Editorial

Abstract

This July issue of ICR, volume 5 number 3, carries a full load of eight articles whose dominant themes revolve around good governance and reforming interestbased finance. These both reflect the ongoing concern cultivated at IAIS with joining policy-related work to civilisational renewal, a process requiring the awakening of timeless Islamic values and practices. Such awakening must integrate the deepest consciousness of primary principles with the activities of our outward existence as individuals and community.

We open with the heart-felt reflection on ‘Love and Forgiveness in Governance’ by Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar, the former Foreign Minister of Malaysia, reminding us of the integral connection between our outer activity and our inner lives. Next Yutaka Hayashi discusses peace building in the most concrete fashion on the basis of rural life, in his ‘Daily Life and Local Governance in Rural Afghanistan.’ Hayashi stresses the need to build peace from the ground up, placing agricultural and village requirements at the fore. Then two IAIS Fellows grapple with challenges facing projects to implement good governance in Muslim societies. Elmira Akhmetova addresses the topic of ‘The Arab Spring, Good Governance and Citizens’ Rights’ from the perspective of the higher objectives of the Shariah related to just governance and the need for nonviolent approaches to conflict. Amplifying certain themes in her article is the thoughtful study on ‘Integrating Islamic Principles and Values into the Fabric of Governance’ by Daud AbdulFattah Batchelor. Batchelor also reminds us of essential Shariah objectives, asking how they might best be embedded institutionally into society - he points to a systems thinking approach which acknowledges that governance works in a systemic framework wherein moral qualities exert direction.