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Badawi
(center) receiving a souvenir from TV3 officials after launching
the new program.
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PETALING
JAYA, August 10, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) –
Muslims worldwide should learn from the achievements of past Muslim
scientists and scholars, the Malaysian PM has said while launching the
Islamic Scholars program produced by
Malaysia
’s TV3.
Abdullah
Ahmad Badawi said past Muslim scholars had been successful in various
fields of knowledge, including mathematics and medicine, and had
contributed immensely to the world at a time when
Europe
was in the Dark Ages, The Star reported Wednesday, August 10.
“But
today, the situation in some Islamic countries is very regrettable, he
said.
“Why
are we not a progressive and successful ummah (nation) today? What are
our inadequacies?"
Answering
that, he said that in the modern age Muslims do not have any
inadequacy and do not lack opportunities.
“What
we need to prove is our determination to acquire knowledge and develop
in any field of knowledge that we choose,” he said.
He
urged Muslims to learn from the contributions of past Muslim scholars
so that they could again emerge as an excellent community in the
world.
The
program, which would be aired every Monday at 9.30 p.m., starting
August 10, is featuring Islamic scholars and scientists through the
history.
Most
Outstanding
Citing
some famous scholars such as Ibn Sina, who was noted for his medical
knowledge, and mathematics scholar Al-Khawarizmi during the Islamic
Civilization, he said their success was made to good use in
universities and by students of medicine in
Europe
.
Badawi
further said the achievements of the early Muslim scholars were still
being used as reference material even today, according to
Malaysia
’s Bernama News Agency.
"The
Muslim scholars were then most outstanding. During the era of the
glorious Islamic civilization whether in
Cairo
,
Baghdad
,
Cordoba
or other places, the Muslims were a progressive community who had
succeeded and were most respected.
“They
were not merely religious people who prayed five times a day, observed
the fasting month and went on pilgrimage to Makkah for Hajj.
“What
was even more important was that they had made extraordinary
contribution towards human civilization, to enrich mankind with
various knowledge...and to be civilized,” he said.
Regretful
Badawi
added, however, that if we look at the fate of Muslims nowadays, their
situation was most regretful where some of the member countries of the
Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) reported a very high
percentage of illiterate Muslims.
"Actually,
there should never be any illiterates among the Muslims because it is
an obligation for the Muslims to pursue knowledge," he said.
Abdullah
said progress in the fields of science and technology no longer
belonged to Muslims, but was now enjoyed by the Europeans and
Americans while the Muslims, on the contrary, now had to seek
knowledge from the westerners.
Today,
the OIC member countries had not only lost their economic and military
superiority, what was most saddening was that the Muslims and their
religion were now associated with anything that encouraged violence
and were considered as advocates of extremism, Bernama quoted him as
saying.
As
such, he called on Muslims in the country to exploit the opportunities
available to study in Islamic institutions such as the International
Islamic University and other institutions of higher learning so that
they could again master knowledge and progress.
Badawi
said that in line with this objective, the Malaysian government had
introduced the Islam Hadhari (Civilizational Islam) concept which,
among others, emphasized on the importance of mastering knowledge for
the Muslims to succeed and progress, Bernama reported.
Islam
Hadhari is the brainchild of Badawi, who maintains it is derived
from the core principles and teachings of Islam.
The
concept has the capacity to generate strength for a nation because it
gave emphasis to various matters including knowledge, economy,
culture, moral values and defense, he believes.
Aspiration
From
their part, TV3 Group chief executive officer Datuk Farid Ridzuan said
that the production of the program is to fulfill the aspiration of
Badawi that the private television station produces a program that
portrays the glory of Islamic scholastic achievements for the benefit
of Malaysians.
The
program would not be aimed purely at increasing the rating of the TV
station compared to the other stations, Bernama quoted him as saying.
Speaking
to reporters after the launching of the program at the TV station
compound, he said Badawi had expressed his desire that TV3 produced a
program that featured Islamic scholars at a meeting last year.
Sistem
Televisyen Malaysia Berhad (STMB) or TV3 was incorporated in 1983 as
Malaysia
’s first commercial television station.
It
began broadcast in the
Klang
Valley
on 1st June 1984.
Ever
since its inception, TV3 has been the leading television station in
Malaysia and has twice reached 51% of audience share (January 12 - 18,
2003 and June 29 - July 5, 2003), the highest audience share ever
achieved by a Malaysian television station.
The
station has a strong market position and reinforces its brand
awareness amongst its viewers through various on air and ground
events.
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