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The purpose of this entry is to illustrate a composite and plural socio-religious reality such as that of Islam and Muslims. Too often it is a religion almost exclusively linked to news events concerning terrorist-type actions or to contexts in which there are political crises, or even ongoing war conflicts. Nonetheless, considering the main theme of this encyclopedia, both the historical and religious aspects will be illustrated, in order to provide a tool for deepening Islamic finance and economics. Indeed, this monotheistic faith tradition, although originated in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula where presented itself as a divine challenge to tribal polytheistic cults, had an exceptionally rapid expansion, from the Atlantic to China. This spread involved different peoples, ethnic groups, languages, religions, cultural traditions, etc. which made Islam what it is, despite the process of Islamization and, in many case, of Arabization. The fact remains that the historical process of Islam is intimately linked to the history of the Qur’anic text, the cornerstone of all Muslims around the world.

The health emergency from Covid-19, in addition to having distorted the religious practices of every believer, has brought attention to issues such as those of suffering and death, often removed by technical-scientific progress and privatization processes of the getting sick and dying. On the contrary, these unavoidable stages of existence, together with anthropological, social, juridical factors and the related theological-ritual implications, could develop greater awareness and responsibility in the face of emergencies, sharing, beyond any belief or religion, the eternal mystery of suffering and dying. Therefore, the purpose of this contribution is to present how such experiences are lived in Muslim faith communities.

It can easily be stated that Mokrani’s book is an interesting and successful attempt to study Islamic sources in light of the mimetic theory (mimesis), since he shows that it offers a universal theory of religion and is not only related to Christianity.

Nel contributo è trattata la tematica dell’acqua in ambito islamico come elemento di ordine spirituale e simbolico, con un approfondimento dei contesti della tradizione islamica in cui viene ricordata. In appendice si illustrano una serie di spunti didattici per scuole di ogni ordine e grado.

Si illustrano gli aspetti generali dell’Islam verso la natura. Illustrando la vita di Muhammad ed i principi islamici di unicità del creato in cui l’uomo è il vicario di Dio, si ricordano le recenti iniziative tra cristiani e musulmani uniti nella salvaguardia del pianeta.

From a historical point of view, we can speak of a relative re-emergence of Islām in Italy in modern times, following the migratory flows from various countries of the Islamic world – in particular from the 1970s onwards. Today it is the second religion in almost all European countries. If initially migration was primarily linked to a study and/or the job search, with the consolidation of an Islamic presence and the establishment of families, the need to express and make visible one’s Islamic identity in the public space, together with the need to transmit cultural and religious values to the second generations, has become increasingly common. The contribution, therefore, will seek to illustrate – alongside the historical-contextual and doctrinal aspects – some distinctive elements of a civilisation that all too often is exclusively linked with precarious political situations, and even with endemic conflict. At the same time, considering the role that religions are returning to play in the public arena and the discussions related to this phenomenon, an approach is proposed which brings us closer to the essential core of the Muslim faith and how this belief is lived and manifested in the daily lives of the faithful. The aim is also to enhance the intercultural and inter-religious aspects that the interaction and relationship with the “other” entails, in a discussion that respects differences, based on dialogue and mutual understanding.

L’Impero ottomano fu fondato nell’Anatolia nordoccidentale dal guerriero Osman I ed ebbe vita dal 1299 al 1922: di fatti fu un impero transcontinentale tra i più vasti della storia. In particolare, nel 1453 gli Ottomani, conquistando Costantinopoli per opera di Mehmed II il ‘Conquistatore’, misero fine al millenario Impero Romano d’oriente. Divenuto nel corso dei secoli una vera e propria porta di scambi tra Oriente e Occidente, la dissoluzione dell’Impero osmanico (1908– 1922) ebbe inizio con la Rivoluzione dei Giovani Turchi.

Nell’Islam l’esposizione dei dogmi colloca i messaggeri divini tra gli oggetti di fede. Nel Corano anche Giovanni figura come profeta tra i profeti. Sebbene non occupi precisamente il ruolo evangelico di annunciatore del Cristo, appare fortemente legato a lui.

The growth of a Muslim population residing permanently in Italy has given rise to a series of cultural and political problems that have already emerged in other European countries (e.g. spiritual assistance, burial, etc.). Islam, by raising new questions of citizenship, it leads to questioning certainties and to rethinking the balances that seemed to be consolidated. From this perspective, the pandemic crisis has undoubtedly had a strong impact as well on believers and religious communities of every cult.

The growing number of “new generations” of Muslims in Western countries is not only developing quantitatively into a complex phenomenon, but also implies gradual but important transformations within the Islamic communities (starting from families and mosques) and in society as a whole. Only a few of these dynamics are described and studied and rarely with a direct knowledge of the people concerned by them.

