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
2
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
3
- 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
4
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.
21
st
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