Jointly organised by

• International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS) Malaysia
• Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM)
• Yayasan Pendidikan Islam (YPI)
• Yayasan Ubaidi
  
• The Journalists and Writers Foundation, Istanbul
• International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT)
  
• Malaysian Turkish Dialogue Society

Supported by

• Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM)

To be officiated by

• YB SENATOR DATO’ SRI SHAHRIZAT ABDUL JALIL, Minister of Women, Family and Community Development

Closing by

• YB SENATOR DATO' DR. MASHITAH IBRAHIM, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department

Date & time: 13 and 14 December 2010 (Monday & Tuesday)  9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Venue : International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS) Malaysia

Introduction

The two-day international conference on the family institution is inspired by and will follow up on the three-day international conference entitled “Family as a Value: In Religion, Tradition and Modernity” to be held in Istanbul on 23-25 November 2010. The aim of the Istanbul conference is to go back to the roots of the family institution and the family values common to all religious traditions and cultures. The Kuala Lumpur conference on the theme The Family Institution in the 21st Century: Ideals and Realities will be more focused in the sense that it will deal only with some of the themes to be discussed in Istanbul. Further, it concentrates on the family traditions in Southeast Asia and their common challenges and problems.

[see more conference images]

The family is universally acknowledged as the most fundamental social unit and institution. As such its state and condition is of paramount importance to the development and progress of society as a whole. IAIS Malaysia, the main convener of the Kuala Lumpur conference, has as its core, long-term agenda the active pursuit of civilizational renewal (“tajdid hadhari”) in the 21st century. The stabilization of the family institution and the restoration of its health and societal dynamism following the progressive degradation of traditional family values in modern times is completely in line with the objectives of the Kuala Lumpur conference. There is an urgent need to stem the tide of degradation of traditional family values and the family institution through identification of all the factors responsible for it and by formulating policies and programs that will address them in the most effective way.

As a think-tank concerned with contemporary policy-oriented issues, particularly from Islamic perspectives, IAIS’ interest in the conference is to pursue a balanced approach to family issues that would place practical considerations on a sound conceptual and theoretical understanding of the issues.

Objectives of the conference

1. To assess the state and condition of the contemporary family institution, especially in Malaysia and Southeast Asian countries;
2. To identify the major challenges and problems, both ideological and practical, confronting family values and the family institution that have brought about their degradation and decline;
3. To help formulate national and regional policies and programs that would address the above identified challenges and problems most effectively;
4. To learn lessons from the various experiences of Southeast Asian communities in family life in blending tradition with modernity;
5. To submit to the relevant authorities practical recommendations on how best to deal with the numerous issues and problems impacting the family institution in our times.

Conference Papers: Sub-themes

1. Theoretical foundations of the family

a. Islamic and other religious perspectives

b. Philosophical perspectives

c. Comparative perspectives: religious and secular

2. The family in practice

a. The shari’ah on family values and institution

b. Comparative perspectives: Islamic and others; religious and secular

c. Sociological perspectives

3. Family traditions in Southeast Asia: Sharing Experiences

a. Country-level: policies

b. institutional experiences

To view/download PowerPoint Presentations (in PDF format) click on the arrow below;

Theme: Family Values and Family Institution in Traditional Islamic Thought and Practices

Session II

Theme: The Muslim Family in the 21st Century: Modernity and Reform

Moderator: Dr. Eric Winkel (Principal Research Fellow, IAIS Malaysia)

Speaker 1: Professor Mohammad Hashim Kamali (Chairman / CEO,IAIS Malaysia)

Topic: Islamic Family Law Reforms: Problems and Prospects

Speaker 2: Yg. Bhg. Dato’ Aminah Abdul Rahman (Director-General,National Population and Family Development Board, Malaysia) [3.70MB]

Topic: Contemporary Malaysian Families : Evidence Based Interventions

Speaker 3: Dr. Sheeba Aslam Fehmi (India)

Topic: The Crisis of Modernity and the Family

Theme: Women, the Family, and Society: Redefining Women’s Role, Rights and Responsibilities

Moderator: Dr. Karim Crow (Principal Research Fellow, IAIS Malaysia)

Speaker 1: Mr. Waris Mateen Mazhari (India)

Topic: Islam and Muslim Women’s Social Role

Speaker 2: Professor Dr. Omer Caha (Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Fatih University, Istanbul) [83kb]

Topic: Islam Women’s Movement in Turkey: From the Private Sphere to Public Life

Speaker 3: Dr. Suriani Suratman (Singapore) [143kb]

