Brand Islam's quest to breathe and breed superpowers

Pragmatically, my view is that the term ‘Muslim economy’ more accurately represents the state of current markets; and an ‘Islamic economy’ is an aspirational goal for the same rapidly growing sectors. These are aspirations aiming to encourage the harmonization of Muslim geographies, further collaboration, and a positive commitment towards celebrating the spirit of spirituality in trade and commerce. In this article I report my findings following November’s Global Islamic Economy Summit held in Dubai

Londonistan is open for business with the Muslim world

The 9th World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF), held for the first time outside of the Muslim World came to London at the end of October. At the opening ceremony, His Excellency, Professor Dr Boediono, Vice President of Indonesia said: “The world is a fast changing place where all sorts of novel interactions and new forms of partnership are sprouting at the same time, we are also witnessing a growing number of conflicts brewing in many parts of this planet. Many of such regions happen to be where our Muslim brothers live.” This article captures some of my thoughts and observations whilst covering the event - as a Londoner with a press pass, busy blogging for the Huffington Post

Okay, I'm done with study - it's time to get a job

You’re putting the finishing touches to your last degree assignments, cramming for your final exams; and now the moments you’ve been waiting for are almost ‘round the corner – no more study, graduation, and getting a job. Here are some tips to help you along the way

The quest for transformational leadership and brand singularity

Whether that transformational leader is a person, brand, organization, or nation – I argue that the same blueprint applies to all. A further challenge occurs when trying to widen the net in order to galvanize several streams of leadership and innovation to achieve collective singularity. This article contains some of my musings. In everyday conversations, the terms Manager and Leader seem to be used interchangeably. Also, over the past thirty years or so the term Transformational has crept into our vocabulary as a concept, which is moving thinking away from economic transactions – towards collaborative and emotional transactions that bring change. A challenge occurs when attempting to galvanize several streams of leadership and innovation, whilst looking to achieve compelling brand singularity across all functions

Emo-Indonesian youth – a new school culture of dual-cool

Indonesia has always been on the map – but helped now by their fervour for Social Media, Indonesia’s youth appear to be picking up more headlines globally. This article presents a selection of observations, which have drawn the author to view Indonesian youth as a cultural phenomenon. Here is the birth of a New-School Dual Cool – an Eastern more feminine Western syncretism; and individualism attained through collectives. Beyond this, the key question is whether this tribe of ‘emos’ can take a lead in crossing-over transnationally