Guru Sebagai Murabbi, Mudarris, Mualim, Muaddib Dan Mursyid “Selamat Hari Guru”

GURU SEBAGAI MURABBI, MUDARRIS, MUALIM, MUADDIB DAN MURSYID: “SELAMAT HARI GURU”

Dr. Zulkifli Hasan

Pendahuluan

Sebuah negara yang disegani di dunia memiliki satu ketamadunan yang mempunyai masyarakat yang berdisiplin, berhemah tinggi berilmu, beriman, bertaqwa serta berakhlak mulia. Pada tahun ini hari guru bertemakan “Guru Malaysia: 1aspirasi, 1agenda”. Walaupun tema ini masih lagi boleh didiskusikan tetapi ia sekurang-kurangnya masih lagi menyimpan hasrat murni pendidikan iaitu pembinaan kualiti akhlak terunggul atau “towering personality” bagi memastikan kejayaan pembentukan bangsa yang cemerlang, gemilang dan terbilang.

Demi mencapai pembentukan akhlak terunggul, ianya memerlukan kegemilangan ilmu dan pendidikan bagi menjadi pemangkin kemakmuran dan kemajuan. Sejarah telah membuktikan bahawa kegemilangan sesebuah negara bergantung kepada kecemerlangan rakyatnya dan orang yang berperanan besar mewujudkan kegemilangan tersebut, ialah guru. Dalam erti kata lain tidak akan adanya doktor, jurutera, saintis, professor, menteri, ahli korporat dan sebagainya tanpa adanya didikan awal dari guru.

Mutakhir ini kita sering mendengar rungutan ibubapa dan masyarakat terhadap guru. Aduan mengenai guru mendera pelajar, tidak terlatih, tidak ikhlas mendidik, mengajar sambil lewa dan sebagainya sering dipaparkan di dada akhbar mahupun di kaca televisyen. Kajian juga mendapati bilangan kes saman guru di Mahkamah juga meningkat dari masa ke semasa. Sesetengah pihak seringkali menyalahkan guru apabila dikaitkan dengan gejala keruntuhan dan kerasukan moral dan syahsiah generasi muda ketika ini. Faktor-faktor ini serba sedikit telah melemahkan semangat guru untuk menaburkan bakti secara ikhlas di dalam proses pendidikan dan pembelajaran. Kerap kali guru melahirkan rasa tidak puas hati dan kekecewaan mereka apabila pengorbanan mereka tidak dihargai bahkan disalahanggap oleh sesetengah pihak. Guru yang telah semakin terhakis keikhlasannya tidak akan dapat menumbang bakti dengan cemerlang ke arah pembentukan peribadi dan kualiti akademik generasi muda negara. Hal ini mesti diberikan perhatian dan persepsi masyarakat terhadap institusi pendidikan dan pendidik itu sendiri perlu ditransformasikan ke arah yang lebih adil dan seimbang.

Peranan pendidik yang paling utama adalah untuk menyampaikan ilmu pengetahuan agar dapat membina rohani, jasmani, emosi, intelektual dan sosial pelajar yang seimbang. Dalam melaksanakan tanggunjawab ini pendidik yang baik mestilah mempunyai ciri-ciri tertentu seperti yang telah ditunjukkan oleh Rasulullah Sallallahualaihiwasallam. Islam amat menitikberatkan ilmu pengetahuan dan meletakkan darjat yang tinggi kepada orang yang menyebarkan ilmu. Ini telah dirakamkan oleh Allah Subhanahuwataala di dalam surah al-Mujadalah ayat 11 yang bermaksud: “Allah meninggikan darjat orang yang beriman dan di antara kamu, dan orang-orang yang diberi ilmu pengetahuan agama beberapa darjat”. Ayat ini menunjukkan bahawa orang yang berilmu mempunyai darjat yang lebih tinggi di kaca mata Islam lebih-lebih lagi orang yang menyebarkan ilmu pengetahuan seperti pendidik sama ada di peringkat rendah mahu pun di institusi pengajian tinggi.

