Reviving the Islamic Spirit

Reviving the Islamic Spirit (RIS) is an annual Islamic conference typically held during the winter holiday season in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The first conference was held in 2001, and has since become one of North America's largest Islamic conferences, alongside the ISNA convention in the United States. The conference has grown from 3,500 attendees in its first year to over 20,000 in 2011, making it the largest Islamic conference in Canada.[1] Attendees and speakers attend from around the world, including the United States, Europe and the Middle East. In May 2010, RIS held its first American conference in Long Beach, California.[2] Following the second U.S. edition at the Long Beach Convention Center on Memorial Day weekend the conference was discontinued.

Overview

The format of the conference typically consists of a series of lectures over three days, generally structured around a specific central theme. Each year distinguished speakers, including both Islamic scholars and non-Muslims, are invited to lecture based on the selected theme of the conference. Previous conference themes have included the life of the prophet Muhammad, Canadian-Muslim identity, and Islamic civilization.

Concert
Isam Bachiri at RIS in 2009

A concert has been held at the end of the conference almost every year, usually consisting of nasheed (Islamic music) or performances by Muslim musicians. Main performers who have headlined the concert include: Sami Yusuf, Maher Zain, Najam Sheraz, Raihan, Native Deen and Danish hip-hop group Outlandish.

Criticism and accusation of religious fundamentalism

The conference has invited some figures like Tariq Ramadan and Bilal Philips. Even Justin Trudeau has participated. Trudeau was criticized later by some media outlets, and other Jewish and Muslim groups, and as well by some members of his own party because they argued that the conference was problematic and had indirect connection with Hamas and that there were aspects of religious radicalism. Among other, there was a sponsor, IRFAN, which was said had sent suspicious funds to Hamas, apparently about 15 million dollars. The sponsor denied the allegations, but decided to withdraw from the conference in order not to cause more controversy. Trudeau himself rejected the criticism.[3][4][5][6]

Notable speakers

Two scholars have made an appearance at the conference every year since it began: Zaid Shakir and Hamza Yusuf except the 2017 conference, which Hamza Yusuf was unable to attend. Other notable speakers who have appeared over the years include:

List of conferences

RIS Theme Venue Date
1 Reviving the Islamic Spirit Metro Toronto Convention Centre January 4–5, 2001
2 Changing Our Condition Metro Toronto Convention Centre January 2–4, 2004
3 Legacy of the Prophet Rogers Centre December 24–26, 2004
4 Islamic Civilization Direct Energy Centre December 23–26, 2005
5 The Neglected Sunnah: Patience in the Face of Rejection Metro Toronto Convention Centre December 22–24, 2006
6 Family Matters: The Basis of a Civil Society Metro Toronto Convention Centre December 28–30, 2007
7 Answering the Call of God's Messenger: Setting Prophetic Priorities for Muslims in the West Metro Toronto Convention Centre December 26–28, 2008
8 SOS: Saving the Ship of Humanity Metro Toronto Convention Centre December 25–27, 2009
9 Rules for the Road of Life: Reviving the 10 Commandments in the Modern World Metro Toronto Convention Centre December 24–26, 2010
10 Control, Chaos or Community: Three Ways, One World, Our Choice Metro Toronto Convention Centre December 23–25, 2011
11 Divine Light for Living Right: Prophetic Guidance in the Midst of Modern Darkness Metro Toronto Convention Centre December 21–23, 2012
12 Changing Our Condition: Rekindling the Light of Faith Metro Toronto Convention Centre December 27–29, 2013
13 He Came To Teach You Your Religion: Prophetic Answers to Angelic Questions Metro Toronto Convention Centre December 26–28, 2014
14 Alliance of Virtue Metro Toronto Convention Centre December 25–27, 2015
15 The Promise of God: Conditions for Renewal Metro Toronto Convention Centre December 23-25, 2016
16 Whither Islam? Rebooting Our Faith Metro Toronto Convention Centre December 22-24, 2017

References

  1. http://iqra.ca/2011/canadian-islamic-convention-attracts-record-breaking-attendance/
  2. http://www.revivingtheislamicspirit.com/convention/history.php?id=14
  3. https://torontosun.com/2012/12/22/justin-trudeau-addresses-controversial-muslim-conference-in-toronto/wcm/a0bab017-6dbf-4477-9071-b2a604b62fe6. ”Justin Trudeau addresses controversial Muslim conference in Toronto”. torontosun.com. December 22, 2012.
  4. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-defies-critics-in-muslim-conference-speech-1.1150769. ”Trudeau defies critics in Muslim conference speech”. CBC.ca. Dec 22, 2012.
  5. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/sponsor-withdraws-from-islamic-event-trudeau-to-attend-1.1185669. "Sponsor withdraws from Islamic event Trudeau to attend". CBC.ca. Dec 17, 2012.
  6. https://torontosun.com/2012/12/14/justin-trudeau-should-respond-to-conference-critics-marc-garneau-says/wcm/da759335-a48a-4ceb-b05d-20d73c2d693b. ”Justin Trudeau should respond to conference critics, Marc Garneau says”. Toronto Sun. Jessica Hume. December 14, 2012.
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