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General
Introduction
to
International
League of Islamic Literature
General Introduction to
International League of Islamic Literature
1.
Establishment and Offices
Motivated by
the duty to call to the path of Allah through true, sensible and committed
literary works, the state of estrangement that the Islamic literature has
been undergoing for a long time and the tight grip that foreign
pseudo-literary trends hold on both Arab and Muslim worlds, some Muslim men
of letters saw the need for establishing a League through which they can
streamline their efforts, stand by each other, make their voice audible,
provide a solid ground for authentic Islamic literature and confront
international literary theories and doctrines that contradict the principles
of Islam.
The
establishment of the International League of Islamic Literature has
undergone a long course; from an idea in the minds of a number of Muslim men
of letters from different nationalities through a proposal that took lengthy
discussions in the meetings held during the year 1400 H. (1980) to an
accomplished fact in the form of a founding body tasked with the study of
various aspects of the idea, planning for the establishment of the proposed
League and communicating with men of letters in different Muslim countries
in this regard.
The
International Symposium on Islamic Literature invited to by Sheikh Abul
Hassan Al-Nadawi, was held in Lucknow, India, in Jumada II, 1401 H. (April,
1981). A large number of personalities from the Muslim World, many of whom
have literary interests, were invited to the symposium. The symposium gave
substance to the idea and concluded with a recommendation to establish a
International League for Muslim men of letters.
The idea
received strong support from the symposium “Dialogue on Islamic Literature”
held at the Islamic University of Madinah in Rajab, 1402 H. (May 1982). More
support came from the Islamic Literature Symposium held at Imam Muhammad bin
Saud Islamic University in Rajab, 1405 H. (April 1985). Simultaneously, the
founding body contacted Sheikh Al-Nadawi and presented to him the
preliminary activities and broad communications it undertook and asked for
his sponsorship of the proposed League; a proposal which he, out of
generosity, broad mindedness and profound wisdom, positively responded to in
appreciation of the influential role that literature has on the Nation’s
conscience and the key effects it has on the revival of Islam, being the
main factor of the Nation’s existence and its stronghold.
A Preliminary
Committee was formed by the founding body to undertake preparations for
announcing the establishment of the International League of Islamic
Literature. The announcement was published in several newspapers and
journals on 2.3.1405 H. (24.11.1984).
A large
number of men of letters from all parts of the Muslim World joined the
membership of the League prompting holding the first general conference at
the campus of Nadwat Al-Ulama University, Lucknow, India, in Rabi II, 1406
H. (January 1986) in which the statute of the League was set down and the
Board of Trustees was elected. His Eminence Sheikh Abul Hassan Al-Nadawi was
officially elected as the president for life. The official licence was
obtained for the League at its head office in Lucknow, India. Following the
death of Sheikh Al-Nadawi, The head office was transferred to Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia in 1421 H. (2000). Dr. Abdul Quddus Abou Saleh, a founding member,
was unanimously elected president of the League.
2.
Objectives:
Article 3 of
the League’s statute states the League’s objectives as follows:
1.
Enhancement and highlighting old and present features of Islamic
literature,
2.
Establishment of the rules of Islamic literary criticism,
3.
Formulation of a complete theory of Islamic literature,
4.
Development of Islamic methodologies for modern literary arts,
5.
Re-writing the history of Islamic literature pertaining to Muslim people
literatures,
6.
Collection of distinguished Islamic literary works and translating them
into the languages of Muslim people and other international languages,
7.
Giving due care to children literature,
8.
Criticizing and shedding light on the negative aspects of deviating
literary schools,
9.
Reinforcement of the international aspect of Islamic literature,
10.
Fostering relations and cooperation among Muslim men of letters and
combining their efforts in accordance with a wise and moderate
methodology,
11.
Contributing in the upbringing of Muslim generations and formulating the
Muslim personality dignified with their straightforward religion and great
heritage,
12.
Facilitating means of publication for the members of the League,
13.
Defending the literary rights of the League and its members.
3. Principles:
The League
applies the following principles in achieving its objectives, conducting its
affairs and selecting its members:
1.
Islamic literature is the objective artistic expression of man, life and
universe with an Islamic perspective,
2.
Islamic literature is a pioneer activity and is the responsibility of the
Muslim Nation before Allah, the Almighty,
3.
Islamic literature is a spontaneously committed endeavor emanating from
full abidance by Islamic faith and partakes with the message of Islam,
4.
Literature is a tool of building good citizens and societies, and a means
of call to the path of Allah and defense of the Muslim identity,
5.
