Honoring Father Dr. Giuseppe Scattolin for his work on Sufism ​

Language: 
English
Sent On: 
Tue, 2018-05-15
Year: 
2018
Newsletter Number: 
13

In the West we so often hear of Islamic radicalism, which exists, but not of Sufi Islam, many of whom who preach a spirit of brotherhood. Egypt is deeply influenced by Sufism. Shaykh al-Azhar is a Sufi, and so are many prominent Shayks like the former Mufti Dr. ʿAlī Jumʿa. Sufis were also among the most outspoken critiques of the Muslim Brotherhood that used many Sufi concepts but politicized their meanings (see our book From Ruling to Opposition, 2017).

 

Not only do we often get a slanted image of Islam, it also rarely happens that Western non-Muslim scholars are honored for their scholarly work on Islam. Yet, the Faculty of Arts, Cairo University, has honored Comboni priest and scholar Father Dr. Giuseppe Scattolin with the shield of the Faculty as a sign of appreciation for his work on Sufism in general, and of ʿUmar Ibn al-Farīd in particular, with the critical edition of his diwan, and also his contribution to interreligious dialogue with his book Ta’mmulāt fī al-taṣwwuf wa-l-ḥiwār al-dīnī [Reflections on Sufism and Religious Dialogue].

 

Father Scattolin, has truly dedicated his entire life to Sufism and interreligious dialogue. He has lectured in Egypt and in many countries around the world. He has also written much about Sufism, and plays a major role in a deeper understanding of Sufism.                                                              

                                                                                                  

A few years ago I have highlighted two Muslim and two Christian scholars who have greatly impacted our work in the field of dialogue. One of them was Father Dr. Giuseppe Scattolin. The text I then wrote about him can be found here.

 

Father Scattolin is at the end of his career. I am now in North-America for Matthew Anderson’s defense of his thesis on blasphemy in Islam, May 22 at Georgetown University. Matthew Anderson studied Taqī al-Dīn al-Subkī’s (d.1355) al-Sayf al-maslūl ‘alā man sabba al-rasūl. Very remarkable in his work are the concepts of mercy and repentance.                                                                                                                   Father Dr. Giuseppe Scattolin

 

Scattolin and Anderson show the great diversity one finds in Islam. With this they work towards building bridges between Muslims and Christians. We have invited Matthew Anderson to teach at our summer school, June 25- July 6, at Heliopolis University for Sustainable Development. We have many Egyptian applicants but would like to see more diversity with international students. Thus, please sign-up.

 

For more information about the summer school please click here.

 

Registration is possible through this link: https://goo.gl/forms/UYWVbhZ9qVreWO1O2

Alternatively, you can send an email to: [email protected]g or [email protected] or [email protected]

 

Applications need to be made before June 1.

 

May 15, 2018

Cornelis Hulsman

Editor-in-chief Arab-West Report