ACEH MISSION 1: SPEECH ON ISLAMIC-BASED DEVELOPMENT FOR POST-TSUNAMI ACEH

Speech during the Closing Ceremony of the Conference

At the Aceh's International Conference on Islamic Economics and Finance organized by the Faculty of  Shari`ah of the Institut Agama Islam Negeri Ar-Raniry, I talked on `Islamic-Based Development for Post-Tsunami Aceh: A Theoretical Construct', while Dr Fadzila Azni Ahmad spoke on `Total Quality Management (TQM) in Islamic Financial Institutions: Can It?'.

Speech on the Islamic-Based Development for Post-Tsunami Aceh

Dr Fadzila Azni Ahmad on TQM in Islamic Financial Institutions

In my speech, three main points were put forward.

Firstly, I expressed my conviction that Aceh must develop via an Islamic-based development strategy for four reasons. First, Aceh is a Muslim majority province; second, Aceh has proven to be able to become a strong Islamic government with outstanding civilization during 16-17th Century and there is a great possibility to revive it; third, Aceh used to be blessed with Islamic rulers and fighters whose spirit are definitely still around within the hearts of the post-tsunami Acehnese; and post-tsunami Aceh is facing with huge challenges from exogenous systems and cultures which could only be overcome by Islam.

Secondly, I briefly overviewed the development approaches in Aceh after tsunami and concluded that they could be hardly considered as Islamic-based development approaches.


Thirdly, I outlined a theoretical construct of the Islamic-based development approach for post-tsunami Aceh, consisting of 7 principles, viz. the mould is Islamic tasawwur, the actors are servants and vicegerent of God, the time-scale includes pre-birth, present and Hereafter worlds, the framework is obligatory knowledge (fard `ain), the methodology is ibadah, the means is the natural resources, and the ultimate aim is the pleasure of Allah (mardhatillah).