Association Of Muslim Social Scientists Research Articles

Toward Islamic English by Ismā‘īl Rājī al Fārūqī

Dr. Ismā‘īl Rājī al Fārūqī (1339-1406 A.H/1921-1986 A.C) is widely recognized as an authority on Islam and comparative religion. Dr. al Fārūqī was a dedicated and active academician. His educational training in Philosophy took place at Indiana and Harvard University. He also engaged in the post-graduate study of Islam at al-Azhar University and Christianity and Judaism at McGill University. He co-founded the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) and the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS). Among his significant intellectual and academic contributions is his consistent emphasis on the Islamization of knowledge and result-oriented inter-faith dialogues. The present book, Toward Islamic English, extends the same discourse on the Islamization of knowledge. However, the paradigm in which the book’s theme is described is more academic and relates to the methodological dimensions of studying Islamic Studies as an academic discipline.

In Conversation With Dr. Hisham Altalib

In Conversation With Dr. Hisham Altalib about the Legacy of Professor AbdulHamid A. AbuSulayman Alyaa Ebbiary and Dr. Hisham Altalib introduction This interview article is a slight departure in form from those in previous issues of JEMS. Thus far we have used this section as a space to explore the thought and work of academic educationalists who work on research about, or in, the Muslim world, with a view to broadening intellectual debates on matters of interest to our readership. In this issue we interview Dr. Hisham Altalib, a cofounder of IIIT—the organization that inspired this journal—and a mentee-friend of the late Prof. AbdulHamid AbuSulayman, who is memorialized in this issue. Both these personalities were pivotal in the institutionalization of new Islamic research and education initiatives over the last 50 years, and the interview gives us an insight into the influence of the late AbdulHamid AbuSulayman, in particular. Dr. Hisham Altalib (b. 1940) is the current president of the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT). He graduated in 1962 with a B.Sc. in electrical engineering from Liverpool University, UK, and after serving in Iraq in the petroleum industry, he pursued graduate studies in electrical engineering at Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana, where he obtained his M.A. (1972) and Ph.D. (1974). Throughout his student career, he was active in Islamic work, first in the UK and then in North America. He has continued his advocacy for Islam and Muslims as an activist and author to this day. He established the Leadership Training Department of the Muslim Students Association of the United States and Canada (MSA) and became its first full-time director, serving from 1975 to 1977. He held several leadership positions in Islamic organizations, such as Secretary-General of the International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations [End Page 132] (IIFSO), in 1976. He was a founding member and a director of the SAAR Foundation, from 1983 to 1995, and he was also a founding member of the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) in 1981. Dr. Altalib has conducted many leadership training camps and seminars in the United States and abroad. His published works include Training Guide for Islamic Workers; Inviting to Islam: Ethics of Engagement; and Parent-Child Relations: A Guide for Raising Children (coauthored with AbdulHamid AbuSulayman and Omar Altalib; 2013). He is a father and grandfather. Dr. AbdulHamid AbuSulayman (1936–2021) was a scholar, activist, educationalist, and institution builder. His varied career spanned 60 years, and he will be remembered as a leading intellectual and creative thinker in the Muslim world. He obtained a B.A. in Commerce from the University of Cairo (1959), an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Cairo (1963), and a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania (1973). He held various positions throughout his career, including founding member and President of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS) in the United States and Canada (1972); Secretary-General, World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (1973–1982); Chairperson, Department of Political Science at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (1982–1984); and Rector, International Islamic University (IIU), Malaysia (1988–1999). He was instrumental in organizing many international academic conferences and seminars. He was concerned with the alarming condition of Muslims in the modern world and heavily invested in reform on a number of levels. His many books include The Islamic Theory of International Relations: New Directions for Islamic Methodology and Thought; Crisis in the Muslim Mind; Revitalizing Higher Education in the Muslim World; The Qur'anic Worldview: A Springboard for Cultural Reform; and Parent-Child Relations: A Guide for Raising Children (coauthored with Hisham Altalib and Omar Altalib). He is survived by his wife, five children, and many grandchildren. Alyaa Ebbiary: You have had a varied career and worked in very different fields. How would you describe yourself and what you do? As an academic, scholar, writer, activist, educationalist, trainer, or otherwise? Hisham Altalib: I am an electrical engineer who also became an activist, trainer, writer, businessman, and educationalist. I became active in "Islamic work" (faith-inspired activism and community organizing) when I was growing up in Iraq. This...

