Rencontres de Fes Participants’ Biographies
The Sacred and the Modern
Theme of the Rencontres
Alexandre Adler : Historian and journalist, specialist in international geopolitics. He has written for Libération, Le Monde, l’Express and Le Point. Auditor at the Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Professor of higher military education at the Ministry of Defence and chairman of International Relations at the College Interarmées de Défense from 1992 to 1998. Contributor to the French weekly Courrier International from 1992 to 2002; he is currently a member of the editorial committee of the daily Le Figaro and journalist at France Culture.
1 st morning: Saturday 2 June: Cultural Identity vs Globalisation
Abdou Filali-Ansary : Philosopher, specialist researcher into relations between Islam and democracy. Professor, Director of the Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations at the Aga Khan University in London . He was the first director of the King Abdul Aziz Al-Saoud Foundation for Islamic Studies and Human Sciences (at Casablanca ). Author of Reforming Islam? Introduction to contemporary debates ( La Découverte , 2005) and Islam: against the people? (Le Fennec, 1996 and Actes Sud, 2002).
Michael Barry : Specialist in Iranian and Afghan civilisations, he is Professor of Persian in the department of Near-East Studies at the University of Princeton in the US . He also manages the department of Islamic Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) in New York .
He has been an observer in Afghanistan for the International Federation of Human Rights, co-ordinator of Afghan missions for Médecins du Monde, and Afghanistan consultant for the United Nations. Author of a notable biography of the commandant Massoud, and translator into French of the medieval Persian poet Nezami.
Dominique Baudis : Journalist, writer and politician ; permanent correspondent for French television in the Near East . Former mayor of Toulouse , member of the European Parliament, and member of the National Assembly. From 2001 to 2007, he headed the Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel Français (CSA). Currently President of the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris .
Kenneth Brown : Anthropologist, professor at Manchester University for 20 years, as well as at the University of California at Berkeley , and at Chicago and Dakar . Founder and director of the bilingual publication Méditerranéennes/Mediterranean, he was also guest researcher at the CNRS and the EHESS (1987-88). He currently conducts research into Morocco (a social history of Salé from 1830 to 1930 was published as People of Salé (Harvard University Press, 1976 and Eddif, 2001), Tunisia , Israel and Palestine .
Jean Clair: Art historian, writer and critic. Specialist in the history of surrealism, as well as the works of Duchamp and Picasso. He has been editor in chief of Chronique de l’Art vivant, founder and director of Cahiers du Musée d’Art Moderne and has curated many national exhibitions. He managed the Picasso Museum in Paris from 1989 to 2006. Author of La barbarie ordinaire, Music à Dachau (Gallimard, 2001), Surréalisme considéré dans ses rapports avec le totalitarisme (Mille et une nuits, 2003) and Uneleçon d’abîme. Neuf approches de Picasso (Gallimard, 2005). He directs the work Mélancolie. Génie et folie en Occident (Gallimard/RMN, 2005), a catalogue of the exhibition of which he is curator.
Emmanuel Fessy (France) : Journalist, co-founder and former director of Journal des Arts, the publications of the Pompidou Centre, and of the Ecole National Supérieure de Création Industrielle (ENSCI); currently joint editor at Le Figaro in the Culture department.
Christophe Girard: Co-mayor of Paris in charge of Culture, he is also a member of the Adminstrative Council of the International College of Philosophy and vice-president of the Administrative Council of the Museum of Jewish Art and History.
Edouard Glissant: Writer, poet and essayist, he has been Distinguished Professor of French at the City University of New York since 1995. Writer/activist, he has moved from negritude and separatism to concepts of antillanité and creolisation (which is his background). Using the work of Frantz Fanon, he founded, with Paul Niger, the Antillano-Guyanais Front (independents). Allowed back into Martinique in 1965, he founded the Martinique Institute of Studies and a human sciences publication, Acoma . His work – combining both identity and poetry – encompasses the survival of people at the heart of globalisation within concepts of antillanité, creolisation and the world.
Nedim Gürsel : Writer (author of over 30 books), winner of many literary prizes, he stands at the pinnacle of literature in his country. He lives in Paris where he writes in Turkish: he is director of research at the CNRS and teaches at the School of Oriental Languages . His first book, Un long été à Istanbul (Gallimard, 1980), has been translated into many languages, having won in 1976 the greatest prize for Turkish literature. His novel La Première femme (Seuil, 1986) won him the Ipekçi prize, awarded by a Greek/Turkish foundation for its contribution to bridging the gap between these two peoples.
Robert Lion: Director Generale of the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations from 1982 to 1992, he played an important role in the domaine of social housing, urban renewal and architecture. Directed the renovation of the Champs Elysées Theatre and the building of the Grande Arche de la Défense. Former president of the Association Française d’Action Artistique (Cultures France). Currently president of the NGO Energy 21 and member of the Conseil de la Terre. Also currently President of Agrisud and member of the National Council of Sustainable Development.
Bruno Maquart : Current Director General of the Georges Pompidou Centre of National Art and Culture in Paris . He was an advisor to Martine Aubry at the Ministry of Employment and Solidarity.
