For centuries Muslim societies have been aimlessly drifting from one undesirable future to another, moving from crisis to crisis. When the rate of change was relatively slow, it was possible for societies to survive while still being in a permanent state of crisis. But with accelerating rate of change, the probability of total collapse is much higher. To have any notion of a viable future we must grasp the significance of contemporary times, which offers both threats and potentials. In contemporary times, all that was ‘normal’ has evaporated; we have entered a post-normal period when old orthodoxies are dying and new ones have not yet emerged. Post-normal times are characterised by three c’s: complexity, chaos and contradictions. From the perspective of Islam and Muslim societies, post-normal times suggest that there are no simple, one-dimensional answers to our contemporary problems. Thus, Islam cannot be seen just as a faith and religion, a set of beliefs with a list of dos and don’ts. It has to be appreciated as an integrated and holistic worldview. This requires us to rethink Islam, re-imagine it as an ethical and moral system, and rebuild it, brick by brick, from first principles. Ziauddin Sardar presents us with an approach to this problem in the Zaki Badawi Memorial Lecture for 2013 on 12th June 2013 at the University of Westminster, London, Uk.

Organised by The Association of Muslim Social Scientists, AMSS UK, andthe Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of Westminster, London, UK.

Click here for Information flyer (pdf)

The First IIIT European Summer School will be held from 24th August to 7th September 2013 in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina. The programme is designed for European undergraduate and graduate students who are majoring in Islamic studies, humanities or the social sciences. Eight days will be reserved for seminars, two days for presentations and workshops by participants of their current research, and three days for local educational trips. During the course of the programme, participants will complete a total of 80 hours of direct research and instruction and will receive a certificate of attendance from the organisers and the International University of Sarajevo. Travel expenses, food and accommodation for participants will be covered by the organizers. Students should have their own health insurance coverage. The organizers do not provide health – or any other form – of insurance to students. Attendance by Registration only. Places are limited. The Conference will be held in English. Those interested, and competent in English, should complete and submit an application form with an updated C.V. and a letter of reference from their department or supervisor no later than 30th May 2013 to: Asmir Aljic, Secretary, Center for Advanced Studies, Tel: +387 33 716 040 Mob: +387 61 894 338, Email: cns@bih.net.ba

Organised by IIIT London Office, UK, Institute for Epistemological Studies Europe, Brussels and Centre for Advanced Studies, Sarajevo, in cooperation with The Fairfax Institute, USA, and hosted by International University of Sarajevo.

Click here for Information flyer (pdf)

Parent-Child Relations - A Guide to Raising Children by Hisham Altalib, Abdulhamid Abusulayman & Omar Altalib is due for release in Spring 2013. This comprehensive guide contains what you need to know on how to parent with confidence. Packed with advice and powerful tips, using the latest research on child development and parenting techniques, it offers a mine of information on how to let children flourish, take the frustration out of parenting and develop happy family relations. Authors provide guidance on developing character, knowledge, values, and skills, as well as a faith-based outlook in children, benefitting parents with kids of all ages. The many strategies and techniques offered include: teaching children how to problem-solve, make decisions, and develop self-esteem. Raising God conscious, moral, successful children, with a sense of civic responsibility in today’s world is not easy. It is also not impossible. Effective parenting is the key. Click here for more information (pdf).

ISBN: 978-1-56564-582-0, 500 pp

Details of new IIIT publications for 2013 can be seen in the latest publications flyer. See Publications page for more information.

A selection of IIIT books have been translated into Turkish by MAHYA (Turkey). The six titles produced for 2012 are: Epistomological Bias, Contemplation, Crisis in the Muslim Mind, Where East Meets West, Muslim Contribution to the Renaissance, and Qur'anic Worldview. See Publications page for more information.

IIIT Books-In-Brief Series is a valuable collection of the Institute’s key publications written in condensed form to give readers a core understanding of the main contents of the original. Currently, Books-In-Brief editions have been produced for the following six books: Al-Shura, Anthropomorphic Depiections of God, Apostasy in Islam, Authentication of Hadith, Studies in Islamic Civilisation, Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil.

Two books have recently been published on Professor Isma'il al Faruqi. Islam & Knowledge: Al Faruqi's Concept of Religion in Islamic Thought, published by I.B. Tauris in association with IIIT and the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA, is a collection of essays written and presented in honour of al Faruqi's work. Islam: Religion, Practice, Culture & World Order is a reprint of the book originally written by al Faruqi, presented with a new introduction.

