Papers of Dialogue - 3 - 2013 - English

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July - September 2013 M A G A Z I N E

INTERVIEW WITH PIETRO GRASSO President of Italy's Senate

JAMAL TASLAQ The Cosmopolitan Language of Fashion

AL-JABRI'S LEGACY Beyond Orientalism

ISMEO A Bridge to Knowledge

THE CHALLENGE OF INTEGRATION

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July - September 2013 M A G A Z I N E

INTERVIEW WITH PIETRO GRASSO President of Italy's Senate

JAMAL TASLAQ The Cosmopolitan Language of Fashion

TABLE OF CONTENTS 03 Editorial Roberto Iadicicco

AL-JABRI'S LEGACY Beyond Orientalism

THE CHALLENGE OF INTEGRATION www.papersofdialogue.com

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04 Integration: an opportunity for democracy Interview with Pietro Grasso, President of the Italian Senate

Roberto Iadicicco

his new issue of Papers of Dialogue explores some of the challenges and opportunities offered by “integration”, a term which often refers to two closely related issues. On the one hand, it indicates the need to integrate ethnic and religious minorities; on the other, it alludes to economic integration among different countries. These two phenomena are interdependent, and they both have an important, underlying, cultural dimension. On the whole, what is at stake is the necessity of “opening up” our societies, and not only their economies, thus taking on all the challenges posed by the processes of globalization.

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08 The Mediterranean of the future Interview with Khalid Chaouki Daniel Atzori 12 European Muslims: incentives to integration Mohammed el-Bachouti

Papers of Dialogue: no 3 July-September 2013

Editor in chief:

17 Halal Italia: certifying excellence Interview with Hamid Roberto Distefano Jalal Sabir

ROBERTO IADICICCO Editor in chief

Roberto Iadicicco

Editorial team coordinator: Daniel Atzori

Marketing & Communication: Laura Brunetti (Coordinator), Marina Ranieri

Photography: www.123rf.com (18,19,20,40,42) www.pictures.reuters.com (cover, 12,15,38 ) www.corbis.com (41 )

Editing and production: AGI – Via Ostiense, 72 – 00154 Rome – Italy papersofdialogue@agi.it

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20 Bahrain, a country of religious tolerance Rev. Hani Aziz 22 The cosmopolitan language of fashion Interview with Jamal Taslaq Jalal Sabir

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Cultures 27 IsMEO, a bridge to knowledge Interview with Professor Marco Mancini Daniel Atzori 32 Beyond Orientalism: the legacy of Muhammad Abed al-Jabri Noureddine Teniou 38 The spiritual meaning of giving Giulio Sapelli

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Translation services: Lotus Translation Services Roma Congressi

42 The value of dialogue Habeeb Al Sadr

Publisher AGI SPA: Chairman: Massimo Mondazzi CEO: Gianni Di Giovanni General Director: Alessandro Pica AGI – Via Ostiense, 72 – 00154 Rome – Italy www.agi.it www.agi.it/english-home www.agiarab.com

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In this respect, in an exclusive interview with our magazine, Pietro Grasso, the President of the Italian Senate, analyzes the important role of migrants and the “new Italians” in the socio-economic and cultural life of the country.

What is more, he advocates a more intense cooperation among Mediterranean countries, in order to foster development and democracy.

These topics are further examined by Khalid Chaouki, an Italian Member of Parliament of Moroccan origins, who highlights the importance of promoting inter-religious dialogue and mutual knowledge in the Mediterranean, a sea which should be seen as a culturally unifying, and not divisive, element.

Later on, Mohammed el-Bachouti, a scholar on Muslim integration and identity in Europe, maintains in his article that equal political representation is essential so that also European Muslims can feel that they are complete members of society. We also host a contribution of Rev. Hani Aziz, a Christian pastor, who narrates us his experience in Bahrain, portrayed as a model of religious tolerance. But integration and mutual understanding can be realized also through beauty, as stylist Jamal Taslaq argues in his interview.

Editorial

ISMEO A Bridge to Knowledge

As always, our section dedicated to ‘cultures’ offers a wide range of interesting topics. Professor Marco Mancini, President of the Italian Institute for Africa and the Orient (IsMEO), narrates us the history of an organization which has been a pioneer in cultural dialogue, and explains its perspectives for the future. Moreover, Noureddine Teniou, Professor at the University of Constantine, in Algeria, explores the legacy of one of the most important Arab intellectuals of the XX century, Muhammad Abed al-Jabri, who deconstructed the concept of Orientalism and proposed new ways forward for Arab thought. Furthermore, leading Italian intellectual and economist Giulio Sapelli reflects on the spiritual meaning of giving, and on the importance of non-profit organizations. Last but not least, Habeeb al-Sadr, Ambassador of Iraq to the Holy See, maintains that dialogue is the way to overcome today’s crises; and it is with this message of hope that we wish you a good reading.

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Integration which are estimated to amount to 400,000 – are key to re-launching the Italian economy. Also in our politics, during this legislature, we took important steps forward, with MPs elected among secondgenerations and a minister, Cécile Kyenge, who is an Italian citizen of Congolese origin.

Do you think that the integration and inclusion of “new Italians”, meaning thereby the children of foreigners living in Italy, can contribute to expanding and further enhancing democracy?

Absolutely; in my previous role as National AntiMafia General Attorney, I have met thousands of students, many of whom were of foreign origins.

They are extremely focused, educated; they attend courses on legal issues, they engage in volunteer work and take an active role in politics. The coming together of cultures and traditions that we witness every day in all Italian schools can only enrich and strengthen the young students’ curiosity and a culture of respect, preparing all students – Italian, immigrants, second-generations – to live as citizens of a globalised world.

Palazzo Madama, home of the Senate of the Italian Republic

Interview with Pietro Grasso, President of the Italian Senate

Integration: an opportunity for democracy Roberto Iadicicco

The contribution of migrants and the ‘new Italians’ is crucial for the social, economic and cultural life of the country. This is particularly important in a moment in which Italy is engaged in consolidating and strengthening its cooperation with the countries of the Mediterranean and the Middle East, with the aim of fostering development and democracy. n your inauguration speech as Senate Speaker, you explicitly recalled immigrants who seek “a hope for the future” in Italy. In your opinion, how important is now the contribution of migrants to the socio-economic, political and cultural life of Italy?

In one word: it is fundamental. An interesting study

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conducted last year reveals that, although immigrants only represent 7.5% of the resident population, they contribute by over 12% to Italy’s GDP. Moreover, the work of foreigners residing in Italy does not replace but is complementary to the work of Italian citizens. The same study indicated that the new businesses started by immigrants –

During the Islamic feast of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the fasting period of Ramadan, you addressed your wishes to Muslims, saying that sharing the values of Islam, Christianity and Judaism “will enable us to remove the divide between East and West, giving us and our children a society free of discriminations”. What legislative initiatives can be put forward by the Italian Parliament to meet the challenges posed by integration, inclusion and inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue, with a view to fighting discrimination?

Despite this politically sensitive period, parliamentary initiatives on these issues are numerous, starting with the ongoing debate on the application of the principles of citizenship based on Ius soli and Ius culturae that was launched since the nomination of Cécile Kyenge as Integration Minister.

In this respect, many interesting considerations have been included in several bills of law presented. In addition, I have in mind a right of citizenship that might go beyond the concept of “being born in Italy”.

I personally think that, even if someone is not born in Italy, he/she can be entitled to citizenship, albeit on the basis of well-grounded rules. And, in this respect, all proposals will be scrutinised and assessed by Parliament. As to the dialogue between religions, Pope Francis has given us a great impetus recently

by gathering believers of all the monotheistic religions in St. Peter’s square, bearing testimony to the resolute common will to avoid the conflict in Syria. On the 4th of October, I participated in the mass celebrated in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of Italy, a day that, by no chance, also celebrates the “Day of Peace, Fraternity and Dialogue”. From this point of view, the Italian society is far more advanced than our current legislation and we will do our best to match up legal provisions to the widely shared feelings of the Italian people.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (AP-UFM) is considered to be the principal expression of the Union for the Mediterranean (UFM). How can you contribute to integrating the Mediterranean countries, especially in a complex historical phase such as the present one?

The Parliamentary Assembly constitutes a fundamental forum in which to assess EuroMediterranean guarantees provided by the Union for the Mediterranean. I am a convinced supporter of an ever-increasing cooperation between the countries of the Mediterranean, also through European Neighbourhood Policies, with a view to stabilising

Pietro Grasso, President of the Italian Senate

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the economies and societies of the countries bordering the southern shore of the Mediterranean, which have been shaken by sudden and radical changes during the last two-and-a-half years.

European countries have the precise task of escorting the Mediterranean countries towards development, democracy and individual rights, in full respect of the decisions taken by the local populations, while calling for politicians to take responsibility. Within this framework, Italy must shoulder a guiding and driving role, which is inborn in its culture for historical, geographical and cultural reasons.

The lawn in front of the Basilica of St Francis, Assisi

important factor in attracting investments. Markets are extremely sensitive to this. Those having at heart the good of the country should avoid jeopardising its international credibility for partisan political interests.

