Islamic Studies in the ASEAN Region History, Approaches, and Future Trends

Abstract

The College of Islamic Studies, Prince of Songkla University, organized
an international seminar on Islamic Studies in the ASEAN Region:
History, Approaches, and Future Trends, between 25-28 June 1998 at the
Pattani campus of the Prince of Songkla University. The seminar was
sponsored by the Toyota Foundation (Japan) and the Center for IMT-GT
Studies, and the Prince of Songkla University, Thailand. The opening ceremony
was presided over by His Excellency Mr. Wan Muhammad Noor
Matta (Speaker and President of the Thai Parliament). He was welcomed
by Dr. Sunthorn Sotthibandhu (President, Prince of Songkla University).
Dr. Hasan Madmarn (Director, College of Islamic Studies, Prince of
Songkla University) presented a briefing, and Mr. Shiro Honda represented
Japan’s Toyota Foundation, the event’s major sponsor.
In his speech, HE Mr. Wan Muhammad Noor Matta said that the tradition
of Islamic studies has played, for several centuries, a significant
role in building a spirit of fraternity and the development of education,
economy, society, and politics in Southeast Asia. Pattani, he noted, had
been an important center of this intellectual and social activity. Hence,
this gathering of prominent contemporary scholars of Islamic studies recognized
this legacy and contributed to the further development of Islamic
studies in the region. Commenting upon the traditional and modem forms
of the Islamic tradition present in the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN), he called upon scholars to address cooperatively the
intellectual and social challenges facing the Southeast Asian Muslim
communities for the larger benefit and progress of the ASEAN countries
and the Muslim world
The total number of participants in the seminar was 117, consisting of
45 delegates from outside Thailand and 72 delegates from academic institutions
in various Thai provinces. A total of 33 research papers were ...