which human love and divine love mirror one another without hierarchy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Further on, Ibn al-F\u0101ri\u1e0d suggests an intimacy even more troubling, where proximity becomes almost unbearable:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p dir=\"rtl\">\u0648\u0644\u0645\u0651\u0627 \u0627\u0646\u0642\u0636\u0649 \u0635\u062d\u0648\u064a\u060c \u062a\u0642\u0627\u0636\u064a\u062a\u064f \u0648\u0635\u0644\u0647\u0627\u060c<br\/>\r\n\u0648\u0644\u0645 \u064a\u063a\u0634\u0646\u064a\u060c \u0641\u064a \u0628\u0633\u0637\u0647\u0627\u060c \u0642\u0628\u0636\u064f \u062e\u0634\u064a\u062a\u064a<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>When my return to myself came to an end, I asked for union with her,<br\/>\r\nand in the opening of her arms,<br\/>\r\nno fear came to seize me.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The union requested here\u2014<em>wa\u1e63l<\/em>\u2014is a term one might expect in a profane love poem. It signifies the joining of bodies as well as that of souls. The absence of fear, the relaxation, the total surrender reinforce the impression of a carnal scene, where desire at last finds a resting place, without naming its source.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This indeterminacy of the beloved runs through much mystical poetry, especially Persian, where the language of love deliberately lingers on a threshold.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In \u1e24\u0101fe\u1e93 of Shiraz, the beloved takes on the features of a named, situated, almost tangible woman\u2014yet remains elusive:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p dir=\"rtl\">\u0627\u06af\u0631 \u0622\u0646 \u062a\u0631\u06a9\u0650 \u0634\u06cc\u0631\u0627\u0632\u06cc \u0628\u0647 \u062f\u0633\u062a \u0622\u0631\u062f \u062f\u0644\u0650 \u0645\u0627 \u0631\u0627<br\/>\r\n\u0628\u0647 \u062e\u0627\u0644\u0650 \u0647\u0646\u062f\u0648\u06cc\u0634 \u0628\u062e\u0634\u0645 \u0633\u0645\u0631\u0642\u0646\u062f \u0648 \u0628\u062e\u0627\u0631\u0627 \u0631\u0627<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>If that Turk of Shiraz takes my heart in her hand,<br\/>\r\nfor the beauty spot on her face<br\/>\r\nI would give Samarkand and Bukhara.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Nothing in these lines fixes the beloved's status. The scene is eminently carnal: a heart taken in the hand, a face, a beauty spot. And yet the gesture of offering is absolute: to give away kingdoms for a sign on a face. The economy of love becomes excess, disproportion, the loss of any reasonable measure. Here desire refuses assignment; it circulates between body and the invisible, between the beloved woman and the absolute Beloved. The poem does not seek to resolve the ambiguity; it cultivates it. For it is precisely in this undecidable space that desire becomes mystical.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This logic of displacement becomes still more radical when the very place of prayer is diverted. \u1e24\u0101fe\u1e93 writes:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p dir=\"rtl\">\u0646\u0645\u0627\u0632 \u062f\u0631 \u0645\u06cc\u062e\u0627\u0646\u0647\u200c\u0627\u0645 \u0627\u0641\u062a\u0627\u062f \u0648 \u0633\u062c\u062f\u0647 \u0628\u0631 \u0644\u0628 \u062f\u0648\u0633\u062a<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>My prayer led me into the tavern,<br\/>\r\nand my prostration came to rest upon the beloved's lips.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The gesture is audacious, yet revealing. The sacred is not denied; it is displaced. The tavern becomes a place of disclosure; the beloved's lips become the place of prostration. Desire no longer finds a stable space in which to settle. It slides, slips away, becomes de-localized. Thus, in these poetics of desire, love is never grasped. It promises union without delivering it fully; it offers visions without stabilizing them. Desire is felt as tension, as movement without a terminus. It does not aim at satisfaction, but at its own renewal. It is in this very impossibility\u2014in this flight of the loved object\u2014that desire becomes mystical.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This confusion is not unique to Ibn al-F\u0101ri\u1e0d or \u1e24\u0101fe\u1e93. It runs through the whole of Sufi poetry, including in women's voices whose speech embraces a direct sensuality. Some mystical poets assumed a language so close to the erotic that it was sometimes perceived as blasphemous. Yet that blasphemy\u2014if it is one\u2014is never a rupture: it is an excess of love.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>2. Living God in the Feminine<\/h3>\r\n\r\n<h4>2.1. Words of Sufi Women: A Mysticism Lived in the Flesh<\/h4>\r\n\r\n<p>This excess of love finds a particularly intense expression in the words of Sufi women, whose mysticism is not spoken from a distance but lived in the flesh. Annemarie Schimmel captures this aptly: \"Sufi women have often expressed their relationship with God in a direct, bodily, affective language, because their spiritual experience was inseparable from their sensuous life.\" This sentence states what matters: mystical experience is lived before it is thought. It passes through the body; it marks itself in breathing, in exhaustion, in impetus, and sometimes in overflowing joy. The divine does not remain at a distance; it allows itself to be approached in intimacy, in what trembles and gives itself. The words of F\u0101\u1e6dima al-Juzaj\u0101n\u012byya bear witness to this:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p dir=\"rtl\">\u0627\u0644\u0645\u062d\u0628\u0651\u0629\u064f \u0646\u0627\u0631\u064c \u062a\u064e\u0642\u064e\u0639\u064f \u0641\u064a \u0627\u0644\u0642\u0644\u0648\u0628\u060c<br\/>\r\n\u062b\u0645\u0651 \u062a\u0633\u0631\u064a \u0625\u0644\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u062c\u0648\u0627\u0631\u062d \u0641\u062a\u062d\u0631\u0642\u0647\u0627\u060c<br\/>\r\n\u0641\u0644\u0627 \u064a\u0628\u0642\u0649 \u0641\u064a \u0627\u0644\u0639\u0628\u062f \u0645\u0648\u0636\u0639\u064c \u0644\u063a\u064a\u0631 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Love is a fire that falls into hearts,<br\/>\r\nthen runs through the limbs and burns them,<br\/>\r\nso that no place remains in the servant for anything other than God.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Love here is neither a purely interior sentiment nor a simple disposition of the soul. It is a force that moves, invades, consumes. The body becomes the very site of spiritual transformation: not an obstacle to divine presence, but its space of expansion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This carnal geography of the spirit reaches its apex in the poetry of Mahsat\u012b Ganjav\u012b. With her, belonging to the Divine is no longer a matter of dogma, but an anatomical inscription. She writes:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p dir=\"rtl\">\u0627 \u062f\u0631 \u062a\u0640\u0646 \u0645\u0640\u0627 \u062c\u0640\u0627\u0646 \u0648 \u0631\u06af \u0648 \u067e\u0640\u06cc \u0628\u0640\u0648\u062f \u0642\u0640\u0631\u0628\u0640\u0627\u0646 \u0648 \u0641\u0640\u062f\u0627\u06cc \u0631\u062e \u0632\u06cc\u0640\u0628\u0640\u0627 \u0628\u0640\u0648\u062f\u06cc\u0645 [...] \u0645\u0627 \u0631\u0627 \u0628\u0647 \u062f\u0645 \u067e\u06cc\u0631 \u067e\u0640\u06cc\u0640\u0645\u0627\u0646\u0640\u0647 \u06a9\u0640\u0634\u0640\u06cc\u0640\u062f \u062f\u0631 \u0622\u062a\u0634 \u0639\u0634\u0642 \u062a\u0648 \u062a\u0640\u0646\u0640\u0645 \u0632\u0628\u0640\u0627\u0646\u0640\u0647 \u06a9\u0640\u0634\u0640\u06cc\u0640\u062f<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>So long as there remained in our body a soul, veins, and tendons, we were the sacrifice and the offering to that Face of beauty [\u2026] He drew us toward the breath of the old master and the cup; in the fire of Your love, my flesh became a flame.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Here the body is not merely consumed; it is offered in its most intimate structure\u2014its tissues, its bloodstream\u2014as irrefutable proof of love. These words echo those of the great R\u0101bi\u02bfa al-\u02bfAdawiyya, whose very \"breath\" could not turn toward any other than the Beloved, making the act of breathing the unceasing rhythm of an incarnate divine presence. With these women, Sufism is not thought at a distance; it is lived\u2014passing through breath, fatigue, waiting, and the heart's surge.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In this sense, the feminine becomes, in Sufi thought, a key for reading mystical experience. Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b formulates this intuition with remarkable density when he states that a place devoid of femininity is not trustworthy. He is not speaking of women in a biological sense, but of a spiritual quality: the capacity to receive, to bear, to let what comes come, without seeking to possess. The feminine denotes an availability to presence, an openness that makes divine manifestation possible.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h4>2.2. The Feminine as Threshold of Presence<\/h4>\r\n\r\n<p>If the feminine becomes, in Sufi thought, a key for reading mystical experience, it is because it designates a locus of manifestation rather than a fixed identity. It does not refer only to woman as a historical or social subject, but to a spiritual quality: that which allows presence to give itself, to draw near, to be felt. Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b expresses this strikingly when he writes, in the <em>Fut\u016b\u1e25\u0101t al-Makkiyya<\/em>:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p dir=\"rtl\">\u0623\u0643\u0645\u0644\u064f \u0627\u0644\u0634\u0647\u0648\u062f\u0650 \u0634\u0647\u0648\u062f\u064f \u0627\u0644\u062d\u0642\u0651 \u0641\u064a \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0631\u0623\u0629<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The contemplation of God in woman is the most perfect contemplation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This sentence\u2014often quoted but rarely pondered in all its force\u2014is neither provocation nor easy allegory. It affirms that woman, as a figure of the feminine, constitutes the place where divine presence becomes closest, most sensible, most visible. Not because she would possess God, but because she welcomes. The feminine is thought here as a surface of revelation, as a space where the divine consents to become visible without congealing. Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b adds elsewhere:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p dir=\"rtl\">\u0627\u0644\u0645\u0631\u0623\u0629\u064f \u0645\u064e\u062d\u064e\u0644\u064f\u0651 \u0627\u0644\u0642\u064e\u0628\u0648\u0644\u060c \u0648\u0641\u064a \u0642\u064e\u0628\u0648\u0644\u0650\u0647\u0627 \u064a\u064e\u0638\u0647\u064e\u0631\u064f \u0627\u0644\u0633\u0650\u0651\u0631\u064f\u0651 \u0627\u0644\u0625\u0644\u0647\u064a<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Woman is the locus of receptivity, and it is in her reception that the divine secret manifests itself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>To receive is not to undergo. In Sufi language, to receive means to let what comes come without capture, to allow presence to pass without enclosing it. The feminine thus becomes a threshold: neither outside nor inside, neither pure transcendence nor closed immanence, but a point of opening where the invisible consents to become sensible.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This intuition runs through other Sufi voices. R\u016bzbih\u0101n Baql\u012b, for whom beauty is central, explicitly associates divine manifestation with the beloved form:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p dir=\"rtl\">\u062c\u0645\u0627\u0644\u0650 \u0627\u0644\u0647\u06cc \u0631\u0627 \u062f\u06cc\u062f\u0645 \u06a9\u0647 \u062f\u0631 \u0635\u0648\u0631\u062a\u200c\u0647\u0627\u06cc \u062f\u0644\u200c\u0627\u0646\u06af\u06cc\u0632 \u067e\u062f\u06cc\u062f\u0627\u0631 \u0645\u06cc\u200c\u0634\u062f\u060c<br\/>\r\n\u0648 \u062f\u0644\u0650 \u0645\u0646 \u062f\u06cc\u06af\u0631 \u0645\u06cc\u0627\u0646\u0650 \u0645\u062d\u0628\u0648\u0628\u0650 \u0627\u0646\u0633\u0627\u0646\u06cc \u0648 \u0645\u062d\u0628\u0648\u0628\u0650 \u062d\u0642\u06cc\u0642\u06cc \u062a\u0645\u0627\u06cc\u0632\u06cc \u0646\u0645\u06cc\u200c\u062f\u06cc\u062f.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>I saw divine Beauty appear beneath lovable forms,<br\/>\r\nand my heart could no longer distinguish the beloved from the Beloved.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>With him, the beloved woman is not a screen between man and God; she is the very place where beauty is unveiled. The confusion is not an error; it is a mode of knowledge. Where the gaze accepts not to separate, presence becomes perceptible. Annemarie Schimmel illuminates this logic: \"In Islamic mysticism, the feminine symbolizes the soul's capacity to receive divine manifestation. It is the place where transcendence becomes relationship.\" The feminine, then, is not opposed to transcendence; it is its sensible condition. It allows mystical experience not to remain abstract, disincarnate, remote. That is why so many Sufi poets speak of God through a face, a voice, a woman's presence, without ever feeling the need to resolve the ambiguity. \u00c9ric Geoffroy puts it plainly: \"Sufism does not seek to move away from the sensible world, but to recognize there the signs of Presence.\" In this perspective, woman is not merely one symbol among others: she embodies this possible proximity. She is the place where the divine becomes relationship, address, trembling. To speak of God in the feminine is not to reduce Him; it is to accept that His presence may manifest where being consents to receive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Thus the feminine as threshold of presence points neither to an identity claim nor to an abstract idealization. It designates a spiritual posture: one that does not seize, does not dominate, does not close. Wherever this posture exists\u2014in women as in men\u2014presence can come to be. From this threshold the body becomes fully involved. For receiving presence is never a purely inward act: it is an experience that passes through breath, emotion, exhaustion, and joy. The feminine opens; the body receives. And it is in this passage that the most radical mystical experience unfolds.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>3. The Body as Passage<\/h3>\r\n\r\n<h4>3.1. <em>Fan\u0101\u02be<\/em>: The Experience of the Transfigured Body<\/h4>\r\n\r\n<p>In the Sufi path, mystical experience is never lived outside the sensible. It does not proceed from withdrawing from the body, but from crossing through it. Far from being an obstacle to spiritual knowledge, the body becomes one of its most exposed, tested, and transformed sites. The quest for the divine engages the whole being\u2014not as an ascetic discipline aimed at extinction, but as a making-available of the flesh. The Sufi body is not a body to deny, nor even to dominate: it is a porous body, open to intensities, traversed by breath, fatigue, impetus, sometimes exhaustion and overflowing joy. It is within this crossing that the experience of <em>fan\u0101\u02be<\/em> takes shape\u2014often translated as \"annihilation,\" but better understood otherwise: not as destruction, but as the effacement of the ego's centrality.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This effacement cannot be decreed; it is undergone. It manifests in precise bodily states: loss of bearings, intoxication, trembling, surrender, the momentary dissolution of boundaries between inside and outside. <em>Fan\u0101\u02be<\/em> is an experience lived before it is thought, a way of inhabiting the body otherwise, until the subject ceases to be the center of his own world. This is why Sufi poetry so often turns to the images of intoxication, wine, night, and flesh. In Ab\u016b Nuw\u0101s\u2014long marginalized as a poet\u2014these figures are not mere moral provocation. Wine becomes the metaphor of consenting to self-loss; the tavern, a symbolic space where identities loosen, where the ego abdicates. Far from diverting from the sacred, this intoxication becomes one of its paradoxical paths.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This logic reaches its incandescent point with al-\u1e24all\u0101j. When he declares:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p dir=\"rtl\">\u0623\u0646\u0627 \u0645\u0646 \u0623\u0647\u0648\u0649 \u0648\u0645\u0646 \u0623\u0647\u0648\u0649 \u0623\u0646\u0627<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>I am the one I love, and the one I love is me.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>he is formulating neither a thesis nor a metaphor. He gives voice to an experience of fusion, where any distinction between lover and Beloved becomes untenable. This utterance carries an undeniable erotic charge\u2014not because it explicitly describes the body, but because it names the moment when the subject can no longer stand at a distance from what touches him. The body becomes pure intensity, pure presence, without mediation. Here Henry Corbin's thought sheds deep light on the Sufi experience: \"Mystical experience does not abolish the body; it transfigures it. It makes appear a body of light, intermediate between the sensible and the spiritual.\" <em>Fan\u0101\u02be<\/em> therefore does not destroy the flesh; it displaces it. It brings forth another relation to the body, no longer as possession or identity, but as a place of passage. The transfigured body becomes the space where the sensible and the invisible cease to oppose one another, where presence gives itself without fixing itself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This experience entails a true ethics of risk. To love God, in the Sufi tradition, is not to protect oneself; it is to accept being lost\u2014not in order to vanish, but to consent to be traversed by what exceeds every stable form of the self. The body is no longer what must be surpassed to reach the divine: it is what makes the experience possible. Thus understood, <em>fan\u0101\u02be<\/em> paradoxically fulfills the sensible rather than abolishing it. It opens a space where the body, far from being rejected, becomes the very place of effacement, presence, and transformation. It is in this crossing\u2014and not in flight\u2014that Sufism asserts its most radical vision: one does not encounter God by cutting oneself off from the world, but by accepting to be fully exposed within it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h4>3.2. The Gentle Blasphemy: Loving Until One Is Lost<\/h4>\r\n\r\n<p>When mystical love reaches its point of incandescence, it can no longer be spoken in a cautious language. Desire no longer merely evokes; it exposes. It commits being up to its extreme limits, where speech becomes risky, sometimes fatal. It is in this space that what has been called, from the outside, Sufi \"blasphemy\" comes into being\u2014not as negation of the sacred, but as overflow of love. In the Sufi tradition, this overflow is inseparable from the erotic. The language of fusion, embrace, and self-loss is not a poetic ornament: it is the only language capable of speaking an experience in which the distance between lover and Beloved has dissolved. As the Persian mystic Shams of Tabriz writes:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p dir=\"rtl\">\u0639\u0634\u0642 \u0627\u064e\u0644\u064e\u0647\u200c \u0628\u06cc\u0631 \u0627\u0648\u062f\u0648\u0631 \u06a9\u06cc\u060c \u0622\u0644\u0648\u0648\u0644\u0627\u0646\u062f\u06cc\u063a\u062f\u0627<br\/>\r\n\u0639\u0627\u0634\u06cc\u063a\u06cc \u06cc\u0627\u0646\u062f\u06cc\u0631\u0627\u0631\u060c<br\/>\r\n\u0627\u0648\u0646\u062f\u0627\u0646 \u06cc\u0627\u0644\u0646\u06cc\u0632 \u0628\u06cc\u0631 \u0622\u062f \u0642\u0627\u0644\u0627\u0646\u0627 \u0642\u064e\u062f\u064e\u0631<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Love is that fire which, when it ignites,<br\/>\r\nburns the lover until nothing remains of him but a name.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Here love acts as a force of radical de-identification. Fire does not merely illuminate: it destroys contours. The self, exposed to such intensity, ceases to be a refuge. Mystical desire does not aim at a stable enjoyment, but at an irreversible loss.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This logic is also present in Ibn al-F\u0101ri\u1e0d, when he writes elsewhere in his poetry:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p dir=\"rtl\">\u0643\u0627\u0646 \u0641\u0646\u0627\u0626\u064a \u0628\u0642\u0627\u0626\u064a\u060c \u0648\u0643\u0627\u0646 \u063a\u064a\u0627\u0628\u064a \u062d\u0636\u0648\u0631\u064a<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>My annihilation was my subsistence,<br\/>\r\nand my disappearance, my dwelling.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Mystical eroticism reaches here a tragic depth: fusion does not merely suspend the self; it replaces it. The lover no longer possesses himself; he becomes the very locus of love. This radical substitution helps explain why certain Sufi utterances were perceived as intolerable: they speak an intimacy with the divine that religious order cannot contain. Michel Chodkiewicz clarifies the point: \"The scandal of ecstatic utterances lies in the fact that they abolish the protective distance between man and God.\" To abolish distance is also to abolish safety. Mystical eroticism is an eroticism without guarantees: to love God as one loves a body, without mediation, exposes one to social, symbolic, sometimes physical disappearance. Blasphemy then becomes the name given to speech that can no longer contain itself, because the lived experience has exceeded all measure.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The Sufi Ab\u016b Yaz\u012bd al-Bis\u1e6d\u0101m\u012b, long before al-\u1e24all\u0101j, already expressed this self-loss in a language of extreme audacity:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p dir=\"rtl\">\u062a\u062c\u0631\u0651\u062f\u062a\u064f \u0645\u0646 \u0646\u0641\u0633\u064a \u0643\u0645\u0627 \u062a\u0646\u0633\u0644\u062e\u064f \u0627\u0644\u062d\u064a\u0651\u0629\u064f \u0645\u0646 \u062c\u0644\u062f\u0650\u0647\u0627<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>I stripped myself of myself<br\/>\r\nas a snake sheds its skin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The image is profoundly carnal. It speaks of a molt, a painful separation, an irreversible transformation. The body itself is implicated in this dispossession: it does not remain intact; it is affected, displaced, traversed. Denis Gril notes: \"Mystical ecstasy involves a total staking of one's being, where love leads to a form of consented disappearance.\" This disappearance is not a death drive. It is the paradoxical completion of a desire that refused to contain itself. Where human eroticism accepts the return of the self after pleasure, mystical eroticism pushes the experience to a point of no return. This is why some Sufis accepted the ultimate loss\u2014not out of fascination with death, but out of fidelity to a lived love. Sacrifice is not a sought end; it is the risk inherent in too-great proximity to the divine. To love in this way is to consent not to protect oneself. As Alexander Knysh writes: \"Sufi ecstatic speech is dangerous because it is born of an experience in which the self does not survive intact.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Sufi blasphemy is therefore \"gentle\" because it does not destroy in defiance, but in excess of love. It is the speech of a body too close, of a desire too engaged to remain compatible with institutional distance. Where the Law requires restraint, mystical love requires fusion. Thus, in Sufism, spirituality and eroticism never separate at the decisive moment. Eroticism is its burning language; disappearance is sometimes its tragic horizon. To love God until one is lost is to accept that desire does not return unscathed\u2014and that the truth of experience may cost a life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>What Sufi mystical thought reveals, then, is not a confusion of the erotic and the spiritual, but a radical fidelity to the very trouble of desire. To love God there never consists in tearing oneself away from the body, but in consenting to be traversed by it\u2014accepting that the sensible is the very site of ordeal, and sometimes of revelation. Desire does not settle into a final resolution: it remains opening, living tension, movement without end. It does not possess; it exposes. It does not fix; it sets one on the way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In Sufi poetry and experience, intoxication, the feminine, flesh, and effacement are not profane deviations, but languages of approach. They each say, in their own way, what cannot be named without being immediately lost. The body becomes a threshold\u2014not as a limit to cross, but as a place of welcome. Lack ceases to be a deficiency: it becomes a path. Love, finally, is no longer a consolation but an assumed risk\u2014the risk of letting oneself be displaced, dispossessed, transformed. Perhaps this is, in the end, Sufism's most discreet and most audacious lesson: the sacred is not preserved through mastery or distance. It entrusts itself to vertigo. It gives itself where being accepts not to know, not to hold on, not to protect itself. And it is perhaps in this lucid surrender\u2014in this fidelity to a desire that does not close upon itself\u2014that another way of thinking spirituality takes shape: not as an ascent out of the world, but as the art of inhabiting presence with intensity, until one is traversed by it\u2026 and where speech ends, presence begins.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Salma Rouyett<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>Bibliography<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n  <li>Ab\u016b Nuw\u0101s. <em>D\u012bw\u0101n<\/em>. Classical Arabic edition.<\/li>\r\n  <li>\u2014 <em>D\u00eew\u00e2n d'Abou Nuw\u00e2s<\/em>, trans. Nathalie Vincent-Monteil. Paris: Sindbad, 1979.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Al-Bis\u1e6d\u0101m\u012b, Ab\u016b Yaz\u012bd. Sayings cited in: Louis Massignon, <em>Essai sur les origines du lexique technique de la mystique musulmane<\/em>. Paris: Vrin, 1968.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Al-\u1e24all\u0101j. <em>D\u012bw\u0101n<\/em>. Ed. and trans. Louis Massignon. Paris: Vrin, 1955.