Lastly, I would like to acknowledge the valuable work carried out by the Italian Foreign Ministry that, through its network of 400 offices worldwide, greatly enhances the presence and projection of Italian excellence abroad, strongly contributing to attract foreign investments in Italy. Foreign Minister Emma Bonino rightly underscored that economic diplomacy is the Government’s “utmost priority” and is currently focusing on the fastest growing emerging markets in Asia, South America and SubSaharan Africa, while concomitantly consolidating relations with the Mediterranean area and with the more mature markets of the European Union and of the United States of America.

Seeing your decades-long experience in the struggle against the Mafia, at present, are there forms of cooperation between the Mediterranean countries to fight international organised crime? And how can these be made more effective?

The Mediterranean area is particularly exposed

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to being penetrated by transnational organised crime due to the fact that, in view of its geographic location, it is the gateway to Western markets and because of the institutional weaknesses determined by the dramatic events of these last few years.

Mafias take advantage of conflicts, instability, of the inefficiencies of security forces and of the judiciary, and of the differences in national legislations. Cooperation between Southern Mediterranean countries and between them and us is vital and must focus on developing normative and operating provisions as well as on implementing common strategies. Italy is renowned the world over for the resoluteness with which it tackled Mafias through ground-breaking legislation, albeit always respectful of individual rights, especially when this was targeted on striking the unlawful proceeds of criminal activities, as well as the special setup of its judicial investigative offices. As it has done for many years, Italy can represent a model also for the Mediterranean countries and offer specialised training and legislative and operational advice.

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Beachgoers rescue migrants in Pachino, Sicily

Right now, the Italian economy needs to attract foreign investments and to increase its exports.

In both cases, Middle Eastern countries represent ideal partners for Italy; what role can the Parliament play in making Italy more global?

To begin with, the Parliament contributes to internationalising the Italian economy through its legislative functions, by ratifying international treaties and monitoring Government policies. During my recent international missions and the state visits that I received in the Senate, I was surprised to realise that inter-parliamentary diplomacy can play a primary role, in synergy with the action of Government. Italy has great potentials thanks to its geographic position, the presence of production sectors of excellence, the availability of highly skilled labour and its tradition of innovation and creativity.

On the other hand however, greater efforts must go into improving efficiency and the timescale of civil justice, reduce the cost of labour and maintain political stability. The image of stability and seriousness that we project abroad is another

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The Parliamentary Assembly constitutes a fundamental forum in which to assess EuroMediterranean cooperation efforts substantiating the guarantees provided by the Union for the Mediterranean.

Do you think that your region of birth, namely Sicily, can be considered to be a positive model for welcoming and integrating immigrants, also by virtue of its millennial history and of its geographic location?

Sicily is a land historically accustomed to exchanges and is a meeting-point for migratory flows. Throughout the centuries, we have witnessed the passing of extremely diverse populations, from Arabs to Normans, and this has left an imprint.

Also at the time of the terrible tragedy that happened in the waters around the island of Lampedusa on the 3rd of October, in which hundreds of people lost their lives, we witnessed great proofs of solidarity, also from ordinary people.

It is evident however that, during dramatic international crises, neither Sicily nor Italy can be left alone to manage such enormous migratory flows: Europe can no longer postpone developing a serious common integration policy.

Roberto Iadicicco is AGI’s Editor in Chief.

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Khalida and their two sons, Adam and Ilyas, since 2008. In this exclusive interview to Papers of Dialogue, Honorable Khalid Chaouki talks about the new challenges posed by integration but also of cooperation efforts between Italy and the other Mediterranean countries.

Interview with Khalid Chaouki

The Mediterranean of the future Daniel Atzori

“New Italians”, the offspring of two or more cultures, are the spearhead of the Italy of tomorrow. Their role will be crucial in the construction of a Mediterranean which could truly become a laboratory of peaceful and productive co-habitation between people of different cultures, religions and languages.

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orn in Casablanca in 1983, Honorable Khalid Chaouki is today a member of the Italian Parliament, sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies and, as of April 2013, is Chairman of the PA-UfM (Parliamentary Assembly - Union for the Mediterranean) Culture Commission. Khalid Chaouki spent most of his childhood and adolescence in the Italian region of Emilia Romagna, studied in Bologna and worked in Naples. A professional journalist, he was also member of the Italian Advisory Committee for Islam (Consulta per l’Islam) established in the Ministry of the Interior and heads the national New Italians for the Democratic Party (Nuovi Italiani per il Partito Democratico) group. He has been living in Rome with his wife

Honorable Khalid Chaouki, a member of the Italian Parliament, with Honorable Laura Boldrini, President of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy

One of your most important battles concerns the awarding of citizenship to the children of immigrants born in Italy. Can you please explain the relevance of this initiative?

This is indeed the most important battle, also in the light of my own personal history, to which I am dedicating all my efforts. The core problem of this sensitive issue is to understand that the young people born in Italy of immigrant parents, or anybody who came to Italy at a very early age and spent his or her early schooling years in this country, becomes a true and lawful Italian. So, is there any sense in considering these young people foreigners and keeping them on the margin of civil life, depriving them of many citizenship rights, on the basis of obsolete legislation? We law-makers should be aware of this fact and that failure to take action could turn out to be divisive and generate a deep sense of disappointment and frustration among these young

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Italian-Algerian writer, Amara Lakhous

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Italy is a natural corridor towards Mediterranean countries and our political, cultural and economic diplomacy must seek and put its stakes on its relations with these countries.

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people and their families. And we should realize that we would also be damaging Italy, which needs their positive energy and skills.

What contribution could these “new Italians” make towards Italy’s development and, above all, towards strengthening its relations with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries?

The “new Italians”, the offspring of two or more cultures and multilingual from birth, are the spearhead of the Italy we all dream of and wish to be pluralistic. Italy is a natural corridor towards Mediterranean countries and our political, cultural and economic diplomacy must seek and put its stakes on its relations with these countries. Many youths, by virtue of their very nature, are a living synthesis between Italy and the Mediterranean; if catalyzed, their energies and skills could be made available to our country in order to facilitate exchanges, especially in this difficult economic crisis which gives scant perspectives of recovery. I have particularly at heart educational exchanges in the Euromed area, because it is in children’s schoolgoing age that building their future begins and that one learns to know the other directly, free from prejudice or cultural filters.

The Parliamentary Assembly – Union for the Mediterranean (AP-UpM) is formed by the parliamentary delegations of the 27 European Union Member-Countries, five European Mediterranean Basin Countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Principality of Monaco and Montenegro), the European Parliament and 11 Mediterranean Partner Countries (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Mauritania, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey).

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What are your objectives as Chairman of the Culture Commission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean?

I intend to put my best efforts into this Commission with a view to fostering relations between Italy, Europe and the Southern Mediterranean countries. I think there is room for improving our relations as many mistakes have been made in the past, for example with Libya. Our new relations must be grounded on dialogue and an open, transparent debate capable of enriching both us and them. This can and must be achieved by establishing new trade relations and through the unrelenting quest for interreligious dialogue and mutual knowledge through cultural initiatives and civil society networks. In a scenario such as this, the contribution of national lawmakers could be decisive in bringing together all the countries around the Mediterranean Basin, in a more informal forum of dialogue than what is customary between governments.

consider the capacity of these countries (especially Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia) to produce wealth, in order to focus cooperation efforts on generating employment in Italy and in the Mediterranean. Today, there are many European firms, many of which are Italian, that operate in these countries, employing local labor and transferring the knowhow necessary to re-launch these economies. Also the knowledge of different languages and cultures is crucial in this respect.

Turning now to the field of culture, are there writers or works that you would recommend to better understand the new multicultural Italy and Europe?

Many “new Italians” have skillfully narrated this changing Italy that perhaps has already changed. I am thinking of the wonderful film, Sta per piovere (It’s About to Rain), by the Italian-Iraqi director Haider Rashid. It is an intense and intelligent story about the inadequacy of our citizenship laws and their incapacity to keep in step with the times. We showed this film at the Chamber of Deputies last June in the presence of a vast public. I think that initiatives like this can contribute to remove barriers and to build a new culture of inclusion. I also have in mind the novels of the Italian-Algerian writer Amara Lakhous or the music of Amir and of numerous emerging groups of second-generation artists.

What are your relations with Morocco, your country of birth?

Morocco is my country of origin although, humanly and professionally, I grew up in Italy, the country that I love and for which I perform my role of parliamentarian with great enthusiasm. Having said this, my roots are there, and Morocco will always be inside me. I am sure that this part of me is key in seeing Italy from a different perspective, perhaps more multi-faceted and surely more pluralistic. This “mix” enables me to work efficiently in building the future of our increasingly multi-ethnic and culturally varied country. I feel privileged to have this gift: if plurality is put at the service of others, it is always an asset. I think there is ample room for collaboration between Italy and Morocco, a country that is the custodian of an extraordinary civilization and now a model of stability and peace for numerous other countries in the region.

What kind of cooperation model would you like to see between Europe and the Southern Mediterranean countries?

