(AhlulBayt News Agency) - The international conference on Islamic studies will be the first of its kind.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will preside over the opening of the conference as about 400 participants will attend the meeting at the College of Islamic Studies, Prince of Songkhla University in the southern province of Pattani.
Prof Dr Kanok Wongtrangan, Advisor to the Prime Minister said that after visiting Muslim majority countries in Africa in June, Thailand had an idea to seek international cooperation to build Islamic studies as a guideline in developing the world in all its facets including economy and world peace.
Strength in Islamic studies will pave the way for creating understanding and boosting economy, trade and joint investment in the future.
Concrete academic cooperation will help raise the standard of Islamic studies in Thailand to equal the world’s leading universities offering curricula on Islamic studies and to raise the quality of life of Muslims in Thailand sustainably, he said.
Samai Charoenchang, deputy chairman of The Central Islamic Committee of Thailand, said the upcoming conference is a good sign of offering potential to develop affection and cooperation of Muslims across the world through academic cooperation.
The way of life of Muslims guided by the Islamic religion, reinforced with education, will build understanding in the world’s Islamic culture, he said.
The conference aims to review the reality and utility of Islamic studies in Islamic world in general, in Thailand in particular, and thus benefits from experiences of institutions and individual experts in this field; in order to elevate the quality of the Islamic studies in a way that suits the challenges of post-globalization era.
The conference is co-organized by the university, Al-Azhar University (Egypt), Thailand's Office of the Sheikul Islam (Chularajamontri), Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA) and the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre.
/106