Islam and politics in Malaysia since 1957: fluctuation between moderation and radicalisation of the state, society and religion

This paper discusses the relationship in post-independence Malaysia between the state, civil society and the country’s dominant religion, that is, Islam. When Malaya obtained independence from the British in 1957, many expected that Islam would lead to social and economic decline. The constitution states that Islam is the state religion, although it also states that religious freedom for non-Muslims is assured without discrimination. Since then, religious affairs have remained a state responsibility and Malaysia has been hailed for decades as an oasis of moderate Islam. However, during the last few years religiously motivated hatred has become prevalent and popular in Malaysia for many reasons. This paper underlines the factors that have led to the growth of hate and the decline of the moderate Islam previously found in Malaysia. It proposes that the radicalisation of Malaysian Muslims should be evaluated within the framework of current geopolitics and the impact on the well-being of the Muslim world, rather than localising it into regional and national faults. The paper argues that Islam in Malaysia is an instrument that shapes the political behaviour of the public and the ruling elite. Lastly, the paper proposes that effective governance and ensuring that citizens’ rights are respected are some of the most effective ways of eliminating extremism and preventing radicalisatio

The impact of nationalism on civilisational development and human security: works of Said Nursi and Musa Jārullāh

This essay is an attempt to outline the ideology of nationalism, its types and impact on the well-being of societies from the viewpoints of two Muslim intellectuals, Said Nursi and Musa Jārullāh. Based on the predictions of these two scholars and the current political developments, it identifies the ideas of negative nationalism and racism to be one of the main reasons behind moral corruption, social, political and economic injustice prevalent in the modern world; and it offers some solutions to bring compassion, security, peace and harmony to humankind. The essay suggests that the universal principles of peace, fairness and virtue derived from the revealed religions can produce true civilisations, and offer true happiness and harmony to all members of the society regardless of their ethnic or ideological backgrounds. It also suggests that modern methods of studying political and social developments in the Muslim world should be urgently revised

Restoring Islamic Golden Age: 21st Century Bayt al-Hikmah

This paper discusses the issue of Bayt al-Hikmah in the 21st Century. It focuses on the following questions: 1. Is it possible to have a Bayt al-Hikmah today? 2. If Yes, HOW? In WHAT form? WHERE? Or WHICH Country does deserve to be a place for it

The formation of history as a discipline during early Islamic history

This paper highlights the importance of history as a discipline and a branch of knowledge in early Islamic intellectual life. It first underlines that Islam, as a creed and culture, is a history-conscious religion that was born among the Arabs, who inherited well-established methodologies of oral tradition and writing of genealogies from their history-loving ancestors, thus facilitating the formation of history as a branch of revealed knowledge (naqli) along with ‘ilm al-hadith and ‘ilm al-tafasir as early as the second century after the hijrah

Al-Farabi and Said Nursi on the civilising mission of the prophets

This paper studies the role of prophethood in building a civilisation with special reference to the writings of Al-Farabi and Said Nursi. In order to elucidate the thought of Al-Farabi, the ideas of Ibn Sina are consulted in some parts of the paper. The fi rst part of the paper defi nes the term “true civilisation” (or an “ideal state” according to Al-Farabi), its foundations and peculiarities from the viewpoints of these three Muslim scholars. I t suggests that, on one hand, a human being cannot achieve his main goal, i.e. felicity, without living in a society, and, on the other, his most fundamental need is the need for religion, revealed by the prophets. Therefore, these three scholars argued that the real civilisation, which can make its citizens happy, satisfi ed and equal without any exception, originates from divine laws. As paper fi nds, Said Nursi articulated that the mission of the prophets, besides establishing of the worship to One God, also includes bringing of economic and political justice, social stability, ethical enhancement and emotional inspiration to his society, which are the fundamental requirements for the building of strong civilisations but beyond the power of an ordinary man. Based on the ideas of the scholars, the paper concludes that, according to the Muslim scholars, the prophets sent by God were the best law-givers and founders of the most excellent civilisations

Erken dönem İslam tarihinde tarihin bir disiplin olarak teşekkülü

This essay highlights the importance of history as a discipline and a branch of knowledge in early Islamic intellectual life. It first underlines that Islam, as a creed and culture, is a history-conscious religion that was born among the Arabs, who inherited well-established methodologies of oral tradition and writing of genealogies from their history-loving ancestors, thus facilitating the formation of history as a branch of revealed knowledge (naqli) along with ‘ilm al-hadith and ‘ilm al-tafāsir as early as by the second century after the hijrah. The second part of the chapter discusses the importance of the sirah of the Prophet (pbuh) for early scholars in order to understand the Qur’ān and ̣ḥadiths as sources of the revealed knowledge. Consequently, independent schools of history emerged in Madinah, Yemen and Iraq in the way of writing the biography of the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) and futūḥāt narrations. The usage of isnād system to examine the credibility of sources accelerated the development of history as a science with critical method from the early times of Islamic history. Lastly, the chapter highlights the further expansion of types of historical writings such as tarājim, tabaqāt, rihlat, and methodology of writing history up to al-Ṭabāri’s era.Bu çalışma tarihin bir disiplin olarak önemine ve İslam’ın ilk dönemlerinde entelektüel yaşam içerisinde bulunan bir dalı olarak bulunmasına vurgu yapmaktadır. Bu çalışma bir inanç ve kültür olarak tarihe ilgi duyan atalarından ensâb ilmi yazımı ve sözel gelenek yöntemlerini tevarüs eden Araplar arasında doğan tarih bilincine sahip ve bu bilincin sonucunda da hicri 2. yüzyıldan itibaren hadis ve tefsir ilimlerini ortaya çıkaran bir din olduğunun altını çizer. Çalışmanın ikinci kısmı Hz. Peygamber’in sîretinin Kur’an ve Hadis’in vahyî bilginin kaynakları olarak anlaşılması için önemini erken dönem alimleri açısından inceler. Sonuç itibariyle Hz. Peygamber’in biyografisi fütûhât yazımında Irak, Medine ve Yemen’de farklı ekoller meydana gelmiştir. Kaynakların gözden geçirilmesinde isnad yönteminin kullanılması tarihin İslam tarihinin ilk dönemlerinden itibaren eleştirel metoda sahip bir disiplin olarak gelişmesini sağlamıştır. Son olarak bu ikinci kısımda terâcim, tabakât ve rihle tarzındaki yazım türlerinin ve Taberî’nin çağına kadar tarih yazımının yönteminin genişlemesi incelenmektedir

Musa Jarullah Bigiyev

Musa Jārullāh Bigiyev was a Muslim Tatar religious scholar, journalist, politician, educator and a prolific writer, who devoted his entire life to reconciling Islam with modern progress. He published more than sixty books in Arabic and Old Ottoman dealing with the issues of Islamic jurisprudence, theology, sciences of the Qur’an, sciences of the hadith, literature, economics, law, politics and history

The nation state and nationalism in the thought of Said Nursi

This book chapter discusses the ideas of Said Nursi on the nation-state concept and ideology of nationalis

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi

This presentation talks about the life, works, and ideas of a Turkish scholar, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi. It focuses on his ideas on secularism, extremism, nationalism and Muslim unity

Rusya’da İslamiyet: geçmiş, bugün ve gelecek

This article in Turkish called "Islam in Russia: History, Today and Future" discusses the role of Islam in building Russian society and nation. It discusses how Islam did spread in Russian territory since 10th century, and also the status of Islam today