‘Blasphemy’, derived from a Greek term, means “speaking evil”. It is contemptuous or irreverent words or speech about God or things regarded as sacred. Its synonyms, among others, are abuse, desecration, execration, profanation, repudiation, derogation, denunciation, heresy, insult, impiety, sacrilege, scurrility and reviling. ‘To blaspheme’ is to speak about the Divine or those sacred things…
Why is gender mainstreaming important?First, it is an issue of development effectiveness. As it is a public policy concept of assessing the different implications for women and men of any planned policy action in all areas and levels, women’s voice needs to be heard. Why? It is because a growing body of evidence confirms that the…
Commenting on the many marvelous achievements of the modern man with respect to science and technology, Professor Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas remarked in his two important Malay works (i.e.: Risalah untuk Kaum Muslimin, published by ISTAC, 2001; and Tinjauan Ringkas Peri Ilmu dan Pandangan Alam, published by USM Press, 2007) that they have been able to overcome…
Islam identifies happiness with a moral attainment as well as a fulfillment of human capacities— a self-fulfillment helmed by the faculty of understanding, of distinguishing between right and wrong. The Qur’an asserts that human success and prosperity depends on himself, “truly he succeeds that purifies the Soul, and he fails that corrupts it”(Al-Shams (91): 9-10). There…
Would there be more justice for women, and would law be more justly implemented, if the judiciary contained more women throughout the legal system, and especially in the higher courts? In the context of Civil Courts, this question has been succinctly answered by the Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, the Chief Justice of Canada who said…
That information and knowledge have been regarded as being extremely important in today’s modern, secular life seems obvious. With such widely employed terms and catch-phrases as “empowering people through the ICT,” “knowledge management,” “learning society,” “k-economy,” “knowledge workers,” etc., the promulgations have been effective that no one at present can deny their importance without…
Happiness, being the objective sought by each and everybody, lies at the center of the ethical issues. As mentioned by V. J. McGill, author of The Idea of Happiness, in such a moral framework, a good man is one who works to attain happiness or to further it, in the most…
I am utterly flabbergasted looking at the prejudices and misgivings of certain quarters of our people against religious teachings. I am speechless in awe reflecting on the degree of denial and obstinacy shown. Time and again it is portrayed over the ill-perceived conflict between the syariah and civil laws. The recent incident, arguably claimed to…
Child abuse dominates headlines again. This time with Syafiah Humairah and Hareswarral’s death. These two tragedies are just continuation of child abuse cases that unfortunately end in death. The main question is, are we nearer finding an effective solution than we were when we were sensitized to the problem when it first hit the public…
Knowledge and action are two fundamental elements making up the conceptual structure of Islam. Islam is a conscious and willing submission to God. It is a submission that is made ‘knowingly’ and ‘freely’, without any compulsion. As such, the submission is not possible without knowledge. Islam does not concede to a dichotomy between knowledge and…
