Monday June 9, 2008 MYT 4:27:16 PM
By IZATUN SHARI
KUALA LUMPUR: There is a need to reframe the discourse on the divide between the Muslim world and the West given the fact that both sides have a lot in common, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said.
The Prime Minister said there was a need to establish recognition that the Muslim world and the West were not total strangers but, in fact, parties, which do not share a historical, existential and philosophical worldview.
"If we can accomplish this, we would have taken an important step in closing the gap," Abdullah said Monday in his keynote address at the third "International Conference on the Muslim World and the West: Bridging the Gap" at the Shangri-La Hotel here.
He said there were more commonalities among the three great monotheistic religions of Islam, Christianity and Judaism than among any other world religions because they shared traditions and values, in spite of their differences.
"We should therefore nurture these common grounds in the interest of a common agenda of peace, rather than quibble and magnify these differences to serve some other political or strategic agendas."
He said the Islamic world and the West must work to regain mutual trust, respect, understanding and cooperation that were important for world peace and security.
In order to move forward, he said both sides must listen with an open mind and an equally open heart.
"We must stand together with a firm commitment to establish a culture of tolerance and harmony in order to better promote the wellbeing of humankind, notwithstanding the differences or dissimilarities that exist between us as communities."
He noted that the divide between the Muslim world and the West originated in the hearts and minds of humans.
"It is geo-politics and the cynical manipulation of religious creed or secular ideology that trigger these conflicts and which bring about this divide.
He said that if the feelings, attitudes and perceptions that each side had of the other were altered, the gap would close to a very significant degree.
He pointed out that the negative attitudes and perceptions among Westerners and Muslims, which created and sustained the divide, were actions of a few bigoted players on both sides.
"They have been created and fuelled by several defining political events, and abetted by certain socio-economic and religious factors.
"For example, when the Soviet Union imploded in 1989, a number of influential Western thinkers decided that Islam was their next existential enemy after Communism. Thus began the shaping of some of the negative western attitude and actions towards the Muslim ummah (people)."
Abdullah also expressed Malaysia's intention to work closely with the United Nations and the Alliance of Civilisations (AoC), as part of the worldwide effort undertaken by the AoC to create understanding between and among civilisations of the world.
"As a member of the group of friends of the AoC, Malaysia's own efforts in this regard will complement those of the Alliance and will be part of the AoC's global programmes of action. We want to be contributing to the global efforts - to be a spoke within the overarching wheel of the UN-supported AoC."
He said Malaysia's effort would be a regional one that would be reinforcing and sustaining those of the AoC in what might well be a long-term global undertaking.
Established in 2005 at the initiative of the Spanish and Turkish governments under the auspices of the UN, the alliance is supported by a group of friends - a community of over 85 member countries and international organisations and bodies to build a bridge among a diversity of culture and communities but not inclusively between Muslim and Western societies.
"Malaysia believes that success in this endeavour requires the cooperation of governments working in partnership with the private or business sector, the religious sector, and civil society, and that this work has to be carried out in both the Western and Muslim countries."
Abdullah said the effort required a comprehensive and dynamic approach, with each sector supporting and reinforcing, in a spirit of cooperation and competition for the common good of all sectors.
Source
Showing posts with label Quotes Repository. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quotes Repository. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Duke University hires its 1st Muslim chaplain
Posted on Mon, Jun. 16, 2008
By YONAT SHIMRON
McClatchy Newspapers
DURHAM, N.C. --In a sign of the changing makeup of its students, Duke University has hired its first imam, or Muslim religious leader, becoming one of only a handful of universities in the United States that have full-time Muslim clergy.
Abdullah Antepli, a native of Turkey who is completing his doctoral work at Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Conn., will become the Muslim imam and chaplain on campus, beginning July 1.
Antepli will join a roster of at least 20 faith leaders, including a rabbi, a Roman Catholic priest and a dozen Protestant ministers who attend to the spiritual needs of Duke's increasingly diverse student body.
"Here's a university seeing a growing need for a qualified Muslim chaplain and graciously responding to the need," Antepli said Monday. "It's really admirable. They could easily have ignored it or asked the Muslim community to pay for it."
Duke has at least 300 undergraduate and graduate students who claim Islam as their religion. The university has no precise numbers because students are not required to disclose their faith. About 50 of those students are actively involved in its Muslim Student Association. Duke also has dozens of Muslims working for the university in various capacities.
