Penang Institute is proud to host a public forum “Retracing Islamic Narratives in Malaysia and Moving towards Conflict Resolution” which is scheduled as follows:
Date: 27 February 2019, Wednesday
Time: 8:00pm – 9:30pm (registration starts at 7:30pm)
Venue: Conference Hall, Penang Institute
A growing number of Malaysians have been worried over the apparent rising level of cultural intolerance among the general Muslim populace, fearing that it will eventually destroy the idea and ideals of Malaysia. However, there are understandings of Islam that are not only compatible with the nation building construct of Malaysia, but that can enhance and ensure its development and sustainability. In order to fully appreciate this, one needs to consider the changing narratives of Islam in this country. Although the Islamic Reformation actually took on full force in the early eighties, it is best understood against the background of Malaysia in the 1960s. This talk is a personal account of the events as they unfolded from the 60s until the present time. The speaker participated in the many movements and Islamist groups that grew in Malaysia and the USA where he was studying. In time, he developed his understanding about many issues fundamental to Malaysia, which now inform his perspective on the danger and potential of the Islamic Reformation as a nation building idea.
About the Speaker:
Prof Dr. Mohamad Tajuddin Mohamad Rasdi was an academic at a public university from 1987 to 2015. He was appointed full professor in 2005 and retired in 2015. He is currently Professor of Architecture at UCSI University in the Cheras Campus. He was born in 1962 in Kepala Batas, Seberang Prai and studied at St. Marks School Primary Butterworth and at Hua Lian Secondary School in Taiping. He obtained his Bachelor in Architectural Studies in 1984 and his Master of Architecture in 1986, both from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, USA. He was conferred the Doctor of Philosophy by the University of Edinburgh, Scotland in 1996. Prof Tajuddin is a prolific writer with 50 books published and hundreds of media articles in Utusan Malaysia, New Straits Times, Freemalaysiatoday, Malaysiakini, TheMalaysianInsider, TheMalaysianInsight, Sin Chew Daily, The Star and The Borneo Post. He fiercely believes in democracy with Adab or Good Manners and in respecting other faiths as a brotherhood joined in spirituality. His latest books are Architecture and Nation Building: Multiculturalism and Democracy (Penguin Singapore) and Not the Islam I Know (ZI Publication).
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