The symposium seeks to broaden the horizon of geographical, historical, and methodological consideration of the relionship between religion and society within the Islamic sphere to encompass all historical eras from the middle Ages to the present time, and to include various religious approaches, humanities and social sciences, in order to from a multidimensional picture that reveals the facets of this relationship. 

Symposium of the Department of Islamic Civilization at the Higher Institute of Islamic Civilization in Tunis Under the title Religion and Society in Islamic Civilization, 11-13 February 2025

Argument

There have been many scientific conferences that deal with the duality of religion and society, and studies have varied

The first and second conferences for the Association of Jewish Studies (Jewish worlds past and present mondes Juifs d'hier à aujourd'hui/ Jews and Judaism: History, Texts and Society Juifs et Judaïsme: Histoire, textes et sociétés), some of which focused on the Christian religion especially in the European sphere (Religion and Society in Europe: Determinants, Challenges and Prospects. Religion, Society, and State in the Ancient and Middle Christian Ages),

Some have approached Islam with a sociological, human, or philosophical approach, but in a specific area (Religion, Politics and Society: Humanitarian Dialogues / Religion and Society: A Sociological Study of Religiosity in Morocco / Religion and Society in Egypt: What is the relationship and how do we study it?)

Despite the plethora of studies and conferences on the subject, this duality between Religion and Society is still a topic that requires consideration because of its many dimensions, depending on the connection between religion and society in different civilizations.

Since ancient times, there are three issues that have not lost their relevance, one of which is has sometimes resulted in a kind of persecution of minorities.

This manifested itself in the conflict between paganism, Christianity, and Judaism during the first centuries of AD history (The Roman Empire), and continued in the middle Ages in the Christian sphere, especially in Europe.

The second issue involves the relationship between the religious and the political controversy within the Islamic sphere, and is in some ways related to the third issue

The third issue is the religious discourse, which has sometimes swept through public spaces;

and sometimes confined to specialized spaces such as the mosque, in interaction with it and its social effects.

New terms emerged in the 20th and early 21st centuries, such as 'Moderate Islam' or 'light' and 'extremist Islam'... This type of terminology is indicative of the problematic nature of religious discourse.

This kind of terminology indicates the problematic nature of religious discourse in the Islamic sphere, as it is the most influential and effective form of discourse which makes it tempting to use it in order to 'manipulate' the public or control “Manipulation" in the words of thinker Noam Chomsky.

The Qur'an, as the founding text of Islamic society, is the first source through which the relationship between religion and society in the land of Islam can be understood but it is indispensable for those who wish to explore this relationship with the other religious and literary sources that began to be written down during the second century of the Hijrah/eighth century.

While there have been various attempts by scholars to extrapolate these sources, each from their own point of view, the field remains open to learn about these attempts by adopting new scholarly approaches and digging into documents that researchers have not yet drawn attention to.

This is the purpose of organizing a symposium at the Department of Islamic Civilization at the Higher Institute of Islamic Civilization under the title: Religion and Society in Islamic civilization.

This symposium seeks to broaden the horizon of geographical, historical, and methodological consideration of the relationship between religion and society within the Islamic sphere to encompass all historical eras from the Middle Ages to the present time, and to include various religious approaches (Qur'anic sciences, Hadith sciences theology), humanities and social sciences (philosophy, history, sociology, anthropology, linguistics...), in order to form a multidimensional picture that reveals the facets of this relationship  its interactions, and its issues, as the following themes indicate:

Theoretical axis

Approaches that can be activated in the study of the relationship between religion and society:

• Semantic linguistic approach
• Sociological approach
• Anthropological approach
• Philosophical approach

The diversity of religions in Arab-Islamic societies and the question of coexistence

Forms of relationship between Muslims and minorities:

• Jurisprudential and legal relationship
• Economic relationship
• Cultural relationship
• Political relationship

The Impact of Religious Discourse in Determining Societal Lifestyles

Religion and Space

• Religion and religious spaces (mosques, churches, corners, associations...)
• Religion and civic spaces (associations/media/education...)

Religious discourse

• Functions of religious discourse in Islamic society
• Problems of religious discourse in Islamic society
• Relationship of Religious Discourse to Reference Texts

Religious Institutions in Islamic Society

• Fatwa Houses
• Mosques, Zawiyas, Arbat
• Sufi orders
• Kuttabs and religious schools
• Universities of religious sciences: Al-Zaytuna, Al-Azhar, ...

Religious actors in Islamic society

• The jurist
• The preacher
• Friday preacher
• Sheikh of the Sufi order...

Submission guidelines

Abstracts and interventions should be sent to the following email address: colloquereligionsociete@gmail.com

Presentations are accepted in Arabic, French and English.

The Scientific Committee and the Organizing Committee are open to those who wish to join one or both of them from the professors of the Higher Institute of Islamic Civilization.

The institution does not cover travel and accommodation expenses. 

Appointment

• September 16, 2024 deadline for abstracts

• September 30, 2024 deadline for responses to abstracts
• December 16, 2024 deadline to accept edited submissions
• February 11-13, 2025 Symposium Completion

Coordination and Committees

Coordinator:

• Dr. Abdelbaset Amidi

Scientific Committee:

• Prof. Dr. Bouthaina Jelassi,
• Dr. Rafia Attia,
• Dr. Naji El Hajlaoui,
• Dr. Salah Al-Din Al-Amri,
• Dr. Abdessalam Al-Hamdi,
• Dr. Aisha Al-Hadhiri,
• Dr. Ali Ben Sassi,
• Dr. Habib Al-Nahdi.,
• Dr. Abdelbaset Amidi,
• Dr. Jamal Bouajaja.

Organization Committee

• Dr. Dorra Ben Sedrine,
• Dr. Abdessalam Hamdi,
• Dr. Ali Ben Sassi.