Muslim think tanks and institutes 1920s onwards
Compiled by M A Sherif
1920s
- London: Islamic Information Bureau (25 Ebury Street, SW1). Secretary was M H Ispahani. The Bureau published ‘The Islamic News’ in 1920-21 which was renamed 'The Muslim Standard'. The contents were mainly commentaries on the momentous events of the day in the aftermath of the Paris Peace Conferences. The sympathies of the paper were pan-Islamic and in support of the Khilafat movement in India. For some extracts see
http://www.salaam.co.uk/knowledge/islamicnews.php
1930s
- Geneva: an Islamic Centre established by the pan-Islamist Shakib Arsalan (d. 1946). He published ‘Le Nation Arab’ and an influential book, ‘Our Decline and its causes’.
- Dar ul Islam Institute founded in Pathankot, Punjab with the aim of pursuing “research into the Islamic faith, culture and history and publish and print works”. Signatories to the founding documents included Maulana Maudoodi, Maulana Sadruddin Islahi and Maulana Manzoor Numani
1940s
- Karachi: Al-Motamar al-Alam al-Islami held a world Muslim congress in 1948. The man behind the scenes was the indefatigable pan-Islamist Inamullah Khan (d.1997), publisher of ‘The Muslim World’ for the next three decades.
1960s
- Geneva: Islamic Centre founded by the exiled Ikhwan leader Dr Said Ramadan (exiled in 1958; died 1995); Dr Said published the renowned Arabic journal ‘Al-Muslimoon’ and also a series of booklets by Muslim scholars of the day including the Caucasian exile Haidar Bammate
- Karachi: Islamic Research Academy. Founding secretary general was the lslamic activist Khurshid Ahmed
- Pakistan: Aisha Bawany Waqf. Efforts were primarily directed by Ebrahim Bawany, who also supported the magazine ‘Muslim News International’. Bawany was author of ‘Revolutionary strategy for national development’
(1970)
- Ankara: Economic and Social Research Centre (ESAM) founded by Professor Necmettin Erbakan – still active. www.esam.org.tr
- Cairo: Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS) – semi-official but with some independently minded scholars – still active August 2008 – copyright (c) Salaam.co.uk
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1970s
- London: Islamic Council of Europe (ICE) was established under the stewardship of the Saudi-Egyptian diplomat Salem Azzam. A network of Islamic thinkers and statesmen came together in a series of conferences and seminars held in London in the late 70s and 80s to formulate and articulate the Islamic position on a range of contemporary issues. Those involved included the former Sudanese Prime Minister Sadiq Al-Mahdi, the two leading Pakistani legal experts of the day A.K. Brohi and Khalid Ishaque, and judge Midhat Azzam and Dr Kholi from Egypt. The outcomes were two seminal papers that capture Muslim thinking of the period: the 'Universal Islamic Declaration Human Rights' (1981) and 'A model of an Islamic Constitution' (1983) . For further details see http://www.salaam.co.uk/knowledge/muslim_community.php
- London: Muslim Institute for Research and Planning founded by Kalim Siddique (d. 1996); published the ‘Draft Prospectus’ (1974) – “the primary task of the Muslim Institute shall be to draw up detailed conceptual maps and operational plans of the future…”. For further details see
http://www.salaam.co.uk/knowledge/musliminstitute.pdf
- Algiers: Pensee Islamique annual conferences initiated by Malek Bennabi; followed up intermittently after Bennabi’s death in 1973 by his student Rashid Bennaissa
- Los Angeles: the Strategic Research Foundation founded by Marghoob Qureshi (d. 2005). SRF published ‘Geopolitics Review’. Now defunct
- Islamabad: Institute of Policy Studies, founded in 1979 as “a think tank dedicated to promoting policy oriented research” - see www.ips.org.pk. Leading lights are Professor Khurshid Ahmed and Khalid Rahman – still active.
- Fez: Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) set up under the aegis of the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Conferences). It includes a ‘Centre for the Promotion of Scientific Research’, “to promote advanced studies and scientific research in all fields of science and technology for sustainable economic development in the Islamic countries”
- see www.isesco.org.ma. Still active
- Penang: Third World Network (TWN) founded by Haji Mohamed Idris – “the Third World Network is an independent non-profit international network of organizations and individuals involved in issues relating to development, the Third World and North- South issues. Its objectives are to conduct research on economic, social and environmental issues pertaining to the South” – see www.twnside.org.sg Haji Idris is also publisher of the monthly ‘Resurgence’ and also founded the Consumer Association of Penang. A recent TWN project is ‘Multiversity’,” launched to register our firm commitment to working towards the development of independent intellectual traditions within our societies”.
