International Conference: Proximity amongst Islamic schools of thought
Tuesday, 26 June 2007
Islamic scholars from all over the globe gathered in London for a two-day
International conference at the Islamic Centre of England titled: Proximity
amongst Islamic schools of thought from the 23rd - 24th of June, 2007. Organised by the Islamic Centre of England, the International conference attracted renowned scholars from the Middle East, mainland Europe, United Kingdom and the United States of America.
The conference, organised at a critical period in recent history, aimed to
support opportunities for collective action and expand intellectual dialogue in
order to pave the way for openness and greater co-operation in confronting
modern day challenges.
In the inaugural address of the conference, Sheikh Moezi head of the Islamic
Centre of England, highlighted the foremost Islamic belief of the Oneness of God
(Al-Tawheed) as the most important axis of discourse on proximity, deriving from
it the need for unity of cause.
The conference attracted a number of respected scholars including; Ayatollah
Mohsen Araki, Dr. Mohammad Al Asi, Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer Al-Naseri, Dr. Kamal
Helbawi amongst others, who all presented papers to the audience in English and
Arabic.
The conference was marred however by the absence of renowned scholars, Ayatollah
Muhammad Ali Taskhiri (head of the International Assembly for the proximity
amongst Islamic Schools of Thought), Dr. Abdul Fatah Al-Bizm (Mufti of Damascus,
Syria), Dr. Asad Al-Sahmarani and Sheikh Mohammad Mahdi Al-Asefi, who were
unable to attend due to immigration related matters, but instead had their
presentations delivered on their behalf.
In addition to features of proximity and methods of bridging the divide amongst
schools of thoughts, speakers also discussed the ideological, historical and
social contexts of the concept of proximity. The speakers also discussed recent
developments including the attacks on the holy shrines in Iraq and the shameful
knighthood of Salman Rushdie clearly aimed at inciting Muslim feelings. Members at the conference underlined the need to form joint-councils which would deal with the challenges of Muslims in all countries that have Muslim minorities.
The conference discussed at length the growing threat of extremism; in
particular Wahhabism and its’ political and social dimensions. Speakers noted
that the current sectarian crisis in Iraq is largely due to this spread of
Wahhabism, in addition to the support and vested interests of external political
and economic actors in the region. Those present also noted the vital importance
of the media in today’s world and the need to confront the ideology of
demonisation of Muslims rampant in the Western media; members emphasised the
need to form media monitoring agencies to this end.
Before drawing to a close on Sunday, the members of the conference
presented a set of joint conclusions on the proceedings emphasising the need for unity, importance of religious scholars as well as the necessity of practical steps such as formation of joint research institutes and publication committees. The convening also agreed to form a supervisory council that would work to take further and implement the findings of the conference.
Comments (1)
1. Written by Ahmad on 07-07-2007 17:22
An excellent conference. I attended it and thought it was well organised and thought through. Shame that Ayatollah Taskhiri was unable to make it though. He would have been the key note speaker.
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