Given the growing multireligious environment such as the Italian one, the article takes into consideration the concept of religious illiteracy, specifically in educational contexts, a phenomenon that can entail social costs in terms of (inter)-cultural incidents, if not conflicts in everyday places, and hinder coexistence and social integration. Moreover, starting from the course “The trans-Mediterranean space and the Islamic world: integration in the school context”, implemented by the Research Center on Intercultural Relations of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan as part of the project PriMED, an initial analysis of several LU (Learning Units) of teachers participating in the course is reported. Specifically, they were asked to design didactic interventions for the class group that could counteract religious illiteracy and/or address the issue of religious diversity. The results that emerged can be enucleated in an obvious need for Interreligious education for dialogue, peace and social cohesion, as a necessary tool to train students in global citizenship.

This article is an attempt to discuss the figure of al-Masīh al-Dajjāl, ‘the deceiving Messiah’, as one of the ten major ‘signs of the Hour’. According to Islamic sources, his arrival will announce the approach of the Hour, or the End Times, the eschatological event which the Qur’an portrays with powerful imagery. While the Qur’an does not explicitly mention the name ‘Dajjāl’ or allude to his function before the coming of the Day of Judgement, his role as an important sign of the Hour is widely assumed and references to it are scattered throughout Islamic texts. Who is the Dajjāl? How is he presented in the Islamic tradition? This article explores both the space given to these eschatological themes in qur’anic passages and Prophetic traditions (Hadiths), and the interpretations of such events in the most influential mainstream commentaries of the Sunni tradition and in present-day scholarship.

Through the daily relationship with children and young people with a migrant background, teachers and educators have the opportunity to develop specific skills useful in the interpretation of different cultures and religions, in the contrast to folkloristic and stereotyped approaches, as well as in finding points of contact that make possible a peaceful coexistence between the different memberships in inclusive educational environments. In this perspective, in the broader discourse on intercultural dialogue, «religious diversity» must be thought of and experienced as a positive resource in the complex processes of growth of individuals and societies, in which the different religions can represent an important opportunity to (re) discover their own cultural/religious identity. On the contrary, the illiteracy of the sacred puts us in a position to ignore that religions reflect history, social evolution, mutual influences, with the risk of urging forms of closure and «radicalism» on a religious basis.

Given the growing multireligious environment such as the Italian one, the article takes into consideration the concept of religious illiteracy, specifically in educational contexts, a phenomenon that can entail social costs in terms of (inter)-cultural incidents, if not conflicts in everyday places, and hinder coexistence and social integration. Moreover, starting from the course “The trans-Mediterranean space and the Islamic world: integration in the school context”, implemented by the Research Center on Intercultural Relations of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan as part of the project PriMED, an initial analysis of several LU (Learning Units) of teachers participating in the course is reported. Specifically, they were asked to design didactic interventions for the class group that could counteract religious illiteracy and/or address the issue of religious diversity. The results that emerged can be enucleated in an obvious need for Interreligious education for dialogue, peace and social cohesion, as a necessary tool to train students in global citizenship.

Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suy ṭī, as a religious scholar of the Egyptian Mamluk era, one of the most prominent scholars of the pre-modern Islamic world, is the most prolific author in all of Islamic literature, with both a rich and diverse literary output. After a brief outline of the life, works and historical period in which the late-fifteenth century polymath lived, in the present essay attempts have been made to explore and highlight all the episodes of al-Suy ṭī‘s personal life and the background and context in which he operated that, most likely, influenced him to the point of making him reflect, argue and debate on life after death and, consequently, produce literature focused on eschatological themes, with the specific mention of some of these works.

Today the majority of the world’s nations face common challenges, in terms of regional, ethnic and religious tensions. In fact, the increasing waves of immigration and the recent rise of attacks attributed to extremist religious ideologies have raised the bar of such challenges. Therefore, it is important that these crises should be overcome with specific approaches, in order to reduce the flow of prejudices, racism and extremism, promoting coexistence above all among the new generations. Since through education it is possible to connect different cultures, know and respect each other, interculturality should be encouraged more and more as an effective element for discussion and integration. Yet, such an option poses real challenges, given that, first of all, didactic materials should provide a serious help to acquire intercultural competencies. This research paper focuses on Italy and Tunisia as a case study in several sections (e.g., religious and ethnic pluralism, intercultural education). The study also interrogates the image of Islam and the other nonMuslim through textbooks and official school programmes. Despite the differences between the Italian and Tunisian cases, the paper concludes that the image of Islam and the other in both cases are based on lack of precision and standardization.

