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CONFERENCE SUMMARY November 20-21, 1998
The two day international conference on "Cultural Diversity and Islam" convened in Washington, D.C. on November 20-21, 1998, sponsored by the American University's Center for Global Peace and the Mohammed Said Farsi Chair of Islamic Peace (occupied by Prof. Abdul Aziz Said). Twenty scholars joined in exploring cultural diversity from civilizational perspectives, tolerance and pluralism from Islamic perspectives, the crisis in Islamic state and society, and alternative models for coexistence. The four panels and the concluding round table discussions dwelt upon the challenge of reaching a poised balance between the universal and inclusive legacy, and of particular and exclusive forces leading to confrontation between cultures and conflict within a culture. One major theme was whether cultural diversity within Islam parallels political pluralism in the West. This question led to many of the participants re-evaluating the idea of pluralism and unity (or cultural uniformity) and engaging in an honest historical and conceptual appraisal of conflicts within Muslim societies. In his keynote address, Seyyed Hossein Nasr (University Professor of Islamic Studies, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.) emphasized that Islamic Unity (tawhid) involves not mere uniformity, but Integration of multiplicity into unity (itself stemming from Divine unity). Without such unity, pluralism ends in conflict, not integration. Professors Serif Mardin (Chair of Islamic Studies, American University, Washington, D.C.), Yvonne Haddad (Professor of Islamic History, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.), Robert Lee (Professor of Political Science, Colorado College), Ali H. Dessouki (Professor of Political Science and Dean, Cairo University), and Richard Khuri (freelance writer, Washington, D.C.) agreed that the Nation-State framework and monolithic focus of globalization, are unravelling the forces of integration and reciprocal exchange traditionally upheld within Islamic societies. The eminent Islamic thinker Dr. Mohammed Arkoun (Professor Emeritus of the History of Islamic Thought, University of the Sorbonne Nouvelle (Paris III), France) pointed to the acute problem of "foundational thinking" and the need to transform 'Islamic reason' to escape from systems of mutual exclusion through a renewal of self critical thought. This notion was further developed by Farid Esack (Professor of Religion, University of the Western Cape, and Commissioner of Gender Equality, South Africa). All the speakers found reassurance in the wealth of resources inherently possessed by Muslim societies capable of meeting the challenges of modernity. They also warned against a false pluralism which encourages multiplicity while denying the transcendent source of moral reality. Several stressed the need to reflect Qur'anic discourse as a source of integration and to address key issues such as: the role of the state, the role of intellectuals and religious authorities, or the nature of Muslim identity in achieving diversity in unity and justice. Professor Abdul Aziz Said cogenty summed up the flow of discussions and ideas when he observed that the purpose of the meeting was to question the questions. "The way we deal with others is really a reflection of the way we deal with ourselves" was a basic insight which emerged. |
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© 1998- 2000 American University
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