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The Changeable and Unchangeable in Islamic Thought and Practice,
Sarajevo, May 7-9 2005

 
 

International workshop and Public Forum
organized by the Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief
in cooperation with
the Faculty of Islamic Studies, Sarajevo

 

MAY 7: INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP, DAY 1

Opening session

Session 1: Theoretical Foundations - Questioning the Changeable and Unchangeable in Islamic Thought and Practice

ABDULKARIM SOROUSH: The Changeable and the Unchangeable in Islamic Thought

AMINA WADUD: Reading the Qur'an from a Gender Perspective

Discussion

Session 2: Theoretical Foundations - Questioning the Changeable and Unchangeable in Islamic Thought and Practice

ZIBA MIR-HOSSEINI: Fiqh and the Challenge of Gender Equality

ASMA BARLAS: Holding Fast by the Best in the Precepts … The Qur'an and Method

Discussion

MAY 8: INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP, DAY 2

Session 3: European Islam - Is “European Islam” an accommodation to necessity, or a critical engagement with “European” values?

TARIQ RAMADAN: How to be an European Muslim

ENES KARIC: The Changeable and the Unchangeable in Islamic Thought with regard to Islam in Europe – a Bosnian example

Discussion

Session 4: European Fiqh - Is a specifically European fiqh desirable, to what effect and on what grounds? 

ALEXANDRE CAEIRO: The Development of Fiqh in Western Europe: Mapping the Terrain 

ŠUKRI RAMIC: The Foundations of Fiqh in our Time and Space

Discussion

Summing up: Fikret Karcic

MAY 9: PUBLIC FORUM

Welcome and opening of Public Forum

Session 1: European Islam

TARIQ RAMADAN: How to be an European Muslim

ALEXANDRE CAEIRO: The Development of Fiqh in Western Europe: Mapping the Terrain

AMIN ABDULLAH: Contextual Issues in Indonesian Islam 

Session 2: The Changeable and the Unchangeable in Islamic Thought

ABDULKARIM SOROUSH: The Changeable and the Unchangeable in Islamic Thought

AMINA WADUD: Reading the Qur'an from a Gender Perspective

LENA LARSEN: Challenging Traditional Perceptions of Women in IslamA

Summing up: Fikret Karcic

The Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief is an international network of representatives from faith communities, NGOs, international organizations and the academia, with the aim of promoting freedom of religion or belief and strengthening interfaith co-operation worldwide.

The Oslo Coalition works on a project basis, cooperating with partners with a similar agenda in a number of countries (for details about the projects, see the homepage of the Oslo Coalition). Its methods for promoting freedom of religion or belief include partnerships with organizations and institutions in other countries, facilitation of new religious networks, organization of conferences and support of useful studies, in the field of freedom of religion or belief. One of the projects is New Directions in Islamic Thought and Practice.

New Directions in Islamic Thought and Practice is an initiative of Muslim scholars and public intellectuals, in cooperation with other concerned scholars, who seeks to provide an independent forum for identifying and applying the enduring findings of modern reformist thinking to the most pressing issues facing Muslims today, whether they constitute the majority or a minority.

These objectives are to be realized through a series of regional workshops, public presentations, and media outreach, in local as well as international languages. This initiative is also launching a web site as a medium for constant consultation, exchange of ideas and experiences, coordination of activities and development of the capacity of local actors.

The Changeable and Unchangeable in Islamic Thoughts and Practice is an initiative in cooperation with Faculty of Islamic Studies in Sarajevo.

The Faculty of Islamic Studies in Sarajevo is the oldest and most prestigious institution of higher Islamic education in South-Eastern Europe. It is firmly grounded in centuries-old tradition of Islamic education in Bosnia and Herzegovina that began with the building of the first mosques, tekkes and the first primary schools (muallimhana) in the first half of the 15th century.

The Faculty of Islamic Studies in Sarajevo was founded in 1977 by the Islamic Community of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In the past the Faculty had adapted itself to the needs of community and met the challenges of time.

In 2004 the Faculty joined the University of Sarajevo as an affiliate member. Today Faculty of Islamic Studies has about 30 lecturers and professors and about 700 undergraduate and postgraduate students.