Dr MAURICE BUCAILLE
AMMAR
“The Inventor of the Cataract Operation”
Ammar Ibn Ali Al-Mosuli
Title : Oculist (kahhal), ophthalmologist, scientist,
Birth : 1010 in Mosul, Iraq
Death : NA
Nationality : Iraqi Arab
Occupation : Eye surgeon, oculist, ophthalmologist, researcher
Main interest : Ophthalmology, eye surgery, research.
Notable ideas : The inventor of the cataract operation by suction, using a fine hollow needle inserted through the limbus (where the cornea joins the conjunctiva). This was the best-performed operation of its time. This type of cataract operation among others is still carried out today. The operation of “couching”, i.e. violent displacement of the lens, dates back to Babylonian times, but this had its obvious complications and risks.
Works : Kitab al-Muntakhab fi ilm al-Ayn wa Mudawatiha bi’l Adwiya wal Hadid (Book of Choices in the Treatment of Eye Disease and Its Medicines and Medical Instruments), deals with anatomy, pathology and describes six case histories for cataract operation and a case of optic neuritis.
Source: Muslimheritage.com
BJ HABIBIE
“Mr. Crack”
Prof. Dr. H. BJ Habibie
Title: ‘Mr. Crack’, Aerospace engineer, technologist, aviation scientist, aviation industrialist, politician, researcher, author
Birth: 25 June 1936 in Pare-Pare, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
Ethnicity: Javanese and Bugisnese
Nationality: Indonesia
Career: Research assistant at the Lehrstuhl und Institut fur Leichtbau RWTH Aachen, Germany; CEO of PT Nurtanio (Changed to PT IPTN, then PT Dirgantara Indonesia); Chairman, Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), 1978-1998); Chairman, Agency for Strategic Industries (BPIS, 1989-1998), State Minister for Research and Technology (1978-1998); The 7th Vice President of Indonesia (March 10, 1998-May 21, 1998), and the 3rd President of Indonesia (May 21, 1998-October 20, 1999), lecturer, reeearcher.
Main interest: Aerospace engineering, aviation and strategic industries, politics, writing
Notable ideas: Producing theories on thermodynamics, construction, and aerodynamics, known as the ‘Habibie Factor’, ‘Habibie Theorem’, and ‘Habibie Method’; inventing the theory of crack on the aircraft’s boday so he later known as ‘”Mr Crack”; indirectly involved in the calculation and design of BO-105 Helicopter, Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) and Several Missile and Satellite Projects; succeeded in flying a ‘N-250’ (dubbed ‘Gatotkoco’) commuter plane; adopting and approach called ‘Begin at the End and End at the Beginning’, a method that things such as basic research became the last things that the workers at IPTN focused on while actual manufacturing of the planes was placed as the first objective and “fly-by-wire”; introducing ‘Habibieonomics’ to overcome the Indonesia’s economic crisis; and involved in establishing the Association of All-Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI).
Works: Detik-detik Yang Menentukan: Jalan Panjang Indonesia Menuju Demokrasi (Decisive Moments: Indonesia’s Long Road Towards Democracy) (Memoir 2006); and Habibie & Ainun (Memoir, November 2010 – made a movie with the same title in 2012)
Awards: Honorary Professor on Aircraft Construction, Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB, 1977) and Doctor of Science Honoris Cause, Ranfield Institute of Technology, England (1993).
Sources: Wikipedia; engology.com
Islamia/The Brunei Times
Friday, 10 June 2011
IBN SAHL
“The Inventor of the Refraction Law”
Ibn Sahl
Title: Mathematician, physicist and optic engineer
Birth:940
Death: 1000
Ethnicity: Iraqi Arab
Occupation: Scientist at the Abbasid Court, Baghdad.
Main interest: Physics, optics and mathematics.
Notable ideas: Discovering the law of refraction and useing it to derive lens shapes that focus light without geometric aberrations, known as anaclastic (aspehric lens). Designing elaborate mechanisms for drawing his lenses and irrors, dealing with parabolic mirrors, ellipsoidal mirrors, biconvex lenses, and techniques for drawing hyperbolic arcs. Ibn Sahl’s studies led to the development of instruments and theories on optis in Europe in the 17 century.
