Intellectual Discourse

Book Review Osman Bakar, Environmental Wisdom for Planet Earth: The Islamic Heritage [Revised New Edition] (Kuala Lumpur: Islamic Book Trust, 2022). 114 pp. ISBN 978-967-2795-00-1.

2022-08-16T19:20:04+08:00

The article does not contain abstract as it is a book review.

Contents 31:1

2023-06-28T13:12:01+08:00

The Seminar on Da‘wah in Kuala Lumpur in 1977 and the Emergence of Hijab Awareness in Indonesia

2023-04-07T11:37:30+08:00

In the late 1970s, a new awareness of wearing hijab emerged in Indonesia, especially among Muslim students in public schools. Even though it was banned by the New Order government throughout the 1980s, hijab was finally permitted to be worn in public schools and its use continued to spread in Indonesia since then. One of the activists who was involved in the emergence of hijab awareness suggested that it arose after The Asian Muslim Youth Seminar on Da'wah that was held in Kuala Lumpur in February 1977. This seminar was attended by representatives of Muslim youth organisations from several Asian countries. Using thematic analysis approach via library research and interviews, this study explores the extent to which the seminar relates to the rise of hijab awareness in Indonesia in that period. Although the seminar was not the only factor driving the emergence of hijab awareness in Indonesia, this research found that there was a close and dynamic relationship between the two.

Cover

2023-06-28T13:16:38+08:00

Validation of a Sejahtera Living Index Using the Rasch Model

2023-03-16T12:04:04+08:00

The Maqāṣid al-Sharī’ah is a framework of divine values and beliefs that govern the life of a Muslim person. It contains clear guidelines on how to live the good life the way the religion sees it and on what constitutes quality of life, happiness, and wellbeing for the Muslim. In more precise terms, the maqāṣid al-sharī’ah guides Muslim in regard to how they can achieve a sejahtera life. Although sejahtera living is a fundamental and a highly important concept, it is not widely researched or addressed in the current body of empirical literature. One can see that there is a paucity of empirical data on sejahtera living. To address this research gap, this study first developed a scale to measure sejahtera living and subsequently examined its validity. It also estimated the index scores of sejahtera living among students and employees of a public university in Malaysia. This paper reports on the findings of this validation exercise which involved a sample 1,057 lecturers, nonacademic staff, and postgraduate and undergraduate students. Data were collected using a content validated 34-item questionnaire created based on the dimensions of the maqāṣid al-sharī’ah. The results of the Rasch measurement analysis provided evidence for the validity of the sejahtera living construct in terms of the good fit of the items, reliability and separation indexes, response category functioning, dimensionality, and construct validity. The extracted logit interval scores were used to construct linear measures of the baseline sejahtera living index. The findings support the need for instructional interventions and training to sustain and improve the quality of sejahtera living among Muslims.

Investigating Ismāʿīl Rājī al-Fārūqī’s Methodology in the Study of Christianity through Selected Textual Analysis from his Christian Ethics

2023-02-13T09:58:21+08:00

This article seeks to investigate the methodology of Ismāʿīl Rājī al-Fārūqī, a contemporary Muslim scholar recognised as an authority on Islam and comparative religion, in the study of Christianity based on his masterpiece “Christian Ethics: A Historical and Systematic Analysis of its Dominant Ideas.” The goal of this article is to study al-Fārūqī’s genuine and comprehensive work through which he presents a new approach toward the understanding of Christianity, highlighting its ethical aspect. Its significance lies in defining the value of the methodology he used in the study of Christian dogma and ethics. This article uses historical, descriptive, and interpretative analytical methods throughout the entire work. This study discusses: (1) al-Fārūqī’s short biography; (2) al-Fārūqī’s work on Christianity; and (3) the interpretive analysis of al-Fārūqī’s methodology in the light of selected text from his work on “Christian Ethics.” The outcomes of this research provide new insights into the existing body of knowledge concerning Muslims’ experience in the study of other religions, which is very advantageous for contemporary scholars of comparative religion.

