The Koran in Rome. Catholicism and the study of Islam in modern times

From 1 to 2 March 2022, the international conference The Koran in Rome. Catholicism and the study of Islam in modern times was held in Rome. The event was the result of a collaborative idea between the Centro Studi Interreligiosi della Gregoriana, the Pontificio Istituto di Studi Arabi e d'Islamistica (PISAI) and the section of the University of Naples L'Orientale of the European project The European Qur'an (EuQu).

During the first day, held at the Gregorian University, and the second, set in the Maurice Borrmans Library of the PISAI, numerous speakers from various international institutions presented their relations, followed by an attentive audience that was able to participate in presence and online. Among the speakers were two members of the PISAI academic community: Professor Jason Welle OFM and PhD student Anna Canton.

The ways and terms, including linguistic ones, in which Catholicism has interpreted and studied the Qur’an and Islamic doctrines in modern times, particularly in the 17th century, were the main focus of the conference. The work of Ludovico Marracci (1612-1700), of the order of the Clerics Regular of the Mother of God, the writings of the Jesuits and other religious orders, as well as those documents that formed the basis of Catholic Orientalism were the focus of the papers and the intense debate.