The Muslim Heritage Awareness Group Meeting (24 March 2009, Royal Society, London)

The Muslim Heritage Awareness Group (MHAG), a think tank and consulting body of the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation (FSTC) held recently its meeting on 24 March 2009 in London at the Royal Society. In the following short article, we present a report on the meeting and describe briefly the debates around the selected theme: Muslim Heritage and Social Media.

The previous MHAG meeting was at Church House at the reception of Mr Jim Knight, the Minister for Schools, to launch the 1001inventions exhibition at the Houses of Parliaments. Following that successful event, another MHAG meeting was held on Tuesday 24 March at the Royal Society in London.

Following the previous format, proceedings start with a light lunch at 12.30 followed by four presentations (20 minute each) from experts on the theme selected for the meeting followed by a business meeting. The theme for this meeting was “Social Media”.

The speakers and presentations were:

1. Professor Peter Kawalek of MBS, University of Manchester: “What is Social Media and Why?”
2. Mr. Lee Bryant, MD of Headshift Ltd. and Trustee of FSTC: “Social Media Strategies as Applied to Muslim Heritage Awareness”
3. Professor Jim al-Khalili, University of Surrey: “Science Communication and Muslim Heritage in Science”
4. Professor Salim Al-Hassani, Chairman of FSTC: “1001Games: Sports in Muslim Heritage”.

The first part of the meeting was chaired by Bettany Hughes. It started by a spectacular short film entitled “Ancient Wisdom”, originally shown at the launch of Qatar Science and Technology Park in Doha on 16 March 2009, to which FSTC contributed content and advice: see Ancient Wisdom Exhibition at Qatar Science and Technology Park 16th March 2009 in Doha.

A lively discussion ensued on all presentations with lengthy contributions from Dr Charles Savage, who came especially from Munich, and from Dr Munim Al-Rawi, who came especially from Dublin. Of particular note was the contributions of new members such as William Hopper, financier.

The last hour of the afternoon was spent on business issues related to future works and projects of FSTC, especially on the front of promoting Muslim heritage awareness for social cohesion and world peace.

Click here to see a selection of photos taken during MHAG meeting.

See also

• Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation (FSTC): click here for more information.
• 1001 Inventions: Visit the central of the Global Initiative 1001 Inventions, a groundbreaking global educational initiative exploring the Muslim contributions to building the foundations of modern civilisation. It is a unique UK based educational project that reveals the rich heritage that the Muslim community share with other communities in the UK, Europe and across the World. The global initiative consists of a UK and world wide travelling exhibition, a colourful easy to read book, a dedicated website and a themed collection of educational posters complementing a secondary school teachers’ pack and a curriculum enrichment programme. The comprehensiveness of the initiative is revealed in seven conveniently organised zones: home, school, market, hospital, town, world and universe. Other components include: 1001 Inventions Book, Touring Exhibition, Poster Sets, Teachers’ Pack, Online Shop, City 1250, Press Coverage, Latest News.
• www.MuslimHeritage.com (since 2002): visit FSTC academic web portal to learn about the scientific, technological, historical and cultural aspects of Muslim Heritage. Browse through Topics to read all articles on this website. Click on the following links to learn more: MuslimHeritage.com launch – About MuslimHeritage.com.
• Muslim Heritage Newsletter: A Quarterly Publication issued by the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation (FSTC). Online on www.MuslimHeritage.com: Issue 1: November 2007; Issue 2: March 2008 ; Issue 3: July 2008; 4th Issue.
• Al-Hassani, Salim, chief editor, 1001 inventions: Muslim Heritage in Our World. Manchester: FSTC, 2006, Hardcover: 372 pages. ISBN-10: 0955242606 – ISBN-13: 978-0955242601. Click here for a special feature on the book.
• FSTC conference: BAAS Conference: Muslim origins of present day science (September 2003).
• 1001 Inventions: Discover the Muslim Heritage in our World: International conference organised by FSTC at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester on the 8th of March 2006, on the occasion of the launch of the exhibition 1001 inventions. The proceedings of the conference include the following articles published on www.MuslimHeritage.com:

1. Burnett, Charles, The Appreciation of Arabic Science and Technology in the Middle Ages
2. Danisman, H.H. Günhan, Ottoman Mining, Metal Working and Fire-Arms Technology in South East Europe (15th-17th centuries)
3. El Daly, Okasha, Deciphering Egyptian Hieroglyphs in Muslim Heritage
4. Healey, John F., The Syriac-speaking Christians and the Translation of Greek Science into Arabic
5. Idrisi, Zohor, The Influence of Islamic Culinary Art on Europe
6. Kahl, Oliver, Scientific Transfer and Scholarship in Medieval Arabic Pharmacology.

Cem Nizamoglu