In the inaugural session of the Indian International Islamic Academic Conference, Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Syed Jalaluddin Umari said that Islam’s direction of freedom of religion was a revolutionary concept in the field of knowledge. Islam asserted the way of debates, discussions and preaching for conveying the message rather than forcing anyone for it. It was a revolutionary thing in the field of knowledge. He was addressing the session at India Islamic Cultural Centre in the capital on 8 October. This two-day conference was organised by Students Islamic Organisation of India to address the issues of Indian society through Islamic perspectives and Islamic creative intervention in the academic discourse.
Describing the importance of education and knowledge, he said knowledge develops the human being. It enables him to serve humanity. It increases status of the human being up to that of the angel. The communities and nations that are leading the world are developed in the field of knowledge. Urging the youth and students to match the present standard in research, he explored that Islam is based on nature and reason and its teaching appeals to the human nature and reason.
Addressing the gathering, renowned Islamic scholar Salman Husaini Nadwi, Dean of Sharia Department, Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulema, urged students and youth to follow the Prophetic role model and to sacrifice the life in the way of Islam. He also criticised modern ideologies like secularism, liberalism and communism. He took on the US government for military aggression in Afghanistan, Syria and the Middle East. He also emphasised the revival of Islam.
Praising the conference, Maulana Ameen Usmani, General Secretary Islamic Fiqh Academy, said all the themes and topics being discussed in the conference are significantly relevant to the time. He laid emphasis on change. He further said that the Muslim community needs to be strong ideologically; then only we can make analysis of our past and design the plan for the future.
Dr. Zafar-ul-Islam Khan, Editor-in-Chief of Milli Gazette, criticised the present situation of the Muslim community for its backwardness and called for self-introspection. He said Muslims hardly bags Nobel Prize in any field. The Muslim community, who should lead the world, keeps from its responsibility, research and sacrifice. He also said this is the age of pen not sword.
Professor Dietrich Reetz, University of Berlin, said that Prophet Muhammad’s Constitution of Madinah is an example of tolerance, integration and pluralism in Islam. He also argued that globalisation should not only be limited to economic activities but to others, including religion as well. Replying to a question, he said there is bias about Muslims and Islam in media that should be solved with the help of communication.
Professor Mohsin Usmani, Former Professor, English and Foreign Languages University, said there is no difference between Islamic education and modern education. The only difference of education is beneficial and non-beneficial knowledge. The progress and development of the Muslim Ummah depends on science and technology. The Muslims should compete with other communities in science and technology. He also criticised the Arab rulers for not developing science and technology in their countries, which rely solely on the western world.
The session was also addressed by Dr. Eric Winkle, Faculty, Ibn al-Arabi Foundation. He shed light on the philosophy and contribution of Ibn al-Arabi.
In the first three sessions on the second day, three different topics, viz. In Search of Commonality: Prospects of Solidarity, Nation-state and Citizenship: Issues and Imagination and Media and Literature: Framing Images were discussed by experts and paper presenters. They argued that Islam encourages cultural diversity and religious pluralism.
Chairing the first session on In Search of Commonality: Prospects of Solidarity, Musafer H Asadi, Professor, Dept. of Studies in Political Science and Public Administration, University of Mysore, commented on the presented papers that they opened up a new debate on ourselves and the various cultural practices. He further said that Islam engages with other cultural practices and co-exists with them. The Muslims should create a debate on cultural engagement. He also said the Islamic perspective of human rights is the best perspective in the world and it is beyond politics. It can be included in the Indian Constitution only then when there is the larger number of Muslims in politics. Nisar A.C., Dilana Thasleem K.A, Mir Suheel Rasool, Sayeeda Noushee Fatima and Azhar Ali presented their papers on different topics related to the subjects.
In the second session on Nation-state and Citizenship: Issues and Imagination, Nivedita Menon, Professor, Jawahar Lal Nehru University and Dr. M.T. Ansari, Professor, Hyderabad Central University, delivered the expert talk on the topic. Prof. Menon criticised the concept that the nation cannot be questioned. She said that in India the nation is the dominance of northern elite people. The idea of India should be open to be reconceptualised. Criticising the present method of citizenship, she said that the citizenship should not be based on the origin of birth but it should be based on the place of work. She also opposed using the word of illegal immigrants. This terms whole the human being as illegal. It is like the child of unwed mother.
Addressing on the same topic, Dr. Ansari said that secularism and democracy are not being but becoming. Questioning secularism is the most secular thing. On nationalism, he argued that nationalism seems to be necessary evil. We are already living in the post-national era. We should have different communities. India has already accepted and acknowledged multiple identities.
Chairing the third session on Media and Literature: Framing Images, Dr. Zafar-ul-Islam Khan, author and senior journalist, said that Muslims in India are facing a lot of problems because of media. They are the victims of media and they should think how to come out of this problem. He also remarked that no paper has been presented on the composition and working of media especially in India. Hasnul Banna, a well-known journalist, also addressed the session and urged the Muslim community to counter the stereotype image of Muslims in the media. Saad Ahmad, Neethu Prasad, Sahal B and Desmond Onyemchi Okocha presented their papers on different topics related to the subjects.
In a parallel session, Prof. Syed Abdul Muneem Pasha, Head, Dept. of Political Science, Jamia Millia Islamia, chaired the paper presentation programme on Discrimination and Social Exclusion: Concepts, Contexts and Challenges. He said Islam has granted equality to all human beings on the basis of human values. But as a result of casteism, the humanity has been put into prejudices and racism from the political stage. When we see the present situation, we get there is a huge difference between Islamic direction and practical behaviour of Muslims. It is necessary to implement the teachings and direction of Islam about the caste.
Chairing a session on Gendered Identities: Enquiries and Explorations, Sheeba Aslam Fahmi, a research scholar, JNU, said that we should not cover up gender discrimination, patriarchy and injustices practised in the Muslim society by referring to Islamic teachings. There is a huge difference between present practices among Muslims and Islamic teachings regarding woman.
Parallely there were also sessions on Islam and Politics: Conceptual Debates and Contestations, Inclusive Economic Development and Islamic Epistemology and Research Methodology. These were chaired by Dr. Javed Zafar, Research Fellow, Centre for Studies and Research, Hyderabad, Dr. Waqar Anwar, Faculty, Indian Institute of Islamic Studies and Dr. Naved Iqbal, Professor, Dept. of Psychology, Jamia Millia Islamia respectively.
[The writer is National Secretary, Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO)]