The Network of Chairs on Interreligious Dialogue for Intercultural Understanding International Symposium on Before Dialogue: Fear, Responsibility, and the Path Towards a New Humanism Organized in partnership with the History and Memory for Dialogue Section UNESCO Headquarters 20 and 21 September 2011 * * * Carmelo Giuseppe Conticello, Paris Has fear been vanquished? Historical and critical considerations on the cohabitation of peoples in Sicily in the light of recent migratory flows Natural bridge between Europe and Africa, due to its central position in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily has attracted since the earliest times, the envy of all the superpowers who wanted to control this sea and who left in this island an indelible cultural impact. The continuous succession of many civilizations for nearly two thousand years, from the Greek civilization until the Spanish, through the Byzantine, Arab and Norman civilizations, as we ll discuss later, have made the island a melting pot of people and knowledge which gave it it s particular cultural aspect: to be the meeting point for peoples of both shores of the Mediterranean, Eastern and Western. The Sicilians are a complex mix of different peoples. Indeed, because of the many conquests they have suffered in history, we can say that they are at the same time Greek, Roman, Arab, Norman, and Spanish and of course, Italian. So can it be said that among the Mediterranean peoples, they are probably the most mixed. Due to the theme of our meeting which deals with relations between the three religions in Sicily, we will not talk about pagan Greek or Roman Sicily, but only about this period in which these three religions - Judaism, Christianity, in its Catholic and Orthodox branches, and Islam have coexisted together. This period goes from the sixth to the twelfth century. During those seven centuries, Sicily played a role that scholars agree to consider as an example in the relations between the three monotheistic religions. Marked by an intense process of Romanization, the following centuries saw this balance gradually deteriorating. 1
Indeed, as part of the Spanish Christian reconquest, the massive transfer of the Arab population in Puglia, southern Italy, decided by the Emperor Frederick II in 1239 and the expulsion of the Jews in 1492 started a new period in the history of Sicily which became LATIN and MONOCULTURAL. For about five centuries, Sicily has withdrawn into itself, without any external contact. As everyone knows, this landscape has only changed recently with the migration flows - mainly from Arab countries of North Africa which are strongly changing the face of the island, of Europe and of the entire world. Lampedusa is now - unfortunately - a too well known reality all over the world. As announced, I will try from there to identify, from my point of view, some viable ways to a possible dialogue between peoples. In conclusion, I shall present you the main partner of my Chair, the OASIS Opened City Foundation, which expends on the island an important activity in the field of dialogue, especially with the Orthodox and Muslim worlds. 1. LATIN AND BYZANTINE SICILY Sicily was among the first province of the Roman Empire to be Christianized by the apostle Paul. As we read in the Acts of the Apostles (28.12), on a trip to Rome where he was to be martyred, Paul stopped three days in Syracuse, where he founded a Christian community. Here the new religion seems to have found a particularly favorable place since it was organized and developed rapidly with the establishment of dioceses, churches and monasteries. The action of a Roman noble who became famous as the Pope of Rome under the name of Gregory the Great in 590, noble has been the key of its strengthening. Indeed, as we learn from his biographers, he sold all its wealth which was quiet important - at the time of his conversion to the new religion and with the money obtained he founded 7 Benedictine monasteries, 6 in Sicily. Unfortunately, there is only one left today, but we know they played an absolutely essential part in the deep enculturation of the island. As shown in the exchange of letters between Gregory and the Sicilian bishops, Sicily appears at that time as a reality deeply rooted in Rome, both in cultural and religious ways. Although the Byzantine presence is well established since 535, Latin dominates in business as in the culture and the liturgy is only celebrated in this language. The sixth century is the one of a complete Romanization of the island. This is a fundamental step that forged the deep soul of Sicily, which - despite the crossing of different civilizations which she attended, will remain fundamentally Western and Latin. The sixth century sees the development of the more stable Sicilian identity to which is to be added the Byzantine and Arab-Muslim one. 2. LITERALLY BYZANTINE PERIOD As noted above, the Byzantine presence on the island lasts from 535, when Emperor Justinian annexes Sicily to Eastern Roman Empire. The state has not yet established a policy of Hellenization more or less forced, as this was customary in Byzantium. 2
