Date: November 15, 1997 Place: Annex Building, Faculty of Letters, the University of Tokyo Opening Speech: Prof. TAKESHITA Masataka Session I: Al-Afghani and His Days Prof. KURITA Yoshiko: Al-Afghani and His Critics Prof. NAKANISHI Hisae: Al-Afghani's Pan-Islamism and Struggle against the Imperialism Prof. ARAI Masami: The Ottoman Empire and Pan-Islamism Prof. OISHI Takashi: Al-Afghani in India Session II: Rethinking Al-Afghani Paper: Prof. HACHIOSHI Makoto Comment: Prof. IIZUKA Masato Session III: Prospect for Studying Afghani

..... The Research Unit 1 (Thought and Politics in the Islamic World) had the first symposium titled "Reconstructing Al-Afghani" in the above date and place. Unit 1 plans to organize a symposium each year, and this first one was organized by Group A (Contemporary Thought in the Islamic World).

..... This year is the hundredth year from the decease of Al-Afghani, and recently new view points on Al-Afghani have emerged. Thus, this theme should be valuable and timely. The twenty-three participants were discussing eagerly for five hours around and it was great success and very popular with them.

..... In the first session, Prof. KURITA explained the recent judgments on Al-Afghani whom are criticized by both of the Orientalism and Islamic Fundamentalism. Then Prof. NAKANISHI described the conflict between the European modernity and traditional values of Islam in Al-Afghani's thought. On the other hand, Prof. ARAI stressed that there was hardly the influence of Al-Afghani to the Pan-Islamism or Islamic Reform in the Ottoman Empire. Prof. Oishi also showed a doubt concerning the actual influence of Al-Afghani to India. About each and all of these papers, the participants discussed very actively.

..... In the second session, Prof. HACHIOSHI introduced the Afghani Symposium of Iran earlier in this year. Then he mentioned the contemporary meanings of not Al-Afghani himself but the Afghani Studies, because some of them have been using it for the nation-state building, national integrity or ideology. If so, the judgments of the Afghani studies could be a touchstone which makes the theory and reality of the nation state relative, he supposed.

..... Prf. IIZUKA as the commentator pointed out the difficulty and necessity of the whole scale understanding of Al-Afghani. Actually, the participants were most eagerly discussing about the difference of Al-Afghani's influence in different areas and of the understandings or judgments of Al-Afghani by researchers in Arab countries, Iran, Turkey and India.

..... Finally, in the third session, Prof. HACHIOSI suggested to organize an international network of Al-Afghani Studies and received the support of the participants. We plan to publish a report of this symposium next year.

Please see Photos of the symposium.