NEWS

2019.10.23

7th AJI Research Frontline Seminar on “The Voices of the Silent Muslim Majority: A Study of the Role of Moderate Islamic Thinkers”

The 7th AJI Research Frontline Seminar was held on July 23, 2019. Dr. Ayaka Kuroda (JSPS Research Fellow / Project Researcher at Ritsumeikan University Kinugasa Research Organization) gave a report titled “The Voices of the Silent Muslim Majority: A Study of the Role of Moderate Islamic Thinkers” focusing on the thoughts and ideas of representative Egyptian intellectuals.

Dr. Kuroda discussed what kind of thoughts these modern-day Islamic thinkers have and how they represent the moderate "silent majority". In the recent media reports, a small minority of extremists in the Islamic world have garnered all the attention, and the moderate Muslims who represent the vast majority of the Islamic community remain the "silent majority" as they can hardly be noticed from the outside. She reasoned how much these intellectuals can represent the ordinary people, and enthusiastically presented their ideologically leading ideas. The lively Q & A session provoked interesting thoughts on the stereotyping of public opinion by the Media and the future outlook.

Dr. Kuroda answering the audience’s questions