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This is the updated version of concept
paper that was prepared and written by Professor Omar Hasan Kasule MB ChB
(MUK), MPH (Harvard), DrPH (Harvard) Faculty of Medicine King Fahad Medical
City
1.0 DEFINING THE PRIORITIES
1.1 High
priorities:
Work in Europe
in the next decade will succeed if it is focused on the core mission of
knowledge reform and thought reform achieved through research followed by
publication, seminars and workshops, and specialized teaching programs.
The highest
priorities shall be (a) Early education and Parenting (b) Reform of higher
education curricula by research on the epistemology, methodology, ethics, and
outstanding intellectual issues of selected academic disciplines
1.2 Low priorities:
The following
activities shall have low/no priority rating and should be left to other
specialized agencies: (a) solving local community problems: rights (human
rights, family rights, religious rights, cultural rights), marginalization (social,
cultural, religious, economic, legal, immigration, poverty, and employment), internal
community problems (ethnic, sectarian, ideological, family breakdown, youth
problems) (b) da’awa and teaching of basics of religion (c) cultural and
religious dialog with others.
2.0 DEFINING THE PROBLEMS and THEIR SOLUTIONS
2.1 The knowledge and thought problems
The paper
starts from the assertion that 2 internal factors, a knowledge crisis and a
thought crisis, are major causes of ummatic weakness. These 2 factors combine
to lead to ummatic malaise manifesting in the religious, social, economic, and technological
dimensions.
2.2 The knowledge problem
The knowledge problem
arises out of the dichotomy in the education system (traditional religious vs
modern secular). The problem can be resolved by epistemological and methodology
reform of academic disciplines to conform to the paradigms of integration (takamul) and objectivity, istiqamat.
2.3 The thought problem
The thought problem
arises from misconceptions of textual applications to contemporary social
realities. Its solution is by 1. Clarifying basic paradigms using modern
terminology and 2. research using the various social science disciplines /
humanities to identify and define contemporary intellectual issues (qadhaya fukriyyat mu’asirat) in the community
and then propose solutions based on the bird-eye view frame-work of the higher
purposes, al maqasid.
3.0 DEFINING THE WORK PLAN
3.1 Mobilization
General 1-day
seminars held at academic centers will introduce the thought and knowledge
problems and motivate academics and postgraduate students to make contributions
to the programs. At a later stage these seminars will be used to disseminate
the products of research.
3.2 Research
Research
questions and plans shall be developed for specific problems of knowledge and
thought. Researchers will be funded to produce fully written and referenced papers
that shall be presented at small 1-day seminars. Each seminar will comprise 4-7
papers that will be discusses intensely and in detail to enable the author make
improvements. The revised papers of each seminar or group of related seminars shall
be published as a booklet (paper or online).
3.3 Teaching
Previously
published material and new publications from the research programs will be used
in in-class and on-line teaching programs under the auspices of TFI and in
collaboration with accredited universities / institutes. The theme of the
programs shall be contemporary intellectual issues (qadhaya fikriyyat mu’asirat). The programs will at 6 levels:
certificate, diploma, bachelors, masters, doctoral, and post-doctoral. The
fields covered by the teaching programs will be: 1. Education curricula and methods
(parenting, early education, elementary education), 2. Islamic studies (fiqh, ‘uluum al Qur;an, ‘uluum al hadith),
3. Epistemology and research methodology of social sciences / humanities
(economics, sociology, psychology, anthropology, political science, historiography
etc.). 4. Ethics of applied sciences (medical and health disciplines,
engineering, architecture, business, banking, finance, insurance, food and
nutrition etc).
3.4 Dissemination
Dissemination of
research will be by publishing e-books as well as e-journals and distributing
them online using websites, social media etc. This will be supplemented by
seminars, conferences, and teaching programs. All these activities shall be
out-sourced to specialized companies.
All existing publications with
epistemological, thought, educational, and social content shall be converted
into books-in-brief (BIB) and translated into the following European languages:
English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Turkish, Albanian, and Bosnian. Full
books will be translated/published if there is a demonstrable demand.
Academic electronic journals
shall be published in English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Turkish,
Albanian, and Bosnian and will be a medium of publication for postgraduate
students who will be involved in the academic programs.
Seminars and conferences shall be
planned in such a way that their proceedings will be published as
books/booklets
Teaching programs shall use
teaching material developed in-house with the aim of turning them eventually
into textbooks.
4.0
DETERMINING THE MANAGEMENT PLAN
4.1
Program directors
Academicians with substantial appointments and
office facilities at their own institutions will be appointed as honorary/part-time
program directors/coordinators in the following centers:
4.1.1
University of London
(for the UK, Ireland, and Nordic countries),
4.1.2
University Libre de Bruxelles (for
BENELUX countries, France, Switzerland, and other francophone countries),
4.1.3
Freie Universität Berlin (for
Germany and Central Europe)
4.1.4
University of Stockholm (for
the Nordic countries),
4.1.5
University of Sarajevo (for
Eastern and Southern Europe).
4.1.6
University of Madrid (for the
Iberian peninsula)
4.1.7
Moscow State University (for
the Russian Caucasus)
4.1.8
Fatih University in Istanbul (for
Turkey and the Turkish-speaking Central Asia). Each director can engage a
part-time academic assistant and a part-time administrative assistant.
4.2
Budgeting
The following activities shall be
out-sourced: 1. translation, publication, and distribution 2. Organizing
seminars, conferences, and workshops 3. Management of teaching programs. 4.
Setting up and maintaining websites and social media outlets.
The cost of publications shall be partially
recovered from sales mainly to academic institutions.
Teaching programs should be self-supporting
after 2-3 years.
Seminars and conferences shall be held at
free/rented university premises and some of the cost will be recovered by
charging registration fees.
NOTES
[1] This is an updated version of a paper first written
on January 31, 2013.