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Al-Sulam\u012b, Ab\u016b \u02bfAbd al-Ra\u1e25m\u0101n. <em>Dhikr al-niswa al-muta\u02bfabbid\u0101t al-\u1e63\u016bfiyy\u0101t<\/em> (\u0630\u0643\u0631 \u0627\u0644\u0646\u0633\u0648\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u062a\u0639\u0628\u062f\u0627\u062a \u0627\u0644\u0635\u0648\u0641\u064a\u0627\u062a). Cairo: Classical Arabic edition. (Primary source for sayings by Sufi women, including F\u0101\u1e6dima al-Juzaj\u0101n\u012byya.)<\/li>\r\n  <li>Bataille, Georges. <em>L'\u00c9rotisme<\/em>. Paris: Les \u00c9ditions de Minuit, 1957.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Chittick, William C. <em>The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi<\/em>. Albany: SUNY Press, 1983.<\/li>\r\n  <li>\u2014 <em>Divine Love: Islamic Literature and the Path to God<\/em>. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Chodkiewicz, Michel. <em>Le Sceau des Saints. Proph\u00e9tie et saintet\u00e9 dans la doctrine d'Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b<\/em>. Paris: Gallimard, 1986.<\/li>\r\n  <li>\u2014 <em>Un oc\u00e9an sans rivage. Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b, le Livre et la Loi<\/em>. Paris: Seuil, 1992.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Corbin, Henry. <em>Corps spirituel et Terre c\u00e9leste<\/em>. Paris: Buchet-Chastel, 1960.<\/li>\r\n  <li>\u2014 <em>En islam iranien. Aspects spirituels et philosophiques<\/em>, 4 vols. Paris: Gallimard, 1971\u20131973.<\/li>\r\n  <li>De Certeau, Michel. <em>La Fable mystique I. XVIe\u2013XVIIe si\u00e8cle<\/em>. Paris: Gallimard, series \"Tel\", 1982.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Geoffroy, \u00c9ric. <em>Le soufisme. Voie int\u00e9rieure de l'islam<\/em>. Paris: Fayard, 2010.<\/li>\r\n  <li>\u2014 <em>Initiation au soufisme<\/em>. Paris: Albin Michel, 2003.<\/li>\r\n  <li>\u2014 <em>L'instant soufi<\/em>. Paris: Seuil, 2009.<\/li>\r\n  <li>\u2014 <em>Allah au f\u00e9minin<\/em>. Paris: Albin Michel, 2020.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Gril, Denis. <em>L'amour mystique en islam<\/em>. Paris: Albin Michel, 1993.<\/li>\r\n  <li>\u2014 <em>L'exp\u00e9rience mystique dans l'islam<\/em>. Paris: Cerf, 2000.<\/li>\r\n  <li>\u1e24\u0101fe\u1e93 of Shiraz. <em>D\u012bv\u0101n<\/em>. \u2014 <em>Le Div\u00e2n<\/em>, trans. Charles-Henri de Fouch\u00e9cour. Paris: Gallimard, series \"Po\u00e9sie\", 2006.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Ibn al-F\u0101ri\u1e0d. <em>D\u012bw\u0101n<\/em>. Critical Arabic edition. Cairo: D\u0101r al-Kutub al-Mi\u1e63riyya.<\/li>\r\n  <li>\u2014 <em>Po\u00e8mes mystiques<\/em>, trans. Paul Nwyia. Paris: Actes Sud \/ Sindbad, 1989.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b. <em>al-Fut\u016b\u1e25\u0101t al-Makkiyya<\/em>. Arabic edition. Cairo.<\/li>\r\n  <li>\u2014 <em>Les Illuminations de La Mecque<\/em>, excerpts trans. Michel Chodkiewicz. Paris: Albin Michel, 1988.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Knysh, Alexander. <em>Islamic Mysticism: A Short History<\/em>. Leiden: Brill, 2000.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Lewisohn, Leonard (ed.). <em>The Heritage of Sufism<\/em>, 3 vols. Oxford: Oneworld, 1999.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Mahsat\u012b Ganjav\u012b. <em>Quatrains<\/em> (<em>rub\u0101\u02bfiyy\u0101t<\/em>). Discussed in: Julie Scott Meisami, <em>Medieval Persian Court Poetry<\/em>. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Massignon, Louis. <em>Essai sur les origines du lexique technique de la mystique musulmane<\/em>. Paris: Vrin, 1968.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Schimmel, Annemarie. <em>Mystical Dimensions of Islam<\/em>. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1975.<\/li>\r\n  <li>\u2014 <em>My Soul Is a Woman: The Feminine in Islam<\/em>. New York: Continuum, 1997.<\/li>\r\n  <li>\u2014 <em>A Two-Colored Brocade: The Imagery of Persian Poetry<\/em>. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1992.<\/li>\r\n  <li>Shams-i Tabr\u012bz\u012b. <em>Maq\u0101l\u0101t<\/em>. Translations and studies in: William C. Chittick, <em>The Sufi Path of Love<\/em>. SUNY Press, 1983.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/article><\/div>\n                    \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Raja Sakrani                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">University of Bonn, Germany<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Aesthetics of Living Together: Visualizing an Islamic Ethics of the Other in al-Andalus<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/aesthetics-of-living-together-visualising-an-islamic-ethics-of-the-other-in-al-andalus\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Aesthetics of Living Together: Visualizing an Islamic Ethics of the Other in al-Andalus\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-82', 'Abstract : Aesthetics of Living Together: Visualizing an Islamic Ethics of the Other in al-Andalus', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-82\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Islamic ethics presents itself as a complex synthesis of Quranic teachings, pre-Islamic Arab traditions, and non-Arab elements (Greek and Persian in particular), integrated into a general moral structure. It is a process of assimilation and integration of divergent tendencies that coexisted and juxtaposed rather than supplanting one another, lasting at least until the 11th century. Nevertheless, it was the Sunna that played a decisive role in elaborating a properly Muslim ethics, to the point that one could affirm that the hadith corpus constitutes in itself a manual of ethics. It was also Imam al-Shafi'i who advanced the normative use of the word adab (savoir-vivre) by using it as a quasi-synonym of akhlaq.\nAesthetics in Islam has, in turn, undergone a complex evolution since the orthodox tendency ended up overly limiting the impetus of this creative quest by imprisoning it within the normativity of prohibitions. The proof is that Islam has not always been iconoclastic.\nParallel to the juridico-theological grip that would eventually reduce Islamic spirituality to an ethics frozen in a rigid normative framework, openness to the other and the values of hospitality and \"Muruwwa\" allowed Arab-Islamic civilization to give the best of itself. The experience of al-Andalus is precisely the major articulation of a sublime aesthetic experience combining the ethics of alterity, openness, and inclusion with the refinement of living together among Muslims, Christians, and Jews. Architecture, music, poetry, the intertwining of languages, the marriage of iconographies and culinary arts, setting aside one's language to borrow that of the other, translating and allowing oneself to be translated; aesthetics became the bridge between self, other, and world. It thus transcends a simple exploration of beauty in art or architecture to become the quest for the Human wherever they may be, and the deepening of an Islamic knowledge made universal through its openness.\nBy visualizing artistic works, unique architectural models, and manuscripts, this presentation attempts to analyze the articulation between ethics and aesthetics of a past experience while continuously linking it to the burning current questions of this largely unknown dialectic between ethics and aesthetics.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-83', 'Raja Sakrani', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-83\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>A legal scholar and researcher in cultural studies, Raja Sakrani is an associate researcher at the Emile Durkheim Advanced Centre for Research about Crisis Analysis (University of Bonn). From 2009 to 2022, she scientifically coordinated the Kate Hamburger Centre \"Law as Culture,\" contributing to its design, funding research, and implementation. Her work focuses on the history of Islamic law and exchanges between Islamic traditions and Europe, religious socialization, legal and extra-legal modes of conflict resolution, as well as narrative memories and crossed identities. She also analyzes the evolution of human rights in the Muslim world, particularly for women and minorities. Co-director of the \"Convivencia\" project (2015-2018), she has been a member of Pluriel since 2020 and has taught in Paris, Bonn, Basel, Madrid, and Onati.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-auto\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-auto-84', 'Automatic translation that may contain errors', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Automatic translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-auto-84\" style=\"display:none;\"><article>\r\n<p><em>Ethics and Aesthetics in Islamic Heritage<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p>5th Congress \u2013 PLURIEL<\/p>\r\n<p>10\u201314 February, C\u00f3rdoba, Spain<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Aesthetics of Living Together: Visualizing an Islamic Ethics of the Other in al-Andalus<\/h2>\r\n<p><strong>Raja Sakrani<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Introduction<\/h2>\r\n<p>The theme of ethics raises a number of pitfalls.<\/p>\r\n<p>To seek the ethics of a religion or a society is to perform an operation of extraction from an abundant given. It is a quest that undeniably leaves room for selection and for personal sensibilities\u2014favoring one moral line over another. One must also confront the difficulty of divergence, even antagonism, among values within a single ethical system, especially when that system is as vast as Islam.<\/p>\r\n<p>How should Islamic ethics be understood when situated at different levels of apprehension? How can it be grasped in its variety\u2014in the historical and legal thickness that has shaped it over the centuries? And finally, how should it be approached in its relationship to aesthetics (which is precisely the theme of this congress)?<\/p>\r\n<p>Given the time allotted to me, I shall begin by briefly sketching a picture of the values that emanate from the last monotheistic religion and of their development at the time of the conquest of al-Andalus at the beginning of the eighth century. I shall then examine the aesthetic creativity of living together by interrogating the ethics of alterity developed in Muslim Spain.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>The Specificity of Islamic Ethics<\/h2>\r\n<p>At the outset, an etymological clarification is necessary: the term <em>ethics<\/em> is close to the notion of a system of values, a global vision of moral life, but it can also express a normative approach. This is what I shall emphasize in studying the case of al-Andalus.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Sacred Texts<\/h2>\r\n<p>We can distinguish two levels of values that constitute Islamic ethics: the Qur\u02be\u0101n and prophetic narration, or \u1e25ad\u012bth. The first level comprises a relatively limited but imperative set of moral rules required of the <em>homo islamicus<\/em>. The Qur\u02be\u0101n thus obliges the believer to affirm divine transcendence, to pray, to fast, to give alms, to accept the superiority of the sacred over the profane, and of the world to come over this world. At the same time, it also organizes human relations through an intense moralization based\u2014essentially\u2014on belief in God and in the afterlife. One may therefore say that the metaphysical precedes ethics, yet it posits ethics as its complement, insofar as the Qur\u02be\u0101n constantly associates the profession of faith with good works (<em>al-\u1e63\u0101li\u1e25\u0101t<\/em>), thereby intertwining the metaphysical demand and the ethical demand.<\/p>\r\n<p>The second level is typically Islamic. It is one of the most gigantic compendia of values, norms, and visions ever produced by the human mind. These norms are extremely numerous\u2014covering most human behavior\u2014and they propose a vision of life. Qur\u02be\u0101nic discourse mingles pity and anger, mercy and violence, whereas the discourse of the Sunna tends to construct a sensibility, an inner instance, an ethical intuition\u2014an extremely diverse palette of values unfolding on the margins of Qur\u02be\u0101nic ethics with unmatched richness. One \u1e25ad\u012bth can even be set against another. Yet the two levels converge to forge the typical personality of the <em>homo islamicus<\/em> and to constitute the core of its superego.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Islamic Law and Thought<\/h2>\r\n<p>Islamic law presents itself as the development of the principles and values set out in the Qur\u02be\u0101n and the \u1e25ad\u012bth. It is a kind of codification that details and explains both worship and social relations. The pragmatism of the approach and the attention to precision are far more prominent than theoretical effort. It is therefore unsurprising that, in classical works of <em>fiqh<\/em>, it is rare to find a chapter devoted to ethics as such. At bottom, this legislative effort\u2014characterized by concrete applications of Islamic values that remain in the background\u2014has largely helped to shape the ethics of an Islamic way of life and the identity of the civilization that claims it. The rare exception is al-Ghaz\u0101l\u012b and the third volume of his <em>I\u1e25y\u0101\u02be \u02bful\u016bm al-d\u012bn<\/em>, entirely devoted to deepening Islam's values. We are in the eleventh century. Yet, thousands of kilometers away, the Islamic ethics of the Iberian Peninsula had experienced a unique flowering, marked by a distinctively Andalusi imprint\u2014exceptional in Islamic history.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Living Together in al-Andalus: Toward an Outline of an Islamic Ethics of Alterity<\/h2>\r\n<p>The study of this ethics requires an understanding of the historical context of the conquest of the Islamic West and of its normative framework.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Context of the Conquest of al-Andalus<\/h2>\r\n<p>Although the current state of our knowledge suffers from gaps and insufficiencies, this does not prevent us from sketching a sufficiently rigorous outline beginning with \u1e6c\u0101riq ibn Ziy\u0101d's conquest in 711 and the settlement of Arabs on Iberian soil. In the absence of a frankly colonial policy\u2014as evidenced by the military contingent, which was not intended for such an end\u2014the essential point lay in exploiting the internal Visigothic crisis in order to impose the signing of a peace pact (<em>mu\u02bf\u0101had\u0101t \u1e63ul\u1e25<\/em>), in accordance with Qur\u02be\u0101nic expression. The system of peace pacts in Islam is linked to the implementation of a protected status (<em>dhimma<\/em>) applicable only to the People of the Book. It should be recalled that Jews, cruelly oppressed under Visigothic rule, welcomed the Arabs as liberators. Muslims strengthened this treaty \"through campaigns of mixed unions and the granting of territorial autonomies, which allowed the emergence of the Mozarab phenomenon.\" The Mozarabs were Christians who spoke and wrote Arabic. I shall return to this point.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Normative Framework<\/h2>\r\n<p>It is important to note that the medieval mental structure of living together, on the one hand, and the gradual path toward the principle of tolerance, on the other, began to take shape and develop thanks to a Semitic vein\u2014precisely an Islamic one.<\/p>\r\n<p>This era knew nothing of religious or cultural liberalism in the modern sense. The aim was not to respect religious freedom, nor to withdraw religion into a strictly individual sphere while sharing public space with other communities in a Habermasian sense, nor even to practice a modern tolerance based on equality\u2014an idea that would appear later, from the eighteenth century onward. Lessing's play bears witness to this. That great modern treatise on tolerance shimmers through its protagonist, Nathan the Wise, and the tale of the three rings\u2014mirroring the Andalusi episode of <em>las tres culturas<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>The Aesthetics of Living Together: A Bridge Between Self and Other<\/h2>\r\n<p>Andalusi interaction touched socio-political, agrarian, artisanal, and intellectual domains, not to mention food habits and dress; neighborly relations; attendance at feasts and weddings; funerary rites; medicine; love affairs, and much more. The features of this aesthetics can be explained by the following elements.<\/p>\r\n<p>First, one must not forget the living, pragmatic, and conjunctural character of this living together\u2014a kind of <em>modus vivendi<\/em>, to use Francisco M\u00e1rquez Villanueva's apt expression, to which the three communities agreed to adhere. Second, this process was neither always complete and stable nor homogeneous across time and space. The very history of medieval Spain proves as much. What has been called <em>Convivencia<\/em> was not the same in C\u00f3rdoba, the first Muslim Andalusi capital from the eighth century to the beginning of the eleventh, as it was in Toledo, when, on 6 October 1085, Alfonso VI retook the city from the Muslims without expelling them\u2014indeed working to attract Jews. The reign of Alfonso X was another episode of <em>Convivencia<\/em>, as were Seville and Granada, the last Muslim capitals before the fall of Granada in 1492, the <em>Reconquista<\/em>, and the tragic expulsion of all Semites\u2014Muslims and Jews.<\/p>\r\n<p>Third, the interferences and intertwinings between these normative universes are attested by several works, such as Averroes's writings on the legal wisdom of Arab Spain; <em>Kit\u0101b al-Q\u0101\u1e0d\u012b<\/em> on the history of judges in C\u00f3rdoba; Rafael Castej\u00f3n Calder\u00f3n's <em>Los juristas hispano-musulmanes<\/em> (1948); or, earlier, Juli\u00e1n Ribera's edition of <em>Historia de los jueces de C\u00f3rdoba<\/em> by al-Khushan\u012b (1914). Alfonso X's <em>C\u00f3digo de las Siete Partidas<\/em>, whose sections devoted to legal rules applicable to Jews and Muslims bear witness to the intertwining of cultures and norms, is another example.<\/p>\r\n<p>But the question is this: how did Andalusi Islamic civilization constitute the traits of its existence through an ethics of its own\u2014magnifying and sublimating them aesthetically?<\/p>\r\n<p>The Arabist Miguel As\u00edn Palacios, born in Zaragoza in 1871, proposed\u2014on the basis of rigorous scholarship and with reference to Arabic texts and their translations\u2014pertinent hypotheses concerning complex intertwinings, extending over many centuries, between Islam and Christianity in their mystical, literary, linguistic, philosophical, sociological, and even botanical dimensions.<\/p>\r\n<p>In the address he delivered on entering the <em>Real Academia Espa\u00f1ola<\/em>, <em>La escatolog\u00eda musulmana en la \"Divina Comedia\"<\/em>, he opened an entire field of inquiry by arguing that Dante had used a text by Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b to construct his journey to the afterlife, presupposing the existence of a translation accessible to Dante\u2014a point later confirmed.<\/p>\r\n<p>Between Dante and Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b of Murcia, as well as the rich literature on <em>al-Isr\u0101\u02be wa-l-Mi\u02bfr\u0101j<\/em> and the names that surface in As\u00edn Palacios's book\u2014such as Ab\u016b al-\u02bfAl\u0101\u02be al-Ma\u02bfarr\u012b and many others\u2014there emerged new knowledge about the logic of \"discipline and punish\" in Islam and about an Islamic <em>purgatorio<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n<p>We reach here a crucial moment in this short lecture: if the hard core of Islamic ethics proceeds from the Qur\u02be\u0101nic given, other lines of value stem from other sources and were elaborated or fixed at various moments. It is possible that the period from the eighth to the eleventh centuries marked the completion of this gestation. It is precisely the moment when living together among the three monotheistic religions reached its apex. In al-Andalus, the ethnic and social fabric differed markedly from that of Baghdad or Cairo, C\u00f3rdoba's two rivals at the time. A strong Berber presence and mixed unions created dynamics of acculturation and religious conversions in all directions, including the conversion of Muslims to Christianity (what scholars would much later call the phenomenon of the \"Muslims of Christ\"). In other words, even if the religious element predominated, the ethical ensemble remained vast\u2014too vast, often contradictory at its margins, leaving room for individual choice. This is precisely what I shall demonstrate through a few <em>fat\u0101w\u0101<\/em> and decisions by Andalusi judges.<\/p>\r\n<p>Broadly speaking, secular values other than strictly Islamic ones survived within this complex or were grafted onto it. They are not of religious inspiration, but belong to Islam-as-history or Islam-as-culture. This is without counting the immense diversity of ethical overlaps lived in micro-environments, insofar as Islam presided over an increasingly unified and complex world.<\/p>\r\n<p><em>Adab<\/em> literature (prior to the normative usage made of the term by Imam al-Sh\u0101fi\u02bf\u012b, who used it as a near-synonym of <em>akhl\u0101q<\/em>) appears as an integrative pedagogy of secular ethics against a background of ethno-cultural diversity, with a predominance of the Arab note. This is why Persian and Indian wisdom\u2014embodied by Ibn al-Muqaffa\u02bf, in <em>Kal\u012bla wa-Dimna<\/em> as well as in his <em>adab<\/em> writings\u2014could be integrated. It also explains why Ibn \u1e24azm, al-R\u0101z\u012b, or al-Ghaz\u0101l\u012b drew heavily on Miskawayh. In the values of the <em>Tahdh\u012bb<\/em>, they recognized a common ground that one might call a synthesized Islamo-Arab ethical culture.<\/p>\r\n<p>It is well known today that troubadours are indebted to Arabic courtly poetry transmitted through Spain. The invention of new literary or poetic genres; the interlacing of languages; Arabic, Latin, and Jewish calligraphies; architecture; music; the blending of iconographies and culinary arts; the refinement of living together and the celebration of <em>joie de vivre<\/em>; laying down one's own language to borrow that of the other; translating and letting oneself be translated\u2014all of this was made possible by an ethics of hospitality and <em>muruwwa<\/em>, of openness and inclusion (\"Quien tiene un moro tiene un oro\"\u2014whoever has a Moor has a treasure).<\/p>\r\n<p>And who could deny the precious role of the School of Translators of Toledo (<em>Escuela de Traductores de Toledo<\/em>)? How many Arabic manuscripts and books were translated into Latin, thus transferring the essentials of Greek and Roman antiquity\u2014without forgetting, along the way, what the Islamic world was able to contribute, add, adapt, and enrich. The intertwining not only of bodies of knowledge and cultures but also of languages is fascinating. Castilian could be transcribed in Arabic characters and vice versa, or Arabic in rabbinic Hebrew characters\u2026<\/p>\r\n<p>As for mysticism, religions interlace when the self opens to the other in its infinite quest for the Divine\u2014from Ram\u00f3n Llull, the \"Christian Sufi,\" who introduced the tale of the <em>Thousand and One Nights<\/em> (<em>Alf layla wa-layla<\/em>) and was a close disciple of Mu\u1e25y\u012b al-D\u012bn Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b of Murcia, to Saint John of the Cross (<em>Noche oscura<\/em>), via Teresa of \u00c1vila.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Normative Aesthetics of Living Together<\/h2>\r\n<p>The <em>Definitionsmacht<\/em>\u2014the \"power to define\"\u2014of living together belonged largely to Muslim judges. It thus allowed the normative elasticity commonly found in Islamic law. There is often a plurality of legal solutions or, more broadly, a normative flexibility in the way everyday interactions with Christians were regulated. This plurality is difficult to apprehend because it is tied to practice and daily cohabitation, and not only to <em>fat\u0101w\u0101<\/em> and legal writings.<\/p>\r\n<p>Let us recall the scale of validity in Islam: it is, in itself, pluralistic in nature.<\/p>\r\n<p>One of the main properties specific to a <em>Geltungskultur<\/em> (a \"culture of validity\") is the logic of validity itself. What is legally valid or invalid in Islam is not subjected to a binary code as in Western legal logic (legal\/illegal; valid\/null, etc.). Islamic validity logic is richer because it is more gradual. This explains the existence of an entire palette of legal classifications: an act may be regarded as obligatory (<em>w\u0101jib<\/em>), recommended (<em>mand\u016bb<\/em>), legally neutral or indifferent (<em>mub\u0101\u1e25<\/em>), reprehensible (<em>makr\u016bh<\/em>), or, finally, forbidden (<em>ma\u1e25\u1e0d\u016br<\/em>). The legal sanction attached to an act likewise varies according to its classification.<\/p>\r\n<p>Beyond strictly legal operational rules, there exists a whole series of non-binding prescriptions concerning manners, the subtleties of mutual respect, how to behave toward the other, and the calibration of social distance\u2014that is, not living too close to one another, yet participating in overlapping communities: a community of neighbors; a transreligious community in the form of mixed marriage (<em>connubium<\/em>); a community of meals or fasting (<em>commensality<\/em>); a community of physicians, artisans, and so on.<\/p>\r\n<p>The normative network of situations of living together is therefore far more complex and must be analyzed in terms of social proximity and social distance.<\/p>\r\n<p>If living together functioned, it is because there were multiple ways of being Christian, multiple ways of being Muslim or Jewish, and multiple ways of being a minority or a majority. In this climate of diversity, the principal normative order became that of \"live and let live,\" according to a supple social hierarchy capable of absorbing and tempering strictly religious norms. Diversity and pluralism thus had the paradoxical effect of forging a community beyond communal identities: an Andalusi identity that transcended the three monotheistic religions (\"\u02bfindan\u0101 f\u012b l-Andalus\" \u2014 Jil Anidjar).<\/p>\r\n<p>To explain unity in the diversity of Andalusi society, one might recall \u00c9mile Durkheim's notion in <em>The Division of Labour in Society<\/em>: integration through difference. In reality, this paradoxical-looking model rested on a hidden assumption\u2014a normative consensus on the legitimacy of diversity; in other words, an underlying normative ethics of tolerance and mutual respect. Examples abound.<\/p>\r\n<p>Al-Bakr\u012b, in his <em>Kit\u0101b al-mas\u0101lik wa-l-mam\u0101lik<\/em>, details Christians' religious practices on Saturday, their sexual ethics, their marriage rules, the prohibition of divorce and adultery, etc., and notes something intriguing about fasting: \"They [the Christians] eat two days a week during the fast: Saturday and Sunday (\u2026) Those among them who live among the Muslims observe the fast for reasons of propriety. But in lands under their sovereignty, they fast only half a day.