1980s August 2008 – copyright (c) Salaam.co.uk
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- Washington: International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT): “The Institute is an intellectual forum working from an Islamic perspective to promote and support research projects, organize intellectual and cultural meetings and publish scholarly works. It has established a distinct intellectual trend in Islamic thought which relates to the vivid legacy of the Ummah (Muslim nation), and its continuous efforts of intellectual and methodological
reform” – see www. iiit.org. The leading light was Professor Ismail Faruqi (d.1986) who pioneered the ‘Islamization of knowledge’ project. The Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS) is a IIIT affiliate, which has published the American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences (AJISS)
since 1984 – see http://www.amss.net/currentissue.html
- Delhi: Institute of Islamic and Arab Studies, founded by Zafarul Islam Khan. Also publisher of ‘The Milli Gazette’ – www.milligazette.com
- London: International Centre for Islamic Studies (ICIS) founded by Muazzam Ali (d. 2005) – better known for establishing the International Institute of Islamic Finance & Insurance. He was also a deputy secretary general of the Islamic Council of Europe (see above) and publisher of
‘New Horizon’ and an Islamic arts magazine. His brother Squadron Leader (Retd) Mukarram Ali edited the Islamic Defence Review, published under the aegis of the Islamic Council of Europe. Now defunct
- Kuala Lumpur: The International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC) founded by Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas. Its objectives include (i) to conduct and promote studies and research on Islamic thought and civilization involving conceptual analyses, clarifications, elaborations and definitions of Islamic key concepts relevant to the cultural, educational, scientific and epistemological problems encountered by Muslims in the present age and (ii) to provide an Islamic response to the intellectual and cultural challenges of the modern world and various schools of thought, religion, and ideology. See
www.iiu.edu.my/istac/index.php
- Istanbul: Bilim ve Sanat Vakfi (The Foundation for Sciences and Arts) – its mission: “to spend incessant effort in the questioning, reproduction and spread of universal, national and professional knowledge…”. It has four research centres focusing on ‘Civilisational Studies’, ‘Turkish Studies’, ‘Global Studies’ and ‘Artistic Studies’ (Turkish language website www.bisav.org.tr
- London: Association of Muslim Researchers (AMR), founded by Muslim academics with the aim of serving as “an independent and inclusive association of people promoting a critical pursuit of knowledge within a coherent Islamic framework to provide alternative models for a just
society” – see www.amr.org.uk. Publishes a quarterly newsletter, ‘AMR News’. August 2008 – copyright (c) Salaam.co.uk
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1990s
- Jakarta: Islamic International Forum for Science, Technology and Human Resources Development (IIFTIHAR) founded by Yusuf Habibie
- Kuala Lumpur: Institute of Policy Research (Institute Kajian Dasar) established under the patronage of Anwar Ibrahim. It organised a joint seminar with the World Futures Studies Federation in 1994
- Kuala Lumpur: Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) Research Centre; director Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad
- Tehran: The Great Islamic Encyclopedia Project & Research Centre – directed by Dr Bujnordi
- Rawalpindi: Foundation for Research on International Environment National Development and Security (FRIENDS) founded by Gen. (Retd) Aslam Baig – see www.friends.org.pk
- London: International Muslim Association of Scientists & Engineers (IMASE) – “a global networking organisation of researchers, scholars, technologists and professionals that aims to nurture and exploit knowledge, with an Islamic framework, for the benefit of mankind” – see
www.imase.org.
21st Century
- Leicester: Policy Research Unit at the Islamic Foundation (founded by Professor Khurshid Ahmed in 1973) headed by Dilwar Hussain. Publications based on seminar proceedings include ‘British Muslims - Loyalty and Belonging (2003)
- Tehran: Institute for Epistemological Research, associated with Dr Abdolkarim Sorroush
- Doha: Al Jazeera Centre for Studies (2006)
- Mumbai: Centre for Study of Society & Secularism (CSSS), founded by Asghar Ali Engineer – see www.csss-isla.com
- Alberta, Canada: Centre for Islam and Science; President (and founder) Dr Muzaffer Iqbal – see http://www.cis-ca.org/
- London: The Cordoba Foundation, “an independent research and public relations organisation, which was founded by the prominent British Muslim activist, Anas Altikriti” – see www.thecordobafoundation.com. Publishes the bimonthly ‘Arches’
- London: Centre for the Study of Terrorism founded by Dr Kamal Helbawi. Provides “unique insights into the global trends in Islamic resurgence, democratisation, terrorism and extremism in the Muslim world “– see www.cfot.dcom. Publishes the monthly ‘The Islamism Digest’
- Dhaka: Institute for Research & Development
- London, Whitechapel: The Policy Research Centre