3rd International Conference on Islam and Higher Education
(3rd ICIHE)
Sunday, 30 September 2012 08:30
Theme: The Role of Awqaf in the Development of Islamic Higher Education: the Past, the Present, and Future Prospects
Dates: 30th September – 2nd October 2012
Venue: Pahang State Foundation Complex, Kuantan, Malaysia.
Co-organisers: IAIS Malaysia, Pahang State Foundation, and IKIP International College.
Introduction
It is now for the third time in three consecutive years that an international conference on Islam and higher education (ICIHE) has been held in Malaysia. Now that the 3rd ICIHE is currently in progress, we may proudly claim that the idea of having a series of ICIHEs, each dealing with a specific theme pertaining to contemporary Muslim higher education, that will last for years to come has become a reality. This series of ICIHEs owes its origin and development to the close and steady collaboration between IAIS Malaysia, the Pahang State Foundation, and IKIP International College, which have worked hard to make this series a reality. Undoubtedly, however, it is the personal interest and commitment of Dato’ Seri Diraja (Dr) Adnan Yaakob, the Menteri Besar of Pahang, who is also the Chairman, Pahang State Foundation to the development of Muslim higher education among the ummah, and the generosity of the Foundation that have made this series possible.
The theme chosen for the 3rd ICIHE is “The Role of Awqaf (“Endowment”) in the Development of Islamic Higher Education: the Past, the Present, and Future Prospects.” It is a follow-up to the theme of the 2nd ICIHE “The Empowerment of Muslim Communities in Private Higher Education.” Although the issue of the importance of awqaf to Muslim higher education was raised during the 2nd ICIHE, it was not then sufficiently discussed, since it was not the main objective of that conference. Accordingly, in order to do full justice to this very significant subject of Muslim concern, the 3rd ICIHE is to be devoted entirely to discussions of awqaf in its specific relation to the development of Muslim higher education.
The greater part of traditional Muslim education at all levels, including the tertiary, owes its origin, development, and progress to the awqaf institution. The famous Al-Azhar University in Cairo, founded in 970 CE, is an excellent example of an awqaf-funded Muslim higher education institution that was later to serve as a model for many private Western universities. The first degree-granting university in the world, the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fes, Morocco, founded in 245 AH/859 CE by a woman, Fatimah Fihriyyah, was similarly financed by its waqf revenues. In short, awqaf played a central role in the birth of the modern university.
It is extremely important for the contemporary Muslim ummah to revive the best of past Islamic traditions in envisioning and realizing the central role of awqaf in the development of the ummah’s education, particularly at the college and university levels. There is a real need to re-examine the awqaf tradition as a source of societal values and as an institution in the light of contemporary challenges facing the ummah in the field of education. It is with this awareness that the organizers of the 3rd ICIHE consider the choice of the role of awqaf in the development of Islamic higher education as its theme as most appropriate to the ummah’s current societal needs. The main hope is that the conference will help to break new grounds and chart new directions in Muslim thinking and practices on awqaf-based higher education.
Objectives of 3rd ICIHE
•To create a better awareness and understanding among Muslims on the general importance of the Islamic institution of awqaf to the development and progress of the ummah in various areas of societal life
•To better understand the various facets of institutional interactions between awqaf and education in Muslim societies, both in the past and in our present times
•To derive useful lessons from past practices of awqaf in higher education in various Muslim communities
•To harness the great potentials of the awqaf institution to serve as assets to Muslim higher education in the 15th century AH/21st century CE
•To formulate an ummatic approach to the development of the awqaf institution in the service of Muslim higher education
•To help strengthen the identity of the Muslim ummah through the empowerment of the awqaf institution
Sub-themes of 3rd ICIHE
•The meaning and significance of awqaf as a religious and socio-economic institution in Islam
•The historical development of awqaf in relation to education
•Important lessons to be learnt from past practices of awqaf in Muslim societies
•Case studies and aspiring models of educational institutions founded on awqaf
•Awqaf and contemporary Muslim higher education: problems and challenges
•Transforming major mosques into Muslim institutions of higher learning
•The future role of awqaf in the development of Muslim higher education
Tentative Programs
