IT
FR
Debates
Philippe Borgeaud talks to Marco Cesario
“I believe that having a plurality of catechisms in schools is a dangerous idea.” Philippe Borgeaud, professor of History of Religions at Geneva University talks to Resetdoc about the relationship between education and religion in Europe. “Schools should not be considered places for the spreading of religions, but simply platforms for the spreading of knowledge, including knowledge of religions.” A member of the scientific committee at the European Institute of Religious Sciences (IESR, Ecole pratique des hautes études, Paris) and the Paris correspondent for the magazine Revue de l'histoire des religions, Borgeaud emphasises how “state education must also bear in mind that some people are atheist or simply indifferent to religion.”
IT
Iran
Sara Hejazi
Before the 1979 revolution, Iranians declaring themselves Sufi Muslims amounted to about 100,000 people. Now, thirty years later they have become almost 5 million. It is certainly significant that Sufism experienced a surge in popularity precisely during the government of the only Islamic Republic in the world and even more that it has increased in popularity among women and the young. Today Iran is the country with more Sufi Muslims than any other in the Middle East. For the young Sufism appears to be an instrument for remaining Muslim and simultaneously distancing themselves from political and state Islam. For some women being Sufi means rediscovering the authentic “Persian” culture that is, on one hand, free of the restrictions imposed by the governing orthodoxy, while on the other also free of Western cultural influences.
IT
Gaza
Gideon Levy interviewed by Marco Cesario
“Anyone who supported this war, also supported the war crimes committed there”, says Israeli journalist Gideon Levy indirectly answering Yehoshua’s open letter - published recently in the newspaper Haaretz - in which the famous author invited Levy to ‘preserve the moral validity of his distinctive voice’ by blaming not only Israeli leaders but also the leaders of Hamas for having sparked off a painful war. When asked about the behaviour of Abraham Yehoshua, Amos Oz and David Grossmann during this war, he replied “I’m deeply sorry for people with such morals who supported this war, because it was not a moral war.”
FR
IT
Merleau-Ponty
Marco Cesario
To celebrate the centenary of the birth of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, an international congress held at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris discussed once again the concepts of space and time introduced by this philosopher, whose work seems a seamless dialogue with other sciences such as psychology, neurology, physics, literature and art. A opportunity to debate not only his philosophical position set in current times, but also for using the instruments provided by his phenomenology so as to readdress the idea of space and time in the era of communication.
Science
Daniel C. Dennett interviewed by Alessandro Lanni
“Religion is a powerful force in the world. Now more than ever. We need to study it scientifically so that we can anticipate its changes”. Daniel Dennett with Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon (Penguin Group 2006), almost seems to be answering Benedetto XVI’s volume. The Philosophy of Science director of Tufts University of the Centre of Cognitive Studies is turning hierarchy upside down: even religion is a natural phenomenon and as such should be studied with scientific tools. An evolutionist approach applied to a non-scientific theme which Dennett has already experimented with in other areas such as conscience, in The Mind's I: Fantasies and reflections on self and soul (Bantam, Reissue edition, 1985), and free will, in Freedom Evolves (Viking Press, 2003).
IT
Literature
The Arabic version of tyranny has generated corruption, fanaticism and terrorism. To get out of this political and socio-economical stalemate we need to democratize the Arab world from within, pacifically. This is the opinion of one of the most important and committed Arabic intellectuals in recent years: Ala Al-Aswany. The author of the bestseller ‘The Yacoubian building’ is a member of the opposition movement ‘Kifaya’ (Enough!). Ala Al-Aswany is 50 years old and is a dentist. He has recently published his second novel entitled ‘Chicago’, which bravely deals with religion, politics and sexuality.
IT
cinema
Daniele Castellani Perelli
Banned in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan, Ron Howard’s film has faced strong criticism not only in Catholic countries, but also in several Muslim states. Currently Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are the only Middle Eastern countries scheduled to show the screen version of Dan Brown’s bestseller ‘The Da Vinci Code’. “In the Holy Koran it is written clearly that Jesus is one of our prophets” claimed an Indian Muslim representative “this film says that Jesus was a married man. That is blasphemous”. But, for Rana Abu Ata, an Arabic journalist and columnist for al-Hayat, Muslims could learn a lesson from this movie. A lesson on women’s rights.
