Conference, Symposium, and Panel Reports 147

Muslims and Islam in the Twenty-first
Century: Image and Reality

The Muslim world remains embroiled in a whole host of religious, social,
political, economic, and cultural disputes. Without any real international
influence, despite the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference,
great wealth, and large numbers, Muslims are mere spectators in world poli-
tics; Islam is synonymous with extremism; and Muslims are often labeled as
terrorists. Such issues, as well as questions of media bias, the validity of the
“clash of civilizations” thesis, Islamophobia, and realistic Muslim responses
led to the above conference, initiated by the Department of Psychology,
International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Kuala Lumpur. 

Held at the Putra World Trade Center and hosted by IIUM on August
4-6, 2004, this conference attempted to highlight and devise solutions to
some of these burning issues. Distinguished scholars presented 120 selected
papers, in addition to several panel discussions and keynote speeches.
About 400 delegates from over 30 countries participated, and Prime
Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi gave the inaugural speech.

After an “Introduction to the Conference” by Amber Haque, chairman
of the Organizing Committee, the morning session started with keynote
speeches from Ibrahim Abu Rabi` (“Globalization and Social Change”),
Lawrence Pintak (“The Communication Gap between America and the
World’s Muslims”), and Jamal Badawi (“Muslim–Non-Muslim Relations:
An Integrated Approach”). These papers were followed by a panel discus-
sion on “Internal Conflicts in Muslim Societies.” M. Nejatullah Siddiqui,
Jamal Badawi, Syed Shahabuddin, Anis Ahmad, Ismail Nawwab, Ziauddin
Sardar, and Zafar Ishaq Ansari were the participants, while Chandra
Muzaffar was the moderator. These scholars seemed to agree that while
Muslims must examine and resolve the ummah’s internal problems, they
should not ignore the problems’ external sources. This panel session was



followed by four parallel paper sessions on “Muslims and Modernity,”
“Islam, Democracy and Politics,” “Terrorism and Islam,” and “Unity and
Conflict.” 

During the afternoon session’s inauguration ceremony, Kamal Hassan
(IIUM rector) and Sanusi Bin Junid (IIUM president) gave the welcoming
remarks. Both pointed out that while 9/11 heightened the Muslims’ power-
lessness, they must face the twenty-first century’s growing challenges and
correct the distorted image of Muslims and Islam. Prime Minister Abdullah
Badawi then stated that this negative image is due to western propaganda
and the lack of Muslim unity. He focused on the importance of education,
eradicating poverty, and providing political/civil rights to women in
Muslim countries. In addition, he asserted that many problems are the result
of centuries of colonialism, self-neglect, and poor governance, and empha-
sized the need to build trust, confidence, bridges of cooperation and under-
standing, as well as to implement ijtihad and pursue “capacity building”
and religious tolerance.

The second day started with four parallel paper sessions on “Conflicts
and Violence in the Muslim World,” “Muslims as Minority Groups,” “Islam
and Muslims in the International Media,” and “Islam and Human Rights,”
followed by keynote lectures from K. Helmut Reich, Ziauddin Sardar, and
Abdullah Omar Naseef. Reich, a Swiss psychologist, spoke on overcoming
conflicts through rational and contextual thinking. Sardar discussed why
people hate America, and Naseef emphasized that Muslims will succeed if
they truly understand and follow the Qur’an and the Sunnah. During the
afternoon session panel on “Muslims and Islam in the West Post-9/11:
Problems and Solutions,” moderated by Ziauddin Sardar, the ambassadors
(or representatives) of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the UK, and the
USA shared their views on perceptions of Muslims in America after 9/11, in
Australia after the Bali bombing, and the French ban on hijab in schools,
together with the role and responsibilities of Muslims as minorities and the
respective governments. The last session consisted of parallel paper presen-
tations on “Psychosocial Issues,” “Education in the Muslim Society,” “Islam
and Human Rights,” and “Islam and Violence.” 

Day three started with parallel sessions on “Muslim Identity,” “Islam,
Democracy, and Politics,” “Open Session/Free Papers,” and “Education
and Creativity,” followed by a panel discussion on “Contemporary Image
of Muslims in the West.” Participants were Robert Hefner, Tayyiba Taylor,
K. Helmut Reich, John Calvert, Muzaffar Iqbal, Paul White, and Ibrahim
Abu Rabi`. As this session took place on Friday, the participants were taken

148 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 22:1



Conference, Symposium, and Panel Reports 149

to Masjid Wilayah for Friday prayers and then to the IIUM campus for the
closing session. After a brief multimedia presentation, the chairman of the
Organizing Committee presented the conference report prepared by a spe-
cial committee. The IIUM president then made the closing remarks.

The Conference Report Committee called upon all sectors of the ummah
to cultivate tolerance so that ijtihad can be undertaken successfully; empha-
size “capacity building” by promoting quality education, human resource
development, economic growth, creativity, innovation, infrastructure,
research and development, and advancement in science and technology;
and cooperate in resolving intra-Muslim conflicts, especially in regards to
international affairs; promote inter-civilization, interfaith, and intercultural
dialogues. It also called upon the western media to report facts objectively
with compassion, justice, and professionalism; and to practice responsible
journalism and guarantee freedom of expression. Western governments
were asked to refrain from profiling, stereotyping, and dominating the
politico-economic situation in the Muslim world; protect and uphold the
Muslim world’s dignity and promote human rights and democratic institu-
tions and processes; and establish centers and institutes to study other civ-
ilizations, cultures, and major world religions. IIUM was called upon to
establish a committee to follow up on the conference’s deliberations and
recommendations and create an infrastructure (e.g., a website, an e-mail
databank, and future conferences) to help conference participants and oth-
ers pursue the conference’s goals and ideals.

In his closing remarks, the conference chair thanked all conference par-
ticipants and sponsors and reminded them that the establishment of IIUM
was in itself a great achievement, as recommendations given at the Makkah
Education Conference of 1977 were soon translated into a reality by the
Malaysian government. With its mission of integration, Islamization, inter-
nationalization, and comprehensive excellence, IIUM is striving to prove
its worth. This university can now play a major role in spearheading efforts
toward fulfilling the above recommendations. The conference chair urged
the participants to form an international network to work on these recom-
mendations and to hold a follow-up conference in four years.

Amber Haque
Department of Psychology

International Islamic University Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia