By
Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander, New Age Islam
7 October
2021
Eminent Islamic Scholar and Director Graduate
School, State Islamic University, Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta, Indonesia Prof. Azyumardi Azra in conversation
with Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander, about being his life, works, being
elected as new Chairperson of Asian Muslim Action Network (AMAN), Thailand, and
the challenges this new post offers.
Tell us
something about yourself?
I was born
in Lubuk Alung, West Sumatra, Indonesia, on March 4, 1955. I graduated from
Department of History, Columbia University in 1992. I am a member of advisory
board of a number of international organizations such as UN Democracy Fund
(UNDEF), International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
(International IDEA). I am presently Director, Graduate School, State Islamic
University, Jakarta, Indonesia. I have written and edited more than two dozen
books related to Islam, Islam in Indonesia and other such issues.
How long
have you been associated with AMAN?
I can’t
exactly recall but it certainly must be more than a decade old relation with
AMAN.
What was
your reaction when AMAN Council members on 31st August, 2013 elected you as the
new Chairperson?
I was
really surprised because the move was quite unexpected. Now I have been chosen to
bear the responsibility of being a Chairperson of AMAN, I am quite worried
about being able to do justice with the responsibilities that accompany the
chairmanship of AMAN, because I may not be able to give my complete attention
to the obligations I am supposed to deliver, because of my tight schedule. I
also travel a lot attending to different conferences, delivering lectures and I
also teach at various universities.
What are
the challenges facing AMAN as an organization?
There are
various challenges at present that AMAN is facing. My initiative will be to
strengthen and widen the scope the existing programmes. I will also try to
prioritize the Inter religious Dialogues and Peace Building courses. So far
AMAN, has done good work but there is still scope for its improvement. AMAN has
good relations with other NGOs and civil society actors but need is to have
relations with governments too. I will also try to improve its revenue by
generating more funding using my contacts.
What
steps are you going to take to broaden the sphere of AMAN activities?
I will like
to continue and improve the existing programmes. Simultaneously I will try to
network and introduce AMAN among government circles and in Asia as a whole.
Being an
academic, researcher and Islamic scholar what efforts will you put to improve
the research activities of AMAN?
I will try
to improve the research conducted through AMAN, but this research will be
action oriented rather than ivory tower scholarship. Young scholars will be
provided with AMAN research fellowships. Also Asghar Ali Engineer Memorial Fund
has been established that will offer fellowships to researchers to conduct
research on his scholarly legacy as well as South Asia.
How do
you see the future of AMAN?
I am quite
optimistic about the future activities and work of AMAN. AMAN has been working
now for more than two decades and hundreds of people have participated in its
programmes and it has fellows in most parts of the world. AMAN is a reputed
name among the NGOs and its work is well known in most countries and
governments in Asia as well as other parts of the planet. I will try to build
better liaison with these AMAN alumina so that we can jointly work towards
making the world better, safer and peaceful for us to inhabit.
-----
M.H.A.Sikander
is Writer-Activist based in Srinagar-Kashmir
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/interview/aman-peaceful-asian-muslims/d/125526