The 20th Annual Conference of the AMSS

Abstract

The third decade of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists' (AMSS) existence witnessed the collective effort by some of its members to identify major areas for inclusion in its research agenda. Besides taking stock of past performance, the main determinants included those recent events in the ummah which have affected it as a whole and the ensuing problems calling for immediate attention. Following established tradition, the AMSS and one of its sister professional organizations, the Association of Muslim Scientists and Engineers (AMSE), convened their conferences at the same time and place. This year's banquet speaker was H.R.H. Crown Prince Hasan bin Talal of Jordan, whose address was delivered in his absence by Mohammad A. Hamadan, former Minister of Education of Jordan. The main thrust of Prince Hasan's address was the need for cooperation among the ummah's various segments in the service of professional and human resource development. The Isma'il and Lamya al Fariiqi Memorial Lecture was given by Zafar I. Ansari, Director General, Islamic Research Center, Islamabad, Pakistan. The AMSE keynote speaker was Ali Nayfeh, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA. Nayfeh suggested practical ways of fostering scientific and technological advancement in the ummah through intra-ummah as well as international collaboration. The main program consisted of seventeen thematic panels organized into eleven sessions. The opening session was chaired by Sayyid M. Syeed, General Secretary of the AMSS. It consisted of the welcome speeches of S. Imtiaz Ahmad, Conference Chair and President of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA); Sulayman Nyang, President of the AMSS; and Mohammad Zohdy, President of the AMSE. The Convention Chair also read out the felicitous messages received from the White House, the State House, and the local government. The program preview was given by its co-chairs, Mumtaz Ahmad and Dilnawaz Siddiqui (AMSS), and Sayed A. Nassar (AMSE). The second session had two concurrent panels: 1) "History of Muslim Communities in North America;' organized and moderated by Salahuddin Malik, State University of New York (SUNY ) at Brockport, Brockport, NY, and 2) 'J\ndragogy: Education of Adults;' which was chaired by Mushtaqur Rahman, University oflowa at Ames, Ames, IA. The history panel featured Anwar Dil, U.S. International University, San Diego, CA, who traced the history of Muslim ...