FLASHBACK - MISDEV10 OUTING TO SEDIM ECO THEME PARK AND RESORT

This is another ISDEV activity last year that I did not have time to record. It was MISDEV10 outing to Sedim Eco Theme Park and Resort in Kulim on 31st October - 1 November 2011.

As a part of a coursework for Human Development course, the outing was meant to train the MISDEV10 students in trip organizational management, as well as in the practice of some of Islamic leadership cultures such as animal slaughtering and Friday sermon. The one-night and two day outing also was filled with congregational and night prayers, as well as football, swimming and tree top walk.

Arriving the Park

The entourage: MISDEV10 students plus other ISDEV members

Congregational prayer

Chicken slaughtering class

Friday sermon practice

FLASHBACK: 3 ACTIVITIES DURING DEEPAVALI

I have written this posting in October last year, but forget to revise and publish it. It is rather out-of-date, but it is beneficial for record and a flashback. It is something to do with the way I spent the Deepavali holiday on Wednesday 26th October 2011.

Taking the opportunity of the holiday to have a little rest, I filled the day with three main activities. Early in the morning I went for a traditional massage at Pokok Sena near Tasek Gelugor, a routine I missed for quite sometimes due to tight workload schedules. The massager who I know for so many years, has his massage `clinic' at his first wife's residence in Penanti every Saturday, Sunday and Monday, and at his second wife's residence in Pokok Sena on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. As usual, I felt so relaxing during the massage and more refreshing after it.

This was followed by having a breakfast at Puncak Mutiara Cafe in Kampong Pelek near Penanti. My wife has heard from her friends about this cafe which serves fresh lambs, chicken, etc. So we decided to go there for our breakfast after the massage. It is located at a hilly area at the end of Kampong Pelek, surrounded by greens. At the most top of the 5 acre area is animal farm consisting of goats, ostrich, and chicken. A little bit below of the hill is the kitchen, followed by eating places and the lowest by fish ponds. According to the owner Haji Abdul Halim, he has about 120 workers, including 12 chefs and 20 cooks. Speciality here is lamb briyani, apart from western and other foods. It could be considered as a little bit exclusive, but it attracts a lot of people although the location is quite remote. The secret is good marketing, I guess, after having a chit-chat with the owner.

Sharing Arab bread with my wife

With the owner of the Puncak Mutiara Cafe, Tuan Haji Abdul Halim

The animal farm of the Cafe

In front of the Cafe

The day was ended with a visit to Borders Bookshop and Swift (Apple Reseller) at Queensbay Mall on the Penang island. I bought four books at the Borders, as in the picture below.

The four books I bought at Borders, Queensbay Mall, Penang

NOSTALGIA-1978 PHOTO

Just received two 1978 photos from an old UK housemate (Dr Faisal), who says: "Assalamualaikum Prof. Terjumpa photos lama semasa kemas rumah. Thought you might like to see old friends kat Norwich (1978) dulu...like YB Dato Nizar, Dr Iskandar dll.. Salam".

Guess which one is me?

Really thanks Allah SWTfor what He has bestowed me today.

QATAR MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

The end of the 8th International Conference on Islamic Economics and Finance - ISDEV delegates (L-R: myself, Muhammad Yasir and Dr Zakaria Bahari) with Br. Ismail Abdul Rahman from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Alhamdulillah, I am home from Qatar safely. The Conference in Qatar was one of the most joyful and beneficial conferences that I have ever participated. All of us from ISDEV, Dr Zakaria Bahari, Muhammad Yasir and myself, have put forward whatever thinking that we wanted to through the presentation of our respective papers. The Conference provides a platform for a discourse on the latest thought and research findings of the presenters from all over the world. Beside that, many old friends were also here and met, and many new friend too were made, to broaden ISDEV networking. Though it costs the organisers QR500,000 to organise such a big conference, it was worthwhile, I think.

