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

CSID’s Fifth Annual Conference offers a unique forum to examine the best way to establish justice in Muslim countries and to address the inequalities, injustices, and discriminatory practices that are prevalent today. Since the Qur’an states that one of the primary goals and responsibilities of Muslims is establishing justice on earth, justice (adl) is central to Islam. Justice in Islam requires fairness, reciprocity, and equality. Since it also mandates consensus (ijma’a) and consultation (shura), justice is the foundation of democracy.

There are 2 ways to register:

• Mail in the Registration Form along with payment.

• Register online using Entango, the leader in secure online payment processing for non-profit organizations.

This conference provides an opportunity to explore the following questions: 

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?

Program Chair: Prof. Akbar Ahmed – American University, Washington, DC

Contact CSID Conference Coordinator, Ms Layla Sein, sein@Islam-democracy.org or call (202) 942-2185

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