Tarek Mitri : Lebanese politican and intellectual, he has been behind many world intiatives towards interfaith dialogue. Doctor of Social Sciences, he is a specialist in the history and sociology of Islamic-Christian relations. Co-ordinator of Programmes for interfaith dialogue at the World Council of Churches in Geneva . Currently Minister of Culture and interim Minister of Foreign Affairs in Lebanon . Author of many works, he has taught at the University of Harvard in the US, at the Balamand University in Lebanon and at the St Joseph University in Beirut.
Sara Yalda : Director of Rencontres at Le Figaro.
2 nd morning : Sunday 3 June : Our Heritage Cities : reflections of the ancient world or a source of imagination for the future ?
Jacques Attali : writer and essayist of world renown, he is also a journalist on l’Express. Former advisor to President François Mitterand. Founding president of PlaNet Finance, an NGO specialising in micro-funding. His latest works include La confrérie des éveillés (Fayard, 2004) and Une brève histoire de l’avenir (Fayard, 2006).
Aziza Bennani : Permanent ambassador for Morocco at UNESCO, she is also Professor in the faculty of Human Sciences in Rabat . Having been dean of the faculty of Human Sciences at the University of Hassan II in Mohammedia, she took on the job of High Commissioner for the Handicapped at UNESCO, was Secretary of State for Culture and President of the Executive Council. She is also a member of expert intergovernmental groups such as that of the Patrimoine Oral et Immatériel de l’Humanité and Cultural Diversity. She is advisor at the United National for the Alliance of Civilisations.
Gilles de Bure : journalist and writer notably for Actuel, Globe, Les Nouvelles Littéraires and Beaux Arts. He has authored some twenty books on art, architecture and the image. Curator of many exhibitions, he is manager of the Galerie d’actualité at the Pompidou Centre and director at the Grande Halle de La Villette. Currently architectural correspondent at the Journal des Arts.
Pierre-Antoine Gatier : Chief Architect of Historic Monuments and member of the Académie d’Architecture and President of ICOMOS France, the NGO concerned with the conseration and promotion of architectural heritage and cultural heritage sites. As an architect, he is currently involved with the reconstruction of New Orleans .
Maria Gravari-Barbas : Professor of geography at the University of Angers and researcher at the CARTA laboratory, UMR ESO ‘Space and Society’. Currently director of the Fondation Hellénique de Paris (Cité Internationale Universitaire). Author of many articles and works on heritage, she concentrates her research on the heritage, cultural events and urban tourism.
Nathalie Heinich : Sociologist, director of research at the CNRS, member of the Centre for Research into Arts and Language of the EHESS, and associate member of the Laboratory of Anthropology and History at the Insitute of Culture (CNRS, Ministry of Culture/EHESS). She is the author of many articles and works on the status of artists and authors, on comtemporary art, questions of identity, values and the history of sociology. Among her works are: Sociologie de l’art ( La Découverte , 2001), L’art en conflits ( La Découverte , 2002), L’élite artiste. Excellence et singularité en régime démocratique (Gallimard, 2005).
Salima Naji : DPLG architect and anthropologist, she is the author of many works of reference on the vernacular architecture of southern Morocco , notably Art et architectures berbères (Edisud, 2001), Portes du Sud (Edisud, 2003), Greniers collectifs de l'Atlas, Patrimoine du sud marocain (Edisud, 2006). Having spent some years working towards preservation and cultural development, she received the Prix Jeunes Architectes from the Fondation EDF in June 2004 for her work on collective granaries in the Anti-Atlas. Currently she is working on the rehabilitation of the Ksar d’Assa.
Frédéric Migayrou : Philosopher; currently chief conservation officer in the department of architecture and design at the Musée National d’Art Moderne (Georges Pompidou Centre-CNAC, Paris). He has curated many exhibitions such as ‘Morphosis’ and ‘Architectures non standard’.
Francis Rambert : Architecture critic and director of the Institut Français d’Architecture, Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine (Paris). Journalist at Le Figaro from 1990 to 2004 ; author of several works on architecture ; curator of many exhibitions such as ‘Bouge l’architecture/Cities on the move’ ( Paris , 2002), and at the Biennales d’architecture in Buenos Aires (1998 and 2001) and in Rotterdam (2003).
Bernard Reichen : Architect and town planner, he won the Grand Prix in 2005 for town planning. Co-founder of the Agence Reichen et Robert in Paris , he is also a member of the Academy of Architecture and of the Committee Plan Construction et Architecture de la Commission Nationale des Monuments Historiques.
3rd morning : Monday 4 June 2007 : Faith and Reason put to the test in the new world
Mohammed Arkoun : Emeritus Professor of the History of Islamic Thought at the Sorbonne ( Paris III). He initiated the new discipline of ‘applied Islamology’ on which he has written and taught. Among his latest works are: Ouvertures sur l'islam (4e éd., in L’islam. Approche critique , Paris 2007), Humanisme et Islam. Combats et propositions (Vrin, 2006),L’islam et les musulmans en France du Moyen Âge à nos jours (Albin Michel, 2006), L'humanisme arabe au 4e/10e siècle (PUF, 3 ème éd. 2005), De Manhattan à Bagdad. Au-delà du Bien et du Mal (Desclée De Brouwer, 2003) and La Pensée arabe (PUF, 6 ème éd., 2003) .
