Dr. Davide Tacchini

• 2006 Ph.D. in Religious Studies at the Catholic University, Milan, Italy. The title of my dissertation: Radical Islamic Views of Christianity and the Western World in Early 20th Century Polemic Literature
• 1998 Degree in Arabic Language and Literature (Dottore in Lingua e Letteratura Araba) [equivalent to M.A. Hons.], First Class (110/110 magna cum laude) obtained at the Department of Oriental Languages, Università Ca’ Foscari, Venice, Italy. Second Oriental Language: Farsi; complementary Western language: English. Total examinations passed 22, among which Arabic Language (4 annual examinations, written and oral, MSA and Lebanese colloquial), Islamic Studies (3 annual examinations), History of Near and Middle East, Islamic Philosophy, Semitic Philology, Italian Literature etc

• Reconciliation in the Qur’ān and the Muslim tradition
• Migration, Religion and Reconciliation: human mobility and forced migrations in the 21^st
• Modern and Contemporary Islamic Thought (‘Abdullahi Ahmad an-Na‘īm, Abdolkarim Soroush, Mohammed Abid al-Jābirī)
• Islam and Democracy
• Islamic Reformation / Islam in the West, Nāsir Hāmid Abū Zayd and the concept of Ta’wīl, Hermeneutics of the Qur’ān.
• Radical Islam, Sayyid Qutb and the new Jāhiliyya. The role of his thought and personal story in the Muslim Brotherhood and in contemporary radical Islamic movements.
• Wahhabi Islam. From Muhammad Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhāb to Petrodollars
• Radicalization in the European Context: Schools, Prisons and Mosques
• Radical Muslim Views of Christianity: the Muslim View of St. Paul.
• Islam in Italy and the Catholic Church
• Imam training and the formation of religious leaders in the West

• Italian (Mother Tongue)
• English (excellent) -IELTS Certificate of Proficiency-
• Arabic (Very good -MSA-, Good -Egyptian Colloquial-, Good -Siro/Lebanese Colloquial)
• French (Very good)
• German (basic -in development-)
• Farsi/Dari (basic -good reading)
• Spanish (basic)
• Latin (Good working knowledge)

Last 4 years

• 2019-2020
  Arabic Language I
  University of Parma, Italy
• 2019-2020
  Lo Spazio trans-Meditarraneo e il Mondo Islamico: l’Integrazione nel contesto scolastico (Trans-Mediterranean Space and the Muslim World: Integration at School)
  The Catholic University, Milan, Italy
• 2018-2019
  Religion and Violence: Muslim and Christian Fundamentalist Thoughts
  Friedrich Schiller-University Jena, Germany
• 2018-2019
  Arabic for Beginners
  Friedrich Schiller-University Jena, Germany
• 2018-2019
  Arabic Language I
  University of Parma, Italy
• 2017-2018
  Arabic Language I
  University of Parma, Italy
• 2016-2017
  Introduction to Islam
  Pontifical University of St. Thomas, Rome, Italy
• 2016-2017
  Islam in Italy: Counter Radicalization
  The State Correction Officers National Schools

Among more than 200:

