Archive for April, 2014

8.15pm – 9.45pm Wednesday 14 May at Talent Lounge, Menara Mustapha Kamal, Damansara Perdana http://bit.ly/talentloungemap

Ibn Khaldun was a master of how to think clearly and criticaly about history and society. He explained how historians made errors when they wrote about societies of the past and suggested how these errors can be corrected. For example, the seerah or life history of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) suggests that 600 to 900 men of the Jewish tribe, the Bani Quraydha, were executed with the approval of the Prophet. Could this even have really happened the way it was reported? Using Ibn Khaldun’s approach to history we examine this and other controversial questions. In his own study of history, Ibn Khaldun wrote about how corruption, dishonesty and the lack of unity or cohesion were responsible for the decline of states.

– Syed Farid Alatas

Farid Alatas, a Malaysian national, is Associate Professor of Sociology at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He also headed the Department of Malay Studies at NUS from 2007 to 2013. He lectured at the University of Malaya in the Department of Southeast Asian Studies prior to joining NUS. His areas of interest are historical sociology, the sociology of social science, the sociology of religion, and intra- and inter-religious dialogue. Among his books are Alternative Discourse in Asian Social Science: Responses to Eurocentrism (Sage, 2006), and two recent books on Ibn KhaldÉn: Ibn Khaldun (Oxford University Press, 2013 and Applying Ibn KhaldÉn (Routledge, 2014).

Introduction to Worldview of Islam
With author of Science and Knowledge in Islamic Civilization,
Professor Alparslan Açikgenç and CASIS UTM Graduate Students
Muhammad Ikhwan and Syed Muhiyuddin Al-Attas

8pm Tuesday 6 May 2014 at Talent Lounge, Menara Mustapha Kamal http://bit.ly/talentloungemap

This evening will be looking at what is a worldview, why and how it affects our lives. As Muslims, what then is the Worldview of Islam, its significance to the past and future?

*This event is in conjunction with the Worldview of Islam Summer School, 22-28 June 2014.

Professor Dr. Alparslan Açikgenç received his Ph. D. at The University of Chicago in 1983. He has taught philosophy at various universities in Turkey as well as invited as professor at the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC) by its Founder-Director, Prof. Al-Attas (1992-1998). He has published more than 100 articles in various journals on comparative philosophy, philosophy of science, Islamic epistemology, and educational philosophy. Among his important works are Islamic Scientific Tradition in History (Kuala Lumpur: IKIM, 2012); Islamic Science: Towards A Definition (ISTAC, 1996); Being and Existence in Sadra and Heidegger (ISTAC, 1993) and many more. He is currently working on a comprehensive world history book from the Islamic perspective.

Muhammad Ikhwan Azlan is currently pursuing his doctorate degree at the Centre of Advanced Studies on Islam, Science and CIvilisation (CASIS) and works as a lecturer at Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Selangor (KUIS). His research interest includes, among others, determining the epistemological limits of mathematics in the various sciences, heeding the framework derived from the metaphysics of Islam.  

Muhiyuddin b. Hussein Al-Attas is currently pursuing his M.Phil at CASIS and also works as a lecturer at KUIS. His research interest is in S.M.N Al-Attas’ conception of the West, encompassing the origins of the worldview of the West, its philosophical, cultural and religious roots, and how this worldview is impacting the world.