The Director and in Charge of International Affairs of IRIC participated in the “International Congress on Shiite role in the emergence and development of Islamic Science” that was held in the Holy City of Qom on May 10-11, 2018 in Payambar A’dam Hall of the High Education Seminary School of Imam Kadhim (a.s.).

The Congress was organized by the order of the Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi.

The congress was opened by recitation of some verses from the glorious Quran. Then it was continued by the speech of Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi.

The publications of the congress were unveiled in the presence of Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, Grand Ayatollah Sobhani, Aaytollah Aʿrafi, Ayatollah Araki, and Hojjatoleslam Rezāī.

Prof. Wilferd Madelung, the renowned German scholar of Islam and Shi’a school was one of the speakers of the ceremony.

Stating that the congress has accepted papers and books from scholars of different nationalities, the secretary of the Congress said: “scholars from more than 20 different countries have submitted papers to the congress and more than 120 scholars and thinkers from 50 different countries have participated in the congress”.

Speaking in the opening ceremony, Hujjatoleslam Mohammad Ali Rezāī Esfahanī stated that the congress had begun its pre-congress meetings in 10 difference scientific fields two years before under the supervision of Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi.

He added: “in the second phase of the congress in 2017, more than 350 papers and 590 abstracts were submitted to the congress secretariat; at the end of the year, 1201 papers had been submitted to the congress secretariat out of which, following extensive reviews, 418 papers were accepted for publication”.

During its two years of activities, fifty-five volumes of valuable books were compiled by prominent scholars of Islamic seminaries and universities.

This was a great service to the Islamic world as it has shed light on the role of the Ahl al-Bayt and the great Shi’a scholars in the establishment and development of Islamic sciences (including Quranic Sciences, Hadith, Jurisprudence and Principles of Jurisprudence, Rational Sciences, Literary Sciences, History, Human Sciences, Ethics and Mysticism, and even Astronomy and Medicine).

Congress was held and it was attended by some of the most prominent Shi’a and Sunni scholars and Orientalists, many of whom delivered lectures at and submitted papers to it within the framework of nine specialized committees. At the end of the congress, each of the scientific groups summed up the findings of their specialized committees and offered their scientific suggestions.

IRIC representatives had an active presence in discussions in two of the panels. They had the opportunities to have some private dialogue with the lecturers. IRIC intended to collect the books of this congress for its specialized Islam and the West Library.