Muslim Communities in Europe and North America: Contemporary Developments and Challenges

Muslim Communities in Europe and North America:Contemporary Developments and Challenges Layla Sein (bio) On September 27, 2019, the 48th Annual Conference of the North American Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies (NAAIMS) was held at Boston University (BU) Boston, MA. It was cosponsored by BU's Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs (CURA) of the Pardee School of Global Studies. The theme focused on "Muslim Communities in Europe and North America: Contemporary Developments and Challenges." The Conference Program Chair, Timothy P. Longman, director of CURA welcomed the panelists and guests, and introduced NAAIMS Interim President, Malik Mufti, Tufts University, Medford, MA. In his introductory remarks, Mufti spoke of the recent passing of NAAIMS President, Jon Mandaville (August 5, 2019), and briefly highlighted the major challenges that transpired under his tenure (2011-2019) beginning with formalizing the long-awaited and frequently discussed official name-change of the former Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS) to NAAIMS in 2013; upgrading its website; and launching its successful bi-annual publication (May 2016), published by Indiana University Press: the Journal of Islamic and Muslim Studies (JIMS), among other developments. As a side note, our name-change was revisited by previous boards over the past decade for the following reasons: (1) its conference themes and topics addressed the humanities, not just the social sciences, as indicated by its former name AMSS; (2) its broad appeal called [End Page 122] for a name that reflects more accurately the identity of, and the true legacy of AMSS by establishing a forum for annual conferences held in academic settings; and finally it created (3) a unique space for academics specializing in the study of Islam and Muslim societies. This event drew a crowd of seasoned and junior scholars, and doctoral students. Its four panel sessions focused on Law, Religion, and Immigration; Religiosity of Western Muslims; Western Muslims in Culture and Higher Education, and Self-Positioning of Western Muslims. The first panel session "Law, Religion, and Immigration" was moderated by the Panel Chair and Discussant, Ibrahim A. Warde (Tufts University, Medford, MA). The first presentation by Sharmin Islam Sadequee (Kennesaw State University, Atlanta, GA) examined the "Prosecution of Muslims and Discourses of Islamic Jurisprudence in U.S. Courts." She explained that after the "War on Terror," Muslims were prosecuted through "Preventive measures in U.S. courts," and that lawyers and legal experts used liberal legal categories to define Islam and Islamic law. She argued that based on "pre-established liberal legal categories, the trial process reproduces and constructs a monolithic understanding of Islam and Muslim in U.S. Law." Her presentation, which highlighted court cases concerning Islam and Muslims "within the larger colonial and historical context" actually provided the basis for her argument that the "use of 'Islam-related evidence' against the accused in these trials … regulated Muslims and [gave] rise to paradoxes in the liberal, secular legal order" which opened a venue through which "Euro-American societies maintain[ed] imperial hierarchy and power over minority racialized religious groups." This was followed by Sultan Doughan's (Boston University, Boston, MA) talk on "Conditional Tolerance and Muslim Aspirations for an Institutional Islam in Germany." Although there have been Muslim communities in Europe since the Middle Ages, they became a sizable part of the population of modern Western Europe after the 1950's. After World War II, Europe experienced a shortage of labor during the 50s, which resulted in a call to Muslims from Pakistan, the Maghreb, and Turkey to help stimulate Europe's economic recovery. Beginning with the 1960s, Western Europe (especially Germany, Britain, France and Belgium) began experiencing a large wave of Muslim immigrants from Turkey, the Maghreb (Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia), and South Asia (India and Pakistan) seeking employment opportunities and better education. According to Doughan, "The presence of guest-worker migrants in Germany since the 1960s triggered the question of how to accommodate Muslim religious practices in the absence of Islamic institutions. With the acknowledgment of migration as an enduring political reality in the late 1990s a different governmental task emerged vis-à-vis former migrants now mostly construed as Muslims." Due to the growing number of asylum seekers from the Muslim world, immigration was placed...

