Centre for Islamic Knowledge - CIK

Upcoming CIK Talk - Tech and AI Sovereignty: ​Why the Muslim Community Can’t Afford to Wait Presented by: Dr. @waleedk ​​(Islam and AI thought leader | Former Head of AI Engineering and Chief Scientist at StockApp, Canva, Anyscale, Uber, and Google) Discussant: Dr. Nazir Khan (McMaster University / Centre for Islamic Knowledge) On-site at the Centre for Islamic Knowledge (3150 Ridgeway Dr, Unit # 26, Mississauga, ON) Saturday, May 2, 2026, at 7:30 PM (15 Dhul Qa'dah 1447) Register at cikedu.org/ciktalks Artificial intelligence is rapidly emerging as the defining technology of our age—reshaping economies, knowledge production, governance, and global power structures. Yet, as Dr. Waleed Kadous argues, the Muslim community risks repeating a familiar historical pattern: a 10–20 year delay in adopting transformative technologies, a lag that, in the case of AI, may prove far more consequential than ever before. This CIK Talk examines the concept of tech and AI sovereignty—the capacity of a community to control its digital infrastructure, data, and technological direction in a way that reflects its values and protects its interests. Moving beyond abstract concerns, the lecture explores how dependence on external platforms can translate into real vulnerabilities, including the shaping, suppression, or distortion of Muslim voices in global digital spaces. Dr. Kadous situates AI not merely as another technological wave, but as a meta-technology—one that accelerates progress across all domains while reinforcing inequalities between those who build it and those who consume it. As AI systems become increasingly self-improving and embedded in critical sectors, the gap between technologically sovereign communities and those without control is set to widen dramatically. Drawing on both historical precedent and the Prophetic model, the lecture argues that the Islamic intellectual tradition has never been characterized by technological withdrawal, but rather by strategic engagement and mastery. From early investments in literacy and knowledge infrastructure to contemporary opportunities in AI development, the talk calls for a renewed vision of civilizational agency—one rooted in scholarship, ethics, and institutional leadership. ​Bringing together insights from AI engineering, policy, and Islamic thought, this session will explore the challenges, risks, and emerging opportunities in building a Muslim-led AI ecosystem. It will also highlight the roles of scholars, technologists, institutions, and community leaders in shaping a future where AI serves not only efficiency and profit, but also justice, knowledge, and the common good.

Upcoming Event at the Centre for Islamic Knowledge in collaboration with the Yunus Emre Institute Japanese Islamicate Art and Our Cultural Imperative Presented by: Dr. @NaokiQYamamoto (Graduate School of Turkic Studies at Marmara University, Türkiye | Institute of Muslim Societies and East Asian Civilizations (IMSEAC), Japan) Next Thursday, March 26th at 8 PM (7 Shawal), On-site at the Centre for Islamic Knowledge (3150 Ridgeway Dr, Unit # 26, Mississauga, ON L5L 5R5) Register at: cikedu.org/japanese-islam… This talk explores the concept of Japanese Islamicate Art as a living cultural practice rather than a fixed identity or aesthetic label. Drawing on Japanese classical arts such as calligraphy, swordsmanship, literature, and ethical discipline, the presentation examines how these traditions can be read and re-articulated through an Islamicate lens—one shaped by moral restraint, inward cultivation, responsibility, and care for the common good. Rather than framing Islam in Japan as a matter of conversion narratives or cultural borrowing, this talk argues for a cultural imperative: the need to cultivate forms of expression that are rooted, accountable, and responsive to the societies in which Muslims actually live. Through examples from art, literature, and narrative storytelling, the talk reflects on what it means to create culture from within a place, while remaining connected to a broader civilizational inheritance. About the Presenter: Dr. Naoki Yamamoto is an Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Turkic Studies at Marmara University in Istanbul and Director of the Institute of Muslim Societies and East Asian Civilizations (IMSEAC) in Japan.  He specializes in Ottoman Tasawwuf, Japanese classical culture, and comparative intellectual history, with a particular focus on Islamicate readings of East Asian traditions. He is the founder of Japanese Islamicate Art, a cross-disciplinary project encompassing scholarship, calligraphy, narrative fiction, and cultural commentary. His publications include a Japanese translation of Sulamī’s Kitāb al-Futuwwa, Introduction to Tasawwuf: The Way of Training (Shueisha, 2023), and an English translation of Liu Zhi’s Wugong Shiyi (The Exposition of the Five Pillars of Islam), which is forthcoming from Fons Vitae. Through teaching, writing, and artistic practice, his work seeks to explore how ethical traditions travel, settle, and take root without losing depth or integrity.