• 9 October 2019, Milan, Italy the Catholic University, International Conference: Religious Traditions in the Face of the Crisis of Liberal System: the Case of Islam. My lecture: Human Mobility, Refugees and Reconciliation in the MENA region
• 12 June 2019, Flensburg, Germany Europa University Flensburg, International Conference and Summer School: “Islam and Democracy," my lecture: Islam and Democracy, Muslim Voices amongst Us
• 12 August 2018, Jena, Germany, Friedrich-Schiller-University, International Conference, “Reconciliation in the Middle East & North Africa: An Interdisciplinary Research." My Lecture: Reflections on the Hermeneutics of the other and the Idea of Reconciliation.
• 30 June 2018, Toronto, ON, Canada, International Conference, “The Church and Migration, Global (in) difference?” My lecture: Religion as a consequence of (forced) migrations from Africa: the reshaping of religious geography in Europe
• 20 June 2018, Piacenza, Italy, International Conference: “Srebrenica Refugees, Never Forget." My Lecture: The first refugees in Europe and current asylum seekers from Africa: similarities and differences
• 7 March 2018, Bologna, Italy, European Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, My Lecture: Muslim Leaders’ Training and Muslim Inmates in Italy and the USA. Any possible Comparison?
• 30 May 2017, Jena, Germany, Friedrich-Schiller-University, International Conference, “Reformation and Global Reconciliation." My lecture: Radical Muslim Views of Reformed Christianity, a new perspective for Muslim-Christian Relations
• 24 July, 2016, Hong Kong, Ming Hua College / Chinese University of Hong Kong, International Conference “Faith in China”.  My Lecture: Chinese Muslim Communities in the Image of the Western Press
• 21 September 2015, Birmingham, UK., Univ. of Birmingham, Public Lecture in the framework of the “Christian-Muslim Relations, a Bibliographical History” project, Editing a book Chapter in Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations in the 21st Century. The highest Academic Standards
• 22 May 2015, Washington, DC, USA, Georgetown University, International Conference “Theology without Borders, Celebrating the Legacy of Peter C. Phan," My Lecture: Training Muslims Religious Leaders in 21st Century Italy. The FIDR project
• 13 April 2015, London, UK, University of London, BRAIS (British Association for Islamic Studies) Annual Meeting: My Lecture, delivered together with with the Hon. Amédée Turner: Muslim Voices Amongst Us.
• 6 November 2014, Rome, Italy, Univ. LUISS Guido Carli, International Conference “Imams  in the West." My lecture (together with Prof. Paolo Branca and Imam Yahya S. Y. Pallavicini) The FIDR, New Religious Presences in Italy.
• 2 April 2014, Erbil, Iraq, Salahuddin University, International Conference “al-Islām, al-Hadhātha wa ’s-Salām” (Islam, Modernity and Peace): My Lecture: Al-Islām wa ’d-Dimūqrātiya: aswāt al-Muslimīn fī ’l-Gharb. (Islam and Democracy, Muslim Voices in the West), In Arabic
• 10 April 2014, Oxford, UK, Ripon College, International Conference “Hope in the Ecumenical Future," My Lecture (together with the Hon. Amédée Turner): Islam and Democracy as a Method of Inter-religious Understanding.
• 3 October 2013, Padua, Italy, University of Padua, Interfaith Dialogue and Peace. Public Lecture organized by the US Consulate in Milan in occasion of the visit of Imam M. Bashar Arafat (CECF, Notre Dame of Maryland University). My Lecture: Introduction to Italian Islam
• 15 December 2012, Piacenza, Italy, International Conference “Rethinking Asylum in the 21st Century, Theory and Practice”. My Lecture: The World is on the Move: Migration as the Human Face of Globalization.
• 25 March 2012, London, ON, Canada. University of Western Ontario – Huron University College. International Conference: “Islam and Democracy, Potentials and Possibilities”. My Lecture (together with the Hon. Amédée Turner) Voices of Muslims amongst Us, First official presentation of the research: “Muslim Grassroots Discuss Democracy”
• 23 September 2011, Baltimore, MD, USA, Mary’s College of Maryland, CESPEC Summer School, “Religious Freedom, a Comparison among Different Cultural Perspectives." My Lecture: Mosques and Islamic Centers in the USA and Europe: the Physical Representation of a New Muslim Identity
• 5 May 2011, Lugano, Switzerland, SUPSI, University of Italian Switzerland, Public Panel (Broadcasted on the Swiss National Television). My Lecture: The Arab Spring, What may Cairo and Tunis teach Us
• 3 December 2010, Madrid, Spain, International Conference: “Junior Researchers in Mediterranean and Near Eastern Languages and Cultures” (Comisión jóvenes investigadores ILC CCHS CSIC). My Lecture: Do Muslims Refuse Modernity? How European Islam May Help Moving Forward
• 7 December 2010, Washington, DC, The Catholic University of America, Public Lecture: The Hermeneutics of the Other and the Reification of Christian-Muslim Relations
• 24 November 2010, Granada, Spain, International Conference, “Ibadah, Reunion des Expertos sur el papel de las Universidades Occidentales sobre la imagen del Islam y de los Musulmanes en Europa." My lecture: Dawr al-Jāmi‘āt al-ġarbiyya fī taṭawwur al-Islām fī ūrūbbā: ta’wīl al-akhar (The role of Western Universities in Islamic Reformation, the hermeneutics of the other)
• 26 June 2009, Oxford, UK, Balliol College, Oxford University. International Conference: “Current Trends in Legal Protection of Freedom of Religion or Belief - National and International Perspectives," My Lecture: Muslim Places of Worship in Europe and the U.S.A.
• 6 May 2009, Hartford, CT, USA, Hartford Seminary. Public Panel: “Paulinism and the 21st Century," My lecture: Paul Whom the Christians Call Apostle.
• 25 February 2009, Milan, Italy, The Catholic University. International Conference: “Religion in the Public Space," My Lecture: Hartford Seminary, from the Missionary to the Imam.
• 12 December 2008, New Britain, CT, USA, Huseyn Center. Public Panel: my lecture delivered together with Prof. Mahmoud Ayoub: Jesus in the Qur’ān and the Gospels.
• 18 November 2008, Hartford, CT, USA Connecticut Council for Religious Understanding. Public Panel “Islam in the 21st Century, my Lecture: What a Billion Muslims Think.
• 6 June 2008, Istanbul, Turkey, Bilgi University, International Conference Istanbul Seminars 2008, My Lecture: Hartford Seminary, Exploring Differences, Deepening Faith: from the Missionary to the Islamic Chaplain.
• 28 February 2008, Hartford, CT, USA, Hartford Seminary, Public Lecture, Sayyid Qutb’s America I have seen, Mere Polemic or Something Deeper?
• 4 March 2007, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Department of World Religions, University of Dhaka. Public Lecture, delivered together with Francesco Rapacioli, O.P.: Christian-Muslim Dialogue in Europe: an overview.