Sebagai seorang pendidik yang diberkati Allah, mereka mestilah menjaga akauntabilitinya selaras dengan kesucian dan keberkatan profesion ini yang melibatkan proses transformasi ilmu pengetahuan. Secara umumnya, para sarjana Islam telah mengemukakan bahawa pendidik perlu memainkan fungsi seorang guru dan mencapai martabat sebagai pendidik (mudarris), penyampai yang benar (mualim), murabbi (pengasuh dan pendidik dengan kasih sayang, muaddib (pembentuk adab dan akhlak) dan mursyid (pembimbing ke arah kebaikan).

Akauntabiliti Seorang Pendidik

Akauntabiliti seorang pendidik merupakan perkara yang amat penting untuk dipelihara oleh setiap pendidik. Secara umumnya akauntabiliti ini merujuk kepada tanggungjawab seorang pendidik kepada setiap perkara mahu pun hasil kerjanya. Sebagai seorang yang profesional, pendidik perlu memelihara dan melaksanakan tanggunggjawabnya dengan penuh ikhlas dan sebaik mungkin. Ini adalah kerana pendidik merupakan pihak yang bertanggungjawab menghasilkan sumber manusia yang baik dalam pelbagai bidang demi keperluan negara bahkan umat seluruhnya. Secara ringkasnya akauntabiliti akademik ini boleh dibahagikan kepada tiga aspek utama iaitu kepimpinan, profesionalisme dan ketelusan serta kerahsiaan.

Kepimpinan

Aspek kepimpinan ini merangkumi segenap aspek kependidikan termasuk pengajaran. Kepimpinan yang dimaksudkan adalah keupayaan mencorak, mengemudi dan memandu dalam proses pencapaian matlamat kecemerlangan institusi. Pendidik yang mempunyai ciri kepimpinan yang baik akan dapat mengatur strategi institusi dan berusaha mempertingkatkan kualiti, berusaha penambahbaikan kecekapan dan kejituan ilmu dan proses penyebaran ilmu pengetahuan.

Profesionalisme

Profesionalisme dalam konteks pendidik merujuk kepada keupayaan dan kecekapan melaksanakan sesuatu tanggungjawab berdasarkan kepada panduan ilmu dan latihan, serta kepakaran. Di dalam melaksanakan sesuatu perkara seorang pendidik yang profesional adalah terikat dengan etika profesion yang merangkumi etika dalam keilmuan, etika sikap dan etika kemahiran.

Sebagai contoh seorang pendidik perlu menyerlahkan elemen-elemen penjagaan tingkahlaku seperti, cara berpakaian, berkomunikasi, tidak mengadakan hubungan dengan pelajar, mematuhi masa, menghormati rakan sejawat, mengelak plagiarisme, kerja berpasukan dan menjaga kerahsiaan. Para pendidik juga menjaga amanah ilmu bukan sahaja bertindak untuk memperkayakan ilmu dalam diri sebaliknya sentiasa menyalurkan idea-idea dan ilmu yang ada pada mereka baik kepada pelajar mereka disamping mempunyai integriti yang tinggi
Profesionalisme juga menitikberatkan aspek ketelusan dan kerahsiaan. Pendidik mesti sanggup menerima teguran-teguran dan ini akan dapat meningkatkan lagi proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran. Dari aspek kerahsiaan, pendidik perlu menjaga hal kerahsiaan ini umpamanya soal penyediaan soalan peperiksaan dan juga maruah pelajar yang mempunyai masalah peribadi.

Pembudayaan Kualiti

Adalah menjadi kewajipan seorang pendidik untuk memastikan setiap hasil kerja mereka sesuatu yang berkualiti dalam semua aspek pengajaran dan yang berkaitan. Kualiti ini dapat dinilai melalui sumber manusia yang dilahirkan. Oleh itu pendidik perlu mempergiatkan aktiviti ilmiah dalam perkongsian ilmu, perluasan ilmu dan rangkaian tokoh-tokoh keilmuan, diinstitusi tempatan dan luar negara.

