Inter-religious Dialogue in Malaysia:Past Experience, Present Scenario and Future Challenges

Inter-religious dialogue in Malaysia has taken place more than a century ago either in the form of ‘dialogue of life’ or in the form of intellectual discourse. ‘Dialogue of life’ normally occurs in a superficial ways of interaction such as ‘open house’ during festive seasons and daily interaction in market places, offices or schools while dialogue in the form of intellectual discourse occurs in official events such as forum, seminar and public lecture. Earliest endeavours of inter-religious dialogue were championed by non-Muslim organizations with the aim to protect their rights that was allegedly threatened with the execution of Islamization policy in 1980s. The involvement of Muslim’s organizations could only be seen until 1990s with a pioneering attempt by Center for Civilizational Dialogue (University of Malaya) in 1995 that aimed to generate greater inter-religious understanding. The implementation of inter-religious dialogue in the form of intellectual discourse however is still limited due to its nature which is apparently more appealing to the intellectuals’ community. On top of that, inter-religious dialogue also facing constant objections by some critics due to misunderstanding of the actual goals of inter-religious dialogue. Therefore, correct understanding about the concept of inter-religious dialogue must be nurtured among the masses prior to commencing any inter-religious dialogue program

Inter-religious dialogue models in Malaysia

Over the years, many organizations have involved in the implementation of inter-religious dialogue in Malaysia. However, there are still those who doubt the role and purpose of interreligious dialogue. This might be due to lack of information and understanding regarding the methodology of dialogue and also about different types that it may take. The present study is aimed at exploring a few models of inter-religious dialogue that have been practised by some organizations that actively involved in dialogue. The study focuses on a review of selected organizational or institutional dialogue models such as Center for Civilizational Dialogue (CCD), Students Representative Council of Malaysia Science University (Health Campus) and Inter-faith Spiritual Fellowship (INSaF). This study provides information concerning the various designs of inter-religious dialogue model in Malaysia and proposes that different designs of inter-religious dialogue rely on its different types and goals. It is found that, the commonly practiced type of dialogue in Malaysia is educational type which focuses on exploring inter-religious commonalities as well as differences which consequently will increase understanding and foster meaningful engagement between people of different ethnic and religious background in Malaysia. This type of dialogue is distinguished from conflict resolution types of dialogue which aims at identifying issues and generating action plans to conflicts or disputes

Change in Spatial Distribution of Earthquakes against Hypocentral Depth

Personal data is constantly being compromised not just by the normal identity thefts but also abnormal attacks. The Islamic concept of Al-Mu’awwidhah inspired the discovery of non-parametric cryptographs for personal data protection against abnormal (paranormal and asymmetric) cyber-attacks. A continuous search on new paradigm of non- parametric cryptographs led to the discovery of ethno-mathematics for substitution block-cipher boxes. The objects based on extracted Al-Qur’an and Al-Hadith symbols by use of ethno-mathematical functions. The extracted objects were insufficient to build the 256 bit block-ciphers. The development of expanding objects from Aramaic, Hebrew, Chinese, Hindu and other symbols are found to fill the gap but only up to216bit out of the 256 bit block-cipher. Initial tests for algebraic attacks indicate Al-Mu’awwidhah Block Cipher resistance to be better than the random parameteic Khazad and Annubis Block Ciphers

PEMIKIRAN AL-FARUQI DAN SUMBANGANNYA DALAM TRANSFORMASI ISLAM DI MALAYSIA MELALUI ISLAMISASI ILMU

oai:mjis.www.journal.unisza.edu.my:article/1Artikel ini membincangkan sumbangan al-Faruqi dalam mentransformasi pemikiran Islam di Malaysia. Ia memfokuskan kepada manhajnya dalam menggerakkan perubahan dalam tradisi pemikiran dan intelek di Malaysia. Manhaj ini direalisasikan dalam gagasan Islamiyyat al-Ma‘rifat (Islamisasi Ilmu - Islamization of Knowledge) di Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM). Visi yang dirangkanya memberi kesan dan impak yang signifikan dalam mengilhamkan perubahan dan reformasi pendidikan dan usaha pengislaman Ilmu yang diterapkan secara komprehensif di UIAM. Perbincangan ini menfokuskan kepada peranan dan sumbangannya yang penting terhadap transformasi nilai dan praktik Islam di Malaysia dan hubungannya dengan UIAM, dengan melihat kepada tiga dasar pengislaman di UIAM yang terkesan dari fikrah dan idealismenya (1) Islamisasi ilmu, (2) integrasi ilmu dan nilai dan (3) metode pengajian agama yang dikembangkan di Kulliyyah. Hasil kajian menunjukkan al-Faruqi telah memberi sumbangan yang besar kepada transformasi Islam di Malaysia dengan kekuatan nilai dan aspirasi tauhid yang dibawanya dan usaha pengislaman ilmu yang membawa idealisme pembaharuan dalam manhaj pemikiran. Kata kunci: Al-Faruqi, UIAM, Islamisasi, nilai Islam