Ali Benmakhlouf : Philosopher at the University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis. He co-directs the ‘philosophies’ section at the publishers Presses Universitaires de France and that of ‘philosophical debate’ at Editions Le Fennec ( Morocco ). Author of Averroès (Belles lettres, 2003), Russell (Belles lettres, 2004), Frege, le nécessaire et le superflu (Vrin, 2002), Frene logicien philosophe (PUF, 1997), and L'atomisme logique (PUF, 1996).
Cheikh Khaled Bentounès : Spiritual leader of the Sufi order Alâwiya. Man of peace and indefatigable worker towards harmony between peoples; author of Le soufisme, coeur de l’islam , which has been translated into several languages. Has also contributed to many works of reference on the questions of Islam, the connections between the Abrahamic faiths and on the place of man in the cradle of creation. He is founder of the international Sufi association of Alâwiya.
Fethi Benslama : Psychoanalyst, professor psychopathology at the University of Jussieu , Paris VII. His works place him at the forefront of Islamic analysts. Notable among his works are La psychanalyse à l’épreuve de l’islam (Flammarion, 2004), Déclaration d’insoumission à l‘usage des musulmans et de ceux qui ne le sont pas (Flammarion, 2005), La virilité en islam (L’Aube, 1998) and Divan occidental (L’Aube, 2004).
Jean-Paul Guetny : Journalist, former director of Monde des Religions, novelist and essayist, specialist in interfaith dialogue and administrator of GAIC (Groupe d’Amitié Islamo-Chrétienne). Member of the Society of Thanatology, and lecturer at several medical institutions. He is particularly interested in the place of religion at the time of death. He co-directs Le Grand Livre de la Mort à l' Usage des Vivants , published by Albin Michel.
Jean-Claude Guillebaud : Writer and editor, long-time reporter and war correspondent for Sud-Ouest, Le Monde, and subsequently Le Nouvel Observateur. Literary director at the publishing house Seuil since 1982, he has published some 20 works including five essays on the difficulties of the contemporary world. Among these are La Tyrannie du plaisir (Seuil, 2000) which won the Renaudot Essay prize in 1998 and Le Principe d'humanité (Seuil, 2001), which received the European grand prix for essays in 2002. His latest works include Le Goût de l'avenir (Seuil, 2006) and La Force de conviction (Seuil, 2006) which won the prix Humanisme de la Franc-Maçonnerie française.
Khalid Mahmood : Born in Pakistan and educated at the University of Central England , he was elected in 2001 to the House of Commons for Birmingham . Labour politican, he has also been municipal consultant in Birmingham from 1990 to 1993, in charge of inter-community relations. Member of the Third World Solidarity Group in the House of Commons (presided over by Mushtaq Lasharie), a group of parlimentarians from all parties concerned with solidarity, peace and justice in developing countries.
Jean Claude Petit : Director of the Christian news weekly La Vie from 1988 to 2003, he is currently Vice-President of the Centre National de la Presse Catholique and of the association Image et Esprit. He is also founder of Christians of the Mediterranean . His works include Dieu a-t-il un avenir ? (Calmann-Lévy, 1996) and L’église après Jean-Paul II (Calmann-Lévy, 2005).
Cardinal Paul Poupard : Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, he is president of the Pope’s Council of Culture at the Vatican . Cardinal-priest at Saint Praxede’s since 1996, he was one of the Conclave members who elected Pope Benedict XVI. He has written several books of learning that have been translated into fifteen or so languages. With a doctorate from the Sorbonne, he has been awarded academic distinctions from the universities of Louvain , Aix-en-Provence , Fu Jen, Quito , Santiago de Chile and Puebla de Los Angeles .
Monseigneur Michel Sabbah : Patriarch of Jerusalem since 1987, he is the first Palestinian Arab to have been nominated to this position. He has become a spokesperson for Palestinian Christians, and is also Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
Chief Rabbi René-Samuel Sirat : Eminent figure in Judaism, born in Algeria , he has been Chief Rabbi of the Consistoire Central of France since 1988. Before that he was Chief Rabbi of France from 1981 to 1987. He was director of the Middle-East–North Africa department at the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales in Paris, and Inspector General of National Education for the teaching of Hewbrew from 1973 to 1981. He is founding director of the UNESCO chair of mutual knowledge of the religions of the Book and the spreading of peace.
Trinh Xuan Thuan : Astrophysicist and writer of international renown, he has been Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Virginia since 1976. Specialising in extra-galactic astronomy, he is the author of La Mélodie secrète (Fayard, 1988), Chaos et l'Harmonie (Gallimard, 2000), l'Infini dans la paume de la main (Fayard, 2000), Origines (Fayard, 2003) and Voies de la lumière (Fayard, 2007), all of which have brought public acclaim.