ITALY: PONTIFICAL INSTITUTE OF ARABIC & ISLAMIC STUDIES

Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies
Interview With Father M.A. Ayuso, New Rector

ROME, NOV. 16, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Interest in Islam is growing, but at times the focus is more on information rather than formation, says the new rector of the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies.

Father Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, a Comboni missionary, is the new rector of the PISAI. In this interview with ZENIT, he presents the nature of this Church institution at the service of interreligious and intercultural dialogue.

Born in Seville, Spain, Father Ayuso has a doctorate in dogmatic theology and has been a missionary in Egypt and Sudan.

Q: There are many people who do not know that the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies exists in Rome. Since when has it been operating and what does Benedict XVI think about this institution?

Father Ayuso: Yes, the ignorance is somewhat surprising in certain sectors, except in the academic, of the existence in Rome of a pontifical institute which is dedicated specifically to the objective study of Islam, in view of establishing an interreligious and intercultural dialogue between Muslims and Christians.

Surprising too is the fact that in the Muslim environment we are well known and appreciated for our seriousness and determination to know Islam objectively, from the study of its sciences, through intensive study of the Arab language, as an absolutely necessary instrument to that end.

The Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies was created in 1926 in Tunis by the Society of Missionaries of Africa [the White Fathers]. Its aim was the specific formation of missionaries to live in an Arab-Muslim environment.

In 1949, the center of studies was moved to Manouba, near Tunis, where the Arab language and Islamic sciences were taught, while the Tunis center was becoming what up to today is called Institute of Arab Literature.

In 1960, the center was established as a pontifical institute and, in 1964, because of the policy of nationalizations, it was transferred from Tunis to Rome, where it received the support of Pope Paul VI, as an ideal instrument for interreligious dialogue, in keeping with the new spirit of the Second Vatican Council.

Since then […] PISAI has been and is an institution of the Church of international prestige at the service of interreligious and intercultural dialogue.

In recent years, its academic authorities have tried to solve some difficulties to be able to ensure PISAI's continuity and permanence in Rome.

In fact, Benedict XVI's intervention for this excellent institute allows us to continue to offer this service to the Church, and for this we are enormously grateful to him. The institute will continue its mission of being a bridge between cultures and religions.

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Pertinent Links:

1) Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies