The Eighteenth Annual Conference of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists

Abstract

The Annual Conference of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS) has acquired a certain niche for itself in the academic life of Muslims in North America. Each year the Conference is attended by Muslim and several non-Muslim scholars from across North America and overseas. The 18th Annual Conference was held in conjunction with the 15th Annual Conference of the Association of Muslim Scientists and Engineers (AMSE). This provided an opportunity for exchange of ideas among specialists from various disciplines. It was coordinated by the AMSS Vice President Dr. Salahuddin Malik. In all, some forty papers on Islam and Muslims were presented followed by interesting discussions. Dr. Taha J. Al- 'Alwani, President of the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) was the keynote speaker at the Banquet. The Isma'il and Lamya' al Fariiqi Memorial Lecture was delivered by Dr. Ralph Braibanti of Duke University. One highlight of the Conference was the well-attended Interfaith Trialogue which was addressed by Dr. James Evans of Colgate Divinity School, Dr. Tamara Sann of St. John Fisher College, Rabbi Judea Miller of Rochester, NY, and Dr. Jamal Badawi of Halifax University, Nova Scotia, Canada. The Conference, which was spread over twelve sessions, included eighteen panels on a variety of subjects. The First Session comprised two panels: Business and Economics in Islam where Dr. Ausaf Ali reflected on the "Systemized Theory of the Islamic Economy." Dr. M. E. Biraima's paper, which was presented in his absence, discussed "A Qur'anic Model For a Universal Economic Theory." Dr. Hisham Ahmad of the University of Chicago spoke about the "Qur'anic Perspective on the Creation and Distribution of Wealth and Economic Justice," while Mohamed R. Bouz.akuk of the University of Oklahoma spoke on "lbn Khaldun: The Economist." The parallel panel on Language and Education featured Dr. M. A. Waheed Fakhri of Chicago State University who introduced the 1989 survey of fulltime Islamic Schools in North America. Dr. Ni'mat H. Barazangi of Cornell spoke on "North American Parents and Children: Theoretical Model for Islamization of Education," and Dr. Kamal Nimer of the Islamic Saudi Academy focused on adult education ...