The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences (AJISS) will be producing a special issue on Islamist Spring? Islamists and the State: New Paradigms and Engagements, to be published in July 2013. To submit a research paper, a book review, or a shorter reflection piece for consideration, please refer to the Call for Papers for guidelines. Click here for more information on AJISS (external site). Submission deadline January 15th 2013.

Two new titles will be published in March 2012 by IIIT London Office. These titles are: Anthropomorphic Depictions of God: The Concept of God in Judaic, Christian and Islamic Traditions - Representing the Unrepresentable; and Ocassional Paper No. 20: Maqasid Al-Shariah, Ijtihad and Civilisation Renewal. Click here for the new publications flyer. Click here for the publications page.

Arabic translations of three Maqasid themed Occasion Papers have been published:
* OP13: MAQASID AL-SHARIAH MADE SIMPLE by Mohammad Hashim Kamali
* OP14: MAQASID AL-SHARIAH A BEGINNER'S GUIDE by Jasser Auda
* OP15: THE ISLAMIC VISION OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE LIGHT OF MAQASID AL-SHARIAH by Mohammad Umer Chapra

A lecture by Professor Nabil Matar entitled "HENRY STUBBE AND THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD: CHALLENGING MISREPRESENTATION " was given on Wednesday 28th March 2012 at the University of Cambridge. At the lecture, Professor Matar was presented with the AMSS (UK) Building Bridges Award 2012 for pioneering scholarship on the relationship between Islamic civilisation and early modern Europe as well as raising awareness of the historical roots of Western perceptions of Islam. Click here for award press release. Click here for event & award flyer. Click here for lecture booklet and programme.

A Bosnian translation of the lecture "Is Religion Making Itself Irrelevant?" has been published in the March 2011 issue of Muallim, a leading Bosnian Journal. The lecture was originally written and presented in English by Dr Anas Al-Shaikh-Ali, CBE, Chair of AMSS UK, at the Future of Faith in the Age of Globalisation conference held in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Hercegovina, 19-20 September 2010. Click here for more information on the conference and its themes.

Seven new titles were published in September 2011 by IIIT London Office. These titles cover: Ethics of Disagreement in Islam; Al-Shura (Consultation); Apostasy in Islam; Qur'anic Worldview; Malek Bennabi's Approach to Civilisation; Interfaith Dialogue; Towards Reformation (Islamic Law and Jurisprudence). Click here for the publications page.

Oxford University Press published in 2011 Islamophobia: The Challenge of Pluralism in the 21st Century, edited by John L. Esposito and Ibrahim Kalin. Dr Anas Al-Shaikh-Ali, CBE, chair of AMSS UK, contributed a paper entitled Islamophobic Discourse Masquerading as Art and Literature: Combating Myth through Progressive Education. Click here for more information abou the publication on the publisher's website.

A lecture by Professor Jack Goody, KBE entitled "EUROPE AND THE NEAR EAST: THE PRESENCE AND ABSENCE OF METALS" was given on Friday 3rd June 2011 at the Unversity of Westminster, London. Click here for more information on the lecture and the speaker (external link to AMSS UK website). Click here for lecture programme. The AMSS Building Bridges Award for 2011 was awarded to Professor Goody at the event. Click here for award press release.

Two separate Occasional papers on the theme of Maqasid Al-Shariah written by Mohammad Hashim Kamali and Jasser Auda have been reviewed in the Arabic edition of Asharq Al-Awsat. Click here to read the review in full (external link to the Asharq Al-Awsat website). Publications are in English and the review is in Arabic.

Dr Anas Al-Shaikh-Ali CBE, Academic Advisor to the IIIT in London UK, has recently been interviewed for the Arab newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat. Click here to read the Arabic interview in full (external link to the Asharq Al-Awsat website).

THIS CONFERENCE HAS NOW BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL 2012.

A one day conference on Western Muslim Intellectuals & the Challenge of Islamic religious Reform will be held at Westminster University, London, UK. This conference seeks to focus mainly on the possible contribution of the western-based muslim intellectuals to religious reform, assessing their claims and examining the evidence from historical experience.