Islamic literature holds a great responsibility for saving the Muslim
Nation from its current ordeal and Muslim men of letters are leaders in
this domain.
6.
Islamic literature is an established fact since the rise of the dawn of
Islam; derives its themes from Divine revelation and Prophetic guidance
and extends through ages to the present age to share in calling to the
path of Allah and fighting enemies of Islam and deviants.
7.
Islamic literature is the literature of all Muslim peoples and reflects
common characteristics regardless of different races and languages.
8.
Islamic literature presents an integrated Islamic concept of man, life and
the universe as a concrete basis for a complete literary and criticism
theory vividly seen in the Islamic literary products through successive
centuries.
9.
Islamic literature rejects any attempt to sever relations between old and
new literature on the pretext of development and modernization. It
believes that the modern literature is deeply rooted in the old one,
10.
Islamic literature rejects all deviant literary theories, doctrines, false
Arabic literature and literary criticism based on dubious flattering or
personal grudge. It also rejects ambiguous criticism language and
suspicious literary works,
11.
Islamic literature is integral; an aspect that cannot be realized unless
form goes hand in hand with the content,
12.
Islamic literature is open to modern literary arts and is keen on
presenting them to people purified from all contradictions with the
religion of Allah and enriched with the sublime values and sage directions
of Islam,
13.
Standard Arabic is the foremost language of Islamic literature, which
rejects and fights dialects.
14.
Muslim men of letters are entrusted with the nation’s thought and
feelings. They cannot shoulder this trust unless their faith is true and
their knowledge of Islam is adequate,
15.
Muslim men of letters are committed to Islam and its values and reflect
Islamic principles and values in their literary works.
16.
Faith is the essential link among all members of the League fostered by
literary relationships. It is considered a special link that keeps Muslim
men of letters tied to one another and presents unity of principles and
objectives they are committed to.
4. Membership:
Article four
of the Leagues’ statute provides for three types of membership: honorary,
active and supporting members. A member should be a committed Muslim.
a.
Honorary Member:
A member who
provides moral or financial support to the League.
The honorary
member is issued a membership card, invited to the meetings of the General
Assembly and provided with the publications of the League.
b.
Active Member:
A member
that should meet the following conditions:
1.
Should be over eighteen (18) years old,
2.
Should have published an original literary work,
3.
Should abide by the principles of the League and do his best to realize
its objectives,
4.
Should submit a membership application form supported by recommendations
from two members of the League or from reputed personalities,
5.
Should pay the prescribed financial subscription fee.
An active
member is issued a membership card and given priority for publication of
literary and criticism works. He is also provided with the League’s
publications at distribution prices and informed of the League’s literary
activities, conferences and symposia to have the opportunity to participate
in them. In case he is delegated on a mission to represent the League, his
travel and accommodation expenses would be covered by the League.
c.
Supporting Member:
A member who
abides by the League’s principles and statute and is interested in Islamic
literature but does not meet the requirements of an active member. He should
submit a membership application form accompanied with two recommendations.
He should also pay the prescribed subscription fee not less than quarter the
of subscription fee paid by an active member.
A supporting
member is issued a membership card and informed of the League’s activities,
conferences and symposia to enable him to participate in them at his own
expenses.
Honorary and
active memberships are issued upon a recommendation from the regional office
and approval of the pertinent head office. The supporting membership is,
however, issued by the regional office.
All types of
membership may be dropped upon a resolution from the body that has issued
them.
5. Structure:
a.
General Assembly:
As provided
for under article 6 of the statute, the general assembly comprises all
active members of the League and forms the authority that has the power to
set down and amend the statute of the League and to elect the board of
trustees. It holds its meetings once every three years.
b.
Board of Trustees:
The Board of
Trustees consists of the President of the League and his deputies, heads of
regional offices as ex- officio members, in addition to another member from
each regional office that has more than one hundred members. The Board of
Trustees shall be reconstituted prior to the periodical meeting of the
general assembly.
c.
President and Deputies:
The President
of the League represents the higher executive authority. He is elected by
the Board of Trustees or by active members of the League. The President may
appoint one vice president or more from active members to preside over any
head office established by the Board of Trustees.
d.
Offices:
The Board of
Trustees has established two offices for the League: one for the Indian
subcontinent and neighbouring countries and the other for Arab States and
neighbouring countries along with Africa, Europe and America.
e.
Specialized Committees:
Within the
boundaries of its territory, the Head Office shall authorize membership of
specialized committees including:
1.
Poetry Committee,
2.
