SEMINAR ON GOOD GOVERNANCE IN ISLAMIC WORLD

Good governance is a subject close to the hearts of reform minded Muslims throughout the world. The Muslim world is confronted with a number of challenges which open up unanswered questions relating to value systems and the practice of democratic principles in the Islamic world . Muslims who hold up Islam as the ideal are visibly challenged by universal principles of good governance advocated and successfully applied by a secular West that has come to be regarded as the model of change by countries throughout the world, including a large number of Muslim countries.

The time has come for Muslims to lead the change. There is a need to harness the full force of Muslim power in the world to influence and direct reforms. For this to happen, the Muslim countries must take the first step of reforming themselves in harmony with the true teachings of Islam. Good governance will result in the cessation of corruption and exploitation, the abolition of ‘slavery’ and poverty, and the extermination of discrimination as well as injustice. When the core values of Islam are firmly anchored in the Muslim mind, there can be nothing to prevent the ascendance of Islam as a progressive force.

It is a paramount need of the hour for good leaders to emerge within Muslim countries, as used to be the case in days of old such as during the era of the Prophet Muhammad (may peace be upon Him), as well as during the ministry of successive Muslim Caliphs like Abu Bakar, Umar Abdul-Aziz and Saidina Ali who were revered for their incorruptibility, sense of justice as well as spiritual and intellectual leadership of the ummah.

It appears to be the sign of the times that everywhere and overall, good is eclipsed by evil – and that too in the name of religion. The distinction between the subtle forces of good and evil goes ‘unrecognized’ even by the most learned and respectable spiritual leaders of the world.

Perhaps the Muslim leaders, apart from acquainting themselves with the modern knowledge and worldview, should also affirm their faith in the fundamentals of the teachings of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. This will allow them to inculcate consciousness, among the governing elite in the countries of the Islamic world, the principles and practice of the paramount importance of good governance.

Needless to say, Muslim countries, whether in the East or West, will surely be able to rise to the growing challenges of the 21^st century when they are fully equipped and armed, not with weapons, but with the force of example in the moral, intellectual and practical domains of collective life on earth.

OBJECTIVES:

1. To imbibe an understanding of the concept of good governance as a universal ideal advocated by the United Nations;

2. To promote awareness of the principles of good governance in Islamic philosophy and history;

3. To analyse the character and practice of administration and governance in contemporary Muslim societies;

4. To seek to reform administrative malpractices prevalent in many parts of the Muslim world.

Come and Join us!

INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON “GOOD GOVERNANCE IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD”

THEME: GOOD GOVERNANCE IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD

DATE: 24 May 2010 (Monday)

PLACE: Equatorial Hotel, BANGI, SELANGOR

ORGANISER: The Union of NGOs of the Islamic World (UNIW)

with the cooperation of

Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Selangor (KUIS)

and

Wadah Pencerdasan Ummat (WADAH)