Founded in 1953, the Dominican Institute for Oriental Studies (IDEO) located in ʿAbbāsiyya, Cairo, is one of the most important research centers devoted to Christian-Muslim dialogue and Islamic studies in the Middle East. The center’s scholarship, world-class library (approximately 200,000 volumes), and ecumenical and interfaith hospitality make it a vibrant location for scholarship and spirituality. Two seminars that occurred last week provide a glimpse of IDEO’s activities and impact. 

On Wednesday, May 17th, the center hosted Professor Jon Hoover from the University of Nottingham, who is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading scholars on the influential and controversial medieval Muslim theologian, Ibn Taymiyya (d.1328). Professor Hoover contributed to an ongoing seminar at IDEO on the concept of the salaf, or the founding Muslim generations, in classical Islamic thought. During his visit to Cairo, Professor Hoover graciously sat for an interview on Ibn Taymiyya which we hope to publish soon through Dialogue Across Borders. 

(Professor Jon Hoover lectures at IDEO on the concept of the salaf in the writings of Ibn Taymiyya.)

From May 19-21, IDEO hosted an international seminar on “The Religious Other in Qurʾānic Tafsīr.” Organized by Professor Walid Saleh of the University of Toronto, the conference was a joint project of IDEO, the Orient-Institut Beirut (OIB), and L'Institut d’études de l’Islam et des sociétés du monde musulman (IISMM - Paris). 

(Conference program)

Along with ProfessorSaleh, the conference convened several leading scholars in the fields of Qurʾānic studies and interpretation, including Professor Angelika Neuwirth, who has directed the Corpus Coranicum in Berlin for more than a decade. On a personal note, I was pleased to have an opportunity to see Professor Jerusha Tanner Rhodes who I studied with at Georgetown University. Professor Rhodes currently serves as an associate professor of Islam and Interreligious Engagement at Union Theological Seminary in New York.

(Professor Jerusha Tanner Rhodes presents while Dr. Emmanuel Pisani, O.P., the director of IDEO, moderates during a conference session.) 

As a Catholic institution, IDEO continues to play a creative and vital role in interreligious dialogue and research in the Middle East. I am grateful that my predecessor, Cornelis Hulsman, formed a strong relationship with the community. At present, Dialogue Across Borders is in conversation with IDEO about some shared projects and I hope to have more to say about that soon. In the meantime, we wish our friends in the IDEO community every success in their important work. 

With best wishes,

Matthew Anderson 

Executive Editor 

Dialogue Across Borders 

Helpful Links

The Dominican Institute for Oriental Studies (IDEO)

Professor Walid Saleh

Professor Jon Hoover

Corpus Coranicum (Berlin)

May 25, 2023