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>On the Mozarabs<\/h2>\r\n<p>Let us return to the Mozarabs. Building on the work of Mar\u00eda Jes\u00fas Rubiera\u2014an approach also accepted by other scholars\u2014we can classify the Mozarabs into three groups:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n<li>Mozarabs of Visigothic origin, that is, Christians who were in the peninsula at the time of the Muslim conquest.<\/li>\r\n<li>Neo-Mozarabs, that is, Christians originating from outside al-Andalus, from the Islamic and non-Islamic worlds.<\/li>\r\n<li><em>Moz\u00e1rabes nuevos<\/em>, that is, Christians of Muslim origin.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n\r\n<h2>Al-Mi\u02bfy\u0101r as a Window onto Andalusi Practice<\/h2>\r\n<p><em>Al-Mi\u02bfy\u0101r<\/em> is the most important collection of M\u0101lik\u012b <em>fat\u0101w\u0101<\/em> in the entire Muslim West. It gathers the work of <em>q\u0101\u1e0d\u012bs<\/em> and \u02bf<em>ulam\u0101\u02be<\/em>, among others, from C\u00f3rdoba, Granada, Seville, and Ceuta. The <em>fat\u0101w\u0101<\/em>, very disparate and sometimes even contradictory, imply a plurality\u2014and contradiction\u2014in practice.<\/p>\r\n<p>This compendium is original and rare in its kind given its socio-cultural value. It is full of unique information on living traditions of an Islamic ethics of living together in al-Andalus.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Commensality<\/h2>\r\n<p>In the second volume of <em>al-Mi\u02bfy\u0101r<\/em>, a long chapter is devoted to \"matters of hunting, slaughtering, and animal sacrifice.\" The question posed to the Andalusi judge Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b concerned a Christian who slaughters a chicken and then cooks it: \"Is it permissible to eat the chicken with him, or to accept it if he offers it to take away?\" (apparently, dishes to take away were exchanged at the time\u2026). He replied: \"Yes, it is permissible to eat it, because this chicken is his food.\" He then added: \"what they (Christians) find <em>\u1e25al\u0101l<\/em> in their religion is also <em>\u1e25al\u0101l<\/em> for us, except what God has forbidden.\" The response evidently prompted a major debate between the judge and his disciples. The theological argument continues: Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b recalls verse 5 of S\u016brat al-M\u0101\u02beida (\"The Table Spread\"), according to which: \"The food of the People of the Book is lawful to you, and your food is lawful to them.\" He adds: God has permitted to us their food, which is <em>\u1e25al\u0101l<\/em> in their own religion according to their own rituals, and it is not necessary that their rituals conform to ours concerning the slaughter of the animal. The only exception is what God has not specifically permitted, such as pork. This permission is a facilitation (<em>tays\u012br<\/em>), a flexibility for us, and we are not obliged to \"search\" (<em>nabhatha<\/em>) in their <em>shar\u012b\u02bfa<\/em> in order to judge it. In other words, their normative validity can be transmitted to us.<\/p>\r\n<p>This Andalusi argument entails respect for the normativity of the Other as a phenomenon of recognition and respect for the Other's own religious authority, whether Christian or Jewish. This becomes even more fascinating when the Other's normative limitations or prohibitions play the same conflict-regulating role within a different culture of validity. By way of example, another <em>fatw\u0101<\/em> stipulates that animals slaughtered by Jews but later found, because of illness or other reasons, to be non-<em>\u1e25al\u0101l<\/em> for them must be prohibited in the markets.<\/p>\r\n<p>In a <em>fatw\u0101<\/em> concerning hunting by the People of the Book, Ibn \u02bfUq\u0101b notes the existence of a controversy among <em>q\u0101\u1e0d\u012bs<\/em>. The majority tended to prohibit eating an animal hunted by a Christian or a Jew, whereas many \"shaykhs such as al-Lakhm\u012b, al-B\u0101j\u012b [of Tunis], Ibn Rushd, and Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b [of al-Andalus]\" chose the position of Ibn Wahb and Ashhab, qualifying hunting by a <em>kit\u0101b\u012b<\/em> as <em>mub\u0101\u1e25<\/em> (permissible).<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Communitas<\/h2>\r\n<p>In the eleventh volume of <em>al-Mi\u02bfy\u0101r<\/em>, a new phenomenon is reported, which became a new tradition among Muslims: celebrating the Christian New Year as though it were a Muslim feast. \"They exchange among themselves many prepared dishes for the occasion, gifts, and mementos to strengthen their bonds. Men and women stop work the next day as a sign of glorifying and venerating that day.\"<\/p>\r\n<p>Several <em>fat\u0101w\u0101<\/em> spread across different volumes of <em>al-Mi\u02bfy\u0101r<\/em> address the question of feasts and Christian influence on Muslims. Thus, a very rare <em>fatw\u0101<\/em> is addressed specifically to women. The text begins with the threatening Arabic formula \"Wa-iyy\u0101kunna\"\u2014\"Beware of glorifying Sunday and Saturday, and of stopping work on those two days and during Christian festivals. You must work every day, including Friday, until the call to prayer (\u2026)\". Women's role in the dynamics of living together is often neglected. Yet in neighborly relations, feasts, and culinary traditions, they are the principal actors. The <em>\u1e25amm\u0101m<\/em>, for example, is not a confessional place in Islam. Women from the three monotheistic religions often met there with their young children.<\/p>\r\n<p>Ibn Rushd does not consider candles a <em>bid\u02bfa<\/em> (blameworthy innovation) on the grounds that they are inspired by Christian feasts. In <em>madrasas<\/em>, celebrating the Prophet's birthday by lighting candles and singing is not <em>\u1e25ar\u0101m<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Commercium<\/h2>\r\n<p>The first volume is devoted to purity (<em>\u1e6dah\u0101ra<\/em>), a central theme in Islam. It deals with the use of paper made by Christians, sometimes containing a cross inlaid in the paper. The <em>fatw\u0101<\/em> on this question is among the longest\u2014so long that it could constitute a book in itself. Ibn Rushd's argumentation, in particular, is remarkable. By reasoning through analogy, the clothing of Christians\u2014and Jews as well\u2014is <em>\u1e25al\u0101l<\/em>. More than that, clothing worn by a Christian is not impure, since a Muslim can wear it and even pray in it. The remaining water used by a Christian is not impure and is <em>\u1e25al\u0101l<\/em> for performing ablutions before prayer. Christians' cheese is also <em>\u1e25al\u0101l<\/em>, even if elements of pork are used in its manufacture. By contrast, it is clearly forbidden to eat cheese made by Zoroastrians (<em>al-maj\u016bs<\/em>), who are not monotheists.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\r\n<p>In 2016, Donostia\u2014the beautiful Basque seaside city\u2014was named European Capital of Culture, presented as \"un legado de convivencia,\" with a message \"por la tolerancia y el respeto al otro.\"<\/p>\r\n<p>The ethics of living together\u2014of \"<em>las tres culturas<\/em> y <em>las tres religiones<\/em>\"\u2014attests to the importance of the ethical question and to its role in celebrating alterity and difference.<\/p>\r\n<p>Confronted with the memory of an Andalus\u2014still a narcissistic wound\u2014in the Arab collective memory, Islamic ethics has shown that religious assimilation was never a sine qua non for obtaining social and legal recognition. This is why it is not enough to say that Andalusi Islam was M\u0101lik\u012b. It served social dynamics and religious, cultural, and artistic intertwinings. It was a specifically Andalusi school.<\/p>\r\n<p>Historical and archaeological research shows this increasingly: the presence of Muslims across yesterday's Europe differs from that of today. Yet this presence is more constant and more diverse than was expected. Despite dominations on both sides, slavery on both sides, and\u2014especially in the Iberian case\u2014violent and massive expulsion, Muslims have for centuries been close foreigners on European soil, familiar foreigners\u2014the title Lucette Valensi chose for her book published in 2012.<\/p>\r\n<p>What Milan Kundera calls \"the sudden beauty of the impossible\" lasted only a few centuries, ending in the cruelty of the <em>Reconquista<\/em> and the brutal expulsion of Jews and Muslims\u2014even those converted to Christianity (<em>los Cristianos nuevos<\/em>).<\/p>\r\n<p>Max Weber speaks of Islam and other religions as ethical religions, that is, as \"a complex of commandments and prohibitions whose transgression constitutes sin,\" and he attributes this to prophecy, which \"produces a centralization of ethics.\" Weber's observation is correct, but incomplete, because it overlooks\u2014especially in Islam\u2014the historical thickness of a synthesized, open Islamo-Arab ethical culture that leaves room for individual choices and transgressions. But can one really reproach Weber for his observation? Did not the seeds of puritanism appear with al-Ghaz\u0101l\u012b, one of the rare figures to devote an entire chapter to ethics? Did not this monastic aspiration of a legalistic type\u2014an asceticism that becomes codified and rationalized while succumbing to the temptation of a morality of perfection for the <em>homo islamicus<\/em>\u2014come to be confined to puritan movements that would, from Ibn \u1e24anbal's call to apply the <em>\u1e25ud\u016bd All\u0101h<\/em> to Mu\u1e25ammad ibn \u02bfAbd al-Wahh\u0101b, passing through Ibn Taymiyya, position themselves as \"higher\" than ordinary religion? This aspiration to a very harsh, external <em>shar\u012b\u02bfa<\/em> hardens into belief in the force of the legal, as in that of symbolism. And it clashes with modern ethical inspiration, which is not founded on an absolute embodied in a text.<\/p>\r\n<p>In al-Andalus, a metamorphosis in Islamic ethics was finding its way. Ibn Rushd was opening a new breach\u2014so much so that one of today's leading moral philosophers, the Moroccan \u1e6c\u0101h\u0101 \u02bfAbd al-Ra\u1e25m\u0101n, sees in Averroes a Western philosopher writing in Arabic who carried out the secularization (or la\u00efcization) of knowledge. And yet the sequel is well known: his tragic fate of exile and intellectual marginalization. If Christian ethics has, since the Andalusi episode, managed to preserve the values of charity and compassion without their religious justification\u2014secularizing them while simultaneously opening a new horizon toward the exaltation of freedom and a reflective humanism\u2014Islamic ethics has not yet succeeded in rebuilding bridges with an ethical quest that has transcended the religious in order to reach a free and creative humanism. More than ever, it runs up against an existential crisis that makes Muslims' lives deeply miserable on both ethical and spiritual planes. Perhaps amnesia persists\u2014forgetting that the Arabic word <em>akhl\u0101q<\/em> is derived from the act of creating, <em>khalq<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n<\/article><\/div>\n                    \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" >\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\">10:30am-11am<\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Discussion with the audience            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" >\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\">11am-11:30am<\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Break            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n<h6 id=\"axe3-panel2-s1\" style=\"font-weight: bold;\">11:30am-1pm : Panel 2<\/h6>\n<h6>Room 1 | Chair : Wael Saleh<\/h6>\n\n<div id=\"prog-maconnerie\">\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Marie-Laure Davigo                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Independent researcher<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">The Kaaba and the Holy Sepulchre in Images: Pilgrimage Souvenirs<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/videos\/la-kaaba-et-le-saint-sepulcre-en-image-souvenir-de-pelerinage\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : The Kaaba and the Holy Sepulchre in Images: Pilgrimage Souvenirs\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-85', 'Abstract : The Kaaba and the Holy Sepulchre in Images: Pilgrimage Souvenirs', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-85\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>In the 18th and 19th centuries, numerous artist workshops, Muslim in Mecca and Christian in Jerusalem, produced souvenir images for pilgrims who came in large numbers to these places of worship. The holy sites were reproduced in paintings on canvas that could be rolled up for easy transport. These artistic representations appeared in great numbers during these periods and spread throughout the world thanks to pilgrims.\nIslamic art developed, through these painted canvases, a symbolic vision of Mecca, with the composition centered on the Kaaba and the representation of an important relic: the Prophet's sandals. The artist allowed the pilgrim, once returned home, to keep a visual memory of their pilgrimage and possibly reactivate the mystical experience lived during their Hajj.\nChristian art in parallel offered, on these painted canvases called proskynetaria, a reproduction of Jerusalem in the form of a symbolic and spiritual topographic map. Events from the life of Christ and saints are represented in narrative form, with the Holy Sepulchre at the center of the composition and the re-actualization of scenes from Christ's passion-resurrection cycle. The artist allowed the pilgrim to remember the foundational events of their Christian faith.\nRather than speaking of mutual artistic influence, these souvenir images testify to a common approach: the pilgrim's relationship to the sacred. Each pilgrim wants to keep the memory of this holy place where they prayed, as a trace for their daily life upon returning home. Is the artistic work then merely a souvenir of a spiritual journey, or does it resemble a prophylactic contact relic connecting the human to the divine through what it offers for contemplation?\nBIBLIOGRAPHY\nFlood, F. B., Technologies of Devotion in the Arts of Islam: Pilgrims, Relics and Copies, Paris, Hazan\/Louvre editions, 2019.\nImmerzeel, M., The Narrow Way to Heaven. Identity and Identities in the Art of Middle Eastern Christianity, Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 259, Leuven, Peeters, 2017.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-86', 'Marie-Laure Davigo', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-86\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Marie-Laure Davigo is an independent researcher specializing in art history and archaeology of Eastern Christianity, with a particular interest in Coptic icons and their conservation issues. Holding a degree in religious studies (EPHE\/PSL, 2022, with highest honors) and trained in philosophy (Loyola Faculties of Paris), she is pursuing a degree at the Institut Chretiens d'Orient. Her work focuses on Egypt and Jerusalem in the 18th-19th centuries, as well as ecumenical and interreligious dialogues. She is preparing a scientific catalog of unpublished icons (IFAO) and will publish in 2025 in Eastern Christian Art. She conducts research at the Byzantine Library of the College de France and regularly presents her findings at international conferences.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-auto\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-auto-87', 'Automatic translation that may contain errors', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Automatic translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-auto-87\" style=\"display:none;\"><article>\r\n<h2>Kaaba and Holy Sepulchre in Images: Pilgrimage Souvenirs<\/h2>\r\n<p><strong>Marie-Laure Davigo<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Introduction<\/h2>\r\n<p>While preparing a scholarly catalogue of previously unpublished eighteenth- and nineteenth-century icons in Coptic Orthodox churches of a diocese in Upper Egypt, I had the opportunity to study the <em>proskynetaria<\/em> of these periods (fig. 1), and especially those from the end of the Ottoman era. Produced in workshops in Jerusalem, these large painted canvases met the needs of Eastern Christian pilgrims who visited the Holy City in great numbers. They offer a representation of Jerusalem in the form of a symbolic and spiritual topographic map. Surrounding the Holy Sepulchre, at the center of the composition, scenes from the life of Christ, saints, or episodes from the Old Testament are set in perspective with the life of Christ (fig. 2).<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The theme of this conference\u2014\"Aesthetics and Ethics in Islamic Heritage\"\u2014brought to mind eighteenth- and nineteenth-century pilgrimage scrolls belonging to the Muslim tradition (fig. 3). They develop a symbolic vision of the Grand Sacred Mosque of Mecca (al-Har\u0101m), with the Ka'aba at its center. Qur'anic inscriptions often accompany these representations (figs. 4\u20135). Painted on paper, these scrolls are intended for pilgrims performing the <em>Hajj<\/em> and may also be used for proxy pilgrimages.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Today's presentation allows me to place these two kinds of pilgrimage images in dialogue and to question them (fig. 6). Both rely on a codified visual language tied to the sacred worlds of Christians and Muslims. What do these images truly represent? What is their function? How does the believer receive them and use them? Finally, what future awaits pilgrimage scrolls and <em>proskynetaria<\/em>? Should they be described as objects of devotion, as relic-amulets, or as works of art?<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Scriptural and Historical Grounding of Pilgrimage Sites<\/h2>\r\n<p>Islamic pilgrimage scrolls and <em>proskynetaria<\/em> each authenticate and materialize, in their own way, Qur'anic verses and biblical words associated with supremely holy places: Mecca and Jerusalem.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Pilgrimage (the <em>Hajj<\/em>) to Mecca is inscribed from the outset in the Qur'an as one of Islam's five pillars. In accordance with Qur'an 3:97: \"In it are clear signs, including the place where Abraham stood. Whoever enters it is safe. Pilgrimage to the House is a duty owed to God by those who are able to find a way to it. And whoever disbelieves\u2026 God is independent of the worlds.\" Pilgrims\u2014exclusively Muslim\u2014come in great numbers (fig. 7), from every country, to venerate the Ka'aba (a \"consecrated sanctuary\"). This cube, considered sacred, houses the Black Stone, said to have descended from Paradise and to have been received, according to different traditions, either by Adam at the creation of the world or by Abraham and Ishmael. The Muslim pilgrimage is thus a symbolic act involving a sequence of ceremonies, whether the rites performed within Mecca itself or those carried out in the surrounding sites (fig. 8). Qur'an 22:25\u201327 also states: \"But those who disbelieve and bar others from the way of God and from the Sacred Mosque which We have made for all people, alike for those resident therein and those from outside\u2026 whoever seeks to commit sacrilege therein unjustly, We shall make him taste a painful punishment. And when We indicated to Abraham the site of the House [the Ka'aba], [saying], 'Associate nothing with Me; and purify My House for those who circumambulate, those who stand, and those who bow and prostrate. And proclaim the <em>Hajj<\/em> to the people: they will come to you on foot and on every lean mount, coming from every distant pass.'\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>As in the Qur'an, several passages of the Torah mention the obligation for Jews to make pilgrimage, at specific moments, to a particular and highly symbolic place: the Temple of Jerusalem. In the Gospels, there is no explicit obligation for Christians to undertake pilgrimage to a specific site. Yet in the fourth century\u2014late relative to the writing of the canonical Gospels\u2014Emperor Constantine officially recognized Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire. He had the Church of the Holy Sepulchre erected (fig. 9) on the presumed site of Christ's Crucifixion and Resurrection, thereby giving historical and spiritual legitimacy to these founding events of Christian faith. From the fourth century onward, believers were strongly encouraged to pray at the holy places of Palestine, especially at the Holy Sepulchre. Liturgical celebrations were held there to commemorate the principal events of the Passion\u2013Resurrection cycle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Bibliographic References and State of Research<\/h2>\r\n<p>For this paper, I draw primarily on studies conducted under the direction of Mat Immerzeel on <em>proskynetaria<\/em>. For pilgrimage scrolls representing Mecca and the Ka'aba, Finbarr Barry Flood's work on technologies of devotion in the arts of Islam has been especially valuable, given my limited familiarity with the field of Islamic art.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Description of the Pilgrimage Scroll<\/h2>\r\n<p>Within the Islamic tradition, Muslim artists began very early to reproduce holy places in the form of manuscript illuminations, on ceramic tiles, on metal bowls, and across many other media, including pilgrimage scrolls (figs. 10\u201311). The <em>Fut\u016b\u1e25 al-\u1e24aramayn<\/em> (\"Revelation of the Two Sanctuaries\"), illustrated by the Indian or Persian author Mu\u1e25y\u012b al-D\u012bn L\u0101r\u012b (d. 933 AH \/ 1526\u20131527 CE), plays a particular role (figs. 12\u201313). It is often regarded as the first guide intended for pilgrims performing the <em>Hajj<\/em>. It lists and illustrates\u2014schematically and in vivid colors\u2014the stages of the pilgrimage and the rituals to be observed, as well as customary prayers and offerings. In the sixteenth century it was widely copied in Ottoman Turkey, both in Istanbul for the sultan's library and in the provinces. Pilgrimage scrolls often accompanied copies of this guide.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>These scrolls range from 20 to 50 cm in width and can reach 210 cm in length. They are images painted on paper in ink and often brightly colored with watercolor; the drawing is highly schematic, and the background is sometimes colored with wax. Their visual beauty lies in purified lines that highlight this \"source-place\" reserved for the pilgrim. They were produced in large numbers using woodblock printing techniques and most often made locally. They reproduce the sacred topography of holy places, including the sanctuary of Mecca.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>At the center of the Sacred Mosque (al-Har\u0101m), the Ka'aba (literally \"the cube\"), about 14 meters high, is considered the \"sacred house built for humankind.\" On the scrolls it is represented as a black rectangle. The interior of the building remains hidden and is entirely covered by a thick black cloth (the <em>Kiswah<\/em>). The Black Stone, set into the southeastern corner of the Ka'aba, is integrated into the representation of the \"cube.\" During the Ottoman period, Egypt was tasked each year with replacing the cloth until 1962, when the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia resumed this tradition and continues it to this day.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Function of the Pilgrimage Scroll<\/h2>\r\n<p>The Muslim believer undertakes pilgrimage to Mecca, Islam's most sacred city (fig. 14), in obedience to religious duty. The gesture is ethical in intention, both personal and rooted in a sense of belonging to the universal Muslim community (<em>umma isl\u0101miyya<\/em>). The transformative and purifying aspects of travel and of staying in this place confer particular significance on the pilgrim, binding him to Muslims throughout the world and granting him a distinctive social status: that of <em>\u1e25\u0101jj<\/em>. Rituals, fixed by the universal scope of Islamic teaching, accompany the pilgrim's journey.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The production of pilgrimage scrolls often served as a complement to a \"pilgrimage certificate\" for Muslims who were able to perform the <em>Hajj<\/em> (fig. 15). Having been purified by observing all rites associated with the visited sites, they have symbolically walked \"in the footsteps\" of Muhammad in Mecca. (I will only mention in passing the importance, in connection with Mecca, of relics such as those associated with the Prophet's sandal.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The artist who creates the scroll allows the pilgrim, once home, to retain a visual souvenir of the pilgrimage; in this sense the scroll functions as a contact-relic image. It enables both contemplation of the visited sacred place and\u2014through the act of rolling and unrolling it vertically by hand\u2014the reactivation of the mystical experience lived during the <em>Hajj<\/em>, of the <em>baraka<\/em> received on site, and of the testimony of purification and fidelity to God. The scroll's function is to synthesize, in a symbolic image, the mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of pilgrimage. Once acquired, this image becomes an object of personal devotion that also carries a communal dimension.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The graces received on site are transmitted and conveyed through the pilgrimage scroll, hence the importance of reproducing it in large numbers. Such scrolls carry an apotropaic dimension: they integrate and redistribute the aura and <em>baraka<\/em> of the places. A purely profane material support could not preserve the memory of the sacred and transmit it, especially when it is mass-produced. For jurists, the challenge is to preserve these scrolls from any profanation foreign to the Muslim faith, or from contact with anyone in a state of ritual impurity. Even if jurists do not encourage kissing or touching the scrolls, popular devotion often expresses itself through tactile gestures\u2014making the holy places \"still sacred\" at home. These scrolls correspond to popular practices in which an ultimate desire for fusion between image and viewer finds expression.