Works: On Burninbg Mirrorrs and Lenses (984). Credited by the Egyptian historian of science Prof Roshdi Rashed in 1990 for developing the first law of refraction, also known as Snell’s Law, named after the 17th century Dutch scientist Willebrord Snellius (1580-1626).
Sources: Wikipedia; fanousscientists.com; http://www.indiavisitinformation.com
Islamia/The Brunei Times
Friday, 12 May 2012
IBN SINA
“Father of Modern Medicine”
Ibn Sina (Avicenna)
Title : Sharaf al-Mulk, Hujjat al-Haq, Sheikh al-Rayees, Polymath
Birth : Bukhara, Uzbekistan, 980/ 370H
Death : Hamedan, Iran, 1037/428H
Ethnicity : Persian
Region : Central Asia and Persia
School tradition : Avicennism
Works : 450 treatises on various subjects (240 have survived), including his masterpieces Qanun fi’l-Tib (The Canon of Medicine) and The Book of Healing.
Expertises : Medicine, alchemy and chemistry, early Islamic philosophy, Islamic studies, logics, geography, astronomy, mathematics, psychological thought, physics, Arabic and Persian poetries, Islamic theology (kalam).
Notable ideas : Father of modern medicine, clinical pharmacology, clinical trials, and the concept of momentum, founder of Avicennism and Avicennian logic, forerunner of psychoanalysis, pioneer of aromatherapy and neuropsychiatry, and important contributor to geology.
The Brunei Times
IBN LUYUN
“A Pioneer of Agricultural Knowledge and Urban Landscape”
Spanish translation of Ibn Luyun’s book on agriculture
Title : Ibn Ibn Luyun, Luyun, polymath: agriculturist, jurist, agronomist, multi-faceted physicians, poet, jurist, philosopher, mystic, and ascetic.
Birth : Almería, 1282 M/681 AH
Death : Almeria, August 29, 1349 M/14 Jumadilakhir 750 AH
Region : Andalusia (Iberia peninsula)
Main interests : Agriculture, agronomy, poetry, philosophy
Notable ideas : Gave the essential foundations for producing a perfect garden, residence and landscape that satisfies contemporary aesthetics and is a source of positive value; and facilitated the learning of agricultural knowledge.
Works : Nearly one hundred works, but only 25 of them are preserved. One of his outstanding works is Kitāb ibdā’ al-malāha wa-inhā’ al-raŷāha fī usūl sinā`at al-filāha (Book on the principles of beauty and the purpose of learning, concerning the fundamentals of the art of agriculture), known simply as Urjūza fī ’l-filāha (Poem on agriculture) and also known as “Treaty of Agriculture of Ibn Luyūn.”
Sources: http://www.filaha.org/author_ibn_luyun.html; garciaramosmedicosalmerienses.blogspot.com
IBRAHIM MUTEFERRIKA
“A Muslim Polymath Who Run an Arabic Printing Press in the Domains of Ottoman Turkey”
Ibrahim Muteferrika
Title : Diplomat, polymath: a publisher, printer, courtier, economist, man of letters, astronomer, historian, historiographer, Muslim scholar, theologian and sociologist.
Birth : 1674 in Kolozsvár (present-day Cluj-Napoca, Romania)
Death : 1745 in Istanbul, Ottoman Turkey
Ethnicity : Hungarian Unitarian
Nationality : Ottoman Turkish
Occupation : Diplomat, publisher, printer.
Main interests : Diplomacy, economy, literature, astronomy, history, printing, publishing, theology, sociology and historiography.
Notable ideas : Properly introducing heliocentrism to the Ottoman readers, running a printing press with movable Arabic type, publishing non-religious books (Muteferrika’s press published its first book in 1729, and by 1743 issued 17 works in 23 volumes – each having between 500 and 1,000 copies, including Turkish scholar Katip Çelebi’s world atlas Cihannüma (The Mirror of the World or the World Seer) and in diplomacy promoting the Ottoman-French alliance (1737-1739) against Austria and Russia as well as was acclaimed for his role in the Ottoman-Swedish action against Russia.
Works : Usulü’l-Hikem fi Nizami’l-Ümem (Reasonable Principles of Public Order, 1144H/1732M), Ta’rih-i Seyyah der Beyan-ı Zuhur-ı Agvaniyan ve Sebeb-i İnhidam-ı Bina-yı Devlet-i Şahan-ı Safeviyan (Traveler’s History Concerning the Emergence of the Afghans and the Reasons for the Decline of the State of the Safavid Shahs, 1729), a translation of Polish Catholic clergy Juda Tadeusz Krusiński’s Risale-i İslamiyye (Islamic Treatise), Vesiletü’t-Tıbaa (The Utility of Printing), Füyużat-ı Mıqnatısiyye (Features of the Magnets), which he compiled and translated on the basis of European works on the subject. Ordered by the sultan in 1733, he translated Dutch-German cartographer Andreas Cellarius’s (d. 1665) astronomical work Atlas Coelestis under the title Mecmua-i Hey’etü’l-qadime ve’l-cedide (Collection of Old and New Astronomy).
Source: MuslimHeritage
AL-KINDI
“The Great Arab Philisopher and A Developer of Cryptography”
Name : Abu Yusuf Ya’qub Ishaq al-Kindi
Title : Al-Kindus, Polymath.
Birth : 801 in Kufa, Iraq.
Death : 873 in Baghdad, Iraq.
School : Early Islamic philosophy, Peripatetic school, Islamic science, Shafi’ite fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence)
Notable Ideas : The first of the Muslim Peripatetic philosophers, and is known for his efforts to introduce Greek and Hellenistic philosophy to the Arab world, and
as a pioneer in chemistry, cryptography, medicine, music theory, physics, psychology, and the
philosophy of science.
Works : Warning Against the Deceptions of the Alchemists, Refutation of the Claim of Those Who Claim the Artificial Fabrication of Gold and Silver, A Manuscript on Deciphering Cryptographic Messages, On the Use of the Indian Numerals (Four Volumes), Treatise on the Efficient Cause of the Flow and Ebb, Treatise on Diseases Caused by Phlegm, Medical Formulary, On Sleep and Dreams, First Philosophy, and Eradication of Sorrow. – Wikipedia
AL-MAS’UDI
“A Great Muslim Traveller and Geographer”
Al-Mas’udi
Name : Abul Hasan Ali Ibn Husain Ibn Ali Al-Masu’di
Title : Al-Mas’udi, geographer, historian, physicist, xplorer, the Herodotus and Pliny of the Arabs
Birth : 871 in Baghdad, Iraq
Death : 957 in Cairo, Egypt
Ethnicity : Arab
Region : Iberia (Al-Andalus)
Main Interest : Geography, History, Physics and Music
Notable Ideas : His researches and views extensively influenced the sciences of historiography, geography and
earth sciences. Made a systematic study of history with a perspective of geography, sociology, anthropology and ecology. Added a deep insight into the causes of rise and fall of nations. Found out the causes of the earthquakes of 955, as well as the secrets of the water of the Red Sea and other problems in earth sciences. The first author to mention windmills, which were invented by the Muslims of Sijistan. Provided important information on early Arab music as well as music of other countries. Created a change in the art of historical writings, introducing analysis, reflection and criticism of historical events. This was further improved by Ibn Khaldun (1332 – 1406).
Works : Muruj al-Dzahab wa al-Ma’adin al-Jawahir (Meadows of Gold and Mines of Precious Stones), Muruj al-Zaman (Meadows of Times/thirty volumes), Kitab al-Ausat (Book of the Midpoint) and Kitab al-Tanbih wa al-Ishraf (Book of Reminder and Overseer) — Islamonline.com & antiochgate.com
SALIM ALI
“The Birdman of India”
Salim Ali
Title : Ornithologist, naturalist.
Birth : November 12, 1896 in Mumbai, India
Death : July 27, 1987 in Mumbai, India
Nationality : Indian
Spouse : Tehmina Ali
Education : St. Xavier’s College (Mumbai), commercial law and accountancy at Davar’s College of Commerce (Mumbai), and personally studied ornithology to some experts in Germany and Burma.
Occupation : Museum guide, guide lecturer, ornithologist, and director of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).
