What is Ummatics?
Ummatics is an organization that focuses on the collective affairs of the Umma, which refers to the community of Muslims. It can be understood as similar to “politics” for a city-state or nation-state. However, in contrast to the common understanding of politics, Ummatics is concerned with upholding the divine message. It’s goal is to teach Muslims to be stewards of the Earth. To establish justice and prosperity in a way that fulfills the divine imperative.
The organization provides a platform for thinkers, doers, and visionaries of the Umma. They can gather to conceptualize and contribute to the reintegration of Muslim regions into a prosperous and virtuous civilization. They aim to foster dialogue through colloquia, seminars, and conferences to explore new ideas for the benefit of the Umma.
The Importance of Principle
Ummatics also cultivates research on ummatic thought and practice. The organization adheres to the highest scholarly standards of the Islamic and human sciences. They aim to galvanize participation from individuals who share the ummatic-minded perspective to bring about their vision for the future.
Encouraging collaboration among individuals and institutions interested in the study of ummatic thought and practice is another objective of the organization. They seek to create connections and foster cooperation in this field.
Additionally, Ummatics provides training and professional services for institutions and policy makers who are seeking to develop a more meaningful ummatic ethos. They aim to assist these entities in understanding and incorporating the principles and values of ummatics into their work.
Facilitating Dialogue Through Ummatics
Ummatics is an organization that promotes the collective affairs of the Umma by facilitating dialogue, research, collaboration, and training to realize a prosperous and virtuous civilization based on the principles and values of ummatic thought and practice.
Ummatics 2023 Inaugural Conference
The Ummatics 2023 Inaugural Conference, titled “Umma Beyond the Nation-State: Imagination, Solidarity, Praxis,” took place from June 13 to 15, 2023, at Bahariye Mevlevihanesi in Istanbul, Turkey.
The conference aimed to address the current paradoxical situation of the Muslim Umma (community). On one hand, Muslims are more numerous, educated, connected, and resourceful than ever before. On the other hand, they face massive dispossession and are deeply divided by the borders of post-colonial nation-states. Traditional scholarly approaches often treat the concept of the Umma as a language of international solidarity, political affect, and theological commitment. However, it competes with other identity categories like ethnicity, nation, and class.
Vision and Goals
The conference recognized that global interconnections and neoliberal adjustments have weakened state territoriality. All while civilizational nationalisms hostile to the Muslim Umma are replacing or reshaping old-fashioned state nationalisms in various regions. The Muslim Umma finds itself in a time of transformation and intensifying global inequities as the hijrī century approaches its midpoint. Therefore, the conference aimed to reexamine and explore the Muslim collective today as a central theme.
By bringing together scholars, thinkers, and practitioners, the conference sought to foster discussions, insights, and practices. These discussions go beyond the limitations of nation-states and address the imagination, solidarity, and praxis of the Muslim Umma in the contemporary world.