The Mediterranean Sea is, by virtue of its very nature, a culturally unifying and not divisive element, in addition to being the geographic and ethnic connection between the two shores. Europe should first and foremost understand the importance of correctly managing migration flows, albeit with the necessary collaboration of North African countries.

We need a new cooperation model that might

How do you imagine the Mediterranean of the future?

For centuries, the two shores of the Mediterranean had contradictory relations, wavering between reciprocal hostility and tolerance. Now, in an increasingly interconnected world in which nations are not capable of guaranteeing their citizens’ prosperity and well-being on their own, the Mediterranean could be the first real “laboratory of peaceful and productive co-habitation” between people of different cultures, religions and languages.

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“Sta per piovere” (It’s about to rain) is a movie released in 2013 and directed by Haider Rashid, a 28 years-old filmmaker born in Florence of an Iraqi father and an Italian mother. It tells the story of Said, a 26 years-old man born and raised in Italy, son of Algerian parents, who studies and works as a part-time baker.

After the suicide of his father’s boss, his family cannot anymore renew their residency visa. Said, therefore, risks to be expelled from Italy and to be sent to Algeria, a country which he has never even visited. Thus, Said embarks on an odyssey, facing the dilemma on whether to stay in Italy as an illegal immigrant or to go to Algeria.

The movie raises important issues about identity, belonging and citizenship in today’s multicultural Europe. Italian movie critic Maurizio Porro wrote about it on Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera: “A honest and civil movie, which remains inside also after the screening, tomorrow and after, giving back to cinema an ethical creed which transforms itself into a debate which concerns all of us”. The movie has been presented, among the others, at the Dubai International Film Festival and at the Seattle International Film Festival.

I think that the peoples bordering the shores of this sea are ready to look at each other differently for the first time, aware of the need to cooperate on increasingly multi-layered and more deep-reaching levels. It is now up to governments to understand this and work to achieve it. The first signs of this trend are already in place and I will never stop believing in the modernity of this forward-looking project: the Mediterranean seen as a single region composed of numerous identities bound together by multiple common factors. This will be our strength for the near future if we succeed at intensifying the cooperation between the peoples of this extraordinary region.

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Daniel Atzori is the Editorial Team Coordinator of Papers of Dialogue.

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European Muslims: incentives to integration

Mohammed el-Bachouti

The number of European Muslims grew steadily in the last decades. It is now time to provide real incentives to integration, such as guaranteeing them equal political representation, in order to make them complete members of society.

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hen the topic of Muslims in Europe is treated, it is easy to delve into snippets of information gathered in the news. Events encircling Muslims, such as the radical rhetoric of some imams in a Spanish village on the outskirts of Barcelona, are disruptive news items for media to comment on while simultaneously discarding the overwhelming majority of speeches given in other mosques promoting tolerance. For media-hungry spectators and those searching for a sensational story, it is fertile ground for contemplating the connection between Islam and the impossibility of accepting the existence of Muslims in Europe. It is also fairly common for Muslims themselves to come to these conclusions, especially those who live outside Europe and who look at European Muslims as those who practice Islam differently, sometimes

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Malika Benarab-Attou, French politician and member of the Culture and Education Committee of the European Parliament

Political belonging, representation, and appointment to critical political posts are essential incentives for accomplished European Muslims, in order to break the barrier in which this minority feels limited and marginalized.

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deeming their practices as irrational because they simply strive to maintain a spiritual belonging at all costs. Given the focus the media has placed on the Arab world in recent years, especially when it comes to the coverage of radical speeches rather than projected models of tolerance and integration condoned by Muslims minorities in Europe, as my observation suggests, it adds fuel to the fire of this image of fundamentalism. Even with a tolerant depiction of these issues, the integration of a new society into an existing one remains a challenging task. Understanding European Muslims and their interests is a complicated assignment for Europeans and other global audiences alike.

European Muslims encompass diverse ethnic, religious, and cultural markers of identity.

Moroccans and Turkish descendants, for instance, do not attend the same mosques for linguistic and cultural differences, and espouse a vision of integration that is quite distinctive, and proportional to their different historical presence and its formation in Europe. Additionally, the community as a whole is growing steadily. The Pew Forum reports that Muslims in Europe have grown from 29.6 million in 1990 to 44.1 million in 2010, and the sum is expected to reach 58 million by 2030. The difference between the religiosity and the shape of practices between generations is also salient. Nonetheless, in order to fully grasp these distinctions, it is only fair to look at the basic

role of the society in question and realize that at the nucleus of such a structure, the individual is a human being with needs that are universal.

Humans, be it individually or collectively, need incentives. From the beginning of time, people have needed incentives - to be motivated to perform and excel. European Muslims, like Muslims all over the world, also need motivation and incentive to integrate. By incentives, it is not meant that European Muslims represent the obstacle and the solution by themselves, in which they should be lured toward integration. On the contrary: many governments design policies to help, and sometimes fail to help, to integrate immigrants and minorities. The United Kingdom, for example, chose, from the 1970s onwards, to follow a multiculturalist approach in which integration is represented by accepting that the country contains multiple cultures, as opposed to promoting an assimilationist model, like the one followed by France, that views integration as a process in which all citizens become French. Both models have proven to be failures, even though some benefits were reaped in the shape of avoiding chaos. Integration requires a bit of both.

Most importantly, both the majority and the minority need incentives to accept the other.

Society lives in an accommodation among its members in order to survive. As with basic communications, mutual respect and stability is reached in order to fulfill a certain transaction. It is also the responsibility of policy makers, those willing to integrate minorities, to play their role in paving the road to integration by transparently representing their voting base, rather than manipulating events in order to rally voters toward certain electoral outcomes. In equal measure, European Muslims should be invited to benefit from integration and feel that they completely belong to a nation, rather than being marginalized as guests. First and foremost, it is critical to reevaluate the belonging to a political representation. Political belonging, representation, and appointment to critical political posts are essential incentives for accomplished European Muslims, in order to break the barrier in which this

minority feels limited and marginalized. Most current candidates in the political sphere appear on the ballot sections of Green parties, like that of Karima Delli and Malika Benarab-Attou in France.

Most members are secular and are few in number.

However, there is a growing trend that suggests this number will increase, and that it would carry with it a degree of hope in which these representatives could reflect an exemplary model for both majorities and minorities on the inclusion of all members of society. Now, the challenge is for policy makers and nations to give them a voice (equal in size to their accomplishments) in essential sections of the government rather than using them as a token of diversity, and afford them the same opportunities as all other qualified citizens. The most recent example, emphasized by all minorities in the world as a role model, is Obama’s ascension to the US presidency. The experience has made people ask: “Why not”?

Much time can be dedicated to speaking of economical incentives for immigrants and

minorities, while it is also a reality that many European countries are financially strained. The equal political representation stands as the noexcuse incentive that is currently missing in the life of European societies, in which the European Muslims could find a place to be motivated to integrate, and even encourage other members of their societies to do the same. European Muslims must feel that they are complete members of society, representing and being represented, and not simply treated as visitors who are passing through.

Two young women during the “Youth Integration Summit”, Berlin, 2005

Mohammed el-Bachouti is a PhD candidate in the Department of Political and Social Sciences at Barcelona’s Pompeu Fabra University. His line of research is focused in the realm of political sociology, state-society relations, integration, immigration, identity, and managing diversity with a special focus on the Arab world, and Arab immigrants in the West. ِE-mail: bachouti@post.harvard.edu

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Interview with Hamid Roberto Distefano

Halal Italia: certifying excellence Jalal Sabir

The world’s Islamic community is a very significant, and growing, market. Thus, halal certifications, which ensure that products comply with Islamic standards, are becoming more and more important for enterprises which aim at internationalizing their business. ow can Muslims in Italy and in Europe be sure that the food they eat is really halal, that is to say permissible according to Islamic law? And how can Italian and European entrepreneurs offer shari’a compliant products to Muslim customers worldwide? Hamid ‘Abd al-Qadir Roberto Distefano, CEO of Halal Italia, helps us to answer these and other questions in his interview with Papers of Dialogue.

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What is Halal Italia? How did this initiative start?

Halal Italia is an Italian Islamic certification body that operates under the supervision of the Ethical Committee for halal certification of the Italian CO.RE.IS. (Islamic Religious Community). The certification of Italian-made products of excellence is voluntary and confirms they comply with Islamic halal (permitted) for food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. It also applies to some extent in finance and insurance.

The organization was set up after a pilot project in 2009 by the Milan and its agency Promos, in collaboration with CO.RE.IS. This led to the first Italian halal regulations for food and agricultural products. In June 2010 a convention to support Halal Italia was set up by Italy’s Foreign Affairs, Economic Development, Health and Food, Agriculture and Forestry Policies Ministries.

They were then able to register the Halal Italia trademark.

Do you think there is a rising awareness among Italian and European entrepreneurs of the importance of offering halal products to European citizens and to non-European Islamic markets?

