“Jusur opens its doors to everyone, without exception, not so much for the purpose of a dialogue that can end in agreement or disagreement, but to lay together the bricks of a future that brings us together, within the richness of our differences and through the sharing of beauty. A dialogue that goes beyond the doctrinal dimension of religions to welcome all the elements that contribute to the growth of human civilization”. This is how Wael Farouq, an Arab intellectual who has already taught in various Western universities and is currently a professor of Arabic Language and Literature at the Catholic University of Milan, describes the “Jusur” project that he directs.
“Jusur” is the first international intercultural magazine promoted and supported by the World Muslim League and directed by professor Wael Farouq together with an editorial staff composed of journalists, international professors and with the important contribution of world-renowned personalities from the Arab world and the world western.
The initiative, promoted by a group of Arab and Western intellectuals of various religions, is supported by His Excellency Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, Secretary General of the Muslim World League and a figure widely recognized in the world as a leading voice of moderate Islam, committed to a message of empathy, understanding and cooperation among all peoples.
The term “Jusur” means “bridges”, an Arabic word that traces a meeting path between the verb “jàsara” which means “to go, pass through” with the noun “jasàra” which means “boldness, courage of the heart”. The name “Jusur”, chosen for the magazine, summarizes the essence of a project that wants to leave room for the will and desire of people to open new horizons through a path that requires courage of heart and which allows the writer and those law of being in turn an element of connection between the world of the present in which we live and the world of the future to which we aspire.
The magazine, which therefore tells and explores events and realities that support common values, gives ample space to the comparison-encounter with the different that is proposed through interventions, interviews and insights dedicated to the most important cultural and religious personalities of the world starting from the assumption that, as the Anglican archbishop and British theologian Rowan Williams of Oystermouth (head of the Anglican church from 2003 to 2013) declared in the interview he gave to Jusur: “We are not solo musicians, we don’t just play a series of notes written on a music sheet. We have to listen carefully to find harmony”.
The French political scientist Olivier Roy, the Italian linguist Stefano Arduini, the Spanish writer and philosopher Ignacio Gómez de Liaño, the Argentine writer and literary critic Patricio Pron, the Spanish theologian Julián Carrón and the English archbishop Rowan Williams at the head of the Anglican church since 2003 to 2013, the South African naturalized US jurist and professor Joseph HH Weiler, the bishop and President of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center HE Anba Ermia, the Japanese professor Wakako Saito, the Secretary General of the Academy of Islamic Research Nazir Ayad; the Egyptian writer Mohamed Makhzangi; the Iraqi journalist Inaam Kachachi: these are just some of the first names involved by the editorial staff of Jusur in the first issues of the magazine.
“One of the extraordinary things of the contemporary world is the alliance between people who are looking for something, who want to be at peace and really learn from each other – said the Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor interviewed by Jusur – “Every human being in what belongs to a specific ethnic group represents a value for the whole society. The reason I have deep sympathy for others who are searching for something is because I too am searching. This is the basis of empathy. There is a cordial vibration in the relationship with the other, which is its basis. This is valid for Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and it can be valid for every human being”.
Furthermore, the pages of “Jusur” also find ample space for insights dedicated to various aspects of Arab civilization that are less known and far from the most common and widespread stereotypes: from the story of the historical and current role of the hammam to the social impact of the Arab world in Holland passing through the stories that tell the relationship of expats with their homeland. Issue one of the magazine presents, for example, an in-depth look at the figure of King Charles III and his relationship with Islamic civilization.
Issue zero of the magazine released in June, and presented at the UN as part of the international symposium Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue: Building Bridges Between East and West in the presence of the President of the General Assembly Csaba Korosi, is entirely dedicated to the theme “Food and religion” while the number one coming out in July will be dedicated to “Face, identity and difference”: topics addressed from various angles thanks to the contributions of historians, artists, doctors, etc.
The magazine was born in two languages, English and Italian, with the prospect of expanding its publication to other languages in the future. The graphics are particularly accurate with a design studied ad hoc by the Italian-Palestinian graphic designer Khaled Soliman Alnassiry. The first two issues of the magazine are available free of charge in digital format at the following link: https://almutawassit.it/magazine
Source-www.adnkronos.com