TRENDS Organizes a Webinar Entitled "Challenges of Global Fraternity"

TRENDS Research and Advisory, in cooperation with the University platform for research on Islam in the World, shall organize a preliminary seminar on October 27 for the Fourth International Conference of PLURIEL. The conference is scheduled to be held in cooperation between the two sides in February 2024 in Abu Dhabi. The main theme of the conference shall be on "Islam and Fraternity" and the event is part of TRENDS' global strategy of openness to regional and international think tanks and academic institutions.

Dr. Wael Saleh, an expert in political Islam at TRENDS Research and Advisory, will speak at the symposium (remotely) on the opportunities and challenges of human fraternity: a geopolitical reading and a different theoretical proposal. Professor Laurent Basanese, of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and Professor at the Faculty of Missiology of the Gregorian University in Rome, will address the topic of adopting a culture of dialogue as a path, joint cooperation as a way and mutual acquaintance as an approach. (based on the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Common Coexistence signed by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar Dr. Ahmad al-Tayyeb in Abu Dhabi on February 4, 2019). Austrian diplomat, Franziska Honsowitz-Friessnigg will present a working paper on the document of human fraternity from a socio-legal perspective.

Sultan Majid Al Ali, Director of Barometer Department at TRENDS Research and Advisory, and Michel Younès, Platform Coordinator, Professor of theology and Islam studies at the University of Lyon, France, will moderate the seminar and deliver the closing remarks of the webinar.

The Board of Directors of the University Platform for the Study of Islam in the World has unanimously decided to hold its fourth global forum in the UAE under the theme: "Islam and Fraternity" in Abu Dhabi, in partnership and cooperation with TRENDS Research and Advisory, during February 4-7, 2024, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Abu Dhabi Document for Human Fraternity.

It is noteworthy that the "PLURIEL" is a university research platform concerned with the study of Islam and Islamism in the world. It is based in the French city of Lyon, and includes hundreds of researchers from around the world. 

Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al-Ali, CEO of TRENDS Research and Advisory, said that the introductory seminar shall highlight the importance of holding the Fourth Global Forum organized by the University Platform for the Study of Islam and Islamism in the World in partnership and cooperation with TRENDS Center. This significant event comes as a translation of TRENDS’ strategy and confirms the global orientation of the center's mission. TRENDS has become one of the major research centers concerned with analyzing political Islam currents, within the region and beyond.

Dr. Al-Ali stressed that TRENDS and PLURIEL share several goals and visions, most notably strengthening ties between researchers working in the field of Islamic studies and studies on inter-faith dialogue, cultures and civilizations. The two sides encourage interaction between academics and other actors in society, especially at the level of promoting the values of peace, tolerance, coexistence and human fraternity. They both strive to develop new methodologies and knowledge tools in their respective fields of research and scientific output.

Dr. Al-Ali added that the forum will highlight the principles and values of the "Abu Dhabi Document on Human Fraternity". The Document advocates world peace and coexistence. It calls for the promotion of pluralism, dialogue and mutual understanding as well as the promotion of the culture of tolerance. It condemns terrorism and rejects all forms of extremism.