Davide Scotto
PhD Florence 2012. Previous experience: University of Naples L'Orientale, Department of Asian, African and Mediterranean Studies, ERC Project EuQu; Goethe University Frankfurt, Department of History; University of Basel, Department of History; CSIC, Madrid, ERC Project CORPI; Brno, Masaryk University, Department for the Study of Religions; Tübingen, Protestant Faculty of Theology/Centre for Islamic Theology.
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The research begins with the intense political, cultural and religious debate that took place in Italy immediately before the war. The real and imaginary relationship with Muslims in North Africa was influenced by the idealizing atmosphere widespread in Italy and elsewhere in Europe. The nostalgic dream of re-conquering ancient Roman lands and the rebirth of the “spirit of crusade” gave rise to a strong religious dualism which was either supported or denounced by the individual prelates, the Catholic press (“La Civiltà Cattolica”, “L’Osservatore Romano”), and by well-known thinkers such as Ernesto Buonaiuti. The dynamics of the encounter with the Arab-Turk reveal certain constants, such as the evocation of the desert, the stigmatisation of religious practices and the feeling of being lost in otherness. These in turn allow one to identify precise stereotypes (the “spurcitia” and idleness of the Turk, the slowness and ambiguity of the Arab), very often rooted in the Middle Ages, connected to Islam on different levels.
Stigmatisation, however, was not the only interpretative paradigm. The essay reveals how certain rare witnesses (e.g. Arnaldo Fraccaroli, Georges Rémond), gifted with an anthropological sensitivity for local culture, described an Islamic universe made up of fascinating daily rituals not at odds with Western sensibilities. Also for this reason, with respect to Europe’s relationship with Islam, the aftermath of the war between Italy and the Ottoman Empire demands to be examined. It is an ancient legacy, but also an emblematic precedent of that which was about to emerge during the First World War.
Papers by Davide Scotto
Drawing from the surviving Latin “Praefatio” of the trilingual Qur’ān, this essay extensively investigates the four-month direct interaction that took place between a Christian and an Islamic scholar. A comprehensive examination of the available sources, supported by that brought to light by the critical editions of unstudied works (recently published or forthcoming), allowed for both a chronological reconstruction of the inter-cultural experience, as well as shedding some light on the meaning that its Christian witness gave to it. Especially with regards to this second consideration, in spite of recent linguistic and philological studies, there are still many questions to be answered. Why would a theologian belonging to the late medieval University wish so strongly–and manage–to compile a translation of the Qur’ān that was as faithful as possible to the Arabic text? Perhaps it is no coincidence that within this Mediterranean context, which was largely Christian or re-christianized, Juan de Segovia’s contemporaries did not walk the same path.
The research begins with the intense political, cultural and religious debate that took place in Italy immediately before the war. The real and imaginary relationship with Muslims in North Africa was influenced by the idealizing atmosphere widespread in Italy and elsewhere in Europe. The nostalgic dream of re-conquering ancient Roman lands and the rebirth of the “spirit of crusade” gave rise to a strong religious dualism which was either supported or denounced by the individual prelates, the Catholic press (“La Civiltà Cattolica”, “L’Osservatore Romano”), and by well-known thinkers such as Ernesto Buonaiuti. The dynamics of the encounter with the Arab-Turk reveal certain constants, such as the evocation of the desert, the stigmatisation of religious practices and the feeling of being lost in otherness. These in turn allow one to identify precise stereotypes (the “spurcitia” and idleness of the Turk, the slowness and ambiguity of the Arab), very often rooted in the Middle Ages, connected to Islam on different levels.
Stigmatisation, however, was not the only interpretative paradigm. The essay reveals how certain rare witnesses (e.g. Arnaldo Fraccaroli, Georges Rémond), gifted with an anthropological sensitivity for local culture, described an Islamic universe made up of fascinating daily rituals not at odds with Western sensibilities. Also for this reason, with respect to Europe’s relationship with Islam, the aftermath of the war between Italy and the Ottoman Empire demands to be examined. It is an ancient legacy, but also an emblematic precedent of that which was about to emerge during the First World War.
Drawing from the surviving Latin “Praefatio” of the trilingual Qur’ān, this essay extensively investigates the four-month direct interaction that took place between a Christian and an Islamic scholar. A comprehensive examination of the available sources, supported by that brought to light by the critical editions of unstudied works (recently published or forthcoming), allowed for both a chronological reconstruction of the inter-cultural experience, as well as shedding some light on the meaning that its Christian witness gave to it. Especially with regards to this second consideration, in spite of recent linguistic and philological studies, there are still many questions to be answered. Why would a theologian belonging to the late medieval University wish so strongly–and manage–to compile a translation of the Qur’ān that was as faithful as possible to the Arabic text? Perhaps it is no coincidence that within this Mediterranean context, which was largely Christian or re-christianized, Juan de Segovia’s contemporaries did not walk the same path.
Le cinque conferenze sono tenute da specialisti di letteratura cristiana antica, letteratura rabbinica, traduzioni medievali del Corano, storia del pensiero cristiano contemporaneo e storia della teologia islamica attivi presso università e centri di ricerca europei (Ginevra, Tubinga, Madrid, Pavia, Torino/Exeter), riuniti in questa occasione in un dialogo scientifico concepito come unitario e organico.
Online e aperto al pubblico, il ciclo di conferenze è organizzato dal Centro di Studi Interreligiosi presso l’Almo Collegio Borromeo di Pavia e conclude il corso di “Chiese e teologie in età moderna e contemporanea”, attivato entro il nuovo curriculum “Studi interreligiosi” della Laurea magistrale in Storia d’Europa dell’Università di Pavia.
The establishment of Islamic theology in Germany raises fundamental questions about the way in which Islam can be perceived and assumed in a European context. Rationality, secularism and pluralism form the framework for presenting the Islamic theological discourse in a scientifically understandable and socially acceptable way. In order to discuss the issues this exciting project gives rise to, the research group Rationality and Reason in the Life and Thought of Muslims in a Global
and Pluralistic Context – Conceptions of Islamic Theology organizes each semester between 2014-2016 a series of lectures. International
scholars from diverse scholarly backgrounds are invited to discuss the relevant topics with the public. The research group consists of eight researchers from the Zentrum für islamische Theologie (ZiTh), the
Evangelisch-theologische Fakultät and the Orientalisches Seminar in Tübingen, and the Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg (HfJS).