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>On certain scrolls depicting Mecca (fig. 16), pronounced wear in the painted area corresponding to the Ka'aba\u2014especially on the sanctuary fa\u00e7ade\u2014has been caused by repeated hand contact, in a circular movement that imitates the rituals around the Ka'aba on the paper itself. Touching the Ka'aba representation to the point of sometimes erasing part of the drawing and paint reveals the scroll's prophylactic role, assimilating it to a contact relic. Pilgrims performing the <em>\u1e6daw\u0101f<\/em> (the seven circumambulations around the Ka'aba) begin and end each circuit by greeting or touching the Black Stone, a gesture invested with spiritual meaning. In Islamic tradition, it is not the stone itself that is worshipped; rather, touching or saluting it symbolizes obedience and love toward God. The pilgrimage scroll can also enable believers who cannot physically perform the <em>Hajj<\/em> to undertake it spiritually by proxy and likewise benefit from <em>baraka<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Description of the Proskynetarion<\/h2>\r\n<p><em>Proskynetaria<\/em> (fig. 17), often of large format (approximately 90 \u00d7 100 cm), are painted on canvas. In the eighteenth century, the most common technique is tempera using the three primary colors (yellow, blue, red) and sometimes gold. The style appears popular and na\u00efve, with often thick outlines and figures sketched quickly. In the nineteenth century (fig. 18), artists sometimes used oil paint; colors became more subtle and refined, glazes lent greater transparency and nuance to figures, and chrysography was often used for garments.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The architectural cutaway representation of the Holy Sepulchre encompasses the different episodes of Christ's Passion\u2013Resurrection cycle. Each event in this narrative cycle is located in the chapel dedicated to it within the building. Among these scenes, Greek Orthodox clergy appear anachronistically, officiating with a lit candle in hand, celebrating liturgies in the chapels of the Holy Sepulchre. Very likely, this also recalls the Greek Orthodox celebration on Holy Saturday, the eve of Easter, of the miracle of the \"Holy Fire\" (fig. 19)\u2014in Greek <em>\u1f0d\u03b3\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd \u03a6\u1ff6\u03c2<\/em> (\"Sacred Light\")\u2014celebrated since the fourth century around the edicule of Christ's tomb.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The painted surface of a <em>proskynetarion<\/em> is entirely covered with scenes; there is no empty space. Only the cartouche\u2014most often at the center of the lower register along the bottom edge\u2014remains blank. Once the work is finished and ready for sale, the owner's name, the date of execution, and sometimes a prayer intention are inscribed there. The inscription is written in Greek, Slavonic, or Arabic depending on the commissioner's origin; the most frequent script is Arabic, the local language. The Arabic-speaking pilgrim often has his name preceded by the word <em>hajj<\/em> (\"pilgrim\"), a term also applied to Christians who make pilgrimage to the Holy City. Additional inscriptions in Greek or Arabic, distributed across the painting, identify the figures and scenes. The selection of scenes surrounding the Holy Sepulchre varies somewhat from one workshop to another and, very likely, according to the preferences of different periods. These scenes, covering the entire canvas, are organized within rectangular or circular geometric frames.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Proskynetaria<\/em> were produced in series in Greek Orthodox (Melkite) Arabic-speaking workshops in Jerusalem. As custodians of the Holy Sepulchre in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Greek Orthodox clergy are the only clerics represented by these artists (themselves Greek Orthodox).<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Function of the Proskynetarion<\/h2>\r\n<p><em>Proskynetaria<\/em> (fig. 20) emphasize the architectural function of the Holy Sepulchre as an enclosure in which the incarnate divine and the Christian soteriological message (the theology of Salvation) unfold. The vignettes around the Holy Sepulchre illustrate multiple manifestations of grace and the fruits of God's incarnation in human space. The Christian pilgrim faces an accumulation of figures that saturate the pictorial field. The scenes surrounding the Holy Sepulchre serve as a visual catechesis and usher the viewer into an eschatological hope tied to the \"Jerusalem above,\" with which the Holy Sepulchre is organically associated. The artist brings together, in a single place, historical events from the past and their contemporary commemoration; notions of time and space merge at the Holy Sepulchre, as if to announce the eschatological vision of the heavenly Jerusalem.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The faithful pilgrim's reception of a <em>proskynetarion<\/em> may function as a souvenir marking a significant moment in Jerusalem. The pilgrim brings it home rolled in a tube and displays it as proof of travel to the Holy Land. At times, a parish community that has made pilgrimage offers a <em>proskynetarion<\/em> to its church to adorn a wall. The object's functions then resemble a memorandum, a notebook, or a visual attestation that officially records one's stay in the holy place. More profoundly, it can represent a visual and spiritual reappropriation of the pilgrim's mystical experience in the Holy City.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>On <em>proskynetaria<\/em>, the depiction of clergy holding lit candles, and the hanging lamps burning in each chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, are so many clues enabling the pilgrim, once home, to renew spiritually the experience of passing through the Holy Sepulchre.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The pilgrim may also consider the object a contact relic made in the Holy City where Christ lived. Yet it is difficult to know whether the relationship to this canvas mirrors the relationship to an icon. Will the pilgrim kiss it, touch it, venerate it? These questions remain open. To my knowledge, the prophylactic role of <em>proskynetaria<\/em> has not yet been studied. The ethical dimension lies in respect for the transcription of scenes, which are richly invested with sanctified human presences and evangelical episodes. The fresh, vivid coloring contributes to an aesthetic marked by popular simplicity.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Aesthetics and Ethics<\/h2>\r\n<p>The architectural dimension present in Islamic pilgrimage scrolls and in <em>proskynetaria<\/em> corresponds to two different conceptions of religious community. The Holy Sepulchre is, first, the church as a geographic gathering place for Christians\u2014the \"assembly of the faithful.\" It also symbolizes the Church as the body of Christ Jesus, the Son of God, of which all the baptized are members. Mecca, with the Ka'aba\u2014ordinarily saturated with crowds\u2014is paradoxically represented on pilgrimage scrolls as an empty place, where an immutable architecture stands, as if \"eternally\" stable. Only color, and sometimes the presence of inscriptions, bears the trace of a \"living\" mobility. The aim of these scrolls is to highlight the sacred nature of the Ka'aba and Mecca, along with a collective Muslim awareness of the symbolic charge of these sites, frequented not only by Muhammad but also by Abraham and\u2014even according to some\u2014by Adam.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The relationship between \"artistic transcription\" and \"spiritual experience\" in a sacred place must be taken into account when considering the mass development of Muslim pilgrimage scrolls and <em>proskynetaria<\/em>. The question arises of how the sacred is materialized. Indeed, the \"capacity of a material support to absorb and transmit immaterial benefits\"\u2014a question raised by Flood\u2014takes different forms depending on whether one considers an Islamic pilgrimage scroll or a <em>proskynetarion<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>From the beginning of the twentieth century, the production of <em>proskynetaria<\/em> (fig. 21) disappeared with the rise of photography and the mass circulation of printed tourist guides. Photography better matched the commissioner's desire for a more specific representation of the object; the image was then framed as a visual \"reality\" determined by the viewer. Tourist guides, for their part, provide pragmatic information on the history of events linked to particular sites. The object, removed from its context and from its personal commemorative dimension, entered the sphere of modern rationality and lost its prophylactic power.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In recent years, <em>proskynetaria<\/em> have attracted aesthetic interest among private collectors and have appeared in international auction rooms and online at significant prices. Several private and public museums also hold them. More recently, archaeologists and art historians have taken an interest in <em>proskynetaria<\/em> as objects of scholarly investigation. Their work continues to bring to light ever more examples worldwide, demonstrating their substantial production in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and the enthusiasm of pilgrims at that time for these canvases.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Unlike the fate of <em>proskynetaria<\/em>, the tradition of reproducing Muslim holy places did not die out with the advent of photography. The prophylactic attribution associated with mass-produced representations of Muslim holy sites over the centuries persists to this day. Yet in more recent photographic reproductions, instead of depicting a timeless place without human presence, believers are now foregrounded, gathered in massive crowds around the Ka'aba. The emphasis is increasingly placed on the visibility of the human event (fig. 22)\u2014political and spiritual\u2014that brings together the <em>umma isl\u0101miyya<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\r\n<p>Although I am not a specialist in Islamic art, my recent encounter with Islamic pilgrimage scrolls opens new research perspectives for me, complementing and enriching my field of specialization, which is more oriented toward Eastern Christian art. The pilgrimage scroll and the <em>proskynetarion<\/em> translate and accompany\u2014each in its own aesthetic manner\u2014the truth of the pilgrim's purifying journey to holy places in order to contemplate, on site, a materialization of the sacred. In this paper, I have only sketched the question of the materialization of the sacred through aesthetic and ethical avenues. The issue opens a vast field of research. I hope to have shared a taste for it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Thank you for your attention.<\/p>\r\n<\/article><\/div>\n                    \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang prog-cong-lang-ar\">Arabic, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Nadine Abbas                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Saint Joseph University, Beirut<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">The Veneration of Icons and Its Religious and Ethical Significance: Theodore Abu Qurra and al-Mu'taman ibn al-'Assal as Models<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/videos\/la-veneration-des-icones-et-ses-significations-religieuses-et-ethiques-theodore-abu-qurra-et-al-mu%ca%betaman-ibn-al-%ca%bfassal-comme-modeles\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : The Veneration of Icons and Its Religious and Ethical Significance: Theodore Abu Qurra and al-Mu&#039;taman ibn al-&#039;Assal as Models\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-88', 'Abstract : The Veneration of Icons and Its Religious and Ethical Significance: Theodore Abu Qurra and al-Mu\\'taman ibn al-\\'Assal as Models', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-88\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>The art of ecclesiastical painting emerged in the early centuries of Christianity, dividing people between supporters and opponents. Clement of Alexandria (d. 216) and Origen (d. 254) rejected it. However, Saint Basil (d. 379) accepted it and called on Christian painters to glorify the martyrs in their paintings, since \"the honor given to images passes to the person they represent,\" in his own words. The debate over icon veneration continued, and the crisis on this issue erupted in the eighth century when Caliph Yazid ibn Abd al-Malik ordered in 723 the destruction of all images in churches and homes. Jewish and Muslim objections led many Christians of the Arab Near East to question the legitimacy of icon veneration. Arab theologians then defended this practice. Saint John of Damascus (d. 750) wrote three discourses in defense of icons; Patriarch Timothy I (d. 823) answered, in his dialogue with Caliph al-Mahdi, why Christians prostrate before the cross; Theodore Abu Qurra (d. c. 825) composed his Treatise on the Veneration of Icons; and Yahya ibn Adi (d. 974) wrote an article explaining why Christians venerate the Holy Cross.\nThe intellectual openness of Muslim caliphs in the Middle Ages contributed, on one hand, to promoting dialogue between Muslims and Christians on religious and doctrinal matters, and on the other hand, to encouraging Christians to write on various delicate subjects, including icons.\nThis paper aims to study the subject of icon veneration from the perspective of Arab Christians, particularly Theodore Abu Qurra and al-Mu'taman ibn al-'Assal (d. after 1260), within the Islamic context in which they lived. It raises the following problematic: How does the ethical dimension manifest in the veneration of images, particularly those of Christ, the Virgin, and the saints?\nFrom this problematic emerge the following questions: How can prostration before images be \"veneration\" rather than worship? What are the reasons justifying the veneration, glorification, and kissing of the cross? How does veneration of saints' images lead to their intercession as mediators between God and humanity? And how does veneration of Christ's image, particularly the cross, lead to reward?<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-89', 'Nadine Abbas', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-89\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Associate professor and director of the Louis Pouzet Center for Ancient and Medieval Civilizations Studies at Saint Joseph University of Beirut, she specializes in classical Arabic philosophy. Her research focuses on critical editions and the study of manuscripts relating to medieval Arab Christian thought. She has published numerous articles on collation methods, dating, and text establishment, as well as their intellectual contextualization. Her work particularly focuses on the writings of Yahya ibn 'Adi and 'Isa ibn Zur'a, which she helps make accessible to researchers.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-auto\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-auto-90', 'Automatic translation that may contain errors', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Automatic translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-auto-90\" style=\"display:none;\"><article>\r\n<h2>Honoring Icons and Its Religious and Moral Meanings: Theodore Abu Qurra and al-Mu\u02betaman ibn al-\u02bfAss\u0101l as Models<\/h2>\r\n<p><strong>Dr Nadine \u02bfAbb\u0101s<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Ecclesiastical painting emerged in the first centuries of Christianity, and people split over it between supporters and opponents. Clement of Alexandria (d. 216) and Origen (d. 254) rejected it, whereas Saint Basil (d. 379) accepted it and urged Christian painters to glorify the martyrs in their works, affirming that \"the honor paid to the image returns to the person it represents.\" Debate over honoring icons continued, and the crisis erupted in the eighth century when the caliph Yaz\u012bd ibn \u02bfAbd al-Malik ordered, in 723, that all images in churches and homes be smashed. Jewish and Muslim objections led many Christians of the Arabic-speaking East to question the legitimacy of honoring icons. Arab Christian theologians then defended the honoring of icons and prostration before the cross: Saint John of Damascus (d. 750) wrote three discourses in defense of icons; Patriarch Timothy I (d. 823), in his dialogue with the caliph al-Mahd\u012b, answered the question of why Christians prostrate before the cross; Theodore Abu Qurra (d. c. 825) composed his <em>M\u012bmar<\/em> on honoring icons; and Ya\u1e25y\u0101 ibn \u02bfAd\u012b (d. 974) wrote a treatise explaining why Christians honor the holy cross.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The intellectual openness displayed by certain Muslim caliphs in the Middle Ages contributed, on the one hand, to strengthening dialogue between Muslims and Christians on religious and doctrinal questions, and, on the other, to encouraging Christians to write on various sensitive topics, including icons.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In this paper, I examine the question of honoring icons from the perspective of Arab Christians. I take as my two models Theodore Abu Qurra and al-Mu\u02betaman ibn al-\u02bfAss\u0101l (d. after 1260), situating them within the Islamic milieu under whose protection they lived. I seek to address the following problem: how does the moral dimension manifest itself in honoring images, especially the image of Christ, the Virgin, and the saints?<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>From this problem follow these questions: how can prostration before images be prostration \"as an honor\" rather than as worship? How does honoring images of the saints become a path to their intercession, as mediators between God and the human person? And how does honoring the image of Christ lead to reward?<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>I will treat my topic in two parts:<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n  <li><strong>First<\/strong>: icons in Abu Qurra.<\/li>\r\n  <li><strong>Second<\/strong>: images in churches in Ibn al-\u02bfAss\u0101l.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<h2>I. Icons in Abu Qurra<\/h2>\r\n<p><strong>1. A brief note on Theodore Abu Qurra<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>Abu Qurra is an Arab Christian theologian belonging to the Melkite Church. He was born around 750 in al-Ruh\u0101 (Edessa) and died in 825. He was a contemporary of H\u0101r\u016bn al-Rash\u012bd and al-Ma\u02bem\u016bn. He traveled to Egypt and Armenia in defense of Chalcedonian doctrine, seeking to restore Christian unity around the definition of the Council of Chalcedon. He wrote several works in which he explained the mystery of the Incarnation and the union of the two natures, divine and human, in the hypostasis of Christ. He was in contact with the Mu\u02bftazilites of his time; the Baghdadi Mu\u02bftazilite Ab\u016b M\u016bs\u0101 \u02bf\u012as\u0101 ibn \u1e62ubay\u1e25 (d. c. 840) composed a book titled <em>Refutation of Abu Qurra the Christian<\/em>, now lost. Abu Qurra wrote in Greek, Syriac, and Arabic. Among his works is the <em>M\u012bmar<\/em> on honoring icons, on which I rely here.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The term \"icons\" means \"images.\" An icon is \"a Greek word meaning image. It is a technical term used in the Eastern Christian tradition to designate images of Christ, the Virgin, and the saints that the believing people venerate. Its art follows precise rules and goes back to the paintings of Hellenistic Egypt\" (Dictionary of Christian Faith, p. 86). In the Middle Ages, however, the term \"icon\" is seldom used among Arab Christians: they more often use <em>\u1e63\u016bra<\/em> (\"image\"), an Arabic term corresponding to the Greek <em>eik\u014dn<\/em>. In his <em>M\u012bmar<\/em>, Abu Qurra does not use the word \"icon\" but \"image,\" even though the title of the work mentions icons.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Abu Qurra wrote his <em>M\u012bmar<\/em> on honoring icons in order to establish the legitimacy of honoring images of Christ and the saints and prostrating before them, and to affirm that believers are obliged to do so. His argument rests mainly on Scripture and the Fathers, as well as on reason. He also draws on historical facts to show the honor due to images, offers symbolic interpretations of Old Testament prescriptions, and cites Fathers such as Eusebius of Caesarea, Athanasius the Great, and Gregory the Theologian.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Abu Qurra opens his <em>M\u012bmar<\/em> by stating that Christianity surpasses the understanding of non-believers. If a Christian allowed himself to be swayed by what \"outsiders\" (that is, non-Christians) say and accepted their objections against honoring images, he would then have to reject the greatest mysteries of Christianity\u2014mysteries that those outsiders reject even more vigorously than they reject the honoring of sacred images: the Trinity, the Incarnation, the crucifixion, the Eucharist, and baptism.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Moreover, non-Christian religions, including Judaism and Islam, themselves contain statements and narratives that reason does not readily accept.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In the Old Testament, it is said that God created things from nothing, \"and that if he wishes to make something, he only says to it: 'Be!' and it is\" (a formula also found in several Qur\u02be\u0101nic verses). It also recounts the creation of Adam from Eve's rib, the speaking serpent, and Balaam's donkey speaking. It recounts miracles such as Sarah's conception despite her barrenness and old age; the sea's parting by Moses' staff; rivers bursting forth from rock; the healing of Naaman the Syrian; the sun standing still and then returning; and many other reports that reason would contest.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Likewise, Jews and Muslims\u2014who deny what the Gospel says about Christ\u2014describe God in their books with attributes that reason cannot accept in a straightforward sense. The Old Testament says that God walked in Paradise and smelled the odor of sacrifices; that he regretted creating Adam; that he descended on Sinai and said that no one can live and see him; that he spoke with Moses as a man speaks with his companion; and many other narratives. The Qur\u02be\u0101n, for its part, mentions that God is seated upon the Throne, and that he has a hand, a face, and other bodily attributes. Abu Qurra then asks: how do Jews and Muslims understand these attributes, which imply anthropomorphism? If they reply that these are said of God in a fitting sense, one may answer them: how can you fault Christians for the predicates they apply to God in the Gospel, when you yourselves say similar things about him\u2014indeed, things even more startling?<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This raises a question: does Abu Qurra criticize the Old Testament to the point of rejecting it? Certainly not. He affirms that Christians believe in the Old and the New Testament, but that they understand \"each thing according to its proper register,\" meaning that they know how to interpret sacred texts. The disagreement with Jews thus concerns the understanding of verses, not their acceptance.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Another question arises: why must the Christian honor images and prostrate before them? Abu Qurra answers that the believing Christian must accept what the Gospel proclaims and be convinced of it, even if opponents find it offensive. He must also trust everything the Church teaches and accept honoring images as he has believed in miracles and embraced the mysteries of Christianity. Scripture is not the only source of Christian foundations; Tradition is also a source. Christians have received by tradition and transmission many practices not mentioned in the Gospel, such as the eucharistic offering, baptism, the anointing with chrism, prostration before the cross, and others.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In this context, Abu Qurra reports narratives attributed to the Fathers and the saints, including a text attributed to Athanasius, responding to a question posed by Antiochus: why do we prostrate before images and the cross like idols, when God commanded that we not prostrate before what hands make? Athanasius answers that our prostration to God is not the same as our prostration before images; the honor we show images does not return to wood, but to what the image represents, out of love and attachment to it (that is, to the one represented). Abu Qurra adds that honoring images also exists among Jews: they honored the two tablets of the Law and the two cast-gold cherubim\u2014not as gold and stone, but in honor of the Lord who commanded that they be made (Exodus 25:18\u201322).<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>2. Five points for discussion<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>If Scripture and Tradition are the two fundamental sources of Christianity, a series of questions follows: if God forbade, in the Old Testament, prostration before anyone other than himself, how does Abu Qurra interpret this prohibition? How does he explain its apparent tension with Christian Tradition? Why were images proscribed in the Old Testament? Why do Christians prostrate before images? Is it merely a tradition? What is the purpose of such prostration?<\/p>\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n  <li>\r\n    <p><strong>The meaning of prostration in the Bible and the Qur\u02be\u0101n<\/strong><\/p>\r\n    <p>Jews and Muslims base their opposition to honoring images and prostrating before them on scriptural passages that forbid prostration to anyone other than God. The Torah states: \"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above, or on earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them\" (Exodus 20:2\u20135). Abu Qurra responds that, if by \"do not bow down\" God had intended to forbid absolutely any prostration to anyone other than himself, then the holy Fathers and the prophets would have to be considered wrong. The Old Testament offers many examples, before and after the Mosaic Law, of people prostrating before other human beings as a sign of honor: Abraham before the sons of Heth, Jacob before his brother Esau, and Joseph's brothers before Joseph. The Qur\u02be\u0101n, for its part, reports that God commanded the angels to prostrate before Adam; they did so, except Ibl\u012bs, who became one of the unbelievers. It also mentions that Jacob and his sons prostrated before Joseph. God therefore forbade prostration before idols, but prostration offered to prophets is admissible: it is honor, not worship.