The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) released the eighth issue of its comprehensive quarterly cultural magazine. The new issue features a diverse selection of intellectual, literary, and cultural topics that open new avenues for dialogue on identity, civilizational coexistence, shifts in literary creativity, ways to safeguard heritage, and the transformation of cultural memory into a source of contemporary knowledge and creativity.

The issue, published under the supervision of ICESCO’s Center for Poetry and Literature, opens with an interview with Sheikh Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, Secretary-General of the Muslim World League, Chairman of the Organization of Muslim Scholars. He discussed the role of dialogue in promoting understanding among religions and cultures, consolidating the values of moderation and coexistence, and the responsibility of educational and media institutions to counter extremism and hate speech.

The thematic special of this issue is devoted to “Poetics of the Novel: The Dialectic of Narrative and Language,” with contributions from leading critics and researchers, foremost among them Dr. Said Yaktine, Dr. Hatem Fattnassi, Dr. Zohour Karam, and Dr. Mohammed Mahmoud Abu Ali. Their contributions form part of ICESCO’s celebration of World Novel Week. The thematic special sheds light on transformations in the Arab novel, its aesthetic and intellectual questions, its relationship with reality and modernity, and its capacity to renew narrative through language.

The issue also includes an interview with Moroccan poet Dr. Mohammed Bennis, conducted by Dr. Abderrahmane Ghanimi, tracing key stages in his poetic and intellectual journey and exploring his views on modernity and writing. Other articles examine the shaping of meaning through Moroccan heritage architecture, as well as the aesthetics and the reframing of the aesthetic question in Islamic thought.

As part of its focus on heritage as a living memory and a source of knowledge, the issue highlights the city of Sidi Bou Said and its inscription on the ICESCO List of Heritage in the Islamic World. It also explores the presence of women in Arabic calligraphy and food in Islamic heritage as part of social and cultural memory, alongside other literary and cultural materials reflecting the diversity of experiences and the richness of the Islamic world’s civilizational heritage.

ICESCO invites all interested readers to explore the contents of the magazine’s eighth issue at the following link: https://icesco.org/xznk

To access the archive of previous issues, please visit: https://icesco.org/aec9