A Statistical look at five editions of ICIH

• A total of 2,143 people have sent papers to the ICIH since the congress was launched.
• 2,665 abstracts and papers have been received so far.
• 530 papers have been accepted during five events held by the ICIH.
• 560 reviewers have reviewed the papers. 
• 38 foreign guests have participated in the events.
• 41 domestic scientific conferences have been held. 
• 2 conferences have been held abroad (Lebanon and Afghanistan).
• There have been 50 co-working centers during the events.
• The scientific and policy-making councils of the ICIH had 32 members.   
• The scientific committee of the 5th Congress was comprised of 229 members. 

1st Congress

The First International Congress on Islamic Humanities was held on May 20, 2012. Universities and seminaries as well as prominent lecturers and researchers took part in that meeting. The first congress received 636 abstracts and papers with 90 papers being approved. 

Publication of the 1st International Congress on Islamic Humanities’ papers

These papers came out in five volumes in April-May 2015. They were divided into separate volumes as per main commissions of the congress:

1-Two volumes involving 30 papers for the commission of philosophy and Islamic humanities.  

2-One volume involving 19 papers for the commission of translating Islamic humanities into an applied science.  

3-Seven papers for the commission of outstanding theories; 8 papers for the commission of the management of revolutionizing humanities; and 5 papers for approaches to Islamic humanities in the Muslim world. All these came out in one volume.

4-One volume involving 21 papers for the commission of critiquing humanities. 

Foreign Guests of the 1st Congress

More than 30 researchers and scholars from different countries participated in the event. They came from Canada, India, Palestine, Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, Britain and Pakistan.  The international section of the 1st International Congress on Islamic Humanities was held at the Imam Khomeini Education & Research Institute with Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi as well as foreign and Iranian experts in attendance.

Some guests of the 1st Congress were:

Professor Munir Fasheh from Palestine: Monir Fasheh holds a doctorate degree in Mathematics from Harvard University. He used to be a dean and professor at Harvard for 10 years.

Professor Raju from India: C. K. Raju has played a key role in the development of India’s first supercomputer named Param. He is currently lecturing as tenured professor at Inmantec in New Delhi and adjunct professor at Sains University of Malaysia.

Professor Claude Alvares from India: Professor Claude Alvares earned a PhD in Philosophy from Technische Hogeschool (Technical College) in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The sphere of his activities is so extensive. Professor Alvares is the founder of Other India Bookstore. He is also an environmentalist and is the head of Goa Foundation, the best known of Goa’s environmental action groups. Meanwhile, he has served as the director of Organic Farming Association of India for the past 25 years.

The 1st Congress opened with a speech from Iran’s former Judiciary chief Ayatollah Amoli Larijani. It ended with a speech from Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi.   

2nd Congress

This event opened on November 17, 2013 at the IRIB International Conference Center. The closing ceremony happened the day after at Esra International Foundation of Revelatory Sciences. 

The 2nd Congress received 542 abstracts and papers. It approved 111 papers.

Publication of the 2nd International Congress on Islamic Humanities’ papers

Overall, the 2nd Congress approved 111 papers that were printed in the form of books.

-Economy: 6

-Education: 5

-Sociology: 9

-Political Science: 7

-Jurisprudence and Law: 8

-Philosophy and Methodology: 4

Management: 14

Change Management: 4

Psychology: 25

Art and Architecture: 29

Foreign Guests of the 2nd Congress

Fewer foreign guests attended the 2nd Congress of the ICIH compared to the previous event, though with way brighter academic and scientific records.

Here are some of the guests that we were honored to welcome at the 2nd Congress:

Dr. Asad Zaman: Dr. Zaman is a professor at International Institute of Islamic Economics at the International Islamic University, Islamabad. He earned a doctorate degree in Statistics from Stanford University. Dr. Zaman’s currently an associate professor in economics. He presented a paper at the congress entitled “An Islamic Path to Human Life”.  

