The Muslim Council of Elders’ stand at the Cairo International Book Fair hosted its eleventh cultural seminar titled “Texts and Margins: Methodologies and Misconceptions.” The event featured Sheikh Fawzi Konate, an Al-Azhar graduate and scholar from the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire.
At the start of the seminar, Sheikh Konate explained that ‘texts of knowledge’ encompass the foundational principles, rules, objectives, and key issues within a field. He described how the term ‘text’ refers to a concise book that distills these scholarly elements, making it comparable to a Mukhtasar (concise handbook), Mojaz (concise book), Risalah (treatise), Moqademah (introduction), or Al-Luma’ (primer on the principles of the doctrine).
Sheikh Konate outlined three key reasons scholars categorize texts. Firstly, they streamline and ease the memorization and comprehension of scientific principles and issues by condensing and simplifying the information. Secondly, they motivate students to learn directly from their teachers, thereby facilitating their educational journey. Thirdly, they help shorten the distance between a student and mastering the subject, which is the primary objective of studying these texts. Once this mastery is achieved, a person can fully grasp every aspect of the scientific principles.
The speaker also emphasized the importance of students accessing texts through proper channels. These texts should be verified by recognized scholars or authoritative academic institutions like Al-Azhar Al-Sharif and should be extensively supported with commentaries and annotations by scholars.
Sheikh Konate recommends that students of knowledge avoid excessive memorization of texts. Instead, he suggests mastering just three texts in each field: one for beginners, one for intermediate learners, and one for advanced students. This approach ensures a smooth and gradual progression both between the texts and within each text itself. After mastering these foundational texts, students should then explore commentaries and annotations to delve deeper into the finer details and underlying secrets of the discipline.
The Muslim Council of Elders is participating with a special stand at the 56th Cairo International Book Fair, running from January 23 to February 5, 2025. The stand hosts a large number of the Council’s distinguished publications, in addition to organizing a series of seminars, activities, and events focused on promoting values of kindness, love, peace, and coexistence among all people.
The Muslim Council of Elders’ stand is located at the Cairo International Book Fair next to the Al-Azhar Al-Sharif’s stand , in Heritage Hall (Hall No. 4), at the Egypt International Exhibition Center in the Fifth Settlement.