Of course. It reflects the heightening of a crosscultural and inter-religious sensitivity linked to the development of global contemporary societies. It is also a very significant market with an annual growth of between 15 and 20 percent. The world’s Islamic community includes 2 billion people, with

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We provide Italian companies with training services, as well as certification, so they can handle the procedures, and offer them an overview of the halal market, which they can use to develop their business plans.

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What type of services do you offer Italian companies wishing to operate in the Arab world? And do you provide consulting services to companies from Arab and Islamic countries who want to invest in Italy?

We provide Italian companies with training services, as well as certification, so they can handle the procedures, and offer them an overview of the halal market, which they can use to develop their business plans. We can help companies to develop new products and operating procedures. We can also advise them on an Islamicfriendly marketing approach to use in their communications, in collaboration with our partner Genesi Communication Design. We play a bridging role between Italy and the Islamic world. We can help target investments to draw on the intellectual, cultural and economic resources that have always maintained East-West relations, even in difficult historical eras.

Do you also help Italian firms understand the importance of obtaining halal certification?

Providing information is strategically important for us in addition to training. We have organized dozens of seminars and lectures in collaboration with chambers of commerce, trade associations, local institutions and universities, to provide the public and companies with the information they need to appreciate the added value of halal certification. For example we have collaborated

with AICE, The Italian Foreign Trade Association, linked with the retailers association, ConfCommercio, and with the farmers’ association Confagricoltura. For the third year we have also been working with the SDA Bocconi School of Management, directed by Professor Grando.

Can you give us some examples of Made in Italy products that your organization certifies as halal?

We focus on meats and meat products, ranging from fresh red meats to sausages and cold cuts.

Almost 80 percent of Italy’s production of bresaola (dried beef) is made by companies that we certify.

But we also certify ice-cream and bakery products, oil and pasta and ready-made dishes. All these sectors are developing and are focusing more awareness and attention on certification.

What are the main halalcertified products purchased online?

And what are the most popular internet sites offering these products?

I don’t believe that any internet sites have taken on this challenge, at least not in Italy.

The feedback we get from companies and consumers seem to show they prefer traditional food distribution networks.

However, a serious, competent and capable website dedicated to marketing halal-certified products would certainly be an innovative success.

In several European countries a scandal arose after traces of pig DNA were found in products sold as halal chicken sausages. How can things like this occur? And how can they be avoided?

I think that we need to be very precise to avoid provoking a sort of “collective mass psychosis” on sensitive issues such as these. There has

been fraudulent behavior by companies which presented products as halal even though they had not been certified by an Islamic authority or had only been loosely certified, with little care for professionalism or religious beliefs.

From the standpoint of food safety, the Italian Ministry of Health and other Italian certified food control agencies are the most advanced in the world.

However, there is the possibility of accidental contamination, when different meat products are processed on the same production line. In this case it is necessary to assure the separation of production lines by having halal-dedicated lines or by making sure that halal products are the first to be processed and only after thoroughly sanitizing the plant.

Some time ago we started to take samples to detect traces of animal DNA which should not be in the product. The samples are tested by the Parco Tecnologico Padano of Lodi, a centre of excellence in agro-food research, safety and biotechnologies.

What, in your opinion, are the most promising export potentials of Made in Italy products for the Arab and Islamic world?

The new challenge lies in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. Certifying halal products worldwide is still relatively new, although the markets are growing at 20 percent a year.

Some of the Gulf countries are developing procedures and standards which consider halal certification as necessary for products to get customs clearance.

We are seeing more attention being given to certifying hotel and catering services. The potential is enormous, especially in a country with a record of tourism like Italy. We are collaborating with QualItaly for Events and Quality Travel Magazine to help Italy’s largest hotel chains qualify to host tourists from the Middle East and South East Asia, who require shari’ah compliant services when choosing places to visit.

Your organization has set up international collaborations with a focus on the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. What results have you achieved?

The accreditation of the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Environment and Water has been of great importance, like the one granted in Singapore. We have also developed a network of international relations with major halal certification bodies, through ad hoc agreements like the ones with Turkey, Russia, India and Pakistan. The aim is to enhance the reliability, professionalism and religious sensitivity of halal certifiers throughout the world.

Thanks to this “diplomatic” activity companies certified by Halal Italia have obtained excellent results penetrating the markets in Asia, Europe and the United States. The real challenge is to develop high-quality projects with Large Organized Distribution in Italy. This means not just going global, but also local.

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Some of the Gulf countries are developing procedures and standards which consider halal certification as necessary for products to get customs clearance.

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more than 20 million in Europe and 1.5 million in Italy. It can no longer be referred to as a niche market, especially as the business worldwide generates 2,300 billion dollars in the United States and Europe, 70 billion dollars in food alone. Almost one-fifth of the global food market is halal. In Italy we are still lagging behind, but food processing companies and large, small and medium-sized enterprises, are upgrading as necessary.

Do you think it is realistic and advisable to create a “halal cyberspace”, meaning an Islamcompatible digital universe?

From the Muslim religious standpoint, the universe is already compatible with Islam! To create ghettos has never been among the objectives of Muslim scholars over 14 centuries characterized by constant intellectual renovation of religious doctrine. Perhaps, instead of creating a parallel virtual universe, Muslims should focus on living in reality with a greater sense of responsibility and integrity. However, they should not formalize identities, as this might produce generations without discernment and unable to interact with reality.

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Integration

Integration

Bahrain, a country of religious tolerance

Rev. Hani Aziz

The society of Bahrain is marked by tolerance, co-existence and acceptance of others. Here, worshippers of all religions can practice their religious rites in peace, safety and freedom.

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n the capital of Bahrain, Manama, there is an area of not more than one kilometer which includes a Sunni mosque, a Shiite mosque and cemetery, a Catholic church, an Evangelical Church, and a 107-year-old National Evangelical church. There is also a Jewish chapel and places of worship for the Sikhs and Baha’i.

This is the land of Bahrain, which embodies all religions, with their different civilizations. Worshippers can practice their religious rites with absolute freedom and peace.

I came to Bahrain as a priest for the National Evangelical church for the Arab community on Friday December 1, 1999. I knew that the plot of land on which the church was built had been a gift from former Prince, Sheikh Issa bin Salman al-Khalifa, the father of His Majesty King Hamad bin Issa. I was deeply impressed by the Bahrain people’s good-heartedness, warm reception and welcome for a foreigner. The Bahrain people are pious and adhere to their religion and beliefs, but at the same time they are open to all civilizations and religions. They are a peaceful people who reject violence. Gradually I started to make friends with the Bahrainis in their majlis (gatherings), and I was invited to many. I received a wonderful reception from my hosts, as well as guests, bearing in mind that they knew I was a non-Bahraini and a priest.

There are more than 110 churches in Bahrain and I wondered how such a small Muslim country could have so many! I found out that there are 14 churches registered at the Ministry of Social Development, which is responsible for all churches and societies. Out of these, there are five owning their own buildings, 11 renting villas, and the followers of the remaining churches use hotel halls, schools and houses. The government knows this, and provides protection for all worshippers with security and safety measures.

Bahraini society is characterized by tolerance, coexistence and acceptance of others. For example, if a non-Muslim works with a Muslim family, and wants to go to his or her own place of worship, the Muslim family will take him or her there. This even happened to me. I often receive phone calls from Bahrainis asking about prayer times for their employees. Once they know the place and time, they bring them to the church, and buy copies of the Bible in the employees’ own language.

The Bahrainis are generous and good-hearted. On one occasion I went to a supermarket to buy an electrical appliance. When it was my turn to pay, I discovered that I did not have enough cash. So I took out my credit card to pay, but the cashier told me that the system was out of order. I thanked her and said that I would go home and bring the money the next day. Then a Bahraini standing behind me, who did not know me, stepped forward and paid the rest of the money. I took the appliance, thanked

him and tried to take his telephone number to pay him back, but he refused to hear of it. This is the nature of the people of Bahrain.

When you go to any shopping mall, you never have to worry about your children. You can let them go shopping by themselves, and wait in a coffee-shop. When I say children, I mean even those less than 10 years old. In Bahrain, you enjoy the blessing of security and safety. As a resident you can get access to all health, education, and other services, which are mostly provided free of charge. I was deeply impressed by the fact that Bahrain is a tax-free country.

I was so encouraged by the environment of tolerance and co-existence that I established the Society of Tolerance and Religious Co-existence (ta’ayush), with Sunni and Shiite Muslims as well as Bahraini Jews. The society tries to promote a spirit of tolerance and coexistence throughout Bahrain. Members have visited many Sunni Muslims mosques and attended Shiite events and functions. The board of directors of the society also went on these visits and others to see political leaders. We were encouraged by His Majesty the King, who blessed our efforts and objectives. He urged us to continue to promote the spirit of tolerance and co-existence. We were also received by H.H. Prince al-Sheikh Khalifa, Prime Minister, H.H. Prince Sheikh Salman, Crown Prince and ministers and governors, who helped us to go to schools and societies to give lectures on peace and tolerance.

