Intellectual Discourse (Journal)
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Contemporary criticism on the representation of female travellers of the Ottoman harem in the 19th century: A review
Get PDFA common problem that needs addressing in the study of narratives concerning the Orient and the Ottoman harem in the 19th century, through an emphasis on gender, is the popular belief amongst certain groups in post-colonial and feminist scholarships that writings by women on these subjects are the alternative to hegemonic imperial discourse. Post-colonial and feminist critics whose research deals with women travel writers to the Middle East and North Africa—Sara Mills, Reina Lewis, Billie Melman, Susan Meyer and Shirley Foster—have all argued that since women were not directly involved in the imperial project, their writings on the Orient and the Ottoman harem should be considered as articulating alternative views in colonial narratives. One of the aims of this paper is to present evidence that suggests that narratives by women, as well as those by men, did not necessarily bear a counter-hegemonic imprint. It argues that in most cases, they display, through the attention to gender and race in relation to the Orient and the Ottoman harem, ambivalences that neither completely support nor subvert the imperialist subject
Tradition and modernity in Malay society (1830s-1930s)
Get PDFThis study attempts to explicate what happened to the Malays between the turn of the 20th century and the beginning of World War II. This is important to underscore the fact that, contrary to general impressions, Islam did not hold back the progress of the Malays, and that even before World War II, major changes were taking place in Malay society. Modernity in Malay society began to emerge even before World War I. Although the intrusion of British administration to a great extent contributed to socio-economic changes in many parts of the Malay Peninsula, the Muslim intelligentsia were indefatigably urging the Malays to be sensitive to their environment; and one way of keeping abreast of change was to expose themselves to modern education. Malay journalism, Malay literature and the frequent exchange of ideas in the Malay media were characteristics of Malay society beginning from the early 20th century. Politics then was not yet to the fore. As in other societies, there were also conservative elements within that placed obstacles in the way of those who tirelessly pursued change from tradition to modernity
Borderless Islam and the modern nation state
Get PDFGiven the dichotomy of “Islam and the West” and its currency post-September 11, how do we respond to the question of a modern Islam? This is the key idea that this paper explores, by discussing what Islam represents, and what modernity entails, arguing that Islamic teachings and practices are not necessarily incompatible with modernity, and that the discourse on Islam and modernity and where the two are headed can be legitimately engaged in by Muslims given that Islamic societies are diverse and subject to global influences
Relevance of Shiblī’s educational philosophy
Get PDFShibli Nu’mani, a late 19th century scholar, advocated a balanced educational philosophy for the Muslims in India. While most of his contemporaries wanted to teach traditional education to make Muslims retain their religious identity in the changed political situation, others stressed on modern science and learning to face the challenges of modernity. Traditional Islamic education aimed at the attainment of virtues while pursuing knowledge as an obligation and produced scientists and philosophers but these promoters of traditional education were ignorant of the demands of their time, whereas the modernist group considered traditional education unnecessary. Shibli used history and kalām to teach Muslims the unique characteristics of Islamic education and stressed that both groups need to make the Qur’ān their main guide and urged the ulamā’ to take the lead
Islam and democracy in Malaysia: Findings from a national dialogue. Edited by Ibrahim M. Zein
Get PDFMalaysia’s foreign policy, the first fifty years: Alignment, neutralism, Islamism. By Johan Saravanamuttu
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A Maqāṣidī approach to contemporary application of the Sharī‘ah
No full textThis paper explores how Maqāṣid al-Sharī‘ah (higher purposes and intents of Islamic law) could contribute to the application of the Sharī‘ah itself in contemporary Muslim societies and to making the appropriate related juridical policies. The soundness of the application of the Shar‘īah and related policies is subject to the degree of universality and flexibility of the Islamic rulings with changing circumstances, are discussed from various viewpoints in this paper. After a survey of the system of values that Maqāṣid al-Sharī‘ah represent, three methods are explored: (1) differentiating between scripts that are means (wasā’il) to higher ends and scripts that are ends (ahdāf) in their own right, (2) preferring a multi-dimensional understanding for the conciliation of opposing juridical evidence, instead of reductionist methods such as abrogation (naskh) and elimination (tarjīḥ), and (3) achieving a universality of Sharī‘ah across cultures via the consideration of customs (al-‘urf). A number of examples are provided throughout the paper in order to explain the impact of the proposed methods on contemporary Islamic rulings and juridical policies related to them
Madrasah in Singapore: Tradition and modernity in religious education
Get PDFThe educational policies of the Singapore government are driven by the needs of a modern knowledge-based society and economic development, with the state advocating modernity while the Muslim minority, arguably, appeared to be caught in tradition and holding on to “old fashioned” education. However, whether the new attempts at modernizing madrasah education driven by the state will succeed remains to be seen, as earlier attempts of reformation driven by the Muslim community, or parts thereof, have been rather unsuccessful. This paper analyses the discourse between tradition and modernity of Islamic religious education in Singapore