Chinese Muslims in Malaysia

Chuah, a Malaysian of Chinese origin, converted to Islam in his early 30s and has devoted much of his time since then to promoting Islam and to studying the experiences of other Chinese with similar religious experiences. This book is a result of interviews carried out with other similar converts to discover their experiences. In doing so he gives us a perspective on multicultural Malaysia that is usually ignored by others, but from which there is much to learn. This book now appears to be generally unavailable. 241 pages. Chapters cover topics such as the conceptual and theoretical background to the study, ethnic relations in Malaysia, interactions between Chinese Muslim Converts, non-Muslim Chinese and Muslim Malays, the integration of Chinese Muslims with Malays and the practice of Chinese customs by Chinese Muslim converts

Muslim converts in Malaysia: the problem of cultural adjustment

This book is a part of a study into the social interaction and integration of Muslim converts with Malay Muslims and also non-Muslim Chinese, Indians and others in Malaysia and the changes the converts go through in relating to the cultural norms of their own ethnic groups. After having embraced Islam, there could be new adjustments of culture, customs, and ways of living. The task of this study is to evaluate these changes in the context of the backgrounds of converts in Malaysia

Preaching to the non-Muslim Chinese in Malaysia

This book is a study of the various barriers and difficulties in communicating the message of Islam to the non-Muslim Chinese in Malaysia and to find out the historical, political, economical, cultural differences between non-Muslim Chinese way of life and the Islamic way of life. It also analyzes the fears of Chinese and Malays in the ethnic relationship as minority and majority groups. In addition, the ways of preaching by the Prophet Muhammad in Mecca and the difficulties he encountered and the objections of non-Muslims in the Prophetic era were taken as examples to compare with the multi-religious situation in Malaysia

LIGHT-COLOR-INDUCED CHANGES IN FATTY ACID BIOSYNTHESIS IN Chlorella sp. STRAIN KS-MA2 IN EARLY STATIONARY GROWTH PHASE

Optimization of light supply remains a critical issue in microalgae biotechnology. The impacts of light color on fatty acid production and biosynthesis in microalgae are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of light color on growth and fatty acid content in Chlorella strain KS-MA2. Cells were cultured on F/2 medium and incubated under blue, green, red or white light. The cells’ growth, fatty acid composition and the expression levels of the ketoacyl synthase 1 (KAS-1), omega-6 desaturase (ω-6 FAD) and omega-3 desaturase (ω-3 FAD) genes were measured at the early stationary growth phase. Results of this study indicated that light color affected cell density and fatty acid profile produced by Chlorella sp. strain KS-MA2. Cells cultured under blue, red and white light had higher cell density than those cultured under green light. Palmitic acid (38.62 ± 3.29% of biomass dry weight) and linolenic acid (7.96 ± 0.88% of biomass dry weight) were highly accumulated under white light. Stearic acid was dominant under blue light (11.11 ± 0.14% of biomass dry weight), whereas oleic acid was dominant under red light (30.50 ± 0.14% of biomass dry weight). Linoleic acid was highly produced under green and blue light (28.63 ± 1.36% and 26.00 ± 0.81 % of biomass dry weight, respectively). KAS-1 and ω-6 FAD were highly expressed under blue light, whereas ω-3 FAD was highly expressed under green light. The production of particular fatty acids of interest from Chlorella could be achieved by shifting color of light used during the incubation of the cell cultures. Blue-light is the most suitable light color for producing biomass and stearic acid by Chlorellastrain KS-MA2.Â

Effects of polymorph transformation via mercerisation on microcrystalline cellulose fibres and isolation of nanocrystalline cellulose fibres

Cellulose I can be irreversible transformed into cellulose II via mercerisation or regeneration treatments. In the past few decades, mercerisation was used mainly to improve fibre properties for textile industries. A few studies have focused on the effects of mercerisation treatment on the cellulose polymorph itself and after it was downscaled to nanosize. This study aims to characterise the micro size crystalline cellulose after complete polymorph conversion via mercerisation technique and investigate its effects on isolation to nanosize crystalline cellulose. A microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was purchased and converted into cellulose II via mercerisation technique. Sulphuric acid hydrolysis was carried-out to produce nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC). The MCC and NCC of different polymorphs were then characterised and analysed for its crystallography, morphology, particles size distribution and thermal stability using wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WXRD), electron microscopes, dynamic light scattering analyser and thermogravimetric analyser, respectively. Both MCC and NCC fibres showed complete conversion of cellulose I to cellulose II and decrement of crystallinity index (CI). Electron micrographs revealed that both cellulose II polymorph fibres (MCC II and NCC II) were morphological affected. The analysis of size distribution and dimension measurement confirmed that mercerisation treatment causing increment in fibre diameter and shortened length. The thermal stability of both cellulose II polymorph fibres (MCC II and NCC II) was also found to be improved

Light-color-induced Changes in Fatty Acid Biosynthesis in Chlorella SP. Strain Ks-ma2 in Early Stationary Growth Phase

Optimization of light supply remains a critical issue in microalgae biotechnology. The impacts of light color on fatty acid production and biosynthesis in microalgae are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of light color on growth and fatty acid content in Chlorella strain KS-MA2. Cells were cultured on F/2 medium and incubated under blue, green, red or white light. The cells' growth, fatty acid composition and the expression levels of the ketoacyl synthase 1 (KAS-1), omega-6 desaturase (ω-6 FAD) and omega-3 desaturase (ω-3 FAD) genes were measured at the early stationary growth phase. Results of this study indicated that light color affected cell density and fatty acid profile produced by Chlorella sp. strain KS-MA2. Cells cultured under blue, red and white light had higher cell density than those cultured under green light. Palmitic acid (38.62 ± 3.29% of biomass dry weight) and linolenic acid (7.96 ± 0.88% of biomass dry weight) were highly accumulated under white light. Stearic acid was dominant under blue light (11.11 ± 0.14% of biomass dry weight), whereas oleic acid was dominant under red light (30.50 ± 0.14% of biomass dry weight). Linoleic acid was highly produced under green and blue light (28.63 ± 1.36% and 26.00 ± 0.81 % of biomass dry weight, respectively). KAS-1 and ω-6 FAD were highly expressed under blue light, whereas ω-3 FAD was highly expressed under green light. The production of particular fatty acids of interest from Chlorella could be achieved by shifting color of light used during the incubation of the cell cultures. Blue-light is the most suitable light color for producing biomass and stearic acid by Chlorellastrain KS-MA2

Filial piety in confucianism and Islam: a comparative literary analysis of Quran, Hadith and four Chinese classics

This article is an attempt to compare the teachings of Confucius and Islam, specifically The Four Books, which are authoritative works on Confucius, and the original sources of Islam, Qur’ān and Sunnah. The Four Books are the most quoted sources of Confucius’ thought, namely The Great Learning (Da Xue 大学), The Doctrine of the Mean (Zhong Yong 中庸), The Confucian Analects (Lun Yu 论) and The Works of Mencius (Mengzi 孟子). The focus shall be on the concept of family and filial piety as found in Confucianism and Qur’ān and Sunnah. Both the teachings of Confucius and Islam emphasise the importance of virtues, ties and order in the family system, for example, the husband is the head of the family and responsible for the family’s existence and security. Islam and Confucianism are both patriarchal, and the husband and men are protectors of the family and deserve much respect. Young members of the family must respect and obey the elders and vice versa. To Confucius, these virtues are the heavenly way and must be cultivated and developed accordingly as li (礼) or good manners from an early age. The young and old must be treated according to their age. Similar values are also upheld in Islam. However, there are also differences between the two approaches which shall be highlighted as well