Main interest : Ornithology, natural history, bird photography
Notable ideas : Rediscovered the Kumaon Terai population of the Finn’s Baya (Ploceus megarhynchus, a species of weaver bird found in the Ganges and Brahmaputra valleys in India and Nepal); birds and natural protection, and examined the contributions to natural-history of the Mughal emperors.
Awards : The Joy Gobinda Law Gold Medal (the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1953), the Gold Medal of the British Ornithologists’ Union (the J Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation prize (1967), the Sunder Lal Hora memorial Medal (the Indian National Science Academy, 1970), the Pavlovsky Centenary Memorial Medal (the USSR Academy of Medical Science, 1973) Commander of the Netherlands Order of the Golden Ark from Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands (1973), Padma Bhushan (1958), Padma Vibhushan (1976); and honorary doctorates from the Aligarh Muslim University (1958), Delhi University (1973) and Andhra University (1978)
Works : Stopping by the Woods On A Sunday Morning (article, 1930), The Book of Indian Birds (1940), Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan written with Dillon Ripley (10 volumes, 1948), The Birds of Kerala (the first edition in 1953 was titled The Birds of Travancore and Cochin), The Birds of Sikkim, The Birds of Kutch (later The Birds of Gujarat), Indian Hill Birds and The Birds of the Eastern Himalayas (1943), Common Bird (1967), and The Fall of a Sparrow (autobiography, 1985).
http://www.famousscientists.org; http://www.indiavisitinformation.com; Wikipedia
Islamia/The Brunei Times
SINAN
“The Great Ottoman Architect and Urban Designer”
Mimar Sinan
Title : The chief Ottoman architect (Turkish: “Mimar”), civil engineer for sultans Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim II, and Murad III, city planner, Janissary commander. title Haseki’i, Sergeant-at-Arms in the body guard of the Sultan, a rank equivalent to that of the Janissary Ağa, Architect of the Abode of Felicity
Birth : May 9,1490 in Ağırnas, Kayseri, Central Anatolia, Armenia
Death : July 17, 1588 in Istanbul, Turkey
Region : West Asia
Main interests : Carpentry, mathematics, civil engineering, religious architecture, city planning, military
Notable ideas : He started to experiment with the design and engineering of single-domed and multiple-domed structures, trying to obtain a new geometrical purity, a rationality and a spatial integrity in his structures and designs of mosques and to create a clear, unified space.
He started to develop a series of variations on the domes, surrounding them in different ways with semi-domes, piers, screen walls and different sets of galleries. His domes and arches are curved, but he avoided curvilinear elements in the rest of his design, transforming the circle of the dome into a rectangular, hexagonal or octagonal system. He tried to obtain a rational harmony between the exterior pyramidal composition of semi-domes, culminating in a single drumless dome, and the interior space where this central dome vertically integrates the space into a unified whole.
His genius lies in the organisation of this space and in the resolution of the tensions created by the design. He was an innovator in the use of decoration and motifs, merging them into the architectural forms as a whole. He accentuated the centre underneath the central dome by flooding it with light from the many windows. He incorporated his mosques in an efficient way into a complex (külliye), serving the needs of the community as an intellectual centre, a community centre and serving the social needs and the health problems of the faithful.
Works : The architect of around 360 structures, including 84 mosques, 51 small mosques (“mescit”), 57 schools of theology (“medrese”) 7
schools for Koran reciters (“darülkurra”), 22 mausoleums (“türbe”), 17 Alm Houses (“imaret”), 3 hospitals (“darüşşifa”), 7 aqueducts and arches, 48 inns (“caravansary”), 35 palaces and mansions, 8 vaults and 46 baths. His masterpiece is the Selimiye Mosque in
Edirne, although his most famous work is the Suleiman Mosque in Istanbul. He has also built Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge in Višegrad across the Drina River in the east of Bosnia and Herzegovina which is now UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Source: Wikipedia
Islamia/The Brunei Times
SYEID HUSSEIN ALATAS
“An Opponent of Corruption”
Name: Professor Syed Hussein Alatas
Title: Academician, sociologist, former politician, researcher, philosopher, and policy analyst.
Birth: September 17, 1928 in Bogor, West java, Indonesia.
