The Circle Of Tradition And Progress
A Statement of Purpose
(Initially Published in MESA Newsletter, August 1997)
The modern project, derived substantially from the European Enlightenment, can rightly claim great achievements in the technical and socio-political realms. However, many people throughout the world have come to realize the destructive consequences occasioned by modernity: the triumph of materialism, the decline of morality, unequal global economic development, the collapse of family and community, and the erosion of religious belief.
Implicit in the modernist project is an arrogant and naïve insistence that human fulfillment can be achieved solely on materialistic bases, and a belief in the absolute autonomy of human reason and in man’s presumed ability to create his moral and cultural systems in isolation from any belief in transcendence. The modernist project, issuing from a shallow claim to value-free rationality, has come to pose a threat to life itself.
The Circle of Tradition and Progress has been established to promote and enhance dialogue, discussion, and scholarly research among academics and public figures committed to the preservation of religious and traditional values and the achievement of progress in the Muslim world, the West, and elsewhere. Special emphasis will be on counteracting the excesses of modernity, with particular attention to the critique of the contemporary materialistic, behavioralist, and radically secular experiment. All the activities of the Circle will be scholarly and intellectual in nature. The Circle will not engage in the advocacy of any specific public policies.
Among much else, this effort will include an encouragement of holism in both the individual and society. The societal holism we seek will incorporate accountable and democratic government, basic individual liberty and human rights, and an economic system that is both free and humane. What we propose is to establish an equilibrium between the spiritual and the material, and reclaim for our time what have been called the “permanent things.” Most broadly, the intention of the Circle is to foster intellectual activities designed to rectify the modern rupture between economics and ethics, reason and religion, and man and God. Above all, we hope to encourage greater understanding between religions and to contribute to reconciliation of peoples and to international cooperation.
We believe in values which are not alterable and which have been manifested in the teachings of all prophets (peace be upon them) and great civilizations throughout the ages. We believe further in the transcendence of God, the need of man for divine guidance, and the continuing relevance of the prophetic faiths of Muslims, Jews, and Christians.
A commitment to reform has always been at the heart of the Islamic project as articulated in the works of such Ulama and scholars as al-Ghazali, Ibn Taimiyya, al-Afghani, Abduh, Rida, Iqbal, Baqer al Sadr, and Malik ben Nabi. Each of these great reformers attempted to address the problems occasioned by the recurring imbalance caused by man’s quest for earthly fulfillment and material prosperity on the one hand, and reality of God and the ultimate primacy of matters spiritual, on the other. We regard the Circle of Tradition and Progress as a new initiative in this long and unending enterprise of reform.
Just as there has always been a Muslim imperative to reform, there has also always been a Western search for God and for the modalities of cultural conservation. Belief in a religiously-rooted natural law and an acknowledgement of the importance of the claims of the past have been a hallmark of Western thought at least since Thomas Aquinas. In more recent times, this Western religious imperative and traditionalism has manifested itself in the work of such thinkers as Edmond Burke, Eric Voegslin, Russel Kirk, and Gerhart Niemeyer. Together, we believe that the Islamic impulse to reform and the Western quest for religious understanding provide a solid foundation for our joint endeavors.
We favor the conduct of international relations on a basis of respect for all of the world’s civilizations. We oppose all attempts to export or impose cultural systems, to support dictatorial regimes, or to obstruct democratic transformations. It is our conviction that attempts to re-invent the Cold War with Muslims targeted as enemies of the West, or the West designated as an incorrigible enemy of Islam, are deplorable and should be avoided. We are united in our belief that all such Manichaean formulations will impede cooperation between Muslims and the West and are likely over time to have a dramatically negative impact on both international stability and world peace.
Members of Steering Committee
Dr. Kamal Abu al Majd (Egypt)
Dr. Taha Jabir Alwani (Virginia)
Dr. Mohammad Amara (Egypt)
Tariq al Bishri (Egypt)
Dr. David B. Burrelli (Indiana)
Dr. Charles Butterworth (Washington DC)
Dr. Louis Cantori (Maryland)
Dr. John L. Esposito (Washington DC)
Sheikh Rashid al Ghannoushi (Tunisia)
Adel Hussein (Egypt)
Fahmi Huweidi (Egypt)
Dr. Leonard P. Liggio Washington DC)
Dr. Abdelwahab al Massiri (Egypt)
Dr. Basher Nafi (United Kingdom)
Sheikh Yousuf al Qaradawi (Qatar)
Munir Shafiq (Jordon)
Dr. Antony Sullivan (Michigan)
Dr. John Voll (Washington DC)