I am looking forward to participate in the next 9th ICIEF to be held in two years time in Turkey, InshaAllah. But like this Conference in Qatar, it would be definitely very competitive to be chosen as a paper presenter. For the Qatar Conference, a total of 815 abstracts from 40 countries were received  by the organiser. After careful consideration, only 50% were accepted to pursue to the writing of full papers. Of 340 full papers received later on, only 35%, or 119 papers, were accepted for presentation at the Conference. It took 6 months, that is from April to October 2011, for the organiser to process the evaluation of the abstracts and the full papers.

Brother Rafi-uddin Shikoh, the CEO/Managing Director of Dinar Standard based in New York, USA - the last new friend I met during our departure home

Arriving at KLIA from Doha, Qatar

THE 8TH ICIEF CONFERENCE-3RD DAY

Muhammad Yasir answering a question from the floor

The last day of the 8th ICIEF Conference today saw Muhammad Yasir and Dr Zakaria Bahari presented their paper. As the previous days, the third day also gave me an opportunity to meet old friends and made new friends, as are recorded by the photos below. I spent the last night in Qatar tonight in my hotel room, preparing to depart for home at 0500 tomorrow morning, InshaAllah.

Prof Masudul Alam Choudhury from Sultan of Qabus University, Oman, who I was indebted to for initiating the establishment of International Project on Islamic Political Economy (IPIPE) in mid-1990s, that eventually developed into a Centre named Centre for Islamic Developmment Management Studies (ISDEV)

With Dr Mabid Jarhi, the former Director of IRTI at IDB and the President of the International Association of Islamic Economic and Finance

With Dr Tariqullah Khan, formerly at IRTI of the IDB and currently works with the Qatar Foundation, the main organiser of the 8th ICIEF Conference

With Dr Sayyid Tahir from Pakistan, a long time friend who I did not met for around twenty years

THE 8TH ICIEF CONFERENCE- 2ND DAY

Today is my turn to present my paper. It was in Session 12 themed Islamic Economics in Theory and Practice, at 1400 to 1530 in Room 103 of the Qatar National Convention Centre. Together in the Session were another six presenters from various countries. The room was packed as the theme of the Session seemed to be one of the prime themes discussed in this conference. Moreover, prior to this Session, in the morning, there was quite an interesting panel discussion on the state of the Islamic economics.

Two stances were observed in the morning panel discussion. Firstly, it was a stance that it is okay to have a mixture of the Islamic and conventional economics as is the state of the mainstream Islamic economics today. Secondly, there was a dissenting view to the first stance which aruged that Islamic economics was based on a wrong paradigm, hence the necessity of an authentic Islamic paradigm to give birth to an original Islamic economics. The papers in my session seemed to be the continuation of the panel discussion and attracted  a lot of participants. Interestingly, all the papers were in favour of the second stance, including mine, or at least have posed a critical anaylsis of the first stance.

The packed room during the Session

As the previous day, and especially after my presentation, I had an opportunity to meet old and new friends, as are reflected in the following photos.

With Prof Mehmet Austay of the Durham University, UK

R-L: With Dr Raditya Sukmana from Indonesia and Naail Mohammed Kamil from Ghana

L-R: Prof Habib Ahmed and Prof Mehmet Austay from Durham University, UK

With Honorouble Zubair Omar from Saudi Arabia, one of the pioneering initiators and long-live supporters of Islamic economics, banking and finance, who plays his role from behind the scene. I have met him last year when I was a Visiting Scholar at IRTI of the IDB in Jeddah. He is a member of the Trustees of the IRTI.

Prof Rodney Wilson of the Durham University standing second from right.

With Prof Ahmad Youseri of Egypt

With Dr Asad Zaman of the International Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan, who has put forward his dissenting stance against the contemporary mainstream Islamic economics and presented another paper in the same Session as mine.

