Congratulations to the Management, staff and volunteers of AMU – Aligarh Muslim University. It is perhaps the first Muslim institution in the world to rope the Muslims into the critical thinking.
AMU is a 150 year old University founded by the visionary Sir Syed Ahmed Khan to uplift the lot of Muslims, he was opposed, and fatwas were issued that learning English and Science was un-Islamic. Even today, and even in the United States we do find individuals who have not freed themselves from that mindset. http://www.amu.ac.in/
Pulling Muslims together to think critically was the vision of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Allama Iqbal and other great reformers in Islam.
I am pleased to report that a revival of that tradition is on the horizon. The AMU just concluded a two day’s international conference, “Intellectual Crises of the Muslim Ummah: Rethinking Traditional Solutions” between April 6-7, 2015.
The following individuals are deeply committed to revive the tradition of Sir Syed.
Vice Chancellor Lt. General Zameer Uddin Shah – an incredible man determined to forge ahead. I met with him and spent an hour and was moved by his commitment to the change..
Pro Vice Chancellor Brigadier Syed Ahmad Ali, who is pushing this mission forward.
Professor Dr. Rashid Shaz, a pioneering Islamic thinker heads this project and may become a catalyst in leading this movement.
On my part, I’m humbled to make that commitment to support this initiative and stand with them.
It was an incredible line up of speakers who shared precisely the need for us to rethink all that we do. Inshallah, a link to full report from AMU will be shared. This is the first time I’m unable to put together a report myself. And hope to put together a report in the near future.
It was an honor to speak at the plenary as well as the valedictory sessions, chair two discussion panels on women’s rights and if Muslims can be united, and presented a paper on if Muslims can lead the world for common good. It was a big boost when the Pro-VC and other speakers referenced my work and expanded on my thoughts.
Inshallah AMU will once again become a beacon of learning and add the feather of critical thinking onto our hats.
Abstract of my presentation at:http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2015/03/mike-ghouse-of-world-muslim-congress-to.html
Thank you.
Mike Ghouse, President
Foundation for Pluralism | Pluralism Center
Research Studies in Pluralism in Public Space, Religion, Politics, Culture and Society.
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