More than 40 Muslim lecturers drawn from departments of mass communication and media studies in various universities and tertiary institutions in Northern Nigeria participated in a just concluded seminar on the integration of knowledge, an initiative of the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT).
The three-day seminar, with the theme, ‘Communication in the Qur’an’,was held between April 21 and 23 at the Faculty of Physical Sciences, Bayero University, Kano, Northwest Nigeria.
“There is the need for the integration of Islamic perspectives in the teaching, practice and research of mass communication,” said Dr Umar Jubrilu Umar, the Director of Research and Integration of Knowledge of the institute, while addressing participants.
Dr Umar said the seminar aimed to harness knowledge, ideas as well as academic and intellectual contributions with Islamic focus towards enriching and developing the mass communication curriculum being taught at institutions of higher learning in the Northern region.
He challenged the participants to reflect on the possibility of engendering a paradigm shift from the western concept and practice of mass communication generally and the journalism profession in particular.
The seminar was divided into 5 sessions, while different resource persons spoke on a number of topics, including Human Communication in the Qur’an by Professor Salisu Sheu, God-Made Communication in the Qur’an by Dr Mai Madu Mutai and Freedom of Expression in Islam by Dr Jubrilu Gwandu.
Other speakers were Dr Ibrahim Siraj and Dr Sanusi Iguda, who made presentations on Tackling Ethical Issues in Global Journalism: An Islamic Approach and Towards Developing an Islamic Theory of PR – A Preliminary Perspective respectively.