Topic: Gender Relations in Singapore: Malay Dual-Income Households, (un)Changing Perceptions and Practices

Speaker 4: Dr. Raihanah Abdullah (Academy of Islamic Studies, Universityof Malaya) [1.57MB]

Topic: The Economic Rights of Muslim Women Through the Payment of Mahr:The Practice in Malaysia

Session IV

Theme: Domestic Violence and the Issue of Family Health: Reading the CurrentSocial Index

Moderator: Mr. Abdul Karim Abdullah (Assistant Research Fellow, IAIS Malaysia)

Speaker 1: Dr. Nada Ibrahim (Australia)

Topic: The Findings of a Domestic Violence Research: The Case of Australia

Speaker 2: Dr. Mohammad Rajabally (USA)

Topic: Overcoming the Reluctance of Muslims of San Francisco Bay to AddressDomestic Violence

Theme: Social and Globalization Impact on Family Values and Institution

Moderator: Ms. Norhayati Mustapha (Senior Analyst, IAIS Malaysia)

Speaker 1: Dr Mohammad Omar Farooq (Kingdom of Bahrain) [1.55MB]

Topic: Qiyas and the Commodification of Women

Speaker 2: Professor Dato’ Zaleha Kamaruddin (Deputy Director-General,Institute of Islamic Understanding, Malaysia) [352kb]

Topic: Crime and the Family: Searching for Effective Solutions

Theme: Abandoned Babies: Understanding the Phenomenon and Proposing

Its Solutions

Moderator: Mr. Tengku Iskandar (Senior Analyst, IAIS Malaysia)

Speaker 1: Ms. Zarina Nalla (Policy and Project Development Consultant, IAIS Malaysia) [2.35MB]

Topic: Sociological Perspectives on Abandoned Babies

Speaker 2: Dr. Eric Winkel (Principal Research Fellow, IAIS Malaysia) [697kb]

Topic: Abandoned Babies: An Islamic Legal Framework

Session VII

Theme: Towards a Healthier, More Dynamic and Peaceful Family and Home

Environment

Moderator: Dr. Raihanah Abdullah (Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya)

Speaker 1: Dato’ Mohammad Ali Hassan (President, Parents-Teachers Association, Malaysia) [134kb]

Topic: The Challenge of Parenting in the Age of Globalization

Speaker 2: Ibu Trias Setiawati (Sec. of ‘Aisyiyah Ctrl Board, Muhammadiyah, Indonesia) [10.8MB]

Topic: The Way to the ‘Sakinah’ Family: The National Program of ‘Aishiyah Muhammadiyah, Indonesia

Speaker 3: Mr. Lee Wee Min (Focus on Family, Malaysia) [51.3MB]

Topic: Focus on Family: Our Role and Commitment

Session VIII

Theme: Challenges to the Family Institution in Muslim Minority Communities

Moderator: Datuk Nik Mustapha Bin Nik Hassan (Director-General, Institute of Islamic Understanding, Malaysia)

Speaker 1: Senator Dr. Santanina Tillah Rasul (Magbassa Kita Foundation, The Phillipines) [1.5MB]

Topic: The Situation and Challenges of Muslim Families in the Phillipines

Speaker 2: Dr. Mohd Zain Musa (Cambodia) [1MB]

Topic: The Family Institution Among Cambodian Muslims: Progress and Challenges

Speaker 3: Dr. Shukri Langputeh (Thailand) [1.52MB]

Topic: The Role of Family Institution in Maintaining Islamic Identity in Multi-Cultural Society in Thailand

Session IX

Theme: Challenges to the Family Institution in the 21st Century: An Interfaith Dialogue for Common Responses and Common Commitment to the Enhancement of Family Values and Institution

Moderator: Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr. Osman Bakar (Deputy CEO,IAIS Malaysia)

Speaker 1: Rev. Dr. Hermen Shastri (General Secretary, Council of Churches of Malaysia) (Christian Perspective)

Speaker 2: Dr. M. Bala (Dep President, Malaysia Hindu Sangam) (Hindu Perspective) [7.47MB]

Speaker 3: Dr. Wendy Yee Mei Tien (Deputy Head, SKET, University of Malaya) (Buddhist Perspective)

Speaker 4: Assoc. Professor Dr. Yamin Azrai Cheng (Department of Usuluddin and Comparative Religion, International Islamic University

Malaysia) (Islamic Perspective)

For more information please contacts us at;

Tel: 03-79569188 Fax: 03-79562188 or 03-79562966 Email: reply@iais.org.my