Peace, one and all…
Umm Yasmin, over at Dervish, has provided a link to a very interesting forthcoming conference. Entitled ‘International Academic Conference on Qur’anic Frameworks for Society: Islam, Multiculturalism, Pluralism and Peace’, and run by the Al-Maktoum Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, it aims to look at the following broad themes:
- Explore fresh and innovative issues within the study of Islam and Muslims that are related to Qur’anic Studies.
- Look at the core sources of Islam, particularly the Qur’an, to explore theoretical, philosophical, theological, and social perspectives and interpretations of society. In particular, the symposium will be focusing on issues of diversity, multiculturalism, pluralism, and peace.
- Discuss specific practical historical and contemporary attempts to interpret such Qur’anic frameworks within social contexts.
Insha Allah, the papers on offer will cover the following topics:
- Qur’anic models for peace and pluralism
- Multiculturalism, diversity, and pluralism within the Qur’an
- The theoretical framework for and implementation of Islamicjerusalem as a model for multiculturalism
- The concepts of li-ta‘ārafū, lil‘ālamīn, and ahl al-kitāb
- Perspectives on difference in the Qur’an
- Dialogue (hiwār), peace (salām) and conflict resolution
- Qur’anic Discourse in addressing different audiences
- Qur’anic conceptions of nations and societies
It will run on the 17th and 18th June 2008 at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London. It looks fascinating, though I won’t be able to attend. :(