Summer Institute for Scholars 2012

Contemporary Approaches to Qur’an and Sunna
Good Governance in Islam:

Classical and Contemporary Approaches

July 9 – 18, 2012

The International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) is pleased to announce its fifth Summer Institute for Scholars to be convened at IIIT headquarters in Herndon, Virginia, USA between July 9 and July 18, 2012. The purpose of the Summer Institute is to bring together and engage senior and young scholars with a particular interest or expertise in Qur’anic studies or Sunna in focused, organized discussions of topics related to a contemporary understanding and articulation of issues involving Qur’an and Sunna. The specific objectives of the seminar are:

-To develop methods or approaches of understanding Qur’an and Sunna that are both authentic and relevant to contemporary realities and sensibilities in the West and the Muslim world.
-To suggest means and instruments of engaging the scholarly community, the religious community, political leaders, the media and the public at large in learning processes, debates or experiences that make intelligible the wisdom of the Qur’an and the Sunna and their relevance to contemporary human affairs.

-To broaden the scope of conversations on issues pertaining to Qur’an and Sunna through the inclusion of social and physical scientists beside the scholars of the traditional Islamic disciplines.

The focus of this year’s program is on Good Governance in Islam: Classical and Contemporary Approaches. Deliberations will center around topics such as the issue of governance in Qur’an and Sunna; the evolution of governance as a category of thought in classical literature, the Muslim experience with governance and its implications on contemporary Islamic thought, comparative approaches to good governance, and the application of approaches such as Maqasid – or higher objectives of Islamic law – to governance, both theoretically and institutionally. A particular focus will be on Islamic approaches to governance within the context of the modern nation state and the current debates on constitution building in countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Libya, among others.

Interested scholars should send a one page abstract to [email protected] together with an updated C.V by March 26, 2012. IIIT will notify scholars whose abstracts are accepted by April 8, 2012. Final papers should be submitted to IIIT by email no later than June 4, 2012. IIIT will notify scholars whose papers have been accepted for presentation during the program by June 15, 2011. Papers presented during the program will be considered for publication in an edited volume to be published by IIIT.

IIIT will cover the cost of travel within continental USA and Canada and hotel accommodation in Herndon, VA for participants with accepted papers. In addition, each participating scholar will get $100 per day to cover living expenses during attendance of the program and another $1000 honorarium upon submission of a publishable paper for the volume.
For further information or questions, please contact Abubaker al Shingieti at [email protected] or call 703 471 1133 Ext 101.