Revisioning Modernity

Abstract

The 33rd Annual Conference of the Association of Muslim SocialScientists (AMSS) was held on September 24-26, 2004, at George MasonUniversity Law School in Arlington, Virginia. It was cosponsored byGeorge Mason University, the Center for Global Studies (CGS), and theIslamic Studies Program. Under the seamless directorship of PeterMandaville, program chair and CGS director, the timely subject of revisioningmodernity for and by Muslims in a post-9/11, post-Afghanistan,and post-Iraq world was addressed in 10 panels. With the theme“Revisioning Modernity: Challenges and Possibilities for Islam,” these sessionsfocused primarily on identity formation, human rights, interfaith dialogueand peacemaking, institutional development, methodological reform,and knowledge paradigms. The conference featured a remarkable array ofscholars and graduate students who raised thought-provoking questionsand offered clear, yet nuanced, solutions based on studied field and academicresearch.For example, Saadia Yacoob’s (Huntington Learning Center, VA)“Developing Identities: What Is Progressive Islam and Who AreProgressive Muslims?” elicited an impassioned and contentious reactionfrom the audience about this somewhat elusive term and whether it was acontradiction of terms or a logical redundancy. She identified five commonelements of self-identified “progressive” Muslim: an anti-imperialiststance, a belief that action and faith must go hand in hand, a championingof the oppressed and poor, a return to core principles, and a belief in a pluralisticand humanistic society.Kamran A. Bokahri (Howard University, DC) used his “ModerateIslam, Progressive Muslims, Democracy, and Post-Islamism” to discussthemes related to identity formation among moderate Islamists, traditionalMuslims, liberal Muslims and regimes, all of which claim to represent ...