Death: January 23, 2007 in Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Nationality: Malaysian
Education: Holder of degrees in the social sciences from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Occupation: Sociologist, Head of the research department of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Malaysia (1950 onwards), lecturer in philosophy at the University of Malaya (1960), Head of the Cultural Division at the University’s Department of Malay Studies (1963-1967), Head of the Department of Malay Studies in the National University of Singapore (1967-1988), Vice-Chancellor of the University of Malaya (1988), becoming a professor at the Centre for General Studies in the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (1995), Head of the Department of Anthropology and Sociology (1997), Principal research fellow at the Institute of the Malay World and Civilisation of the UKM (1999), and a senator representing the
state of Penang.
Activities: Founded and edited the journal Progressive Islam in Amsterdam (1954-55), a founder of the Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan, 1968), Pekemas (Parti Keadilan Masyarakat Malaysia or Social Justice Party of Malaysia, 1972),
Main interests: Social sciences, politics, philosophy of science, corruption issues, post-coloniality.
Notable ideas: Pioneering efforts in Third-Worldist post-colonial responses to Western social sciences; regarded as one of the founders of sociological investigation in Southeast Asia and as a mentor to many in the Malaysian Social Science and academic community in general. In the 1950s, he was already considering the significance of the contribution of Tunisian-born Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) to the philosophy of history and sociology, an opponent of corruption, and laid the foundation for multi-racial politics, obviously ahead of his time.
Works: Reflections on the Theories of Religion (1963), The Sociology of Corruption (1968), Thomas Stamford Raffles: Schemer or Reformer? (1972), Modernization and Social Change in Southeast Asia (1972), Intellectuals in Developing Societies (1977), The Myth of the Lazy Native (1977), The Problem of Corruption (1986), Corruption: Its Nature, Causes and Functions (1990), “Corruption” in Oxford Companion to World Politics OUP New York (1993), “Social Sciences” in The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World Vol 4 OUP New York (1995), Corruption and the Destiny of Asia (1999), and Cita Sempurna Warisan Sejarah (Perfect Ideal of Historical Legacy, 2000).
Source: Wikipedia
SYED MUHAMMAD NAQUIB AL-ATTAS
“A Prominent Master on Malay Literature and Contemporary Muslim Philosopher”
Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas
Name: Syed Muhammad Naquib bin Ali bin Abdullah bin Muhsin al-Attas
Title: A prominent contemporary Muslim philosopher and thinker from Malaysia
Birth: September 5th, 1931 September 17, 1931 in Bogor, West java, Indonesia.
Nationality: Malaysian
Education: Ph.D in Islamic philosophy from School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (1965)
Occupation: Lecturer in Malay literature and Islamic philosophy; Head of the Division of Literature in the Department of Malay Studies at the University of Malay, Kuala Lumpur; Dean of the Faculty of Arts (1968-1970); Head of the Department of Malay Language and Literature and then Dean of the Faculty of Arts of the National University of Malaysia; Founder and director of the Institute of Malay Language, Literature, and Culture (IBKKM) at the National University of Malaysia (1973) to carry out his vision; Founder and director, the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC) in Kuala Lumpur (1987); Founder and director of the Institute of Malay Language, Literature, and Culture (IBKKM) at the National University of Malaysia (1973) to carry out his vision; as well as Founder and director, the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC) in Kuala Lumpur (1987).
Activities: Chaired the panel on Islam in Southeast Asia at the 29th Congress International des Orientalistes in Paris (1973). He was a Principal Consultant to the World of Islam Festival in London (1976), and a speaker and delegate at the International Islamic Conference held concurrently at the same place; A speaker and an active participant at the First World Conference on Islamic Education held at Mekah (1977), where he chaired the Committee on Aims and Definitions of Islamic Education. A Visiting Professor of Islamic at Temple University, Philadelphia, US (1976-1977); and chaired the UNESCO meeting of experts on Islamic history held at Aleppo, Syria (1978); He also planned and designed the building of ISTAC (1991), the unique scroll of the al-Ghazali Chair (1993), the auditorium and the mosque of ISTAC (1994), as well as their landscaping and interior decor, imbuing them with a unique Islamic, traditional, and cosmopolitan character.
Main interests: Malay language and literature, education, Islamic history, philosophy and mysticism, and civilization; calligraphy.
