KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 (Bernama) -- The Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM), supported by Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad and UEM Group, held an international seminar with the theme, 'Unlocking Wisdom of Islam for Comprehensive Development' in-conjunction with IKIM's 30-year anniversary, at IKIM's Grand Hall.
According to Associate Professor Dr. Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil, the Director-General of IKIM, the theme of the conference is crucial for Malaysia, the Muslim world, and humanity as a whole especially in light of the global disruption caused by the pandemic. He added, IKIM, being a think tank and research institute at the service of the nation and the global Muslim Ummah, is always looking to explore new possibilities and to infuse more meaningful ideas into all existing praiseworthy initiatives by the government and various national and international actors.
The seminar saw the convening of both scholars and practitioners, namely Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar (Chairman, Tabung Haji), Tan Sri Dr Jemilah Mahmood (Executive Director, Sunway Centre of Planetary Health, Sunway University), Prof. Dr Muhammad Zainiy Uthman (Raja Zarith Sofiah Centre for Advanced Studies on Islam, Science and Civilisation, UTM Kuala Lumpur), and Prof. Dr Recep Senturk (College of Islamic Studies, Hamad bin Khalifa University, Qatar), in the attempt to showcase the relevance of the wisdom teachings of Islam to a more comprehensive conception of development.
The scholar from Turkey, Prof. Dr. Recep Senturk, argues that the question of sustainability of development is dependent on moral, intellectual and cultural development of the people as can be seen in the approach of Ibn Khaldun based on ilm al-'umrān.
The renowned Malaysian humanitarian, Tan Sri Dr. Jemilah, holds that the development model of capitalism and gross domestic product has led us to this path of self-destruction. While Tan Sri Jemilah affirms that the solutions to our current problems are to be found in our Sacred Text and that Islam's relevance to global development is timeless, Tan Sri Jemilah draws attention to a contemporary model of development which she finds in line with the principles of Islam and needed in light of challenges today: the regenerative economics approach, namely the one referred to as ‘doughnut economics’.
Prof. Zainiy, argues that we must give more consideration on excellence of knowledge and ethics of the people which have been the emphasis of wise Muslim luminaries, and not to give-in entirely to the dry economics approach and development models which loses sight of inner development of the people.
Finally, Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar draws attention to the Circle of Justice idea as a model of development, which he finds as more satisfying and comprehensive than the Neo-Classical approach after having studied Development Studies at Cambridge University. For Tan Sri Azman, the Circle of Justice implies that the various elements of society need to work concertedly to realize the desirable outcomes.
The event was attended by representatives of foreign embassies, corporate professionals, academics, civil officers, and university students.
The full recording of the event can be found on IKIM’s official Facebook page: https://fb.watch/f4gbX15wnK/
SOURCE: Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM)
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