Fourth IIGS International Conference on the Muslim World

The Fourth International Conference on the Muslim World, organizedby the International Islamic Geographic Society, was hosted by Al al-BaytUniversity, Amman, Jordan. This four-day conference brought together adistinguished international gathering of geographers and social scientiststo discuss issues of concern to Muslim countries. The conference was heldin a very pleasant, cordial, and hospitable environment, and the excursiontrip at its end, which provided an opportunity to visit historical places andarchaeological sites, made it all the more enjoyable and memorable.The conference was comprised of five regular sessions and featuredsixteen presentations before a select audience of no more than fifty individuals.Mohammad Adnan Al-Bakhit, president of Al al-Bayt University,gave the welcoming address. He greeted the participants wannly andexpressed the hope that this conference would promote research and motivateyoung Muslim geographers to undertake scholarly pursuits. He saidthat the university is committed to promoting scientific research, with anIslamic outlook, in all fields of knowledge. Mushtaqur Rehman, IIGS secretaryand prominent Muslim geographer and anthropologist, pronouncedthe conference's theme, highlighted its multidisciplinary dimensions, andelaborated on its significance to the Muslim world, which has seriousdevelopmental problems.The first session, chaired by Rehman, started with Hussain A. Amery'sinsightful examination of water management in the geopolitical context ofthe Middle East. He emphasized the need for cooperation among theregion's Muslim states and the use of new technologies for harvesting waterand treating waste water for reuse. A. R. Hamideh focused on the issue ofpopulation growth in Muslim countries and refuted categorically the argumentof Western anthropologists that the Islamic value system is a majorobstacle in dealing with demographic issues.Session two was chaired by Hani D. Tabba and featured three presentations.A. Hussain examined the nation-state in a historical perspective aRdargued that unless Muslim countries abandon this structure, they will beunable to establish an Islamic Common Market and will not achieve economicdevelopment. Abdel Bagi investigated the socioeconomic problemsof rural-urban migration, largely due to desertification, in Sudan. He suggestedthe formulation of policies designed to revitalize the rural economy422and thereby reverse this migration. Salman Abu Settah examined thePalestinian Holocaust of 1984 and deplored the media’s efforts to keep theJewish Holocaust alive while largely ignoring Palestinian massacres, suffering,and humiliation which has been forgotten by the world. Rasheed Al-Feel discussed Muslim problems in a geographical context and concludedthat they could be molved by mobilizing resources and promoting inter-Muslim trade.Session three was chaired by Omar Shadaifat and included two presentations.Rue1 Hanks gave an objective assessment of Uzbekistan’s contemporarysociopolitical environment and concluded that the presentIslamist-secular confrontation will soon end, marking a clear victory forthose committed deeply to an Islamic way of life. Ahmad Agala examinedJordan’s political system and observed that popular participation in Jordanis far higher than in many Muslim republics. Yaser M. Najjar evaluatedJordan’s development planning and remarked that a capital-poor countrylike Jordan cannot achieve industrialization without borrowing high-costcapital and technology from abroad. He suggested that economic cooperationamong Muslim countries could help resolve the problem of capitalscarcity. S. Ali Khan investigated the process of development from the capitalistand Islamic perspectives. He pointed out that material well-being iscapitalism’s only goal, whereas the Islamic approach stresses the realizationof both material and spiritual well-being. He also stated that the realizationof both goals is possible only through restructuring the existing politicaland economic institutions within the context of an Islamic social order ...