Book Reviews by Mohd. Shazani Masri
Journal of Borneo Kalimantan (JBK), 2021
This book is an expository philosophical and intellectual ‘map’ for young Muslims who may find th... more This book is an expository philosophical and intellectual ‘map’ for young Muslims who may find themselves mesmerized and confused by philosophical, intellectual, and practical aspects of modernity so they may orient their thought to provide their own answers to philosophical and intellectual challenges as a young person in the Modern World. It primarily aims at Muslim youths, presumably undergraduates who face the forces of modernity from their educational and social life. This book is relatively short compared to other Seyyed Hossein Nasr’s works. It is only about 260 pages from cover-to-cover minus the Index section. In addition, this book is also for those who want to have an overview of Nasr’s philosophical deliberation on challenges of modernity and its possible answers seen from an Islamic perspective. This book is arguably the simplest introduction to Nasr’s thought because it is framed for the viewpoint of the young who is trying to find his or her ways in the Modern World. Thus breadth, clarity and simplicity in terms, topics, and examples can be seen throughout this book and not details, footnotes and nuances. The experience of reading it is akin to having a tour over a certain Islamic philosophical overview as a young person to explore the wealth of past Islamic philosophy and thought. The book aims to prepare the young Muslim minds to intellectually and philosophically respond to modern challenges first in their practical life and then cultivate a discipline of thought and commitment to learn so they could engage in intellectual discourses with regards to fundamental questions of philosophy – theology of tawhid, epistemology of meaning, and metaphysics of meta-reality in later life. This book is also an implicit preliminary exposition against meaninglessness due to exclusivist, positivistic, and empirical materialism that pins its fundamental axioms of knowledge in the domain of the material and observable universe.
Papers by Mohd. Shazani Masri
Journal of Borneo-Kalimantan
Summary: This book, a collection of essays honoring Muslim scholar-activist Osman Bakar, edited b... more Summary: This book, a collection of essays honoring Muslim scholar-activist Osman Bakar, edited by Khairudin Aljunied, highlights Bakar's contributions to Islamic studies. Featuring renowned scholars and activists, the volume covers two main themes: "The Production and Problem of Knowledge" and "Civilizational Unity and Renewal." The book provides a comprehensive introduction to Bakar's work but omits aspects of his political thought and sacred studies. Furthermore, his activist side is not given enough attention. Despite these shortcomings, the book is a must-read for those seeking to understand Bakar's thoughts, as his ideas offer valuable insights for the study of knowledge, tradition, and civilization in the Islamic world and the region of Borneo.
Journal of Borneo-Kalimantan
This book is an introduction to Islam’s legacy of ecological and environmental wisdom prescribed ... more This book is an introduction to Islam’s legacy of ecological and environmental wisdom prescribed in the Qur’an and in the history of Islamic science and technology. The author attempted to expound the title in question two-pronged: by addressing the spiritual dimension of the environmental wisdom and its scientific-economic counterpart. His main argument centres on highlighting a spiritual vision of nature – in this case, Islamic – that should be embodied and accounted within discussions about ecology and environment based on dialogue. The book is an ideological expansion of Seyyed Hossein Nasr’s seminal work, Man and Nature: The Spiritual Crisis in Modern Man (2007). Specifically, the author emphasizes that the Earth is human beings’ only planetary home and highlights the Quranic take on the proposition. In this revised second addition, it updates the importance of intensifying interfaith dialogues particularly with regards to addressing contemporary environmental issues (i.e clima...
Religion and Social Communication, 2022
This paper analyses the COVID-19 pandemic as a form of metaphysical crisis in addition to its wel... more This paper analyses the COVID-19 pandemic as a form of metaphysical crisis in addition to its well-known status as a global health crisis. I argue that the general absence of a comprehensive metaphysical outlook of nature has further alienated humankind from a Divine-based cosmology of nature. COVID-19 is certainly part of nature and man too. However, our outlook at 'tackling' the disease is filled with overconfidence that man could overcome nature, thus 'defeating' the disease. This should not be the mental and spiritual state of human beings at present natural crisis. Drawing from Seyyed Hossein Nasr's Man and Nature: The Spiritual Crisis as Modern Man, I argue that a certain arrogance had developed in modern mentality that COVID-19 was just another viral disease-until it engulfed the entire planet. Realizing that man's modern knowledge had been sorely inadequate to contain the disease as they expected, due to general disconnect with the sacred side of nature, they turned to fear, even despair. Present Islamic perspectives should revive the inclusivity between man and nature to reconnect humankind to the sacred aspects of nature. A narrative borne of Islam must serve as communique for those who seek re-connection with nature considering the evolving ecosophy by accounting Michel Serre's Natural Contract to develop a new political ecology.
ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute, 2017
Multiple factors may contribute to poverty among Orang Asli , namely, traditional, consumption or... more Multiple factors may contribute to poverty among Orang Asli , namely, traditional, consumption oriented ways of crop cultivation which depend largely on family labour, inconsistent returns of cash cropping, the presence of middle traders which prevent s their direct access to market, lack of transportation network and information, lack of access to basic infrastructure, low education, insufficient skills and limited opportunities to change. The Territorial Approach to Rural Agribusiness Development (TARBD) envisages eight stages of meeting the twin goal of food security and poverty reduction, viz. 1) planning and initiation by building strategic partnership 2) mobilization through participatory diagnosis and community visioning, 3) formation of participatory market research, 4) participation programmes, 5) evaluation of enterprise options, 6) design and implementation of agro-enterprise projects, 7) support services for enterprise development, and 8) strengthening of local instituti...
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Book Reviews by Mohd. Shazani Masri
Papers by Mohd. Shazani Masri