Ciri-Ciri Pendidik Unggul

Secara umumnya para ilmuan Islam telah menggariskan beberapa ciri pendidik unggul. Adalah menjadi kewajipan kepada semua pendidik untuk berusaha memenuhi kesemua ciri ini dan seterusnya mendapat keberkatan dari Allah Subhanahuwataala pada setiap perkara yang dilakukan. Ciri-ciri ini dapat disimpulkan seperti berikut:-

Mudarris

Mudaris berasal dari perkataan arab yang bermaksud mengajar ataupun pengajaran. Pendidik hendaklah bertanggunjawab menyampaikan ilmu yang ada padanya kepada pelajarnya yang boeh membina pemikiran, rohani, jasmani,emosi dan juga sosial. Apa yang diketahuinya hendaklah disampaikan kerana kerja pengajaran adalah sebahagian daripada amal soleh. Manakala enggan menyampaikannya adalah merupakan satu kesalahan.

Mualim

Pendidik sebagai mualim boleh didefinasikan sebagai mengajar atau menyampaikan limu kepada orang lain dan mengamalkan apa yang disampaikan di samping berusaha menambah ilmu pengetahuan. Mualim mempunyai rasa belas kasihan kepada pelajar dan menganggap mereka seperti anak sendiri. Mualim mengajar kerana Allah Subhanahuwataala dan bukannya kerana ganjaran dan tidak mengharapkan balasan daripada pelajar.

Murabbi

Murabbi bermaksud memperbaiki, memimpin dan mentadbir. Pendidik sentiasa menyayangi pelajar dan menasihati dan membimbing dalam pembentukan syahsiyah mereka. Pendidik juga adalah kaunselor dan penyebar nilai budaya yang elok dan menjadi contoh kepada pelajar.

Muaddib

Muaddib bermaksud mendidik ke arah memperelokkan lagi akhlak pelajar. Pendidik yang muaddib merupakan individu yang bertanggungjawab dan melaksanakan pendidikan peradaban dalam pengertian yang luas dan mendalam terhadap peribadi dan kehidupan pelajar. Muaddib seorang yang memberi ilmu dan mendidik mereka dalam akhlak dan adab yang baik. Pendidik juga mendidik pelajar agar tidak merendahkan ilmu pelajaran lain selain dari yang diajar olehnya. Pendidik mendidik pelajar melalui akhlak yang baik daripada hanya penyampaian secara teori sahaja.

Murshid

Pendidik yang mursyid bermaksud sebagai penuntun jalan hidup yang benar dan betul dengan nilai dan sikap yang benar dan berperanan sebagai hamba Allah Subhanahuwataala dan khalifahNya dimuka bumi. Mursyid menunjukkan kepada jalan yang benar dari sudut ilmu kesufian dan memberikan petunjuk kepada jalan yang lurus. Pendidik mempunyai tingkah laku baik dan terpuji, bersih dari akhlah tercela, tidak taasub atau fanatik, zuhud pada amalan dan perbuatan dan mempunyai tokoh kepimpinan. Syarat untuk menajdi pendidik yang mursyid ialah beliau mestilah alim dari segenap perkara atau disiplin ilmu, menyimpan atau menutup keaiban pelajar-pelajarnya dan pengajaran terkesan di dalam hati pelajar.