Paradoxical and Insufficient? Gender Quotas and Placement Mandates in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s 2020 Local Elections

2023-04-13T12:23:23+08:00

Bosnia and Herzegovina is ranked 73^rd in the Global Gender Gap Index 2022. A questionable democratisation process, ethnonationalism, and changes in the political culture strongly affected gender equality, participation, and representation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This article tackles the impact of preferential voting on the representation of women in the local councils following the last Local Elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The effect of gender quotas and placement mandates are examined across the following determinants: electoral unit magnitude, local community urbanisation rate, ethnic composition of municipalities, and ideological foundation of political parties. To test the main objectives and research questions, this paper examines the impact of preferential voting on gender political representation. A complete dataset for all candidates and municipalities of the 2020 Local Elections, officially released by the State Election Commission, was used. The descriptive analysis indicates that 19.86% of women candidates have been elected to the local councils. With regards to the residence, female candidates from rural areas have a lower tendency of being elected than candidates from highly urban municipalities. Regarding ethnicity, the number of seats won by female candidates was the largest for candidates with a Serb majority, followed by the Bosniak and the Croat ones. When considering political orientation, female candidates from parties with centrist political orientation have a higher tendency of being elected, closely followed by female candidates from parties with a leftist orientation.

Keywords: Gender Gap; Preferential Voting; Representation; Electoral Systems; 2020 Local Elections; Bosnia and Herzegovina

A Gestalt and Semiotic Analysis of Brand Communication on Disability Inclusion: The Case of Malaysia and The US

2023-02-27T10:26:44+08:00

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) underscore the United Nations’ effort in advocating disability inclusion in education and the infrastructure of member countries. Brands can also play their role by promoting disability inclusion through their brand messages. Brand messages are powerful as they advocate causes and ideals that include disability inclusion through repetitive and omnipresent messages whose ultimate goal is to influence the target audience’s behaviour. This multiple case study compared brand communication from ten brands each originating from Malaysia and the United States using Saussure's model of semiotics. It was found that Common Fate is the fundamental gestalt principle in most brands’ communication on disability inclusion of both countries and that positive nomenclature was used as the signifier that underlined the organisations' positive perception of disability inclusion.

Our moral obligation is to include persons with disabilities (PwDs) in society, and brands can play their role by promoting the universal ideal of disability inclusion. This study was borne out of the intrigue in understanding how images in brand communication have been incorporating disability inclusion. Brand messages are ubiquitous and powerful as they can set the agenda on disability inclusion by giving it appropriate prominence. The proposed multiple case study will examine brand communication from ten brands, each originating from Malaysia and the United States. The criteria used to select the brands will be vital as confirmed by the industry in the case of Malaysian brands and the highly indexed brands deemed by the Disability Equality Index (DEI) for U.S. brands. Saussure's model of semiotic analysis will be used to examine the brand messages in terms of their communication on disability inclusion. The model of semiotics to be adopted is broken into components such as a sign, signifier, and signified, thus providing us with an insight into the sign in the form of websites by brands, the dominant symbols (signifier), and the interpretations of these symbols (signified). It was found that Common Fate was the key gestalt principle found in the communication on disability inclusion by all brands in Malaysia and the US and that positive nomenclature was adopted as signifiers that promoted the organisations’ positive perception of disability inclusion.

Understanding the Decline of Pakistan-US Alliance and the Growing Influence of China in Pakistan

2023-02-23T12:04:48+08:00

This article examines Pakistan's strategic options in order to understand its puzzling behavior, which can be seen as a hedging strategy against the uncertain future of China-US relations in South Asia. The study sheds light on Pakistan's perplexing conduct towards its alliances with China and the US under the theoretical framework elucidated by Kuik Cheng-Chwee (2008). On one hand, Pakistan fears becoming excessively dependent on the US for security and economic support, particularly as India and the US forge a stronger alliance to counter China. On the other hand, it worries about getting enmeshed in the growing influence of China in Pakistan, which could come at the cost of its financial, conventional military, and strategic ties to the US. The study maintains that Pakistan is striving to position itself as a crucial security partner of the US in the fight against terrorism, which is currently a fading alliance, and as a strategic ally of rising China, an idea that has received scant attention in academic scholarship.