The sixth century was a period of peaceful coexistence between Greek and Latin, with a special Latin-domination. However, a systematic process of Byzantinization would be set up in the beginning of the seventh century. As research has shown recently, this is due to the arrival of monks from North Africa and the Middle East who escaped the Arabs advance. Contemporaries were quite amazed by the magnitude of this phenomenon. Our sources tell of a huge flow of religious, especially Melkite (Syrian origin), who settled especially in the Val Demone, the eastern part of the island, where they founded a large number of monasteries. The most famous is probably the one of AGIRA, hometown of Diodorus of Sicily, in the present province of Enna, which is now a small village. We know indeed that this monastery, founded by a Syrian monk named Philip, was a training center for the monks who were then sent away to build new foundations. Thanks to the activity of the monks, we can consider that, at the end of the VIIth century, the island Byzantinization is done. Latin is in decline while the Greek becomes the official language for administration and liturgy. The documents allow us to easily follow the gradual transition from Latin to Greek ritual. The island then experienced a real cultural explosion. Between 678 and 701 four popes are from Sicilian origin. Local production doesn t show any particularity. It fits completely in the wake of the Byzantine capital, but it attests the great vivacity of Greek language. In fact, we are here assisting to the second stage on the process of the Sicilian identity formation, now enriched with a new step, the Byzantine. 3. ARABIC SICILY Arab domination of Sicily lasted about 250 years. It began in 827 under the impetus of the Aghlabite dynasty of Kairouan and ends in 1071. In 963, after 70 years of war, Sicily has surrounded and receives the status of "Arab Emirate" with Palermo as its capital. During these centuries, three dynasties succeeded each other on the island: the Aghlabite the Fatimite the Kalbite. Michele Amari, a great Italian Arabist from the 19 th century, left a set of fundamental works that report on the Arab presence in Sicily. M. Amari rightly states that the Muslim conquest - followed by a significant flow of Arab, Berber and Jewish migration, represents a decisive moment in the history of Sicily as it has radically affected the ethnic and religious landscape of the island, until then limited to the Christian religion and to the only Greek and Latin references. 3
This appears somehow as an anticipation of the contemporary cultural landscape. This new ethnic and religious configuration clearly appears in the three administrative regions in which the Arabs have divided the island: The eastern part, near Messina, the western part, near Palermo, and the south-east part, near Syracuse. A. Let's start with the eastern part : Located in the inner part of the island, inaccessible to the conquerors coming from the sea, the valley Demone was a refuge for Christians escaping from the Arab advance. We know that many Greek monasteries were abandoned by monks in their flight, who settled in Calabria, which was still under Byzantium protection. Contemporary documents indicate conversions to Islam. However it is certain that in this region of the island, the Christian are in majority throughout the period of Muslim domination. B. The situation of the western and south-east cost of the island is quite different. Indeed, it seems that in these regions of the island, over 50% of the population converted to Islam. We do not know the exact extent of the Muslim population of Sicily. According to the famous geographer and traveler Ibn HALIQAL, who visited the island in 872-873, in its period of great prosperity, there were 500,000 Muslims in the island from which 30,000 lived in Palermo. Ibn HALIQAL, who left us a marvelous description of the city, speaks of Palermo as the "city of three hundred mosques." According to our author, among the various Muslim centers he visited, he had never seen a city with so many mosques. We don t have any objective evidence which would allow us to check the accuracy of these data but it is an indication of the situation experienced by the splendor of Islam in Sicily during the Middle Ages. Christians were marginalized and subjected to the legal status of the Dhimma, but sources insist with one voice on the tolerance policy established by the emirs and peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims. 4. THE NORMAN CONQUEST We thus arrive at the last part of Sicily s history that interests us, the Norman Conquest. The Norman Conquest took place in 30 years, from 1060 till 1090. It is a Christian reconquest of the island which goes back to the Latin West space. 4