<\/p>\r\n  <\/li>\r\n  <li>\r\n    <p><strong>The prohibition of prostration before images in the Old Testament<\/strong><\/p>\r\n    <p>Why did God prohibit prostration before images in the Old Testament (as in Exodus 20:2\u20135)? Abu Qurra provides several reasons, the most important of which are the following.<\/p>\r\n    <ul>\r\n      <li><p>The prohibition is not absolute. God commanded Moses to make the Tent of Meeting according to the pattern shown him on the mountain (Exodus 25:8\u20139). Abu Qurra concludes that God's word to Israel\u2014\"do not make any likeness of what is in heaven, on earth, and in the water\"\u2014does not mean that believers must never produce images or figures; rather, it targets the things they were making in order to worship them, thereby being diverted from the knowledge and worship of God.<\/p><\/li>\r\n      <li><p>God prohibited prostration before images in the Old Testament because of Israel's weak discernment and its inability to honor images rightly. The prohibition of images is therefore a temporary dispensation. Abu Qurra compares this logic to other temporary arrangements in the Old Testament, notably the fact that the mystery of the Trinity, the divinity of the Son, and the divinity of the Holy Spirit were not disclosed explicitly there, lest the children of Israel fall into polytheism.<\/p><\/li>\r\n    <\/ul>\r\n  <\/li>\r\n  <li>\r\n    <p><strong>Justifying prostration before images<\/strong><\/p>\r\n    <p>Abu Qurra distinguishes two kinds of prostration: prostration as worship and prostration as honor. He maintains that Christians' prostration before the image of Christ and his saints is honor, not worship. The honor is not directed to boards and colors but to what these images represent. He argues, in substance: if someone objects that Christians do not merely prostrate before images but also touch them in their prostration, let him recall Jacob prostrating on the end of Joseph's staff and touching it, and interpret this act as the honor he wished to render to Joseph. Let him also recall that anyone who prostrates before God necessarily touches the ground or a carpet with his knees; we interpret his prostration according to the intention he forms with respect to God. Likewise, the fact that Christians touch images in prostration must be interpreted according to their intention: to honor Christ their God, as well as his saints, the prophets, the righteous, the martyrs, and others.<\/p>\r\n  <\/li>\r\n  <li>\r\n    <p><strong>The benefits of prostration before images<\/strong><\/p>\r\n    <p>Abu Qurra maintains that whoever prostrates before the image of a saint moves the saint to pray for him. The saints are mediators between God and human beings, appeasing God on behalf of humanity in their lifetime and after their death. Many miracles, he says, have occurred through the relics of the saints and their images. God has established the saints as intermediaries between himself and his servants, both to honor the saints and to encourage others to attain a comparable share with God. The saints' capacity for intercession is rooted in the goodness of God, who wished to associate them with his generosity and gifts. The intercession of the saints does not diminish God's power or liberality; on the contrary, it manifests that power and liberality. The Old Testament offers many testimonies of prophetic intercession: Moses interceding for the children of Israel after the golden calf and turning away divine wrath; Abraham pleading with God that the inhabitants of Sodom be spared; and many other examples.<\/p>\r\n  <\/li>\r\n  <li>\r\n    <p><strong>The dignity of images<\/strong><\/p>\r\n    <p>Abu Qurra argues that an image painted on a material gives that material a particular value; the insult or honor done to that image reaches, in sorrow or in joy, the one whose image it is. The Torah and the Gospel are written on parchment; before bearing the divine word, such parchment has no special dignity. But once the sacred word is inscribed, it is venerated and honored in the highest degree; whoever profanes it exposes himself to death. Abu Qurra also refers to a revered image of Christ \"in our blessed city of al-Ruh\u0101 (Edessa).\" To one who claims that the honor or offense done to Christ's image does not reach Christ, he replies by comparison: if the image of the father of an opponent of images were hung on the door of a church dedicated to Christ, and everyone leaving the church spat in the face of that image, would he not be consumed with anger? In the same way, the honor rendered to the image of Christ reaches Christ, who will reward whoever prostrates before it in proportion to the good done\u2014just as the evil of spitting in the face of one's own father's image would be measured, and more besides.<\/p>\r\n    <p>Those who depict Christ and honor his images deserve the highest reward, especially if they depict him crucified: in doing so, they manifest their attachment to their Savior, who will reward them, according to his generosity, with a recompense comparable to that of the martyrs.<\/p>\r\n    <p>Furthermore, the dignity of an image depends on what it symbolizes. Abu Qurra explains that the two tablets of the Law and the Ark of the Covenant also belong to the register of \"image.\" The two tablets placed in the Ark symbolize the Incarnation of the Word, and the Ark symbolizes the Virgin Mary. To venerate them is therefore to honor the image of Christ and the image of the Virgin. As for the ten words placed in the Ark, spoken by God to the children of Israel, they symbolize the incarnate Word of God; the \"finger of God\" by which these words were written is the Holy Spirit; and the Ark of the Lord is Mary, in whom the incarnate Word of God dwelt. Thus, in the tablets and the Ark there is an image of the doctrine of the Incarnation.<\/p>\r\n  <\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n\r\n<h2>II. Images in churches in Ibn al-\u02bfAss\u0101l<\/h2>\r\n<p><strong>1. A brief note on al-Mu\u02betaman ibn al-\u02bfAss\u0101l<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>Al-Mu\u02betaman ibn al-\u02bfAss\u0101l is one of the four sons of al-\u02bfAss\u0101l (along with al-As\u02bfad Ab\u016b al-Faraj Hibat All\u0101h, al-\u1e62af\u012b Ab\u016b al-Fa\u1e0d\u0101\u02beil, and al-Amjad Ab\u016b al-Majd Fa\u1e0dl All\u0101h). They are among the leading Coptic scholars and notables of the thirteenth century. Al-Mu\u02betaman authored works in theology, biblical studies, liturgy, and linguistics (including a Coptic\u2013Arabic dictionary).<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>I examine his treatment of images on the basis of his work <em>Majm\u016b\u02bf U\u1e63\u016bl al-D\u012bn wa Masm\u016b\u02bf Ma\u1e25\u1e63\u016bl al-Yaq\u012bn<\/em> (\"Compendium of the Foundations of Religion and Collected Reports that Secure Certainty\"). It is a substantial book of seventy chapters in which he gathers texts from the Fathers and Arab Christian authors on various theological issues: the Trinity, union, crucifixion, repentance, decree and predestination, honoring the cross, and others.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>He devotes chapter 48 to images. Its title is: \"On painting in churches examples of those in whose name they are depicted, for their remembrance and for seeking, through them, intercession with God (Most High).\" His defense of images can be presented in two points.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>2. Why do Christians depict images in churches?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>Al-Mu\u02betaman ibn al-\u02bfAss\u0101l appeals to the Old Testament and the writings of the Fathers to set out the reasons Christians place images in churches. He states that they do so \"by imitation, not by innovation\": they were not the first to do so but follow precedents. He then cites Old Testament narratives\u2014three of which already appear in Abu Qurra:<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n  <li><p>First narrative: God's word to Moses: \"make two cherubim of gold\u2026\" (Exodus 25:18\u201322).<\/p><\/li>\r\n  <li><p>Second narrative: the story of Solomon, son of David, as reported in 1 Kings 7.<\/p><\/li>\r\n  <li><p>Third narrative: transmitted from a book attributed to Eusebius, the story of the woman whom the Gospel testifies Christ healed of a flow of blood (Mark 5:22\u201334). She placed an image of Christ on her door and placed her own image beneath Christ's feet in a posture of prostration. A plant grew beneath the feet of the image, and whoever sought healing through that plant was healed.<\/p><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<p>After these accounts, al-Mu\u02betaman concludes that, if it were not permissible to depict images in churches for the remembrance of those represented\u2014and not for worship\u2014then the Lord Christ would not have allowed the hemorrhaging woman to depict his image and her own; he would not have manifested the sign of healing through the plant that grew beneath the feet of the image; and the apostles would not have ordered that a church be built at the site of the two images\u2014a church that remained until the city was destroyed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>One may therefore conclude that images in churches are associated with a power of healing. Other benefits also emerge, which I develop below.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>3. What are the benefits of images?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>The benefits of images can be summarized in three points:<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n  <li>\r\n    <p><strong>First benefit<\/strong>: a religious benefit tied to faith in Christ and his lordship. When believers contemplate the image of the Lord Christ, his remembrance is renewed within them: they praise him, sanctify him, exalt him, glorify him, and confess his lordship. They should kiss the image and prostrate before it \"in honor of the one in whose name it has been depicted,\" not in honor of the image itself painted by human hands on walls with pigments.<\/p>\r\n  <\/li>\r\n  <li>\r\n    <p><strong>Second benefit<\/strong>: it concerns the image of the Lady Virgin. Seeing it strengthens faith. When ordinary people see her image and ask who she is, they are told that she is the Virgin foretold by the prophets, such as Isaiah and Ezekiel; that she found favor with God; that the Holy Spirit came upon her and that she gave birth to a son named Jesus. Hearing such accounts and others like them strengthens faith, and illnesses are healed through her intercession.<\/p>\r\n  <\/li>\r\n  <li>\r\n    <p><strong>Third benefit<\/strong>: it concerns images of the apostles, martyrs, prophets, the righteous, saints, and holy women. Whoever sees them and learns what torments they endured (crucifixion, beatings, killing, burning, drowning, and so forth) finds his fidelity strengthened and judges it fitting to kiss their images \"out of veneration for them,\" not for pigments, walls, wood, or stone. They become ethical exemplars: people imitate them in conduct, for instance by refraining from abandoning fasting despite its demands, from changing religion under coercion, or from indulging greed and making divorce too easy.<\/p>\r\n  <\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<p>Finally, al-Mu\u02betaman adds that images are not, for Christians alone, a means of intercession: communities that share their belief and others that differ from it have likewise sought deliverance from God by means of these bodily images, and God has relieved them and healed their illnesses through them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\r\n<p>It thus becomes clear that, among Arab Christians (Theodore Abu Qurra and al-Mu\u02betaman ibn al-\u02bfAss\u0101l), honoring icons and prostration before images are not acts of worship but acts of honor. They carry religious meanings\u2014above all the strengthening of faith\u2014and moral meanings related to conduct. The icon is not a mere picture: it plays an essential role in the manifestation of revelation and in the work of sanctification. It is the sensible medium through which the believer ascends to the invisible; it is mediation and a path by which the believer draws near to God. This is logically possible within Christianity: just as the body of Christ was the visible material through which God bound himself to the human being in the Incarnation, so icons and images are a sensible material through which the human being enters into relation with God.<\/p>\r\n<\/article><\/div>\n                    \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">English, videoconference, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Naveed Sheikh                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">University of Keele, United Kingdom<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">The Sword, the Script, and the Spectacle: Aesthetics of Jihad in Classical and Contemporary Islam<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/videos\/lepee-lecrit-et-le-spectacle-esthetiques-du-jihad-dans-lislam-classique-et-contemporain\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : The Sword, the Script, and the Spectacle: Aesthetics of Jihad in Classical and Contemporary Islam\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-91', 'Abstract : The Sword, the Script, and the Spectacle: Aesthetics of Jihad in Classical and Contemporary Islam', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-91\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Conference Handout<\/p><p>The Sword, the Script, and the Spectacle: Aesthetics of Jihad in Classical and Contemporary Islam<\/p><p>Naveed S. Sheikh\nUniversity of Nottingham\nnave&#101;&#100;&#46;&#115;&#104;&#101;&#105;&#x6b;&#x68;&#x40;&#x6e;&#x6f;&#x74;&#x74;&#x69;&#x6e;gham&#46;&#97;&#99;&#46;&#117;&#107;<\/p><p>Abstract<\/p><p>This paper explores how political violence in Islamic traditions and modern Islamist movements operates through deeply aesthetic registers. Drawing on Walter Benjamin's critique of the aestheticisation of politics, Judith Butler's theories of grievability and performativity, and Talal Asad's anthropology of pain and ethical formation, it argues that aesthetics is not decorative but constitutive of jihadist violence. Acts of violence\u2014whether textual, corporeal, or symbolic\u2014are made affectively persuasive and ethically charged through aesthetic form. The paper traces six registers across classical and contemporary contexts: juridical literature, the muj\u0101hid's choreographed body, martyrdom and grievance, sacred calligraphy, apocalyptic narrative, and architectural ruin. Together, these trace a movement from ornament to annihilation, revealing aesthetics as fundamental to how violence is imagined, legitimated, and made to matter.<\/p><p>Core Argument<\/p><p>Violence becomes imaginable, desirable, and obligatory through aesthetic form itself. This is not propaganda superimposed upon \"actual\" motivations\u2014rather, form is the very mechanism through which ideological and ethical subjects are constituted. From the earliest classical jih\u0101d texts to contemporary Islamic State media, violence is rendered legible through aesthetic mechanisms that make it morally intelligible and affectively compelling.<\/p><p>Theoretical Framework<\/p><p>Benjamin's analysis of fascism reveals how aestheticised politics transforms mass movements into orchestrated performances that subordinate critical thought to sensory immersion (Benjamin 1936\/2008). Jihadist media operates through similar logic, rendering violence as beautiful spectacle that invites identificatory absorption rather than analytical distance. Butler's work on grievability demonstrates that frames of representation determine whose lives and deaths are made visible and mournable (Butler 2009). Jihadist discourse produces radically asymmetric grievability: Muslim suffering infinitely visible and morally luminous; enemy suffering foreclosed or delegitimated. Asad's anthropology of ethical formation shows that religious traditions shape subjects through embodied practices, sensory disciplines, and affective engagements with authoritative texts and images (Asad 1993, 2003). Jihadist aesthetics operate precisely through such formation, cultivating subjects for whom violence appears as internalised obligation.<\/p><p>Section Summaries<\/p><p>1. The Adorned Law\u2014Classical Jih\u0101d as Rhetorical Form<\/p><p>Classical Islamic discourse aestheticises violence from its earliest systematic articulations. Al-Shayb\u0101n\u012b's Kit\u0101b al-Siyar (8th c.) renders the world as ordered moral space through the d\u0101r al-isl\u0101m \/ d\u0101r al-\u1e25arb binary\u2014not mere legal taxonomy but cosmological architecture (Khadduri 1966). Elaborate taxonomies of permissibility produce juridical elegance: violence appears disciplined, proportionate, embedded within divine surveillance. Ibn al-Mub\u0101rak's Kit\u0101b al-Jih\u0101d (8th c.) ornaments violence with prophetic authority and paradise imagery. Sensory descriptions make martyrdom desirable; death becomes passage into eternal beauty (Cook 2005). Both texts reveal that form itself performs ethical work, cultivating subjects for whom violence appears morally intelligible and affectively compelling. As Asad argues, to study these texts is not only to acquire legal knowledge but to be formed into subjects who experience violence as cosmologically ordered (Asad 1993).<\/p><p>2. The Muj\u0101hid as Icon\u2014Gendered Bodies and Gestural Discipline<\/p><p>Contemporary jihadist media render the militant body as aesthetic object: standardised poses, codified uniform (black clothing, shah\u0101da headband), the tawh\u012bd gesture. The body becomes reproducible icon, fusing masculinity, piety, and violence (Winter 2015). This is performance in Taylor's sense: embodied practice that transmits cultural knowledge through gesture and disciplined repetition (Taylor 2003). The aesthetic has classical roots in fur\u016bsiyya literature (Mamluk martial arts treatises) and futuwwa tradition (spiritual chivalry), which treated the warrior's body as object requiring aesthetic cultivation. The righteous warrior must be visually legible through disciplined gesture and posture. Butler's analysis of gender performativity illuminates the mechanism: masculinity is produced through repeated stylised acts that congeal over time (Butler 1990). Digital media transforms mechanisms of production and circulation but inherits the underlying logic: ethical virtue performed through aesthetically distinguished bodily practices.<\/p><p>3. Blood Witness\u2014Martyrdom and the Aesthetics of Grievance<\/p><p>Martyrdom operates through two-stage aesthetic process. First, grievance must be aestheticised. Jihadist media curates images of Muslim suffering (Palestine, Syria, and other sites of Muslim dispossession), producing differential grievability\u2014Muslim pain hyper-visible, enemy suffering invisible or delegitimated. Butler demonstrates that not all lives are equally mournable; grievability is produced through aesthetic and discursive frames (Butler 2009). This creates moral capital authorising violence as sacred duty. Second, martyrdom provides sacred answer. Drawing on Karbal\u0101 as affective template (blood on sand, righteous minority, cosmic injustice), martyrdom videos aestheticise death through careful visual grammar: wa\u1e63iyya (testament), calm demeanour, nash\u012bd soundtrack, scriptural overlay (Hafez 2007). The video performs sanctification, constituting death as meaningful through aesthetic form. As Hegghammer observes, this aesthetic grammar migrates across sectarian boundaries, with Sunni jihadists inheriting Shi\u02bfi martyrological aesthetics while inverting theology (Hegghammer 2017). The martyr's blood answers the beautiful victim.<\/p><p>4. Sacred Script\u2014Calligraphy and the Sanctification of Violence<\/p><p>Arabic holds unique status as language of divine revelation; Qur\u02beanic i\u02bfj\u0101z (inimitability) makes calligraphy inherently sacred (Boullata 2000; Schimmel 1984). Script functions as aesthetic technology sanctifying violence in situ. Three manifestations operate simultaneously: (1) Shah\u0101da banners render divine speech present in combat zones, performing sanctification (Wasserstein 2017); (2) Qur\u02beanic verses inscribed on weapons transform implements into liturgical objects\u2014violence participates in divine speech itself; (3) \u0100y\u0101t superimposed on execution videos perform real-time transformation: murder becomes divine judgment enacted. Asad's anthropology of ethical formation is crucial here: Islamic traditions cultivate ethical subjects through embodied practices of recitation and ritual engagement with sacred texts (Asad 1993). Messick extends this to calligraphic practice, showing how script makes divine speech materially present and affectively compelling (Messick 1993). Script interpellates viewers into economy of embodied piety\u2014to see script is to recognise divine authority, to accept the act as commanded. Violence becomes liturgy.<\/p><p>5. Terminal Aesthetics\u2014Apocalypse and Ruin<\/p><p>Violence rendered not as means but as consummation. Islamic State deploys mal\u0101\u1e25im (eschatological battles) literature as operative framework, replacing linear chronology with prophetic periodisation (Cook 2002; McCants 2015). Events appear as destiny unfolding. Dabiq magazine structures violence within cosmic rupture\u2014this differs from al-Qaeda's defensive\/reactive temporality, as evidenced in Bin Laden's writings (Bin Laden 2005). The sublime of ruin provides spatial performance: architectural destruction (Palmyra, Mosul Museum, Bamiyan) filmed with cinematic precision. In Kantian and Burkean aesthetics, the sublime names experiences combining terror with awe. Ruins signify divine sovereignty. Pre-Islamic monuments rendered as j\u0101hiliyya made stone; their destruction enacts purification, divine law fulfilled (Flood 2002; Harmansah 2015). Benjamin's observation that no document of civilisation is not simultaneously document of barbarism is inverted here: barbarism becomes the document (Benjamin 1940\/2007). Beauty resides in deliberate unmaking.<\/p><p>6. Conclusion: From Ornament to Annihilation<\/p><p>Six aesthetic registers traced: (1) juridical order, (2) devotional exhortation, (3) choreographed bodies, (4) aestheticised grievance\/martyrdom, (5) sacred script, (6) apocalyptic ruin. Each intensifies the analysis, moving from ornament rendering violence morally legible to annihilation requiring no justification beyond sublime performance. Aesthetics is constitutive: violence becomes imaginable, desirable, obligatory through form itself. This has profound implications for scholarship and policy\u2014we cannot understand or meaningfully respond to jihadism without attending to aesthetic regimes through which it operates. Effective responses require counter-aesthetics: alternative visual grammars, narrative structures, and affective economies that render violence as futile, horrific, and theologically illegitimate.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-92', 'Naveed Sheikh', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-92\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>A lecturer-researcher in international relations at the School of Social Sciences at Keele University (UK) since 2005, Naveed Sheikh teaches Terrorism Studies, Security Studies, and Middle Eastern international relations, and supervises dissertations and theses at all levels. Teaching commitments have been recognized with several certifications and awards, including the Keele Students' Union Teaching and Learning Award (2014) and the University Award for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (2018). Program director in international relations (2018-2021), Naveed Sheikh has also served since 2009 as editor-in-chief of the international journal Politics, Religion & Ideology. Naveed Sheikh teaches at the College of Europe (Warsaw) as a visiting professor and has conducted research and teaching stays at Harvard, Notre Dame, Louisville, Hosei (Tokyo), and the Cambridge Muslim College, as well as in Indonesia (UIII). Holding a PhD from Cambridge, a master's from Durham, and a bachelor's from Buckingham, research focuses on ideologies, religion, and politics in the Middle East and the Muslim world.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                        \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" >\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\">12:30pm-1pm<\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Discussion with the audience            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n<h6 id=\"axe3-panel2-s2\">Room 2 | Chair : Maria Angeles Alaminos<\/h6>\n\n<div id=\"prog-maconnerie\">\n\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang prog-cong-lang-sp\">Spanish, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Jes\u00fas Daniel Alonso Porras                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Episcopal Vicar of C\u00f3rdoba<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Antagonism or Inclusion: Ethics and Aesthetics in the Mosque-Cathedral of C\u00f3rdoba<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-93', 'Abstract : Antagonism or Inclusion: Ethics and Aesthetics in the Mosque-Cathedral of C\u00f3rdoba', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-93\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>The admirable conjunction of artistic styles present in the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba, transcending the Islamic era through spolia, makes it a unique laboratory for studying the aesthetic and ethical dialectics between Islamic and Christian architectures and their symbolic meanings, such as the wise use of light and the employment of columns. Antagonism and inclusion resolved themselves in a Christian building that, through various interventions, embraces the ancient mosque in an extraordinary demonstration of architectural dialogue, at once harmonic and discordant, sometimes subtle, sometimes dramatic.\nAfter the conquest of 785, Abd al-Rahman I built the foundational mosque, reusing salvaged elements and a peculiar Christian basilical layout. The building extended south and east over the following centuries. On June 29, 1236, the ancient mosque suddenly became a church dedicated to Saint Mary, then a cathedral, but the transformation process was gradual. Unlike other mosques in al-Andalus, the Cathedral of Cordoba was the exception: antagonism gave way to inclusion. Christians recognized its architectural value from the beginning, combining transformation and conservation through six stages: the closing of the doors, the gradual construction of chapels, the conversion into a cemetery, the construction of the first and then the second transept, and the graffiti marking the columns.