It is highly important to make Islamic studies at college and university levels more comprehensive, incorporating fields of study which are compatible with Islam, the Minister of Religious Affairs said yesterday.

We should not only accept these fields as part of Islamic studies but also make them part of the curriculum, positively responding to contemporary needs, Yang Berhormat Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin bin Pengarah Dato Paduka Haji Awang Othman noted.

He was speaking at the opening of the 5th Sultan Omar 'Ali Saifuddien Centre for Islamic Studies' (SOASCIS) International Conference (SICON 5) on 'Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Contemporary Islamic Studies: Possibilities in Light of the Traditional Ideas of ljtihad (independent reasoning), Tajdid (renewal), Islah (reform) and Bid'ah (innovation in religious matters)'.

"What I mean by positive response is that we should look at these new fields of Islamic studies and learn them in the light of Islamic thoughts and theories. In short, we should observe and study contemporary realities in various branches of knowledge and expertise in Islamic perspectives," he added.

"SICON 5 is a platform to search for new ideas and initiatives that can bring about a better structure and curriculum for Islamic education. This appears to be a better and more practical step in the process of Islamisation of knowledge that has been talked about in many places for quite some time now. Of course, the process will take a long time, and it is not wrong for us to be involved in this educational agenda," the minister noted.

"The subject of Islamic studies has changed in the last 100 years. During the past one century, we have seen changes in the thinking of the Islamic scholars on the ideas of Ijtihad, Tajdid; Islah and Bid'ah.

"The world has changed especially as a result of rapid technological changes. Political realities also have changed both in the Muslim world and in the West. Philosophically speaking, a change is needed in the curriculum design and teaching of Islamic studies in accordance with contemporary realities. For this needed change, we have to innovate and even think of entrepreneurship in its practical sense.

"But as far as Islamic studies are concerned, how much change can we afford and tolerate? I think we need to strike a balance. A kind of Wasatiyyah (moderation) is needed. There are things that are not to be changed, because there are teachings of Islam that cannot be changed and there are human needs that will never change.

"And there are things that need to be changed because of the changing realities in the world around us. So it is a question of how to strike a balance between two extremes - one, the belief that Islamic studies could not change and the other, the tendency to go for excessive changes," the minister explained.

Professor Datuk Dr. Osman Bakar, the Chairman of SICON 5 Organising Committee, said through this international conference, which is held in partnership with a number of foreign institutions, we could reap many benefits in terms of improving our international networking and profile.

SICON 5 assists in explaining the meaning and necessity of innovation and entrepreneurship as these ideas can be applied to the field of Islamic studies, to provide a theoretical discussion of the ideas of Ijtihad, Tajdid, Islah and Bid'ah, with a view of examining the relevance of each of them in the pursuit of innovation and entrepreneurship in Islamic studies at the levels of both ideas and practices.

The event was held at Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa'adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam.

Source:
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by BruDirect.com

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