Dr. Masudal Chaudry: Dr. Chaudry is a full professor of economics in the Commercial School of Oman’s Sultan Qaboos University. He studied for 22 years at Cape Breton University in Sydney, Australia and Nova Scotia, Canada. Dr. Chaudry is currently conducting advanced research in education. He presented a paper at the congress entitled “The Educational Application of Monotheistic Epistemology in Islamic Economics, Finance and Studies”.   

Dr. Roland Pietsch: Dr. Pietsch is a German writer and translator specializing in Islamic philosophy. He teaches Islamic philosophy and studies at the University of Munich. He has also taught philosophy, theology, and religious studies in universities in Iran, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. He presented a paper at the congress entitled “The Doctrine and Views of René Guénon and Sheikh Abdulwahed Yahya on Metaphysics as the Basis of Islamic Life”.

Dr. Hossein Heryanto: He is a senior researcher at Sadra International Institute. Dr. Heryanto also teaches at University of Jakarta in Indonesia. He made a speech at the 2nd Congress of the ICIH entitled “A Critical Theory on the Western Way of Life: An Epistemological Analysis”.

Dr. Muzaffar Iqbal: Dr. Iqbal is the founder of the Center of Islam and Science in Canada. He has authored 23 books on science, civilization and Islam. Dr. Iqbal is also a prominent expert on science, Islam, theology and natural sciences. He presented a paper at the 2nd Congress entitled “A Nearly Destroyed Relationship: Interdisciplinary Ties between Natural Sciences and Humanities”.          

The 2nd Congress opened with a speech from Iran’s former Majlis  speaker Ali Larijani and ended with a speech from former Judiciary chief Ayatollah Amoli Larijani. 

3rd Congress

The 3rd Congress’s secretariat received 569 abstract and 411 papers. Of those papers, 92 were presented in 10 specialized commissions on the day the congress was held. Finally, the congress approved 97 specialized and scientific papers for publication. The 3rd Congress differed from the previous ones in that it featured prominent academics presenting their works.

Foreign Guests

The 3rd Congress happened on October 31, 2015 at the IRIB International Conference Center with scholars and lecturers from Iran and Lebanon in attendance.

Hujjat al-Islam Dr. Sheikh Shafiq Jarradi: Hujjat al-Islam Dr. Jarradi is the director of the Institute of Arbitration Knowledge for Religious and Philosophical Studies in Lebanon. 

Dr. Ahmed Majed: Dr. Majed is an associate professor at the Institute of Arbitration Knowledge for Religious and Philosophical Studies in Lebanon. He presented a paper entitled “Advantages of Islamic Humanities over western and secular humanities in the Muslim World” on November 1, 2015. He presented the paper in the philosophy and mythology section.

The 3rd Congress opened in the presence of former Majlis speaker Dr. Ali Larijani. The closing ceremony was attended by Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi.

4th Congress

The 4th Congress received 486 abstract and 371 papers. From among these papers, 80 were presented in 10 specialized commissions on October 24, 2017. Finally, the congress approved 120 specialized papers and published them in 10 volumes. 

A number of prominent thinkers and researchers were invited to present their scientific achievements at the 4th edition of the International Congress on Islamic Humanities. The invitees failed to turn up though except for Pakistani-Canadian scholar Dr. Muzaffar Iqbal. Pakistani researcher Dr. Naqavi and Indonesian thinker Heydar Baqer missed the event a few days away from the congress due to personal problems and being busy with academic work. Pakistani thinker Ekram Azam failed to turn up because of his illness but he sent his paper and a video of his presentation. Prominent English scholar John Milbank said he would attend by all means. He has authored famous books on theology and social views and who is a critic of secular humanities. John Milbank however failed to turn up because of problems between Iran and the UK.

5th Congress

The 5th edition of the International Congress on Islamic Humanities can be described as the apex of efforts by its permanent secretariat. The 5th Congress has been way beyond previous editions in terms of prestige. 