Psychological Reflections on Ismail al-Faruqi’s Life and Contributions

Perhaps I am one of the few persons who can contemplate deeply upon thepsychosocial factors that shaped Ismail al-Faruqi’s life and helped transformhim into a great Muslim thinker. First, as a psychologist, I could clearly seefrom his career, as well as from his matchless linguistic ability and long personaldiscussions with him, that he was a highly intelligent and creative personwith a rare gift for perceiving a holistic picture of seemingly unrelatedaspects. Second, I am now an old man who lived in Lebanon and Jordan fromthe early 1950s until the late 1960s, interrupted only by the two years I spentin England pursuing my doctorate. I earned my BA and MA at the AmericanUniversity of Beirut (AUB) and then taught there after obtaining my doctorate.I am therefore well acquainted with the culture of Lebanon, Syria, andJordan, as well as with AUB’s academic and social life, during those years.Al-Faruqi joined AUB at an early age and was greatly influenced by what ithad to offer.Third, I was privileged to have long discussions and friendly talks withhim during my visits to the United States and his visit to Saudi Arabia. I firstmet him in Indianapolis in 1976 at the international annual conference organizedby the Muslim Students Association (MSA) and the Association of MuslimSocial Scientists (AMSS). We had long academic discussions onIslamization and the future of Islamic psychology. It was his idea that Muslimpsychologists in North America should form a psychology branch within theAMSS. I spent three months in Indianapolis, sharing the same house with therenowned scholar Taha Jabir al-Alwani. During these months I was asked to ...

Looking Beyond September 11

The Fortieth Annual AMSS (Association of Muslim Social Scientists ofNorth America) Conference, held at John Jay College at the City Universityof New York in New York City, marked a decade since September 11 by reviewingthe past ten years of the Muslim narrative, with particular focus onthe past year and the considerable social and political changes in the MiddleEast and North Africa. Welcomed by John Jay College Provost and SeniorVice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Jane Bowers, and by outgoingAMSS President Dr. Ali Mazrui ‒ the conference’s one-day format ensuredan intensive and stimulating session, which captured the energy of the participantsand attendees that filled the symposium. While a four-panel conferencefeaturing only twelve presenters may appear small in comparison tosome academic meetings, AMSS again proved that quality eclipsed quantityin offering a diverse, yet deep analysis of contemporary issues ‒ ranging fromthe Arab Spring to domestic discourses highlighting and targeting Muslims.A panel entitled, “The Arab Spring: Paths to Democracy in the MiddleEast and North Africa,” opened the day’s proceedings by assessing the veryfluid and evolving situation in the heart of the Arab world. Khalid Madhi(Adjunct Professor at St. Xavier University and PhD Student Researchand Teaching Assistant at the University of Illinois at Chicago) focused onhow the transformative movements in Tunisia and Egypt would be felt inMorocco by offering a study of the country’s Islamist efforts. Umar Oseni(Visiting Fellow at the Islamic Legal Studies Program at the Harvard LawSchool and Post-doctoral Scholar and Lecturer at the International IslamicUniversity Malaysia) shifted the discussion from a specific country to amore regional approach when he proposed a model for conflict managementthat is inherent within Islam itself. Finally, Mohamed Nimer (AssistantProfessor of International Relations at the School of International ...

