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The International Movement for a Just World (JUST) is a society which seeks to develop global awareness of the injustices within the existing system with the aim of evolving an alternative international order which will enhance human dignity and social justice. More specifically, our primary goal is to establish a spiritual and intellectual foundation for a just world.
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PM holds key to prevent ethnic strife, says Y1M chief |
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Written by Debra Chong
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Posted: 24 February 2010 16:23 |
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The recent signs of religious conflict are just some manifestations of a deeper problem within the Malaysian psyche today, says Dr Chandra Muzaffar.
The root of the problem lies in “the way people see themselves and see the other”, said the Universiti Sains Malaysia’s (USM) professor in global studies, who also heads Yayasan 1 Malaysia (Y1M).
“In the last few years, the issues that have dominated Malaysian society concerned religion,” the academic told The Malaysian Insider in a recent interview.
And when religious consciousness becomes more pronounced, it leads to tensions among the different communities, he added.
The existing tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims over the use of the word “Allah” is but one example of the kind of conflict going on in Malaysia right now, Chandra noted.
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Read more... [PM holds key to prevent ethnic strife, says Y1M chief]
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Written by Abdullah al-Ahsan
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Posted: 10 February 2010 12:27 |
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One of the founders of modern democracy Jean-Jacques Rousseau once said, “Everything degenerates in the hands of men.” Rousseau was aware of degeneration and weaknesses of democratic practices in ancient Greek city states as those weaknesses were efficiently pointed out by Greek philosopher Socrates. That is why Rousseau wanted modern democracy to be based on a social contract between the government and citizens which must be founded on what he called “the General Will.” He also recommended a continuous and frequent renewal of the social contract. Today’s democracy seems to have degenerated to a point that in some countries democracy has become breeding ground for extremism: Kashmir is a prime example of such democracy.
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Read more... [Kashmir Solidarity Day]
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Interview: Chandra Muzaffar on the Controversy About the Word"Allah" in Malaysia |
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Written by Yoginder Sikand
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Posted: 23 February 2010 12:42 |
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Chandra Muzaffar is Malaysia’s best-known public intellectual. A professor at the Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, he recently assumed the position of Chairman of the Board of Trustees of 1 Malaysia, a foundation set up by some concerned citizens to promote harmony between Malaysia’s various ethnic and religious communities.
In this interview with Yoginder Sikand, he talks about the ongoing controversy in Malaysia in the wake of a recent court ruling permitting the country’s Christians (and other non-Muslims) to use the term ‘Allah’, which many Malaysian Muslims fiercely oppose.
Q: Why do you think many Malaysian Muslims are so opposed to the use of the term ‘Allah’ by Christians?
A: I think among many Malaysian Muslims there is a certain degree of apprehension about Christians using the term because they feel that it is somehow exclusive to them. They also fear that some Christian groups deliberately want to use the term in order to mislead Muslims and gradually convert them to Christianity. Supporting these fears is the general Muslim mindset that sees Islam as special, as an exclusive claim to truth. Now, since Allah is the basis of Muslim doctrine, they feel that the term ‘Allah’ must be a Muslim monopoly.
Personally, I do not agree with this thinking, but
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Read more... [Interview: Chandra Muzaffar on the Controversy About the Word"Allah" in Malaysia]
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