Social Responsibility Challenges for the Future

Abstract

The 2nd Annual AMSS-UK Conference, “Social Responsibility:
Challenges for the Future,” took place October 21-22 at the University of
Westminster, London. Scholars from the United Kingdom, Ireland,
Malaysia, the United States, Western Europe, and Turkey presented fortytwo
papers. Over one hundred participants attended the two-day event. The
Conference featured scholars such Malik Badri, Kamal Hassan, Murad
Hofmann, Abdelwahab El-Affendi, in addition to emerging intellectuals
such as Mashood A. Baderin and Fauzi Ahmad. The vital participation of
graduate students and junior faculty at the AMSS-UK and the AMSS-US
conference in Washington, DC, the prior weekend indicates the growing
presence of Muslims in western academia.
Asad Ahmad was master of ceremonies and Yusuf El-Khoie from the
Khoie Foundation gave the opening remarks. The keynote address inaugurated
the conference and was followed by a plenary session. Paper sessions
comprised the rest of the event with a “book Iaunch” and final plenary session
concluding the program Sunday afternoon.
Paper sessions were organized around various subthemes directly related
to social responsibility and the future. Presenters reflected upon social welfare,
the state, social policy and community development, law, health and
social care, grassroots action, globalization and the media, education, and
methodologies and gender. The direct link between the Conference theme
and paper sessions encouraged a lucid and fertile ground for intense discussion,
paving the way for an emerging discourse on social responsibility
in Islam.
The keynote address was delivered by Kamal Hassan, rector,
International Islamic University, Malaysia, and established the importance
of scholars and academics in promoting social responsibility. He reflected
upon the role of universities in promoting social responsibility under globalization.
At present, universities are reacting to globalization by adopting
a “corporatization of curriculum” and a “market driving” approach to ...