5th Congress’s Timetable

Date	Tehran	Qom
Sun., Nov. 24	Opening ceremony (IRIB Intl. Conf. Center)	——–
Mon., Nov. 25	Change Management (National Defense Univ.) Sociology (Sadra Intl. Institute’s Humanities Research Center) Iranian-Islamic Model of Progress (Imam Sadeq Univ.)	——–
Tue., Nov. 26		Philosophy and Methodology (Central Org. of the Holy Quran Knowledge and Studies Univ.)
Wed., Nov. 27	Economics (the Holy Quran Knowledge and Studies Univ.) Management (Sadra Intl. Institute’s Humanities Research Center) Education (Shahed Univ.) Art and Architecture (Iran University of Science and Technology) Jurisprudence and Law	Psychology (Central Org. of the Holy Quran Knowledge and Studies Univ.) Political Science (Islamic Development Org., Qom) Jurisprudence and Law (Culture and Thought Research center)
Thu., Nov. 28	——–	Closing Ceremony (Imam Khomeini Education & Research Institute)

Speakers of the opening ceremony on November 24, 2019 were: Iran’s Judiciary chief Ayatollah Reisi; Head of the Council for Boosting and Upgrading Humanities Dr. Haddad Adel; Iran’s Vice President for Science and Technology Dr. Sorena Sattari; Secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution Hujjat al-Islam Dr. Saeed Reza Ameli; Head of the Specialized Seminary Committee of Iran’s Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution Professor Hamid Parsania who won the third global award of Islamic humanities; and winner of the second global award of Islamic humanities and professor of economics Dr. Massoud Derakhshan.  

Guest speaker of the closing ceremony on November 28, 2019: Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi.

The 5th Congress received 525 paper abstracts and 412 papers. Meanwhile, 87 papers were presented during 3 days on November 25, 26 and 27, 2019 in 11 specialized commissions. Of these papers, 112 were approved for publication in 10 volumes.     

International guests were foreign academics and students teaching and studying in Iran. They included Dr. Osman Bakar from Malaysia.

Global Award of Islamic Humanities

The first global award of Islamic humanities went to three prominent scholars and thinkers for their key achievements in the field of Islamic humanities: 1-Ayatollah Aarafi’s theory on Islamic education; 2-Professor Chaudry’s theory on the epistemological fundamentals of Islamic economics and their requirements; and 3-Professor Mousavian’s theory on Islamic banking.

The second global award of Islamic humanities went to three prominent scholars and thinkers for their key achievements in the field of Islamic humanities: 1-Ayatollah Alidoust for his jurisprudent theorization with regard to the relation between jurisprudence and reason as well as custom and expediency; 2-Dr. Massoud Derakhshan for being a pioneer in theorization in Islamic economics and teaching students; and 3-Dr. Abbas Mirakhor for theorization in Islamic finance and banking.

The third global award of Islamic humanities went to three prominent scholars and thinkers for their key achievements in the field of Islamic humanities: 1-Hujjat al-Islam Hamid Parsania for theorization in the philosophy of social science; 2-Dr. Hassan Sobhani for theorization in Islamic economics; 3-Hujjat al-Islam Abdol Hossein Khosropanah for theorization in the philosophy of Islamic humanities.

Special acknowledgment and award of gratitude went to Professor Taha Abdul Rahman from Morocco for his distinguished and transforming views regarding semantics and the philosophy of language and linking this to Islamic political thought. Professor Abdul Rahman’s efforts have helped establish Islamic humanities in the Muslim world. 

The fourth global award of Islamic humanities went to two prominent scholars and thinkers for their key achievements in the field of Islamic humanities: 1-Ayatollah Ali Akbar Reshad in the philosophy and methodology of Islamic humanities; 2-Hujjat al-Islam Seyyed Hossein Mir Moezzi in Islamic economics; 3 and special acknowledgment and award of gratitude went to Professor Osman Bakar from Malaysia for his invaluable scientific books and for offering excellent and effective views in the philosophy of theory as well as his relentless efforts to deepen and expand the discourse of Islamic humanities in the Muslim world.