Casa Árabe

An essential element of all life, as well as a cleansing and ritual substance since time immemorial, in Islam water acquires its richest and most profound presence in the everyday, theological, artistic and philosophical realms. The fact that Islam is one of the great water civilizations is due to the intimate contact that many of its peoples had, and still have, with the desert and the oases, which made them value and sanctify it with particular fervour; also to the fact that they were the heirs to the ancient middle-Eastern civilizations linked to important rivers, dams and mountains; and due, too, to the manifold routes they covered by land and sea in their journeys of pilgrimage, trade and exploration. An indispensable element in the personal and collective rituals of Muslims, and a fundamental Koranic concept bound up with images of the garden, Eden and Paradise, from theology to philosophy inspired by the Graeco-Romans, passing through physics, town planning, medicine and mysticism, as well as literature, poetry, architecture and the visual arts, the influence of water is even now visible in the most varied literary, poetic, philosophical and artistic records.

This book looks at the theological, philosophical, literary and artistic concepts relating to water in classical Arabic-Islamic culture, and particularly in the time of al-Andalus. As well as a detailed analysis of classical Arabic texts, it interprets a wide range of visual and architectural images concerned with the paradigms of water, gardens and the ideal place of Paradise. The book includes a great number of illustrations with comments, which, like the text, bring us up to contemporary Arabic times, and show how some present-day Arabic artists and poets come to terms with their symbolic and cultural past, renewing it or breaking away from it.

This study published by Casa Árabe and CIDOB is a tool for reflection and forward-looking analysis for Europe, and was presented in the framework of Spain's presidency of the European Union.

The contributions of Arab authors hereby included contain as the core themes the balance of current relations between Europe and Arab countries and a critical analysis of the gap between what is expected from these relationships and what they really are today and, therefore, a projection of what they should be in the future short and medium term.

Here we present an assessment of the current state of relations between the EU and the Arab world, the perceptions and stereotypes prevalent in the Arab world about Europe through the media, and an analysis of opinion polls, conducted and published by different centres, which directly address the issue of perceptions and relations of Europe in the Arab world.

Casa Árabe publishes the fifth issue of the series Documentos de Casa Árabe (Casa Árabe's Documents), which depicts The Gallup Coexist Index 2009:A Global Study of Interfaith Relations. With an in-depth analysis of Muslim integration in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

The role of religion in peace and war is one of the most hotly debated issues of our time. Policy-makers, pundits, and peacemakers alike have struggled to understand the complex relationships between people across faith lines. Political conflicts that divide different faith groups can grow into religious conflicts, while religious differences in one community can turn into political conflicts. And yet, in this turbulent atmosphere, there are also poignant examples of coexistence and goodwill among faith groups.

With the aim of contributing to a better understanding of the debate on the important dynamic of the interfaith relations, Gallup has partnered with Coexist Foundation to disseminate the results of the global poll study, carried out by them and independently, which constitutes the first annual report on the state of the issue in various countries, and which Casa Árabe now publishes in Spanish.

One of the most deeply-rooted presumptions in the West is the immutable character of the patriarchal paradigm in social structure within the Arab countries, as well as their supposed demographic explosion and woman vulnerability or submissiveness  in the bosom of the family. All of which is interpreted under the premises of a supposed religious determinism which prevents them from evolving.

This collective work, co-edited by Casa Árabe and Edicions Bellaterra and coordinated by Sophie Bessis and Gema Martín Muñoz, two of the most reputed sociologists and researchers on the female condition within the Arab world of both shores of the Mediterranean, highlights the end of the validity of this subject in the various Arab states, where deep transformations that are modifying the traditional and patriarchal paradigms are being carried out, at quite different paces.

Urban development, female education, demographic deceleration, successful family planning and women inclusion in the public and labour sphere are imposing deep changes on the delay of marriage age, on the modernization of the family structure and the relationships between both sexes. All of which entails a broader female autonomy outside as well as inside the house, and a very significant step towards their emancipation. With the support of sciences such as demography, statistics and polls, this work depicts a revolutionary transformation phenomenon in the Arab social and family sphere which, not having achieved yet its peak level, implies nowadays an irreversible dynamic.

