A good companion
It was quite a while since the last time I wrote about my readings. List of books in my faceook is also poorly updated.
LOST TRACK
This semester is killing me… I literally lost my momentum due to many incidents occured. The worst part was when I got infected with the conjunctivitis that later on transformed itself to keratitis which leaves scars on my cornea until today. I missed 3 lectures, didn’t go to work for about one month and now… I’m falling apart.
Another thing is about dealing with the nature of the subjects I’m taking this semester. Islam in Sub Saharan Africa is very interesting but until today at least 2 meetings had been canceled and before that, I missed 2 classes because of my trip to Ireland. While the Ancient Indian thing is scary. All the subjects I took before concentrated a lot on analyzing materials and events which fit the nature of postgraduate studies. But this time, this very one subject seems so narrative and we spent 3 hours only to discuss about pots, statues, and ornaments found during the excavation in Indus area. I’m hoping that the examiner will not ask me to list down all the materials found because I’m studying history and not archeology. Even an archaeologist would go more towards interpreting the stuffs rather than simply admiring them, one by one.
LITERATURE REVIEW
I am desperately need to finish my literature review to build a proper skeleton for my research proposal but moving around like a turtle with fever, does not help much. My master thesis will be something about THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF ISLAMISM: A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN MALAYSIA AND TURKEY… !
What do you guys think about it?
My concentration will be on Turkish AKP and Malaysian PAS, hoping that the Muslim struggle to restore Islam will reveal some light somewhere because the conceptual framework of Islamist parties was unable to provide an effective blueprint for an Islamic state as quoted from Failure of Political Islam by Olivier Roy.
But let me share with you guys some of the books which are currently haunting me. I really mean that they are haunting me because the content is very refreshing and to certain extend, over my expectation, especially the first book below… written by Tun Mahathir.
Grap a copy and you won’t regret. I only recommend you the best… Insya Allah…
Dr. Mahathir’s Selected Letters to World Leaders ( London, Marshall Cavendish, 2008 )
Globalized Islam: The Search for a New Ummah by Olivier Roy
Blind Spot - the Islamic State debate, NEP and other issues by Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad
Philosophy: 100 Essential Thinkers (Paperback) by Philip Stokes
Inescapable Questions:Autobiographical Notes By A Izetbegovic
I will share with you my brief comments on all these books, Insya Allah. Please revisit the entry again soon.
ABU SAIF @ www.saifulislam.com
56000 Kuala Lumpur
very nice! Mrs. hasrizal.