Challenges Facing the New President in the Greater Middle East

In November 2008, students, scholars, and interested citizens convened inEast Lansing to hear experts speak about the Middle East. This event, “ChallengesFacing the New President in the GreaterMiddle East,” was hosted byMichigan State University’s Muslim Studies Program with generous cosponsorshipby the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) andthe Association of Muslim Social Scientists of North America (AMSS).Speakers highlighted the topic’s timeliness, given the current global politicalclimate. Experts agreed that by heeding the nuances surrounding MiddleEastern issues and contextualizing them, a positive transformation ofAmericanpolicy can be achieved.Professor Mohammed Ayoob (Michigan State University) articulatedwhy the Middle East is significant: as the Muslim world’s spiritual and politicalheartland, understanding its politics is essential to understanding thatworld’s politics, and being the home ofmore than 60%of the world’s provenoil reserves and 40% of its natural gas makes it strategically important. Thisoverview contextualized the challenges facing the Obama administration onsuch critical regional issues as political Islam, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,and the Iraq War as well as the United States’ tenuous relations withPakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and SaudiArabia ...

Cosmopolitan Islamic Identity and Thought

The Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS) held its Third AnnualCanadian Regional Conference on “Cosmopolitan Islamic Identity andThought” on 24 November 2007 at Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo,ON). Opening the event with her keynote address, “Consumption andCosmopolitanism: The Veil, The Body, The Law,” Reina Lewis (Universityof East London) pointed out that in British culture, cosmopolitanism has notyet appropriated the Muslim veil as a desirable object of fashion consumptionfor the majority society, although Muslim women have appropriatedand indigenized some western fashions. However, this does not prevent themajority society from making interpretive “readings” of the veil relative todominant fashion cultures and participating in neo-Orientalist discourses.Despite the (shockingly) recent British legislation of 2003 that finallyexplicitly forbids religious discrimination, some recent prominent publicdiscourse on the veil in Britain has turned its attention to the issue of faceveiling as a potentially insidious fashion practice, arguing essentially (anduncritically) that visibility is equal to transparency, integrity, and truth ...

Editorial

In July 2007, the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS) launchedits new website: www.amss.net. This event signals a reinvigorated AMSSthat seeks to update itself and enhance its professional image. The launchcomes after several years of hard work, conducted mostly behind the scenes,on behalf of the AMSS Executive Board. Under the guidance of Dr. RafikBeekun (president, AMSS), a recognized expert in strategic planning,AMSS has undergone a complete overhaul, from a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses,opportunities, threats) analysis to revising its by-laws and engagingin strategic planning, to implementation.In order to recognize the separate but related nature of Canada to theUnited States (it is not simply the 51st state!), as well as the prominent rolebeing played by Canadian social scientists in AMSS, the board has suggesteda new name: The Association of Muslim Social Scientists of NorthAmerica. This is, of course, contingent upon the membership’s pendingapproval of the new by-laws. In addition, this name change helps identifyus in relation to our sister organizations: AMSS-UK and AMSS-France.Each association is an independent entity sharing a common name, vision,and goals. The first AMSS international conference was held in Istanbul in2006.One theme of AMSS’ new mission statement is that the organizationwill serve as an enabling environment for critical dialogue and debatebetween Muslim and non-Muslim scholars about issues of importance tothe ummah and global society at large. The ability to dialogue is currentlynot one of the Muslim community’s strengths. Dialogue is about talking,about sitting down with people from different backgrounds in order tounderstand their perspective on often controversial issues. The point is notto convince them that your position is the “truth” or vice versa, but to hearthem as fellow human beings and have them hear you. As the NationalCoalition for Dialogue and Deliberation points out, “dialogue is not aboutwinning an argument or coming to an agreement, but about understandingand learning. Dialogue dispels stereotypes, builds trust and enables peopleto be open to perspectives that are very different from their own” (http://-thataway.org/index.php/?page_id=713) ...

