Granada: The international conference on ‘The Andalusian Legacy and Civilisation: from its Birth to Contemporary Transformations’, started Wednesday at Euro Arab Foundation in Granada, Spain. The first day witnessed historians and academia highlighting the historical significance of Al Andalus and discussing the ways to revive it.
Chaired by Dr Mohammad Iqbal Farhat, associate professor, Department of Theology and Da’wa at Qatar University (QU), the inaugural session underlined the need for efforts to promote cultural exchange and strengthen relations between the Arab-Islamic world and Spain in its positive aspect.
Dr Mohammed Abu Bakr al-Muslih, assistant dean of academic affairs at QU, while delivering his opening remarks, noted that the conference is rich with cultural dialogue and studies that promote coexistence and understanding among civilisations, religions, nations and communities.
He noted that cultural dialogue and coexistence can be promoted through the dissemination of awareness about other civilisations. “The Andalusian legacy left by the Islamic civilisation in Spain and the Iberian Peninsula remains a pioneer of humanity’s creativity,” he said. HE the Secretary-General of the Qatar Committee for the Alliance of Civilisations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ambassador Abdullah bin Ahmed al-Sada said the conference is held in the light of the rapid transformations witnessed by the world at the political, economic, environmental and scientific levels, which call for remembering and benefiting from the Andalusian cultural heritage that has provided human history with the values of co-operation between nations, peoples and religions in addition to providing humanity with a lot of knowledge and technologies in the face of many challenges.
“This conference is in line with the general goal that the Qatari Committee for the Alliance of Civilisations seeks to achieve in the field of civilisational diplomacy. He noted that Qatar’s strategy in achieving the alliance of civilisations emphasises strengthening the principles of dialogue among civilisations and highlighting the Islamic cultural heritage that provided humanity with a distinguished model in construction, urbanisation and scientific and cognitive progress,” he said.
“We hope that this conference will come out with constructive and practical proposals and recommendations that can contribute to highlighting the bright image of the civilisational achievement that was achieved on the land of Al Andalus in fields of knowledge, arts and sciences,” he said, adding that it will strengthen and develop Arab-Spanish relations in various political, economic, commercial, cultural and scientific aspects.
Dr Anar Karimov, head of the Partnership and International Cooperation Sector of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Icesco) and former minister of culture of Azerbaijan; Pro Antonio Sánchez Ortega, executive secretary of the Euro-Arab Foundation, Prof Dr Ezzeddine Mamiche, chairman of the Preparatory Committee of the Conference; and Dr Raid Jamil Mohammad Okashah, academic adviser at Institute of Islamic Thought attended the inaugural session.
The inaugural day hosted sessions on ‘Andalusian Legacy: The Rise, Evolution and Interaction, ‘Andalusian Legacy and its Role in Cultural Interaction’ and ‘Andalusian Jurisprudence and Legal Legacy and its Role in Interacting with Calamities’. Also, a workshop was held on ‘Methodology for Dealing with Western Thought’.
The two-day conference is organised by the Icesco Chair for the Alliance of Civilisations at the College of Sharia and Islamic Studies at QU in co-operation with the Quality and Sustainable Development Foundation, Euro Arab Foundation for Higher Studies, Qatar Committee for the Alliance of Civilisations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Icesco, Journal of Sharia and Islamic Studies-Kuwait University and the International Institute of Islamic Thought, and the Institute for Philosophical Studies- Europe, Brussels.
The conference features speakers from Qatar, Spain, Kuwait, Oman, the US, Canada, India, Kenya, Jordan, Morocco, Algeria, Iraq and Turkiye in various sessions.
