Author: Muhammad Fakhruddin

  • Tentang Intelektual: Mencicip Makna

    Intelektual masyarakat membangun Book Cover Intelektual masyarakat membangun
    Syed Hussein Alatas
    1991
    162

    Senaskhah buku tulisan Allahyarham Prof. Dr. Syed Hussein Alatas menjadi bahan diskusi. Beliau memilih pendapat Roberto Michels mengenai definisi intelektual, iaitu ‘persons possesing knowledge, or in a narrow sense, those whose judgement, based on reflection and knowledge, derives less directly and exclusively from sensory perception than in case of non-intellectuals’. Dalam kata lain, sosok intelektual ini boleh dikenal pasti daripada ciri-ciri seperti:

    Sumber foto
    1. Datang dari pelbagai kelas atau golongan dengan bilangan yang berbeza;
    2. Mereka sama ada menyokong atau menentang pelbagai gerakan budaya atau politik;
    3. Pekerjaan mereka secara keseluruhannya pelbagai, seperti penulis, pensyarah, penyair, wartawan dan lain-lain;
    4. Adakalanya mereka menjarakkan diri mereka dari masyarakat dan bergaul dalam kalangan mereka;
    5. Mereka lebih berminat dengan idea, mengenai agama, kehidupan yang lebih baik, seni, budaya, perancangan ekonomi dan nasionalisme sambil melihatnya dari perspektif luas dan jalinan antaranya; dan
    6. Kelompok intelektual hanya sebilangan kecil dari masyarakat.

     Buku Intellectuals in Developing Societies ini membicarakan peranan kelompok intelektual yang berfungsi dalam pembinaan masyarakat yang sedang membangun. Pada hemat beliau, tiada kelompok intelektual yang berfungsi  berbanding negara-negara Asia lain seperti Indonesia dan India disebabkan kemerdekaan kita ‘dikurniakan’ oleh pihak British tanpa perjuangan, hingga kita disentak peristiwa 13 Mei 1969. Justeru, beliau mengutarakan konsep ‘intellectual leadership’.

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  • Ziarah Tanah Kudup KEMALA

    Mungkin itulah bunga harapan yang mekar di hati Dato’ Dr. Ahmad Khamal Abdullah, karyawan tamu UPM kini Sasterawan Negara yang ke-11 menyambut kedatangan kami berenam (pastinya kami bukan peneroka daerah Sabak Bernam).

    Tambah menggamit kenangan, apabila saya dan saudara Shahkang memilih untuk duduk bersila berhadapannya persis murid sekolah pondok menadah ilmu dari tok guru.

    Dari taaruf ringkas bersama beliau, sedikit sebanyak menjawab persoalan yang terbuku di hati mengenai pemilihan kosa kata bahasa Jawa dalam beberapa puisi beliau. Beliau berdarah Minang dan Jawa, dan terserlah menerusi tutur kata beliau yang lemah lembut dan halus. Antara sajak beliau yang dikenali ramai ialah Jangan Berduka Malaysiaku…

    Kubebat tanganku yang luka
    kubebat dadamu yang luka
    kubebat bahumu yang luka
    kubebat pipimu yang luka
    kugiring matamu yang duka
    kuiring lagumu yang duka
    kusaring cumbumu yang duka

    …

    Ada tembang pilu sang nelayan
    ada tempang lagu petani kemarau
    mencari kasih di sudut hati
    suaranya serak dan parau.

    Tak lengkap rasanya tanpa melihat-lihat koleksi kutub khanah di pejabat beliau ini. Di atasnya terdapat beberapa hasil seni karya Dato’ KEMALA sendiri. Bukan sahaja menempatkan beberapa karya beliau, bahkan puisi-puisi seantero dunia dalam beberapa bahasa termasuklah sebuah antologi puisi mengenai Palestin dalam bahasa Arab.

    Terlanjur berbicara mengenai puisi, beliau meluahkan kegusaran terhadap nasib puisi dan penyair tempatan apabila tiada lagi penganjuran acara Pengucapan Puisi Dunia Kuala Lumpur.

    Berbicara seputar isu semasa pula, beliau berhasrat untuk menghidupkan gagasan NUMERA (Nusantara Melayu Raya) dari semangat Melayu Raya cetusan Ibrahim Yaacob bagi mendepani cabaran zaman yang begitu menghakis jati diri kita.

    Sesekali beliau bercerita mengenai pengalaman peribadi, antaranya kenangan bersama allahyarham bondanya yang kerap bercerita kepada beliau saban malam. Beliau banyak menitipkan nasihat kepada kami, yang bakal memimpin masyarakat dan negara kelak.

    Terima kasih Dato’ KEMALA kerana sudi menerima kami sebagai tamu, bahkan membayar belanja makan kami sedang Dato’ masih berpuasa. Terima kasih sekali juga atas buah tangan, antologi puisi Dampak 70 yang Dato’ hadiahkan.

  • What I Believe…(For Malaysians)

    What I Believe Book Cover What I Believe
    Tariq Ramadan
    Social Science
    Oxford University Press, USA
    06/10/2009
    160

    Tariq Ramadan is very much a public figure, named one of Time magazine’s most important innovators of the twenty-first century. He is among the leading Islamic thinkers in the West, with a large following around the world. But he has also been a lightning rod for controversy. Indeed, in 2004, Ramadan was prevented from entering the U.S. by the Bush administration and despite two appeals, supported by organizations like the American Academy of Religion and the ACLU, he was barred from the country until spring of 2010, when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton finally lifted the ban.In What I Believe, Ramadan attempts to set the record straight, laying out the basic ideas he stands for in clear and accessible prose. He describes the book as a work of clarification, directed at ordinary citizens, politicians, journalists, and others who are curious (or skeptical) about his positions. Aware that that he is dealing with emotional issues, Ramadan tries to get past the barriers of prejudice and misunderstanding to speak directly, from the heart, to his Muslim and non-Muslim readers alike. In particular, he calls on Western Muslims to escape the mental, social, cultural, and religious ghettos they have created for themselves and become full partners in the democratic societies in which they live. At the same time, he calls for the rest of us to recognize our Muslim neighbors as citizens with rights and responsibilities the same as ours. His vision is of a future in which a shared and confident pluralism becomes a reality at last.

    Actually I started to know Tariq Ramadan since he visited UIAM last year and became eager to having one of his writing. After searching through the reviews on the Net, I decided to begin with “What I Believe“.

    Some of us may find problem in his definition of secularism and syariah. He is quite lenient when defining secularism, where I suspect cause criticism towards him from Islamic world itself.

    Contrary to majority of Muslim believe, he proposed that syariah is ‘The Way’ not ‘The Law’. Since my copy is not with me when I write this review, I choose not to elaborate on this matter as it can cause further misunderstandings and fitnah towards the author.

    However, I agree to him on the matter that some basic tools to understand the source of Islam and its jurispudence must be taught to the public. He mentions one, which is Usul Fiqh that helps us to understand how a fatwa is derived based on sources such as Al-Quran and As-Sunnah.

    In my honest opinion, public should be taught on this knowledge besides Arabic Language as it helps us to understand the beauty of fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) and avoid sectarian fanaticism.

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