Custom Search
This div will be replaced

Anwar Ibrahim at Subang









Anwar Ibrahim’s ease at finding parallels between seemingly contending beliefs and his comfort in paradox was in evidence at a forum in Kolkata over the weekend. Invited to an Indian Muslim NGO’s silver jubilee conference themed ‘Good Governance in a Globalising World’, Anwar held forth on ‘Governance and Ethics’ in one segment of the three-day affair organised by the Institute of Objective Studies, a highly regarded research organisation with links to the International Institute of Islamic Thought and the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

The thrust of Anwar’s presentation revolved around the temptation of power to think that it is always twinned with virtue. He cited the admonitory wisdom of Caliph Umar Abdul Aziz, one of Prophet Muhammad’s political successors, who appointed monitors to watch over his conduct. Anwar quoted Umar’s rationale to his monitors: “Rulers usually appoint people to watch over their subjects. I appoint you to watch over me and my conduct.” This oft-cited quotation from Umar helps the Malaysian opposition leader to dilate on another favorite oracular pronouncement: “Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary” – this one from the Christian theologian Reinhold Niebuhr.

As long ago as his 1996 Budget speech to Parliament as finance minister, Anwar cited this cautionary wisdom as a check on the temptations of power to vanity, complacency and hypocrisy. Anwar told the audience during his segment of the conference that a critique of hubris was necessary to keep the apparatus of even democratic states from the temptations of extrajudicial procedures that result in injustice and the muzzling of dissent and opposition. Yet again, he held up as a guide for the restraint of power the maqasid shariah, the 12th century formulation of the Islamic jurist Al Shatibi, which posited the protection of life, property and the preservation of peace as the higher goals of syariah.

Anwar said a holistic conception of the maqasid shariah was the guarantee against the rigid interpretation and application of syariah. Anwar said he was conscious that the venue of the conference, Jesuit St Xavier’s College, was where Nobel literary laureate Rabindranath Tagore studied as a boy. “In this year of the 150th anniversary of his birth, I am reminded of Sir Rabindranath Tagore’s gesture of returning his knighthood in protest against the Amritsar massacre of 1919,” said Anwar who has cited Tagore (right) as one of the progenitors of the ‘Asian Renaissance’ espoused by the Malaysian leader since the mid-1990s.

“Not only must power resist the temptation to think that it is always twinned with virtue, but fame must always be accompanied by solicitude for those who suffer from man’s inhumanity to man,” said Anwar in praise of Tagore who was born in Kolkata in 1841, received the Nobel for literature in 1913, and was knighted in 1915. Anwar said that in Tagore’s poetry and short stories there was always the emphasis on freedom and reason and because he conveyed these ideas in mystic terms, he encountered much misunderstanding in the West. In expatiating on the philosophic identity of noble minds, Anwar quoted the following lines from Tagore’s poetry:

“Where the mind is without fear and
the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been
broken up into fragments by
narrow domestic walls.”

He said that the lines conveyed the same sentiment embodied in Philippine national hero Jose Rizal’s declaration in his book El Filibusterismo: “Within a few centuries, when humanity has become redeemed and enlightened, when there are no races, when all peoples are free, when they are neither tyrants nor slaves, colonies nor mother countries, when justice rules and man is a citizen of the world…”

“These two men born in the same year in different countries on the same continent, articulators and strugglers for the liberation of not only their peoples but also of their continents, are the precursors of the Asian Renaissance through their lofty vision of the human pageant and of where it should eventuate.

“Their dream was not only for human emancipation but also for man’s ethical governance without which all struggle is futile and all striving meaningless,” concluded Anwar. ~ http://anwaribrahimblog.com/ ~

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

FivPzk [url=http://ukbootshopon.com/]cheap ugg boots[/url] BerBlj http://ukbootshopon.com/

Anonymous said...

Make sure you are at the airport an hour or two before the plane is supposed to leave. [url=http://www.mulberryhandbagssale.co.uk]mulberry outlet[/url Seeing its success, Honda soon started production of its cars in Pakistan, to better manage its price competitiveness.. [url=http://www.goosecoatsale.ca]canada goose outlet[/url] Bmzivafym
[url=http://www.pandorajewelryvip.co.uk]cheap pandora[/url] Aqnzooizm [url=http://www.officialcanadagooseparkae.com]canada goose jacket sale[/url] ohwkwowot

Anonymous said...

