The Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia

The Institute of Oriental Philosophy

International Scholarly Exchange

Y. Bhg. Datuk Nik Mustapha bin Nik Hassan gave a lecture on Civilisational Approach to Economic Development from An Islamic Perspective

On June 3, 2014, Y. Bhg. Datuk Nik Mustapha bin Nik Hassan, Director General of the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM), gave a lecture titled “Civilisational Approach to Economic Development: An Islamic Perspective.”

IKIM was launched on July 3, 1992 by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, and YABhg. Tun Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi is currently serving as a chairman of IKIM.

Y. Bhg. Datuk Nik Mustapha bin Nik Hassan was a Visiting Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, and served as Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management at the International Islamic University Malaysia. His writings are on the subjects of economic thoughts system, economic future and management.

In his lecture, Y. Bhg. Datuk Nik Mustapha bin Nik Hassan argued that the global economic advancement over the past two decades has caused massive public debt and the slowing down of employment creation. He claimed that an Islamic worldview could serve to help mitigate current severe economic situation.

According to him, Islam believes that the stability of the whole is contingent upon both the material and spiritual well-being of Man and he explained that Islam teaches us to purify the inner state of life and encourage us to establish economic justice. He emphasized that all human beings are interrelated and interdependent, and that religions teach us to be loving and caring toward others. Thus Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Taoism, Judaism, and other religions should cooperate and work together to resolve economic disparity.

Organizer: The Institute of Oriental Philosophy (IOP)
Venue: Hotel Villa Fontaine Shiodome (Tokyo, Japan)
Date: June 3, 2014