My church, in collaboration with the Society of Tolerance and Co-existence, organized a Christian music concert called Prayers for Peace. International concert leader Michael W. Smith led the singing in Sheikh Khalifa stadium in Khalifa City, which was attended by 4,000 Christians from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and 120 Christians from 40 churches in Bahrain who took part as choirboys. The concert was organized under the auspices of Dr. Samira Rajab, State Minister for Information and was also attended by a large number of Islamic Sheikhs and ambassadors.

A message of peace was delivered to the world by the concert. The opening ceremony was addressed by a Sunni Sheikh, a Shiite Sheikh, a Christian preacher and a Bahrain Jew to great applause from the audience.

Therefore, I think I can genuinely call Bahrain the country of tolerance and co-existence.

Rev. Hani Aziz has been pastor of the National Evangelical Church in the Kingdom of Bahrain from 1999 up to the present day and he is Vice Chairman of the Bahrain Society for Tolerance and Religious Coexistence.

Papers of Dialogue | 21

Integration

Integration

Fashion can unite people, since beauty is an international language that everybody understands. In particular, the great Mediterranean civilizations can be a remarkable source of inspiration for an art which combines Italian elegance and Middle Eastern refinement.

orn in 1970 in Nablus, Palestine, fashion designer Jamal Taslaq is one of the major players of present-day haute couture. He has been living in Rome for over twenty years, where he developed a unique style, combining the elegance of Made in Italy fashion with the refinement of the Middle East.

He gave us an exclusive interview in his Roman atelier, near his recently inaugurated boutique close to Via Veneto, the most trendsetting street during the city’s dolce vita.

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Interview with Jamal Taslaq

The cosmopolitan language of fashion Jalal Sabir

How would you describe your new autumnwinter collection?

The collection is inspired by snow and ice. It is dedicated to a light-paced, feminine and airy woman. I opted for white because I like this colour’s different hues, which take on distinct meanings in different cultures. Snow which converts into ice and water... so light, so crystal-clear. This is the comparison that I wanted to draw, with women effortlessly becoming sensual and very elegant.

Present-day women play a multitude of roles, having become politicians and established professionals. They can lead two parallel lives, fully respecting their femininity.

What originated your passion for fashion, colours and fabrics?

My passion was born thanks to my mother.

She used to leaf through many fashion magazines; she could sew clothes for herself and for my sisters. In addition, a neighbour of ours was a skilled seamstress and knew how to make fabulous clothes. I immediately understood that my world was made up of fabrics, creating something out of nothing... you have to know how to process a piece of material to make it

comfortable, functional, elegant. It’s wonderful when you can give a person a second skin.

What type of influence did your Palestinian roots have on your artistic sensitivity?

Obviously a good influence! I came from Palestine, in the Middle East, bringing with me the

Papers of Dialogue | 23

Integration

Integration

Are there differences between the Western and Arab worlds of high fashion?

No, there are only very few differences; in both cases, high fashion aims at making women elegant for special occasions. What women wear must always respect the local culture, religion and traditions. However, a few differences exist, like for example in wedding gowns. In Europe, especially for church weddings, more attention must be focused on the back of the dress while in the Middle East the impact is head-on, since the bride sits on a “throne”.

You came to Florence to study fashion design when you were only nineteen. Why did you choose Italy?

I chose Italy because I was impressed by the fabrics, the craftsmanship, the shoes... all of the products that characterise the Made in Italy excellence.

You once said that “the Italian style is absolutely the most refined in the world”. What did you mean?

I saw, I went around and continue to see that Italian fashion, Italian haute couture, has an extra asset in the design, in the quality and finishing. Full attention is focused on the slightest details... precisely those details that make a garment unique.

colours and traditions of the Mediterranean, a sea that has merged together many cultures, ever since the times of the Phoenicians, of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. All together, these great civilisations bordering on the Mediterranean created great wealth. Cultural cross-fertilization has always existed. I often like to visit exhibitions to see the costumes of these ancient civilisations and, in this respect, I have drawn great inspiration from the craftsmanship, the weaving and the embroidery of the time. The origin of embroidery is precisely in the Middle East. I have

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Are there designers who have inspired you during your career?

Yes, there are several... I wanted to understand each one of them, their style... In my opinion, every fashion designer, every artist, should have his own brand. Looking at others is fine but copying them leads you nowhere. I have learnt from all of them: Armani, Valentino, Sarli, Dior... I saw each one’s specialty and, also thanks to them, I learned how to create a style of my own.

What are the strengths of Italian fashion today?

Research, innovation, and knowing how to play yourself well abroad.

And what are the strengths of Arab fashion?

It is close to the markets!

What type of woman do you have in mind when you create your collections?

I have in mind an extremely feminine and refined woman, and watchful for details. When I’m designing a dress for a customer, I like it to reflect her character and her proportions. First I talk to her to try and understand her personality and her style and then I think about dressing her.

And what about with men?

For men too it’s very much the same...

But men have always been somewhat limited, even with the most insignificant things. If you change a button, a man panics. Men are too traditional. In my opinion, they should slip out of their ‘uniforms’. I often see men dressed in a sort of uniform, they’re all alike... black, blue or grey suits... they’re all the same! Creativity could also be expressed with subtlety, for example in the way the suit is cut, making the garment more personal, and in the colour, the buttons, the accessories.

What are your favourite materials and colours?

I absolutely love natural materials like silk, linen and cotton. Anything that is natural is also more comfortable. As for colours, it depends on the collection and on the customer for whom I’m working. In any case, I love Mediterranean colours like green, fuchsia, red, pink, blue, gold and pastel colours.

Whatever the season, Nature always offers us gorgeous colours.

What role do you think fashion might play in uniting peoples and promoting integration?

Fashion has already greatly united peoples, in their traditions and in their clothes... it is an international, cosmopolitan language. I think it could open a real dialogue between peoples.

For me fashion, elegance and simplicity are like

a good painting, each one of us looks at it and appreciates it. If you notice, it’s difficult to argue over an artist’s style: either you like it or you don’t. But a similar comparison with football would not hold, it would be very different!

Where is your clientele concentrated?

Mainly in the Middle East, in Italy and in London. I have a very international clientele.

You have dressed actresses like Sharon Stone and Ornella Muti, singers like Patty Pravo, and several Arab princesses. Is there any woman in particular you would like to dress?

For me it is a pleasure to dress any woman!

What are your plans for the future?

I have just opened my boutique underneath my atelier: it was something I had been working on for quite a while. It has a shop-window and I can already see the first fruits coming in: people stop to look and their curiosity is tickled. Instead, my plans for the future concern developing what I call prêt-à-couture, a medium-to-high end class of fashion; designing commercial fashion is no longer convenient. It is more effective to stand out for quality and design, to give your customer a product of a given type. Moreover, I am preparing a collection inspired to the three monotheistic religions. I would love to show it in Jerusalem; it would mean paying homage to this city and to peace, to make everybody understand that this city must be international, a city for all.

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When I’m designing a dress for a customer, I like it to reflect her character and her proportions.

First I talk to her to try and understand her personality and her style and then I think about dressing her.

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also often drawn inspiration from ancient Egyptians, Byzantines, Greeks and Romans.

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Cultures

Giuseppe Tucci

Interview with Professor Marco Mancini

IsMEO, a bridge to knowledge Daniel Atzori

Since its inception in 1933, the Italian Institute for Africa and the Orient (IsMEO-IsIAO) has played a huge role in promoting the knowledge of the cultures of the Middle and Far East in Italy, as well as in creating a significant network of diplomatic and economic contacts.

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or about eighty years, the Italian Institute for Africa and the Orient has been a leading institution for the study of the cultures of the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Today, after a period of difficulties, the new IsMEO aspires to inherit its legacy, in order to take on, once again, its precious role of cultural bridge. Papers of Dialogue hosts an exclusive interview with his president, Professor Marco Mancini.

What relevance has IsMEO-IsIAO (the Italian Institute for Africa and the Orient) had on Italian and European culture?

Since it was founded in 1933, the Italian Institute for Africa and the Orient has experienced three fundamental phases, all linked to the presidents who in turn held the office through the years: Giovanni Gentile (IsMEO), Giuseppe Tucci (IsMEO), Gherardo Gnoli (IsMEO) and an additional term for Gnoli, after IsMEO was

Papers of Dialogue | 27

Cultures

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As president of IsMEO, Tucci pursued the aim of making Italian culture less parochial by implementing his idea of adopting an Orientalism free of academia, which was at its outset in Italy, and free of a still prevailing exoticism, devoting equal attention both to scientific research and to interdisciplinarity.