\nAt the beginning of the 19th century, Bishop Trevilla's enlightened ideas reversed the process, promoting the restoration of the ancient vestibule of the mihrab. ICOMOS and UNESCO have recognized this exceptional monument: the Cordoba Resolution (1973) and the Buenos Aires Assembly (1984) highlighted the unique embrace between Arab architecture and later Christian constructions. The Qatar Assembly (2014) declared the historic center of Cordoba, and especially the Mosque-Cathedral, a site of Outstanding Universal Value, noting that religious use has largely ensured its conservation.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-94', 'Jes\u00fas Daniel Alonso Porras', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-94\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Jesus Daniel Alonso Porras was born in Cordoba. After graduating in 1989 with a degree in philosophy and letters (geography and history) from the University of Cordoba, he joined the secondary education teaching corps in 2001. In 2003, he obtained a leave of absence to pursue ecclesiastical studies at the San Pelagio Conciliar Seminary. Ordained priest on May 9, 2009, he specialized in Rome: licentiate in Church Cultural Heritage (2012) at the Pontifical Gregorian University, training at the Vatican Secret Archives School and the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology. In 2019, he defended a doctoral thesis on the adaptation of the church model to the Islamic context based on the Great Mosque of Cordoba. He currently holds diocesan responsibilities in cultural heritage and teaches at the San Pelagio Theological Institute.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                        \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">Spanish, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Jos\u00e9 Luis Llaquet de Entrambasaguas                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Loyola Andaluc\u00eda, Seville, Spain<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">\"The Spirit of C\u00f3rdoba\" as a Response to the Ethical Challenges of Christian-Muslim Dialogue in the 21st Century<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-95', 'Abstract : &quot;The Spirit of C\u00f3rdoba&quot; as a Response to the Ethical Challenges of Christian-Muslim Dialogue in the 21st Century', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-95\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>During Spain's transition from Francoist national-Catholicism to the democratic regime, two international Islamic-Christian Congresses of global influence were held in Cordoba in 1974 and 1977. In their final declaration, the expression \"Spirit of Cordoba\" was coined, later used by Cardinal Duval.\nThese Congresses were supported by the diocese and municipality of Cordoba and by Spanish pioneers of Islamic-Christian dialogue, and featured the participation of prestigious national and foreign speakers, both Catholic and Muslim, as well as the Secretary-General of UNESCO. For the first time since 1236, in the Mosque-Cathedral, during the Congress, in addition to the Mass, Muslim Salat was prayed, with the Khutba delivered by the Jordanian Minister of Religious Affairs and Dean of the Faculty of Theology of his country, Dr. Jayat, and this event was broadcast on Spanish and Algerian television.\nI addressed this issue tangentially in a previously published article (\"Initiatives for Islamic-Christian Encounter in Today's Cordoba,\" in G. Lora Serrano-J. Garcia Diaz (eds.), \"The Mozarabs: Past, Present and Future of Christian Communities under Islamic Rule,\" Silex Universidad, 2023, 553-568).\nThe proceedings of these two Congresses and the reflections of their organizers in books and unpublished materials before and after the Congresses, as well as the influence these Congresses have had on other subsequent initiatives, including those recently implemented, will be the subject of this paper.\nIn terms of methodology, I intend to focus on the ethical dimension related to Axis 3 of the Congress (Aesthetic and Ethical Heritages: Tensions, Dialogues and Hospitality).\nCordoba, by virtue of its past and its geopolitical situation, is the axis of the West in terms of Islamic-Christian relations in the past and could continue to be so in the future.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-96', 'Jos\u00e9 Luis Llaquet de Entrambasaguas', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-96\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Jose Luis Llaquet de Entrambasaguas is a senior lecturer at Loyola University (Seville, Cordoba, and Granada campuses). Holding doctorates in law (University of Barcelona) and canon law (ICT-France), he is also an honorary doctorate recipient from Ovidius University. His academic career combines law, theology, philosophy, and conflict mediation. Accredited by ANECA and AQU, he has three research six-year terms (CNEAI). A former diocesan judge and notary of an ecclesiastical tribunal, he also served as a substitute magistrate. He has been teaching since 1991 and regularly participates in international events. His work focuses on modern and contemporary spirituality, legal history, ecclesiastical, canon, and university law, as well as indigenous peoples and Christian-Muslim dialogue.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                        \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Claudio Monge                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Faculty of Theology of Bologna, Italy<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Hagia Sophia of Constantinople: Aesthetics of the Sacred and Modernity<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/videos\/sainte-sophie-de-constantinople-esthetique-du-sacre-et-modernite\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Hagia Sophia of Constantinople: Aesthetics of the Sacred and Modernity\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-97', 'Abstract : Hagia Sophia of Constantinople: Aesthetics of the Sacred and Modernity', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-97\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>The Basilica of Hagia Sophia, built under Justinian (532\u2013537), represents one of the most accomplished examples of an aesthetic legitimation of political power as a reflection of the divine order. In this presentation, we would like to briefly show how this Byzantine grammar of sovereignty, far from disappearing with the Ottoman conquest of 1453, was assimilated, translated, and reconfigured within the framework of Islamo-Ottoman political theology. This is not a matter of doctrinal continuity, but rather of formal and symbolic continuity, in which architecture plays the role of mediation between divine transcendence and earthly authority.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-98', 'Claudio Monge', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-98\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Professor and Dominican (OP), Claudio Monge has lived and worked in Istanbul since 2004, where he directs the Dominican Study Institute. Holding a doctorate in fundamental theology (Strasbourg), specializing in Abrahamic traditions, he explores theology of religions, Turco-Ottoman Islam, sacred hospitality, and issues of otherness. He has taught as a visiting professor at Fribourg, Bologna, Toronto, and Porto Alegre, among others. A consultor to the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue since 2014, he participates in several research networks, including PLURIEL. His recent works develop a theology of hospitality and a Mediterranean reading of living together.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                        \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" >\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\">12:30pm-1pm<\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Discussion with the audience            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" >\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\">1pm-3pm<\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Lunch            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n<h6 id=\"axe3-panel3-s1\">3pm-4:30pm - Panel 3 - Room 1 | Chair : Dirk Ansorge<\/h6>\n<div id=\"prog-maconnerie\">\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Beate Bengard                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">University of Geneva, Switzerland<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">\"Welcome to Hell\" - Eschatology in the Literary Work of D\u017eevad Karahasan<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/welcome-to-hell-eschatology-in-the-literary-work-of-dzevad-karahasan\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : &quot;Welcome to Hell&quot; - Eschatology in the Literary Work of D\u017eevad Karahasan\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-99', 'Abstract : &quot;Welcome to Hell&quot; - Eschatology in the Literary Work of D\u017eevad Karahasan', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-99\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Eschatology is a difficult terrain in interreligious dialogue between Christians and Muslims. The traditional vision of Judgment and its precursor signs in Islam remains difficult for contemporary Christian theology to understand, having subjected its own eschatological inventory to a demythologizing revision during the 20th century. The suspicion that by advocating a retributive ethic at the doctrinal level, Islam would approach a 'dark' pedagogy and consequently be irreconcilable with the Christian idea of grace leads to treating eschatology with great caution in dialogue, or even not considering it a promising field at all. Through which discourses within contemporary Islam could Christian partners rediscover the relevance of Muslim discourses on eschatology without falling into stereotypes that exclusively associate them with apocalyptic and fundamentalist currents? From the perspective of a Christian theology of dialogue, this paper proposes a dual approach combining comparative theology and literary hermeneutics. Through three texts by Bosnian novelist Dzevad Karahasan (1953-2023), the relevance of Muslim eschatology for interpreting contemporary history will be demonstrated. Karahasan, a Muslim man of letters from Sarajevo, uses eschatological motifs in his texts to describe the harmful effects of the Yugoslav Wars (1991-2001). His work lends itself particularly well to an interreligious study that connects aesthetic and ethical dimensions in a reflection on eschatology. He thematizes interreligious coexistence in the Balkan region and describes how threatened it is by ethnic conflicts. By explicitly addressing the motifs of paradise, hell, barzakh, or judgment, Karahasan not only provides proof of the vitality of eschatological thought among intellectuals of his generation but also shows its potential for interreligious dialogue. In our paper, we will first present the use of eschatological motifs in Karahasan. Then, we will show the potential of a comparative theology that focuses not on doctrinal texts but on contemporary aesthetic and literary production.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-100', 'Beate Bengard', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-100\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Holding a doctorate in Protestant theology (joint supervision, Universities of Strasbourg and Leipzig), she devoted her thesis to Paul Ricoeur's ecumenical hermeneutics and its significance for dialogue processes in France. Since 2021, she has taught systematic theology at the University of Geneva (bachelor's and master's levels), with a marked interest in eschatology, the Trinity, kenosis, the relationship between faith and truth, God and time, as well as interreligious dialogue. She directs IRSE, leads the project \"For a Theology Engaging Religions,\" and chairs the Equality and Diversity Commission. Her work focuses on ecumenism, interreligious hospitality, and theology of Israel.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-auto\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-auto-101', 'Automatic translation that may contain errors', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Automatic translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-auto-101\" style=\"display:none;\"><article>\r\n<header>\r\n<h2>Welcome to Hell! \u2014 Eschatology in the Work of D\u017eevad Karahasan<\/h2>\r\n<p><strong>Beate Bengard, Geneva<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<\/header>\r\n\r\n<h3>Introduction<\/h3>\r\n<p>In this presentation, I will speak about D\u017eevad Karahasan, a Bosnian writer and professor of dramaturgy.<\/p>\r\n<p>I chose to address this author at our conference on \u00abEthics and aesthetics in the Islamic heritage\u00bb because his work is particularly well suited to illustrating the relevance, for theology and for interreligious dialogue concerned with eschatology, of aesthetic discourses drawn from contemporary literature.<\/p>\r\n<p>As a Christian theologian interested in dialogue with Islam, I am often confronted with difficulties connected with eschatology. It must be acknowledged that this theme is far less present than others and far less readily perceived as a field for fruitful exchange, dialogue, or even consensus between Islam and Christianity.<\/p>\r\n<p>This difficulty in matters of eschatology can be explained in part by the fact that Christian theology\u2014and especially Protestant theology\u2014subjected the portion of its dogmatics devoted to reflections on the Last Judgment, the immortality of the soul, and the afterlife to a rigorous reassessment throughout the twentieth century, leading either to a \"demythologization\" (Bultmann) or to a radical reinterpretation (Barth) of these themes. Although a modern Muslim thinker such as Muhammad Iqbal also maintains that Islam would benefit from understanding the ultimate realities more as \"psychological realities\" than as metaphysical data, this is not the dominant position across Islamic theology as a whole. Christian interlocutors often find it difficult to understand why notions such as Judgment, hell, or <em>barzakh<\/em>, etc., do not seem to lose their significance among Muslims in the way they appear to do for many Christians. Added to this is the fact that eschatological questions exceed the purely dogmatic level and belong rather to a deeply rooted spirituality. But how can one establish dialogue\u2014or at least mutual respect\u2014when the topic is as sensitive as the other's view of the hereafter?<\/p>\r\n<p>If I introduce the voice of the writer D\u017eevad Karahasan into this already complex discourse, which risks turning into a dialogue of the deaf, I do so for two reasons. First, explicitly eschatological motifs run throughout Karahasan's work, so that it can serve as a valuable resource of experience and insight for (Christian) readers less familiar with this kind of reflection. Second, in addition to his fiction, Karahasan has written about his own poetics and about the aesthetics of his works, thereby offering a suggestive lead for the general theme of our conference. In his writings on aesthetics, Karahasan argues that although his books are literary texts, they are not devoid of the ambition to grasp reality. He even defends the idea that, as a rule, literary texts are better able to do justice to lived reality than other discourses grounded in a purely rational register. Being composed according to aesthetic principles does not therefore diminish a text's ability to describe reality. On the contrary: because the literary text develops a dialogical and dramatic discourse\u2014even on a single topic\u2014it does not reduce reality to the status of a mere object.<\/p>\r\n<p>My justification for drawing on literary texts in matters of eschatology follows the same logic. Read and interpreted through a literary work, these discourses make it possible to analyze eschatology in Islam as part of a living heritage that continues to generate meaning.<\/p>\r\n<p>I borrow this sentence from one of Karahasan's texts on poetics in order to sharpen this reflection:<\/p>\r\n<p>\"I enjoy recalling his astonishment (Heinrich Heine's) at people who pin a dead butterfly to a sheet of paper in order to study it\u2014as if something could still be a butterfly once it has been deprived of its ability to fly.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>Historical context<\/h3>\r\n<p>The world depicted in Karahasan's writings is that of the civil wars in the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. Our author spent a large part of his life in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, which for centuries had features somewhat comparable to those of al-Andalus before the Reconquista. The region's population always included members of the three major monotheistic religions (including Christians\u2014Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant\u2014Sunni Muslims, and Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews). The civil war of the 1990s nevertheless brought a brutal end to the peaceful coexistence of these different communities, and the genocide of Bosniak Muslims became tragically notorious, particularly through the Srebrenica massacre. The terrors and traumas of those years are constantly present in our author's writings and led him to interpret the war through an eschatological prism. In what follows, I will show you several examples, notably his use of the concepts of <em>barzakh<\/em>, hell, and paradise.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>The <em>barzakh<\/em><\/h3>\r\n<p>The first story by Karahasan that will serve as my example is titled <em>No\u0107no vije\u0107e<\/em> (\"The Night Council\"), and it takes place a few months before the outbreak of the war in a town called Fo\u010da, inhabited by Serbs and Bosniaks. The population is confronted with acts of hostility and terror that foreshadow the imminent war. A series of murders shakes the Bosniak community, and a violent group of young Serbs interrupts the funeral ceremony and prevents the imam from finishing his prayer. Those who desire war in every way spur one another on with apocalyptic visions.<\/p>\r\n<p>The text strongly advances the idea that the cause of the hostilities lies in repressed conflicts from the past that resurface. The protagonist of the book\u2014a Serb who is only briefly home on vacation\u2014encounters in his house the apparition of his friend Enver, who was in fact murdered a few days earlier. The friend leads the protagonist down to the basement of the house. Once there, he meets the souls of several former inhabitants of the town, also violently killed, who relive the sufferings of their deaths.<\/p>\r\n<p>\"Whenever a catastrophe is about to be unleashed on Earth, they gather at the place where they were murdered and relive the sufferings of their death, until the massacres are over and the fresh blood has dried on the ground. Or until someone kills them, as they were killed back then. Then they return to the <em>barzakh<\/em> and rest with the ordinary souls until new massacres are announced.\"<\/p>\r\n<p>As you can see from this passage, D\u017eevad Karahasan draws here on the notion of <em>barzakh<\/em>, the place where, according to Muslim tradition, the souls of the deceased dwell between death and the Last Judgment. Strikingly, the protagonist is asked to kill them a second time\u2014in other words, to consign them, together with their dark fates, to oblivion.<\/p>\r\n<p>\"If you kill them, you will forget everything\u2014absolutely everything: them, your time here, their sufferings, and the very fact that they ever lived. You will spend your life in happy ignorance, do you understand? Like the blessed, like the elect. (\u2026) You would be doing them an immense favor\u2014not only to yourself, but also to them. (\u2026) They would be infinitely grateful to you. (\u2026)\"<\/p>\r\n<p>\"No!\"<\/p>\r\n<p>The protagonist refuses to take part in the collective practice of repressing the pains of the past until they return in the form of an ongoing cycle of violence. Instead of killing them, he decides to spend the rest of his existence with them and thus to bear witness to their sufferings. This radical metaphorical solution bears autobiographical traits and shows the extent to which Karahasan understands his literary and theatrical project. Following the German director Heiner M\u00fcller, Karahasan thus defines the \"conjuring of the dead\" (<em>Totenbeschw\u00f6rung<\/em>) as a fundamental task of his work.<\/p>\r\n<p>The theological concept of <em>barzakh<\/em> becomes newly legible in the light of this original literary transposition. Karahasan identifies the <em>barzakh<\/em> with a society's collective memory. He draws on the idea of <em>barzakh<\/em> as a place of suspension rather than a place of peace or redemption. In other words, it is not only individuals, but collective memory\u2014with its interconnected painful experiences\u2014that needs to be set free.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>Hell<\/h3>\r\n<p>In the light of these reflections, it is not surprising that Karahasan sees war as the very embodiment of hell. By insisting on this identification between war and hell, he puts an end to any attempt to glorify war. In his most recent novel, <em>Uvod u lebdenje<\/em> (\"An Introduction to Suspension\"), he stages this interpretive conflict through a dialogue between two men who meet in Sarajevo while the city is besieged by Serbian troops. The first, a British writer, regards his stay in the war-ravaged city as a personal experience and an opportunity for inner development.<\/p>\r\n<p>\"Here I can come to know my true self; I can discover authenticity; I can discover and understand who I am and what I am really like. (\u2026) I often think that Hades and Jahannam, hell and Jannah, are only metaphors for that encounter with oneself, for the descent into the only truly real hell\u2014one's own self. But without that experience you have not truly lived; you have never met your authentic self; you have simply spent some time in the world as a statistical datum.\"<\/p>\r\n<p>In his book, Karahasan shows that this is a dreadful mistake. In the end, the protagonist will have lost his mind and all ethical orientation. By contrast, the other man's attitude proves more truthful. When he greets him upon his arrival in Sarajevo, he throws these words at him: \"Welcome to hell!\"<\/p>\r\n<p>The effect of war on the human mind is destructive. Karahasan never tires of showing this in his texts. Contrary to what some believe, war does not bring a deeper truth to the surface; it blurs and destroys every certainty to the point that human beings lose all their bearings:<\/p>\r\n<p>\"Unreality is the most striking characteristic\u2014if not the only one\u2014of hell (\u2026). Western public opinion\u2014that is, the media, the statements of political authorities, and public debates\u2014spoke almost exclusively of Serbs, Croats, and Muslims\/Bosniaks. In the public discourse on Bosnia, there were no longer any individuals\u2014no citizens and no names, no bodies and no individual destinies; and yet, in Bosnia, as everywhere that people die, only individuals met death. (\u2026) I was disappearing more and more from public perception, which turned me and my world into an image that only total simplification could make possible. (\u2026) The simplification imposed on us moved in a completely wrong direction: it generalized instead of making things concrete; it distanced the observer and the reporter from individuals and their destinies rather than bringing them closer.\"<\/p>\r\n<p>Hell is therefore not a necessary psychological process, as the novel's protagonist believed. Hell names the trauma of a total loss of identity, lived as the imposition of an external perspective that rapidly gains ground without gaining plausibility. For the inhabitants of Sarajevo, the peaceful coexistence of people of different religions gave way to a logic of national and religious belonging. It is because they were dispossessed of the interpretation of their own lived experience that Karahasan retains the central theological term \"hell.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>Paradise<\/h3>\r\n<p>In his work <em>The Book of Gardens<\/em>, published in 2002, the author walks through the streets of Sarajevo, devastated by bombardment. He finds comfort in the fact that these ruins remain legible as witnesses to life and as traces of humanity. Contrary to what the reflection on hell might suggest, the loss of humanity is therefore not total.<\/p>\r\n<p>\"A ruin's ability to remind us of the past kept me from total despair during the war.\"<\/p>\r\n<p>As he contemplates what remains of the public gardens of his city, the idea of paradise\u2014and of justice\u2014imposes itself as a horizon of thought, in spite of everything.<\/p>\r\n<p>\"Are the gardens of this world the shadow of the paradisal garden, the memories our soul retains of the world in which it lived before birth, or are they nothing more than a promise by which the Earth assures us that paradise is possible, in order to persuade us to return to it?\"<\/p>\r\n<p>Karahasan recalls that every garden has a center, an ultimate vanishing point\u2014the sovereign's palace:<\/p>\r\n<p>\"Everything that comes from the garden or the market and sets out on its way inevitably arrives at the palace, where it is judged irrevocably and justly\u2014just as this world and this life, with all their complications and their dark calculations, move inexorably toward the Day of Last Judgment.\"<\/p>\r\n<p>From the concepts of paradise and the Last Judgment, Karahasan retains above all the idea of justice\u2014invoked here precisely through its absence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>Conclusion<\/h3>\r\n<p>In view of the scale of the civil war in the former Yugoslavia and the central involvement of Muslim and Christian communities, the eschatological interpretation proposed by D\u017eevad Karahasan does not leave me indifferent as a theologian of interreligious dialogue. I see in it the potential for a dialogue in which we, as Christian theologians, may rediscover the relevance of eschatology within our own tradition.<\/p>\r\n<p>I look forward to exchanging impressions with you. Thank you for your attention.