11th International Islam and Liberty Conference
Istanbul, 18th -19th October 2024
The role of civil values and institutions in Muslim societies
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Call for submissions is now closed.
Introduction
The Islam and Liberty Network (ILN) Foundation is a network of researchers, academics and public intellectuals committed to demonstrating the consistency of universal values of freedoms with Islam, through scholarly research and public dialogue. Founded in 2011, and governed by an international council, ILN is registered as a Labuan foundation in Malaysia. The mission of the Foundation is “to advance the understanding of religious, political and economic freedom for peace and prosperity in Muslim majority countries and beyond.”
Our work has particularly remained focused on Muslim majority countries, but it has also intellectually engaged other societies particularly where Islam and Muslim communities have been criticised and perceived as a threat to liberalism and a free society, as well as where the civil and individual rights of Muslims have been challenged.
The Islam and Liberty International Conference is our flagship event which offers scholars and researchers around the world the opportunity to present original work on these themes. The 11th International Conference of the Islam and Liberty Network (ILN) Foundation seeks to find intellectual and academic arguments for building civil and political institutions for a free society in the Muslim world and beyond.
Building Hypotheses
Statism is an idea where a state, as a central authority, defines the standards, institutions and rules which govern the collective manifestations of a society in economic, political and social domains. In contrast, a civil society can be loosely described as collective expression of voluntary associations amongst individuals, in the form of markets, mosques, political associations, labour unions and neighbourhood associations. Centralized economic planning is an example of statism whereas free markets represent voluntary association. Dictatorship is an example of statism whereas democracy is linked with civil society. A hierarchical religious organization with enforcement powers is an example of a statist institution whereas religious freedom enjoyed by citizens is an example of civil freedom.
While illiberalism and populism are mostly threats to western democracies, Muslim countries suffer from oligarchic and statist establishments that are incompatible with pluralist liberal democracies, freedom of expression and free enterprise. It is posited that one of the fundamental challenges to liberal democracies in many Muslim majority countries is the resistance of established military bureaucratic organizations to democratic and civil society institutions.
At its inception in the 7th Century, Islam embraced free trade and open markets and limited government. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) established a marketplace with no tariffs after establishing a masjid. Later generations of Muslims expanded global trade and developed new instruments to promote commerce. Many of these instruments remain in use in different forms today. Early Islamic history also saw the emergence and adoption of voluntary charitable institutions such as Waqf, which played a central role in socio-economic development in Islamic civilization until the occupation of these lands by colonial regimes.
Call for Submissions
The Islam and Liberty Network (ILN) Foundation opens its call for submission of papers for its 11th International Conference to be convened in Istanbul on 18th-19th October 2024. The call is open to researchers, scholars, academics and others with a demonstrated interest in the subjects and themes related to religious, political and economic freedoms particularly in Muslim societies, but not necessarily limited to them. Indicative questions include:
Prospective authors and speakers are invited to submit their expression of interest in the form of an abstract or a short article while considering the following instructions:
Administrative Instructions
Authors should also submit a brief biography, profile picture, email address, institutional affiliation, and country of residence.
For any inquiries, please write to ali@islamandlibertynetwork.org.
PARTNERS