This article first provides an overall picture of Jesus in the Qur’anic Text, amongst the stories of the other prophets, his prophetic role during the mission God gave him on earth and at the End of Times to kill the one-eyed Antichrist (al-Masīḥ al-Dajjāl). Then, it analyzes a relatively short fatwā on Jesus’ second coming on earth titled Kitāb al-I‘lām bi-ḥukm ‘Īsā ‘alayhi al-salām (The Book of Declaration of Jesus’ Judgment, Peace Be Upon Him). This fatwā is found in the well-known al-Suyūṭī’s fatāwā collection, namely, al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī, but was also circulated separately. Among al-Suyūṭī’s numerous contributions to eschatology, this eschatological-legal treaty explores matters in relation to the judgment of Jesus on his return before the Last Day. Specifically, al-Suyūṭī addresses an issue that has occupied the minds of commentators on several aḥādīth concerning the son of Mary, namely, what body of law he will follow.

Il volume espone i risultati di una ricerca svolta presso il Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia dell’Università degli Studi di Firenze, condotta da un’équipe di specialisti su fonti di età medievale appartenenti alle tradizioni ebraica, cristiana e islamica.

In Italy the rapid and continuous growth of the migration phenomenon has also impacted on the school system over the years. According to the data provided by the Ministry of Education, the number of students with non-Italian citizenship (NIC) has changed from the number of 37,478 (1993/1994) to 857,729 (10% of the total school population) in the school year 2018/2019. Considering origin of countries, it has grown over the years up to reach a variety of more than 200 countries, that is almost the whole world, even though the most numerous communities of students NIC are from Romania, Albania and Morocco. As a matter of fact, this situation is also asso-ciated with cultural, linguistic and religious differences which are present in the school-training system; in fact, Italy is experiencing an increase in religious diversity. As an institution devoted to reception, the school has played a fundamental role towards immigration, by progressively adopting solutions which, from initial emer-gency stage, have developed with the purpose of ensuring the minors’ right to educa-tion in view of increasing presence of immigrants’ children, but also of the constant growth of students NIC born in Italy from migrant parents: “second generations” (64,5% of 857,729). Italian school, through the growing presence of students NIC, has been becoming increasingly a multicultural and multireligious school, a field of encounter between different cultures. For this reason, it needs, more and more, inter-cultural and interreligious education in order both to sow the seeds of innovative pedagogical and didactic actions, and prevent and tackle violent radicalisation and extremism. Since textbooks, along with pedagogical materials, do not simply pass on knowledge, but mirror the values of the society in which they are produced and used, a critical review of textbooks content should be constantly conducted by teachers, having an understanding of pedagogic content knowledge. Indeed, textbooks still

Scopo del presente saggio, pertanto, è quello di illustrare in sintesi le finalità e le implicazioni del Documento sulla Fratellanza umana per la pace mondiale e la convivenza comune sottoscritto il 4 febbraio 2019 ad Abu Dhabi tra Papa Francesco e il Grande Imam di Al-Azhar, Ahmad al-Tayyib, un atto pubblico di grande valore perché invita all’incontro e al dialogo con le altre espressioni religiose e al rispetto delle minoranze. Inoltre, saranno riportate alcune delle numerose iniziative internazionali e nazionali che, prendendo spunto proprio dal Documento, hanno avuto delle ricadute anche nei contesti locali italiani.

La scuola italiana, soprattutto in alcune aree del paese, si trova a gestire già da molto tempo classi multietniche e multiculturali in cui ci sono alunni con cittadinanza non italiana. Rappresenta uno spazio pubblico dove si riflettono le pratiche di gestione delle differenze nel più ampio scenario sociale e, in quanto spazio educativo, si pone come laboratorio di sperimentazioni e cambiamenti. Specificamente, negli spazi scolastici la diversità religiosa attraversa le storie di chi li abita e spesso si richiama a radici provenienti da paesi diversi dall’Italia. Per questo motivo la pedagogia interculturale è chiamata ad affrontare il tema del pluralismo religioso, con un ruolo specifico: interpellare la scuola affinché il tema della diversità religiosa sia affrontato sul piano delle conoscenze unitamente a un dialogo sui principi, i valori e le intime convinzioni dell’individuo.

The main goal of this article is to give an overall picture of the Qur ̓ānic view about the issues of Jesus’ crucifixion, death and second coming. The Qur ̓ān states unequivocally that the Jews did not kill the son of Mary, while another person assumed his appearance and was crucified. Therefore, escaping death, Jesus was assumed into heaven alive and God will send him back to earth in the End Times. Probably, this is the most widely-known view on this issue in the Muslim world today. Hence, the article gives an analysis of the Qur ̓ānic relevant passages, in addition to an overview of the most influential mainstream commentaries of the Sunnī tradition about those references. Finally, stress has been placed on the philological aspects, by focusing the investigation on the Arabic text of the Qur ̓ān, so as to attempt to retrace an emblematic aspect of the Qur ̓ānic account of Jesus.