Kesemua ciri-ciri seorang pendidik unggul seperti di atas perlulah diamalkan secara berterusan dan dengan penuh iltizam. Pendidik perlu ada sifat mendidik pelajar kerana Allah Subhanahuwataala, berperibadi mulia, menjaga kehebatan dan kehormatan diri, memiliki ilmu dan kaedah pengajaran dan bersifat kasih sayang. Bukan itu sahaja ciri-ciri ini perlu diamalkan dan diserlahkan dari semua aspek termasuk kepimpinan, profesionalisme, tingkahlaku, pembudayaan kualiti dan khidmat masyarakat.
Langkah Memelihara Akauntabiliti Seorang Pendidik

Mendidik Kerana Mencari Keredhaan Allah Subhanahuwataala

Seorang pendidik perlu memastikan niatnya untuk bersifat ikhlas terhadap Allah Subhanahuwataala dalam segala amal pendidik yang dilakukannya. Allah telah merakamkan dalam al-Quran surah al-Bayyinah ayat 5 yang bermaksud ”Dan tiadalah mereka itu diperintahkan, melainkan supaya mereka menyembah Allah dalam keadaan mengikhlaskan agama kepadanya”. Ini dikuatkan lagi dengan sabda Rasulullah Sallallahualaihiwasallam yang bermaksud: ” Sesungguhnya Allah tidak akan menerima suatu amalan melainkan apa yang ikhlas kepadaNya dan yang ditujukan hanya untukNya. (Riwayat Abdu Daud dan an-Nasai).
Pendidik hendaklah menunjukkan setiap pekerjaan yang dilaksanakan itu hanya semata-mata kerana Allah kerana hanya dengan keikhlasan beliau akan mendapat keredhaan dan keberkatan bahkan akan dikasihi dan dihormati oleh pelajar mahupun masyarakat.

Peribadi Mulia

Pendidik bukan sahaja menjadi ”role model” atau pun ikutan kepada pelajar menerusi sifat spiritual seperti ikhlas, jujur, sabar, kasih sayang, warak dan takwa, bahkan menerusi sifat-sifat fizikal atau lahiriah seperti tutur kata, tingkah laku, kebersihan diri, pakaian, tempat tinggal dan lain-lain. Justeru itu, bagi mencapai keberkesanan proses pembelajaran dan pengajaran serta pembentukan peribadi mulia, Islam mengutamakan tutur kata, tingkah laku yang baik dan nasihat berguna serta menarik. Hal ini dapat dilihat jika kita merujuk dakwah yang dijalankan oleh Nabi Musa dan Nabi Harun, ketika mereka menyampaikan seruan agama kepada Firaun yang amat zalim seperti yang difirmankan oleh Allah Subhanahuwataala dalam al-Quran surah thaha ayat 43 yang bermaksud:-” Pergilah engkau berdua kepada Firaun, sesungguhnya dia derhaka. Katakanlah kepadanya perkataan yang lemah lembut, mudah-mudahan ia akan dapat pengajaran atau takut kepada tuhan”.

Menjaga Kehebatan dan Kehormatan diri

Sudah menjadi tanggapan masyarakat mahupun pelajar bahawa seorang pendidik adalah seorang yang mempunyai kehormatan diri dan kehebatan ilmu pengetahuan. Oleh itu, sudah semestinya pendidik untuk beramal dan berpegang teguh dengan ilmu yang dimilikinya. Setiap amalan mestilah dilakukan dengan istiqamah dan seterusnya menjadikan diri untuk lebih bertakwa kepada Allah Subhanahuwataala. Pendidik tidak sepatutnya melakukan perkara yang berlawanan dengan ilmu yang dimiliki kerana ini akan menjatuhkan kehormatan diri dan mengurangkan rasa hormat pelajar kepadanya. Hal ini telah dirakamkan oleh Allah Subhahanahu Wataala di dalam surah al-Maidah ayat 44 yang bermaksud:-” Adakah patut kamu menyuruh manusia membuat kebajikan dan kamu lupakan diri kamu sendiri sedangkan kamu membaca kitab Allah, tidakkah kamu berakal”.