Antepli's role will be to lead them in Friday "Juma" prayers, teach the Quran, lead discussion groups and offer pastoral care to students who want it. He will also teach introductory classes on Islam at the Duke Divinity School, which is paying half his salary.
"It's an important moment for a university that has historic Methodist roots in the South," said Tom Tweed, formerly a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and now at the University of Texas at Austin.
Duke's earlier incarnation, Trinity College, affiliated with the Methodist Church in 1859. That affiliation has loosened over the years, as Trinity became Duke University. Its divinity school is still tied to the Methodist church, and for most of the 20th century, its character remained overwhelmingly Protestant. But today, the largest group of students on campus is Roman Catholic. Several years ago, Duke hired its first full-time rabbi.
"It's time for leading institutions in the West to step up and actively seek to shape the next generation of global Muslim leaders," said the Rev. Sam Wells, the dean of the chapel at Duke. "It's up to institutions like Duke to take the initiative, with all the values Duke stands for."
For the past nine years, Muslim students on campus have had the benefit of a volunteer imam, Abdul hafeez-Waheed, a resident of Durham. But the university wanted a scholar, too, and conducted a national search. Waheed was invited to remain active on campus.
The trend to add Muslim leaders to serve students has gained momentum in recent years. Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., is among the first in the nation to hire an full-time imam. Ivy League schools, including Princeton and Yale, are now hiring full-time imams.
"Duke is reaching beyond mere toleration of diversity and is taking an extra step toward engagement," said Michael Goldman, rabbi for Jewish life at Duke.
Antepli completed his basic imam training in his native Turkey. From 1996-2003, he worked on a variety of humanitarian projects in Myanmar and Malaysia with the Association of Social and Economic Solidarity with Pacific Countries.
Prior to his work at Hartford Seminary, Antepli was the first Muslim chaplain at Wesleyan University, from 2003-2005. He is the founder and executive board member of the Muslim Chaplains Association and is a member of the National Association of College and University Chaplains.
Goldman said Antepli's hiring rounds out the family of faiths at Duke. "We feel like a new family member has arrived," he said.
Source
By YONAT SHIMRON
McClatchy Newspapers
DURHAM, N.C. --In a sign of the changing makeup of its students, Duke University has hired its first imam, or Muslim religious leader, becoming one of only a handful of universities in the United States that have full-time Muslim clergy.
Abdullah Antepli, a native of Turkey who is completing his doctoral work at Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Conn., will become the Muslim imam and chaplain on campus, beginning July 1.
Antepli will join a roster of at least 20 faith leaders, including a rabbi, a Roman Catholic priest and a dozen Protestant ministers who attend to the spiritual needs of Duke's increasingly diverse student body.
"Here's a university seeing a growing need for a qualified Muslim chaplain and graciously responding to the need," Antepli said Monday. "It's really admirable. They could easily have ignored it or asked the Muslim community to pay for it."
Duke has at least 300 undergraduate and graduate students who claim Islam as their religion. The university has no precise numbers because students are not required to disclose their faith. About 50 of those students are actively involved in its Muslim Student Association. Duke also has dozens of Muslims working for the university in various capacities.
Antepli's role will be to lead them in Friday "Juma" prayers, teach the Quran, lead discussion groups and offer pastoral care to students who want it. He will also teach introductory classes on Islam at the Duke Divinity School, which is paying half his salary.
"It's an important moment for a university that has historic Methodist roots in the South," said Tom Tweed, formerly a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and now at the University of Texas at Austin.
Duke's earlier incarnation, Trinity College, affiliated with the Methodist Church in 1859. That affiliation has loosened over the years, as Trinity became Duke University. Its divinity school is still tied to the Methodist church, and for most of the 20th century, its character remained overwhelmingly Protestant. But today, the largest group of students on campus is Roman Catholic. Several years ago, Duke hired its first full-time rabbi.
"It's time for leading institutions in the West to step up and actively seek to shape the next generation of global Muslim leaders," said the Rev. Sam Wells, the dean of the chapel at Duke. "It's up to institutions like Duke to take the initiative, with all the values Duke stands for."
For the past nine years, Muslim students on campus have had the benefit of a volunteer imam, Abdul hafeez-Waheed, a resident of Durham. But the university wanted a scholar, too, and conducted a national search. Waheed was invited to remain active on campus.
The trend to add Muslim leaders to serve students has gained momentum in recent years. Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., is among the first in the nation to hire an full-time imam. Ivy League schools, including Princeton and Yale, are now hiring full-time imams.
