Ummatics

Ummatics Annual Conference 2026 The Strategic Umma: Managing Difference, Thinking Beyond Secularism, and Building Future Impact The Ummatics Institute is pleased to announce its 2026 conference, taking place on July 25–26, in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina, in collaboration with the International University of Sarajevo. This year’s theme, The Strategic Umma: Managing Difference, Thinking Beyond Secularism, and Building Future Impact, addresses major questions that sit at the heart of our civilizational moment. This conference brings together scholars, thinkers, and practitioners to engage with some pressing questions facing the Muslim world today. Participants will explore how the Umma can cultivate genuine unity while honoring deep internal differences — navigating sectarian tensions without falling into the traps of either forced uniformity or fragmentation in an increasingly multipolar world. The conference will also cast its gaze toward the future, examining how civilizational revival can be informed by the tools and methodologies of Future Studies to develop a coherent long-term ummatic vision. A dedicated session will sharpen and advance the Muslim intellectual critique of secularism, interrogating its assumptions and legacies with fresh rigor. We will also  explore how collaborative GEM ecosystems can move Muslim communities beyond individual achievement toward genuine communal empowerment and meaningful integration at a global scale. We invite you to join us in Sarajevo, a city that embodies centuries of Islamic heritage and Muslim resilience in the heart of Europe, for two days of vital conversation. Attendees this year may choose to have their accommodations arranged by Halal Travel Guide, which has organized a four-day post-conference heritage tour for participants and their families who wish to experience more of Bosnia and its rich Islamic legacy. Please contact HTG for more information via link in replies. Date: July 25–26, 2026 Location: The Red Amphitheater, International University of Sarajevo, Hrasnička cesta 15, Ilidža 71210, Bosnia & Herzegovina

Watch the full presentation, 'Opposing Evil & Speaking Truth to Power', on our YouTube channel: youtu.be/7ANRdyhtPOA

Tyranny is rarely an accident of history; it is often the vacuum left by the inaction of the righteous. If the forces of exploitation invest immense resources into their vision while the virtuous remain disorganized, the resulting imbalance inevitably manifests as systemic oppression. The universe is structured such that we cannot escape the consequences of our own passivity. — Tom Facchine

Watch the full presentation, 'Opposing Evil & Speaking Truth to Power', on our YouTube channel: youtu.be/7ANRdyhtPOA

In the face of great injustice, the distinction between the coerced and the complicit is often deferred to the Divine judgment, while the earthly consequences remain absolute. — Tom Facchine

Watch the video: youtu.be/yZdIAZwkyDY Read the summary: ummatics.org/ummatic-ai-vis…

Toward an Ummatic Vision
for Advanced AI | December Colloquium with Dr. Junaid Qadir If you missed our December 2025 colloquium, be sure to catch up on the video recording and read the colloquium summary. Is artificial intelligence a neutral tool, or a civilizational actor? In this session, Professor Junaid Qadir (Qatar University) deconstructs the prevailing assumption of technological neutrality, arguing that AI platforms often mirror the power structures and worldviews of their progenitors. Drawing upon Al-Ghazali’s framework for critical engagement and Shah Waliullah’s philosophy of Irtafaqat, Professor Qadir introduces an Islamic ethical lens designed to navigate contemporary digital challenges. The discussion addresses the phenomenon of "AI coloniality" and advocates for al-ra’y al-kullī (holistic judgment) to align technical optimization with moral purpose. The session concludes by envisioning an Ummatic AGI—a model predicated on justice, stewardship, and ethical sovereignty rather than computational hegemony. Link in replies.

Watch the full presentation, 'Opposing Evil & Speaking Truth to Power', on our YouTube channel: youtu.be/7ANRdyhtPOA

Is the scope of human existence limited to biological maintenance, or does it demand a higher ontological engagement? The concept of Khilafa suggests that human beings are tasked with the active management of the world’s affairs. Failure to fulfill this role does not merely lead to secular decline; it places every sacred and righteous institution in existential jeopardy. — Tom Facchine

Watch the full conference presentation, 'The Ummatic Method', here: youtu.be/Gdee_NTdeEc

Examining the psychological and moral wreckage of colonial and post-colonial trauma: From systemic displacement to modern genocide, how has the "internalization of defeat" shaped contemporary political behavior? We analyze the sociological impact of the "sin of obeying" and its role in perpetuating communal fragmentation. — Dr. Ovamir Anjum

Watch the full conference presentation, 'The Ummatic Method', here: youtu.be/Gdee_NTdeEc

Why are the flourishing of Islam and the unity of the Ummah functionally inseparable? Grounded in the Quranic mandate to "hold onto Allah's rope together," we explore the conviction that spiritual integrity and communal integration are two sides of the same coin—one cannot be realized without the other. — Dr. Ovamir Anjum

Watch the full conference presentation, 'The Ummatic Method', here: youtu.be/Gdee_NTdeEc

Can medieval methods of private counsel effectively challenge the sophisticated propaganda and repressive apparatus of the modern state? We argue for an intellectually bold revisiting of the Islamic tradition to build robust, independent institutions capable of meeting the unique challenges and responsibilities of the 21st century. — Dr. Ovamir Anjum

Watch the full colloquium, 'Are Islamists Still Islamists?', here: youtu.be/gBPiCDHcwuE

Can a community maintain its foundational identity while navigating a scholarly discourse conducted in the language of its colonizers? By proposing a strategic framework that differentiates between the usage of terms for institutional critique and their normative adoption, Dr. Uthman Badar and Dr. Sümeyye Sakarya address the challenge of engaging with modern scholarship without internalizing its underlying logic. Is it possible to deconstruct a hegemonic system while speaking its dialect, or does the very act of categorization risk a denial of agency?

From our article, 'On the Origins of Neoliberalism' by Ali Harfouch: ummatics.org/origins-of-neo…

"The Qurʾan differentiates between two existential orientations towards the world: the immanent world—the dunyā—of diversion, closed upon itself (appearing self-sufficient), divorced from any relation to the transcendent, and the ʿālam, which is open and inextricably connected to the transcendent. The market’s claims to self-sufficiency find its metaphysical legitimation and logic in the illusive self-sufficiency of the dunyā. The counter-world is the ʿālam, which literally means sign and is an open world that signifies that which is beyond itself (the presence of God)." — Ali Harfouch @asharfouch

Watch the full conference presentation, 'The Ummatic Method', here: youtu.be/Gdee_NTdeEc

Analyzing the "Qarun Paradigm": How do modern financial interests facilitate systemic tyranny within the Muslim world? We examine the social construct offered to the masses in the post-9/11 era—a reality where local elites manage "open-air prisons" while facilitating the extraction of communal riches by global powers. — Dr. Ovamir Anjum