Reviving the Islamic Spirit explained

Reviving the Islamic Spirit (RIS) is an annual Islamic conference typically held during the winter holiday season in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The first conference was held in 2001, and has since become one of North America's largest Islamic conferences, alongside the ISNA convention in the United States. The conference has grown from 3,500 attendees in its first year to over 20,000 in 2011, making it the largest Islamic conference in Canada.[1] Attendees and speakers attend from around the world, including the United States, Europe and the Middle East. In May 2010, RIS held its first American conference in Long Beach, California.[2] Following the second U.S. edition at the Long Beach Convention Center on Memorial Day weekend the conference was discontinued.

Overview

The format of the conference typically consists of a series of lectures over three days, generally structured around a specific central theme. Each year distinguished speakers, including both Islamic scholars and non-Muslims, are invited to lecture based on the selected theme of the conference. Previous conference themes have included the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Canadian-Muslim identity, and Islamic civilization.

Concert

A concert has been held at the end of the conference almost every year, usually consisting of nasheed (Islamic music) or performances by Muslim musicians. Main performers who have headlined the concert include: Junaid Jamshed, Sami Yusuf, Maher Zain, Najam Sheraz, Raihan, Native Deen and Danish hip-hop group Outlandish.

Criticism and accusation of religious fundamentalism

The conference has invited some figures like Tariq Ramadan and Bilal Philips. Even Justin Trudeau has participated. Trudeau was criticized later by some media outlets, and other Jewish and Muslim groups, and as well by some members of his own party because they argued that the conference was problematic and had indirect connection with Hamas and that there were aspects of religious radicalism. Among other, there was a sponsor, IRFAN, which was said had sent suspicious funds to Hamas, apparently about 15 million dollars. The sponsor denied the allegations, but decided to withdraw from the conference in order not to cause more controversy. Trudeau himself rejected the criticism.[3] [4] [5] [6]

Notable speakers

Two scholars have made an appearance at the conference every year since it began: Zaid Shakir and Hamza Yusuf except the 2017 conference, which Hamza Yusuf was unable to attend. Other notable speakers who have appeared over the years include:

List of conferences

RISThemeVenueDate
1Reviving the Islamic SpiritJanuary 4–5, 2001
2Changing Our ConditionMetro Toronto Convention CentreJanuary 2–4, 2004
3Legacy of the ProphetRogers CentreDecember 24–26, 2004
4Islamic CivilizationDirect Energy CentreDecember 23–26, 2005
5The Neglected Sunnah: Patience in the Face of RejectionMetro Toronto Convention CentreDecember 22–24, 2006
6Family Matters: The Basis of a Civil SocietyMetro Toronto Convention CentreDecember 28–30, 2007
7Answering the Call of God's Messenger: Setting Prophetic Priorities for Muslims in the WestMetro Toronto Convention CentreDecember 26–28, 2008
8SOS: Saving the Ship of HumanityMetro Toronto Convention CentreDecember 25–27, 2009
9Rules for the Road of Life: Reviving the 10 Commandments in the Modern WorldMetro Toronto Convention CentreDecember 24–26, 2010
10Control, Chaos or Community: Three Ways, One World, Our ChoiceMetro Toronto Convention CentreDecember 23–25, 2011
11Divine Light for Living Right: Prophetic Guidance in the Midst of Modern DarknessMetro Toronto Convention CentreDecember 21–23, 2012
12Changing Our Condition: Rekindling the Light of FaithDecember 27–29, 2013
13He Came To Teach You Your Religion: Prophetic Answers to Angelic QuestionsDecember 26–28, 2014
14Alliance of VirtueDecember 25–27, 2015
15The Promise of God: Conditions for RenewalMetro Toronto Convention CentreDecember 23–25, 2016
16Whither Islam? Rebooting Our FaithMetro Toronto Convention CentreDecember 22–24, 2017
17RIS ReimaginedMetro Toronto Convention CentreDecember 21–23, 2018
18His Character was the Quran: Restoring the Quranic Narrative in Modern TimesMetro Toronto Convention CentreDecember 20–22, 2019
19An Unconventional ConventionOnlineDecember 26–27, 2020
20Together in SpiritOnlineDecember 25–26, 2020
21A Blessed ReunionMetro Toronto Convention CentreDecember 23–25, 2022
22Where Hearts MeetMetro Toronto Convention CentreDecember 22–24, 2023

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Canadian Islamic convention attracts record breaking attendance. 27 December 2011.
  2. Web site: Reviving The Islamic Spirit - History . www.revivingtheislamicspirit.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111003005700/http://www.revivingtheislamicspirit.com/convention/history.php?id=14 . 2011-10-03.
  3. https://torontosun.com/2012/12/22/justin-trudeau-addresses-controversial-muslim-conference-in-toronto/wcm/a0bab017-6dbf-4477-9071-b2a604b62fe6. ”Justin Trudeau addresses controversial Muslim conference in Toronto”. torontosun.com. December 22, 2012.
  4. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-defies-critics-in-muslim-conference-speech-1.1150769. ”Trudeau defies critics in Muslim conference speech”. CBC.ca. Dec 22, 2012.
  5. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/sponsor-withdraws-from-islamic-event-trudeau-to-attend-1.1185669. "Sponsor withdraws from Islamic event Trudeau to attend". CBC.ca. Dec 17, 2012.
  6. https://torontosun.com/2012/12/14/justin-trudeau-should-respond-to-conference-critics-marc-garneau-says/wcm/da759335-a48a-4ceb-b05d-20d73c2d693b. ”Justin Trudeau should respond to conference critics, Marc Garneau says”. Toronto Sun. Jessica Hume. December 14, 2012.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Reviving the Islamic Spirit".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.