UNITED NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION WORK ON THE VARIOUS ASPECTS OF ISLAMIC CULTURE

Transcription

1 UNITED NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION WORK ON THE VARIOUS ASPECTS OF ISLAMIC CULTURE ELEVENTH MEETING OF THE INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE (Tripoli - The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) (1-4 October 1996) FINAL REPORT CLT/96/Conf.502

2 1. 1. After a welcoming address delivered by Dr Mohammed Ahmed El-Sherif (Secretary- General of the World Islamic Call Society), the meeting was opened by Mr Christophe Wondji, Director a.i. of CLT/CID, who, on behalf of the Director-General of UNESCO and the Assistant Director-General for Culture, welcomed the members of the International Scientific Committee and the observers. He thanked the Libyan authorities for facilitating the mission and the World Islamic Call Society (WICS) for hosting the meeting and for its constant assistance for the History projects, including the Work on the Various Aspects of Islamic Culture. Giving a brief account of the progress so far achieved on the project, he outlined the problems and the difficulties which need to be studied by the International Scientific Committee. Thus, he pointed out that the drafting of certain volumes had been very slow or had showed little or no progress; he also indicated that according to the directives of the General Conference and the Director-General, the History projects should be completed by the end of In view of the fact that the meeting was only attended by five members, the quorum was reached as two further members (namely Professors Ansari and Inalcik) communicated. in writing, their wish to be represented by one of the members present, namely Professor A. Bouhdiba. 3. Election of the Bureau In accordance with the Statutes adopted by the Executive Board at its 127th session (Article V(b)). the Committee elected its Bureau. The following were elected unanimously: Chairman: Professor Idris el-hareir Vice-Chairmen: Professors Ahmad al-hassan and Ravane M Baye Rapporteur : Professor A. Bouhdiba

3 In accordance with the Rules of Procedure (Article 7 (2)), the Committee determined by lot the order of the Vice-Presidents, as indicated above The Secretariat presented the Working Document. 5. Examination of Volume V The Committee, having noted that Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu had as a matter of fact fulfilled the role of an Editor-in-Chief, decided to acknowledge his status as such and recommended that the work, when published, should carry his name as the Chief Editor and without reference to other co-editors. The Committee, while approving the volume as a whole, decided that, in view of the need to have the volume published as soon as possible, Professor Ihsanoglu may dispense with the chapter on Islamic textiles, unless he can add a few pages on the subject. Professor Ihsanoglu was invited to ensure, with the help of the reviser, that crossreferences between different chapters and forms of Islamic creativity are highlighted. 6. Examination of Volume IV the volume. The Committee approved the appointment of Dr Albert Zaki Iskandar as co-editor of It also decided that, in view of the fact that the drafting of the volume had been completed with the exception of one article on Islamic optics, the Editorial Board should proceed immediately to carry out a final revision according to a well-defined plan of action and a precise time schedule. Professor A. al-hassan expressed his readiness to complete this revision in six months and asked the Secretariat to submit the revised chapters one by one to members of the Committee, for approval. In this way, there would be no need to hold another meeting of

4 3. the Committee in order to approve the work as a whole. Professor al-hassan also suggested that a specialist in the history of exact sciences in Islam might be asked to take part in the revision. However, the Committee recommended that a section on the teaching of medicine in the School of Alexandria be incorporated in the chapter devoted to scientific knowledge before the rise of Islam. The Committee also recommended the inclusion of a detailed bibliography. Finally, it was agreed that Professor Ihsanoglu would supplement and update the chapter devoted to science in the Ottoman Empire. 7. Examination of Volume I Acknowledging the importance and high topicality of this volume and expressing its concern at the absence of Professor Ansari, the Committee decided the following: 1. that the end of December 1996 is to be set as a final deadline for the completion of the first draft. A reminder to this effect should be sent to the Editors and the authors who have not as yet delivered their contributions: 2 that all the contributions already delivered should be immediately sent to members of the Committee, while the contributions to come should be sent to them one by one; 3. that once the whole manuscript is completed, a meeting of experts, in which the members of the Committee and the Editors, participate, should be convened in order to review the whole work and to advise on how to adapt it to the diversity and richness of Islamic regions as well as to the requirements of recent developments in the world. This meeting, it was agreed, might be held in March 1997.