Notable ideas: 1. Al-Attas engaged in polemics on the subjects of Islamic history, philology, and Malay literary history, which have resulted in the opening of new avenues for known as the Sha’ir, and have established that Hamzah Fansuri was the originator of the Malay Sha’ir. He has also set forth his ideas on the categorization of Malay literature and periodization of its literary history. He has contributed importantly to the history and origin of the modern Malay language… Al-Attas developed a style and precise vocabulary that uniquely characterized his Malay writings and language. 2.Advocates that the categories of knowledge which were fundamental to the Islamic tradition are fundamental to any real modern education. In the traditional Islamic worldview, knowledge was of two kinds, the open-ended fard kifayah knowledge, which includes the natural, physical and applied sciences, and the fard `ayn, the absolute nature of the knowledge pertaining to God and the spiritual realities and moral truths. Fard `ayn knowledge is not static, but dynamic, and it increases according to the spiritual and intellectual abilities as well as social and professional responsibilities of a person. Contemporary modern knowledge needs to be delivered from its interpretations based on secular ideology. 3. maintains that modern science sees things as mere things, and that it has reduced the study of the phenomenal world to an end in itself. Certainly this has brought material benefits, however it is accompanied by an uncontrollable and insatiable propensity to destroy nature itself. Al-Attas maintains a firm critique that to study and use nature without a higher spiritual end has brought mankind to the state of thinking that men are gods or His co-partners. “Devoid of real purpose, the pursuit of knowledge becomes a deviation from the truth, which necessarily puts into question the validity of such knowledge.” [Islam and Secularism, p. 36]
Awards: Conferred Fellow of the Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy for outstanding contribution in the field of comparative philosophy (1975); and the Iqbal Centenary Commemorative Medal conferred by President of Pakistan, General Muhammad Zia ul-Haq.
Works: He authored more than two dozen books and monographs, and a lot of articles (1959) Rangkaian Ruba’iyat (1959), Some Aspects of Sufism as Understood and Practised among the Malays (1963), Raniri and the Wujudiyyah of the 17th Century Acheh (1969) , The Mysticism of Hamzah Fansuri (1970) , The Correct Date of the Terengganu Inscription (1970), Islam dalam Sejarah dan Kebudayaan Melayu (1972), Comments on the Re-Examination of Al-Raniri’s Hujjatu’l Siddiq: A Refutation (1975), Islam and Secularism (1978 & 1993), The Concept of Education in Islam (Kuala Lumpur: Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (1980), A Commentary on the Hujjat al-Siddiq of Nur al-Din al-Raniri: Being an Exposition the Salient Points of Distinction between the Positions of the Theologians, the Philosophers, the Sufis and the Pseudo-Sufis on the Ontological Relationship between God and the World and Related Questions (1986), The Oldest Known Malay Manuscript: A 16th Century Malay Translation of the `Aqa’id of al-Nasafi (1988), Islam and the Philosophy of Science (1989, translated into German by Christoph Marcinkowski as Islam und die Grundlagen von Wissenschaft, 2001), The Nature of Man and the Psychology of the Human Soul (1990), On Quiddity and Essence (1990), The Intuition of Existence (1990), Islam: The Concept of Religion and the Foundation of Ethics and Morality (1992), The Meaning and Experience of Happiness in Islam (1993, translated into Malay by Muhammad Zainiy ‘Uthman as Ma’na Kebahagiaan dan Pengalamannya dalam Islam and into German by Christoph Marcinkowski as Die Bedeutung und das Erleben von Glückseligkeit im Islam, 1998), The Degrees of Existence (1994), Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam: An Exposition of the Fundamental Elements of the Worldview of Islam (1995), Risalah untuk Kaum Muslimin (2001), Tinjauan Ringkas Peri Ilmu dan Pandangan Alam (Brief Review of Knowledge and Worldview, 2007), and Historical Fact and Fiction (2011).
Wikipedia
UMER CHAPRA
“A Renown Muslim Economist”
Umer Chapra
Title : Muslim economist, Muslim scholar, expert in Islamic economy, banking and finance.
