The Challenge of Islam in the 21st Century

Abstract

It is a great honor for me to be invited to give the key note address to this
very distinguished body. I would like to express my gratitude to the
Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS) and in particular to its distinguished
president, my friend Mumtaz Ahmad. The convention is of special
significance this year since we are honoring the memory of the great
scholar and original thinker, Isma'il al-Faruqi. Twenty years ago he persuaded
me to write a small book for his Islamization of knowledge series
called Towards Islamic Anthropology published by the International
Institute of Islamic Thought (IIlT) shortly before his tragic death. On hearing
of his death in Pakistan, I wrote the following lines which appeared in
the daily national newspaper Dawn and in my book Discovering Islam:
Making Sense of Muslim History and Society
On the death of Ismail Faruqi
there are many ways
to kill an Arab
you can shoot them down
in public places
or torture
them to insanity
in closed rooms
and call them terrorists
you can surround their villages-

making sure their women and children
are inside- ...