Minority Muslim Communities in Post-Bipolar Europe (Western Europe & the Balkans) 23-25 Rabi' al Thani 1415/ 28-30 September 1994 Amman, Jordan

Abstract

A conference on Minority Muslim Communities in Post-Bipolar
Europe (Western Europe & the Balkans), convened by the Centre for
Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at the University of Durham (UK),
was held at the Regency Palace Hotel in Amman at the invitation of the
Royal Academy for Islamic Civilisation Research (Al AIBait Foundation).
It was funded largely by Jordanian governmental sources on the instruction
of HRH Crown Prince Al-Hassan, who has a particular interest in the
conference theme, and who extended his royal patronage to the event.
Modest contributions towards expenses were also forthcoming from the
World Assembly of Muslim Youth (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia), and L'lnstitut
European des Sciences Huamines (Saint-Leger-de-Pougeret, France).
Attended by some thirty-five researchers and activ-ists, this conference
was the third in a series initiated by British academics. The first two
were held during 1993 in Skopje (FYROM) and Durham (UK), and were
sponsored by the British Council and the Council of Europe. This one differed
from its predecessors in a number of ways. For the first time. an
attempt was made to provide a forum for exchange between European
researchers in this field and their colleagues from the various European
Muslim communities examined. An effort was also made to cut across
social scientific, political, and human rights discourses.
The conference was inaugurated by Suha Taji-Farouki (Centre for
Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, University of Durham), the Conference
Convener; Mani' al-Johani (Secretary-General, World A sembly of
Muslim Youth); Ahmad Maballah (Director of Academic Affairs,
L'Institut European des Sciences Humaines); and by HRH Crown Prince
Al-Hassan, delivered on his behalf by HE Professor Nassir EI-Din ElAssad
(President, Royal Academy for Islamic Civilisation Research, Al
AIBait Foundation). Each speaker highlighted the importance and timeliness
of the conference, in light of the USSR's and Yugoslavia's disintegration
and the growing strength of movements inimical to North African,
Middle Eastern, and Asian Muslims in western Europe. Speakers also
pointed to the popular notion of a so-called civilizational conflict between
Islam and the West, positing Europe's relations with its Muslim ...