Ibn Khaldon Centre works to bridge gap between theory and practice
LATEST developments made at Ibn Khaldon Centre for Humanities and Social Sciences at Qatar University (QU) have been highlighted by Prof Eltigani Rahma, Head of the Division of Social Sciences at the Centre.
Ibn Khaldon Centre for Humanities and Social Sciences is a research centre with a vision to play a pioneering role in the Arab and Islamic world towards re-examining the theoretical orientations of Social Sciences and Humanities, with a view to becoming a distinguished platform and intellectual space for researchers and scientific initiatives in the region and beyond.
The Centre’s research agenda spans a range of substantive areas of importance, including social sciences, humanities, area studies, and security and strategic studies. Its core mission and mandate is to bridge the gap between the theoryoriented studies and the practical needs of Muslim-Arab societies in collaboration with leading institutions and researchers (locally, regionally and internationally) who share the Centre’s intellectual concerns.
To shed more light on the Centre, its research activities, its administrative body and its most important achievements, the university conducted an interview with Prof Eltigani Rahma, Head of the Division of Social Sciences. He remarked that societies’ progress and prosperity are normally linked to the level of awareness among them; the lower the level of awareness in the community, the more negatively reflected on the march towards their progress and prosperity. On the other hand, the higher the level of awareness, the more solid and stable the process of development becomes.
Prof Eltigani said, “Humanities and Social sciences are primarily responsible for the process of developing awareness; through it, societies manage to interact with each other. Researchers on humanities and social sciences focus on studying human and social phenomena and develop a methodology for dealing with them. Politics, religion, language, and social interactions in all of their forms interact, and this interaction is governed by man’s understanding of these phenomena.”
As a result, society’s progress and development are not solely dependent on advances in natural sciences. Applied sciences may have a harmful impact on human societies if they are not framed by a sound intellectual framework, which can only be achieved by a sound understanding of human and social phenomena, as well as human experiences. It demonstrates the danger of natural science expansion without parallel growth in the humanities and social sciences.
Speaking on the Centre’s philosophical outlook, Prof. Eltigani remarked that the Ibn Khaldon Centre for Humanities and Social Sciences aspires to be a pioneer in building theoretical structures for the humanities and social sciences in the Arab world.
The Centre is home to a large number of male and female researchers from Qatar, the Arab world, and other countries, all of whom are united by a passion for knowledge and a desire to conduct serious research that contributes to solving social problems and to effectively contributing to Qatar’s comprehensive renaissance in all fields.
Regarding the Centre’s activities, Prof. Eltigani said that the Centre has organised many activities and events, the most important of which are: Arab-Turkish Relations: Looking for New Horizons; Challenges and opportunities, and Dr Ibrahim Kalin’s lecture: “Islam and the West”, winning the best research poster award for the faculty and post-doctoral category during the Centre’s participation in the Qatar University Research Forum and Exhibition 2021.
Regarding the most important recent publications of the Centre, Prof Eltigani explained that the Centre has issued a number of important books, which includes;
The Islamic Economy and the Question of Development’, Cultural Paths in Qatar’, Sociological Research Priorities in the Arab World’, Sociology and the Question of Regionalisation’, The Crisis of Social Sciences in the Arab World’, Scenarios of the PostKhamenei Iranian Regime’, The Questions of Methodology’, Research Priorities in Humanities’,
Social and Legal Sciences in the Arab World’, The Corona Crisis and its Repercussions on Sociology’, Political Science and International Relations, Transformations of the Gulf Security Scene after the Gulf Crisis’ and Introduction to Political Philosophy, Contemporary Legitimate Approaches to Political Concepts and Topics’ among others.*