Memiliki ilmu dan kaedah pengajaran

Pendidik sememangnya perlu memiliki ilmu yang mantap dan mendalam dalam bidang yang diceburi. Pelajar akan lebih yakin dan mudah menerima ilmu yang disampaikan sekiranya pendidik benar-benar menguasai ilmu tersebut. Selain itu, pendidik juga perlu kreatif dan inovatif dalam menggunakan kaedah atau teknik pengajaran berkesan. Dalam dunia moden masa kini, pendidik perlu arif dalam penggunaan teknologi dan dalam masa yang sama sentiasa mempelbagaikan teknik pengajaran agar lebih berkesan dan menarik minat pelajar.

Bersifat kasih sayang

Pelajar merupakan golongan yang masih muda dan perlukan perhatian oleh pendidik mereka. Oleh itu pendidik mesti mempunyai sifat kasih kepada pelajar dan menganggap mereka seperti anak sendiri. Dengan sifat ini, pelajar akan lebih mudah mendekati pendidik dan dapat meluahkan masalah mereka. Sifat ini juga akan dapat menerbitkan suasana mesra di antara pelajar dan pendidik dan seterusnya akan memudahkan lagi proses pentarbiyahan dan pembentukan peribadi mulia.

Penutup

Secara umumnya, seorang pendidik harus mencapai martabat seorang pendidik iaitu murabbi, mudarris, mualim, muaddib dan mursyid. Kedudukan seorang pendidik yang mursyid menjadikan setiap ilmu pengetahuan yang disampaikan akan menjadi lebih berkesan dan mudah diterima oleh para pelajar. Terdapat beberapa ciri utama seorang pendidik yang membolehkan mereka dapat membimbing pelajar dengan baik dan berkesan. Ini termasuk mendidik kerana Allah, berperibadi mulia, menjaga kehebatan dan kehormatan diri, memiliki ilmu dan kaedah pengajaran dan bersifat kasih sayang.

Akauntabiliti seorang pendidik merupakan perkara yang amat penting untuk dipelihara oleh setiap pendidik dan ini meliputi dari aspek kepimpinan, profesionalisme dan ketelusan serta kerahsiaan. Sesungguhnya sebagai seorang pendidik, beliau mestilah berusaha untuk memenuhi ciri-ciri seorang pendidik yang mursyid di mana mampu untuk membimbing pelajar bukan sahaja untuk mendalami ilmu pengetahuan yang disampaikan malahan dapat memberi panduan kepada mereka untuk menjadi insan yang berguna dan berjaya. Akauntabiliti pendidik mesti dipelihara demi menjamin keutuhan institusi keilmuan yang sememangnya dipandang tinggi oleh Islam.

Bersempena dengan hari guru ini, marilah kita bersama-sama melahirkan perasaan kasih sayang dan terima kasih kepada semua guru-guru. Menghargai guru merupakan salah satu sifat mahmudah yang amat digalakkan. Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wasallam telah merakamkan penghargaannya kepada guru di dalam beberapa hadis diantaranya ialah yang diriwayatkan oleh Imam Ibnu Majah, bermaksud “Sesiapa yang mengajarkan sesuatu ilmu, maka ia mendapat pahala orang yang mengamalkan ilmu tersebut, pahalanya tidak kurang sedikitpun dan pahala orang tersebut.” Di dalam hadis yang lain riwayat al-Imam at-Tirmizi, Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wasallam bersabda: “Sesungguhnya Allah dan seluruh malaikat-Nya serta penghuni langit dan bumi, sehingga semut yang ada di dalam liangnya dan ikan yu, semuanya memohon kerahmatan ke atas orang yang mengajarkan kebaikan kepada manusia.” Selamat hari guru kepada semua pendidik di muka bumi. Terima kasih dan doa kepada semua guru-guruku, semoga Allah menempatkan guru-guruku di kalangan para solihin di dunia dan akhirat.

