Abdul Aziz Said: The Mualim, The Inspiration e-bog

What appears in this book are the selected and thoroughly revised papers from the international conference in honor of Mualim/Honorable Teacher and Professor Abdul Aziz Said, which convened in the School of International Service at American University in Washington, DC on March 19, 2015. Scholars and activists who came from across the globe presented papers dealing with Mualim Said’s great pluridisciplinary work in the following areas and others that were not listed in the call for papers: African Studies; American Foreign Policy; Basic Human Needs and International Development; Ethnic Studies; Human Rights in International Relations and Ethics; Humanitarianism; International Peace and Conflict Resolution; Islamic Studies and Peace; Jewish Studies; Middle Eastern Studies; Spirituality; Religion and Peace; Sufi Tradition; and Theories of International Relations. For the sake of cohesion and coherence, the authors developed the following five clearly articulated rubrics within which the chapters are placed: (1) Celebratory Poems and Keynote Remarks; (2) Africa; (3) Religion and Spirituality; (4) Peace and Conflict Resolution; and (5) Human Needs, Rights, Development and Foreign Policy. Also, since this work is a Festschrift and all of the chapters have lucid introductions and conclusions, the authors saw no need to add a general introduction and a general conclusion chapter that would have led to unnecessary redundancies. Nova“The book Abdul Aziz Said: The Mualim, The Inspiration is, without a doubt, properly titled. Dr. Said served as an inspiration and a teacher (Mualim) for thousands of individuals in the larger American University community and beyond to the world of policy throughout his more than 50 years of association with that institution. His dedication to peaceful emphatic engagement with all humans without regard to belief, race, ethnicity, age, and gender set a high standard. This dedication is detailed with great affection by the contributions in this book, which his colleagues Abdul Karim Bangura and Mohammed Abu-Nimer have so respectfully edited.” - Louis Goodman, Professor and Emeritus Dean, School of International Service, American University, Washington, DC, USA“Professor Abdul Aziz Said’s intellectual and spiritual contributions to peace studies and conflict resolution extend beyond academic circles into the actual practice of peace. His passion for and commitment to peace-making is extraordinary and has touched many people in the United States and abroad. His many published papers and books are a testament not only to his dedication but also to his unique knowledge of and effectiveness in peace-making and conflict resolution. We are proud and honored that Professor Said is a trustee of the El-Hibri Foundation. He certainly is a fountain of information on this subject and his guidance is always wise and balanced.” - Fuad El-Hibri, Trustee of the El-Hibri Foundation, Washington, DC, USA“Professor Abdul Aziz Said, through scholarly articles, conferences and courses, developed the need for the dominant paradigms of International Relations to embrace non-Western approaches that include Islamic and Traditional paradigms. He cultivated through policy advocacy a new generation of scholars who would pursue peace by exploring the links among culture, ethnicity, identity and international conflicts. According to the maxim bonum diffusifum sui i.e. “goodness diffuses itself,” this scholarly multi-disciplinary festschrift by former students and colleagues of Said celebrates the inclusion of those concerns in the contemporary paradigms of International Relations.” - Emmanuel Babatunde, Professor and Chair of Sociology & Criminal Justice, Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, USA“Wherever I travel I encounter Professor Abdul Aziz Said’s former students whose life work has been influenced by his teaching. Each student was a testament to Professor Said’s ability to see the best in everyone and to recognize and nurture each person’s gift in promoting peace—principles seen in his writing and in this book. The book shows the constant light of Said’s life as a professor and as Mualim (teacher) in a world of constant changes. Each chapter adds to his ideas of promoting a culture of peace. For those who know Professor Said, this book will remind them of his wealth of knowledge, and for those who will be introduced to him by this book, it will be an inspiration.” - Mubarak Awad, Professor and Founder and National President of the Youth Advocate Program, Washington, DC, USA