Forming a Complete Person
The Islam Actuel Institute welcomes everyone in their difference and uniqueness and reminds everyone that originally we have a common God, we are part of one human family, and we have a common wisdom to realize in our lives.
The Islam Actuel Institute aims to form a complete and balanced person, animated by a desire to please God, a quest for justice and truth, qualities of courage and benevolence, a desire to serve the common good, and a general knowledge of the world and the universal wisdom that God invites us to achieve in life.
This aim is inspired by the Quran, which invites the human family to unite around a valid knowledge of the world and the wisdom necessary to make our life on Earth a good one, animated by a sense of virtue and justice, in the service of God and therefore of the Common Good.
Here, formativeness is more than just informativeness: it is a path whereby each person can grow and contribute to making the world a better place. This is why the institute develops its training programs in a way that rests on two pillars:
- Understanding the world
- Making the Quran work in personal and collective life
Understanding the World
Understanding Islam means understanding God, Human, nature, the visible and invisible world, the meaning of History, the future of the human family, the world of today, the major trends and challenges we face together, the path to wisdom and to change...
Understanding requires to deal with the reading of the great texts, which can be a difficult task, but is the best way to develop one's discernment. Intellectual fast food — 2 minute videos, tweets, images and quotes... — does not have the power to form a healthy mind.
Understanding requires surrounding oneself with people who encourage one another to seek the truth and share their knowledge with a social network. Understanding requires surrounding yourself with people who are more experienced and wiser than you are.
But it is not enough to understand: it is necessary to develop useful knowledge. Even then, useful knowledge is not enough: it is also necessary that the knowledge be just, ethical, in the service of a project that serves the Common Good.
It is this path towards the right understanding and in the service of the Common Good that the Islam Actuel Institute wants to walk with students.
Making the Quran Work in Individual & Collective Life
The Islam Actuel Institute aims at forming strong people, open towards others, able to orient themselves in a complex world — in other words: people who are committed.
The formation to Islam is lived through relationships with others, around a meal, a discussion, the practice of an art or a sport, a need for advice or mutual aid, a service, a conflict to be dealt with or a project to be carried out… The initiation to Islam and to the wisdom of the Quran must be verified in the most concrete relationships and situations, at the institute, among students, in the family, at the mosque, in the life of the neighborhood and in society... There can be no Islam, no spirituality, no wisdom, no personal fulfillment without the concrete commitment to practice the gift of oneself, fraternity, benevolence but also critical thinking and a quest for justice.
This is the path that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught and turned concrete. In this sense, Aisha (may God be pleased with her) was once asked about her husband (Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him): 'What is he like in daily life?' 'He is like a Quran in motion.' When you look at him, you see the Quran in motion, for he spends his time actualizing the Quran in the way he feels, sees, is, and acts with others.
To follow the example of the prophets (peace be upon them all) is to put oneself at the service of God; it is to put oneself at the service of the Common Good in all situations of life: to bring smiles and joy around oneself, to help the one who is in difficulty, to exercise one's critical judgement, to restore justice, to use one's power (one's intelligence, one's authority, one's network, one's wealth...) wisely, in order to achieve the Good.