Organized Events

• June 20, 2018: Srebrenica Refugees, Never Forget, International Conference organized on the UN World Refugee Day. Participants: H.E. The Grand Mufti Emeritus of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mustafa Ceric, Lara J. Nettelfield (Columbia University), Semso Osmanovic (Univ. of Trieste). -Scientific Coordinator-
• December 15, 2012: Rethinking Asylum in the 21^st Century (www.rethinking-asylum.net) In collaboration with the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). Participants: Matthew Gibney (Oxford Centre for Refugee Studies), Anna Rowlands (King’s College, London), Juergen Humburg (UNHCR), Daniela di Capua (SPRAR Italy National Director) and myself. -Scientific Coordinator and organizer-
• April 10, 2010, International Conference: Ecumenical Perspectives of the Dialogue with Islam, in partnership with the Milan Catholic University, and the Scuola di Formazione Teologica (National Theological Formation Institute). Participants: Prof. Radko Popov (University of Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria), Rev. Nicolas Mumejian (Duke University, USA), Prof. Paolo Branca (Milan Catholic University), Prof. Paolo Nicelli (PIME, Milan) and myself. -Scientific Coordinator and discussant-
• April 21, 2007, International Conference: Western Islam, “New” Muslims Between Tradition and Modernity, in partnership with the Milan Catholic University and the Provincial Commission for Inter-Religious Dialogue. Participants: Prof. Gamāl al-Bannā (Cairo University), Prof. Wā’il Fārūq (American University in Cairo), Prof. Senad Bajramovic (University of Zagreb), Prof. Paolo Branca (Milan Catholic University), Prof. Stefano Allievi (University of Padua) and myself. -Scientific Coordinator and discussant-