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30 September 2012 (Sunday)
•Arrivals of speakers and participants
•Registration of participants
1st October 2012 (Monday)
8.00 am – 9.00 am: Registration of participants and arrival of guests
9.00 am – 10.00 am: Official Opening of 3rd ICIHE
•Welcoming speeches by organisers
•Official opening and keynote address by the Menteri Besar of Pahang and Chairman, Pahang State Foundation, YAB Dato Sri Diraja Adnan Yaakob
10.00am – 10.30am: Refreshment
10.30am – 11.30am: Session 1
11.30am – 12.45pm: Session 2
12.45pm – 02.00pm: Lunch/Prayer
02.00pm – 03.30pm: Session 3
03.30pm – 05:00pm: Session 4
05.00pm Refreshment and End of First Day Program
2nd October 2012 (Tuesday)
08.30am – 10.00am: Session 5
10.00am – 10.30am: Refreshment
10.30am – 11.45am: Session 6
11.45am – 01.00pm: Session 7
01.00pm – 02.00pm: Lunch/Prayer
02.00pm – 03.15pm: Session 8
03.15pm – 04.15pm: Parallel sessions/Workshops
04.15pm – 04.30pm: Reports from parallel sessions/workshops
04.30pm: Official closing of 3rd ICIHE
05.00pm: Refreshment and End of 3rd ICIHE
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LIST OF CONFIRMED SPEAKERS (updated on 18 September 2012)
1.PROFESSOR DR MOHAMMAD HASHIM KAMALI, Founding Chairman and CEO, IAIS Malaysia
2.DR AHMAD SYAFII MAARIF, Founder and Chairman, Maarif Institute for Culture and Humanity, Indonesia
3.TAN SRI MUHAMMAD ALI HASHIM, President, Malaysian Islamic Chamber of Commerce (DPIM), Founder, Waqaf An-Nur Corporation Berhad, Malaysia, Former President and CEO of Johor Corporation, Malaysia (1982-2010)
4.DR MOHAMED MOUSTAFA MAHMOUD (DR 3M), Advisor, Minister of Labour, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Chief Executive Officer, Madinah Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship (MILE), Madinah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
5.PROFESSOR DR ABDEL NASER MOUSA ABULEL BASAL, President, World Islamic Science & Education University (WISE), Amman, Jordan
6.DR ABDUL-QAYUM MOHMAND, Instructor, Middle East Studies and Political Science, University of Utah, USA
7.PROFESSOR DR MUAMMER KOÇ, Dean (Director), Graduate Studies in Natural and Applied Sciences (GS-NAS), Istanbul Şehir University, Turkey
8.DR AHMAD NABIL B. AMIR, Post-doctoral Researcher, Research Management Centre (RMC),International Islamic University, Malaysia (IIUM), Chairman of Abduh Study Group, Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF), Malaysia
9.PROFESSOR DR SULTAN T. ABU-ORABI, Secretary General of the Association of Arab Universities, Jordan, Former President of Yarmouk University, Jordan
10.DR ALIYU DAHIRU MUHAMMAD, Researcher, Kuliyyah of Economics, International Islamic University, Malaysia (IIUM)
11.DATO’ DR HAMZAH MOHD KASSIM, President, Institute of Linggi, Malaysia
12.DATO’ SERI IDRIS JUSOH, Chairman of Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA), Malaysia, Former Chief Minister of Terengganu, Malaysia, Former Deputy Minister of Entrepreneur Development,Malaysia
13.PROFESSOR DATO’ DR MOHAMMAD REDZUAN OTHMAN, Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Malaya, Malaysia, Director of University Malaya Centre for Election and Democracy (UMCEDEL), University of Malaya, Malaysia
14.EMERITUS PROFESSOR DATO’ DR OSMAN BAKAR, Deputy CEO, IAIS Malaysia
15.MR AZRI AHMAD, Chief Executive Officer, Waqaf Foundation Malaysia
16.ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DR MOHAMED AZAM MOHAMED ADIL, Centre for Islamic Thought and Understanding (CITU), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM)
17.MR M. AZIZUL HUQ, President of Bangladesh Institute of Islamic Thought (BIIT), Founder Chief Executive of Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd.
18.MR MOHAMMED BASHEER. K, Postgraduate Researcher, Institute of Advanced Studies in Education, Faculty of Education, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India
19.PROFESSOR DR MESUT IDRIZ, Professor of Islamic Civilization and Comparative History of Civilizations, International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina
20.DATO’ SYED MOHD. GHAZALI WAFA BIN SYED ADWAM WAFA, CEO of Angkasa Syariah Financing Cooperative Limited (KOPSYA ANGKASA), Malaysia, Former Director of Chancellor’s Foundation, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)
21.MOULANA IHSAAN HENDRICKS, President, Muslim Judicial Council of Cape Town, South Africa, Director of the Al Quds Foundation, South Africa, Trustee of the International Union of Muslim Scholars
22.DR SAMI ALSALAHAT, Founder and Consultant, International Institute of Islamic WAQF, (IIIW), United Arab Emirates (UAE)
23.DR SULEIMAN M.H. BOAYO, Centre for Advanced Studies on Islam, Science and Civilization (CASIS), University of Technology Malaysia
24.SHAYKH MOEGAMAT IGHSAAN TALIEP, Deputy President, Muslim Judicial Council of Cape Town, South Africa, Principal of International Peace College South Africa [IPSA]
25.MR ABU HANIFAH HARIS, Postgraduate Researcher, Department of History, University of Malaya, Malaysia
