Intellectual Discourse (Journal)
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The Clash of Interests: An Explanation of the World [Dis]order
Get PDFThe paper is a critical re-examination of the Post-Cold War theories– especially Fukuyama's "End of History" and Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations"– and aims to provide an alternative explanation for the global political crisis and instabilities during this era. It is argued that the end of the Cold War strategic balance based on bipolarity has created sensitive regions on a large geopolitical and geoeconomic zone, because there is a vacuum of power to control the strategic capabilities of the geopolitical core areas as well as the vast resource-production-trade capabilities of international political economy. The revival of cultural and civilizational identities after the collapse of the ideological identities of the bipolar Cold War era has been exploited to justify the intra-civilizational strategic competition among the systemic power centers in order to control these sensitive geopolitical and geoeconomic zones. The Eurasian component of the Muslim world, which became the intersectional arena of these two phenomena, civilizational revival and strategic competition, appears as the focal point in international relations
Psychology and Religion: Two Approaches to Positive Mental Health
Get PDFHistorically speaking, psychology and religion have worked separately toward the goal of improving mental health among the people. Can psychology and religion work together and reap better results for the client? How important is religion for the people and how important are religious values for psychologists? What is the relationship between religion and mental health? How today's schools of psychology deal with the religious client? How is religion integrated in psychotherapy? These and other related issues are addressed in this paper. It is concluded that psychologists are obligated to work within the value system of the client and that this approach would achieve a more positive therapeutic outcome
The 13th Malaysian general election: Uncertainties and expectations
Get PDFMalaysia held its 13th general election on May 5, 2013 which was a contest between two coalitions, the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) and the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR). The latter’s expectations for an outright win did not materialise. The election results have shown a rather status quo with minor losses and gains for the two coalitions. This study analysed the 13th election and found a number of noticeable trends. The Chinese voters have voted overwhelmingly for the opposition. The political culture of Malaysia is also shifting toward more participatory type with increased social and economic mobility. The days of one-party dominance in Malaysia are apparently over. The electoral politics in Malaysia might become more polarised along ethnic lines which may require reshuffling of its coalition framework and design
The 1st world congress on integration and Islamicisation of acquired human knowledge (FWCII 2013)
Get PDFFeatures influencing Islamic websites use: A Muslim user perspective
Get PDFMuslim scholars and organisations use the Internet through various websites to spread Islam globally. The presence of many websites providing Islamic contents online makes it necessary to examine their Islamic features and the factors that influence Muslims to use Islamic websites. This paper empirically investigates the Islamic features that influence the use of Islamic websites by Muslim users. The identified Islamic factors were grouped under five factors: beliefs, ethics, services, symbols, and values. A survey of 246 Muslim Islamic website users was conducted between November and December 2012 at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). The study develops and tests a path measurement model to confirm the psychometric properties of the five identified factors. The study found that Islamic features significantly influence Muslims to use Islamic websites. The measurement model and empirical results provide valuable indicators for the direction of future research and also suggest guidelines for developing Islamic websites that will easily influence many Internet users to visit them in order to learn about Islamic teachings and practices. The findings are also of considerable importance as they contribute to the present body of knowledge on Islamic websites’ evaluation and for practice in designing and developing quality Islamic websites
