in late October, the Ansari Institute hosted over 20 scholars and practitioners from the United States and abroad to discuss the future of Islamism globally. The convening was the culmination of a multi-year project of the Hollings Center for International Dialogue funded by the Henry Luce Foundation whereby conversations were held to discuss the future of Islamism in a changing global context.
With a carefully crafted agenda the two-day roundtable was developed with the intent to cover several distinct and yet related topics and included conversations around Islam in the New Geopolitics, American Islam and Culture Wars, and Reformulating Muslim Politics. Participants - operating under the Chatham House rule in that their comments would not be attributed and even their participation would remain anonymous - were each offered the opportunity to listen to commentaries offered by their peers and then to respond with their own reflections and/or counter thoughts.
During the day and a half packed with discussions, participants voiced distinct views as to what the future of Muslim politics might look like on a global scale given shifting geopolitical orders and the influence of the culture wars. While there was a general agreement that Islamic thought is currently being revisited in ways that are not too dissimilar from insider conversations taking place in other communities of faith, there was no general consensus on whether a new orthodoxy might emerge. The final conversations acknowledged gratitude for the opportunity to speak openly and authentically around difficult topics.
Originally published by at ansari.nd.edu on December 28, 2023.