Rujukan

Al-Ghazali. (2006). Ihya Ulumuddin. Kuala Lumpur: Darul Fajar.
Ahmad Mohd Salleh. (2004). Pendidikan Islam. Selangor: Fajar Bakti.
Abdullah Ishak. (1989). Sejarah Perkembangan Pelajaran dan Pendidikan Islam. Selangor: Ar-Rahmaniah.
Ulwan Abdullah Nasih. (1981). Tarbiyatul Awlad Fi Islam. Cairo: Darul Salam.
Yaakub Isa. (1994). Guru dan Pengajaran yang efektif dalam Ahmad Mohd Salleh. (2004). Pendidikan Islam. Selangor: Fajar Bakti.

With late Dr. Ashgar Ali Engineer in Bangkok, renowned Muslim scholar from India

Islamic finance: Attractive for non-Muslims?

Islamic finance: Attractive for non-Muslims?

Available at: http://www.zawya.com/story/Islamic_finance_attractive_for_nonMuslims-ZAWYA20130512065501/

Would a non-Muslim do better to back ethical rather than Islamic funds? Prof Dr. Volker Nienhaus, Adjunct Professor at INCEIF, explores the fascinating issue.

It is often claimed that Islamic finance is not only for Muslims. This has two meanings: (1) Islamic financial institutions will not turn away non‐Muslim customers, and (2) non‐Muslims can provide Islamic financial services. In practice, one can find examples in both directions.

The large number of non‐Muslim participants in Takaful schemes in Malaysia is an often-quoted example for the first and the asset management for Shari’ah-compliant funds an example for the second direction. But the message that Islamic finance is also for non‐Muslims is often much more ambitious, namely that the market potential of Islamic finance is far greater than just the population of Muslim countries and Muslim minorities in non‐Muslim countries.

If Islamic finance is for all, the whole world is the potential market for Islamic finance, and growth could be virtually unlimited. This, however, implies that Islamic finance has to offer the world something that is superior (or at least not inferior) to what it already has. It is by no means self‐evident what that could be: Shari’ah compliance as the constitutive element of Islamic finance is in itself rather irrelevant for non‐Muslims. It could be macro‐systemic or micro‐commercial or ethical implications of the observance of Islamic law which make it appealing to non‐Muslims.
THE SUPPLY SIDE

For suppliers of Shari’ah-compliant financial services and infrastructure services (such as indexes, tax consultancy, asset management, stock screening, IT support, executive training, legal advice, rating services) Islamic finance obviously was an attractive option. Since most of the Shari’ah-compliant instruments are functional equivalents of conventional products, the necessary adjustments to serve Muslim clients was technically not too complicated for conventional financial institutions.
Once they had learned the Shari’ah restrictions, conventional institutions tapped into an initially highly liquid and not too competitive market with good margins. They did this via Islamic subsidiaries, windows or special products for selected clients. Later the structuring and issuing of Sukuk were added to the service portfolio. The major challenges of banking, capital market and insurance (Takaful) products lay in taxation and in the structuring of contracts in such a way that they satisfy Shari’ah criteria and are enforceable under the law of the land. This became a very lucrative business for western tax consultants and (in particular British) law firms.

DEMAND SIDE

While it is mainly the profit motive on the supply side, it is far less obvious what might bring customers to Islamic financial institutions. There may be similar financial incentives that motivate western corporate clients to acquaint themselves with Islamic modes of financing: The oversubscription of most Sukuk indicates a high demand which, in turn, could translate into lower financing costs compared to conventional bonds (or even equity‐type instruments).

But what has Islamic finance to offer to the retail client? One argument is that the general observance of Islamic finance principles would create a more stable, efficient and just financial system. For a while it seemed that nearly everybody – politicians, businessmen and ‘ordinary people’ – was searching for a better alternative to the crashed “capital market capitalism”. It is debatable whether Islamic finance would really be a superior alternative – at least as long as it is predominantly a replication of conventional techniques and Shari’ah engineers structure prototypes even of those complex derivatives that were held responsible for the collapse of the conventional system.

But even if one would accept the arguments of the proponents of a superior “true” Islamic financial system, one has to realise that the enthusiasm for a fundamental reform of the financial system has evaporated. Fundamental alternatives such as narrow banking or limited purpose banking were on the radar screen of politicians and central bankers only for a (very) short while (and were received with much scepticism in general and strong criticism by lobbyists of the old system in particular).

