Conceptualising the Umma
The Centre for the Study of Communications & Culture (CSCC) and School of Modern Languages and Cultures, in association with the Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World (Edinburgh, UK), the School Government and International Affairs (Durham, UK), and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) are pleased to invite you to a symposium titled Conceptualising the Umma.
Synopsis
Muslim societies, like all others, are inexorably interconnected with cultural exchanges, intimate political interactions, and a degree of economic interdependence. Building on historical precedents, Islam has seemed naturally trans-local and cosmopolitan. This symposium seeks to examine how Muslims have dealt with the idea of interconnectedness, of unity, as seemingly contradictory trends unfolded – as states and parochial identities became entrenched in the Muslim world and as broader networks have emerged. Speakers will assess the ways in which one of the central political and social concepts of modern-day Islam, the umma (the community of faith), has been conceived of in diverse intellectual circles as well as in the everyday practice of the faith.
All Muslims readily accept the idea of the spiritual unity of Muslims in line with Qur’anic references to one community (umma wahida; e.g., 5/48/53, 16:93/95). Some perceive of it in non-territorial terms; others see the umma as in tenuous co-existence with established political entities or other parochial forms of community. Many have an innate, perhaps less objectified, sense of wider belonging or solidarity. A cosmopolitan sense of identity has at times taken on the form of an explicit ideology – pan-Islamism – which itself has often been viewed in the West as hostile and aggressive. Indeed, the boundary between Muslim adherents of the umma and non-Muslims has been hotly contested throughout the centuries, including within multi-ethnic societies. At the same time, diverse views of what properly constitutes Muslim have characterised the internal dialogue on the permissible contours of difference (ikhtilaf), with many espousing stark antipathy to perceived deviation or unacceptable innovation (bida). In short, the idea of pan-Islamic community has been idealised – some would say, mythologised – although its precise meaning has remained vague. Some advocates of unity have even been accused of an ideologised, inflexible campaign in the name of a supposed orthodoxy.
This workshop will tentatively explore a concept that everybody assumes to be pivotal but that has gained little consensus in theory or practice. Three questions that have repeatedly appeared will guide the discussions:
- How extensive or encompassing is the intended unity or community?
- How much difference is allowable?
- Must community take institutional (or political) form?
The discussions will be interdisciplinary, with presenters from anthropology, Islamic studies, history, and political science, and examples will be drawn from both medieval and modern times.
Panel Speakers:
- James Piscatori (Durham)
- Sumit Mandal (UKM/UNMC)
- Gaik Cheng Khoo (UNMC)
- Mohammad Talib (Oxford)
- Ahmed Ibrahim Abushouk (Qatar)
- Syed Farid Alatas (NUS)
- Kelly al-Dakkak (Oxford)
- Ravza Altuntas-Cakir (Durham)
- Syed Aun Raza Rizvi (UNMC)
- Julia Svexhinikova (IRF)
Details:
Date: Wednesday, 10 December 2014 & Thursday, 11 December 2014
Time: 09:30 to 18:00 (Wednesday), 09:00 to 17:00 (Thursday)
Venue: Royal Commonwealth Society
4 Jalan Birah
Bukit Damansara
50490 Kuala Lumpur
Registration:
This event is by invitation only, with very limited number of places available for UNMC participants. Contact Sean Matthews directly for further information or call +603 8924 8190.
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