Seminars, Conferences, Addresses 571 Seminars, Conferences, Addresses Tenth Annual Meeting of the American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies 11 -12 Rama,!iin 1413 I 5 - 6 March 1993 Georgetown University, Washington, DC The general theme, "Islam and Muslim Issues around the World," was discussed in six two-hour sessions. After the welcome address by Michael Bishku, the conference coordinator, the first session began with discussion on "Nationalism in the Balkans." Pet ya Nitzova presented a paper on the Muslims of Bulgaria. Nedzib Sacirbey outlined the historical causes of the problems of Bosnian Muslims and said that what is now happening in Bosnia is a preplanned anti-Muslim policy dating back to 1917. Edward Damich (George Mason University, Fairfax, VA), who focused on the Croats, disagreed. Both papers generated a heated debate. 572 The American J o d of Islamic Social Sciences 104 "Islam in the Arab World" was the topic of the second d o n . David Commins (Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA) talked about the Muslim Bm- thers and Egyptian popular culture. He gave a historical account of how this movement was founded by Hasan al Bam6 and how it incorporated and adapted elements of Egyptian culture, especially the Sufi culture, into its program. Ibrahim Abu Rabi' (Hartford Seminary, West Hartford, cr) enlightened the audience with his presentation "Reading the Intellectual History of the Modem Arab World: The Islamic Factor." He explained how Islamic ideologies influenced the thoughts of some of Arab intellec- tuals, especially Sayyid Qutub. The third session focused on Islam outside the Arab world. This was the first time that the Council accommodated discussion about Islam in Africa. Four papers were presented. First, Howad Fedespiel (Ohio State University, Columbus, OH) discussed "The Continuing Importance of Fiqh in Contemporary Indonesian Islam" He concluded that Indonesians have been struggling for many centuries to interpret Islam in the I n d e nesian context with the result that Islamic law is bent to reflect local cus- toms. Indonesian scholars believe strongly that modernization and Islamic law can be woven together and that both should be accommodated. Yushau Sodiq ("exas Christian University, Forth Worth, TX) ana- lyzed Muslim-Christian relations in Nigeria. He stated that although both groups compete seriously to win converts, they can still work together to avoid religious tension. He appealed to leaders of both religions to shelve their theological and ideological differences and cooperate in bringing peace to their people. Theodore P. Wright, Jr. (State University of New York, Albany, NY) informed the audience about the causes and impact of the religious conflict surtounding India's Babri Masjid. He presented 'the Muslim and Hindu rationales for claiming possession of the mosque and concluded that politics, as played by the government, was responsible for many of the resulting atmities. Jeffrey Lefebvre (University of Connecticut, Stom, Cr) questioned American intervention in Somalia. He argued that while Americans saw it as humanitarian, some Africans saw it as a neocolonial invasion. The aftermath of American aid, as well as the crushing and air-raiding en- d d by Somali civilians might confirm African fears that the American intervention was designed to colonize Somalia, for why should a country be forced to receive aid? The fourth session was a roundtable discussion on "Economic Pros- pects for Central Asia and Azerbaijan." Two scheduled speakers did not come to the conference, which gave ample opportunity for the World Bank representative to elaborate upon the organization's attempts to help the former Soviet republics. He alluded to the fact that the lack of indi- vidual initiative and ignorance of how the private sector functions has led Seminars, Conferences, Addresses 573 to many financial problems in Russia. When the government ended its control, things began to fall apart. As Russians are used to being led, he postulated that it would take a long time for them to adjust to democracy. "Gender, Social Movements and Islam" was the focus of the fifth ses­ sion. Mervat Hatem (Howard University, Washington, DC) spoke on "Gender and the Debate on Democratization in Egypt," and Carrie Rosef­ sky (Harvard University, Cambridge, MA) talked about "Popular Islamic Literature in Egypt." Rosefsky mentioned how Islamic ideas have spread and become part of Egyptian literature. In her opinion, these books are popular and the ideas therein are expressed in such a way that anyone can understand them. Lama Abu Odeh, in her "Post-Colonial Feminism and Veiling," analyzed why some Arab women have returned to the veil, which they see as a sign of respect. Not only uneducated Muslims are doing this, as was the case before, for women are now using it as a method of identity and as a preventive measure against harassment. The discussion led to many questions and a long debate even after the session was over. Carolyn Fluehr Lobban's (Rhode Island College, Providence, RI) "The Islamic Threat and British Policy in Sudan" stressed how Lon­ don saw the Mahdist movement as a threat to its rule in Sudan. In general, the conference enabled many scholars from different dis­ ciplines to discuss and improve their understanding of the immediate problems facing Muslims around the world. Although many opinions were raised, no solutions were suggested, as that was not the main goal of the conference. At the end, the executive committee of the Council conducted its business meeting, discussed its progress, and began plan­ ning for the 1994 arumal conference. Yushau Sadiq Texas Christian University Fort Worth, Texas