Story, Drama and Literary Biography Committee,
3.
Children Literature Committee,
4.
Literary Criticism Committee,
5.
Verification, Research and Study Committee,
6.
Translation Committee.
Finally, The International League of
Islamic Literature, with members from all over the Arab and Islamic World,
would like to cordially invite all men of letters committed to the
principles of Islam to streamline their efforts under its banner. It would
also like to urge all those concerned about Islam to support it and fulfil
their responsibilities before Allah so as to see the Islamic literature lead
the nation.
Achievements of the International League of Islamic Literature
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The
League’s General Assembly held five conferences. The Board of Trustees also
had held eleven sessions up to 17.5.1421 H. corresponding to 17.8.2001.
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The
League published a literary addendum to the Indian Newspaper, Al-Raeid, and
distributed it to members and individuals concerned with Islamic literature.
The League issued fifty nine issues of the addendum before ceasing due to
the publication of the Literature Caravan Magazine.
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The
League issued the following organizational by-laws:
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Administrative by-laws, election by-laws, financial by-laws and publication
by-laws.
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The
Arab States Office held four literary competitions. These were:
1.
Story and novel,
2.
Translation of literary works from Muslim people languages into Arabic
language,
3.
Children literature,
4.
Muslim woman literature.
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The
League had selected a number of studies on Islamic literature for
post-graduate students.
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The
League’s Office in
India held
about seventeen literary symposia throughout Indian subcontinent.
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The
Arab States Office held eight literary symposia in
Egypt, Jordan
and Turkey.
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The
Arab States Office held three international forums for Islamic literature in
Morocco.
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The
Arab States Office organized the First International Forum of Muslim women
of letters in
Egypt.
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The
League publishes seven quarterly literary magazines. These are:
1.
Islamic Literature Magazine – Published by Arab States Office,
2.
Al-Mishkat Magazine – Published by the Regional Office in
Morocco,
3.
Literature Caravan Magazine – Published in Urdu by Indian Subcontinent
Office,
4.
Literature Caravan Magazine – Published in Arabic, Urdu and English by the
Regional Office in
Pakistan,
5.
Al-Haq Magazine – Published in Bangla language by the Regional Office in
Bangladesh.
6.
Manar Al-Sharq Magazine – Published in Arabic by the Regional Office in
Bangladesh,
7.
Islamic Literature Magazine – Published in Turkish by the Regional Office
in
Turkey.
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The
Arab States Office issued the following publications:
1.
Selected Modern Islamic Poetry – League’s Member Poets,
2.
Viewpoints on Literature – H.E. Sheikh Abu Al-Hassan Al-Nadawi,
3.
Paradise Perfumes, collected poems by Umar Bahau Deen Al-Ameeri,
4.
Modern Islamic Literature Library Manual, Dr. Abdul Basit Badr,
5.
Literary Text for Children – Dr. Saad Abou Al-Ridha,
6.
Bosnia & Herzegovina Collected Poems, League’s Member Poets,
7.
I
Will not Die in Vain, Novel by Jihad Al-Rahbi,
8.
O
My Lord!, Collected Poems by Muhammad Al-Tehami,
9.
The Globe Day, Selected Stories by Dr. Oudatullah Al-Qaisi,
10.
Dawn
Cities, Collected Poems By Dr. Saber Abdul Dayem,
11.
She Returned, Novel by Salam Idriso,
12.
The Trial of the Innocent, Play by Dr. Ghazi Tulaimat,
13.
Islamic Realism in Najeeb Al-Kilani’s Novels, Dr. Helmi Al-Ka’oud,
14.
Modern Talk to Abi Ayyoub Al-Ansari, Collected Poems by Dr. Jabir Qumaiha,
15.
Under the Shades of Satisfaction, Collected Poems by Ahmad Mahmoud
Mubarak,
16.
On Applied Criticism, Dr. Emadu Deen Khalil,
17.
Topics and Studies by Abou Al-Hassan Al-Nadawi,
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In
the field of children literature, the League published the following books
for children:
1.
Sing, O the Youth of Islam, Mahmoud Mufleh,
2.
Stories from Islamic History, H.E. Sheikh Abu Al-Hassan Al-Nadawi,
3.
Birds’ Sin’ing, Yahya Haj Yahya,
4.
Memories of an Arrogant Elephant, Dr. Hussain Ali Muhammad,
5.
Street Trees Are My Sisters, Ahmad Fadhl Shabloul,
6.
Famous Journeys to
Arabian
Peninsula, Fawzi Khidr
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