May 28-29, 2004
Wyndham Washington D.C. Hotel
1400 M Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20005

Justice (‘adl) is central to Islam.  Muslims are told in the Qur’an that establishing justice on earth should be one of their primary goals and responsibilities. Justice in Islam has connotations of fairness, of reciprocity, of being equal to all, and of compromise on the basis of equality.  In slightly more political terms, justice requires consensus (ijma’a) and consultation (shura). This suggests that justice is the foundation of democracy. Justice also evidences itself in democracy in the additional facets of politics, economics, social structures, gender and law.  What is the best way to establish justice in Muslim countries and to redress the inequalities, injustices, and discriminatory practices that are prevalent today?  Papers will hopefully address these and related questions, keeping the cultural context of Islam always in mind.  To this end, CSID invites conference participants to propose and present papers on the following five topics: 

1.      What are the political foundations of justice and their relationship to democracy in Muslim states? What does it mean to say that consensus and consultation are the basis of political justice?

2.      How central is economic justice to democracy in Islamic societies? Does Islam have a just theory of economics?  What examples from the past and the present can best reflect this theory?

3.      Does social organization limit justice in Islam? Are the traditional patterns of social organization and authority in Islam just? 

4.      What constitutes justice for women in Islamic democracy? What is the meaning of justice for women in Islamic democracy?  Can women participate as equals to men in society?

5.      How is the justice of religious law (sharia) related to democracy? Is the justice of Sharia laws democratic? What legal structures and protections are required to administer justice?

Please submit a paper proposal (400 words or less) by March 15, 2004, that addresses one of the above themes, to: 

Prof. Akbar Ahmed, Chair, Conference Program Committee, 1050 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 1000, Washington DC, 20036.  Tel. (202) 772-2022. Fax. (704) 846-0629   E-mail: conference@islam-democracy.org

Authors of accepted papers are notified by April 10, 2004, and final papers are due by May 15, 2004.

 Download Call for Papers (in PDF)

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