Conference, Symposium, and Panel Reports

International Symposium on Islamic
Civilization in Southern Africa

AwqafSA (www.awqafSA.org.za), a South African Muslim NGO, has been
in constant contact with IRCICA (the Islamic Research Centre for Islamic
History, Art and Culture: www3.ircica.org), an affiliate of the Organization of
the Islamic Conference, for several years regarding possible cooperation. On
18 April 2005, this contact culminated in Halit Eren’s (director-general, IRCI-
CA) meeting with a few organizations and their representatives regarding the
forthcoming “International Symposium on Islamic Civilization in Southern
Africa,” scheduled for the following year. AwqafSA and IRCICA, aware of
the fact that very little research has been done on Islam in southern Africa,
have strongly advocated holding a symposium to bring scholars, researchers,
and stakeholders together to share their thoughts on their respective countries
and communities. At this meeting, it was agreed that AwqafSA would be the
local host in partnership with IRCICA and that the University of Johannes-
burg would be the third partner in this important historical venture.

The symposium took place between 1-3 September 2006 at the
University of Johannesburg. A few months earlier, on 28 June 2006 to be
exact, Ebrahim Rasool (premier, Western Cape Province) formally launched
the symposium at Leeuwenhof, his official residence. In his short speech, he
stressed the multicultural nature of South African society and the importance
of holding such a symposium in the country, a symposium that will allow
participants – particularly South Africans – to do some “rainbow gazing”
and critically assess their position within South Africa. The premier was also
one of the keynote speakers at the symposium. Essop Pahad (minister,
Office of the President) connected the symposium proceedings to the Afri-
can Renaissance process as well as to the significant Timbuktu Project
(www.timbuktufoundation.org; www.timbuktuheritage.org) spearheaded by
Shamil Jeppie (the University of Cape Town). He also touched upon new
evidence of the influence of Islam in the Limpopo Valley, northern South
Africa. In his concluding remarks, he emphatically rejected Huntington’s
“clash of civilizations” thesis.



Although Ihsanoglu (secretary-general, OIC) spoke immediately after
Pahad’s speech, he made his official delivery on Friday morning while open-
ing the event. In his remarks, he emphasized the importance of culture in
international relations and the notion of “civilization” as captured in F.
Bruadel’s work. He stated that the cultural contribution to be presented over
the symposium’s three days was in line with the OIC’s Ten Year Programme
of Action and Objectives. At the inaugural ceremony hosted by the Kalla
family, Halit Eren, Justice Mohamed Jajbhai (trustee, AwqafSA Trustee),
and Zeinoul Cajee (national coordinator, AwqafSA) also made some brief
remarks.

The symposium was held to realize the following goals: (1) to increase
our knowledge of Islam’s history and heritage in southern Africa, (2) make
the southern African Muslims’ religious and cultural heritage better under-
stood by themselves and other communities both at home and abroad, (3)
strengthen affinities and cooperation among Muslim and African nations
and peoples by producing and disseminating Islamic and cultural knowl-
edge, (4) promote better understanding and dialogue among Muslims and
members of other faith and cultural communities, (5) offer a forum for the
true understanding of Islamic culture in the world, (6) contribute to the New
Partnership for Africa’s Development’s (NEPAD) African Millennium Pro-
ject and the African Renaissance, and (7) produce authentic resources for fur-
ther research and curriculum development. 

The participating academics, researchers, and NGO members came
from South Africa and further afield: various southern and central African
countries, and even from Norway, Germany, and France. On the whole,
there was a wide spread of papers and fair regional representation.
Unfortunately, like many other symposia, not all countries in the Southern
Africa Development Community (SADC) were covered. The committee
would have liked to receive contributions from Angola and the Congo, two
key SADC states. In fact, it would have been quite satisfied if scholars from
other areas could have covered these states. That this did not happen was
indeed a pity, even though efforts had been made to send invitations to all
academic institutions in the region. 

The papers varied in quality and length. Some came with fascinating
information on, for example, the Limpopo Valley, and others were rather
provocative. It is hard to comment constructively on all the presentations;
however, each Muslim and non-Muslim presenter felt that he/she was given
a fair chance to present, discuss, and debate his/her findings and ideas. The
general themes of identity, history, politics, education, socioeconomic devel-
opment, and da`wah were divided into various subthemes: the Muslim

144 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 24:4



media, racism within Muslim schools, Muslim financial institutions/NGOs,
and sociopolitical issues. In fact, the more than eighty papers delivered in par-
allel sessions attracted a sizeable number of participants and thus revealed the
extent of the audience’s interest shown until the very last day.

On the whole, the symposium was well managed. At the end of the
event, participants discussed some of the resolutions drafted by key mem-
bers of the organizing committee (AwqafSA and IRCICA). The resolutions
were accepted as they were presented, and, before concluding, all partici-
pants were given the opportunity to make suggestions and air their views on
relevant issues. The next symposium will be held in Malawi in 2009.

Muhammed Haron
Senior Lecturer, Department of Theology and Religious Studies

University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana

Conference, Symposium, and Panel Reports 145