Seminars, Cooferences, Addresses 271 Seminars, Conferences, Addresses Pluralism and Ethnic and Sectarian Diversity in the Arab World 12-16 Jumadii al Akhir I 26-30 November 1993 International Imtitute of Islamic Thought Herndon, Virginia lbis seminar, sponwred jointly by the International Institute of Islam­ ic Thought and the Waqf Fund of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Awqaf, was held at Herndon, Virginia. Twenty-five papers were presented during the seminar's eight ses.5ions, which were attended by scores of Arab Muslim scholars and intellectuals from the United States and abroad, either as pri­ mary authors of research papers, commentators, or contributors to the serious and in-depth debate that followed each session. Issues of democratization and how to deal with ethnic and sectarian diversity in a context of modem society have become topical and central to the political and intellectual debates in the Arab world. During the past few decades, social and political instability has nndermined profoundly the prospects for progress and prosperity in the Arab world. Pertinent to this instability was the failure to establish consensual policies and insti­ tutions in the post-Ottoman era. Hence, questions relating to "traditional" and "modem," "pan-Islamic" and "nationalist," "absolute" and "relative," and "us" and "others" were raised prominently and discussed during the seminar's five days. The opening ses.5ion, chaired by Hisham Altalib (HIT), consisted of three contributions. The first was that of Khalid al Zir (Kuwaiti Ministry of Awqaf), who foc.ussed on the value of research as a higher value and emphasized the role of waqf in Islamic life. Taha J. al • Alwani (Presi­ dent, illl), spoke on behalf of IDT and elaborated on the significance of 272 The American Journal of Islamic Social ScieinceS 11:2 intellectual semhm and conferences as instnunents for the deliberation of issues and problems faced by the ummah. He pointed to the sensitivity sutrounding the seminar’s subjects and stressed the intellectual rather than the political appmch to these subjects. The third contribution to this ses- sion was presented by Khayr al-Din Hasib (President, Centre for Arab Unity Studies) on behalf of the participants. He dwelt on the indispen- sibility of democracy and pluralism to the Arabs’ search for an outlet from the present political and civilizational crises. He also underscored the relevance of a continuous Arab nationalist-Islamic dialogue in order to arrive at a common undetstanding between the Arab elites. Works of the seminar began in eatnest after the opening session.The first two papets were those of ‘AbdulHam-d AbiiSulaymEn (President, International Islamic University, Selangor, Malaysia) and Tihi J. al ‘Alwh-. The main theme of AbiiSulaymh’s paper was the need for a methodological approach to the issues of pluralism and democracy. He deplored dominant methods of analysis as either imbibed with foreign values and influences or as costly attempts to perpetuate irrelevant ancient models. He brought attention to the necessity of recognizing and differen- tiating between what is immutable and what is changeable as regards Is- lamic norms and values. Inasmuch as he tried to explain the unhealthy conditions of the ummah today, he called for the development of a hu- mane non-nationalist Muslim intellectual discourse. Several fundamental points emerged from a1 ‘Alwh-’s paper. One is related to the ability of the historical Islamic model to establish unity in a framework of diversity. The other concerned the inseparable attach- ment between the Arab mind and Islam, to the degree that without the Islamic intellectual space, a1 ‘Alwh- affirmed, the contemporary Arab mind would live in a vacuum. He also pursued an Islamic epistemological approach to elaborate on the problem of pluralism, making the science of wziZ alfiqh his f m e of reference. Explaining the two major Islamic schools of thought on the question of truth and knowledge, a1 ‘Alwh- endotsed implicitly the school that considem truth relative and multiple. In an important contribution to the seminar, MOM Abul-Fad1 (West- ern Thought Project, IIIT) stated that, epistemologically, the question of pluralism is universal and not a problem of Islamic thought alone. In her view, the western paradigm of plutzllism is deconstructive rather than con- structive. However, there are still many obstacles that have to be sur- mounted before Muslims can deal effectively with sources of Islamic theorization in order to construct a t-endental paradigm. In a short but profound commentary, Radwan al-Sayyid (Editor, AZ- Zjtihdd and Lecturer, The Lebanese University) attempted to reveal some historical Islamic traditions tegarding questiom of unity and pluralism. Seminats, Conferences, Addresses 273 His approach was preoccupied with what he identified as the dialectic be- tween the text and reality that p d u c e d the historical experience of the ummah. Similar to a1 ' A l w i S s emphasis, al-Sayyid pointed to the MusEwabah school of thought, which accepted the relativity and multi- plicity of truth. He also elaborated on the Islamic tradition of rejecting violence and dissent and supported his case with evidence of the attitudes of the Companions and jurists toward alfitnuh a2 kubni and the contm- versy surrounding the creation of the Qur'an. Many other papers dealt with the historical and contempomy analysis of specific issues or geographical regions. m l i s Jalabi, for example, made the case for nonviolence. Hamdi 'Abd al Ralpnin (University of Cairo) presented an extensive survey of "Issues of Pluralism in Islamic Africa." Jaliil Mu'iiwad dealt with "Islam and Pluralism in Turkey: 1982- 1991." Khilid al 'Awamlah discussed "The Iranian Experiement in Re spect to the State and Political Pluralism." 'AM al Khiliq (University of Cairo) and al S a d presented detailed studies on the "Political Dimen- sions of the Concept of Pluralism" and "The Problematic Relations be- Ween Minorities and Fofeign Powers," respectively. 'Abd a1 Khiliq, in particular, attempted to construct an Islamic model for the modem "quasi- nation-state" as a b a l a n d relationship between the universal Islamic con- cept of ummah and the teality of "regional states." The contributions of Mubammad ' A d , Basheer Nafi, and Wajih Kawtham- were fo- cussed largely on the historical context and c ~ f l ~ e q u e n c e ~ of modemiza- tion, the collapse of the ancient sultanic system, and the undermining of tmditional societal institutions. As usual, the seminar raised many significant questions and opened a new door for scores of Muslim intellectuals and academics to become more familiar and more associated with issues that 8te determining, to an increasingly large degree, the dinxtion toward which the Muslim world is now turning. Basheer Nafi Hemdon, Virginia International Institute of Islamic Thought