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Islam and adapting to the modern world

Global Arab Network - - Adam Turner

Saturday, 11 April 2009 22:27

Dr Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri, Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO), stated that Ijtihad, amid a region-wide trend toward reform, has become highly instrumental in addressing worldly and religious matters. It is, he explained, a significant tool to keep pace with new, accelerating developments in the modern world.

In his address at the opening session of the international symposium held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris on the theme “Islam and adapting to the modern world: the imperative of Ijtihad”, ISESCO Director General pointed out, “The process of adapting Islam to the modern world is very complex. It involves several factors that combine the Islamic precepts and the supreme interests of Muslim societies.”

He went on, “Adapting to the modern world, in a bid to seek the best public interest for Muslims, should not take away from our founding religious constants and cultural and civilizational specificities. By respecting the specificities of one another we respect cultural diversity. This is perceived today as a human right guaranteed by the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity.”

In this symposium held in association between ISESCO, the Observatory of Geopolitical Studies, and the Centre of International, European and Comparative Law of the Paris-Descartes Faculty of Law, Dr Altwaijri described Islam as a religion of life, stressing that it is valid for all times and places. “Islam is endowed with an extraordinary ability to renew itself and adapt on a continuous, sound basis to modern life changes”, he added.

He went on, “Islam is a religion that stimulates progress and leads man towards self-fulfilment at the intellectual, spiritual and social levels. It is by no means unenlightened and old-fashioned, as claimed by those unwilling to acknowledge its significant contribution to human civilization throughout history. Such claims and writings, groundlessly antireligious, are injurious to human values and world stability.”

He explained, “In Islam, Ijtihad is a means to adapt to changes of all times, in line with the general religious principles and goals of Shariah (Islamic law). There is nothing to prevent or interdict Ijtihad. It was only during civilizational recession that Ijtihad lost much of its appeal because of intellectual inertia. Ijtihad is intrinsic to Islam. The use of the intellect and reason in interpreting religious texts and deduce rules to reconcile everyday-life exigencies and future development requirements is no stranger to Islam and the teachings of the Holy Quran.”

However, he went on, Ijtihad is incumbent on all those enlightened, knowledgeable people. “It is the result of a collective reflection that takes into account the interests of the Ummah. If left to the layman or narrow-minded people, Ijtihad might prove very destructive to both Islam and Muslims”, he explained.

He stressed, “It is in a bid to bring the western public opinion to understand how Ijtihad in Islam is a means to adapt to the modern world challenges that we resolved to hold this symposium. We aim to shed light on the verities of Islam and explain that this religion can apply to all times and circumstances.” We are equally holding this symposium, he further explained, with the intent to show that Islam is a religion that stimulates development, preaches peace, values human dignity, as well as glorifies reason and preserves human rights.

Also speaking at the opening session were Professor Jean-Pierre Machelon, Dean of the Paris-Descartes Faculty of Law, and Dr Charles Saint-Prot, Director of the Observatory of Geopolitical Studies and the Centre of International, European and Comparative Law of the Paris-Descartes Faculty of Law.

The first working session, presided over by Dr Altwaijri, was devoted to the theme “Ijtihad: present and future challenges and problems”. This working session was marked by a rich variety of key contributions by Dr Charles Saint-Prot (The principle of movement in the structure of Islam); Dr Issam Eddine Ahmed Al Bachir (Ijtihad: Prerequisites for originality and inventiveness); Professor Eric Geoffroy (Ijtihad: Sources and methodical foundations); Dr Wajih Beaini (Ijtihad and reformism from the perspective of Arab-Islamic renaissance sculptors); Dr Mohammed Moussaoui (The importance of Ijtihad in modern Islam); and Dr Mohammed Mestiri (Ijtihad and the public interest).

Global Arab Network

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