US Government and American Muslims Engage to Define Islamophobia

On 4 December 2006, the American Muslims’ national leadership met withkey senior American government officials to discuss Islamophobia in thecountry and American-Muslim relations. The conference, organized by theBridging the Divide Initiative of the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution,was co-sponsored by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding(ISPU) and the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS).As conference chair, I had to bring together two parties that did not seeeye-to-eye on this issue. While American Muslim leaders and participantsargued that Islamophobia was not only a reality but also a rapidly growingphenomenon in the United States, the government’s position was that whilethere have been increased incidences of anti-Muslim episodes in the country,the word Islamophobia deepens the divide between the two sides. Other government representatives also suggested that the fear to which Muslimswere referring was not that of Islam, but rather that of Muslim terrorism, asmanifested on 11 September 2001.Stephen Grand (director, United States-Islamic World program) welcomedall participants and launched the conference. The government wasrepresented by the Department of State, the Department of HomelandSecurity, and associated agencies. The morning keynote address was deliveredby Alina Romanowski (Deputy Assistant Secretary of State forProfessional and Cultural Affairs). She was introduced by AmbassadorMartin Indyk (director, the Saban Center), who proclaimed the importanceof such dialogues at a time when the gap between the United States and theMuslim world appears to be widening ...

Islam and Global Dialogue

Edited by Dr Roger Boase with Foreword by HRH Prince Hassan binTalal. Essays by John Bowden, Diana Eck, Muhammad Legenhausen,Francis Robinson, William Dalrymple, Akbar Ahmed, Fred Halliday,Jonathan Sacks, Antony Sullivan, Robert Crane, Khaled Abou El Fadl,Tony Bayfield, Norman Solomon, Marcus Braybrooke, Frank Gelli,Murad Hofmann, Roger Boase, Jeremy Henzell-Thomas, MahmudAyoub, Wendell Berry.SPEAKERSRoger Boase: The question that we are discussing this evening is “What rolecan religion play in promoting peace instead of war and other forms of violence?”This is the one of the main questions that my book Islam and GlobalDialogue seeks to answer.I began the book in October 2001 after participating in a conferenceorganised by the Association of Muslim Social Scientists, entitled “Unityand Diversity: Islam, Muslims, and the Challenge of Pluralism.” Alreadybefore 11 September 2001 Islam was widely portrayed in the media as a belligerentand intolerant religion, incompatible with democracy and civilisedvalues. Half of those who responded to an opinion poll in the United Statesin the year 2000 thought that Islam supported terrorism.There was, and still is, much discussion about holy war, as if war canever be holy! I do not now intend to define jihad. That would take too long ...

Revisioning Modernity

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 ...

The AMSS (UK) Fifth Annual Conference

Traditional fiqh is facing a new challenge: formulating a suitable fiqh forminority Muslim communities. In this spirit, the Association of MuslimSocial Scientists (AMSS [UK]) in conjunction with the InternationalInstitute of Islamic Thought, The Muslim College, and Q-News Media,convened its fifth annual conference, “Fiqh Today: Muslims as Minorities,”at the University of Westminster (London) during February 21-22, 2004.Anas Al-Shaikh-Ali, AMSS (UK) Executive Committee Chair, setout the vision in his opening remarks: A genuine fiqh for minorityMuslims requires a collective engagement between social scientists andShari`ah scholars “in the wider public arena.” He challenged participantsto work for a “comprehensive methodology of minority fiqh” drawing onthe past, but not being afraid to be innovative.Keynote speaker Mustafa Ceric, Grand Mufti of Bosnia-Herzegovina,maintained that while he did not believe in a minority fiqh per se, he readilyaccepted the position that Muslims living as political minorities often arebetter able to fulfill their religious obligations than Muslims elsewhere. Heposited a vision of Muslims in Europe that recognized their unique historicposition and contribution to Europe, which he sees as a place of interactionrather than of confrontation. After discussing the interdependence of culturesand the need for balance and tolerance, he considered present diagnoses ofthe intellectual pathologies of Muslim and European societies and concludedby challenging Muslim minorities to see themselves as driving Islam’s civilizationalwheel. He also called on Europe to institutionalize Islam and forMuslims in Europe to come together within a universal worldview.Al-Shaikh-Ali awarded the AMSS (UK) 2003 Lifetime AchievementAward posthumously to Edward Said. Michel Abdul Messih, QC, eminentlawyer, Palestinian activist, and close friend of Said, accepted it on hisbehalf. Zaki Badawi spoke of how Said’s works changed academia and ...

