A HEART-FELT TOUCHING INCIDENT

At the IQRA Foundation-INCEIF-organised Waqf Seminar on last Thursday 15th December, I had a heartfelt touching incident by the grace of Allah SWT. It was a peaceful reconciliation with my earliest academic mentor (now already a Tan Sri Datuk), who attended the Seminar as a distinguished participant.

I am indebted to him for identifying me as one of his echelons during his Deanship days at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in late 1970's, and subsequently tugging me into the academic world by sending me to study with a reknown neo-marxist Dependency Theorist the late Professor Andre Gunder Frank in the UK.

Unfortunately, we had an ideological clash when I returned home in early 1980's, as I brought back Islam rather than the neo-marxist thinking. We had quite a tough ideological and bureaucratic unpleasantness henceforth, and to some extent personal grudge, due to this difference.

I could really understand how frustrated a mentor is if his echelons are not up to their plan and strategy. But as a student of him, I did it all with a good faith, apart of which was to lessen his burden by attracting our students to a right path. I have chosen the path though I have to be his dissident because of my love of him. For these, my respect and care of him remains forever for I have learnt a lot from his academic brilliance and bureaucratic capability, many of which I have applied in leading ISDEV now.

For these reasons too I have a firm plan during the Seminar, once I observed that he was there. I wanted to go to at least to shake hands with him, however angry he was with me. I was prepared to face anything, as long as I could hold his hand again to gain a barakah of a teacher, moreover I have heard that he is now a changed pious man,  and observed how humble he was at the Seminar. This was the first opportunity that I have ever had after he left USM since many years ago.

And Allah SWT is Great! He answered my intention by taking him to me, even before I have a chance to look at him. Amidst the noisy atmopshere after the Seminar, I heard someone calling my name, and it was him! We walked fast to each other, holding hands and hugged each other closely. My tears were rushing out while thinking how generous Allah SWT was in reconciling us, apart from hearing him whispering, praising me of what I have been achieved. Two previously dissenting hearts were now getting back into one, now based on a shared belief and similar struggle, that we have Allah to worship to and Islam to strive for. Many many thanks Allah!

Oh Allah, please forgive him of all his sins, providing him with as much opportunities as possible to serve You, guide him to Your path, and protect him in this world and the world Hereafter.

REDEFINING GROWTH AND PROSPERITY FOR WAQF DEVELOPMENT

The Seminar in progress

Now at KLIA Golden Lounge, waiting to board the 1910 flight to Penang, after becoming a panel at Waqf: Redefining Growth and Prosperity Seminar at Central Bank of Malaysia. The other panels were Tan Sri Muhammad Ali Hashim (former JCorp CEO) and Professor Dr Murat Cizakca of INCEIF.

The Seminar, organised by Iqra Foundation and INCEIF, was a high profile seminar, moderated by former Terengganu Chief Minister Dato' Seri Idris Jusoh and participated by Malaysian reknown figures such as former Malaysian Police Chief Tun Mohamad Hanif Omar, Tan Sri Datuk Dr Kamal Salih, Prof Datuk Osman Bakar, Datuk Mohd Ghazali Mohd Noor, CEOs of Malaysian banks, etc.

The title of my talk at the Seminar was Redefining Growth and Prosperity for Waqf Development. I stressed the need to redefine growth and prosperity by dismantling them from neo-european-centric perspective, and building up a framework for waqf development for an Islamically-defined prosperity from within Islamic philosophical and epistemological underpinnings.

IDMAC11 SUCCESSFULLY HELD

With Dr Tabrani Abdul Latiff, the Leader of Ban Nua Community in Thailand who delivered the second Keynote Speech at the 5th ISDEV International Islamic Development Management Conference (IDMAC11)

Some of the participants of IDMAC11 held yesterday and today, 13-14 December 2001

Am in Kuala Lumpur again tonight, at Sri Pacific Hotel, to fulfill an invitation by Iqra Foundation and INCEIF to talk at Waqf: Redefining Growth and Prosperity Seminar to be held at the Central Bank of Malaysia tomorrow morning. Arrived here this evening, after participating in the successful 5th ISDEV International Islamic Development Management Conference (IDMAC11) in Penang.

At the IDMAC11, I was requested to deliver the first Keynote Address entitled Preliminary Understanding of Islamic Marketing and Asset Management, while Dr Tabrani Abdul Latif, the Leader of  Ban Nua Community in Thailand gave the second Keynote Address entitled An Islamic Grassroots Approach to Asset Management: Ban Nua Experience.

Apart from the two Keynote Addresses, a total of 61 papers have been presented. The presenters came as near as Thailand and as far as Pakistan.

Delivering the first Keynote Address

ISDEV lecturer and students interested in undertaking research at Ban Nua Community, having a preliminary interview with Dr Tabrani Abdul Latif

With Associate Professor Dr Muhammad Abdullah from Pakistan, former ISDEV Post-Doctoral Fellow who returned to USM to participate in the IDMAC11

USM-USIM-UniSZA-UPM RESEARCH PROJECT

Merting in progress

For the first time today, had a meeting with co-researches of a FRGS research project on Conceptualising Islamic Marketing:A Study of its Epistemological Underpinnings from Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) and Universiti Putra Malaysia. The project is led by Puan Hanim Misbah of USIM and based at the university, with the aim of investigating what is meant by Islamic marketing, assessing the existing Islamic marketing thinking, and proposing shari`ah-based standards of Islamic marketing, particularly in the production of products, promotion, distribution and pricing.

