26 – 27 June 2012
Following the first conference of Social Thought and Sociology in the Contemporary Middle East” by Iranian Sociological Association and its local and international coordinators and supporters, including International Sociological Association ,in Tehran (28-29 May 2011)[1], the second conference is going to be held in Istanbul, Turkey.
Conference theme
The theme of the conference is the origin and development of social thought and theory in the Muslim world. Papers are expected to focus on thinkers and ideas from West Asia/North Africa as well as other parts of the Muslim world that have contributed or that can potentially contribute to building theories and concepts for sociology and philosophy of society. Papers have to go beyond making the claim that this can be done to providing examples of how this is done. The examples of thinkers that are potential sources of social thought and theory are Al-Biruni, Ibn Khaldun, Ziya Gokalp, Said Nursi, Reshit Rıza, Mohammed Abed Al-Jabiri, Allameh Tabatabaii, Ali Shariati and many others. It has frequently been claimed that these are original thinkers who have potential contributions to modern sociology but it has rarely been shown what their sociological contributions are and how sociological concepts and theories can be derived from their works. This conference is expected to provide such focus. Following are the sub-themes of the conference:
The creedal/theoretical foundations of social thought in Islam – the papers of these panels would focus on tradition as a source of sociological theorizing.
- Early Social Thinkers – papers in these panels would focus on the works of early Muslim thinkers like al-Farabi, Abu Talib al-Makki, al-Biruni and Ibn Khaldun discussing their ideas and theories concerning society.
- Founders of Social Thought and Theory Outside of the Canon – the papers of these panels would focus on theories and ideas of modern thinkers outside of the Western canon who lived in the modern period and contributed to the systematic understanding of the social world.
- Developing a New Agenda for Sociology and a New Perspective in Philosophy of Society– the papers of these panels would identify and discuss new and original topics of research that arise from local and regional concerns. The purpose of this sub-theme is to present and discuss examples of how original social theorizing can translate into empirical research projects.
Organizers: Yildiz Technical University; Istanbul Foundation for Science & Culture; Ibn Khaldun Society. Supporting orgnizations are Faculty of World Studies, University of Tehran; Institute for Religion and Contemporary Thought, Mashhad; Institute of Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran; Iranian Sociological Association; Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, American University of Beirut; and Department of Malay Studies, National University of Singapore.
Contact persson: Mr. Hakan Gulerce hakangulerce@istanbul.
Languages: English, Turkish
2012-04-22
The conference opined that the best way to resist the prevailing wind of modernization and Globalization is to learn, understand and preach the teachings of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi. The great 20th century scholar laid the intellectual stone for the formation of modern Turkey. The theme of conference and seminar was the life of Said Nursi and his renowned hermeneutical text of Quran, Risale-I Nur. The event was hugely successful as it maintained good standards, with highly engaging lectures and paper presentations. Various aspects of the theme were discussed and valuable comments were raised in context with the present world miseries. The audience included selected students and public, who registered their names earlier.
Two Risale-i Nur symposiums have been held in Kerala, India on 29-30 January 2012. Many academics from Turkey, USA, UAE, England, Canada and India have attended the conferences.
Two international conferences on Nursi Studies will be held in Malappuram (Kerala state) and New Delhi in India.
Accordingly Iran hosted a conference to discuss different aspects of his views and thoughts as a prominent figure. Muslim scholars from Iran and Turkey attended the conference.
The Bediuzzaman Said Nursi Chair in Islamic Studies at John Carroll University is pleased to invite you to the Fall 2011 conference on the occasion of the centennial anniversary of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi’s Damascus sermon.
3rd International Graduate Students Conference on Theory and Methodology in Nursi studies was held by the Istanbul Foundation for Science and Culture (IFSC) at the Green Park Hotel in Merter, Istanbul. Over 50 graduate students concentrating on Nursi Studies participated at the conference on June 18-19, 2011. Scholars and students of various disciplines came from countries such asMalaysia, Australia, USA, UK, Germany, Sudan, Indonesia, India, Japan, Romania,Egypt, Algeria, Irak, Morocco, and Jordan. Major scholars in Nursi Studies lectured at the conference in order to offer academic guidance to students who are doing research on the Risale-i Nur. Among the lecturers were Dr. Syed Farid Alatas from the National University of Singapore, Dr. Bilal Kuspinar from Ahlia Universityin Bahrain, Dr. Ian Markham from Virginia Theological Seminary in the USA, Dr. Sait Ozervarli from Yildiz Technical University in Istanbul, Muhsen Abdulhamid from Iraq, Zaynab Afeefe from Egypt, Sulayman Ashratee from Algeria, `Omar Ajah from Morocco, Abdulmuhsen Anes from United Arab Emirates, Ammar Jedal from Algeria, Laila Mahmud `Ali Jum`ah from Iraq, Ayad Favze Tawfiq Hamdan from Sudan, Ahmad Mahmud Salem from Egypt, Feruz `Usman from Sudan, and Ma`mun Jarar from Jordan. The four major session of the conference dealt with subjects like concept formation and theory building and the Risale-i Nur, argumentation in the Risale-i Nur, text analysis or contextualization in the Risale-i Nur, and the methodology of the Risale-i Nur.
The “Bediuzzaman Said Nursi Chair in Islamic Studies” at John Carroll University is pleased to invite you for the Fall 2011 conference on the occasion of the centennial anniversary of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi’s (1876-1960) Damascus sermon.