The speakers during my Session with the moderator, Prof Mehmet Austay (2nd right)

Old friends from Islamic Research Training Institute of the IDB: Sajjad (left) and Dr Abdelateef Bello (middle)

After Isyak, we were brought by Muhammad Yasir's brother and Fadli to Suuk Waqef for dinner and sight seeing. Nights were the only free time that we have during this Conference. Apart from many Arab restaurants that become eating place for many like Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur, there is a Malaysian restaurant here, selling amongst other foods, char koey teow for about QR30 and roti canai for about QR20 per plate. So I was told by the Malaysian conference participants who ate there. This is not surprising as the cost of living here in Qatar is quite high. As opposed to the shopping mall we went last night, here in Suuk Waqeef we could feel that we are actually in an Arab country.

Dinner at an Arabic Bandar Aden Restaurant

Our dinner "appetizer" shared by five of us: Ratib bread and beef agda

The desert: Maasob gate of Aden. In between the "appetizer" and the desert, we shared a big plate of mandi rice with lambs and chicken

One of the avenues at Suuk Waqef

With some Arab customers in a honey shop at Suuk Waqeef

The owner of the honey shop mixing honey with habbus sauda, ginseng, etc

Another avenues at Suuk Waqef

The Malaysian restaurant at Suuk Waqeef

Another site at Suuk Waqef with Muhammad Yasir's brother (left)

Another avenue at Suuk Waqeef where customers were having foods and drink relaxingly

A snack shop at the Suuk

THE 8TH ICIEF CONFERENCE - 1ST DAY

The electronic banner at the main door of the Conference hall

The 8th ICIEF has started today at the Qatar National Convention Centre. I met many old friends and made many new friends from all the world, Alhamdulillah. Many pioneers of Islamic economics and Islamic banking and finance too are here.

Interestingly, there are also many scholars from Malaysia, in particular from International Islamic University, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi MARA, etc, apart from us from Universiti Sains Malaysia, combining both the lecturers and graduate students. In fact, according to Dr Tariqullah Khan of the Organizing Committee, the Academic Committee found it difficult to choose papers from Malaysia because of the high number, about 40 papers altogether, in balancing with the other regions. The Malaysian presentations, based on many creative and innovative researches too were very impressive, entailing with a high praise from the other scholars.

Conference in progress

However, concentration on this Conference seems to be more on the Islamic banking and finance rather than on the Islamic economics. It is a fact that Islamic banking and finance has grown drastically through an avenue that seems to be gradually detaching from the Islamic economics itself.

Listening to panel speakers

How far this is true is of course as yet to be confirmed. It could be an interesting aspect to be researched. But Prof Volker Nienhaus in a private conversation with me relates the situation to the need of the market which necessitates technical ability rather than philosophical understanding. In short, if Prof Nienhaus is right, Islamic economics has grown within the mould of the conventional market rather than from the mould of Islamic doctrines. Could it be so?

The arriving hall of the Qatar National Convention Centre, where the 8thC

IC IC is held

With Professor Volker Nienhaus of Germany, currently Visiting Professor, Faculty of Islamic Studies, Qatar University (on my right)

With Professor Zubair Hassan of INCEIF

With Associate Professor Shinsuke Nagaoka of Japan, who was together with me at IRTI, Jeddah, last year (on my right)

Concurrent session in progress

Private conversation with Dr Muhammad Umar Chapra of the Advisor of IRTI, IDB

The conference on the first day lasted at about 5.30 pm. After a brief return to our hotel, we took a taxi to Qatar city centre to have a dinner at a Bukhari Rice restaurant. The price of a plate of Bukhari Rice is QR22 (about RM22). There were a lot of foreigners. We did not really feel that we are in an Arabic country. Modernization and a high cost of living has conquered Qatar. The night before, the dinner that has been treated by Muhammad Yasir's brother at our hotel costed him QR699. However, Qatar is peaceful, with wide (six lanes) roads and clean city, though sometimes troubled by traffic jams.

Dinner - Nasi Bukhari