Jordan Times
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Muslim clerics to convene in
Amman next week
By Mahmoud Al Abed
AMMAN — Amman will host a wide array of Muslim clerics next week, who are
convening to discuss the various aspects of Islam's relationship with the human
community and how to repair the damage caused by certain groups to the image of
this faith in the world, organisers said.
Deliberations in the July 4-6 Islamic
International Conference will revolve around “True Islam and its Role in Modern
Society,” Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Abdul Salam Abbadi, spokesperson
of the conference, told the press on Wednesday.
The event is a continuation of systematic efforts initiated by the Kingdom last
year to present the world with the true picture of Islam as a major contributor
to world civilisation.
The meeting is among a series of such events, particularly seeking to establish
the values of moderation and understanding preached by the Amman Message.
The document, issued in November last year and translated into several
languages, spells out Jordan's understanding of Islam as a religion that rejects
violence and promotes dialogue and constructive interaction with other cultures.
Over the past months, His Majesty King Abdullah has referred to the Message in
his meetings with world leaders and think tanks as the true representation of
Islam, whose image has been distorted since the Sept. 11 attacks on the US.
The King will act as patron at the opening session of the conference, where
representatives of the eight schools of Islamic jurisprudence, or fiqh, (four
Sunni, three Shiite and a school called Zahirism) from more than 40 countries,
including the US and the EU, will participate.
These scholars are expected to support the aspects addressed by Amman Message
with scientific evidence based on thorough studies conducted by renowned Muslim
scholars and researchers, Abbadi explained.
The goal, he said, is to establish the thought presented by the document and set
a common ground among Muslims institutions seeking to reintroduce true Islam to
the world.
The efforts are led and organised by Al al Bayt Foundation for Islamic Thought,
whose secretary general, Ibrahim Shabbouh, was present at the press conference
yesterday.
The foundation and an international committee began preparations for the
conference months ago, meeting in February to determine the aspects to be
discussed at the gathering.
Shabbouh said the participants would discuss 45 papers covering three subtopics:
Basic aspects in Islam's dealings with the human community, difficulties Islam
faces currently and how to correct the distorted image of Islam in contemporary
world society.
As a result of the growing debate in the Muslim world over the takfiri approach
(the tendency among certain Muslim fundamentalists to label Muslims as infidels,
sometimes for mere differences in opinion) and the subsequent violence practised
by takfiri groups, next week's meeting will seek to refute such ideas and set
criteria for issuing a fatwa (religious edict).
Abbadi said a sense of chaos has prevailed in the way fatwas are issued in the
Islamic world, with unqualified clerics giving their religious opinions
haphazardly to the public with not enough knowledge or authority.