On April 23, Crescent International and the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought (ICIT) will hold a Kalim Siddiqui Memorial Conference in London to mark the tenth anniversary of the death of one of the Islamic movement’s modern giants. The theme of the conference will be The Islamic movement: between extremism and moderation. As another part of our commemoration of Dr Kalim’s work,Crescent International is reprinting some of his major works, beginning with the introduction he wrote for a book that was never published. This paper outlines his understanding of the Islamic movement and the challenges that it faces.
1In the 1980s, the Islamic movement was associated with progress and liberation in Muslim countries. Today, it is all too often associated with terrorism and violence. IQBAL SIDDIQUI discusses the reasons for this change and the need for voices of intelligent, moderate Islamic moderate leaders to reclaim the leadership of the Islamic movement...
There are two distinct but diametrically opposite views competing for dominance in the Muslim world today. The ruling elites, totally subservient to the West, while paying lip service to Islam for fear of their people, promote secularism and the Westernization of society; the Islamic movement insists on the establishment of Islamic values and principles.
On February 12 the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought (ICIT) and the Islamic Society of York Region convened a conference in Toronto to mark the 26th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Here we publish a report on the conference.
The heavy American assault on Falluja in November ranks among the worst crimes ever committed against Muslims. ZAFAR BANGASH, director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought, answers two key questions that it raises.
Murtaza Mutahhari was a significant figure in the movement that brought into being the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mutahhari, a particularly close student of Ayatullah Khomeini, is considered one of the most prominent intellectual figures among Iranian and Shi‘ite scholars of his time. This book presents the life and works of this philosopher, jurist, preacher and writer, who was educated in the Qum Seminary and worked in Tehran. It describes how Mutahhari became familiar with Marxism and secularism, and how he responded to the challenge of these two movements. It demonstrates how he gradually represented himself as a major theorist, offering ideological analyses of Islam. The book highlights Mutahhari’s non-radical, non-violent way of action. Drawing upon firsthand reports, notes and interviews with Mutahhari’s family and friends, the author highlights less-documented parts of the political trends in contemporary Iranian society.
1The term “terrorism” has become devalued by its abuse in Western discourse to delegitimise the struggle of opponents of the West, without its ever being applied to the actions of the West, or of its friends and allies...
The occasion of Isra’ and Mi’raj was marked in Toronto last month by an international Seerah conference jointly convened by the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought (ICIT) and the Islamic Centre of York region...
They must be etched into the memory of every activist of the Islamic movement – the triumph of Imam Khomeini, the culminating success of the Islamic Revolution and the defeat of the Shah, together with the failure of secularism and of the Israeli agents entrenched in the Pahlavi dynasty and establishment...
On reconsideration, however, the realization emerged that the book is not actually as useless as it first appears, provided one is not misguided by what it says on the cover or, for that matter, what the editor writes in his introduction…
The Ikhwan al-Muslimeen, the largest Islamic movement in Egypt, was recently subjected to the biggest crackdown for many years, resulting in the death in prison of Akram Zuhayri on June 9...
The Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf, one of the holiest shrines in Iraq, was reportedly damaged by shell-fire on May 25, as US troops maintained their pressure on the al-Mahdi Army of Muqtada al-Sadr...
In the first week of March the scene in Egypt could well have come out of a black comedy. The General Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood launched an initiative for reform in Egypt in a press conference held at the Press Association...
This month Muslims from all over the world will travel to the Hijaz for the Hajj, which will take place early in February. The worldview of Islam is a dynamic system of thought. It brings to life and modern relevance events that took place a long time ago...
Since the war on Iraq ardent calls for "change" have become fashionable in Arab countries. These appeals come from various quarters. However, the variety of the demands for change betray the nature and the extent of the power-war currently unfolding in the region.
The Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought convened a conference on the Seerah in Toronto last month, in association with Crescent International. Here we present the paper presented by IMAM MOHAMMAD AL-ASI.
Although much attention has been paid to zionist policies in the West Bank and Ghazzah, Palestinians living inside 1948 Palestine – the area which the UN recognised as Israel in 1948 – are also coming under increasing attack. NASSER SALEM reports.
The ICIT held a second International Seerah Conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, last month. Here we publish the paper presented at the conference by IMAM MUHAMMAD AL-ASI.
The deafening noise of Washington’s war-drums is making it increasingly certain that a military effort to depose Saddam Hussein is on the cards. The question then arises of potential alternatives for Iraq.
Shaikh Ahmad Yaseen, founder of the Islamic Resistance movement (Hamas) and recognised as leader of Palestine's Islamic movement, addressed this message to the Ummah on the occasion of Eid al-Adha.