Basel III (or ‘Basel II+’ as some commentators have called it) is definitely not a fundamental reform, and Wall Street is today occupied not by protesters but again by bankers and brokers. The persistently high unemployment and fiscal austerity measures are now on the top of protest agendas in many countries.

So if it is not ‘systemic superiority’ that will attract non‐Muslims, then there must be something in Islamic finance that the customers see as individual benefit for themselves. This “something” could be the pricing of Islamic products or their quality.

PRODUCT PRICING

The pricing of Islamic savings products (unrestricted investment accounts usually based on Mudarabah contracts) seems to be very much in line with competing conventional products, i.e. the rate of interest for savings or term deposits. But this implies that investment account holders do not get a compensation for the risk they have to take due to the profit and loss sharing character of the underlying contract.

But even if one ignores this risk, savings products do not look particularly attractive for non‐Muslim investors who can get the same return without the risk of the underlying contract. The practice of participatory contracts is such that not only downside risks are factually eliminated or ignored, but also upside chances for fund providers are curtailed in favour of the managers of funds. This is achieved, for example, by regular adjustments of profit sharing ratios (at the discretion of the bank) or by “incentive fees” by which all profits above a benchmark rate are skimmed off by the manager of the funds (which could be the bank in the case of investment accounts or the issuer of Musharaka Sukuk who runs the business).

Such practices have factually turned nearly all Islamic savings and investment products into fixed income instruments (usually benchmarked against LIBOR or a national alternative from the conventional sector), and the participatory character of the original Islamic contracts are lost.

The pricing of Islamic financing products is also more or less in line with conventional alternatives (as are required collateral). This is an achievement in view of the higher complexity of contractual and transactional arrangements (in particular in corporate finance) and of the additional costs of Islamic banks for securing the Shari’ah compliance of products and processes. However, during the last crisis customers of Islamic banks had to realise painfully that the complexity and implied rigidity of sales contracts used for financing purposes could drive the prices of long‐term Islamic financing (in particular home financing) to excessive levels.

An Islamic bank re‐sells assets (e.g. a house) to the client at a price that is determined by the amount to be financed today (the ‘loan’ amount) and the cumulated financing mark‐ups (the cumulated “interest” payments) for the full contracted financing period (e.g. 10 years). This sales price has to be paid in instalments over the whole financing period.

If a client wants to terminate the financing prematurely, say after two years, the bank can claim the repayment of the initial amount and mark‐ups for two years plus a penalty for early termination, as it would in a conventional interest‐bearing loan contract. The sale contract entitles the bank to claim the full sales price which includes mark‐ups for periods in which the financing is no longer provided. Such claims were actually made by Islamic banks, and it was only by the interventions of courts and central banks that clients were protected against such claims which were deemed unfair and
factually usurious.

With such experiences, non‐Muslims who can opt for a conventional loan may not be too enthusiastic over Islamic modes of long‐term financing, even if the initial pricing looks competitive.

PRODUCT QUALITY

If it is not the pricing, then the product quality is left. In what respects could Islamic finance products be superior to conventional products? As long as Islamic finance products are intentionally structured as replications of conventional ones, and as long as even those genuine products such as Musharaka Sukuk which could have a unique risk/return profile are transformed into fixed income instruments, the difference in quality cannot be found in the product structures (ignoring the Shari’ah compliance, higher complexity and legal risks).

If Shari’ah compliance does not alter the economic characteristics such as the (commercial) risk/return profile, non‐Muslim will not look for qualitative differences in the instruments as such but in the types of transactions and businesses for which the instruments are applied. Here proponents of Islamic finance often underline the ethical qualities of Islamic banking and capital market products.