AMSS Regional Conference

On April 12, 2003, the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS), incollaboration with the Muslim Students' Association (MSA) of theUniversity of Utah, held its first regional conference in Salt Lake City,Utah. The day-long conference, "The Place of.Islam in America," includedpanel discussions and workshops. The first panel dealt with "Images andPerceptions of Islam in America," and the second panel focused on "TheEmerging Muslim Community: Opportunities and Challenges." Toward theend of the program, both the panelists and the audience participated in threeworkshops: "Challenges of Raising a Muslim Child," "Examining the UtahMuslim Community," and "Muslim Youths Dealing with Temptations andPeer Pressure." Louay Safi (president, AMSS) and Sayyid M. Syeed (generalsecretary, ISNA) gave the two keynote addresses.At the beginning of the conference, Abdul-Qayum Mohmand, programcoordinator, welcomed the panelists and the guests and stated that: "Sincethe Muslim community is part of the social and political construct of thissociety and contributes to the build up of this society in many aspects, it isvital for them to find out where they are placed in this society."In his opening remarks, Safi talked about the importance of the Muslims'political and social positioning in the United Stated and pointed out that"American Muslims have a great opportunity to develop Islamic thought andinstitutions for modern-day society." He stressed that "faced with new socialchallenges stemming from modernist trends, American Muslims possess aUthe ingredients they need to develop solutions with far-reaching impact onimproving the quality of life both in the U.S. and throughout the Muslimworld." He expressed confidence that the conference deliberations are part ofthe Muslim American struggle to better the human condition.In the first panel, James Toronto (associate professor oflslamic studies,Brigham Young University, Utah) focused on the challenges and responsi bilitiesof the American Muslim community. Calling upon its members to ...

The Thirty-First Annual Conference of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists

The Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS) held its thirty first annual conference in Washington, DC, from October 25-27, 2002, with the collaboration of the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIID. The conference was cosponsored by the School of International Service, American University, and supported by the university's Ibn Khaldun Chair ofislamic Studies, Dr. Akbar Ahmed.
 In his welcoming remarks, Dr. Louis Goodman, Dean of the School of International Service, American University, encouraged the use of academic forums to highlight social concerns of the larger world community. Introductory comments by AMSS President Dr. Louay Safi, stressed the need for scholars to examine the different agendas being introduced to address concepts dealing with the fears and concerns faced by the larger Muslim and non-Muslim communities in a post-9/11 world.
 The Conference Chair, Dr. Amira Sonbol, Georgetown University, OC, hoped that this con­ference would promote debate on how Islam has been studied to date, and encourage Muslims to revisit moments in history to understand their com­munity's position in world history. The conference theme, "The Muslim World after September 11: Agenda for Change," echoed in the presentations made by over 40 scholars in eight consecutive panels, one roundtable discussion, a plenary session, and a keynote address at the annual banquet. Students, academicians, activists, and intellectuals engaged in a lively debate with the panelists after their presentations. Media coverage was provided by the Washington Post and the Washington Times ...

Morality in Public Life

I am honored - and deeply humbled - to be invited by the Association of Muslim Social Scientists to deliver the Ismail al-Faruqi Memorial Lecture this evening. Professor Ismail al-Faruqi was undoubtedly one of the most accom­plished and one of the most illustrious thinkers that the Muslim world has produced in recent decades. His writings, which span a whole spectrum of social concerns, have contributed immensely to a better understanding of tawhid, Islamic culture, and interfaith dialogue among both Muslims and non-Muslims. As a committed intellectual who translated ideas into action, the late Professor al-Faruqi was an honest and principled voice in the strug­gle for a just world. It was because of his own integrity that he regarded morality in public life as fundamental to social justice. Muslims, more than perhaps most people, should be able to appreciate the importance of morality in public life. And yet most states established in the name oflslam have failed miserably to uphold the basic standards of public morality. What explains this huge paradox? How can we bridge this yawning chasm between the ideals of which we are conscious and the real­ities that confront us? How will globalization help or hinder our efforts to imbue public life with moral values and principles? ...

