International workshop ANR PredicMO “Mapping Preaching and Preachers in & from the Middle East” — MMSH Aix-en-Provence, 27-28 mai 2026

The International Workshop “Mapping Preaching and Preachers in & from the Middle East”, organized by Karene Sanchez and Emir Mahieddin, will take place on May 27–28 at the MMSH and online (zoom link day 1 & day 2)

Abstract of the workshop : Contemporary research on preaching has long remained compartmentalized by religious traditions and regional contexts, neglecting transnational and connected dimensions. The extensive literature existing on missionary activities, particularly within Christian and Islamic contexts, which often focused on proselytism or sermons themselves, partially overlooking broader spatial and social dynamics (Simiz, 2012; Mahmood, 2005; Sharkey, 2009) is now being challenged by a growing body of research on migration and religion in a transnational perspective. Recent scholarship thus highlights the critical importance of interconnected and comparative approaches to better understand preaching’s complex role across Abrahamic faiths, particularly regarding spatial strategies, transnational networks, and the diverse itineraries of religious actors thus shaping “circulatory territories” (Tarrius, 1993), which circumvent the borders of nation-states (Bava & Picart, 2010; Demart, 2014; Bava, 2021; Moissière & Bava, 2021; Neveu, Sanchez Summerer, Turiano, 2022, among others). Another inspiring trend of research, commonly referred to as a “spatial turn” in the social sciences of religions, highlights how religious and spiritual practices contribute to the symbolic (re)shaping of space and (re)fashioning of “spiritual” and “moral geographies” in the age of globalization, by resorting to and/or re-inventing ancient religious traditions and spatial metaphors (Fer, 2007; Mézié 2008; Krause, 2015; Coleman, 2020; Mahieddin, 2023).    

Drawing on these contemporary research trends on globalization, space and religions, considering that people are not forcibly rooted in one place, living in increasingly connected sites (migrations, circulations of cultural good and commodities, digital technologies, etc.), this issue underlines that religious movements cannot be understood but in a relational perspective. This means that the analysis highlights the historical and social interactions, the strategies of differentiation, reciprocal rejection, competition, and possibly imitation through which religious tradition shape their inner content and positions on a given issue, which is never the mere result of sociocultural or theological particularities. This special issue thus seeks to interrogate the spatial dynamics and transnational itineraries of preaching and preachers in and from the Middle East and North Africa, from the late 19th century to the present. Preaching and space are here taken in their mutual relations of mediation: space mediates the practices of preaching, being both allowing and constraining, and preaching mediates, through language, material and linguistic practices, symbolic spaces. How have preachers and religious institutions mapped differentiated religious spaces, distinguishing centres from peripheries, ancient mission lands from secularized areas, and new territories targeted for religious expansion? In what ways have preachers established, negotiated, and adapted transnational networks? How have gender dynamics influenced the trajectories of preaching across denominations? Furthermore, how do preachers reconcile their local roots with the necessity of addressing a transnational and sometimes religiously plural audiences?

The special issue is meant to gather papers from different disciplinary perspectives (ethnography, geography, history, etc.) and welcomes interdisciplinary contributions as well as papers rooted in one discipline only, whether they draw on archival exploration, oral histories, and innovative mappings of preaching routes. Papers may address overlooked archival materials and collections, the socio-political impacts of preaching itineraries, the strategic use of media and communication technologies, or gendered approaches to preaching networks. Contributions focusing on comparative case studies, methodological innovation, and analyses of territorial strategies across Abrahamic religions are particularly welcome. Methodologies including the co-production of mental maps or paying attention to sensory experiences of space and place, and their articulation with theological views, would be highly appreciated. The workshop aims to foster a critical dialogue on the dynamics of preaching, enriching our understanding of religious mobilities and cultural, spiritual and moral geographies.

PROGRAM

Tuesday, May 27, 2026, Paul-Albert Février Room and Online
Link / ID of the meeting: 819 6713 1641 / Secret code: 907868
10:00 – 10:30 AM: Welcome and registration, Coffee
10:30 – 11:00 AM – Karène Sanchez-Summerer (University of Groningen) & Emir Mahieddin (CNRS, CéSor). Introduction: Presentation of the workshop and the special issue project.
11:00 – 12:00 PM – Discussion of the theoretical framework for the special issue based on pre-circulated texts:
– Kim Knott, 2010, “Religion, Space and Place. The spatial turn in Research on Religion,” Religion and Society: Advances in Research, vol. 1: 29–43.
– Lionel Obadia, 2014, “Spatial Turn, Beyond Geography: A New Agenda for Sciences of Religion”.
12:00 – 13:30 PM: Lunch break
13:30 – 14:00 PM: Umar Ryad (KU Leuven) & Mahmoud Afifi (Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia) [online], “Azhar Preachers and Da‘wah Initiatives in the Western Context”.
14:00 – 14:30 PM: Discussion led by Yannick Fer (CNRS, Centre Maurice Halbwachs)
14:30 – 15:00 PM: Questions and suggestions for the authors
15:00 – 15:30 PM: Coffee break
15:30 – 16:00 PM: Hamza Esmili (FRS, FNRS), “The Commune of Smāra, or the Utopia of Earthly Salvation”.
16:00 – 16:30 PM: Emir Mahieddin (CéSor, CNRS), “The Spiritual Geography of Arabic-Speaking Evangelicals: From the suburbs to the Biblical Lands (Sweden-Egypt)”.
16:30 – 17:00 PM: Cross-discussion led by Sophie Bava (IRD, LPED)
17:00 – 17:30 PM: Questions and suggestions for the authors
19:30 PM: Dinner

Wednesday, May 28, 2026, Duby Room and Online
Link / ID of the meeting: 847 0585 6648 / Secret code: 798651
9:00 – 9:45 AM: Thibault Laval (IREMAM, Ifpo), “The Expansion of the Muslim Brotherhood in Iraq since the 1930s”.
9:45 – 10:30 AM: Muhamed Riyaz Chenganakkattil (Ghent University), “Transregional Sermons: Ibn Nubâta and Beyond in the Indian Ocean World”.
10:30 – 11:00 AM: Coffee break 
11:00 – 11:45 AM: Samia Kotele (ENS Lyon, Institut d’Asie orientale) “From Aisyiyah to KUPI: Genealogies of women’s preaching and the reconfiguration of Islamic Authority in Indonesia (1917-2022)”.
11:45 – 12:15 PM: Cross-discussion led by Norig Neveu (CNRS, IREMAM)
12:15 – 12:45 PM: Final discussion and suggestions for the authors with the participation of prof. Seçil Dağtaş (Waterloo University, Canada/Iméra)
12:45 – 13:00 PM: Lunch

PROGRAMME

Mardi 27 mai 2026, salle Paul-Albert Février et en ligne
Lien Zoom / ID de réunion : 819 6713 1641 / Code secret : 907868
10h00 – 10h30 – Accueil des participants, café
10h30 – 11h00 : Karène Sanchez-Summerer (University of Groningen) & Emir Mahieddin (CNRS, CéSor) Introduction, présentation de la journée et du projet de numéro.
11h00 – 12h00 – Discussion du projet théorique du numéro à partir de textes envoyés pour lecture au préalable :  
– Kim Knott, 2010, “Religion, Space and Place. The spatial turn in Research on Religion”, Religion and Society: Advances in Research, vol. 1: 29-43.
– Lionel Obadia, 2014, “Spatial Turn, Beyond Geography: A New Agenda for Sciences of Religion”.
12h00 – 13h30 – Déjeuner
13h30 – 14h00 : Umar Ryad (KU Leuven) & Mahmoud Afifi (Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia) [en ligne]. “Azhar Preachers and Da‘wah Initiatives in the Western Context”.
14h00 – 14h30 – Discussion conduite par Yannick Fer (CNRS, Centre Maurice Halbwachs)
14h30 – 15h00 – Questions et suggestions aux auteurs
15h00 – 15h30 – Pause-café
15h30 – 16h00 – Hamza Esmili (FRS, FNRS), “La Commune de Smāra, ou l’utopie du salut terrestre”.
16h00 – 16h30 : Emir Mahieddin (CNRS, CéSor), “La géographie spirituelle des évangéliques arabophones : de la banlieue aux terres bibliques (Suède-Egypte)”.
16h30 – 17h00 – Discussion croisée conduite par Sophie Bava (IRD, LPED)
17h00 – 17h30 – Questions et suggestions aux auteurs
19h30 – Dîner

Mercredi 28 mai 2026, Mmsh, salle Duby et en ligne
Lien Zoom / ID de réunion : 847 0585 6648 / Code secret : 798651
9h30 – 10h15 : Thibault Laval (IREMAM, Ifpo), “L’expansion des Frères musulmans en Irak depuis les années 1930”.
10h15 – 11h00 : Muhamed Riyaz Chenganakkattil (Ghent University), “Transregional Sermons: Ibn Nubâta and Beyond in the Indian Ocean World”.
11h00 – 11h30 – Pause-café 
11h30 – 12h15 : Samia Kotele (ENS Lyon, Institut d’Asie orientale), “From Aisyiyah to KUPI: Genealogies of women’s preaching and the reconfiguration of Islamic Authority in Indonesia (1917–2022)”.
12h15 – 12h45 – Discussion croisée conduite par Norig Neveu (CNRS, IREMAM)
12h45 – 13h15 – Discussion finale et suggestions aux auteurs avec la participation de Seçil Dağtaş (Waterloo University, Canada/Iméra
13h15 – 14h30 – Déjeuner

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