Jordan Times
Tuesday, July 13, 2006
Scholars debate
contemporary issues affecting Middle East
By Mahmoud Habboush
AMMAN — Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah,
HRH Prince Ghazi Ben Mohammad on Monday opened the Second World Congress for
Middle Eastern Studies (WOCMES-2).
“It is the first time that we in Jordan, and for that matter, that any Arab
country hosts this meeting. We are especially proud that it is the largest
gathering of its kind ever held in the Middle East,” the Monarch said in a
speech delivered on his behalf by Prince Ghazi.
“Your conclusions and recommendations will undoubtedly provide important advice
and information for those in this region who are determined to pursue peace,
tolerance and development in this region. We in Jordan are, by the Grace of God,
leading this constituency of peace,” the King said in his address to the
gathering of more than 1,300 scholars, researchers and academics.
He reiterated that expert knowledge helps our societies make informed,
successful decisions about policy and resources.
“Such knowledge is empowering — and essential. This is one reason why, for
Jordan and other Middle Eastern countries, education and research must be a
strategic priority,” the King said in his speech.
“Indeed, here in Jordan, building knowledge is a core part of our national
reform agenda. Our initiatives include support for educational excellence...
academic networking... and public-private partnerships to increase access to
technology and other resources,” he added.
“We have looked to the Jordanian academic community itself for leadership. We
have also opened Jordan’s doors to the global intellectual community,” the King
went on to say.
He added that building informed, empowered societies is only one way in which
the academic community impacts the future of this region.
The King reaffirmed that Jordan has sought to promote true knowledge of Islam,
and knowledge of true Islam, adding that this was the object of the Amman
Message of November 2004, and of the International Islamic Conference held in
Amman in July 2005.
The Amman Message called for the specific recognition of all eight Mathhabs
(schools) of Islam, and the definition of who is a Muslim, an effective
moratorium on takfir between Muslims and the specification of subjective and
objective conditions for the issuing of fatwas.
In his address at the opening, HRH Prince Hassan said: “This is the first time
that such a major congress has been held in the Middle East itself, and I
believe that Jordan’s openness, tolerance and pivotal regional role make it an
excellent choice to host such a prestigious event.”
The Prince, who chairs the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies, the local
organiser of the event, called on media representatives and academics to
coordinate to tackle the contemporary conflicts plaguing the region.
“The purpose of WOCMES-2 is to draw on and extend that invaluable historical
process of exchange within and between overlapping civilisations,” he added.
WOCMES-2, the first major congress of Middle Eastern studies ever to take place
in the region, provides Middle Eastern specialists from all branches of the
humanities and social sciences with the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas.
The conference, which runs until Friday, will include panel discussions as well
as several keynote speeches by prominent scholars.
The event will also feature two book fairs, exhibitions of modern Arab art by
Jordan’s national and local galleries, a film festival with panel discussions
and a musical programme.
WOCMES -1 took place in September 2002 with more than 2,000 participants from 52
countries. It was initiated by the Middle East Studies Association of North
America (MESA) and organised by the University of Mainz in Germany.