FUNCI
The Islamic Culture Foundation (FUNCI) is a Spanish Cultural Foundation and NGO of a scientific-cultural, independent and non-profit nature. Its main objective is to promote the Euro-Islamic dialogue and to deepen the search for solutions to the problems of intercultural communication that affect our society. This is done through a better understanding of Islamic civilisation and its historical and cultural ties with Europe, which facilitates mutual respect and combats attitudes of racism and xenophobia. In addition, FUNCI conducts an intense line of international cultural cooperation with various countries in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. During its 40 years of existence, FUNCI has focused its activity on achieving these objectives through international colloquia, conferences, art and pedagogical exhibitions, educational programmes, courses for volunteers and teachers, specialised publications and many other activities.
To clarify the activities we carry out, it is possible to identify three lines of action that comprise FUNCI's main projects:
The protection and dissemination of heritage constitutes the first line of action. This includes the defence of tangible, intangible and natural heritage. Heritage is a living legacy of the shared influence and relationship with Islamic civilisation, and serves as a tool to bring society closer to this reality. Heritage is the clear proof of the link between our society and the Islamic civilisation, and the cultural and social legacy it has left behind. For this reason, FUNCI aims to revitalise European historical memory, recognising the contributions of Islam to the cultural heritage of the West. Currently, three projects are actively working on the recovery and dissemination of heritage: the Centre for Studies on Islamic Madrid (CEMI), the Centre for Studies on Islamic Toledo (CETI), and Med-O-Med, cultural landscapes of the Mediterranean and the Middle East
.A second pillar comprises protecting the environment, a pressing issue on which FUNCI began to work actively in 2009 through its Med-O-Med project, a cooperation network that brings together 23 countries in the Mediterranean region. This project promotes the defence of the environment, the fight against climate change and the protection of the natural and cultural heritage of the Mediterranean countries, with a special emphasis on the countries of the southern and eastern shores, which are especially unprotected. These projects are based on the close link between Islam and nature, as well as the awareness and scientific advances that have historically characterised Islamic civilisation with respect to the environment. Among them is the Gardening School, in Morocco, to train and integrate young people at risk of social exclusion into the labour market.
In the third line, FUNCI develops projects directly related to the fight against Islamophobia, through which it tries to dismantle the stereotypes and prejudices on which this type of discrimination is based. These projects include ‘Twistislamophobia, because differences add up and the Islamoteca, which includes all the educational and academic activities carried out against Islamophobia and in favour of disseminating greater knowledge of Islam.
Finally, it is worth highlighting FUNCI's internationalisation efforts, whose projects and contents transcend national borders. For this reason, FUNCI's interest in projects reaching the European level is very strong. We have had certain achievements such as the Recommendation 1162 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe regarding the contribution of the Islamic civilisation to European culture (1991), the First Manifesto against Islamophobia (2004) or the reception of the second place in the Green Skill Awards (2023).