Association of Muslim Social Scientists UK

NEWS

2nd Zaki Badawi Annual Memorial Lecture

In honour of the life and work of Sheikh Dr. M. A. Zaki Badawi O.B.E., K.B.E., the AMSS (UK) has established a Zaki Badawi Annual Memorial Lecture. The lectures are dedicated to his vision to promote understanding, social cohesion, and multiculturalism in society, as well to raise public understanding of these important issues and promote inter-faith dialogue.

The Grand Mufti of Bosnia-Hercegovina, Dr Mustafa Ceric, will present the second Zaki Badawi Memorial Lecture in the Brunei Gallery at SOAS (University of London) on 15th May 2008. The lecture is entitled 'Towards a Muslim Social Contract in Europe'.

Admission is free but places are limited so please register promptly.

Click here for flyer and more information
Click here for flyer in Word format (doc)

NEMRO - Research Network Initiative

The AMSS (UK) and SETA (Turkey) have led an initiative to create a Network for European Muslim Research Organisations. The aim of the network is to coordinate between various research organisations to work together, support each other ,and coordinate activities. The By-Laws are currently being drafted to be followed by a first meeting. Among other founding members are the Centre for Advanced Studies (Sarajevo), IIIT (UK), AMSS France, AMSS Germany and several others.

EVENTS

Conference Call for Papers: "Perils of Empire: Islamophobia, Religious Extremism and the New Imperialism"

This conference is being organised by AMSS(USA) and the Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland (USA), and is to be held 26th-28th October 2007. The deadline for papers is 15th September 2007. Please see call for papers for more information.

Conference: Muslims of Europe and the Challenges of Citizenship Recognition

This conference was organised by IIIT France, and was held on Saturday 9th June 2007. Please see conference flyer for more information.

Conference Update: The Politics of Islam(ism)

This conference was held 10th-11th November 2007 at the University of Westminster, London, UK. The purpose of this conference was to address broad perspectives and experiences with regard to political Islam. This conference was organised by AMSS (UK) and the Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD) (University of Westminster, London, UK); and supported by Q-News, Islamica Magazine and The Muslim News.
Please see the Conference Announcement for more information, and the Conference Flyer for a list of speakers and themes. The Conference Programme is now available for download.

AWARDS

AMSS 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award

AMSS (UK) 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award given to Prof. Muhammad Abdel Haleem. The AMSS (UK) 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Professor Muhammad Abdel Haleem at the Politics of Islamism conference held at the University of Westminster London on 10th November 2007. The award is presented in recognition for a distinguished career and service to the field of Islamic thought and outstanding contributions to the study of the Arabic language and the Qur’an.
Click here to see a photo of the award presentation (Prof. M. Abdel Haleem on the right).

AMSS 2006 Building Bridges Award

AMSS (UK) 2006 Building Bridges Award to be jointly awarded to the Prime Minister of Turkey and the Prime Minister of Spain. The AMSS (UK) 2006 Building Bridges Award was jointly awarded to Recep Tayyip Erdogan (the Prime Minister of Turkey) and J.L. Rodriquez Zapatero (the Prime Minister of Spain) at the 1st Alliance of Civilisations Forum in Madrid Spain on 15th January 2008. The award was presented in recognition of their distinguished efforts to unify communities separated by race, culture and religion, for promoting a climate of respect, and peaceful co-existence through launching the Alliance of Civilizations project, as well as for their work in advancing interfaith dialogue.

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[2]

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[1] Award presented to Recip Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey (left) by Dr Anas Al-Shaikh Ali, Chair of AMSS (UK) (right).
[2] Award presented to Juan Luis Rodriquez Zapatero, Prime Minister of Spain (second from right).
[3] R.T. Erdogan (left), J.L.T. Zapatero (right) and Dr A. Al-Shaikh-Ali (centre).

Click here to watch the presentation (flash/swf format).

Click here for full press release (PDF).

PUBLICATIONS

British Muslims: Media Guide

British Muslims: Media Guide by Ehsan Masood is a brand new publication launched on 22nd May 2006. The book describes Britain’s Muslim communities, their history, their present and future. Published by the British Council, and Association of Muslim Social Scientists (UK). Buy the book: Price £5.00, ISBN: 0-86355-569-1; or download the book in pdf format from: http://www.britishcouncil.org/scotland-enews-june-2006-british-muslims-book-mailing.pdf A translation into Arabic has been produced. Please contact the British Council for availability.

Muslims On Education:

Position Paper Launched 9^th June 2004

It was with great pleasure that The Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS UK) in association with The Forum Against Islamophobia & Racism (FAIR), FED2000 (For Education & Development) and The Muslim College London UK, launched their position paper entitled "Muslims on Education" at the House of Lords on 9th June 2004. The hosts for this launch were the Rt. Hon. Baroness Uddin of Bethnal Green and Dr. Shaikh Zaki Badawi KBE OBE. The Minister of State for Schools David Miliband MP was also in attendance and took questions following addresses by the Rt. Hon. Baroness Uddin, Dr. Shaikh Zaki Badawi, Dr. Anas al-Shaikh Ali, Mohammed Siddique Seddon, Lord Ahmad of Rotherham and Dr. Nasim Butt. It is hoped that this paper will initiate discussion between the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and representatives from the Muslim Community, to help faciliate the formulation, development and implementation of an inclusive educational strategy for the UK. An electronic/printable copy of the position paper can be downloaded by clicking here (pdf format).

The Challenge of Pluralism and the Middle Way of Islam

The first in the series of AMSS (UK) Occasional Papers, The Challenge of Pluralism and the Middle Way of Islam by Dr. Jeremy Henzell-Thomas points to the 'middle way' as an important area of convergence between the West and Islam with the vision of a spiritually deeper and more multiculturally aware social order, to restore mankind's sense of balance, beauty, harmony and justice. Click here for more information on AMSS (UK) publications.

AMSS (UK) NEWSLETTER No. 7 (2006)

A 20-page issue No. 7 of the AMSS (UK) Newsletter is now available. This issue also contains a review of the Fiqh for Minorities conference held in February 2004 in London, UK; and the Islam in Higher Education conference held in January 2005 in Birmingham, UK. Those interested in receiving a copy of this issue please e-mail/fax your name and address details to us (click here for our contact details). Alternatively, you may view/download a printable electronic copy by clicking here (pdf format).

AMSS (UK) SPECIALIST GROUPS

The AMSS intends to establish a number of specialist groups in various areas of the social sciences and provide support to these groups to organize workshops in issues related to their own disciplines. The AMSS intends to begin with the formation of the following specialist groups:

Media
Education

This activity will be coordinated with FAIR (Forum Against Islamophobia & Racism) as well as other organisations working in these two areas. Those interested in joining these groups or coordinating their activities, please write to the AMSS (UK) Executive Committee sending your name, address and a short CV. For more information on the AMSS (UK) Specialist Groups as and when it becomes available, please click on the 'S.Groups' navigation button on the left or click here. More information about FAIR can be found on their website: http://www.fairuk.org/

MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS

Members will receive complimentary copies of A.J.I.S.S. (American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences) and (for those who know arabic) Islamiyat Al-Ma'rifah. Note that AMSS (UK) members and students are usually entitled to a discount for conference fees. If you are not a member already then how about joining today to get your discount for forthcoming conferences and also enjoy the other membership benefits as well. Click here for a printable membership form (pdf format).