"ADIC - Three Years after Adel Amer"
France-Pays Arabes, March 1993
The Association for International Muslim-Christian Dialogue and Interreligious Conferences, the ADIC, was created at the initiative of the former director of the League of Arab States in Paris, Dr. Adel Amer. He became the ADIC's president in 1989.
In the same spirit which moved Dr. Adel Amer, his friend, Dr. Ali El Samman, an international attorney and member of the Supreme Islamic Council of Egypt, picked up the Association's torch after the death of Dr. Amer in April 1990. As president, Dr. El Samman immediately succeeds Dr. Tedjini Haddam, former rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, appointed in 1992 to the High Committee of the Algerian Republic, but remains honorary president of the ADIC. After his resignation, a new team was installed, reuniting original ADIC executives Ambassador Fernand Rouillon and Father Michel Lelong.
Since his appointment to the Supreme Islamic Council, Dr. Ali El Samman has acted as informal advisor to the Grand Imam of al-Azhar in relations with international Christian institutions.
On December 15, 1992, the board of directors of the ADIC unanimously proposed that Cardinal Franz Koenig, member of the Sacred College of Cardinals and responsible for the dialogue with non-Christians at the Vatican for more than twenty years, be named honorary president. He accepted "with joy", as he wrote to Dr. El Samman last January.
Among the other directos are Dr. Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris; General Jeannou Lacaze, member of the European Parliament, who is committed to emphasizing the role of Muslim soldiers who died for France during the last two World Wars; French Ambassadors Bruno de Leusse and François de Laboulaye; Mrs. Geneviève Chauvel, whose well-received book on Saladin has been translated into Arabic and German; Mrs. Louisa Mameri, president of DIFMA (Defense of Moral and Material Interests of Muslim French Families Repatriated from Algeria); and Colonel Andrè de Fougerolles, president of the Association of European Veterans.
In the area of management, acting beside Dr. Ali El Samman are ADIC's co-president, Mr. Stélio Farandjis, secretary general of the High Council of French-speaking Countries; ADIC's vice president, Samir Michel Daher; and assistant secretary general of the ADIC, Rabah Dramchini, secretary general of the Association of Endowments and Holy Sites of Islam. Also notable is the participation of Father Guiguis Lucas, president of the Association of Worship of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Saint Mary and Saint Mark of Paris.
The ADIC and the Lebanon Synod
In the context of the Lebanon Synod, which the Vatican has decided to organize late this year or early next, the board of directors of the ADIC sent President Ali El Samman and Vice President Samir Michel Daher, who is also the president and founder of the International Union for Poeace and Human Rights, to Beirut in early February. During their stay, the two executives of ADIC were received by the Maronite Patriarch, H.H. Nasrallah Sfeir; the Mufti of Lebanon, Muhammad Rachid al-Kabani; as well as by Shaykh Muhammad Mahdi Shams al-Din, interim president of the Supreme Council of the Shi'a.
Following this visit, an important event serving the cause of Muslim-Christian dialogue was the agreeing upon of cooperation between the ADIC and the Lebanese committee preparating the Synod with the Vatican. Dr. El Samman and Mr. Daher were then invited to attend a High Mass celebrated on the special occasion of Saint Maron's Day before being introduced to the president of the republic, Mr. Elias Hrawi; the prime minister, Mr. Rafik Hariri; and parliament speaker, Mr. Nabih Berri.
For the future, one of the ambitious projects of the ADIC is to join UNESCO, in cooperation with the Mediterranean countries, to "help children acquire a fairer image of others, starting with the most difficult problem of textbooks".
France-Pays Arabes, March 1993
The Association for International Muslim-Christian Dialogue and Interreligious Conferences, the ADIC, was created at the initiative of the former director of the League of Arab States in Paris, Dr. Adel Amer. He became the ADIC's president in 1989.
In the same spirit which moved Dr. Adel Amer, his friend, Dr. Ali El Samman, an international attorney and member of the Supreme Islamic Council of Egypt, picked up the Association's torch after the death of Dr. Amer in April 1990. As president, Dr. El Samman immediately succeeds Dr. Tedjini Haddam, former rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, appointed in 1992 to the High Committee of the Algerian Republic, but remains honorary president of the ADIC. After his resignation, a new team was installed, reuniting original ADIC executives Ambassador Fernand Rouillon and Father Michel Lelong.
Since his appointment to the Supreme Islamic Council, Dr. Ali El Samman has acted as informal advisor to the Grand Imam of al-Azhar in relations with international Christian institutions.
On December 15, 1992, the board of directors of the ADIC unanimously proposed that Cardinal Franz Koenig, member of the Sacred College of Cardinals and responsible for the dialogue with non-Christians at the Vatican for more than twenty years, be named honorary president. He accepted "with joy", as he wrote to Dr. El Samman last January.
Among the other directos are Dr. Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris; General Jeannou Lacaze, member of the European Parliament, who is committed to emphasizing the role of Muslim soldiers who died for France during the last two World Wars; French Ambassadors Bruno de Leusse and François de Laboulaye; Mrs. Geneviève Chauvel, whose well-received book on Saladin has been translated into Arabic and German; Mrs. Louisa Mameri, president of DIFMA (Defense of Moral and Material Interests of Muslim French Families Repatriated from Algeria); and Colonel Andrè de Fougerolles, president of the Association of European Veterans.
In the area of management, acting beside Dr. Ali El Samman are ADIC's co-president, Mr. Stélio Farandjis, secretary general of the High Council of French-speaking Countries; ADIC's vice president, Samir Michel Daher; and assistant secretary general of the ADIC, Rabah Dramchini, secretary general of the Association of Endowments and Holy Sites of Islam. Also notable is the participation of Father Guiguis Lucas, president of the Association of Worship of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Saint Mary and Saint Mark of Paris.
The ADIC and the Lebanon Synod
In the context of the Lebanon Synod, which the Vatican has decided to organize late this year or early next, the board of directors of the ADIC sent President Ali El Samman and Vice President Samir Michel Daher, who is also the president and founder of the International Union for Poeace and Human Rights, to Beirut in early February. During their stay, the two executives of ADIC were received by the Maronite Patriarch, H.H. Nasrallah Sfeir; the Mufti of Lebanon, Muhammad Rachid al-Kabani; as well as by Shaykh Muhammad Mahdi Shams al-Din, interim president of the Supreme Council of the Shi'a.
Following this visit, an important event serving the cause of Muslim-Christian dialogue was the agreeing upon of cooperation between the ADIC and the Lebanese committee preparating the Synod with the Vatican. Dr. El Samman and Mr. Daher were then invited to attend a High Mass celebrated on the special occasion of Saint Maron's Day before being introduced to the president of the republic, Mr. Elias Hrawi; the prime minister, Mr. Rafik Hariri; and parliament speaker, Mr. Nabih Berri.
For the future, one of the ambitious projects of the ADIC is to join UNESCO, in cooperation with the Mediterranean countries, to "help children acquire a fairer image of others, starting with the most difficult problem of textbooks".