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Born on the 5th of June 1894 in Macerata, Giuseppe Tucci is considered one of the greatest Italian scholars of Asian cultures. He obtained a degree in Literature at the University of Rome and, after graduation, moved to India, where he lived from 1925 to 1930 and taught Chinese, Tibetan and Italian in the universities of Shantiniketan and Calcutta (Kolkata). In 1930, he became Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Naples’ Oriental Studies University (L’Orientale). In 1932, he was appointed Professor of Religions and Philosophies of India and the Far East at the University of Rome. He conducted several scientific expeditions in Tibet, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran, and played an important role, together with the Italian philosopher Giovanni Gentile (1875-1944), in the establishment of IsMEO. In Tucci’s understanding, Europe and Asia were two complementary realities which constituted an integrated ‘Eurasia’. Author of 360 works, his writings are still paramount in the study of Hinduism, Buddhism and Tibetan traditions. Giuseppe Tucci died in 1984 in San Polo dei Cavalieri, a small town in the province of Rome. In 2005, the National Museum of Oriental Art was entitled to him in Rome.

merged with the Istituto Italo-Africano (ItalianAfrican Institute) in 1995, giving birth to IsIAO (Italian Institute for Africa and the Orient). Since its creation, national and international political circumstances led the institute to focus the Institute’s scientific and cultural interests onto specific regions of the Middle and Far East, both for geopolitical reasons and because of our access to these areas during internal uprisings and international conflicts and tensions.

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Professor Marco Mancini

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The creation of IsMEO, born of a brilliant intuition of its first president, Giovanni Gentile, can be traced back to the strategic interest of Italian foreign policy-makers for the Middle and Far East between the two World Wars, as it was an area, unlike Africa, which had never been targeted by colonial goals or involvement. This position gave Italy a high standing, especially compared to the political stance of other countries that saw the East as substantially subordinated to Europe.

Under Gentile’s IsMEO, it was already possible to perceive Tucci’s conception of a Eurasian continent politically and culturally plausible from both a geographic and historical and cultural perspective. As president of IsMEO, Tucci pursued the aim of making Italian culture less parochial by implementing his idea of adopting an Orientalism free of academia, which was at its outset in Italy, and free of a still prevailing exoticism, devoting equal attention both to scientific research and to interdisciplinarity.

During his presidency, Gnoli could not help but notice the development that oriental studies had in the meantime achieved in Italian universities, with which he established an intense collaboration in different specialist fields, including linguistics and archaeology, especially with Naples’ Oriental Studies University (L’Orientale). This effort contributed to integrating Italy, and its particular view of Asia and Africa, into the European mainstream. This decade-long process was abruptly disrupted in 2012 by a

compulsory administration provision which completely ignored the Institute’s scientific prospects, which were already stunted and marginalized at European level for economic reasons, but also the diplomatic and economic fallout on the extraordinary network of contacts that the Institute had succeeded to make in much of Africa and Asia over the years.

What initiatives are you planning to implement to re-launch IsMEO? And how would you define its mission today?

Look, I will answer your question with our statutes in hand. The present-day IsMEO, in its completely new form of an association aspiring to convert into a foundation, aims to “perform study, training and research programs on the countries and cultures of Asia and Africa and on their interactions with the Mediterranean Basin”. In order to achieve this aim, IsMEO will have to rely on all the instruments and initiatives originally adopted by IsIAO, of which it intends to – at least morally – inherit the legacy, while awaiting the decision on the destination of the library and of the museum collections, after the institute’s winding up. This will entail promoting and developing cultural, scientific and cooperation

relations with single institutions and national and international organizations; study and research programs; training, cooperation, consulting and assistance projects, with a special focus on the conservation and valorization of the cultural and environmental heritage of the aforesaid countries; archaeological missions, study trips and excavation campaigns in countries of Asia and Africa and along the Mediterranean coast, where Italy’s cultural presence has been traditionally strong or is at least currently significant; editorial activities carried out independently and in collaboration with other Italian and international organizations, institutions and publishing companies; foreign language courses; Masters’ courses; training courses and seminars; conventions and agreements envisaging joint activities to be carried out with universities, academies, Italian and foreign culture and research institutions and with international organizations and other agencies, as well as with Italian and foreign associations and entities, in their specific field of activity. But the real innovation is IsMEO’s newly acquired private scope of activity, in which it intends to implement its initiatives and pursue its mission.

The library of IsMEO-IsIAO

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Cultures

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The present-day Which Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries do you mainly intend to collaborate IsMEO, in its with? completely new We have no preclusion for any Asian, African or Mediterranean country. In Africa, in view of the form of an scientific profile of our 220 Italian and foreign association members - who are destined to rise, as proven by the continuously growing membership aspiring to requests coming from all over the world - we plan convert into a to focus more on the Arabic-speaking countries foundation, aims and on the countries of the so-called former “Italian Africa”. But I cannot a priori exclude any to “perform country, as long as it meets the particular study, training characteristics of our mission. and research programs on the What are currently the main spheres of cooperation between Italian universities and countries and universities in the Arab world? cultures of Asia A large number of scientific sectors, especially and architecture in the polytechnics, and Africa and on engineering medicine in several universities of northern and their interactions central Italy, human, political and linguistic studies, in addition to the study and restoration of with the monuments, in universities of southern Italy.

Mediterranean However, there is still quite a lot of room for growth: for example, geology, development Basin”. geography, energy studies, the study and management of cultural heritage for tourism purposes, etc. It is necessary to pursue this line of action also because, in recent years, much effort has been put into globalizing Italian universities, which have turned to India, China, Sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia, leaving

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Marco Mancini is Full Professor of Glottology at the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature of the Università degli Studi della Tuscia (Viterbo); since 1999, he has been Rector of the University of Viterbo and since 2011 President of CRUI, the Conference of Rectors of Italian Universities. In 2012 he was appointed President of ISMEO, the International Association of Mediterranean and Oriental Studies.

He currently heads the University Department and the Research Department of the Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR), as well as the AFAM (Alta Formazione Artistica, Musicale e Coreutica), the Department for Post-graduate Training in the Arts, Music and Choral Singing.

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aside the age-old interests shared with the Arabic-speaking countries bordering on the Mediterranean. It is precisely in this space, with our more than forty Italian member-universities, that we count to play a driving role by relying on our extensive networking, which has traditionally been IsMEO/IsIAO’s most valuable asset.

For decades, your Institute organized oriental language courses in its schools, including Arabic. These courses proved to be fundamental for the dissemination of Arabic in Italy. Will the new IsMEO continue to organize oriental language and culture courses?

It should be pointed out that the very first languages taught at the schools of Rome and Milan were Hindi, Bengali, Chinese, Thai and Japanese and only subsequently Indonesian, Tibetan, Urdu, Farsi, Arabic and Turkish. In the 70 years of activity, IsMEO/IsIAO schools graduated thousands of students that went on to work in a multitude of sectors, ranging from pure research to industry, fashion, journalism, tourism, etc. thanks to the qualifications and skills acquired in courses that were based on modern and practical teaching criteria from the very beginning. Of course, in planning to resume the courses, we will have to keep in mind that right now in Italy, unlike only a few years ago, universities and research institutions and associations, as well as often under-qualified private individuals, offer practical courses of oriental languages, and especially of Arabic and Chinese. So, maybe at least to start off with, we will probably have to focus on languages that are less popular, with an eye on South-East Asia, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and Central and Western Africa, but that hold great cultural and social interest. For example, turning back to your question on Arabic, we could offer regional variants that are not taught elsewhere. In such a project, we could count on our alliance with other associations and institutions, some of which operate precisely in Rome and Milan. Our aim is not so much to distinguish ourselves as much as to satisfy an unmet demand and acknowledge the cultural dignity of languages and peoples that are kept on the margin of history.

Cultures

Cultures

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This painting portrays some of the stereotypes of Orientalist art, which tended to represent Arab societies as mysterious and exotic.

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Moroccan philosopher and writer Muhammad al-Jabri

Beyond Orientalism: the legacy of Muhammad Abed al-Jabri Noureddine Teniou

Moroccan philosopher Muhammad Abed al-Jabri deconstructed Orientalism, seen as a Western attitude which described Middle Eastern societies from a colonialist standpoint. His interpretation is a precious guide for a balanced and rigorous study of Arab and Islamic intellectual, cultural, social and political history.

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Arabs Crossing the Desert, a painting by Jean Leon Gerome

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he concept of Orientalism first emerged and became widespread during the colonial era and continued until the 1980s. The growing capitalist world powers used it during the 19th century to impose their influence on the Arab and Islamic worlds. This colored the view the occupied Mashreq people had of the capitalist world and how it dealt with others. The reactionary nature of colonialism brought about a change in the very meaning of Orientalism, which could confirm the direct and causal relationship between colonization and

Considered one of the most influential Arab philosophers, Muhammad Abed al-Jabri was born in 1935 in the town of Figuig, in eastern Morocco. Professor of Philosophy at the University of Rabat since 1967, he focused the first part of his career on pedagogic issues. One of the most important undertakings of his intellectual career was to reconcile tradition and modernity, by renewing the rational and scientific approach of Arab-Andalusian philosophers such as Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Ibn Hazm and Ibn Bajjah (Avempace), to the point of advocating a “new Averroism”. In 1984, he started to publish his major work, the Critique of Arab Reason, inspired by Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason and Critique of Practical Reason. Al-Jabri defined Arab reason as “the ensemble of the principles and rules from which knowledge proceeds within Arab culture”. His masterpiece is divided in four volumes, The Development of Arab Reason (1984), The Structure of Arab Reason (1986), Arab Political Reason (1990) and Arab Ethical Reason (2001). Al-Jabri died in Casablanca in 2010.