Let's Think They are Safe Online!: An Asian Perspective on the Classification of Children's Cyber Risks

2022-08-24T10:13:34+08:00

Children nowadays spend a substantial amount of time on the Internet and related technology. They are devoting more time to recreational activities such as socializing virtually and playing video games. Scholars are divided on whether they are benefiting from the situation or putting themselves in risk by participating in it. Although Malaysian parents are concerned about the dangers their children may encounter online, most threats remain unknown. Children are still reluctant to inform their families about their online exposure to inappropriate content such as cybersex and pornography, which are still taboo subjects in Malaysian households. To determine the risk factors associated with children's online use, a descriptive analysis is carried out. A total of 420 school-going children aged 9 to 16 around Selangor were recruited. During the previous 12 months that they interacted with the Internet, the study found that children were highly exposed to unwanted exposure to pornography (17.4 %), potentially dangerous user-generated content (9 %), sexting (8.8 %), personal data misuse (6.4 %), cyber grooming (3.3 %), and cyberbullying (1.7 % ).

Social Media Use for English Learning in Southeast Asia: A Systematic Review

2023-02-08T14:26:04+08:00

Of the many uses of social media, educationists advocate its use for teaching the English language. The traditional method of learning the English language is associated with inattention among learners. The adoption of social media in teaching the English language can create a fun, stress-free, and pleasant environment that is able to cultivate a positive attitude among the learners. Hence, this study carried out a systematic review to assess the use of social media for English learning in the Southeast Asia context. The study systematically searched the peer-reviewed literature using the SCOPUS database and identified 46 articles. After thorough reading, 21 articles met the inclusion criteria. Articles that were excluded from the analysis were conducted outside Southeast Asia, do not focus on Southeast Asia’s English learning, and do not engage with social media usage. The findings suggest that the use of social media for English learning was associated with improving communication skills, enhancing collaborative learning, encouraging self-directed learning, enhancing writing skill and learning experience.

Maqāṣid al-Sharī’ah as Goal Framing for Sustainable Behaviours: A Conceptual Framework

2023-02-07T01:17:26+08:00

Positive values serve as a catalyst to the formation of sustainable behaviours at the individual level, which contributes to the achievement of a nation’s sustainable development goals. With that, the current study introduces a new conceptual framework based on five pivotal values or goals of Maqāṣid al-Sharī’ah—preserving religion, life, intellect, progeny, and wealth—which serve as predictors in the framing of sustainable behaviours. This study presents an overview of goal-action research, establishes the identified research gaps and study’s aims, which is then followed by an extensive review of Maqāṣid al-Sharī’ah and its five goals. The proposed Maqāṣid al-Sharī’ah-based framework for sustainable behaviours offers new avenues to further establish novel understanding on the universal views of Islam, which are also applicable for the non-Muslim community. Moreover, this conceptual framework provides an alternative perspective to the normative Western viewpoint on sustainable behaviours.

Faith in the time of Coronavirus: A corpus-driven analysis

2021-12-03T13:34:10+08:00

Abstract: Since the Coronavirus, numerous studies have examined ways in which people communicate news or information surrounding the pandemic. This specialized discourse can be seen particularly with regard to discussions from a political, economic or social view, but rarely are there research exploring how the virus is communicated from a faith-based perspective. This paper acts as a preliminary case study that describes one Islamic research institution and its efforts to compile writings on scholarly view of the pandemic shared freely on the internet. More specifically, the work explores language used in these writings that may be different to ones that are for a more general audience. Using the corpus linguistic approach, a collection of these articles are firstly compared against the Covid-19 corpus on Sketch Engine where keywords analysis reveal salient words that are more faith-based in terms of discussing the topic (e.g. words referring to God, acts of devotion and martyrdom). Further analysis includes examining collocations as well as investigating the use of certain words in more detail via concordancing (words in context). The main difference in language use between the two corpora is noticeable in the way that there are more words referring to God and the Prophet as well as words related to faith. Accordingly, these articles “tackle” issues relating to the virus in terms of the concept of ‘tawakkul’, which means reliance on or trust in Allah (or God), whether the virus is a punishment or a mercy, as well as how to deal with grief. Articles from this Islamic institution, although located in the United States, stimulate the faith-based discussion of how Muslims and non-Muslims alike can obtain information regarding the virus from the well-researched Islamic content provided and in turn, help readers to cope with the pandemic during these unprecedented times.

