Saudi center to prepare encyclopedia entry on Islamic ‘intellectual community’

Muslim scholars at the recently held “Building Bridges Between Islamic Schools of Thought and Sects” conference in Makkah have chosen the Saudi Defense Ministry’s Center for Safeguarding Intellect to compile a comprehensive study of “The Islamic Intellectual Community” for an upcoming encyclopedia, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday.

The decision “reflects the center’s expertise in intellectual matters aligned with the conference’s objectives,” according to the SPA.

Three research bodies have also been assigned roles that will contribute to future conferences aiming to bridge Islamic sects by researching the specifics of each Islamic sect, including their origins and branches.

The Center for Safeguarding Intellect emphasizes “the comprehensiveness, brevity, breadth, and integrity of Islamic discourse,” the SPA stated. “This approach represents an Islamic concept of moderation, embracing diversity and steering clear of exclusionism or factionalism within the sectarian coalition.”

Scholars have endorsed the center’s approach, particularly in refraining from using labels that undermine Islamic cooperation and understanding, something especially pertinent to issues such as extremism.

Participants at the conference in Makkah highlighted the specificity of each school of Islamic thought, but stressed that a unified stance on major issues, such as confronting sectarianism and intellectual extremism, would only be possible by achieving an “Islamic intellectual consensus.”

They added that institutions including the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Muslim World League were founded in order to help establish such a consensus.