Al Habib Ali Aljifri’s participation in Reviving the Islamic Spirit Conference entitled “Rules for the Road of Life – Reviving the 10 Commandments in the Modern World”, from 24th December 2010 to 1st January 2011, in Toronto, Canada.
Al Habib Ali arrived in Toronto, Canada for the ninth annual “Reviving the Islamic Spirit” convention which takes place between 24th and 26th December 2010, under the banner “Rules for the Road of Life – Reviving the 10 Commandments in the Modern World” with the participation of leading scholars and speakers from around the world.
This convention will endeavor to:
1) demonstrate the Islamic cognates of each of the ten commandments;
2) show to what extent the civilization that defines itself as Judeo-Christian has abandoned or held on to those commandments; and
3) lay out a “road map” as to how Muslims can lead a revival of these commandments as the operative moral basis for checking the ravages of secularism gone mad.
As per the Program, Al Habib Ali will take part in two sessions:
First: The Power of Ten: The Spiritual Meanings of the Commandments.
In what ways do the Ten Commandments transcend simple moralistic exhortations and point us to loftier truths? What light do they shed regarding the purpose of human beings on earth? Can they be restored without a restoration of the higher spiritual realities that they are designed to protect? Can we truly abide by the Ten Commandments without purifying our hearts and strengthening our inner defenses against the onslaught of temptation that so defines the modern world?
Second: Honor Thy Parents: Filial Respect in the Age of Homer Simpson.
Any examination of family programming in modern media would lead one to conclude that there is a conscious crusade to undermine the Commandment to honor thy parents. South Park, The Simpsons, and a multitude of other programs almost all denigrate the role of parents, especially the father. How do we restore filial piety in a rapidly aging society, where the elders are carted off to nursing homes to spend the twilight of their lives in the care of complete strangers, because their own children find them burdens too odious to bear? Is this a case of what goes around comes around, since so many parents cart their children off to daycare centers, or to You-tube nannies, iPods, iPhones, the internet, and various other electronic “caregivers”?
In addition to that, Al Habib Ali will take part in the concluding session entitled: “Guiding Rules for Life: The Ten Commandments and Public Morality” with the participation of: Shaykh Abdalla Idris Ali, Dr. Ingrid Mattson, Dr. Jamal Badawi, Sr. Aisha Al Adawiya, Dr. Umar F. Abd Allah, Dr. Abdal Hakim Jackson, Imam Zaid Shakir, His Excellency Mufti Mustafa Ceric and Shaykh Hamza Yusuf.
Al Habib Ali participates also in the Tentative RIS Conference Knowledge Retreat Program, with “A Portrait of the Prophet – Selections from the Shamail of Imam AlTirmidhi”, from Monday 27th December 2010 to Saturday 1st January 2011.