Books

• Tacchini, D.-Turner, A., Islam and Democracy, Muslim Voices Amongst Us, Milan-London, Mimesis International, 2019, pp. 214. 978886977-177-4 
• Tacchini, D., Radicalismo islamico, Il diario del soggiorno di Sayyid Qutb, negli Stati Uniti dal 1948 al 1950, Milano, Obarrao Editore, 2015, pp. 162. ISBN.978-8897332-75-6
• Tacchini, D., Sharh al-luġa al-‘arabiyya li’l-ītāliyyīn, Guida alla comprensione dei fondamenti della lingua araba con suggerimenti per migliorare la didattica dell’italiano agli studenti arabofoni (Introduction to Arabic Language, how to teach Italian to Arabic native speakers), in “Quaderni del Centro Studi”, ed. Comune di Cremona, Associazione Centro Studi e Ricerche Sociali, 2006 pp. 97 (in Italian)

Edited Books

• Tacchini, D., Barakat, Z. M., AlDajani, I., Leiner, M. (eds), Reconciliation and Refugees. The Academic Alliance for Reconciliation Studies in the Middle East and North Africa I, RIPAR (Research in Peace and Reconciliation), Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen, 2022
• Tacchini, D., Angelucci, A., Bombardieri, M., Cuciniello, A. (a cura di), Chiesa e Islam in Italia, Incontro e Dialogo, EDB Editore, Bologna 2019, pp. 184
• Tacchini, D., Angelucci, A., Bombardieri, M. (eds), Islam e Integrazione in Italia. (Islam and Integration in Italy), Milan-Venice, Marsilio Editore, 2015, pp. 166

Peer Reviewed Articles and Book Chapters

• Tacchini, D., Migration and Reconciliation in the 21st Century, in “Annali di scienze religiose -  International Journal of Religious Scholarship”, Vol 12/2020 (2031-2989), Brepols Publishers, pp. 121-139
• Tacchini, D., Migration, the Hermeneutics of the Other, the ‘Reification’ and Need for Reconciliation in Christian-Muslim Relations in Contemporary Europe, in Tacchini, D., Barakat, Z. M., Leiner, M., Dajani, I. (eds), Reconciliation and Refugees. The Academic Alliance for Reconciliation Studies in the Middle East and North Africa I, RIPAR (Research in Peace and Reconciliation), Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen, 2022, pp. 61-74
• Tacchini, D., Barakat, Z. M., Leiner, M., Dajani, I., Introduction, in Tacchini, D., Barakat, Z., Leiner, M., Dajani, I. (eds), Reconciliation and Refugees. The Academic Alliance for Reconciliation Studies in the Middle East and North Africa I, RIPAR (Research in Peace and Reconciliation), Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen, 2022, pp. 9-16
• Tacchini, D., La figura dell’Imam dall’Islam classico alla situazione italiana contemporanea, in Tacchini, D., Angelucci, A., Bombardieri, M., Cuciniello, A. (eds), Chiesa e Islam in Italia, Incontro e Dialogo, EDB Editore, Bologna 2019, pp. 43-60
• Tacchini, D., Italy, in “Yearbook of Muslims in Europe” Vol. 11, Leiden-Boston, Brill, 2019, pp. 360-378
• Tacchini, D., Italy, in “Yearbook of Muslims in Europe” Vol. 10, Leiden-Boston, Brill, 2018, pp. 360-377
• Tacchini, D., Italian Islam, Imam and Mosque Today, in D. Pratt, J. Hoover, J. Davies, J. Chesworth (eds), The Character of Christian-Muslim Encounter, Essays in Honour of David Thomas, Leiden, Brill, 2015. (In English)
• Tacchini, D., Turner, A., Islam and Democracy: Voices of Muslims Amongst Us in Mattson, I., Nesbitt-Larkin, P. e Nawaz, T. (ed.), Religion and Representation: Islam and Democracy, Cambridge, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015. Pp. 228-242
• Tacchini, D., L’Imam, questo sconosciuto. Chi è e cosa fa, in Angelucci, A., Bombardieri, M., Tacchini, D., Islam e Integrazione in Italia, Milan-Venice 2014, Marsilio Editore, pp. 115-131. (In Italian)
• Tacchini, D., Islam, Mosques and Islamic Centers in the United States of America, in Allievi, S. (Ed.) Mosques in Europe. Why a solution has become a problem. London, Alliance Publishing Trust, 2011 pp. 373-381. (In English)
• Tacchini, D., Paul, the One Whom Christians Call Apostle. A Journey Through Muslim Anti-Pauline Polemic, in B. Pirone, E. Bolognesi (ed), San Paolo letto da Oriente, Studia Orientalia Christiana Monographiae 18, The Franciscan Centre of Christian Oriental Studies, Musky, Cairo / Edizioni Terra Santa, Milano, 2010, pp. 219-236. (In English)
• Tacchini, D., Paul the Forgerer, Classical and Modern Radical Muslim Views of the Apostle of Tarsus, in “Islamochristiana”, 34, (2008), pp. 129-147. (In English)
• Tacchini, D., Islam and Christianity: Prospects of Dialogue in the West, (with Select Bibliography) In “Proceedings of the International Conference Western Islam, “New” Muslims Between Tradition and Modernity," held in Piacenza, Italy on April 21, 2007, “Annali di Scienze Religiose”, December (2) 2009. (In English)
• Tacchini, D., Busnelli, P. Commented from Arabic to Italian:  Farouk, W., Kayfa Yumârisu al-Muslimûna al-Ḥadâtha wa yarfuḍûnahâ fî nafs al-waqt (come i musulmani vivono la modernità e allo stesso tempo la rifiutano), In “Proceedings of the International Conference Western Islam, “New” Muslims Between Tradition and Modernity", Piacenza, 21 Aprile 2007, Annali di Scienze Religiose, Dicembre (2) 2009
• Tacchini, D., Paolo il falsificatore, visioni islamiche radicali dell’Apostolo di Tarso, in “Annali di scienze religiose," 10/2005, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano. (In Italian)

