بسم الله الرّحمن الرّحیم
Distinguished guests, professors, scholars, speakers, students, and dear attendees:
Good morning. My name is Seddigheh Kardan, and on behalf of myself, and my dear colleague, Sara Mrouwe: Welcome to the 13th Annual McGill Institute of Islamic Studies Student Council (MIISSC) symposium. We honor your presence here with hearts full of warmth and minds eager to listen and learn.
We would like to begin by acknowledging that we are located on unceded Indigenous lands. The Kanien'kehá:ka Nation is recognized as the custodians of the lands and waters on which we gather today. Tiohtià:ke (Montreal) is historically known as a gathering place for many First Nations. Today, it is home to a diverse population of Indigenous and other peoples. We respect the continued connections with the past, present, and future in our ongoing relationships with Indigenous and other peoples within the Montreal community.
In an era where the agonizing turmoil and tensions afflicting large portions of our contemporary world arguably stem from a mutual ignorance and a lack of collective resolve for peaceful coexistence, efforts such as this, coming together for intellectual dialogue, exploring the diverse dimensions of human thoughts and experiences, and honoring different perspectives to build bridges between the various realms of human intellectual and social life, are precisely more precious than ever and truly deserve to be celebrated. On the other hand, the symposium theme, "Uttering the Unutterable", calls us to the very edge of language and thought. In a world often dominated by the loud, the empirical, and the quantifiable, we have chosen instead to turn our gaze toward the horizons of the ineffable. We find ourselves at a historical juncture where the "unutterable"—be it the heights of mystical union, the depths of traumatic silence, or the complexities of marginalized identities—demands not just our attention, but a new vocabulary of understanding.
For us as human beings, this journey into the unutterable offers a profound widening of our intellectual, spiritual, and cultural horizons. This breadth of inquiry teaches us that truth is not a monolith but a mosaic, and that our understanding of the world is only as deep as our willingness to engage with its most complex and unspeakable facets.
Furthermore, this engagement serves as a crucible for moral and ethical elevation. By exploring the sacred texts or the gendered histories, we cultivate a rare and necessary patience. This is the patience required to listen to what is not being said, to respect, and to honour the testimonies of those whose voices have been historically erased. This symposium challenges us to move beyond the arrogance of certain knowledge toward a resonant understanding of the complexity of the Other. It transforms the academic pursuit into a spiritual exercise, refining our empathy and deepening our commitment to a more just and nuanced world.
As we embark on these two days of dialogue and reflection, let us remember that the goal of "Uttering the Unutterable" is not to strip the world of its mysteries, but to find a more profound way to live within them. Whatever we are discussing, we are seeking the threads that bind us across time and tradition. May these two days serve as a testament to our shared belief that even when words fail, our presence, our inquiry, and our empathy speak volumes. Welcome to the symposium.
Seddigheh Kardan & Sara Mrouwe
Symposium Co-chairs