<\/p>\r\n<\/article><\/div>\n                    \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">French, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Gabriel Khairallah                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">Saint Joseph University, Beirut<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Hospitality, Power and Interreligious Dialogue in Naguib Mahfouz's Children of Gebelawi<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/hospitality-power-and-interreligious-dialogue-in-naguib-mahfouzs-children-of-the-alley\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Hospitality, Power and Interreligious Dialogue in Naguib Mahfouz&#039;s Children of Gebelawi\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-102', 'Abstract : Hospitality, Power and Interreligious Dialogue in Naguib Mahfouz\\'s Children of Gebelawi', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-102\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>In Children of Gebelawi, Naguib Mahfouz uses allegory to create an artistic work that questions the tensions between aesthetics, power, and ethics in a plural religious context. The work, both 'religious' and political, offers a re-reading of monotheisms through the figure of the father (Gabalawi, who represents God) and his descendants who successively represent prophetic figures (Gabal\/Moses, Rifaa\/Jesus, and Qassim\/Muhammad). This narrative structure provides a space of symbolic hospitality where Judaism, Christianity, and Islam coexist.<\/p><p>The novel thus becomes a place of interreligious encounter: by drawing inspiration from the 'sacred books' of monotheistic religions, Mahfouz establishes a kind of common denominator between them, particularly around questions of justice and violence. Literary aesthetics is thus used as an ethical tool that critiques politico-religious dominations and calls for questioning them. This transgression is highlighted by the revolts led by the three major prophetic figures of the novel to free the people of the Medina from the yoke of political tyranny, embodied by the figures of the overseer and the futuwwas.<\/p><p>Mahfouz's novel thus articulates ethics and aesthetics in a quest for a more just Arab-Muslim society that protects its most vulnerable citizens. This articulation also aims at writing history in order to provide citizens with a living and interpretive memory capable of making them masters of their destiny. Mahfouz's novel thus reveals that the interweaving of aesthetics and ethics appears more than ever as a duty and a necessity for Arab-Muslim societies.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-103', 'Gabriel Khairallah', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-103\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Gabriel Khairallah is a lecturer at the Faculty of Modern Letters and the CLN of Saint Joseph University of Beirut. Holding a doctorate from Sorbonne Nouvelle University (Paris III), his work focuses on the family crisis and individual autonomy in Naguib Mahfouz and Francois Mauriac. He also holds a double Master 2 (Paris III\u2013Loyola) dedicated to the figure of God in Children of Gebelawi, as well as a master's on forgiveness in Paul Ricoeur. He has taught at USJ since 2011 and has been teaching at Sciences Po Paris since 2013 and Sciences Po Aix since 2024. His research explores the connections between sacred texts and literature, literature and religion, politics and feminism. He has published in international journals and conference proceedings and has been director of the Cercle de la Jeunesse Catholique since 2018.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-auto\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-auto-104', 'Automatic translation that may contain errors', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Automatic translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-auto-104\" style=\"display:none;\"><article>\r\n<header>\r\n<h2>Hospitality, Power, and Interreligious Dialogue in <em>Les Fils de la M\u00e9dina<\/em> by Naguib Mahfouz<\/h2>\r\n<p><strong>Gabriel Khairallah<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<\/header>\r\n\r\n<p>Published in 1959, <em>Les Fils de la M\u00e9dina<\/em> occupies a singular place within Naguib Mahfouz's oeuvre. Long censored, the novel weaves together allegory, social critique, and religious reflection. Through the figures of Gabalawi and his descendants, Mahfouz fashions a symbolic Medina\u2014an arena of memory, power, and struggle for justice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The novel interrogates the respective roles of the divine, the political, and the human in history: how can religious communities coexist while resisting tyranny?<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>We propose the hypothesis that the novel tightly interweaves aesthetics, ethics, and historical memory in order to conceive interreligious dialogue as a condition of social justice, with allegory operating as a critical device that denounces abuses of power and reactivates an ethical memory.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Our analysis proceeds in three stages:<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Allegory as a space of symbolic hospitality.<\/li>\r\n<li>A critique of politico-religious domination.<\/li>\r\n<li>The articulation of ethics and aesthetics in the construction of collective memory.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<p>We begin by examining how allegory becomes a space of symbolic hospitality for the monotheisms.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>I. Allegory as a Space of Symbolic Hospitality for the Monotheisms<\/h3>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>1. Gabalawi: a paternal figure and transcendent principle<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>At the center of the allegory stands Gabalawi, a metaphor for the God of the monotheistic traditions, yet not identified with any single religious confession. Despite his withdrawal into the great house he founded\u2014which symbolizes paradise and an ethical order\u2014Gabalawi remains present within the inhabitants' collective imagination.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Gabalawi embodies the shared origin of the traditions: he is the point of departure that makes coexistence conceivable, insofar as he has engendered a line of descendants that recalls the major founding figures of the monotheisms. Yet his retreat also generates violence and domination: in the father's absence, his legacies are instrumentalized by human actors to legitimate their power and tyrannical rule.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The Medina thus becomes a microcosm: it represents a space of misery and oppression in which the sacred, the social, and the political are entangled. Gabalawi's house\u2014unreachable and emblematic of a lost paradise\u2014sustains both hope and contestation, reminding the reader that justice and ethics are never simply given, but must be reconstructed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>After the figure of Gabalawi, the allegory develops prophetic figures that function as symbols of religious coexistence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>2. Prophetic figures and religious coexistence<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Gabalawi's descendants\u2014Gabal, Rifaa, and Qassim\u2014embody a reworking of the figures of Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Gabal acts through law and force to restore justice.<\/li>\r\n<li>Rifaa proposes compassion, forgiveness, and self-sacrifice.<\/li>\r\n<li>Qassim combines social action and ethical commitment to build a durable community.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<p>Each figure articulates a mode of resistance proper to its tradition, yet all converge on the same ideal: to establish justice, protect the weak, and recall moral responsibility. In this sense, Mahfouz stages a cumulative rather than competitive religious history, in which each tradition enriches the previous one without canceling it. The novel thus becomes an original space in which foundational narratives can be reread, compared, and questioned\u2014indeed, interpreted. These narratives are, as it were, \"liberated\" from their strictly theological scope so as to move toward an ethical and political register.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Mahfouz thereby creates a narrative site of interreligious dialogue oriented toward ethics: traditions coexist, confront one another, and complement one another, without erasing their differences. A form of narrative hospitality is thus produced, grounded in a shared ethical denominator.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>3. Narrative hospitality and a shared ethical denominator<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Beyond merely bringing prophetic figures and their respective legacies into relation, <em>Les Fils de la M\u00e9dina<\/em> constructs a genuine apparatus of narrative hospitality, founded on the recognition of a shared ethical denominator across the three monotheisms. The allegory does not simply allow these traditions to coexist within a single fictional space; it also identifies the common values that make dialogue possible, crystallizing around justice, compassion, and the refusal of oppression.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Justice:<\/strong> each monotheistic tradition aims to restore a justice betrayed by the stewards who have stolen from the inhabitants of the Medina the <em>waqf<\/em> (pious endowment) that Gabalawi had rightfully assigned to them, and to confront the arbitrary violence of the <em>futuwwas<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Compassion:<\/strong> in the novel, compassion becomes a principle of recognizing the other, through which Mahfouz suggests that the authenticity of ethics is measured above all by the response offered to human suffering produced by injustice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Refusal of oppression:<\/strong> this is the nodal point toward which the three monotheistic traditions converge, in opposition to unjust structures of power.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Precisely because it operates on the terrain of aesthetics through allegory, literature can become a neutral space for interreligious dialogue. The novel does not seek to impose a doctrinal truth; rather, it offers a narrative framework in which different traditions can be represented without being subjected to a dogmatic hierarchy. In doing so, literature contests exclusive claims to truth and opens a site of encounter grounded in ethical reflection. This aesthetic neutrality enables each reader, whatever their religious affiliation, to enter the narrative and recognize themselves within it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In sum, allegory transforms religious narrative into a laboratory of hospitality and ethical inquiry.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Having shown how <em>Les Fils de la M\u00e9dina<\/em> elaborates a narrative hospitality grounded in a shared ethical foundation, we now turn to how this aesthetic extends into a political critique of oppression and injustice\u2014and how it shapes an ethico-political mode of action.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>II. A Critical Aesthetic of Politico-Religious Domination and the Shaping of Ethical Agency<\/h3>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>1. Tyrannical power as represented by two figures: the steward and the <em>futuwwas<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The two figures that embody tyranny emerge after Gabalawi's withdrawal, as early as the second chapter of the novel:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><strong>The steward<\/strong> symbolizes an oppressive political leader. He perverts justice by dispossessing the inhabitants of the Medina of the <em>waqf<\/em> to which they are entitled by right through Gabalawi. To maintain his control over the endowments and over the Medina, he relies on the <em>futuwwas<\/em>.<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>The <em>futuwwas<\/em><\/strong> are figures marked by physical strength and violence; they are charged with maintaining order through brute force and protecting individuals in exchange for a compulsory contribution.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<p>These figures also control memory and narrative, manipulating history in order to legitimate their domination\u2014most notably through storytellers placed at their service, who justify their authority by reshaping the Medina's tales. Mahfouz thus reveals how the confiscation of memory functions as an instrument of power, and how injustice takes root in the manipulation of the sacred.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>If this aesthetic criticizes political domination, it also calls for an ethico-political agency, embodied in the novel by the revolts led by the prophetic figures.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>2. Prophetic revolt as an ethico-political act<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In the face of oppression, the prophets embody moral resistance, becoming agents of liberation both politically and ethically:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Gabal confronts the oppressors directly.<\/li>\r\n<li>Rifaa acts through compassion and speech, yet his disciples oppose the forces of oppression with vigor.<\/li>\r\n<li>Qassim, in turn, resists tyranny and organizes society to restore justice.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<p>Revolt is not anarchic: it is structured, ethical, and oriented toward protecting the vulnerable. Mahfouz distinguishes oppressive violence from legitimate action, transforming prophetic history into a moral lesson.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This revolt is not conducted solely by the prophetic figures, but also by literature itself. Mahfouz thus aligns himself with the tradition of engaged writers, such as Zola, who denounce injustice and combat violence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>3. Literary transgression as a political gesture<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Allegory does not merely constitute an aesthetic form; it becomes a political gesture. Its use enables Mahfouz to circumvent censorship\u2014especially in a 1959 Egypt marked by close surveillance of critical expression. Literature becomes a means of transgression. In this respect, the rewriting of the prophets shocks, yet it also awakens the reader's conscience.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Literature also produces a critical memory in the face of forgetting. The sentence that closes chapters 2, 3, and 4 of the novel\u2014\"The scourge of our alley is forgetfulness.\"\u2014is emblematic of this state of oblivion, or amnesia, which yields a repetitive history and facilitates the return of tyranny. In this way, aesthetics, ethics, and memory work together toward the advent of a more just society.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>III. Aesthetics, Ethics, and Memory: Toward a More Just Society<\/h3>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>1. The novel as a critical rewriting of history<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Mahfouz uses the novel to rewrite history in a critical key. This approach appears from the prologue onward, through the narrator-writer, who questions Gabalawi, the prophetic figures, and the causes of tyranny and injustice in the Medina. This inquiry leads him to break with the storytellers beholden to power and to set down in writing the history of the Medina and the prophetic figures\u2014historicizing them and thereby constituting a collective memory. Literature thus allies itself with history in an ethical and political perspective.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Through this act of writing\u2014and, above all, of turning narrative into history\u2014Mahfouz deconstructs the fixed accounts surrounding the prophetic figures and brings to light the obstacles they confronted in order to defeat tyranny. He reveals the critical potential of these religious traditions when they are reread from within human experience. Each reader is thus invited to reappropriate these texts in a simultaneously memorial and ethical perspective.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The novel also encourages identification with the oppressed by giving voice to the most vulnerable, thereby opening the way to reflection on the conditions of a more just social coexistence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>2. Protecting the most vulnerable and the ideal of social justice<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The inhabitants of the Medina indeed embody diverse forms of vulnerability in the face of the steward's tyranny and the violence of the <em>futuwwas<\/em>. The transformation of experience into narrative and history brings their suffering to light, but also their capacity for resistance through prophetic action, embodied in the revolts of Gabal, Rifaa, and Qassim. These revolts, it bears repeating, aim above all to protect those without a voice and to promote a concrete justice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The social justice that emerges from these memorial narratives thus appears as the foundation of life together in the Medina. It presupposes not only the absence of violence, but also the recognition of rights\u2014especially those of the most fragile\u2014and the questioning of structures of domination. By articulating justice and memory, Mahfouz shows that a critical understanding of the past is indispensable to the construction of a more equitable society. Aesthetics, through literature, thus becomes an instrument of memory as well as an instrument of moral and civic consciousness: it exposes injustice and nourishes an ethical reflection that only literature can fully sustain.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>3. Aesthetics and ethics as a contemporary necessity<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The ethical demand carried by aesthetics has a simultaneously contemporary and universal scope. The issues raised by <em>Les Fils de la M\u00e9dina<\/em>\u2014religious coexistence, moral responsibility, critique of abuses of power, and protection of the vulnerable\u2014remain central in contemporary societies. Mahfouz shows that literature can serve as a laboratory for critical thought, enabling us to interrogate the political and religious uses of the sacred and to preserve a collective ethical horizon.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Finally, the novel affirms the social responsibility of literature. As we have suggested above, literature is not merely an aesthetic exercise; it engages the reader in reflection on action, memory, and justice. By making fiction a mirror and a lever of transformation, Mahfouz shows that writing participates in the formation of a collective moral consciousness capable of resisting injustice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>Conclusion<\/h3>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Les Fils de la M\u00e9dina<\/em> by Naguib Mahfouz offers a profound reflection on the ways in which aesthetics, ethics, and memory interlock in order to think power, justice, and religious coexistence. Our analysis has highlighted three major axes: symbolic hospitality and interreligious dialogue; the critique of politico-religious domination; and the construction of a critical, living memory. Through the allegory of prophetic figures and the narrative structure of the Medina, literature becomes a space of dialogue in which religious differences are not grounds for exclusion, but resources for thinking ethics and justice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Mahfouz denounces abuses of political and religious power by staging the steward, the <em>futuwwas<\/em>, and prophetic revolts as ethical acts aimed at restoring justice. Allegory and literary transgression thus make it possible to contest structures of domination while preserving the moral force of the religious message. In parallel, the novel proposes a memory centered on the oppressed\u2014a memory conceived as a tool of resistance against forgetting and against the instrumentalization of the sacred.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Beyond its historical or religious dimension, <em>Les Fils de la M\u00e9dina<\/em> constitutes a major contribution to interreligious dialogue. Mahfouz shows that literature can establish common ground between different traditions, grounded in universal ethical principles such as justice, compassion, and the refusal of oppression. The work's resonance remains current: the questions of religious coexistence, collective responsibility, and critique of tyranny that it raises continue to speak to contemporary concerns. In this sense, the novel stands as a fertile point of departure for reflecting on the writer's moral and creative responsibility in relation to the sacred and to power in the contemporary world.<\/p>\r\n<\/article><\/div>\n                    \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div id=\"prog-cong-type-2\" >\n                                            <div class=\"prog-cong-lang \">Spanish, videoconference, 20 min<\/div>\n            \n            <div id=\"prog-cong-nom\">\n                Maria Gracia L\u00f3pez Anguita                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-univ\">University of Seville, Spain<\/span>\n                                                    <span class=\"prog-cong-titre\">Landscape and Architecture as Occasions for Contemplation and Interreligious Dialogue in the Travel Accounts of the Sufi Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulusi (d. 1731 CE)<\/span>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                            <div class=\"prog-cong-actions\">\n\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/videos\/landscape-and-architecture-as-occasions-of-contemplation-and-of-interreligious-dialogue-in-the-travel-narratives-of-the-sufi-%ca%bfabd-al-ghani-al-nabulusi\/\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" title=\"Video : Landscape and Architecture as Occasions for Contemplation and Interreligious Dialogue in the Travel Accounts of the Sufi Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulusi (d. 1731 CE)\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><polygon points=\"5 3 19 12 5 21 5 3\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Video                        <\/a>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('resume-105', 'Abstract : Landscape and Architecture as Occasions for Contemplation and Interreligious Dialogue in the Travel Accounts of the Sufi Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulusi (d. 1731 CE)', 'resume')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M14 2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v16a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h12a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8z\"\/><polyline points=\"14 2 14 8 20 8\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"13\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"13\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"17\" x2=\"8\" y2=\"17\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Abstract                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"resume-105\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulusi, a Damascene commentator and defender of the Andalusian master Ibn Arabi, was the most prominent religious and literary figure of Ottoman Syria. His works include poetry collections, fatwas, treatises on oneiromancy, metaphysics, prophetology or theology, as well as four travel books. In these rihlas, which gather his experiences throughout his journeys between Egypt, Syria and the Hejaz, along with reflections prompted by an anecdote, a visit, or a vision, the author displays a peculiar approach to the buildings and sacred places that mark his journey. For Nabulusi and his travel companions, the tombs of Christian saints, biblical patriarchs, and even monasteries constitute places of veneration and contemplation. Besides incorporating sacred Christian sites into his travels\u2014which had a clear spiritual intention\u2014another distinguishing feature of Nabulusi's work is his description of landscape and architecture. For this author, the locations of certain buildings and the arrangement of their elements can be interpreted from a symbolic point of view, establishing analogies between distant places or between architecture and certain Sufi conceptualizations, etc. His vision of landscape and architecture goes beyond the principles of aesthetics and historical logic; one could say that for him, each element of the landscape or the city contains a teaching that must be decoded and that can be expressed, as is usual in Sufi language, in an apparently irrational and even paradoxical manner. Upon the real landscape, he superimposes a spiritual landscape.<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                            <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('bio-106', 'Maria Gracia L\u00f3pez Anguita', 'bio')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"8\" r=\"4\"\/><path d=\"M4 21v-1a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h8a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v1\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Biography                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"bio-106\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Gracia Lopez Anguita is a professor in the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Seville, where she teaches Arabic language and classical Arabic and Islamic thought. Holding a degree in Arabic philology from the University of Granada, she obtained a European doctorate in 2014 at Seville with a thesis on Ibn 'Arabi's treatise Uqlat al-mustawfiz, which received an Extraordinary Prize. Her research focuses on the thought of Ibn 'Arabi and his school. Her publications include Historia del Sufismo en Al-Andalus (2009) and Ibn Arabi y su epoca (2018). She was a visiting researcher in Tehran (2018) and at EPHE Paris (2021, 2022). She currently participates in an R&D&I project on cultural and religious identity in Sufism in Morocco and Senegal (hagiographies, gender, symbolism).<\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                                                <button type=\"button\" class=\"cordoue-trad-btn trad-validee\" onclick=\"cordoueOpenModal('trad-validee-107', 'Validated translation', 'traduction')\">\n                            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"14\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" style=\"vertical-align: -2px;\"><path d=\"M5 8l6 6\"\/><path d=\"M4 14l6-6 2-3\"\/><path d=\"M2 5h12\"\/><path d=\"M7 2h1\"\/><path d=\"M22 22l-5-10-5 10\"\/><path d=\"M14 18h6\"\/><\/svg>\n                            Validated translation                        <\/button>\n                        <div id=\"trad-validee-107\" style=\"display:none;\"><p><article>\n<header>\n<h2>Landscape and architecture as opportunities for contemplation and interfaith dialogue according to the travel accounts of the Sufi Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulusi (d. 1731 CE)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Mar\u00eda Gracia L\u00f3pez Anguita<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/header><\/p><p><p>Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulusi was one of the most prominent literary and religious figures in Ottoman Syria. His works include collections of poetry, fatwas, treatises on oneiromancy, metaphysics, prophetology and theology, as well as four travel books. He is well known as a commentator and defender of the Andalusian master Ibn Arabi. These rihlas recount his experiences during his travels through Egypt, Syria and the Hejaz, as well as the reflections prompted by an anecdote, a visit or a vision. The author displays a particular approach to the sacred buildings and places that mark his journey.