Francesca Bocca-Aldaqre

Francesca Bocca-Aldaqre is an Italian theologian, neuroscientist, educator, and writer with a multidisciplinary background that spans Islamic psychology, neuroscience, and Islamic studies. She was born in Piacenza in 1987 and pursued her higher education in Germany, earning both a Master of Science in Neuro‑Cognitive Psychology and a PhD in Systemic Neuroscience from Ludwig‑Maximilians Universität Munich. Additionally, she holds a Diploma in Islamic Psychology from Cambridge Muslim College. Francesca Bocca-Aldaqre has made significant contributions to Islamic scholarship and education. She directed the Averroè Institute of Islamic Studies in Piacenza, co‑founded and teaches at the Islamic Institute of Advanced Studies, and serves as a professor of Islamic theology at the International Open University. She also taught Arabic language and culture at Società Umanitaria and Islamic civilization at the University Vita‑Salute San Raffaele in Milan. Beyond academia, she is active in community‑building, writing regularly on neuroscience, theology, and contemporary Muslim identity for publications like Civiltà delle macchine. As an author, she has published both poetry and essays. Her major works include “Manifesto dell’Islam Italiano” (2024), “Nietzsche in Paradiso. Vite parallele tra Islam e Occidente” (2021), the “Manuale di Teologia Islamica” co‑authored with Massimo Campanini (2021), “Lezioni sull’Islam – Pratica, credo e spiritualità” (2020), “Sotto il suo passo nascono i fiori. Goethe e l’Islam” with Buttafuoco (2019), and “Un Corano che cammina. Fondamenti di pensiero educativo, didattica e pedagogia islamica” (2018). In poetry, she authored “Non amo chi tramonta” (2020). Her scholarship bridges Western scientific disciplines and Islamic thought, and she promotes integration through education, literature, and thoughtful reflection on Islam’s role in modern Europe.