The specialization of Islamic jurisprudence must be respected, said Al-Turki (C)

By Nadia El-Awady, IOL Staff  

DUBAI, March 24 (IslamOnline.net) – The seventh International Conference on the Scientific Signs in the Qur’an and Sunnah ended on Thursday, March 25, with calls for more solid and organized research.

The modest standard of some presentations in this year’s three-day conference raised controversy among participants and organizers alike.

“Every field has its specialists.  And (in the case of scientific signs in the Qur’an), the specialization of Islamic jurisprudence must be respected,” said Abdullah Al-Turki, the Secretary General of the Muslim World League.

“We must be careful in explaining the meanings of Qur’anic verses and Prophetic Hadiths,” asserted Turki, also Head of the Board of Directors of the International Commission on the Scientific Signs.

“We should not speak until all precautions are taken.”

Nor Hayati Othman, deputy dean of Research and Professor of Pathology in the School of Medical Sciences in the Universiti Sains Malaysia, believed much still needs to be done by the International Commission on the Scientific Signs in the Qur’an and Sunnah.

Othman, one of the conference participants and presenters, said the commission should set up an institute for researchers to work on focused areas rather than “work on ad hoc areas that don’t create much impact”.

She added that “proceedings should be published in international languages and peer-reviewed science journals so they can form a basis of da’wa for non-Muslims”.

Disappointing

Milan Sulc, CEO of a Swiss company involved in software technology, described the conference as a disappointment.

He complained that many of the presentations failed to deal with pure science as it relates to the Qur’an and Sunnah.

Instead, presenters focused on the ‘bleeding obvious’ with regards to the scientific information presented, instead of talking about the scientific signs mentioned in the Qur’an, said Sulc.

He noted that listening to Finnish citizen Paula Mattilla declaring the embracing of Islam during the closing ceremony was the best thing.

“Just listening to this lady makes it worthwhile coming here,” said Sulc, himself a Muslim convert.