<\/p><\/p><p><p>I will first address the presence of non-Islamic shrines in Nabulusi's travel literature, especially his Rihla al-Kubra, the journey he made between 1693 and 1694 AD, leaving Damascus and crossing Syria to the Lebanese coast, Palestine, Egypt and the \u1e24ij\u0101z, where it ended with a pilgrimage to Mecca. For Nabulusi and his travelling companions, the tombs of Christian saints, biblical patriarchs, and even Christian monasteries were places of veneration and contemplation. In general terms, as illustrated by the fragments of this ri\u1e25la on Jaffa and Bethlehem, Nabulusi and his companions were well received by Christians. It is also worth mentioning the significant example of Sepphoris, in Galilee, where they were welcomed with honours by the Christian population.<\/p><\/p><p><p>It should be noted that N\u0101bulus\u012b pays homage and recites prayers of supplication at the tombs of the Jewish prophets Levi, Reuben, and Rachel, mother of Joseph, who are barely present in Islamic tradition and do not appear in the Qur'an. From an urban and architectural point of view, these tombs, despite supposedly housing important figures, were located in rural areas and were relatively discreet constructions, as can be deduced from the absence of any description of them in this work: They usually highlight the dome in the distance and in all of them they recite the fatiha and make a supplication, that is, they are treated by them as places of devotion.<\/p><\/p><p><p>Syria and the caves around Damascus, which had become a place of pilgrimage during the Middle Ages, also feature prominently in this ri\u1e25la. As James Grehan states: 'In several stretches along the Mediterranean coast, generations of mystics had carved cells into the cliffs, where they lived and meditated. Later, pilgrims preserved them as sacred shrines.\" Of particular interest is the maq\u0101m of Abraham in the city of Barza (near Damascus), considered the place where, according to the Qur'an, the patriarch saw a star\u2014presumably Venus\u2014to which he went, thinking it was a deity. This enclave already had an ancient connection with Jewish tradition: \"The Talmud mentions more than ten villages around Damascus where Jews resided, including Jawba, \u1e24ova, Kokheva, Kefar Avraham, Kefar Karinos, Rom, Beit Anas, Aratris, Ifarkoris, Sakhuta, etc. Of these, there is information in Jewish and Islamic sources about the sacred sites of Kefar Avraham (in Arabic, Maq\u0101m Ibrahim) and Jawbar. The former, known to Muslims and Jews as Barza in the Islamic period, is located east of the \u1e62\u0101li\u1e25\u012bya neighbourhood, on Mount Q\u0101\u1e63iy\u016bn, and housed the shrine of the prophet Abraham.<\/p><\/p><p><p>Nabulusi recounts the custom of offering prayers of supplication at the place where Abraham addressed that astral deity: \"I met some sheikhs who had gone there and were standing offering a supererogatory prayer to God, considered beneficial for a hardened and sinful heart. One of these sheikhs came from Mecca and prayed at the place above the crack in the mountain, the place from where Abraham was said to have seen the star (other authors record that it is the place where he hid from King Nimrod), apparently in a dream.\"<\/p><\/p><p><p>What is remarkable here is the spiritual continuity given to a place by different religions, as well as the updating of rituals, even pagan ones: I am referring to the curious custom of replicating Abraham's action by addressing an astral deity, which Muslim visitors carried out but, logically, addressing God.<\/p><\/p><p><p>This open attitude towards other religions that N\u0101bulus\u012b displayed, typical of his Akbari Sufism, which fostered an atmosphere of brotherhood wherever he went, was not the general trend in other almost contemporary Sufi ri\u1e25las (such as that written by the Moroccan al-\u02bdAyy\u0101sh\u012b, 1628-1679 AD), in which the author shows his refusal, for example, to enter the tomb of Jonah because it is a Christian shrine, a place that, N\u0101bulus\u012b nevertheless visited and admired.<\/p><\/p><p><p>The tombs of Jonah and his father, which N\u0101bulus\u012b locates in Hebron, and the popular customs associated with them, are also the subject of attention here. The cult of Jonah was widespread in various parts of Palestine, and there were pilgrimage shrines associated with him in Galilee, Judea, and Edom. N\u0101bulus\u012b points out the duplication and confusion regarding the places attributed to the same prophet\u2014Jonah, in this case\u2014but always accepts the popular consensus on the sacredness of a place. The tomb of Amitai was so respected by the locals and even people from other villages that, according to Nabulusi, when they want to make a solemn oath to someone, they take that person to his tomb and do not break the oath even if it costs them their lives.<\/p><\/p><p><p>As for the places attributed to Jesus and Mary, N\u0101bulus\u012b had already visited the oratory identified as the birthplace of Jesus (mahd \u02bdIs\u00e0) two years earlier, located in a cave in \u1e24aram al-Shar\u012bf, in Jerusalem. According to his account in Al-\u1e24a\u1e0dra al-unsiyya, he prayed there with his companions. Other authors place in Jerusalem not only the cradle of Jesus and the oratory (mi\u1e25rab) to which Mary retired according to Islamic tradition, but also the palm tree under which she gave birth. They later visited the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, considered by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus. It was in this Christian temple, and not in the one that Islamic tradition identifies as the cradle of Jesus in Jerusalem, that Nabulusi went in search of the baraka (sic) of Jesus.<\/p><\/p><p><p>Nabulusi is well aware of the duplication of sacred sites and contradictory historical narratives and data, but rather than confronting them, he accepts the local consensus regarding the sacredness of a place. He focuses on what he experiences in a place or the lessons he learns from his time there.<\/p><\/p><p><p>In Nazareth, another predominantly Christian enclave, al-N\u0101bulus\u012b seems to confuse the name of its inhabitants with that of the followers of the early Christian sect of the Nazarenes\/Nazoreans. This passage alludes to the apocryphal Gospel of Peter, which focuses on the figure of Mary, and seems to refer to this Judeo-Christian group.<\/p><\/p><p><p>Visits and stays in Christian monasteries are also noteworthy in this regard. For example, the Coptic Orthodox community of Saint Thecla (Saint Thecla was a saint converted to Christianity by Saint Paul) in Maalula (Syria). The Armenian monastery in Jaffa where they were welcomed, or the Franciscan order in Bethlehem, which proved to be an inspiring experience for Nabulusi:<\/p><\/p><p><p>In Bethlehem, they visited the Church of the Nativity on Christmas Day and were welcomed by the monks of the Franciscan monastery. Nabulusi listened, impressed, to an organ, which he described as 'as if nightingales, hoopoes and blackbirds were singing'. He quoted some verses by Afif al-Din Tilimsani (d. 1291) in which he describes an ecstatic vigil in which compares the song of a nightingale to the sound of an organ.<\/p><\/p><p><p>There are other places -such as the monastery of Zion, where David's tomb is located and where they are welcomed by the Palestinian Muslim family entrusted by the Ottomans with protecting the site- [On these issues, I refer you to the recently published book Abd al Gani al-Nabulusi: a bilingual reader.]<\/p><\/p><p><p>The second feature -apart from the interreligious one- of Nabulusi's rihlas that I wanted to address here and that distinguishes Nabulusi's work is his description of the landscape and architecture. For this author, the location of some buildings and the arrangement of their elements can be interpreted from a symbolic point of view: See the pamphlet dedicated to the tomb of Ibn Arabi (Al-Sirr al-mukhtab\u012b f\u012b \u1e0dar\u012b\u1e25 ibn al-\u02bfArab\u012b), studied by Samer Akkach, in which he interprets the allegorical meaning of the mosque, crypt and garden that make up this complex. Or the analogies he establishes between distant sacred places, as in Al-hadrat al-unsiyya (in which he equates Jerusalem\/Mecca, Jenin\/Medina, Hebron\/Mount Arafat, etc.) or the relationship between the landscape and buildings with certain Sufi conceptualisations (see Al-hadrat al-unsiyya on the al-Sahira cemetery in Jerusalem: according to his description, it was located at the top of the hill of the same name, at the foot of which there was a zawiya of the Adhamiyya brotherhood built in a cave called Al-Katt\u0101n.<\/p><\/p><p><p>The cave was located directly beneath the cemetery and was the same size as it, which, according to al-N\u0101bulus\u012b, exemplified the saying 'the living are beneath the dead'. Furthermore, these three spaces symbolise the three realms of existence: the mundane in the monastery, the barzakh in the cemetery, and the afterlife that will manifest itself in that place at the end of time \u2013 according to the hadith al-Sahira, it will be the scene of the resurrection and the Judgment.<\/p><\/p><p><p>Conclusions advanced in the summary of this paper: His vision of landscape and architecture goes beyond the principles of aesthetics and historical logic; it can be said that, for him, each element of the landscape or the city contains a lesson that must be decoded and that can be expressed, as is customary in Sufi language, in an apparently irrational, even paradoxical way. He superimposes a spiritual landscape onto the real landscape.<\/p>\n<\/article><\/p><\/div>\n                    \n                                        \n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" >\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\">4pm-4:30pm<\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Discussion with the audience            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" >\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\">4:30pm-5pm<\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Panel summaries by PLURIEL scholarship students            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" >\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\">5pm-5:30pm<\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Closing of the congress            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n\n<hr \/>\n\n<div style=\"height: 50px;\"><\/div>\n\n<h4 id=\"jour-samedi\" style=\"margin-bottom:18px\">Saturday, February 14, 2026<\/h4>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/maps.app.goo.gl\/jkzrNukbEE8R7ybQ6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"prog-lieu\"><span class=\"prog-lieu-icon\">\ud83d\udccd<\/span> Meeting point for departure \u2013 Avenida Fray Albino, 1<\/a>\n\n        <div id=\"prog-cong-type-1\" >\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-heure\"><\/div>\n            <div id=\"prog-cong-titre\" >\n                Excursion to Granada: Guided tour of the Alhambra (full day)            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n<!-- Encadr\u00e9 essentiels Alhambra -->\n<div style=\"display:block !important;clear:both;width:100%;box-sizing:border-box;margin:12px 0 20px 0;padding:16px 18px;background:#fdf2f2;border:2px solid #c0392b;border-radius:12px;\">\n    <!-- Pi\u00e8ce d'identit\u00e9 -->\n    <div style=\"display:flex !important;align-items:flex-start;gap:10px;margin-bottom:12px;\">\n        <span style=\"font-size:1.5em;line-height:1;flex-shrink:0;\">\ud83d\udd34<\/span>\n        <div style=\"min-width:0;\">\n            <strong style=\"color:#64161b;font-size:1.05em;\">Passport \/ ID card required<\/strong><br>\n            <span style=\"font-size:0.95em;\">You must bring the <strong>passport<\/strong> or <strong>ID card whose number you provided to Pluriel<\/strong>. This number is printed on your entry ticket: <strong>only this exact document<\/strong> will grant you access to the Alhambra.<\/span>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <hr style=\"border:none;border-top:1px solid #e0c8c8;margin:10px 0;\">\n    <!-- Horaire + Lieu -->\n    <div style=\"display:flex !important;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:12px;\">\n        <div style=\"flex:1 1 120px;min-width:120px;background:white;border-radius:8px;padding:12px 14px;text-align:center;border:1px solid #e0c8c8;\">\n            <div style=\"font-size:0.8em;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:0.05em;color:#888;margin-bottom:4px;\">Meeting time<\/div>\n            <div style=\"font-size:1.8em;font-weight:800;color:#c0392b;line-height:1.1;\">8h15<\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        <div style=\"flex:2 1 180px;min-width:180px;background:white;border-radius:8px;padding:12px 14px;display:flex !important;align-items:center;gap:8px;border:1px solid #e0c8c8;\">\n            <span style=\"font-size:1.3em;flex-shrink:0;\">\ud83d\udccd<\/span>\n            <div style=\"min-width:0;\">\n                <div style=\"font-size:0.8em;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:0.05em;color:#888;margin-bottom:2px;\">Departure point<\/div>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/maps.app.goo.gl\/jkzrNukbEE8R7ybQ6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:#64161b;font-weight:600;text-decoration:none;\">Avenida Fray Albino, 1<\/a>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<!-- D\u00e9tails compl\u00e9mentaires -->\n<div style=\"display:block !important;clear:both;width:100%;box-sizing:border-box;margin:0 0 20px 0;padding:0 10px;\">\n<ul>\n    <li><strong>Return:<\/strong> Departure from Granada at 5:15pm for arrival around 8:00pm in C\u00f3rdoba.<\/li>\n    <li><strong>Note:<\/strong> Free time in the afternoon after the visit until return.<\/li>\n    <li><strong>Groups:<\/strong> You will be divided into three groups and given the name of your group leader. For organizational reasons, please respect this assignment.<\/li>\n    <li>\ud83d\uddfa\ufe0f <a href=\"https:\/\/www.alhambra.org\/fr\/cartes-plans-alhambra.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alhambra map<\/a><\/li>\n    <li>\ud83d\ude8c <strong>Sunday morning bus:<\/strong> A bus <strong>C\u00f3rdoba \u2192 Madrid Airport<\/strong> will depart at <strong style=\"color:#c0392b;\">6:00 AM<\/strong>. Bus stop: Paseo de la Victoria, 33 \u2013 C\u00f3rdoba. Cost: <strong>\u20ac70<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<hr \/>\n\n<!-- Modal Agenda -->\n<div id=\"agenda-modal\" class=\"agenda-modal-overlay\" onclick=\"if(event.target===this)closeAgendaModal()\">\n    <div class=\"agenda-modal\">\n        <div class=\"agenda-modal-header\">\n            <h2 class=\"agenda-modal-title\">\n                <svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"currentColor\"><path d=\"M17 12h-5v5h5v-5zM16 1v2H8V1H6v2H5c-1.11 0-1.99.9-1.99 2L3 19c0 1.1.89 2 2 2h14c1.1 0 2-.9 2-2V5c0-1.1-.9-2-2-2h-1V1h-2zm3 18H5V8h14v11z\"\/><\/svg>\n                Add the congress agenda to your calendar            <\/h2>\n            <button type=\"button\" class=\"agenda-modal-close-btn\" onclick=\"closeAgendaModal()\"><span class=\"close-text\">Close<\/span><span class=\"close-icon\">\u2715<\/span><\/button>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"agenda-modal-body\">\n\n            <p>You can automatically add all events from the <em>Pluriel<\/em> Congress in Cordoba to your personal calendar. The agenda will update automatically if the program changes.<\/p>\n\n            <div class=\"agenda-url-box\">\n                <span class=\"agenda-url-box-label\">Agenda URL<\/span>\n                <span id=\"agenda-url-display\">https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/agenda-en.php<\/span>\n                <br>\n                <button class=\"agenda-copy-btn\" onclick=\"copyAgendaUrl(this)\">\n                    Copy URL                <\/button>\n            <\/div>\n\n            <!-- Google Agenda -->\n            <h2>\ud83d\udcc5 Google Agenda (Gmail)<\/h2>\n            <div class=\"agenda-steps\">\n                <ol>\n                    <li>Open <a href=\"https:\/\/calendar.google.com\" target=\"_blank\">Google Calendar<\/a> on your computer<\/li>\n                    <li>In the left menu, click on the <strong>+<\/strong> next to \"Other calendars\"<\/li>\n                    <li>Select <strong>\"From URL\"<\/strong><\/li>\n                    <li>Paste the URL above<\/li>\n                    <li>Click on <strong>\"Add calendar\"<\/strong><\/li>\n                <\/ol>\n            <\/div>\n            <div class=\"agenda-tip\">\n                \ud83d\udca1 The calendar will appear in the \"Other calendars\" section. Synchronization may take a few minutes. Google updates external calendars every 12 to 24 hours.            <\/div>\n\n            <!-- Apple Calendar -->\n            <h2>\ud83c\udf4e Apple Calendar (iPhone, iPad, Mac)<\/h2>\n            <h3>On iPhone or iPad<\/h3>\n            <div class=\"agenda-steps\">\n                <ol>\n                    <li>Open the <strong>Settings<\/strong> app<\/li>\n                    <li>Scroll down and tap <strong>Calendar<\/strong><\/li>\n                    <li>Tap <strong>Accounts<\/strong> then <strong>Add Account<\/strong><\/li>\n                    <li>Select <strong>Other<\/strong><\/li>\n                    <li>Tap <strong>Add Subscribed Calendar<\/strong><\/li>\n                    <li>Paste the URL above<\/li>\n                    <li>Tap <strong>Next<\/strong> then <strong>Save<\/strong><\/li>\n                <\/ol>\n            <\/div>\n\n            <h3>On Mac<\/h3>\n            <div class=\"agenda-steps\">\n                <ol>\n                    <li>Open the <strong>Calendar<\/strong> app<\/li>\n                    <li>In the menu, click <strong>File<\/strong> \u2192 <strong>New Calendar Subscription...<\/strong><\/li>\n                    <li>Paste the URL above<\/li>\n                    <li>Click <strong>Subscribe<\/strong><\/li>\n                    <li>Choose the update frequency and click <strong>OK<\/strong><\/li>\n                <\/ol>\n            <\/div>\n\n            <!-- Outlook -->\n            <h2>\ud83d\udce7 Microsoft Outlook<\/h2>\n            <h3>Outlook.com (Web)<\/h3>\n            <div class=\"agenda-steps\">\n                <ol>\n                    <li>Sign in to <a href=\"https:\/\/outlook.live.com\/calendar\" target=\"_blank\">Outlook.com<\/a><\/li>\n                    <li>Click <strong>Add calendar<\/strong> (in the left panel)<\/li>\n                    <li>Select <strong>Subscribe from web<\/strong><\/li>\n                    <li>Paste the URL above<\/li>\n                    <li>Give the calendar a name (e.g., \"Pluriel Congress\")<\/li>\n                    <li>Click <strong>Import<\/strong><\/li>\n                <\/ol>\n            <\/div>\n\n            <h3>Outlook (Windows\/Mac App)<\/h3>\n            <div class=\"agenda-steps\">\n                <ol>\n                    <li>Open Outlook and go to <strong>Calendar<\/strong><\/li>\n                    <li>Click <strong>Add<\/strong> \u2192 <strong>From Internet...<\/strong><\/li>\n                    <li>Paste the URL above<\/li>\n                    <li>Click <strong>OK<\/strong> and confirm the subscription<\/li>\n                <\/ol>\n            <\/div>\n\n            <!-- Import manuel -->\n            <h2>\ud83d\udce5 Manual import (file download)<\/h2>\n            <p>If you prefer a one-time import (without automatic updates):<\/p>\n            <div class=\"agenda-steps\">\n                <ol>\n                    <li>Click this link to download the file: <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/agenda-en.php\" download=\"congres-pluriel-2026.ics\">Download agenda (.ics)<\/a><\/li>\n                    <li>Open the downloaded file with your calendar app<\/li>\n                    <li>Confirm the import of events<\/li>\n                <\/ol>\n            <\/div>\n            <div class=\"agenda-warning\">\n                \u26a0\ufe0f With this method, your calendar will not update automatically if the program changes. Prefer the URL subscription.            <\/div>\n\n            <!-- FAQ -->\n            <h2>Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n\n            <p><strong>Events not showing immediately?<\/strong><br>\n            Synchronization may take a few minutes to a few hours depending on your app. Google Calendar, for example, updates external calendars every 12 to 24 hours.<\/p>\n\n            <p><strong>Can I edit events in my calendar?<\/strong><br>\n            No, subscribed calendars are read-only. This ensures you always have the official version of the program.<\/p>\n\n            <p><strong>How to remove the calendar?<\/strong><br>\n            In your calendar app, right-click (or long-press on mobile) on the \"Pluriel Congress\" calendar and select \"Unsubscribe\" or \"Delete\".<\/p>\n\n            <p><strong>Is the time zone correct?<\/strong><br>\n            Yes, all times are in Cordoba time (Europe\/Madrid). Your calendar app will automatically convert them if you are in a different time zone.<\/p>\n\n            <hr style=\"margin-top: 30px; border: none; border-top: 1px solid #ddd;\">\n            <p style=\"text-align: center; color: #666; font-size: 14px;\">\n                Pluriel Congress in Cordoba<br>February 10-14, 2026            <\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<script>\nvar agendaUrl = 'https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/agenda-en.php';\nvar copyBtnTexts = {\n    copy: 'Copy URL',\n    copied: 'Copied!'\n};\n\n\/\/ ===== Bouton \"Maintenant\" \u2013 Navigation vers le panel en cours =====\n(function() {\n    function getCordoueTime() {\n        \/\/ Heure de Cordoue (Europe\/Madrid)\n        var s = new Date().toLocaleString('en-US', {timeZone: 'Europe\/Madrid'});\n        return new Date(s);\n    }\n\n    \/\/ Cr\u00e9neaux par jour : {date, dayAnchor, slots:[{min, id}]}\n    var schedule = [\n        {\n            date: '2026-02-10', anchor: 'jour-mardi',\n            slots: [] \/\/ Soir\u00e9e inaugurale, pas de cr\u00e9neaux d\u00e9taill\u00e9s\n        },\n        {\n            date: '2026-02-11', anchor: 'jour-mercredi',\n            slots: [\n                {min: 600,  id: 'axe1-panel1'},     \/\/ 10h00\n                {min: 735,  id: 'axe1-panel2-s1'},   \/\/ 12h15\n                {min: 930,  id: 'axe1-panel3-s1'}    \/\/ 15h30\n            ]\n        },\n        {\n            date: '2026-02-12', anchor: 'jour-jeudi',\n            slots: [\n                {min: 630,  id: 'axe2-panel1'},     \/\/ 10h30\n                {min: 750,  id: 'axe2-panel2-s1'},   \/\/ 12h30\n                {min: 930,  id: 'axe2-panel3-s1'}    \/\/ 15h30\n            ]\n        },\n        {\n            date: '2026-02-13', anchor: 'jour-vendredi',\n            slots: [\n                {min: 570,  id: 'axe3-panel1'},     \/\/ 9h30\n                {min: 690,  id: 'axe3-panel2-s1'},   \/\/ 11h30\n                {min: 900,  id: 'axe3-panel3-s1'}    \/\/ 15h00\n            ]\n        }\n    ];\n\n    function getTodaySchedule() {\n        var now = getCordoueTime();\n        var y = now.getFullYear();\n        var m = String(now.getMonth() + 1).padStart(2, '0');\n        var d = String(now.getDate()).padStart(2, '0');\n        var dateStr = y + '-' + m + '-' + d;\n        for (var i = 0; i < schedule.length; i++) {\n            if (schedule[i].date === dateStr) return {entry: schedule[i], now: now};\n        }\n        return null;\n    }\n\n    \/\/ Afficher le bouton si on est un jour de congr\u00e8s (10-13 f\u00e9v 2026)\n    var today = getTodaySchedule();\n    if (today) {\n        var btn = document.getElementById('prog-btn-now');\n        if (btn) btn.style.setProperty('display', 'inline-flex', 'important');\n    }\n\n    window.goToNow = function() {\n        var today = getTodaySchedule();\n        if (!today) return;\n\n        var entry = today.entry;\n        var now = today.now;\n        var currentMin = now.getHours() * 60 + now.getMinutes();\n        var targetId = entry.anchor;\n\n        \/\/ Trouver le dernier cr\u00e9neau d\u00e9j\u00e0 commenc\u00e9\n        for (var i = entry.slots.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {\n            if (currentMin >= entry.slots[i].min) {\n                targetId = entry.slots[i].id;\n                break;\n            }\n        }\n\n        var el = document.getElementById(targetId);\n        if (el) {\n            el.scrollIntoView({behavior: 'smooth', block: 'start'});\n        }\n    };\n})();\n\nfunction openAgendaModal() {\n    document.getElementById('agenda-modal').classList.add('active');\n    document.body.style.overflow = 'hidden';\n}\n\nfunction closeAgendaModal() {\n    document.getElementById('agenda-modal').classList.remove('active');\n    document.body.style.overflow = '';\n}\n\nfunction copyAgendaUrl(btn) {\n    navigator.clipboard.writeText(agendaUrl).then(function() {\n        btn.textContent = copyBtnTexts.copied;\n        setTimeout(function() {\n            btn.textContent = copyBtnTexts.copy;\n        }, 2000);\n    });\n}\n\ndocument.addEventListener('keydown', function(e) {\n    if (e.key === 'Escape') closeAgendaModal();\n});\n<\/script>\n\n<script>\n\/\/ Rafra\u00eechissement automatique toutes les 60 minutes\nsetTimeout(function(){ location.reload(); }, 60 * 60 * 1000);\n<\/script>\n\n\n<style>\r\n\thtml {\r\n    scroll-behavior: smooth;\r\n}\r\n\t\r\n\theader#headerScroll {\r\n    display: none;\r\n}\r\n\t\r\n\t@media screen and (min-width: 990px) {\r\n\t\t.sticky .menu-container {\r\n\t\tdisplay:none;\r\n\t\t}}\r\n\t.header-fuce-fiuc {\r\n    background-color: #64161b!important;\r\n}\r\n\t.header-res, .header-res .wpml-ls-link {\r\n    background-color: #540f14 !important;\r\n}\r\n\ta{color:#b80611}\r\n\t.page-template-container {width:90%;}\r\n\th2.page-template-title {\r\n    display: none;\r\n}\r\n\t.wp-block-separator {border-top: 2px solid #64161b;}\r\n\t@media (max-width: 990px) {\r\n\t\t.main-navigation 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