Approaches to the Study of Islam and Muslim Societies

Abstract

This conference was convened by J. H. Dreyer of the Department of Semitic Studies at the University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa, and the Department of Religious Studies, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. It was preceded by a banquet, during which the Islamic Studies program of the Department of Religious Studies was introduced to the people of Cape Town. Approximately 250 invited guests attended the conference, which was well received by local Muslims and set the parameters for a healthy relationship between the department and the Muslim community. The conference was attended by a fluctuating audience of eighty to 150 individuals from the University of Cape Town and various Muslim communities. This provided an ideal opportunity for the emergence of a variety of lively and critical ideas. Issues affecting Muslims living in South Africa also generated a lot of discussion. The keynote guest speaker was Richard Martin, Arizona State University, Tucson, Arizona. The rest of the papers were presented by scholars from South African universities who have been involved in the study of Islam and Arabic. The following broad areas were covered: early Islamic history; Qur'anic hermeneutics in traditional and modem scholarship; revivalism; Islam in South Africa; and Muslim personal law in South Africa. The first session dealt with early Islam and featured two presentations. The first, Martin's paper on "Public Theology in Medieval Islam: The Role of Kalam in Conflict Definition and Resolution," set the pace with an interesting and innovative approach to the study of early theological disputes. In addition, he presented kalam disputes to illustrate how modem discussions and debates on fundamentalism have produced a kind of public theology involving both the media and academia in North America. He was followed by Abdul Kader I. Tayob, University of Cape Town, who dealt with the meaning and significance of the masjid as a sacred space as reflected in the Qur'an and si'rah literature of the thirteenth hijri century. Two papers on Qur'anic hermeneutics made up the second session. A. K. ...