International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS)

233.

Panel Title            : APPROACHES TO ‘MODERATE' ISLAM IN ASIA-THE DYNAMICS AMONG ISLAM, MUSLIM IDENTITY, POLITICS AND SOCIETY IN ASIA  (PANEL II ):  (SOUTH ASIA)

Institution             : The National Bureau of Asian Research

Convener              : Arusa Mahin Karim

Chair                      : Mohammad Rashiduzzaman

Panel Abstract    :

Approaches to ‘Moderate' Islam in Bangladesh, Iftekhar Iqbal, Dhaka University: Based on five focus group discussions, this paper sums up the observations and suggestions of ‘moderate' Muslims in Bangladesh on politics, education, and poverty. It appears that in all three vital sectors of national importance, moderate Muslims have a voice distinct from that of the predominantly secular civil society in the country, and recommend qualified Islamic interventions in areas where secular and individualistic approaches have failed. Most moderate Muslims attribute the continuum of political unrest and violence in the country mainly to abuses of institutions of governance and the democratic process. In the field of education, discussants observed that enormous diversity in terms of ideology, government engagement, pedagogic approaches and institutional capacities have contributed to the present inadequacies in the education infrastructure. The Dynamics among Muslims, Islam, Education, Economy, and Society in India, Muhammad Talib, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies: This paper is based on interviews with Muslims in India on a variety of issues, including the relationship between Islamic education and religious intolerance in India; characteristics of Islamic education and reform in India; relationship between economic marginalization and communal hostilities in India; perspectives on Muslim integration into the Indian economy; and thoughts on India's Muslim poor. Specific emphasis was on the impact of 9/11 and its influence on radical and moderate Islam in India.

Participants         :

Iftekhar  Iqbal

Paper Title            : Approaches to ‘Moderate' Islam in Bangladesh

Abstract                :

Based on five focus group discussions, this paper sums up the observations and suggestions of ‘moderate' Muslims in Bangladesh on politics, education, and poverty. It appears that in all three vital sectors of national importance, moderate Muslims have a voice distinct from that of the predominantly secular civil society in the country, and recommend qualified Islamic interventions in areas where secular and individualistic approaches have failed. Most moderate Muslims attribute the continuum of political unrest and violence in the country mainly to abuses of institutions of governance and the democratic process. In the field of education, discussants observed that enormous diversity in terms of ideology, government engagement, pedagogic approaches and institutional capacities have contributed to the present inadequacies in the education infrastructure.

Muhammad  Talib

Paper Title            : The Dynamics among Muslims, Islam, Education, Economy, and Society in

                                  India

Abstract                :

This paper is based on interviews with Muslims in India on a variety of issues, including the relationship between Islamic education and religious intolerance in India; characteristics of Islamic education and reform in India; relationship between economic marginalization and communal hostilities in India; perspectives on Muslim integration into the Indian economy; and thoughts on India's Muslim poor. Specific emphasis was on the impact of 9/11 and its influence on radical and moderate Islam in India.

Syed Abu Ahmad Akif

Paper Title            : Approaches to Moderate Islam in Pakistan

Mohammad Rashiduzzaman

Paper Title            : Regional Assesment and Implications for the United States