Quite unique in history, with the Norman Conquest we are witnessing the creation of a new civilization based on dialogue and tolerance, which can be called the intercultural and interreligious civilization were peoples lived in mutual respect and tolerance. It can be said without fear of contradiction that at this time in Sicily, for the only time in history, the dream that brings us here today has come true. This example of a welcoming and tolerant society is considered as a model for our contemporary society. With the arrival of the Normans, the situation is the one described above: - A strong Muslim presence - A Christian minority with Greek ritual and culture - A Jewish minority well established until now after the Arab conquest. Facing this reality and its diversity, the Normans have shown a prodigious capacity to assimilate the variety of the present cultures on the island, which can be considered as the birth of a new civilization intrinsically multicultural. The cathedrals of Monreale, Cefalu and Palermo, built from the eleventh century, are probably the best illustration of this new cultural model, universally admired in Europe, known as "culture-arab Normanno-Byzantine "or" normanno-sicilian." As we can see, the Romano-Norman style is illustrated especially in the massive structure of the building, the Arabic in the blind arches and inlays of the exterior walls, the Byzantine mosaics in the gold background of interior walls. The Normans also showed respect and tolerance in the administration. Indeed, although the official language of the court was the oïl language, all the royal edicts were written in Latin, Greek, Arabic or Hebrew, depending on which group they were addressed, or in the three languages at the same time. It was called the time of the three languages culture. This situation was similar in the field of religion. Indeed, we know that the Normans : - Have encouraged Greek monasticism - Have discouraged the conversion of Muslims The sources also relate with amazement the comments attributed to King William II who would have invited all his subjects - Christians, Muslims, and Jews - to each call upon his own God and follow his own faith. We are now reaching the last part of our presentation. As everyone can notice, we have here a nice and almost idyllic picture. But in reality we shouldn t be mistaken. Such coexistence, based on different people s will to host the other as such never happened in history. As specialists know well, the concept of dialogue as we understand it is a creation of the twentieth century. Until then, this concept was completely ignored in the West and the East. Indeed, the main criterion in all monotheist religions, in its relations with the other has always been a heresiological criterion. In other words, each religion has always 5
been convinced to hold the truth and that the other was wrong. In any ways, it was about to bring the other, so to speak, into the fold. The Sicilian case doesn t go against this rule. Even if, as we tried to show it, the different communities lived in a climate of mutual respect and tolerance, it is to notice that this tolerance didn t impose on as a long lasting value. From the beginning of the XIIIth century, the Greek rite has progressively disappeared and in 1239, all the Muslims of the island were deported in the Pouilles by Frederick II. The last Sicilian document in Arabic language dates back to 1245, date from which the marks of Arabic presence on the island almost completely disappear. The remains of this presence are now very little. 5. THE FOUNDATION OASI OPEN CITY (TROINA) It is time to conclude. The Sicilian case is an important lesson because it makes us think about the encounter of peoples and the conditions of its fulfillment. To medieval man s way of thinking, dialogue is a completely foreign concept. Therefore, the birth of a «new humanism» is a complete break with our previous culture and it requires a deep investment. Man has always been frightened by of the other person. Tragic pictures of the arrivals in Lampedusa are known around the world and create a growing feeling of fear and insecurity. People ask themselves more and more about the possibility of a peaceful coexistence. I can assure you, being in the field, that welcome is not so obvious. We have to work in order to help people to adopt a new mentality. It is in this precise sphere that my Chair has been working for a long time, in partnership with the «Foundation Oasi Open City». Settled in Sicily, the Foundation has developed welcome activities for migrants and training sessions for Italians. It proposes academic activities and publishing instruments for teaching diversity and the encounter of the other person, beginning with the youngest. In November 2004, the Council of Europe held the second Intercultural forum on «Core values for intercultural dialogue toward a Europe of all citizens» at the headquarter of the Foundation. It is however necessary to go further and aim at academic training. Some time ago, I started with the French National Commission for Unesco, the idea of a university textbook based on intercultural and interreligious dialogue. It received an enthusiastic reception but unfortunately, hasn t yet started for lack of resources and skills. I think we also must think seriously about the effectiveness of such investment and how we can really reach the most affected people. Thank you very much for your attention. Carmelo Giuseppe CONTICELLO UNESCO, 20 th of September, 2011. 6
Participants à la conférence UNESCO/UNITWIN Chairs meeting du 20 au 22 septembre 2011, UNESCO Paris Le Professeur Carmelo Giuseppe CONTICELLO et le Père Luigi Orazio FERLAUTO, Président la «Fondazione Oasi Città Aperta» (Troina, Rome) 7