Adelaide, Australia (IINA) – A free public international conference will be held at the University of Adelaide in South of Australia from July 20 to 23 in order to celebrate the history and culture of knowledge, discovery and artistic expression within the Muslim world, NewsMaker online reported.
Called ‘ILM: Science, Religion, and Art in Islam,” the conference takes its name from the Arabic word ‘ilm (pronounced: elm), a term spanning various concepts of knowledge, religion and art.
The international conference, which also includes a free public exhibition at the Art Gallery of South Australia features speakers on a range of topics, such as: the history of Islamic art; the nexus between religion and science, as well as its conflicts and challenges; and the future of Islamic art in a digital world.
Founding Director of the Centre for Asian and Middle Eastern Architecture at the University of Adelaide Professor Samer Akkach is organizing the conference. “Historically, there has been no specific word for ‘science’ in Arabic,” says Professor Akkach.
“This is one of the reasons that make ‘ilm a fascinating word. It is a complex, multifaceted Arabic term used to denote the many aspects of knowing and knowledge acquisition, production, and dissemination including teaching and learning, education, and science, as well as comprehension, perception, feeling, experience, and familiarity.
“From ‘ilm also comes the term lam, ‘world’, signifying that the divine creative act is fundamentally an act of knowing and an expression of knowledge,” he says.
“Through the Qur’an and Prophetic traditions, Islam has placed a strong emphasis on ‘ilm, considering the seeking of knowledge to be obligatory on all Muslims.
“Our conference aims to celebrate multiple aspects of cultural production in Islam, particularly in the fields of science, religion, and the arts. By making this event free and open to the public, we hope to share a broader understanding of these cultural traits to the general community,” Professor Akkach said.