Waqf as a socio-economic institution

Syed Khalid Rashid’s lead paper titled ‘Potential of Waqf in Contemporary World’ is a welcome addition to the growing literature on waqf. This brief writeup focuses more on waqf as a ‘socio-economic institution’ and to place waqf as the ‘third’ or voluntary sector of the economy. It will raise some points on a variety of important‘issues’ essential for the revival of waqf which, it is hoped, will complement the lead article. In addition, this paper will share findings and draw from a research project (of which the author was a part of) on Waqf and Higher Education (termed as LRGSWaqf), to support arguments put forward

Mao Zedong\u27s Rise to Power: How One Man Changed the Future for the Better; then Changed it for Himself

An in-depth look into the rise of Mao Zedong from the period of 1949-1959. talking specifically about how despite poor decisions made by Mao during both the first Five-year plan and the Great Leap Forward how he remained in power. the analysis of this is reading both the letter Peng Dehuai, his (Vice Premier) had written him in response too the decisions he had made and the overall outcome of this pinnacle Lushan conference

Ethics and fiqh for daily life: an Islamic outline

Islam is a religion at the core of which lies belief and it blossoms and perpetually grows through a code of practice consisting of legal rules and moral principles. Iman will fade if it is not sustained by ethical values and moral ideals and reinforced by legal code pf practices. This book presents some of the pertinent aspects of ethics and fiqh for everyday life which benefits non-specialists in religious studies

Biomedical issues in Islamic family law

Islamic discourse on biomedical issues is one of the most topical themes in contemporarylslamicthought.However,literatureespousingthissubject demonstrates dichtomo, up"p.ou.hes by treating issues either from ethcical point ofvieworlegaiperspective'Mo,.o*.,thediversityofjuristicpronouncements containing views f.ri upf...iative of the larger ethical impiications of medical technology on core f;ily value-system as Jnvisioned by Islam proves confusing to common folk and paradoxical to research scholars' To remedy the situation' thisbookarguesforanintegratedapproachbybringingtogethertheimmutable principles of rsta*ic?amiryiu* u, ..,ihrir-,.d in the Qur'an and the Strnnah i""g *iat the underlying moral purposes of the law on marriage, procreation, p""i"ny arrd medicj.uL' ettoidingly' it proposes that to thwart the ethico-juridical pitfalls on medical management of family issues, singular reliance on scientihc e"perts may not be adequate. The_ experts specializing in this area should ,fr" ".q""int themselves witil the working knowledge of medical ie.hrrotogies and relatei disciplines. This approach *:r1+ facilitate the accommodation of biomedical technologies into the legal parameters of Islamic family iaw in a more ethically consistent articulation u'hich could be reassuring to ordinary folks and technically coherent to reserchers in the field

Material selection for optimum design of MEMS pressure sensors

Abstract: Choice of the most suitable material out of the universe of engineering materials available to the designers is a complex task. It often requires a compromise, involving conflicts between different design objectives. Materials selection for optimum design of a Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS) pressure sensor is one such case. For optimum performance, simultaneous maximization of deflection of a MEMS pressure sensor diaphragm and maximization of its resonance frequency are two key but totally conflicting requirements. Another limitation in material selection of MEMS/Microsystems is the lack of availability of data containing accurate micro-scale properties of MEMS materials. This paper therefore, presents a material selection case study addressing these two challenges in optimum design of MEMS pressure sensors, individually as well as simultaneously, using Ashby’s method. First, data pertaining to micro-scale properties of MEMS materials has been consolidated and then the Performance and Material Indices that address the MEMS pressure sensor’s conflicting design requirements are formulated. Subsequently, by using the micro-scale materials properties data, candidate materials for optimum performance of MEMS pressure sensors have been determined. Manufacturability of pressure sensor diaphragm using the candidate materials, pointed out by this study, has been discussed with reference to the reported devices. Supported by the previous literature, our analysis re-emphasizes that silicon with 110 crystal orientation [Si (110)], which has been extensively used in a number of micro-scale devices and applications, is also a promising material for MEMS pressure sensor diaphragm. This paper hence identifies an unexplored opportunity to use Si (110) diaphragm to improve the performance of diaphragm based MEMS pressure sensors

Selected issues in Islamic economics education and the way forward

The past recent decades witnessed a steady growth of ‘Islamization of knowledge’ efforts in the wake of intellectual resurgence of the Muslim world, not least in the discipline of economics. Since the 1980s, there have been an increasing number of institutions around the world attempting to offer courses and programs in Islamic economics (and since the 1990s in Islamic Banking and Finance). Despite the encouraging progress so far, literature specifically in the area of Islamic economics education is rather limited. This chapter seeks to highlight selected critical issues that have arisen in the teaching of Islamic economics as reflected by the experiences of the Southeast Asian universities, namely the Quality of human resources involved in the delivery of the integration and Islamization efforts and the availability of reference materials to support the teaching and learning process. In view of these issues, the chapter also attempts to offer some possible avenues to find solutions to these challenges, as well as planning for the future of Islamic economics education. In this context, the chapter discusses the importance of developing an Usul (methodology) for Islamic economics, which takes into account various aspects of Islamic heritage concerning economic dealings, behavior and institutions beyond the realm of the fiqhi (legalistic) aspect of the Shari’ah. Finally, the chapter highlights the need for regional cooperation to further strengthen the collective efforts in the development of Islamic economics education, particularly in the Southeast Asian region