5 4. 8. Examination of Volume III The Committee, having expressed its concern at the little progress made by this volume, adopted the following decisions, with a view to speeding up the work: to thank Professor Mukti Ali for his contribution and to end his services as co-editor, in view of his health as well as the need to speed up the work; to confirm the status of Professor Halil Inalcik as Chief Editor, unless he asks in writing to be relieved of his responsibilities; to appoint Professor Idris al-hareir as co-editor and coordinator; to ask Professor al-hareir and Professor M Baye to draw up a revised list of authors and to submit it to the members of the Committee, for approval. to ask the Secretariat to contact the authors previously proposed to see if they are still committed to the drafting of their contributions. In this connection, the Committee, while granting that the Editors should enjoy a measure of freedom in introducing whatever modifications and re-adjustments they deem fit. thought that the term expansion of Islam could be misleading in that it suggests that the spread of Islam was accomplished by the use of force; and emphasized the need for historical exposition to be based on sociological, anthropological and cultural analysis. As a consequence, Professors al-hareir and M Baye submitted a provisional list of authors on the understanding that it would be completed and finalized in collaboration with other members of the Committee. 9. Examination of Volume VI Having taken note of the fact that no progress had been achieved on this volume, the Committee emphasized the need to take drastic decisions and start the work from the beginning according to an entirely new approach. In view of the sensitivity and high topicality of the subject, it was decided that a committee of experts should be convened in March 1997 in order to lay down guidelines for the study and propose a new editorial board.

6 It was agreed that this meeting, in which members of the International Scientific Committee may take part, should study the following documents as a starting point: 5. a) the plan drawn up by Professors Ezzeddin Ibrahim and Abdelhadi Boutaleb; b) the plan drawn up by the late Professor Bammate; c) a short paper on the subject, to be written by Professor A. Bouhdiba. It was agreed that this paper, which should be submitted to the members of the International Scientific Committee in two months, would, once approved, constitute the working document for the expert meeting. It was again agreed that each member of the Committee may send to the Secretariat his proposals concerning the experts to be invited, on the understanding that their number should not exceed 10 representing the different regions within the Islamic world. 10. Discussion of the future prospects during the present biennium and afterwards Introducing this item, Mr Christophe Wondji, DIR/CLT/CID a.i., emphasized the need to reach clear decisions, in view of the deadline (end of 1997) set for the completion of the History projects. While every effort should be made to publish all the completed manuscripts by the end of 1997, the Committee may consider, among other alternatives, the possibility of transferring the rest of the work to a suitable regional organization or a research centre, such as IRCICA. Members of the Committee were unanimous in thinking that the project should continue to be executed within UNESCO beyound the above-mentioned date. This, it was agreed, would ensure the universality, high quality and prestige of the Work. It was also agreed that the continuation of the project should not pose any financial problems, in view of the readiness of the World Islamic Call Society (WICS) to finance all the six volumes.

7 6. Given these considerations, the Committee adopted unanimously the following decisions : 1. that the maximum effort be deployed in order to publish all publishable volumes by the end of 1997; 2 that with regard to volumes which cannot be published before this date, especially volumes III and VI, the Committee should recommend to the Director-General the extension of the deadline to the year 2000; 3. that a delegation comprising three members of the Committee, including the Chairman, should travel to Paris in order to present the case to the Director- General; 4. that the Committee extends its thanks to the World Islamic Call Society for its generous support; 5. that the Secretariat may publish a brochure indicating the progress of work and highlighting the importance of the endeavour. Finally, with regard to the expected retirement of the Programme Specialist in charge of the project at the end of 1996, the Committee agreed that while it would not interfere with UNESCO s administrative prerogatives. it appeals to the Director-General in the hope that he may ensure the continuity of the services deployed for the implementation of the project. This continuity, it was agreed, was of vital importance for the speedy and successful execution of the project. Closing of the meeting As some members of the Committee had to leave a day before the end of the session, the Committee took note and approved those parts of the Final Report which were ready at the time, on the understanding that the report, once completely drafted, be sent to the members for final approval. The Chairman then thanked the members of the International Scientific Committee for their good work and announced, in terms approved unanimously, that the Committee

8 7. expressed its profound satisfaction with the admirable manner in which the Secretariat had carried out its work and organized the meeting. With this announcement made, the Chairman declared the meeting closed.

9 8. Committee members Mr Ravane M Baye Mr Ahmad al-hassan Mr Abdelwahab Bouhdiba Mr Albert Zaki Iskandar Mr Idris El-Hareir Participants Co-Editor of Volume V Mr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu Observers Mr Enes Karic Mr A. Mansour (ALECSO) Mr El-Sherif (representing the World Islamic Call Society) Members of the Secretariat Mr Christophe Wondji, DIR/CLT/CID a.i. Mr Abdelrashid Mahmoudi, Programme specialist in charge of the project, CLT/CID Ms Zoé Cartron, Secretary, CLT/CID Committee members unable to attend Mr Halil Inalcik Mr I.I. Nawwab Mr Z.I. Ansari Mr A. S. Taieb Mr Mukti Ali