Reviving the Islamic Spirit

Reviving the Islamic Spirit is an annual Islamic conference typically held during the winter holiday season in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The first conference was held in 2003, and has since become one of North America's largest Islamic conferences, rivaling the ISNA convention in the United States. The conference has grown from 3,500 attendees in its first year to over 15,000 in 2006, making it the largest Islamic conference in Canada. Since RIS 3, conferences have generally been structured around a specific central theme, which have included the life of the prophet Muhammad, Canadian-Muslim identity, and Islamic civilization. While criticism of the event is seen from both anti-Islamist observers and fundamentalist Muslims, organizers maintain that the event as an attempt to revive Islamic traditions of education, tolerance, and introspection.

Speakers

Each year distinguished scholars from different parts of the world come to the conference to share their knowledge and wisdom through a series of lectures. Three scholars have made an appearance at the conference every year since the start of RIS: Imam Zaid Shakir, Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, and Tariq Suwaidan. Other notable speakers who have appeared over the years include:

• Shaykh Sulaiman Moola
• Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah
• Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq
• Zakir Naik
• Siraj Wahhaj
• Jamal Badawi
• Muhammad Alshareef
• Tariq Ramadan
• Michael Lerner, Jewish rabbi
• Eric Margolis, journalist
• Robert Fisk, journalist
• Imran Khan, Pakistani cricketer
• Attallah Shabazz, eldest daughter of Malcolm X

Concert

Although somewhat controversial considering Islam's view towards music, a concert has been held at the end of the conference almost every year, usually consisting of nasheed artists or other types of Islamic music. Main performers who have headlined the concert include: Sami Yusuf, Najam Sheraz, Raihan, Native Deen and Danish hip-hop group Outlandish.

Vinnie Paz of Jedi Mind Tricks, as well as Wu Tang Clan amongst others, showed interest in performing in coming years.

Previous conferences

RIS	Theme	Venue	Date	1	Legacy of the Prophet	Rogers Centre (formerly SkyDome)	December 24 - December 26, 2004
2	Islamic Civilization	Direct Energy Centre (formerly National Trade Centre)	December 23 - December 26, 2005
3	The Neglected Sunnah: Patience in the Face of Rejection	Metro Toronto Convention Centre	December 22 - December 24, 2006
4	Family Matters: The Basis of a Civil Society	Metro Toronto Convention Centre	December 28 - December 30, 2007

External links

• Reviving the Islamic Spirit
• Shaykh Sulaiman Moola MP3's
• Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq MP3's