Qatar University’s (QU) Ibn Khaldon Center for Humanities and Social Sciences organized yesterday a lecture titled ‘Islam and the West’ delivered by His Excellency Dr. Ibrahim Kalin, Spokesman for the Turkish Presidency, in which he discussed the relationship between Islamic and Western civilizations and its various dimensions.
The event was attended by a number of dignitaries including Sheikh Thani Bin Hamad Al Thani, QU President Dr. Hassan Al-Derham, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Qatar HE Dr. Ibrahim Bin Saleh Al-Naimi, Qatar's former Minister of Energy and Industry Mohamed Al-Sada, QU’s Chief Strategy & Development Officer Dr. Khalid Mohamed Al-Khanji, QU’s Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies Prof. Mariam Ali Al-Maadeed.
HE Dr. Ibrahim Kalin first thanked the University for the invitation and expressed his happiness at visiting Qatar for the talk. He said, “I am very happy to be here at Qatar University, because Qatar is not only a country that we have an excellent relationship with, but it has also become a major hub, a major regional power, with the work it has been doing under the able leadership HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in security, regional issues, economy, mediation, regional affairs, but also in science and education. The educational initiatives taken here in Qatar from this university to Education City and many other research centers in many different areas represent a model and shows that human capacity can be developed in different ways.”
During the talk Dr. Ibrahim Kalin spoke about the history, the many schools of thinking and phenomenons including eurocentrism and perceptions of Muslims and Islam over the years. He stressed the need for Muslims to study this history to understand themselves and to give a new direction to global politics so that the long-term impact of any tensions between Islamic and Western societies is positive. He says, “We have to study this history for our own self-perception and self-view. We have to overcome eurocentrism and Occidentalism; develop our own identity without necessarily turning every ‘other’ into an enemy.”
In conclusion, Dr. Ibrahim answered questions from the audience. The lecture, which took place in the University was also available for the public via online stream.