EDITORIAL 
This is the last issue of AJZSS that I have planned and edited. I have 

been associated with this journal since we named it M I S S  and coined the 
term "Islamic social science." These years have been charactmized by a 
great struggle to define and to develop Islamic social sciences and to 
identify scholam both here and abroad who were willing and qualified to 
work for the intellectual reform of the ummah. 

Being involved in a movement during its formative period is a g m t  
challenge. Now that AJZSS has been produced for ten yeam, the vision of 
Islamic social sciences is much clearer, the potential writers have been 
identified, prominent scholars in the related fields have been drawn into 
the debate, and many young wseamhers are taking a cue for their future 
projects from the issues raised in AJZSS. We are gmtefd to Almighty 
Allah for granting us success in this mission and hope that the journal 
will continue to provide a healthy f o w n  for intellectual dialogue. Once 
again I have been called upon to take up a new challenge. After a decade 
of mobilizing Muslim intellectuals and involving both Muslim and non- 
Muslim scholats in a debate about the relevance of Islam to contemporary 
life, I will be dedicating more of my energies to developing an Islamic 
vision for North America in my new role as Secretary General of the 
Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). 

The Islamic Society of Notth America grew out of the former Muslim 
Students Association of the United States and Canada (MSA). This latter 
organization was born and brought up in university campuses and thus 
has a rich intellectual tradition and a great inhetent potential. The 
Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS), the ccqxmsor of AJZSS, 
is one of the affiliates of ISNA, as is the MSA. This makes the pool of 
Muslim social scientists and students available to ISNA for developing 
its plans and programs based on an informed analysis and a sound 
methodology. 

In the United States, we are engaged in community formation and the 
establishment of Islamic educational, economic, social, and other institu- 
tions. Muslims are playing a positive and historic role in making Islam 
undetstood and relevant through their contributions and presence. The 



annual ISNA conventions have been great Islamic events that have 
brought together thousands of Muslims to deliberate on their Islamic 
concerns. It is revealing to look at the conventions' themes and to assess 
the growth, maturity, and seriousness of this community in the West. 
From the d y  197Os, when such themes as "From Muslim to Islam" 
were discussed, a concern for defining an Islamic identity was clear. In 
1993, the theme-"Muslims for a Better Amenca"-reflectsd a new 
mood. Several thousand Muslims attended ISNA's thirtieth annual con- 
vention at Kansas City, MissoUti, to discuss how they could work for a 
better America. 

I tah this opportunity to expms my appreciation and thanks to all 
those who have cooperated with me during the last ten years to make 
M I S S  a Fespectable Islamic journal. I hope that they will extend this same 
assistance to the new staff of the joumal. I would also like to invite all 
our writers and readers to participate with me in the new venture to 
explore the role of Islam in America. The last few years of the last 
century of the second millennium are going to be very crucial as regards 
promoting a better undemding of Islam in America and Canring out a 
dignitied role for the American Muslim community in its desire to work 
for a better America. Muslim thinkem will have to play a major role in 
defining this new vision. 

Sayyid M. Syeed