Dolors Bramon, a professor emeritus at the University of Barcelona, will be giving the opening conference to start the course titled “Islam and Muslims Today: Fundamentals, diversity and relations with Spain,” organized by Casa Árabe and the Diplomatic School. The conference will be taking place in the Aula Magna of the Diplomatic School and will be open to the public.

The upheaval caused by the events which are taking place in the Near East has been increased by the use, misuse and abuse of nomenclature appearing in the Western media. The wide variety of acronyms and abbreviations used to discuss the main role-player in this chaos, or in other words, the supposed state which also claims to represent the world of Islam, clearly demonstrates the current confusion: Is it a state? Is it Islamic? Is it a caliphate? Can one speak of “Islamic terrorism,” of Jihad or Jihadism? The conference will deal with these terminology-related problems not only from a philosophical perspective, but also, and most especially, through an analysis of the political doctrine of Islam.

In order to provide an approach to the many facets of Islam and Muslims today, Spain’s Diplomatic School and Casa Árabe have decided to resume the organization of this course, in what is to become an eighth expanded edition held from April 18 to May 31.

Taking part in the opening session of the course will be Enrique Viguera, an ambassador and the director of the Diplomatic School; Pedro Villena, the General Director of Casa Árabe, and Ignacio Ybáñez, the State Secretary of Foreign Affairs. 

Holder of a PhD in Philosophy and Letters (Semitic Philology section) (1984) and in Medieval History (1998) from the University of Barcelona, Bramon Planas is a professor emeritus at the University of Barcelona and the Institut Superior de Ciències Religioses (ISCREB). She is a member of various domestic and foreign institutions and has taught specialized courses at various universities, foundations and institutions. She is the author of works which include the following on Islam: Contra moros y judíos (Against Moors and Jews, Barcelona: Península, 1985); De quan érem o no musulmans: Textos del 713 al 1010 (On When We Were or Were Not Muslims, a continuation of the work by J.M. Millàs i Vallicrosa), Vic: Eumo Editorial, Institut d’Estudis Catalans, Institut Universitari d’Història Jaume Vicens i Vives, 2000; Una Introducción al islam: religión, historia y cultura (An Introduction to Islam: Religion, history and culture, Barcelona: Crítica, 2002); with X. Marín and J.R. Cabezas, Islam i occident, diàleg de civilitzacions, (Islam and the West: Dialogue of civilizations, Barcelona: Edimurtra, 2005); Ser mujer y musulmana (Being a Woman and Muslim, Barcelona: Bellaterra, 2009); En torno al islam y las musulmanas (About Islam and Muslim Women, Barcelona: Bellaterra, 2010); and Moros, jueus i cristians en terra catalana. Memòria del nostre passat (Moors, Jews and Christians in Catalan Land, Lleida: Pagès, 2013).