Al-Shajarah Journal of the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC)
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UNDERSTANDING THE MINORITY MUSLIM COMMUNITY IN SINGAPORE: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
No full textBased upon interviews with experts in Singapore, this research aimsto investigate the struggle of the Muslim minorities in Singapore interms of Islamic religious sources, practices, and educational values.Competitive religious resources, undervalued Islamic education, andfreedom from fatwa legitimation have shaped the MuslimSingaporean framework in adjusting Muslims’ needs in search forauthentic sources, practice Islamic values, and manage Islamiceducation in the community. Drawing from Turner’s conception onthe space of liminality, this study attempts to understand thechallenges faced by the Muslim minority in Singapore
COMMODIFICATION OF KNOWLEDGE IN HIGHER EDUCATION: WHERE IS THE SEAT OF MAQASID AL-SHARI’AH AND ISLAMISATION?
No full textThe condition of knowledge in the globalization era can be easilycommercialized with the support of advanced technology. Thetransformation of technology in the 21st century has changed the waylearning is acquired and exploited. Globalization also has broughtnew challenges to higher education in terms of economy, politics,culture and technology. This scenario has expedited the process ofadopting commodification of education. As a result, higher educationinstitutions are becoming more like suppliers of the education marketwhere students are primarily consumers. Educators and policymakers have drifted away from advocating integrated education associal good to produce good human beings (al-Insan al-Saleh). Someeducational programs have been commercialized in pursuit ofmonetary gain for the survival of universities’s life span. Instead ofpreserving the noble maqasid of al-shari’ah and Islamisation,integration, and comprehensive excellence, universities have beenpressured to generate income. This influences the quality ofeducation and has jeopardized the noble mission and vision of theUniversities, particularly the principles of maqasid al-Shari’ah andthe Islamisation agenda in Islamic universities. Taking into accountthe dilemmas of these Islamic universities in balancing itsIslamisation agenda with pressures of commodification ofknowledge, this article argues that the concept of Islamization ofknowledge can be preserved within the context of social welfare.From the Islamic perspective, the principles of maqasid al-shari’ah (the purposes of Islamic Law) have significant impacts on social andcultural circumstances. It is also due to the fact that the concept ofmaqasid al-shari’ah include the preservation of five basicfoundations, i.e. religion (din), life (nafs), mind (‘aql), offspring(nasb), and wealth (mal). Since universities, including Islamicuniversities do not have much choices, we argue that adopting theprinciples of maqasid al-shari’ah to commercialize educationalprograms is promising and can be made plausible
FORM AND CONTENT: A HISTORICAL AND ARTISTIC ASSESSMENT OF A 17TH CENTURY ILLUSTRATED MANUSCRIPT OF SHAHNAMEH FROM S.M.N.A. LIBRARY, MALAYSIA
No full textShahnameh illustrated manuscripts are among the most sumptuous manuscripts produced in the history of Iran and within Persianate societies. The purpose of this research is to introduce and provide a multifaceted assessment of a 17th century illustrated manuscript of the Shahnameh, preserved at the Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas Library MSS collection. In this study, after a brief introduction of the Shahnameh, the manuscript in hand is evaluated from historical, codicological and artistic perspectives. It identifies the calligraphic style(s), discusses the form of page layout and provides a compositional categorization of its 29 illustrations painted in Isfahan school style. In order to establish a meaningful text-image relation in terms of layout and composition the images are analyzed and categorized into three main divisions to facilitate artistic assessment. A graphic approach has been adopted to display the three categories in the format of schematic drawings which appear next to the images from the original illustrations. An overall evaluation of the physical condition of the manuscript is also provided to encourage taking measures for its preservation
RAWA MIGRATION TO THE MALAY PENINSULA IN THE 19TH CENTURY: THE CASE OF PAHANG, PERAK, AND SELANGOR
No full textLittle research attention has been paid to the Rawa or Rao community from West Sumatra who migrated to the Malay Peninsula. The few available accounts are scattered and fragmentary, and contradictory in some respects. The issue is complicated by the deliberate attempts of early Rawa migrants to hide their true identity, leaving their descendants in the dark as to their roots and ancestry. Several reasons may explain this disposition, one being the involvement of the Rawa people in different wars in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula which consequently led them to be viewed by some quarters as an unruly and warlike people. This paper aims to examine the contributory reasons for the migration of Rawas to the Malay Peninsula in the 19th century focusing on the Malay States of Pahang, Perak, and Selangor, where the largest Rawa communities emerged. Using mainly qualitative, archival research, this paper highlights the impacts of Rawa migration, especially in the socio-economic and political contexts of the respective Malay States. It is also worth studying the perceptions or reactions of the British and local authorities towards the Rawas, as these too might have influenced their way of dealing with the issue of identity in relation to other groups in the Peninsula
ERDOĞAN’S POLITICAL LEADERSHIP AND FOREIGN POLICY NEXUS: THE CASE OF THE SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS AND TURKEY’S ROLE
No full textFollowing the victory of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the 2002 Turkish general election, the country embarked on a highly successful program of economic liberalization and social conservatism. The stellar economic performance of the Turkish national economy transformed Turkey’s position on the world stage, politically as well as economically, boosting the country’s image in the world. Since the beginning of civil war in Syria following the ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings from 2011 onwards, the number of refugees in Turkey reached over 4 million as estimated by the UN in mid-August 2017, making Turkey the host country with the largest net refugee population in the world, to say nothing of the vast population of unregistered refugees. The Turkish receptive policies from the outset were predicated on the assumption that the conflict would come to a swift conclusion, allowing the Syrian “guests” (a word chosen in national political discourse rather than “refugees”) to return home, precluding the need to plan for their long-term or permanent stay in Turkey. Unstable political conditions in the region and Turkey’s generous open-door policy have made it a symbol of Islamic brotherhood and humanitarianism and it is the main hope of displaced Syrians and the region in general to ameliorate the humanitarian catastrophe and seek to end the conflict. This paper demonstrates the importance of Turkey’s immigration policy under the leadership of Erdoğan, and its significant implications for foreign and domestic policy