Keywords: Coronavirus, Covid-19, Corpus Linguistics, Sketch Engine, Islamic Views

COVID-19: Analysing the Principle and Application of Iʿtibār Ma’ālāt in the Selected Fatwas Issued by the Malaysian National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs (MKI)

2022-08-03T00:05:17+08:00

About 650 years ago, al-Shāṭibī advocated new reforms on Uṣūl al-Fiqh with the introduction of some novel legal theories. The principle iʿtibār ma’ālāt was among the legal theories he proposed in his magnum opus, al-Muwāfaqāt. However, due to some complicity, his theories received little attention and remain stagnated. In fact, few classical jurists have previously paid attention to the principle of iʿtibār ma’ālāt. Nonetheless, in accordance with the development of the discipline of maqāṣid al-sharīʿah, the discussion on the principle of ma’ālāt, which was previously stagnated, has recently begun to gather traction among researchers worldwide in general, as well as in Malaysia in particular. Interestingly, al-Shāṭibī’s theory is applicable in solving several emerging religious concerns, particularly, in the event of COVID-19 pandemic. Several fatwas have been issued at the national as well as state levels in Malaysia to curb this pandemic. In this qualitative study, several fatwas issued by the Malaysian National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs (MKI) has been selected to analyse the principle and application of iʿtibār ma’ālāt. This study explores the principle and application of iʿtibār ma’ālāt which was implicitly and explicitly applied in each fatwa selected. Furthermore, this indicated that the MKI has successfully implemented the principle in issuing fatwas responding to the emerging religious issues.

The The Challenges of Civil Society Organisations: NGO-isation of Resistance in Malaysia?

2023-01-13T10:37:13+08:00

Numerous academic studies asserted the positive contribution of Malaysian civil society organisations in national policymaking and democratisation. Nonetheless, several issues have recently posed significant challenges to civil society organisations, including NGOs. These include, for instance, reported sexual harassment incidents and controversies of purported democratic aid or funding to the NGOs. Meanwhile, the phrase “uncivil society” and the relevant definition are ambiguously applied to the existing Malaysian NGOs, as past scholarly works solely concentrated on investigating civil society. The current study aims to explore the concept of “uncivil society” in Malaysia and its relevance to the NGO-isation of resistance. Specifically, this study reviews literature on the existing concepts of civil-uncivil society, the NGO-isation of resistance, and the development of CSOs and NGOs. This study revealed different experiences of individuals, who collaborated with four different NGO types, namely human rights, women, education, and the environment. Resultantly, three main concerns regarding “uncivil society” and NGO-isation of resistance are identified. The three identified concerns, namely undemocratic work culture, the NGO establishment motive, and ineffective resistance, could occur in Malaysia.

The Authenticity of Theology in Scientific and Technological Thinking

2022-03-30T15:03:47+08:00

The deprivation of knowledge from the bond of true belief will destroy and ruin human life and nature. This has been demonstrated in the Western scientific and technological civilisations that dominate the world today. Western scientific civilisation today is the product of scientists who have no real faith in the Creator of the universe. Nevertheless, there are efforts among Western scientists who have awareness in this modern era, who began to take steps to restore the agenda of Science and Technology within the framework of religious beliefs. This literature-based study discovers many negative effects resulting from the absence of true theology in understanding Science and Technology, which is based on a secular understanding. Apart from that, this article also reveals the nature and appearance of Science and Technology that are firmly embroidered with natural theology leading to universal well-being.

Note from The Editor

2023-06-28T13:06:58+08:00

Note from the Editor