"Duke is reaching beyond mere toleration of diversity and is taking an extra step toward engagement," said Michael Goldman, rabbi for Jewish life at Duke.
Antepli completed his basic imam training in his native Turkey. From 1996-2003, he worked on a variety of humanitarian projects in Myanmar and Malaysia with the Association of Social and Economic Solidarity with Pacific Countries.
Prior to his work at Hartford Seminary, Antepli was the first Muslim chaplain at Wesleyan University, from 2003-2005. He is the founder and executive board member of the Muslim Chaplains Association and is a member of the National Association of College and University Chaplains.
Goldman said Antepli's hiring rounds out the family of faiths at Duke. "We feel like a new family member has arrived," he said.
Source
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Australia: A Shining Example Of Muslim Integration Into Society
June 10, 2008 21:17 PM
Australia: A Shining Example Of Muslim Integration Into Society
KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 (Bernama) -- Western nations should emulate Australia's policies to incorporate people into its society and give them fair treatment and equal rights, including those of Muslim background.
Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services Laurie Ferguson said the Australian Government had taken several steps to integrate the Muslim population. Amongst the examples that Ferguson, a member of parliament, cited was the fact that the Australian Government would spend its taxpayers money to fund Islamic schools throughout the country, and that there were a multitude of mosques spread across the land Down Under.
"We allow Islamic schools throughout the country. In my electorate, there is an Islamic school. And these receive some government money, tax payer's money," he told Bernama while attending the 'Third International Conference On the Muslim World and the West: Bridging The Gap' here Tuesday.
Although admitting there were unemployment problems regarding the Muslim population in Australia, he said the government was taking steps to tackle the issue, especially since crime rates could be connected to unemployment.
"There's a connection yes (with the crime rate), people who are angry with society, people who feel that they have been left behind.
Ferguson also explained that the unemployment problems amongst the Muslim population was not due to religion nor ethnic-based but because of educational factor since Australia needed skilled workers to compete in today's global economy.
"Lot of skilled doctors, professionals, IT people who are Muslims, come from India and Pakistan. I think if you go to Australia and meet a whole lot of Malaysian Muslims, you'll find they are very successful, above average Australians.
-- BERNAMA
Australia: A Shining Example Of Muslim Integration Into Society
KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 (Bernama) -- Western nations should emulate Australia's policies to incorporate people into its society and give them fair treatment and equal rights, including those of Muslim background.
Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services Laurie Ferguson said the Australian Government had taken several steps to integrate the Muslim population. Amongst the examples that Ferguson, a member of parliament, cited was the fact that the Australian Government would spend its taxpayers money to fund Islamic schools throughout the country, and that there were a multitude of mosques spread across the land Down Under.
"We allow Islamic schools throughout the country. In my electorate, there is an Islamic school. And these receive some government money, tax payer's money," he told Bernama while attending the 'Third International Conference On the Muslim World and the West: Bridging The Gap' here Tuesday.
Although admitting there were unemployment problems regarding the Muslim population in Australia, he said the government was taking steps to tackle the issue, especially since crime rates could be connected to unemployment.
"There's a connection yes (with the crime rate), people who are angry with society, people who feel that they have been left behind.
Ferguson also explained that the unemployment problems amongst the Muslim population was not due to religion nor ethnic-based but because of educational factor since Australia needed skilled workers to compete in today's global economy.
"Lot of skilled doctors, professionals, IT people who are Muslims, come from India and Pakistan. I think if you go to Australia and meet a whole lot of Malaysian Muslims, you'll find they are very successful, above average Australians.
-- BERNAMA
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Barack Obama: Engaging the Muslim World whilst protecting US & Israel
Barack Obama: Engaging the Muslim World whilst protecting US & Israel
In an interview last month, Senator Obama made yet another effort to explain why Israel would not be hurt by any negotiations he had with its traditional enemies.
"I welcome the Muslim world's accurate perception that I am interested in opening up dialogue and moving away from the unilateral policies of George Bush," he said.
"But nobody should mistake that for a softer stance when it comes to terrorism or protecting Israel's security."
Source
In an interview last month, Senator Obama made yet another effort to explain why Israel would not be hurt by any negotiations he had with its traditional enemies.
"I welcome the Muslim world's accurate perception that I am interested in opening up dialogue and moving away from the unilateral policies of George Bush," he said.
"But nobody should mistake that for a softer stance when it comes to terrorism or protecting Israel's security."
Source
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