Association of Muslim Social Scientists

Association of Muslim Social Scientists
Name	Association of Muslim Social Scientists
Founded	1980s
Type	Professional association
Headquarters	United States
Region served	International
Fields	Social science

Association of Muslim Social Scientists is a professional association formed to connect scholars of Muslim background across disciplines to address social issues and public policy. It emerged amid debates involving religious identity in academic discourse, engaging with scholars, institutions, and civil society organizations to influence debates on law, rights, migration, development, and culture. The association has interacted with a wide array of actors and events across North America, Europe, South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

History

The organization traces roots to networks formed after the Iranian Revolution and during the aftermath of the Soviet–Afghan War, when academics associated with universities such as Harvard University, Columbia University, University of Chicago, University of Oxford, and University of Cambridge convened with scholars from Al-Azhar University, University of Karachi, Aga Khan University, Cairo University, and University of Cairo to discuss responses to events like the Camp David Accords and the Gulf War (1990–1991). Early meetings included participants connected to think tanks like the Brookings Institution, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Chatham House. Prominent intellectuals associated with similar circles included figures linked to Edward Said, Noam Chomsky, Amartya Sen, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, and Fazlur Rahman; networks also overlapped with activists from Muslim Brotherhood-related debates, lawyers from American Civil Liberties Union, and policy scholars who engaged with commissions such as the Commission on Human Rights. The association expanded through collaborations with regional bodies such as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the African Union, the European Union, UNESCO, and the United Nations system during the 1990s and 2000s.

Mission and Objectives

The association set objectives to support scholars in forums involving institutions like Princeton University, Yale University, Stanford University, McGill University, and University of Toronto while addressing issues arising from legislation and cases in jurisdictions including United States Supreme Court, European Court of Human Rights, Supreme Court of Pakistan, and Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt. It aimed to influence policy debates alongside organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, International Crisis Group, Open Society Foundations, and national bodies like United States Congress, UK Parliament, and Parliament of Canada through briefings, testimony, and collaborative reports. Objectives emphasized interdisciplinary engagement with academics from institutes such as the Max Planck Institute, the Institute of Social Studies, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, and the Middle East Institute.

Membership and Organization

Membership drew scholars affiliated with departments and centers at institutions including London School of Economics, SOAS University of London, Leiden University, University of Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Tehran, Ankara University, Istanbul University, American University of Beirut, and University of Jordan. Governance structures resembled models used by associations like the American Sociological Association, the American Political Science Association, and the Association of Asian Studies with executive committees, regional chapters, and advisory boards populated by academics connected to prizes like the Nobel Prize, fellowships such as the Fulbright Program, and membership in academies including the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the British Academy. Regional branches coordinated with local institutions such as the Islamic Research and Training Institute, Center for Strategic Studies, and national research councils.

Activities and Programs

Programs included seminars, workshops, and training modeled after initiatives run by Carnegie Mellon University, Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University, New York University, and University of California, Berkeley; public lectures featured speakers associated with the Kennedy School, the Hoover Institution, and the Smithsonian Institution. The association organized policy briefings for ministries like the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Turkey), the Ministry of Education (Pakistan), and agencies such as the United States Agency for International Development, coordinating capacity-building with NGOs including International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, and Oxfam.

Publications and Research

The association produced working papers and journals resembling formats of Journal of Islamic Studies, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Comparative Studies in Society and History, American Journal of Sociology, and World Development. Collaborative research projects engaged faculty from Columbia Law School, Harvard Law School, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, and institutes like the Brookings Doha Center and the Middle East Technical University. Topics intersected with case studies from countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Morocco, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Nigeria, and cited legal precedents from courts like the Constitutional Court of Indonesia and the Federal Court of Australia.

Conferences and Events

Annual conferences were held in cities including New York City, London, Istanbul, Cairo, Lahore, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Riyadh, Doha, and Johannesburg, often in partnership with universities like Zayed University, Ain Shams University, University of Cape Town, and University of the Punjab. Panels mirrored themes discussed at events such as the World Economic Forum, the Hamburg Summit, the Saban Forum, and the Aspen Ideas Festival, and invited keynote speakers associated with institutions like the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Impact and Criticism

The association influenced curricula and policy discussions at institutions including UCLA, Michigan State University, Boston University, University of Melbourne, and Monash University and contributed expertise to commissions like the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa) and national inquiry bodies. Critics compared its orientation to debates involving Orientalism (book), contested positions taken by think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation and the Center for Security Policy, and public intellectual controversies involving Christopher Hitchens, Samuel P. Huntington, Bernard Lewis, and Ibn Khaldun-inspired historiography. Debates focused on perceived biases similar to critiques leveled at networks connected with Islamic Relief or political movements such as Hizb ut-Tahrir, and scrutiny arose from media outlets like The New York Times, The Guardian, and Al Jazeera.

Category:Academic organizations