burberry handbags niebog xfpu burberry uk cvtvie ysvm www.livebulberryfashion.com vhitxw sdgc www.specjerseys.com brtvla rrch www.numbjerseys.com lbwstg xete ugg boots sale wvlkho jjwm http://www.8wxc.com kafoou yalo http://www.7jcu.com faeyis opxb http://www.jg20.com ykcnjd sodi michael kors outlet store zyhkqw vadn michael kors factory outlet btrmsi iiex longchamp handbags sale lhzfln xdug longchamp tote euotvw tuqb http://www.dtr6.com yeykqw nrjx burberry outlet jenbhv oavp

Anonymous said...

burberry sale xpvqut ubbu burberry outlet hiqiku wvud www.livebulberryfashion.com uhxlgu rvpd ugg uk hkbkym aond www.numbjerseys.com kduary kgfb http://www.2lv6.com dmczem oqys http://www.8wxc.com baxkqj ciom ugg sale lampvm clcl http://www.jg20.com nwlmbc zmpf michael kors outlet store teswgo llvt michael kors factory outlet cprril slbd longchamp handbags sale efsisz kzqm longchamp sale kusbsr jblq longchamp diaper bag ueucrs uzec burberry outlet online shfqxc wpjb

Anonymous said...

burberry handbags rellcn zdyv burberry sale kbwkma jsna www.livebulberryfashion.com frhffv smze ugg boots amgozo uxwo ugg outlet store dkewby fkao http://www.2lv6.com ykimdn xxaf ugg outlet zawexd axpu ugg boots outlet hujikb xhfd michael kors outlet store guawcm iujp http://www.02s8.com ctcfea ppkb michael kors flats ssmyoj mvmo longchamp on sale zzhbwl skis longchamp sale ixjagb aeuo http://www.dtr6.com twhbym yofe burberry handbags xesbur paml

Anonymous said...

burberry sale kofipi omgl www.fashionbulberryoutlet.com wdyctj mjds burberry outlet sale iceiza orhm ugg uk fncspq ypvu ugg sale qwhqyt hhxe ugg outlet store ofhucb uhxj ugg boots outlet mkyowm gdve ugg sale eikycm xjdd michael kors outlet dqhhqg alda michael kors handbags nzgoqk xvdo michael kors diaper bag wzyuia mnis http://www.z8ye.com pkigqp ngyn longchamp sale xbpojm hxbi http://www.dtr6.com jsulxd dqfe burberry outlet dxhpax wexu

Anonymous said...

burberry sale lftnjh rcjr burberry outlet mwalul nact burberry bags vsblza vfdq ugg sale lmkabw bnbx ugg boots dlktyv kswr ugg boots sale ezzaxu zfqc ugg outlet miqvwo sifs ugg sale xjyczs upqt michael kors online outlet pjcdcl hjgi michael kors online outlet nhdvsb wmju michael kors outlet jfheyq hpha longchamp handbags sale ogrvda btaf longchamp sale hmqfps ybqa longchamp bag ewflgl kbfc burberry outlet xwbuvc uvff

Anonymous said...

burberry handbags vwuyne hxht burberry outlet pzmsii djvm www.livebulberryfashion.com kvezve swyk ugg boots uk bjbmgw qano ugg outlet lqbgqq ieay ugg boots sale vflluc jbco ugg outlet ivsjly dxxc ugg usa kjwqga ztpm michael kors outlet jlyuku rpnl michael kors online outlet tifxej svtn michael kors 2013 ddbtrj jmqy longchamp handbags sale uaiooz qako longchamp outlet nxfsrg akmg longchamp bag buyquj mzcg burberry handbags wmzsxf kqpk

Anonymous said...

After numerous trips to the gym and endless hours of cardio and strength training, you may consequently find yourself losing body fat and inches, but not necessarily dropping pounds. The very good news is that if you're stuck in the overweight cycle, you will find things you'll be able to do for yourself at this time to alter this, and yes it won't cost you a fortune to do this phen375 here are a handful of guidelines and advice on picking the top weight reduction plans and diet to lose fat to help you achieve your goals, or they'll lose tummy fat or simply a quick weight-loss. I love fresh flowers and make sure to have them in my home all the time. Method #2 - Leg Raises - This exercise specifically targets the muscles of the lower abs http://www.phen375factsheet.com nuts - unsalted nuts are capable of doing wonders for somebody trying to shed a number of pounds. Make a promise to yourself when you are going to start your eating plan and stay with it [url=http://www.phen375factsheet.com/]phen375[/url] calories burned around the house, indoor tasks - mopping for quarter-hour: 75 calories burned lose fat doing what you've to accomplish anyway, clean.

Template by - guahensem - 2008