The Closing of “Renewal and Reform in Modern Islamic Thinking” Conference at the BA
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Alexandria—
The “Renewal and Reform in Modern Islamic Thinking” Conference came to a close on Wednesday, 21 January 2009 in the BA Delegates Hall. Over the course of 3 days, participants discussed several themes, namely: renewal and reform schools; pioneers and ideologies; the debate about Islam and the public field; renewal and the dilemmas of civilization; the dilemmas of tyranny versus freedom; and finally renewal and reform between the past and the future: an analysis of the contemporary Islamic discourse.
The closing session took the form of a round table discussion moderated by Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Library of Alexandria, entitled “What’s left and what’s next?” Dr. Mohammad Kamal El-Din Emam, Head of Sharia (Islamic Law) Department, Alexandria University, said that one of the main objectives of this Conference was to revive the nation’s memory and raise the awareness of youth on their deeply-rooted heritage and culture, and hence can head to the future from a strong grounds.
Dr. Ismail Aly, Professor in the Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University, proposed making the original volumes of classic books available for youth (not an explanation, abstract or a commentary). He called for building on reform projects and ideas. In the same context, Dr. Radwan El-Sayed, Professor of Islamic Studies, Lebanese University, recommended the establishment of a unified Arab Reform Project.
Mr. Zaki Al-Milad, Editor in Chief of El-Kelma Magazine, directly addressed the question “what is next?” noting that it is a never-ending question. He pointed out that the Conference shaped the guidelines of renewal and reform in Islamic thinking, and called for addressing specific issues. Mr. Hesham Gafaar, Editor in Chief of Islamonline.net (Arabic Version) stressed on the necessity of providing youth with knowledge in their preferable forms (digitalized) and in an interactive manner. He spoke about some important issues ,such as the relationship between media and thought and the media ability to present deep ideas in a way that would attract the public, especially youth. Mr. Samir Morces, Head of the Board of Trustees of Al-Masri Organization for Citizenship and Dialogue, discussed cultural citizenship and the relationship between religion and the public domain.
At the end of the session, Dr. Serageldin opened the floor for questions by the audience.