The work includes texts by Sophie Bessis, Gema Martín Muñoz, Mohamed Al Dbiyat, Soraya Altorki, Houria Alami Mchichi, Penny Johnson, Thérèse Locoh, Dorra Mahfoudh Draoui, Zahia Ouadah-Bedidi, Nouredine Saadi and Alberto Veira Ramos.

Arab version of the 15th issue of the Boletín de Economía y Negocios de Casa Árabe (Economy and Business Bulletin of Casa Árabe), for November and December 2009, which offers an analysis of the economic openness processes and reforms currently ongoing in various Arab countries, with a special focus on the latest advances carried out in Syria and its economic relations with Spain.

Apart from the regular sections, this issue also includes an article on the future and potential of renewable energies in the Arab countries and moreover on the twinning agreements between Spanish and Arab cities and their contribution to co-development, as well as a piece on the intellectual property in Arab countries and the cooperation between Spain and Morocco in this field.

Ninth issue of the Casa Árabe's Sociopolitical Watchtower, which includes analysis on the new Turkish Foreign Policy, which is oriented towards a higher participation in the Middle East; on the leadership crisis the Muslim Brotherhood is dealing with in Egypt, after the election of the Cabinet members of the General Guide and from the General Guide himself, and on the formation of the new Lebanese government and the obstacles it has been overcoming for five months.

In the profile section, Mohammad Mahdy Akef, Muslim Brotherhood's General Guide until January 2010, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish Prime Minister are presented. The regular sections on public opinion, documentation and books and journals' shop window are included.

Sixteenth issue of Casa Árabe's Economy and Business Bulletin focuses on the expansion of economic relations between Spain and Arab countries, specially with Morocco, Oman and Algeria.

With regard to the latter, an Iberglobal article is included, it analyses the opportunities Spanish enterprises are offered within the new five-year Algerian plan. Another important topic is the stance of the Arab countries in the Copenhague Climate Change Conference, topic of Sara Acosta's article, where the Arab proposals are discussed. Another article by Iberglobal focuses on the negotiations of the free trade treaty among the EU and the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

This bulletin includes information on the current conference series on Human Development and Knowledge Society in Arab countries. The series will take place from March to May 2010 and highly reputed international experts will take part in it.

Report prepared on the occasion of the celebration of a workshop on Oman economic openness and liberalization: expansion sectors and opportunities for the Spanish enterprise, organized by Casa Árabe in Madrid, Seville and Pamplona. With graphs, information and up-dated analysis published in various Oman and international medias and institutions, the document analyses the macroeconomic situation in Oman, as well as the openness and liberalization process carried out in the country, in sectors such as tourism, renewable energies, infraestructures and telecommunications, among others, which represent nowadays interesting business opportunities for Spanish enterprises.

Judicial independence, an essential element for the protection of human rights and freedoms, is an objective not yet achieved in various countries of the Mediterranean region.
Many national and international agencies are developing plans for justice reform in the region, but it is difficult to distinguish the concrete actions and specific aims of each one. This report was prepared and published originally by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network, and is now published in Spanish in Casa Árabe’s Documents series. It examines initiatives being taken, and describes sources of finance available for all actions related to the independence of judicial power.

The authors intend it to serve as a starting point to undertake projects and other activities aimed at strengthening judicial independence in the region, so that donors and participants are better informed about what has been achieved so far, and future needs in the short and long term.

The 15th issue of Casa Árabe’s Economy and Business Bulletin contains an analysis of the processes and reforms of economic openness taking place in various Arab countries. It includes a special note about latest advances achieved  in Syria and its economic relations with Spain.

In addition to regular features, there is an article on the future and potential of renewable energies in Arab countries; another on twinning agreements between Spanish and Arab cities and their contribution to co-development; and a note on intellectual property in Arab countries, and cooperation in this area between Spain and Morocco.