The Brown Muslim Students Association, in conjunction with the Islamic Council of New England, will host a daylong conference, "Islamic Vision of Democracy and Geopolitical Realities," Sat-urday at the Salomon Center. The conference will examine basic Muslim concepts regarding government, politics and democracy in the context of Quran-based law and modern culture in the United States and abroad.
"This conference is so relevant to everyone on campus," said Mirza Arefin '07, a conference facilitator. "We forget we're at war, but the ramifications of these topics are something we're going to feel." Because the day's discussions focus on democratic and governmental applications and specifications of Islamic law, the conference aims to shed light on potential for democracy in Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond.
This is the first time Brown will host an ICNE annual conference, which is now in its 20th year. Past host schools include Harvard University and the University of Rhode Island.
Despite the level of involvement between the United States and Muslims worldwide in the past four years, most Americans know painfully little of Islam, let alone the religion's democratic potential amid a history most see as laden with authoritarianism, Arefin said. He hopes to send attendees, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, home with a fuller understanding of these concepts and an appreciation of the difficulties Muslim leaders face in developing a viable Islamic democracy.
The conference will consist of four two-hour educational sessions, each led by two of the eight speakers selected by BMSA. The roster includes Adil Najam, who teaches at Tufts University's Fletcher School, and ICNE's own president-elect, Abdel-Rahman Mohamed. Speakers will lecture for about half an hour before opening to questions and discussions, which Arefin hopes will maintain an avid level of interest from the audience and maximize the exchange of ideas.
Though each session will build upon the previous meeting, the lectures geared for listeners who know little of Islam's tenets and practices - allowing students and community members of varying backgrounds to attend and learn.
Separated by an hour-long lunch break during which boxed meals will be provided, Sessions I and II will focus on more generalized societal discussions. The lectures and question periods are intended to examine themes of inclusion and exclusion in Islamic society, specifically in terms of ethnicity, gender and age, and a conceptual analysis of the Ijtihad, or use of logic to interpret the Quran.
During the half-hour break between Sessions II and III, attendees will be treated to a sampling of the entertainment scheduled for later in the day. Most of the featured artists perform in the rap and hip-hop genres; Arefin calls this breed of music a "synthesis between Islamic ideas and the culture of America." The main entertainment portion of the day will run from 8 p.m. until about 11, also in Salomon, and will be free for Brown students.
Session III will move away from the more generalized societal discussions of the first two meetings and zero in on the much-contested idea of Shurah, which involves a leader's responsibility to consult his advisers. Session IV, "Prospects and Legitimacy of Imposed Demo-cratic Orders," will attempt to synthesize the day's discussions with an analysis of the immediate application of these ideas. What, for instance, are the prospects for an Islam-affiliated democracy in Iraq? Does Islam contain sources of political legitimacy? What do these theories and proposed systems mean for a minority population in a democracy such as the United States?
Next year, Arefin said the University hopes to run an autonomous event, but in the meantime BMSA and ICNE have found their partnership mutually beneficial. ICNE recruits a group of students to organize and plan the day's activities, and the students in turn can take advantage of the council's widespread resources.
"It's really an opportunity to showcase BMSA to the New England area," Arefin said. Event publicity has extended as far as New York, and largely thanks to ICNE's advertising campaign, BMSA expects more than 200 outside attendees.
The conference will conclude with a catered dinner in Andrews Hall followed by the entertainment segment featuring performances by professional artists and groups. Registration is free for Brown students and can be completed online at www. BrownMSA.org or on Saturday beginning at 9:30 a.m. in the Salomon lobby. After registering, students can attend any of the sessions throughout the day.
