Dundee’s Al-Maktoum Institute for Islamic and Arabic Studies is now expected to lead the crucial international challenge of bridging the gap between the Muslim and western worlds in the battle against terrorism.
This was the view of the Institute’s Acting Principal, Professor Malory Nye in a Graduation Day speech today (Thursday, Feb 14) in which he also challenged those with the viewpoint that the gap represented “a clash of civilisations.” “What underpins all our programmes, courses and endeavours is our determination to bridge the gap between what is commonly called ‘Islam and the West’ – that is between the Muslim and western worlds,” said Professor Nye.
“Some people choose to talk this gap up as a ‘clash of civilisations’ but that is a viewpoint we reject.
“There is an undoubted need to build bridges between the western and Muslims worlds. This is a major 21st-century challenge and we are quite prepared to be at the forefront of the effort.
“In fact, we are happy to lead it and, in reality, it has become expected of us.”
He said the Al-Maktoum Institute was clearly making progress in this field but there was no doubt that a lot more hard work lay ahead that desperately needed to be done.
“The pressure, you could say, is on us thanks to our successes and the international community recognising us as a centre of excellence to promote multiculturalism and cultural engagement to help combat world extremism,” said the Professor.
He said that in the field of education in particular such bridges can and should be built. “We are doing this on a daily basis by bringing people, ideas, and worldviews together in the classroom to achieve our vision for multiculturalism,” said Professor Nye.
“As the Institute has clearly become a centre of excellence and the focus of international attention because of our courses, our research and our philosophy of promoting multiculturalism and cultural engagement to help combat world extremism, we are even more determined to lead by example. Our role, our position as an academic and cultural institute pursuing a new agenda for the study of Islam and Muslims is being noticed. The work we’ve started and its positive impact in this particular field is now being closely examined in a number of countries, including in the Arab Muslim world. We look to see how others may follow the vision and model established here in Dundee and how they will work to help us bridge the gaps that divide us.”
Today’s ceremony is the third graduation at the Institute held in conjunction with the University of Aberdeen, and will take the Institute’s total graduation roll up to 64 students from over twenty different countries.
The ceremony will also mark the completion of the fifth academic visit of UAE female students, taking the total number of students to visit Dundee on such visits up to 175 over the past five years.
