GYROTAC











EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
GROUP OF YOUNG RESEARCHES ON THOUGHT AND CIVILIZATION
(GYROTAC)


In The Name Of Allah
The Most Gracious And The Most Merciful

The education at the University is aimed not only at developing academic or intellectual potentials of the students. The moral and character building objective is a very important part of the curriculum. It is in fact a primary concern of education seen from the Islamic perspective, in so far as Islam look at human personality as an integrated whole, consisting of physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual and social dimensions. In the University, the integration of knowledge with morality, professionalism with ethics and academic with spiritual virtues constitute our vision of education based on Islamic tradition of the quest for the knowledge that the Quran and Sunnah have implanted in Islamic Civilization. As the Islamic University, the authoritarian, students, lectures, staff, and other University’s community ought to understand and enjoy intelligently the values and norms of Islamic morality (Akhlak), decent behavior, and respectable attire that together reflect the University wishes to project and nurture.

Realizing the importance of all above, groups of young students who have the same interest have strived for establishing a new society as an effort to achieve those purposes. Group of Young Researches on Thought and Civilization (GYROTAC) is one of the places for students to build the comprehensive Muslim’s character through the understanding of Islam with the emphasizing on the naql-‘aql (Tradition-Reason) dialectic, also the science of comparative religion (Religionswissenschaft).

The principle objectives of the Society shall include the following:-

To co-operate with the University Authority in the implementation of the Islamic education and realize the aim and objectives of the University
To present an opportunity for the students to acquire knowledge about Islam, its values, history, civilization, institutions, thought and perspectives
To promote the development of an Islamic character and personality in the field of intellectual, academic and spiritual of the students
To promote a close relationship based on the spirit of Islam with organizations and institutions of local and abroad, in accordance with the university rules and regulations
To foster co-operation and unity amongst the University community a whole in the spirit of Islamic brotherhood

Dealing with the fundamental question of the nature of ‘worldview’ according to Islam; question that has never really been raised in our time, GYROTAC tries to propose that the nature of the worldview of Islam is not merely the mind’s view of the physical world and of man’s historical, social, political and cultural involvement in it, as has been misunderstood in the minds of secular, contemporary Muslim scholars generally, and particularly those preoccupied with the social and political sciences, but it should bear upon the Muslims’ ideas about ‘change’, ‘development’, and ‘progress’. The fundamental elements of the worldview of Islam, together with the key terms and concepts that they unfold, will be elaborated in detail in its programs and discussions.

Among the important concepts that will be discussed are the metaphysical worldview of Islam; knowledge and knowing; the meaning, content and method of education; the concept of an Islamic university, and the history of and the issues concerning the Islamization of present-day knowledge. Modern Muslim scholars who will appear in discussions include ‘Abduh, Iqbal, al-Faruqi, Fazlur Rahman, Syed Naquib al-Attas and S. H. Nasr, among others. Meanwhile, previous scholars such as al-Ghazali, Ibnu al-Arabi, Ibnu Sina, Fakr al-Din al-Razi and abul Hassan al-‘Asya’ari must not be isolated from discussions.

Programs which will be held to discover and discuss about thought and civilization are:-

· ‘Taadib Islami’ Seminar
o To discuss on the fundamental concept in Islamic Weltanschauung (worldview) such as religion (din), man (insan), knowledge (ma‘rifah and ‘ilm), wisdom (hikmah), justice (‘adl), and right action (‘amal and adab).
· Talk on scholars’ thought
o Discussing background, modes of thought, philosophy of life, also the achievement of selected scholars.
· Middle-Path Forum
o An Intellectual discourse; discussing the mainstream issues including social, politics, economy, etc; in national or international aspects with intellectual mode
· Book Review Session
o A discussion of reviewing on some important, famous, and controversial books
· Hujjah wa naqash
o Speech corner; session for debating, also giving speech and stating own opinion
· Ziarah
o Visiting scholars; to gain tips, knowledge and opinion from them directly

All programs will be open to all of the students, lecturers and staff of IIUM, especially the people of CFSIIUM. Finally, we hope that this group will achieve its objectives and it will becomes the ‘spark’ for the Muslim Intellectual’s development as an effort to achieve the biggest ambition of the Ummah; to bring back the ‘golden age’ of Islam and build ‘khayra ummah’ civilization. Last but the most important, may this effort gets Allah’s bless.