THE STATUS OF WOMEN AND THEIR RIGHTS BASED ON THE UNDERSTANDING OF SISTERS IN ISLAM; AN ANALYSIS FROM AN ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE
No full textThe paper aims to analyse the understanding of Sisters in Islam (SIS) on the status of women and their rights from an Islamic perspective. The qualitative approach notably a library research is used to obtain some statements in SIS’ writings in order to further familiarise their perception and understanding towards this issue. Based on the findings, the study reveals that there are several misunderstandings and distortions made by SIS about the status of women and their rights as a result of the improper method of Qur’anic interpretation and lack of referring to the hadith. The using of logic without guidance from the Qur’an and Sunnah also leads to liberal interpretations beyond the limits. The findings of the study demonstrates the true understanding of this issue from an Islamic perspective to the society
JAMA’AH AND COLLEGIAL MODEL IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS: LESSONS AND PRINCIPLES LEARNED FROM QURAN AND SUNNAH
No full textResearch on collegiality in the field of educational management and leadership has been conducted all over the world, but there were limited studies about collegiality from Islamic perspective. This article aims primarily to analyze the concept of collegiality from Islamic Perspective based on the Qur’anic and Sunnah principles and approaches, which may contribute to the awareness about its practice in educational institution. It also discusses a brief comparison between contemporary collegial models and Islamic perspective of collegiality. The result is expected to be a guideline for educational leaders to successfully apply the concept of collegiality in Islamic educational institutions. This paper argues that the concept of collegial model is related to the concept of “Jamaah”. Thus, it is vital for Muslims to highlight and advocate the Islamic principles of collegial model in the mainstream of intellectual discourse corpus. From the analysis of the relevant Qur’ānic verses and Hadiths, the research found that collegial model from Islamic perspective would enhance the collegiality culture in Muslim educational institutions. Muslim principals should pay attention to the goals of collegial model, organizational structures of collegial model, and transformational and participative leadership in collegial model
MALAYSIAN ADOLESCENTS’ MORAL AWARENESS AND CULTURAL CONFORMITY: SOME IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY’S EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT
No full textIt has been reported in printed and electronic media that moral decadency among Malaysian adolescents is on the rise. Such decadency is attributed by a host of “nature versus nurture” debatable factors. This study aims at describing the moral awareness and cultural conformity of Malaysian adolescents. A questionnaire was administered on 200 respondents. Preliminary findings indicated that the respondents’ conformed positively to their cultural expectations (M= 3.92; SD= .92) and have positive moral awareness is (M = 4.40; SD = .85). These findings were perceived instrumental to the current classroom managements, school counseling services and choice of parenting styles in Malaysia
TEACHING ISLAMIC VALUES THROUGH PROBLEM SOLVING IN MATHEMATICS: A CASE STUDY
No full textThis paper presents the findings of a study which was performed to develop students’ Islamic values through a series of problem solving activities, incorporated in the teaching of mathematics. Students were presented with mathematical problems that allow discussions on some moral predicaments, posed into a problem of the day lesson. This pre-experimental design study involved a combined Year 4 class of 35 students from one international school as research participants. Two teachers participated directly in the study, while some others acted as observers. Both qualitative and quantitative data in the form of observation field notes, interview data (from both students and teachers), tests, questionnaires and observation checklists results were collected. The data were used to answer the research questions on changes in students’ performance and attitude, both in the mathematics topics taught and also on their moral reasoning. The results show increased but non-significant scores in mathematics. There are also improvements in moral reasoning based on students’ written answers of some moral questions, which is also supported by the interview data. The observation data display a gradual improvement of students’ in-class behavior in terms of their attitudes towards each other and towards the tasks and activities given. This study implies the possibility for students to learn about morality and values in a mathematics class through careful planning of tasks and activities. It highlights the belief that values can be learned across the curriculum, which is one of the important factors in building a nation of caring and civil society
DEVELOPMENT OF ISLAMIC VALUES THROUGH ARABIC POETRY; CONTRIBUTION OF ARABIC LITERATURE WEBSITES
No full textChildren’s Arabic Literature websites have contributed immensely tothe development of Islamic values through Arabic poetry. This studyanalyses the Arabic poetry in children’s Arabic websites. Theselection of these sites was due to their comprehensive nature inpresenting literary works for Arab children. The study found thepresence of an overwhelming trend of the website towardsentertainment. As for the social, national, and educational trends,they all held almost the same status. The use of such sites maycontribute to advancement of Islamic values in children, along therelatively few published poems that contain Islamic symbols. Thestudy concludes that website is beneficial for the children and playsan active role to create the Islamic values in children