“25 Years Serving the Islamic Written Heritage”
The year 2013 ended on a truly historic note, as Al-Furqan Foundation celebrated its 25th Anniversary.
Friends, family, scholars and supporters from all around the world came to London during the last week of November to join the Foundation in celebrating a quarter of a century of dedication and excellence in preserving the Islamic Written Heritage. It was a busy, lively and exciting week of events.
The celebrations began on 26th November, with a two-day conference on manuscripts, under the title “Editing Islamic Manuscripts on Social Sciences and Humanities”. The conference featured keynote speakers addressing and fostering debate on a variety of themes from social sciences and humanities, including problems and challenges faced in the editing process, methodologies and further research and work.
On the evening of 28th November, the Foundation held its formal 25th Anniversary celebration gala evening at the prestigious BMA House in Bloomsbury, London. The evening’s programme featured exhibitions, live musical performances, keynote speeches by friends of the Foundation and leaders and an elegant dinner and reception. The guests were honoured by the presence of the Founder and Chairman of Al-Furqan, His Excellency Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, who spoke fondly and with humility about the accomplishments of Al-Furqan since its inception. His Excellency expressed deep appreciation to all those, whose support and contributions helped the Foundation grow and prosper into a truly pioneering institution of cultural and intellectual heritage. The guests were also treated to a short documentary film tribute to the Foundation’s esteemed founder, which followed the evolution of the Foundation, its Centres and its many ground-breaking projects, and which included contributions and testimonials from many renowned scholars and leaders.
During the evening event, all the members of Al-Furqan's International Advisory Board and Board of Experts were recognised in acknowledgment of their efforts and continuous support in achieving the Foundation’s message, and whose contributions over the years have been key to the success of the Foundation. The recipients of plaques, awarded by His Excellency were:
| Manuscripts Centre | Makkah & Madinah Centre | Maqasid Centre |
| Prof Dr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoğlu | Sheikh Dr Abdu-l-Wahab abu Sulaiman | Prof Dr Mohammed Salim al-Awa |
| Prof Dr Abdu-l-Hadi al-Tazi | Prof Dr Abbas Saleh Tashkandy | Prof Dr Issam al-Basheer |
| Prof Dr Muhammad Adnan al-Bakheet | Prof Asim Hamdan Ali | Sheikh Abdullah Farraj al-Shareef |
| Prof Dr Ibrahim Chabbouh | Dr Mohammed Abdu-l-Karim bin Obaid | Dr Hasan Jaber |
| Prof Dr Abdullah Yusuf al-Ghunaim | Dr Mi’raj Nawab Mirza | |
| Prof Dr Enes Karić | Dr Adnan Mohammed al-Shareef | |
| in absentia: | in absentia: | in absentia: |
| Prof Dr Nasir al-Din al-Asad | Prof Abdu-l-Malik bin Duhaysh (رحمه الله) | Sheikh Dr Mohammed al-Habeb bin al-Khojah (رحمه الله) |
| Prof Dr Sayed Hossein Nasr | Prof Abdu-l-Lateef bin Abdullah bin Duhaysh | Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi |
| Prof Dr Sayed Waheed al-Din | Prof Ghazi bin Obaid Madani | Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayah |
| Prof Dr Iraj Afshar (رحمه الله) | Dr Omar Hasan Falatah | Dr Sayid Hadi Khasroshahi |
| Prof Dr Muhammad Haitham al-Khayat | Dr Abdu-l-Rahman Sulaiman al-Mazeni | Sheikh Mohammed Mukhtar al-Salami |
| Dr Abdullah Saleh Ahmed Shawoosh | Prof Dr Ahmad al-Raisouni | |
| Dr Yusuf Ahmed Hawalah | Prof Dr Kamal Imam | |
| Prof Dr Sayfuddin Abdu-l-Fattah | ||
| Dr Abdullah Fad’aq | ||
| Dr Ibrahim al-Bayyoumi Ghanem |
A number of non-members of the boards were also recognised by the Foundation for their outstanding contributions over the years. Recipients of these plaques were: Prof Dr Ayman Fouad Sayyid Dr Jasser Auda. In absentia: Prof Dr Qasim al-Samarrai Prof Jeffrey Roper.
Furthermore, in acknowledgment of their long service, loyalty, work and effort, four of the staff members of Al-Furqan were recognised:
1. Magdalene Coulson
2. Sue Nockall
3. Mohamed Drioueche
4. Karima Benaicha
The 25th Anniversary celebrations concluded with a four-day specialised training course, organised by the Centre for the Study of Islamic Manuscripts, in partnership with the Islamic Cultural Centre & the London Central Mosque Trust and the UK Board of Shariah Councils, under the title “The Objectives of Shari’ah: The Principles and Concepts”. Record-breaking attendance at the training course made it one of the most energetic, diverse and stimulating to date. The in-depth training course built awareness and understanding among participants in a range of aspects of the study of the objectives of shari’ah, including Legal Theory, Jurisprudence, Islamic Thought and Ethics, as well as addressing topics of approach, methodology and the obstacles facing today’s scholars. The course featured, among its guest speakers ,leaders in the field from around the world.