Birth : February 1, 1933 in Bombay (Mumbay), India
Ethnicity : Memons
Nationality : Pakistani/Saudi Arabian
Education : BBA and MBA degrees of University of Karachi (1954 and 1956), Doctoral degree in Economics of the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (1961).
Madzhab : Sunni
Marital status : Married to Khairunnisa Jamal Mundia (1962) with four children
Occupation : Senior Researcher Advisor and lecturer in Islamic economy and finance in different countries; editor and referee in some professional journals; and a member of the Technical Committee of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) to prepare standards for the Islamic financial industry (2002-2005)
Main interest : Islamic economy, banking, finance, and civilisation.
Notable ideas : Commitment and profound contributions to Islamic economics and finance and Islamic studies as well.
Awards : The Islamic Development Bank Award for Islamic Economics (1989), the King Faisal International Award for Islamic Studies (1989), Institute of Overseas Pakistanis (IOP) gold medal (1995), and Shield from the Islamic Council of North America (ICNA) (2009).
Works : 16 books, some monographs and more than 100 papers and book reviews. Among of his books are Towards a Just Monetary System (1985), The Future of Economics: An Islamic Perspective (2000), and Muslim Civilization: The Causes of Decline and The Need for Reform (2008).
education.kalpoint.com, muchapra.com, wdibf.com
Islamia/The Brunei Times
WANG ZI-PING
“Pioneer of Therapeutic Martial Arts”
Wang Zi-Ping
Name : Wang Zi-Ping
Title : Wushu Grandmaster, Chinese-Muslim practitioner of Chinese Martial Arts and traditional medicine; doctor of traumatology, advisor to major hospitals in China, a well-rounded martial artist.
Birth : 1881 in Changzhou, Hebei, China
Death : 1973
Ethnicity : Chinese ethnic group of Hui
Region : East Asia
Main interests : Chinese martial arts Cha quan, Hua quan, Pao Chuan, Bajiquan, and Tai Chi Chuan.
Notable ideas : Well versed in all the major weapons, in Qinna (techniques of catching and locking an opponent’s joints or muscles/tendons), Shuaijiao (wrestling), free fighting, hard Qi Gong, light body technique, and many more. Combined his adept knowledge of Qinna with his bone setting skills and originated a well-known system of treatment for sports and Wushu related injuries in Northern China, he found Therapeutic Qi Gong (prana force). Developed Ching Long Jian (Green Dragon Sword) and Quan Shr Er Shr Fa (Twenty Fist Method) movements in martial arts; and developed an exercise regimen for long life. — Wikipedia; Republika; http://www.wuyijiehe.com
ZIRYAB
“Afro-Asian Slave Who Changed Andalusian Culture Forever”
Ziryab
Title: Ziryab (Blackbird), polymath: a poet, musician, singer, chemist, cosmetologist, fashion designer, trendsetter, strategist, astronomer, botanist and geographer.
Birth: 789 in Baghdad, Iraq
Death: 857 in Cordoba, Andalusia (Islamic Spain)
Race: Afro-Arab
Education: Studied art of music to Ishaq al-Mawsili (d.850) in Baghdad.
Occupation: Musician, chef, singer, trendsetter, fashion designer.
Activities: Musician in the courts of Harun al-Rashid of the Abbasid Dynasty and of Abd al-Rahman II of the Umayyad Dynasty (822-52).
Interested fields: Music, astronomy, history, geography, chemicals, fashion, botany, cosmetics, culinary, health, poetry.
Notable ideas: Ziryab revolutionised the court at Caacórdoba and made it the stylistic capital of its time, changed Andalusian culture forever. Introducing Middle East fashion styles to Andalusia, including sophisticated styles for different season and time and introducing velvet; styles (short hair style); foods (fruit and vegetables such as asparagus, serving in three separate courses consisting of soup, the main course, and dessert, use of crystal as a container for drinks); hygiene products (deodorant, toothpaste, promoting morning and evening baths); and music (establishing school of music, improving the Oud or Laaacúd by adding a fifth pair of strings, and using an eagle’s beak or quill instead of a wooden pick, and laying the early groundwork for classic Spanish music).
Sources: Wikipedia, muslimheritage, dubsahara.com, Saudi Aramco World (July/August 2003, pp 24-33)
Darul Aqsha
Islam In Indonesia 