The Thirtieth Annual Conference of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS)

The Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS) held its 30th annualconference with the collaboration of the International Institute of IslamicThought (IIIT) at the University of Michigan - Dearbom campus fromOctober 26 - 28,2001. Students, academicians, Muslim and non-Muslimintellectuals and activists were among the guests at the conferencecosponsored by the University of Michigan - Dearborn and its Center forArab-American Studies, and Project MAPS: Muslims in the AmericanPublic Square, Georgetown University.The conference theme "Religion and Public Life in the Global Epoch"echoed in the presentations given by eighty five panelists in twenty panelsand seven roundtable discussions, including one workshop; two plenarysessions; and a keynote address at the annual banquet. The social issuesoutlined and defined by Muslims and non-Muslims in these sessions didnot only encourage a stimulating and lively debate after the panel androundtable presentations, but they also advanced the development of theacademic forum fostered by the AMSS, since its inception, to analyze theapplication of an Islamic worldview on social issues in the larger worldcommunity.In his opening statement, AMSS President Mumtaz Ahmad, who is alsoa political science professor at Hampton University, underscored the needfor Muslim scholars and professionals to educate the public on Islam,and to work with people of different faith groups to influence the developmentof a global social order based on justice, morality and Godconsciousness.His remarks drew attention to the importance of establishinga better understanding of Islam and creating an awareness of ourcommon humanity. Professor Ahmad's opening remarks also set the tenorof the conference and established a theme based on peace and goodwilltowards mankind that echoed throughout the three-day gathering.In fact, the character of the conference was further established on the firstday at the Conference Reception hosted by the University of Michigan atthe Henry Ford Estate -Dearborn campus, when Dr. Ronald Stockton,Interim Director, Center for Arab-American Studies (CAAS), stated that ...

The First Annual Conference of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (UK)

The first annual conference of the Association of Muslim SocialScientists of the United Kingdom took place on October 30-31, 1999, at theLondon School of Economics and Political Science in London, England.The attendees came from various British and continental European universities.There were also a few participants from outside the European continent.This conference was a follow-up to the December 1996 seminar at theOxford Academy for Advanced Studies that led to the creation of theAMSS(UK) for the specific purpose of promoting Islamic perspectives invarious academic disciplines. According to the conference program, theplanners of the conference chose an "open theme," inviting presenters towrite on topics in their own field of expertise. Because of this open invitationto the participants, papers on philosophy, sociology, political science,economics, law, education, religious studies, literature, art, media, andecology were presented at the conference.On the opening day, Lord Ahmed of Rotherham ( one of four Muslims sittingin the House of Lords) delivered the keynote address. He encouragedthe Muslim scholars to study the Muslim experience in the British Isles andto contribute to the better understanding of the Muslim minority in Britishsociety. He underscored the persistence of racism and anti-Islamic sentimentsin the country and urged his fellow believers to keep the faith and tomaintain their vigilance against the detractors of Islam in the West. Heargued for greater Muslim involvement in the political process in Britishsociety and urged the younger generation to do everything within theirpower to assert their rights as citizens and to maintain their Islamic identity.Professor Sulayman S. Nyang, a former President of the Association ofMuslim Social Scientists of the United States and Canada, addressed themeeting after Lord Ahmed's keynote address. Invited purposely to share theexperiences of the American AMSS with members of the British AMSS, ...

