Georgetown University: School of Foreign Service in Qatar

The Center for International and Regional Studies at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFS-Qatar) will hold a two-day international conference titled "Innovation in Islam." The conference which starts this Saturday will bring together some of the most prominent scholars of Islamic thought, culture and history.

“The conference aims at showing the depth of Islamic studies as a discipline with multiple dimensions beyond the stereotypes," said Mehran Kamrava, the director of the Center for International and Regional Studies.

The conference will feature panels covering a variety of topics from Islamic institutions and literature to theology and modernity.

Professors from the Georgetown’s Qatar campus and Qatar University will be among the speakers. In a panel discussing Islamic Institutions, Amira Sonbol from SFS-Qatar will speak about the changing family in Islam, while Zakaryya Abdel-Hady from Qatar University will discuss the changing role of the mosque across history. In a panel on literary and artistic innovation, Georgetown’s Patrick Laude will discuss innovation Sufi poetry. Kamrava will be featured in a panel on theology and politics of fiqh. He will be speaking on historical developments in Shi'a Fiqh. In the same session, Omaima Abou-Bakr (QU) will discuss interpreting women's biographies in Medieval Islamic writings.

In addition to professors from universities in Qatar, the CIRS has invited speakers from universities in Europe, the Middle East and the United States. Mohammed Arkoun, Walter Denny, Peter Gran, Sumaiya Hamdani, Hassan Hanafi, Nelly Hanna, Sherman Jackson, Ziba Mir-Hosseini, Jawid Mojaddedi, and Tariq Ramadan will be among the speakers at the conference.

The Syrian poet Adonis will be giving a keynote address titled “Innovation in Islam: New Directions for Humanity.”

The public is invited to attend the conference, but advance registration is required. The presentations will be delivered in English with simultaneous Arabic interpretation. However, the keynote by Adonis will be in Arabic with English translation available.