The research team (L-R): Adilah (Research Officer), Hanim (Leader), Dr Fadzila Azni, Dr Azrin, myself, Razali and Dr Radhi

The project was born last year when I was a Visiting Professor at USIM, with Hanim Misbah and Dr Mohd Radhi Ibrahim of USIM, Dr Fadzila Azni Ahmad and myself of USM, Dr Ahmad Azrin Adnan of UniSZA and Razali Othman of UPM as the members of the research team.

To date, five papers have been produced and will be presented at the 5th ISDEV International Islamic Development Management Conference (IDMAC11) tomorrow. Another six papers are on the pipeline and scheduled to be presented at a Research Seminar at UniSZA next March 2012, InshaAllah. The project is expected to be the pioneering work in establishing Islamic marketing thinking from within Islamic epistemological and philosophical underpinnings.

HELPING A NEW ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY

Just arrived home last night after attending a meeting since Saturday 10th till Sunday 11st December at Concorde, Kuala Lumpur. The meeting was aimed to design an academic programme for an intended newly-established post-graduate university to be named Universiti Islam Malaysia, initiated by the Majlis Raja-Raja of Malaysia.

We came to an agreement on designing an integrated trans-disciplinary academic programme, inextricably combining natural and social sciences within authentic Islamic epistemological and philosophical paradigm, that is able to produce Quranic, Sunnatic, Encyclopedic and Ijtihadic students at graduate level.

The meeting was chaired by the Academic Committee Chairman of the University's Board Prof. Dato' Dr Ismail bin Ibrahim, and attended by the University's Board Chairman Tan Sri Dr Mohd Yusof Noor, Management Chief Datuk Dr Abdul Monir bin Yaacob, former Rector of the International Islamic University Tan Sri Professor Muhammad Kamal Hassan, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of INTI International University Professor Datuk Dr Ibrahm bin Bajunid, IKIM Deputy Director Professor Datin Dr Azizan binti Baharudin, Kolej Islam Malaya Member of Trustees Lt. Jen. Dato' Seri Abdul Ghani bin Abdul Aziz (B), myself and one each from University of Malaya, Insaniah College University, ISRA, and UiTM.

Meeting in progress

The participants

Informal discussion with Tan Sri Dr Mohd Yusof Noor and Lt. Jen. Dato' Seri Abdul Ghani bin Abdul Aziz (B)

5 UNEXPECTED GIFTS FROM ALLAH SWT

With Dr Zakaria Bahari, the Chairman of the Organizing Committe of the 5th IDMAC11

Still could not write the brief notes of the past activities.

Within this few days, have to prepare a presentation of a final report on Organisational Empowerment and Societal Participation in Zakat Distribution for Lembaga Zakat Selangor Workshop held yesterday the 8th at De Palma Hotel Shah Alam; to fulfill two deadlines by today the 10th, firstly an article on the Conceptualisation of Islamic Project Management for a Fundamental Research Grant Scheme and secondly a Keynote Address entitles Preliminary Understanding of Islamic Marketing and Assets Management for IDMAC11 Conference to be held on 13-14 December at Universiti Sains Malaysia; to prepare for a meeting on the establishment of a new university tentatively named Universiti Islam Malaysia at KL Concorde Hotel tomorrow the 10th till the 11st; to prepare for a solicited talk for a Waqf: Redefining Prosperity and Growth Seminar organised by IQRA Foundation and INCEIF on the 15th at Central Bank of Malaysia in KL; and to prepare for a presentation of a paper entitles Islamic Economics Revisited: Recontemplating Unresolved Structure and Assumptions at the 8th International Conference on Islamic Economics and Finance in Doha, Qatar on 19-21st December, organised by Qatar Foundation,  Islamic Research and Training Institute of the Islamic Development Bank, and International Association of Islamic Economics .

For all these, have to fly quite a lot: 3 times return to KL in a week (in between the 7th and 15th), with one or two days break in Penang, plus a long return fly to Doha, Qatar on the 18th and 22nd December. Three other trips are anticipated to be made to KL after coming back from Doha at the end of December and early January, to attend three PhD viva voce as an external examiner at University of Malaya and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Of all these, I firmly believe, Allah SWT has advanced me yesterday with five special gifts: firstly, our final report on the revision of zakat distribution of the Lembaga Zakat Selangor (LZS) has been accepted by the LZS without much query; secondly, my younger daughter Ummu Habibah has been accepted to pursue her study at Sekolah Menengah Perempuan Al-Mashor as she wishes; thirdly, my elder daughter A`firah has been awarded a study loan by Yayasan Terengganu; fourthly, ISDEV Management Committee Dr Zakaria Bahari has been approved to join me to present a paper at the Qatar Conference with USM sponsorship while visa and accommodation are arranged by the organisers; and fifthly, I managed to get the last seat on earlier flight back to Penang.

A few days prior to all these gifts, I was awarded with a RM815,000.00 Research University Team Grant to undertake a four-year research on Islamic-Based Development consisting of a concentration on Islamic-based development world-view and index, the politics of the Islamic-based development strategy, the implication of ethics and hisbah on human development, the Islamic Corporate Responsibility of Islamic Banks, and Istibdal for Waqf Development.

Thank you very much Allah!

Workshop on Kajian Kemaskini Agihan Zakat of the Lembaga Zakat Selangor

TOO MANY ACITIVITIES, TOO LITTLE TIME

Since the last posting, too many activities to be recorded, but too little time to sit down and write. Postings that will follow perhaps could cover all activities with just brief notes and photos. Hopefully it is adequate to just put them in record, InshaAllah. That would probably be the nature of my postings, from the last posting to date.