The Interaction of Religions in the Mediterranean in “The Mediterranean: A Religious Space”

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Alexandria— The Bibliotheca Alexandrina's Alexandria and Mediterranean Research Center (Alex-Med) holds on the 6th of May the seventh and final lecture of the cycle entitled Penser la Méditerranée or Thinking the Mediterranean. The event entitled "The Mediterranean: A Religious Space" will focus on the history and interplay of the three monotheistic religions in the Mediterranean area, and comprises presentations by Habib Tawa and Carmelo Giuseppe Conticello. The presentations are entitled, respectively, "The Mediterranean: A Religious Space," and "The Three Monotheistic Religions in Sicily from the 7th to the 20th Centuries: Assessment and Prospects. "

The presentation delivered by Alexandria-born historian and journalist Habib Tawa, will address the interaction between the three monotheistic religions through the history of the Mediterranean, beginning with the Roman Empire to the Fatimide rule in Egypt through the spread of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Tawa will place his analysis of the religious history of the Mediterranean region in a global context.

The Italian Conticello, researcher at the Center for the Study of the Religions of the Book affiliated to the French National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS), will focus on the historical role of the island of Sicily as a crossroads for the three monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), presenting a model for tolerance and peaceful coexistence that could be of use in the contemporary atmosphere of tension. The lecturer will lay the historical groundwork for his thesis in the introductory section of his presentation, later delving into the analysis of the interaction of the three religions in Sicily.

This cycle of conferences which this event concludes aims at becoming the meeting place of the most prominent contributors to the field of Mediterranean studies. The cycle began in May of 2006, and has presented the interested public with lectures by fifteen experts on the Mediterranean, including the two speakers of the upcoming event.


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