• A.A.R.M.E.N.A., Academic Alliance of Reconciliation Studies in the Middle East and North Africa (Founding member)
• Verein zur Förderung der Versöhnungsforschung und -praxis e.V., Regular member
• PL.U.R.I.E.L.External link (Plateforme Universitaire de Recherche sur L’Islam en Europe et au Liban), University Research Network on Islam in Europe and Lebanon.
• E.I. Ecclesiological Investigations International Research Network, Full member (https://ei-research.net)
• University Center for Culture, Law and Religions (the former International Forum Democracy and Religion), Alessandria, Italy (www.fidr.itExternal link)
• A.A.R., American Academy of Religion, Regular member
• Eu.A.Re., European Academy of Religion, Regular member
• C.E.I., Conferenza Episcopale Italiana, Commissione per l’Ecumenismo e il Dialogo Interreligioso, Gruppo di Riflessione sull’Islam in Italia. (Conference of Italian Bishops, Commission for Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue, Islam in Italy Reflection Group)

I participate in the Inline downhill (downhill competitions with inline skates) World Cup Circuit since 2000 winning

• A Bronze Medal in the 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2012 World Cup Overall ranking,
• Various victories and podiums in international competitions (in Austria, USA, Canada, France, Italy, Germany and Switzerland), and
• I have been Italian National Champion in 2013 and vice-national Champion in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2018-2019.
• Since 2017 I am a member of the Board of Directors of World Skate ™ for Downhill and Slalom.

From 2005 to 2012 I have been President of the IIDA (International Inline Downhill Association), the sanctioning body of the World Cup and association of the athletes of the discipline.

Other than sport, I love photography. I have organized local exhibitions and have taken part in some contests at the regional level. My favorite subject is water, but I enjoy taking sport pictures, too.

I have also been part of a boy scout group of the Italian Catholic Scout Association (AGESCI) for 20 years, until the age of 27. I have acted as a troop leader for 6 years. I took part in the 19th World Scout Jamboree in Chile in 1999 with the International Service Group, acting as a translator (Italian-English-Arabic-French and Spanish) and hike guide.