Al-Faruqi’s Fundamental Ideas and Philosophy of Education

This paper discusses the fundamental ideal and philosophy of education advocated by Ismail Raji al-Faruqi (1921-1986) in realizing the Islamization of knowledge (IOK) project. The concept and perspective of education projected by al-Faruqi was constructed on the worldview of tawhid that reflected the essence and intrinsic philosophy and paradigm of knowledge rooted on Islamic vision of reality and truth. It embodied the comprehensive and holistic vision of education that seeks to integrate the fundamental element of revealed and acquired knowledge. The project envisaged to undertake significant reform in the practice and method of education of the ummah that need to be recast and reproject based on the intrinsic value and paradigm of the Qur’an and its approach to knowledge. This paper will analyse this significant idea and principle and its importance in realizing the IOK vision and reforming the educational system in the Muslim world. </p

Islamic Civilization: Its Significance in al-Faruqi’s Islamization of Knowledge

This paper discusses the significance attempt of al-Faruqi in making Islamic civilization a mandatory course in his Islamization of Knowledge project. In any attempt of Islamization of Knowledge, the students of Islamization should be comprehensively mastered Islamic Civilization. Al-Faruqi systematically developed four required components in civilizational study that were critical for Islamization project, i.e., to give the Muslim student knowledge of the first principles of Islam as essence of Islamic civilization in the first year; the historical achievements of Islamic civilization in the second year; how Islamic civilization compares and contrasts with other civilizations in essence and manifestation, in the third year, and; how Islamic civilization is the only viable option in dealing with the fundamental problems of Muslims and non-Muslims in the contemporary world, in the fourth year. The significance ideal projected by this comprehensive stages as characterized by al-Faruqi were crucial for student to understand the secular worldview that bring the collapse of civilization in the past and not to repeat this catastrophic consequence in contemporary civilization of the Ummah

A Conceptual Model for Inter-State Corporate Waqf Financing for Higher Learning

Higher education is over dependent on public funds, cash endowments and business contributions which are non-perpetual and may only concern the current and immediate future generations.A resource-based corporate waqf to develop and sustain the higher education sectorwill be explored in this paper.Theresourcebased (from output of harnessing water, energy, land banks and forests) corporate waqf financing are by itself inherently perpetual and sustainable. However, the conventionaltheory of perpetual resource flows across state’s borders may constrain the inter-state flow of waqf funds. An Islamic economic theoretical framework of resource-based corporate waqf financing is explored in this study. The optimization of costeffective allocation of burdens of responsibility between many sources (power generators) and receptors (higher education institutions, students) of corporate waqf is modelled. A literature review of Islamic approachesreveal for example, the Islamic principles of Al- Hisbah (administration of public interest) that can minimize the burdens to be shared by the inter-state sourcesand receptors in the interstate model

Eggshells biowaste filler for improving the anticorrosive behaviour of waterborne polyurethane coatings on mild steel in artificial seawater

The efficacy of eggshells (ES) powders as an anticorrosive pigment with TiO2 nanoparticles in waterborne polyurethane coatings has been investigated. The experiment was conducted on mild steel in a corrosive solution of artificial seawater. Several characterizations to analyze the effects of ES addition were performed, including the classical weight loss method, water contact angle, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), potentiodynamic polarization (PDP) and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray (SEM/EDX). The addition of ES powders was determined to increase the coating's protection efficiency until 20 wt% (P4). Furthermore, based on the morphological study, it was discovered that the best concentration managed to maintain the surface integrity of the coatings with no defects were detected even after 20 days of exposure