Call for Papers: Zaytuna College Conference on Higher Education

Zaytuna College invites scholars and researchers to submit abstracts for the 2nd Annual
Conference on Islamic Higher Education.

Forging Islamic Authority: Navigating Text and Context in the Modern World

Berkeley, California | Saturday, April 4, 2015

Abstract Deadline: February 15, 2015

The Muslim world is in crisis, and the crisis is multi-layered. In many ways, the crisis revolves
around the issue of Islamic authority. If international law recognizes nation states, what role is
there for solidarity on the basis of a trans-national ummah? With national boundaries, to what
extent can Muslims have solidarity with non-Muslims, whether as minorities in non-Muslim
lands or in countries with a Muslim majority? Are there limits to a believer’s allegiance to a
secular state? What texts are to be considered authoritative when approaching these questions?
And is there one locus or multiple loci for legitimate interpretive authority? While the focus of
the public discourse remains on the headlines, a much deeper epistemic debate is at hand
centering on re-constituting Islamic authority in the post-Ottoman, nationalist and post-colonial
periods. The complexity of this debate is muddled by a set of external circumstances that
impinge into a scholar’s inner sanctum: globalization, neoliberal economics, corporatization, and
commodification of knowledge, all of which challenge traditional frameworks for analysis and
modes of transmission. Attempts at re-constituting Islamic authority have taken many forms but
questions still remain. Indeed, we have arrived at a point where Islamic authority is limited, non-
existent, sidelined, or mocked due to engagement in tangential and inconsequential debates.
Where are we? Who are “we?” And where are we going?

Papers may engage the above theme from any perspective, including the following:

· Academic vs. traditional authority

· Cosmopolitanism and multiculturalism
· Science and technology
· Institution-building and citizenship
· Geopolitics, power, and economic interests
· Race and gender
· Educational philosophy and the human person

The above list is meant to be illustrative, not exhaustive. Individual papers will be combined to
form thematic panels; pre-organized panels are welcome. Submit a 300-word abstract in a
Microsoft Word or pdf document, with a short bio, to Dr. Hatem Bazian hbazian@zaytuna.org

Abstract Deadline: Feb. 15, 2015

Note: No late abstracts will be accepted. The final papers are due April 1, 2015.