INTRODUCTION

It is a common realization that over a period of time the West's material and technological development has outstripped that of the East. Forces of globalization and dominance of Western culture have become gradually pronounced as the old millennium has given way to the new. The reasons for these phenomena have since been pondered over by scholars and observers all over the world.

Within the East, the Muslim culture and polity have particularly felt the impact of these phenomena. This is so because, for a long time, Muslims had led the West in almost all fields of knowledge. For them it is difficult to reconcile with the fact that they are somehow being left behind in the manysided advancements that are taking place in the world. Since Islam's ideological framework is distinctly different from that of the West's ways of thought and approaches, questions that arise about this lag relate in one way or the other to this difference, and thus touch on delicate sensitivities.

An unfortunate outcome of the 9/ 11 tragedy has been an increase in the misgivings about Islam in the West, which continues to be an alarming and disconcerting trend, despite the lip service being paid by the power magnates in the West to the greatness of Islam as a religion. This trend has made the Muslim Ummah ever more conscious of the gaps existing between it and the West, not only in material terms but also in conceptual terms.

Whether there is a scope for modernization without compromising on the basics, is the most crucial of the questions that arise in the conceptual context in the Muslim world. Besides, issues relating to a whole political, cultural, educational, economic and resource management spectrum continue to tax the minds of those who would like to see the Muslim world keep pace with the progress of the world at large.

Thus, there is a recognized need for serious and systematic analysis of the reasons for the growing disparities between the Western and the Muslim worlds. It is also necessary to examine objectively how the misgivings can be removed, confrontation avoided, and reconciliation brought about with the West, without sacrificing Islam's own cherished ideology. Furthermore, the parameters of a cohesive effort need to be examined in detail and set, to develop the Muslim world in consonance with the vast resources that this world enjoys.

The OIC Summit, held in Malaysia, has been timely in focusing on the major problems being faced and the broader issues coming up in the above context. While the Summit has brought them into the limelight, the problems and issues need to scrutinized and examined in depth.

As an independent contribution towards that end, Hamdard Foundation Pakistan a multi directional institution devoted to educational, health and social services and development has decided to sponsor an International Conference, to be held under the auspices of Shura Hamdard Pakistan the Foundation's think tank and catalytic organ. The Conference is aimed at reflecting on the challenges being faced by the Muslim Ummah in the modern world, as well as to highlight the opportunities that may exist and the potential that may need to be tapped for development.

Venue and Date

The Conference will be held from 3 5 September 2004 at the Karachi Sheraton Hotel.

Conference Coverage

CThe three day Conference will have five sessions, including an Inaugural Session to be held in the afternoon of Friday, 3 September. The Inaugural Session, besides having an Inaugural Address, expected to be delivered by the President of Pakistan, will be keynoted by Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad, former Prime Minister of Malavsia. Four Working Sessions, to be held in the mornings and the afternoons of Saturday, 4 September, and Sunday, 5 September, will cover the following themes:

Political Environment, National and International Linkages in the Islamic World, and Opportunities for Further Cohesion Economic, Financial and Trade Status Challenges and Opportunities Human Resource Development Status and Scope for Educational and Technological Advancement, Co operation and Exchange Conservatism and Moderation True Perspectives of Concepts such as `Fundamentalism', `Terrorism' and `Jihad', and Parameters of Liberalism The Conference will come to a close in the afternoon of 5 September 2004.

Organizing Committee President

Mrs Sadia Rashid.

Members

Mr S. M. Zafar
Justice (Retd) Haziqul Khairi
Dr Abdul Matin
Admiral (Retd) Iftikhar Ahmed Sirohey
Mr Mazhar Ali Khan Arif

The Organizers have invited renowned scholars, professionals, technocrats and opinion makers, from the Muslim world and beyond, to attend the Conference and contribute to the subjects outlined above. Similar contributors have been invited from within the country to give lectures and read papers, as well as to be the discussants of the various papers and lectures.

A Brief Introduction

Shura Hamdard Pakistan is the think tank and catalytic organ of Hamdard Foundation Pakistan a multi faceted institution strongly committed to educational, social and health development and welfare in the country.

Think tanks comprising eminent scholars, experts, professionals and technocrats are not an uncommon feature of various countries of the world. Through their collective efforts towards determining the best courses of action, such think tanks shape public opinion and assist the authorities of the country in understanding the present better and in planning for the future more effectively. Shaheed Hakim Mohammed Said, a leading visionary, was the one who felt the need for such a think tank in Pakistan and made a beginning in 1961 with a consultative forum called Sham i Hamdard.

The objective of this forum was broadly to raise the overall intellectual level and understanding of the nation in consonance with the inherent greatness of Pakistan, a God given new country in the world. In this forum, a selected person, of recognized merit and stature in any field of knowledge or walk of life, would present the essence of his thoughts and experiences, on a given subject, in one of the cities of the country, on a given day, and would thus not only endeavour to enhance common knowledge on that subject, but help in pointing the way towards desired avenues of action. This practice continued month after month for about thirty five years. Over this long period, those who contributed to these thoughtprovoking and action guiding exercises belonged to such diverse fields, among others, as education, research, literature, legislation, justice, administration, and the armed forces.

`Esteemed Chairmen and Respected Speakers of Sham iHamdard: You are certainly the elite intellectuals of Pakistan and have, as a whole, an edge over the Parliament and every Assembly. Please come forward and help me in this national service. I know very well, and you can also appreciate it, that holding the traditional Sham i Hamdard was easier and holding the Shura Hamdard Pakistan every month is a much more difficult and greater responsibility. In the interest of building up Pakistan, I accept this responsibility, while realizing that in this context your responsibilities would also be onerous. Let us work together with utmost sincerity, good intentions and impartiality, and consider it a national duty to laud those in authority for their good deeds and take exception to their errors'.

Responding to this invitation of Hakim Said, a large number of the country's men of thought and action agreed to go along with him. The first meeting of Shura Hamdard was held in January 1995. In the nine years since then, as many as 490 meetings have been held in various cities of Pakistan.

On the platform of this reconstituted forum, innumerable national and international matters and themes have been deliberated upon so far. Among other important and sensitive issues, these have included matters relating to education, society, economy, regions, water resources, Muslim Ummah, external relations, research avenues, international developments and their far reaching influences, and so on and so forth. A summary of the deliberations of each meeting is invariably circulated among the concerned authorities and organizations for consideration, follow up and appropriate action. The deliberations thus are always action oriented.

During the past nine years, several irreplaceable contributors, including the founder Hakim Said, have departed from this world. To cope with changing circumstances and emerging challenges, the search for and inclusion in Shura Hamdard of men and women having mature and positive thinking, and a zest for national service, continues in accordance with a set programme,,and will continue, Allah willing, in the future as well.

May Allah continue to help and guide us.