Dialogue with the other main concern of our time — Prince Hassan

AMMAN — The impact of Islamic studies on the West is the focus of a three-day conference which began in Amman on Tuesday. 

The International Conference on The Islamic Sciences in the Western World (Middle Ages — Renaissance) Exchanges, Transmission, Influence, brings together scientists and researchers from the Arab world and beyond. 

The conference, organised by the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies (RIIFS) in cooperation with the International Union of Academies (UAI), Petra University and UNESCO, will review the impact of Islamic studies on the West, using foreign studies to assess this impact in detail.

Inaugurating the event, HRH Prince Hassan, who chairs the RIIFS, called for an approach to science which puts humankind at the centre of the equation of sustainability and development, to enable us to perform our duty, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

He said that the physical world yearns for order in chaos, highlighting the necessity to establish peace.

“The peace I am talking about is the one that starts from within, that reflects on addressing the shared responsibility in cooperation with science and politics; the medium and long term programmes specially in discussing energy, food and water.”  

Noting that Jordan is the second water poorest country worldwide, he asked “How can any country continue or survive without a proper regional method of dealing with water problem?”

He stressed the need for an integrated vision to establish peace with a proper knowledge of sustainable development, calling for a new humanitarian world order. 

The real form of capital is the human capital, Prince Hassan said, urging “intellectual-emotional” investment through what he called “The Paths of Thoughts” that can lead to mutual understanding.

Peace can be realised through international cooperation and sharing of responsibility in dealing with politics and science, the prince highlighted, adding that this requires integration and coordination among various initiatives and a holistic vision that puts science in the service of peace. 

The prince said that the interfaith dialogue between the followers of religion is also between those with non-religion, adding “The main concern now is how to dialogue with the other.” 

UAI Deputy Secretary General Jean-Luc De Paepe gave a briefing about the union, which was created in 1919 in Paris with a general secretariat established in Brussels. It is currently made up of more than 100 academies from 63 countries, including Jordan.

Majida Omar, RIIFS’ director, highlighted the importance of the conference in researching our mutual history and knowledge, which helps on the road to progress.