Vision of AJISS

When the International Institute of Islamic Thought and the Associationof Muslim Social Scientists decided to launch AJ/SS sixteen years ago, theyhad a shared vision of the condition of the Ummah, the crises facing it, andthe resolution of those crises. These were the three challenges that inspiredthe work of HIT and AMSS the last two decades. As we write the editorialfor the first issue of the seventeenth volume of AJ/SS, we recall those challengesand that vision of Islam and discover that they are still deeply relevanttoday.The first challenge was to understand Islam and then interpret that understanding.Today, more than ever before, Islam is considered a great religion,an egalitarian faith, and a holistic way of life by Muslims and others.More and more people are realizing the extent to which Islamic valuesand the Shari'ah, which are just and universal in character, may contributeto solving the problems of contemporary civilization. They also recognizethat Islamic guidance, which integrates revelation and reason, answers eternalquestions about living righteously on earth and establishing a just andrational 'umriin (civilization).Both HIT and AMSS believe that Muslim scholars and intellectuals willserve Islam and humanity if they articulate a comprehensive worldviewpremised on Islamic ontology, epistemology, and methodology. Thisworldview will enable Muslims to institutionalize and observe Islamicideals and central principles such as tawhid, 'umriin and tazkiyah, enablenon-Muslims to interpret life, nature, and human phenomena, and have sufficientelements shared between them to facilitate a universal discourse thatcan bring the fruits of Islam to all humanity.The second challenge concerned diagnosing the contemporary conditionof the Muslim Ummah. Despite the Islamic values and principles that itpossesses and the human and natural resources it enjoys, the Ummah hasbeen in decline for several centuries. Muslims have been subjected toincomparable defeats and humiliation. In today's global media they are ...

The Annual Convention of the Association of Muslim Social scientists

The Annual Convention of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists(AMSS), was held at the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciencesin Leesburg, VA 29-31 October.By all accounts, this convention was a success and heralds a resurgenceof the Association. The convention generated an air of excitement andexpectations about the Association’s immediate future. Over 150 participantsattended and 70 presentations were made. In addition, the conventionwas graced by nine foreign scholars: two from India, one from Brunei, onefrom Malaysia, three from Canada, one from France, and one from Turkey.The Faruqi memorial lecture was delivered by AbdulHameedAbuSulayman, the president of the International Institute of IslamicThought (IIlT). He focused on the Muslim communities’ need to focus onthe intellectual development of children because it is an important aspect ofthe revival of the ummah. The keynote address at the banquet was given byTariq Ramadan a prominent Muslim social scientist and community leaderfrom France. His talk brought a Efreshing focus to what it means to be anengaged Western Muslim.In many ways this convention was a turning point in the history ofAMSS. Here, the old and the new met and had a meaningfid dialogue aboutthe direction of the Association. The convention also marked a change ofguard as many new and younger Muslim scholars, particularly graduatestudents, joined the board. Faizan Haq, a B.D. student at SUNY Buffalowas elected general secretary and is also in charge of the AMSS outreach ...

Farewell to Mushtaqur Rahman

Professor Mushtaqur Rahman, a renowned Muslim geographer, who wasborn on July 1,1933 in Agra (India), died of cardiac arrest at Des Moines,Iowa (USA), on November 5, 1999. He had heart problems for severalyears that had slowed down his academic and social service activities butnever deterred him from performing them.In 1947, he migrated to Pakistan, a country he loved dearly and lived toserve throughout his life. Still, his contributions went beyond it in a numberof ways. Having done his B.A. (1953) and M.A. (1955) from theUniversity of Karachi, he taught at Islamiah College, Karachi, and SindhUniversity, Hyderabad for a few years. He earned his Ph.D. degree inCultural Geography, from Louisiana State University in 1960, and didpostdoctoral research at the University of Geisen, Germany in 1966-67. Heserved in the Department of Geography, University of Karachi, Pakistanfrom 1963 to 1969. He was appointed Professor of Geography in theDepartment of Anthropology, Iowa State University (ISU), Ames, Iowa.He served ISU till his retirement in May 1998.Dr.. Rahman’s contribution to the field of Cultural Geography of SouthAsia has been recognized worldwide. In Professor Rahman was combinedan activist and quiet researcher. He was a founding member of the OldStudents’ Association of Karachi University (OSAKU), which he served invarious capacities. Besides carrying out advisory duties for the MuslimStudents Association at ISU, he organized for its students and faculty manystudy tours of Pakistan and brought a number of Pakistani scholars to IowaState.His main scholarly contributions are through his very long, sincere, dedicatedservice to the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS) andthrough his many worthy publications in the field of political and culturalgeography. Not only did he serve AMSS as its vice president with one ofits founders, Dr. AbdulHamid AbuSulayman, but he was also elected its ...