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Papers of Dialogue | 33

Cultures

Cultures

According to Palestinian-American intellectual Edward W. Said (1935-2003), Orientalism was defined as a set of assumptions which saw “the basic distinction between East and West as the starting point for elaborate theories, epics, novels, social descriptions, and political accounts concerning the Orient, its people, customs, ‘mind,’ destiny and so on.” In Said’s view, since the time of European Enlightenment, the West had depicted Arab culture as static, exotic, backward, irrational and inferior in order to justify its colonial projects.

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seen as a guide and safeguard for any study of Arab and Islamic intellectual, cultural, social and political history, and even for any contemporary issues and problems with Arab thought.

Modern and contemporary Arab thought is in need of an intellectual guide to make a comprehensive analysis of Arab and Islamic culture in its philosophical discourses, doctrinal and literal aspects. This would be a safe way of understanding its parts in context, and studying the issues of Arab thought within its own history.

The organization and classification of Arab culture according to a critical understanding, such as that provided by al-Jabri, leads to the correction of many mistakes committed by the orientalists. It allows for the issue of Orientalism to be considered from an Arab perspective. It could be said that al-Jabri’s works deserve to be translated into foreign languages, as these works include the Arab Thinking by studying the heritage, and they include as well an Arab point of view (al-Jabri’s opinions and thoughts) on the issues of contemporary thought within its current human contexts.

Al-Jabri’s works on globalization, conflict of civilizations, democracy, human rights, secularism, application of Islamic law, Arab unity and freedom are all considered now as results of his first works which addressed the critique of the Arab heritage and the tool of its production, that is the Arab reason. Much of the Arab intellectual heritage can be traced in the issues discussed in his books, which include various topics such as Heritage and Modernity, Cultural Issue in a Pan Arab World, Issue of Identity: Arabism and Islam and the West, Paradoxes of Contemporary Arab Thought, Arab Revival Project and Issues in Contemporary Thought. It is possible to trace an Arab vision on the issues of the century and the world. In his book About Us and the Heritage, al-Jabri says those thinkers who face the same complexity can interpret each other, not on the assumption that the former only interprets the latter, but also that the latter is the one who interprets the former in a better way, not according to what he

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The project of the Arab interpretation of heritage, as presented by al-Jabri, has not only achieved the end of Orientalism, but has also extended its effect to contemporary Arab thought.

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Orientalism. Moreover it originates the historical concept of Orientalism and makes it acceptable.

Contemporary Arab thought, including Orientalism and compared to contemporary western culture, lacks a proper interpretation of Arab civilization and cultural history. Orientalists chose not to make this interpretation and continued to study Arab culture in such a way that no part could fall under a specific discipline.

The orientalists’ studies lacked an intellectual or human reference. There was a need for an open and forward-looking mentality to break out of this cycle of backwardness and to criticize the status quo. Independent thinking, and deviation from the history that leads to such backwardness, paves the way for finding ways to overcome it.

The interpretation of Mohammed Abed al-Jabri’s work, Critique of Arab Reason, is considered an appropriate way to go beyond the issue of Orientalism. This is because orientalists examined most Arab and Muslim themes as museum exhibits, subjecting them to imperial knowledge and examining them with western scientific and technical tools.

Al-Jabri’s interpretation of Arab thought, and its origins, is a great opportunity for Arab culture to restore its vitality and escape the labyrinth and literature of western Orientalism. It is an opportunity to have a real and independent history, the long-awaited moment that Arab thought and culture were looking forward to after liberation from political colonialism. Arab culture is hoping to regain its missing identity, and to provide contributions to civilization as a way of bridging the gap between the Mashreq and the West. It is possible for us to have an understanding of Arab heritage, of curricula, mechanisms, and procedural approaches which provide explanations of Arab culture, define its characteristics and understand its revelations.

Critique of Arab Reason is an interpretation of the Arab heritage to help it maintain its continuity, rather than an interpretation in isolation from history, which is the approach the orientalists had taken. Al-Jabri’s interpretation is

says about him, but in his capacity as one of his offspring. One of the results of the Critique of Arab Reason project is a conscious engagement in the issues of contemporary thought which provides us with an internal interpretation of the complexity of human thought. Arab thought is no longer confined only to refuting the orientalist standpoint towards Arabs and Muslims and their affairs, it has gone beyond that to offer an Arab point of view. This allays the suspicions of the Arab reason’s abilities, and its cultural and historical contribution, which characterized orientalist research, and those Arabs and Muslims who confronted it.

Al-Jabri’s reading of the Arab reason, in addition to other works by Arab and Muslim thinkers, have led to the end of Orientalism as a theme of western research on the east, because these readings have closed the gaps through which orientalists infiltrated the West with illusions, visions, and misconceptions on sections of Arab culture. These orientalist readings were loaded with an obsessive concern to discover tributaries that would help to make up for the shortcomings of western life. Orientalism will perish, not only because of the absence of its historical justification, that is colonialism, but also due to the existence of Arab critical readings which assert their presence and do not allow themselves to be represented by others. The Critique of Arab Reason project has been conducted with contemporary scientific concepts and research, which al-Jabri was able to adapt and

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use to probe for historical knowledge of Arab culture. His findings oblige the western researcher, not necessarily the orientalist, to not reject Arab culture, because the new readings have been built on the same concepts, arguments, ideas and approaches used by western schools. Al-Jabri’s reading has articulated the universality of recent concepts, and the historical background of Arab culture as reasonable when subjected to scientific research. This is the source of the universality and credibility of Arab culture.

The project of the Arab interpretation of heritage, as presented by al-Jabri, has not only achieved the end of Orientalism, but has also extended its effect to contemporary Arab thought. His critique and analysis of Arab discourse, which was

Noureddine Teniou is professor of Contemporary World History, Researcher in the field of Arab World Affairs and Modern and Contemporary Islamic Thought and Former Curator of the Central Library of Emir Abdelkader University (Constantine, Algeria).

published in Arabic, targeted the achievement of historical independence of the Arab nation, and excluded the production of Arab and Muslim intellectuals in foreign languages. The critique of contemporary Arab production has been carried out with the objective of rebuilding Arab thought and re-establishing it from within, rather than looking at it from western intellectual perspectives. What al-Jabri had concluded was his “diagnosis of the modern and contemporary Arab discourse and his attempt at exploring the image of the Arab reason through it”. The critique of Arab reason is a scheme for restoring the Arab authority of knowledge at a universal moment that does not care about cultural and cognitive boundaries, not to mention regional boundaries which had been abolished by satellites, cyber technology and the information revolution. The historical independence of the Arabs must pass, as al-Jabri, believed, through a process of liberation rather than nullification of the benchmarks, and liberation rather than elimination of the Arab heritage. This allows the critical dialogue to go ahead between the Arab and the western benchmarks to exchange the processes of structuring and influencing.

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MAGAZINE 36 | Papers of Dialogue

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Cultures cultures

The spiritual meaning of giving Non-profit organizations should not be seen as marginal realities without economic relevance, but as the true expression of the creativity of peoples and of their capacity to offer practical answers to the needs of human beings enlightened by faith.

T Giulio Sapelli

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his note aims at reflecting on the unarguable truth that the religious domain continues to be a precious test-bench for models of the meaning of being that enable us to master vital experiences, social relations and also expressions of economic life, thus transforming their sense and even their very nature. In my opinion, a clear example of this lies in the concrete historicity of collective philanthropic practices of groups and institutions that we commonly refer to as non-profit organizations. It is quite amazing to find that, despite the relevant historical postulates and their development in the capitalistic society that has now spread throughout the world, the concept of nonprofit continues to be rather unclear today. Non-profit organizations are still indiscriminately referred to as if they pertained to a marginal reality with no economic

relevance. And, above all, no mention is made of the spiritual and seminal value of their gratuity, which is the essence of non-profit organizations and noninstitutional activities. Gratuity and gift-giving are consubstantial in all three religions of the Book and they all share a deep-rooted meaning system enabling individuals to respect and put into practice the dogmas of faith in social practices and interpersonal relations. The distinctive element of nonprofit organizations, originating from the religions of the Book, lies in that they elude the anthropological law of gift-giving initially indicated by Marcel Mauss and further effectively developed by Maurice Godelier almost a century later. The two great scholars seem to agree on the fact that “avec le don il y a toujours le contre-don” (“a gift always brings with it a counter-gift”), namely on the fact that a gift obliges

the receiver, i.e. the subject of the donation, to return it. The giver will thereby be compensated. It is the rule of reciprocity. Instead, in the religions of the Book reciprocity is theologically abolished. This abolition does not apply to secularized processes. As recalled

by Lévi-Strauss, in desacralized capitalism, a gift has its social climax in the millennium-old phenomenon of the “transformed” Christmas that, from a sacred event, has been converted into a phenomenon that marketing agencies have been trying to imitate and reproduce for over a century. First of all, non-profit organizations have instead now been converted into “companies” that are not aimed at making a profit, but are configured into an entrepreneurial structure that mainly operates with capital and income in trying to meet the collective needs of communities (education, health care, schooling, culture). However, non-profit

organizations are also social movements, both hierocratic and secular, that are not crystallized into a corporate structure (like companies), but thrive on the construction of meaning systems, creating noninstitutionalized and strongly subjective moral and religious obligation systems.

