Distorting Mirrors: Islam seen from the West and the West seen from Islam
Zouhir Louassini, writer and journalist Rai-med (Research Group Contemporary Arabic Studies – University of Granada - Spain)
Mario Nordio, University Ca’ Foscari, Venice

Islam in the Near and Middle East: Politics and Religion
Gianroberto Scarcia, University Ca’ Foscari, Venice
Giorgio Vercellin, University Ca’ Foscari, Venice

Muslim Mysticism
Giulio Soravia, University of Bologna

Islamic Art
Maria Vittoria Fontana, Istituto Universitario Orientale of Naples

Conferences conducted by Pier Giovanni Donini, scientific consultant of “On the Way to New Cultures” and presented by journalist Sandra Bortolin (RAI 3)

After the exhibition dedicated to contemporary South African art, “On the Way to New Culture” returned to the Mediterranean Sea coast. “The other shores” was the title of the phase of the project dedicated to the Islamic world. The organizers wanted to point out the closeness of cultural aspects and processes in the countries facing the Mediterranean Sea. Their geographical position makes them especially significant for the development of our culture.
On four Fridays, experts and university teachers illustrated different aspects of the Arab/Islamic World. They spoke about the western point of view on Islam during the time, spoke of the intertwining of politics and religion in the Near and Middle East, dealt with the human and spiritual significance of mysticism and went through the flowering of Islamic art, that left so many traces in western countries too.
It was also the occasion to hear another voice: how Islam sees and saw the West. Two facing mirrors that often reproduced their reflecting image, at times distorting it.
The conferences’ contents are collected in the book “Il vicino e l’altrove” (Near and elsewhere), edited by Pier Giovanni Donini (Marsilio 2003)

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