A place of knowledge, dialogue, comparison to build bridges between the Arab world and the Western world. It is the significant mission that it sets itself the Arab Cultural Institute, born from an agreement between the Sharjah Book Authority – government cultural institution of Sharjah, one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, – and the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart. The Institute, which will be located at the University of Milan, will be inaugurated Friday 30 August with an official ceremony in the Aula Magna.
The event, introduced by the Rector of the Catholic University Elena Beccalli and from the princess Bodour Al-Qasimidaughter of the Emir of Sharjah, will be present – to underline the importance of the collaboration between the two institutions – the Emir himself, Sultan Bin Muhammad Al Qasimiat the helm of the emirate since 1972, always personally committed to the promotion and diffusion of culture, himself a great scholar and author of over thirty books. A passion, that for culture and publishing, which he passed on to his daughter, Princess Bodour, founder of the publishing house Kalimat (from which the non-profit organization Kalimat Foundation was also born).
The inauguration ceremony will feature a debate with contributions from Mohamed Safy Al-Mostaghanimisecretary general of the Arabic language academy in Sharjah, and of Ignacio Gutierrez of Teranprofessor at the Autonomous University of Madrid, who will discuss the topic “Arabic language in Europe. The example of Spain”The debate will be moderated by Wael Faroukprofessor of Arabic language and culture at the Catholic University and director of the Institute of Arab Culture. The event will also present an unpublished exhibition that collects archaeological finds and precious manuscripts made available by the Sharjah Book AuthorityThe exhibition will be open until September 5th.
Sharjah Book Authority was founded in 2014 to promote multiple initiatives related to publishing, from publishing and translating books to organizing literary festivals. The most important initiative And the annual Sharjah International Book Fair, first organized in 1982, and today one of the largest book fairs in the world, with more than 400 literary events and more than 2 million visitors.
«The Catholic University of the Sacred Heart is increasingly becoming a leading space for the promotion of intercultural and interreligious dialogue»comments Professor Wael Farouq. «For ten years the University of Milan has taken on the commitment to open up and build bridges towards the Arab and Islamic world. We have already carried out many initiatives, we have published books on teaching the Arabic language, we organize the International Festival of Arabic Language and Culture, and then we have the Students’ Choir in Arabic. Now we felt the need to organize all these activities in one institute. Certainly this initiative draws inspiration from Pope Francis’ encyclical Brothers all and also from the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together signed by the Pontiff and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmad al-Tayyb. Monsignor Paolo Martinelli, Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, will be present at the inauguration event.
The Arab Cultural Institute will be a center of attraction for the many Italians of Arab origin, Farouq continues. «Above all It will be a place of dialogue and meeting between two worlds, the Arab and the Western, which are looking for spaces for coexistence to generate goodness and beauty together. And we know how important all this is in the difficult historical moment we are living in.”