These are the reasons why non-profit organizations often overlap so-called “voluntary work”. It is important to remember this point because it deprives non-profit organizations of any sense of residual or supplementary function that can arise when it becomes a profession among other professions in the pursuit of a seminal ideology and no longer of the fruits of a compelling religion. It is erroneously said that where the State cannot reach and where private enterprise finds no convenience, that is the space of non-profit organizations. This totally desacralizes any non-profit experience, configuring it as a sort of odd man out, objectively called to intervene and to provide services only where others don’t reach or fail.

The problem lies in the fact that in the interstate setup of the West, characterized by companies legally established under Romano-Germanic law, in which everything arises from the State while society remains passive and where the people are not citizens but subjects, people are not spiritually ready to accept an “anthropologically positive” conception of the non-profit phenomenon, thus failing to understand its specificity and peculiarity. The situation of common law companies is quite different because, in this case, the State-founding society and citizens are born free and not subjects and therefore gift-giving is inherent to the essence of the totality of social beings, leaving no residual presence of the State.

This makes it necessary to single out specific points in order to definitively do away with the existing confusion and categorical inconsistencies.

Finding a historical-theological definition According to the System of National Accounts, nonprofit organizations are qualified as agencies “created for the purpose of producing goods or services but whose status does not allow them to be a source of income, profit or other financial gain for the units that constitute, control or finance them”.

This converts non-profit organizations into realities that offer saleable services without pursuing financial gains. They can have assets and profits, the only constraint being that they be re-invested into the structure.

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‘‘

According to the System of National Accounts, non-profit organizations are qualified as agencies “created for the purpose of producing goods or services but whose status does not allow them to be a source of income, profit or other financial gain for the units that constitute, control or finance them”.

‘‘

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As for their corporate aim, non-profit organizations can be mutual aid societies or public service companies at the service of individuals or of the community. Mutual aid societies, by virtue of their very nature, are made up of families and companies and provide services to their own members. Non-profit public service organizations provide services to individuals or to the community. This category includes the organizations prevalently established by public institutions and operating in sectors such as environmental protection, defense and security, and mandatory social security. Instead, non-profit public service companies providing services to individuals may be constituted by different public or private subjects; their scope of action concerns sectors of societal life like health care, education, social assistance, culture and employment-related services. Contrary to mainstream thinking, nonprofit organizations are not a recent phenomenon: they are actually several centuries old and have their roots in important charitable institutions dating back to the piecemeal European Middle Ages, drawing their origins from the Carolingian and therefore Christian tradition on the one hand, and from the forming of the Islamic Caliphate on the other. Moreover, there was a hugely philanthropic Jewish tradition during the Diaspora. The wealth of social work woven into the fabric of the history of civil society in both Europe and the Middle East is a clear

expression of the creativity of peoples and of their capacity to “join religiously” to provide practical answers to the needs of human beings enlightened by faith. These traditions mainly originate from Europe and the Middle East. For example, the Apostolic Catholic Church of Rome has always claimed the primacy of individuals and of social groups, and therefore of society, over that of the State, always pointing to the principle of subsidiarity as one of the strongholds of its social doctrine. This principle enshrines the role of intermediate communities, starting with the family all the way to the economic, social, political and cultural groups freely established by citizens, and whose existence and activities not only demand respect from the forces in power, but also to be favored and fostered. Islam, in its extraordinary re-iterated flourishing, placed the believers’ activities at the centre of its presence in the world, in the construction of a society pursuing harmony in accordance with the precepts of the Quran, which unfailingly represents the political and social horizon of Middle Eastern societies (and also of Asian societies under Islamic influence). Indeed, the afflatus of monotheist religions goes well beyond the affirmation of individual rights: it recognizes the central role of social groups as the place par excellence in which individual personalities unfold. This means that religious citizens, by freely joining into associations, can meet social needs through independent initiatives, with no

need for previous legitimization or authorization by state institutions.

Preliminary distinctions and the polyphony of gift-giving The first problem therefore is to define non-profit organizations by highlighting the differences and similarities with profit-making companies. A nonprofit organization must necessarily be defined precisely through its privative attribute: non-profit refers to all those activities originated by an association of persons and things for a specific purpose that do not entail the need for those controlling or owning said association to allocate profits. This is the distinctive element that differentiates non-profit organizations from cooperation and from capital-stock companies.

Indeed, the association of persons and means for a specific purpose is consubstantial with the production of a surplus, without which said association (that for the time being we will not refer to as a company but as an association so as not to confuse it with capitalistic terminology) could never reproduce itself. Indeed, without the assistance of an obsessive statism, social self-reproduction only concretizes through the allocation of part of the profit to the subsistence of the association. By contrast, in cooperation for example, the profit is allocated according to a group ownership logic pursuing intergenerational and collective objectives after achieving the aim of self-reproduction. In non-profit organizations, the decisive point is instead, in my

opinion, that the controllers-managers receive compensation or a salary, retribution or a one-off payment, depending on the internally established rules, and this retribution determines the need along with other teleological needs - to guarantee governance.

Let me be clear: non-profit organizations also provide for the allocation of property rights. It can occur in the widest variety of forms: a foundation possessing assets that have absolutely nothing to do with private property and that originate from a private allocation or from small groups possessing the resources, know-how, or real-estate, and does not distribute surplus value or surplus or profit, however you might want to call it. This is what endows non-profit organizations with the greatest polyphony of associations of individuals: gratuity is seminal to meaningful relations and, being enlightened by faith, assures its transmissibility over time and its reproducibility in space.

Giulio Sapelli is Full Professor of History of Economics at the Università degli Studi of Milan, where he also teaches a course in Cultural Analysis of Organizational Processes. Among his numerous publications, special mention should be made of Southern Europe since 1945. Tradition and Modernity in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey, Longman, New York and London, 1995 and, more recently, Morality and Corporate Governance: Firm Integrity and Spheres of Justice, Springer, Berlin, 2013. He has been Researcher Emeritus at ENI’s Enrico Mattei Foundation since 1994.

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The value of dialogue Habeeb Al Sadr

In a world marked by crises and intolerance, dialogue and mutual understanding among peoples and religions are of crucial importance. Diversity should be seen as a precious source of richness and advancement, in order to avoid the spread of fanaticism and hatred.

T

here is no doubt that the crisis-ridden world of today is in dire need of dialogue and mutual understanding to help remove tension and lack of understanding and to accept others. This is to ensure peaceful coexistence and to achieve security and stability. These are threatened by terrorism and extremism, economic, political, social and intellectual crises, and dramatic transformations in many countries. This means we must establish an international moral system, a framework for understanding and conduct among all nations, races and religions. This also applies to the different ethnic and religious communities in every society. There is no way to achieve this except through dialogue, recognition of plurality and moderation in our relations with each other. Drastic internal reforms must take place to provide freedom, human rights, justice, equality and to prevent dictatorship, and oppression.

So dialogue and understanding is needed between the ruler and the ruled, between peoples and cultures. The alternative will be more bloodshed, destruction, an arms race, more conflicts, and the spread of blind fanaticism and hatred. The

The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation (Astana, Kazakhstan), a symbol of harmony among different religions and cultures

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worst effects would be hunger, disease, illiteracy, displacement and unemployment.

The wisdom of God has been demonstrated in the difference of humans in their religions, beliefs and ways of life. If almighty God had willed this, He would have made all humanity embrace one religion.

However, He willed this diversification to be a source of richness and advancement, not a cause for fragmentation and fighting.

Thus God says in the Holy Quran: “And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your languages and your colors. Indeed in that are signs for those of knowledge”. And He also says: “And do not argue with the People of the Scripture except in a way

that is best, except for those who commit injustice among them”, and say, “We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you. And our God and your God is one; and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him”. God also says: “There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion”‘ and “Then [O Muhammad], would you compel the people in order that they become believers?”, and He also says: “Thus We have made pleasing to every community their deeds. Then to their Lord is their return, and He will inform them about what they used to do” and “O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of God is the most righteous of you”.

So now we have the right to wonder why all international efforts are focused on peace-keeping operations, instead of being focused on making peace?

Why do the religious and cultural elite, mass media, educational institutions and civil society organizations not try to spread tolerant culture and open thought, particularly among the young?

For how long will double standards be used by the superpowers when dealing with Arabic and Islamic issues?

When will rich states wake up and help to pull poorer nations from the claws of poverty, famine and disease, to dry up the sources of fanaticism and terrorism?

Why do rich countries spend billions of dollars on weapons of mass destruction, and will not save millions of people in Somalia, Africa and other regions, from starving to death?

These are puzzling questions that require good and true answers. I, personally, do not find other than the voice of mind and conscience, other than the discourse of belief, love and the high feeling of human responsibility, to warrant putting such affairs on their right track and straight path, as has been planned for us

by Heaven.

H.E. Habeeb Mohammed Hadi Ali Al Sadr is the Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq to the Holy See.

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