One argument is that Islamic finance is more just and fair than conventional finance because providers and users of funds share returns and risks or profits and losses. It is considered unjust in conventional finance that the entrepreneurial partner bears all the financial risks while the provider of funds receives a risk free income. This violates the basic principle that rewards (from financing) are justified only if they are combined with risk. There are two problems with this position.

The minor problem is that there is no ultimately risk‐free income for financiers in conventional finance – companies and governments can go bankrupt, thus there is always a credit risk. The major problem is that participatory finance (i.e. the sharing of returns and risks or profits and losses) does factually not take place in Islamic finance (except contractually but not factually in the ‘deposit business’ of Islamic banks).

FAIR FINANCE

The other argument is that Islamic financial institutions observe ethical principles in their financing and investment decisions. No funds for Haram activities – this is taken seriously in Islamic finance, at least in principle. But is that enough to attract non‐Muslims?

A minor problem is that Shari’ah boards in some jurisdiction have allowed “tolerance criteria” for investments in Haram activities, provided the Haram business is relatively small and a kind of byproduct of a basically permissible business (such as running an airline and serving or selling alcohol
on board).

However, such tolerance criteria can become tricky if they are too lax: suppose the tolerance level were set at 10 per cent of the turnover of a company. A company that generates 50 per cent of its turnover [e.g. $50 million of a total of $100 million] from the production of tobacco or alcohol or weapons could not be financed in a Shari’ah-compliant manner.

But if this company is absorbed by another company of (at least) four times its size (i.e. a total turnover of $400 million) and so far zero prohibited business, the new larger company (with a total turnover 100 + 400 = $500 million) would generate only 10 per cent of its turnover from prohibited business. As a result, exactly the same business that was clearly Haram in the first instance can now be financed in a Shari’ah-compliant manner.

A major problem is that the avoidance of a rather limited list of Haram businesses is not “much ethics” for those who should be attracted to Islamic finance because of its ethical dimension. First, the “old style prudent banker” (who is still alive in many places) would also shy away from the financing of many of the haram businesses. But more important: individual savers who look for ethical savings products or institutional investors who want to add responsible investments to their portfolios can find already a much wider and more sophisticated choice of products in the non‐Islamic investment universe.

ETHICAL INVESTING

The avoidance of investments in “sin stocks” (shares of companies with businesses similar to those prohibited in Islam) and the observance of ethical criteria in faith‐based banking finance have a long tradition dating back to the 19th century. But after business scandals in the 1990s and a strong growth of ecological movements in many western countries, ethics, social responsibility and sustainability ranked high on the agenda of international organisations such as the OECD and the UN system and gained considerable attention from financial institutions and asset managers.

The now widely used term for the consideration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria in investment decisions is “responsible investing”. This generic term comprises a wide range of different approaches and strategies which are summarised by the European Sustainable Investment Forum as follows:

Sustainability themed investments are investments in themes or assets linked to the development of sustainability with a focus on specific or multiple issues related to ESG.
Best‐in‐Class investment selection is an approach where leading or best‐performing investments within a universe, category, or class are selected or weighted based on ESG criteria.
Norms‐based screening is based on the screening of investments according to their compliance with international standards and norms, in particular those of the OECD and the UN system (including Global Compact, ILO, UNICEF, UNHRC).
Exclusion of holdings from the investment universe means that specific investments or classes of investment are excluded from the investible universe such as companies, sectors, or countries engaged in weapons, pornography, tobacco and animal testing; this approach is also referred to as ethical‐ or values‐based exclusions.
Integration of ESG factors in financial analysis is the explicit inclusion of ESG risks and opportunities by asset managers into a traditional financial analysis and investment decisions based on a systematic process and appropriate research sources.
Engagement and voting on sustainability matters is the active use of ownership rights through voting of shares and engagement with companies on ESG matters in order to improve their ESG performance; it is a long‐term process, seeking to influence behaviour or increase disclosure.
Impact investments are investments made into companies, organisations and funds with the intention to generate social and environmental impact alongside a financial return. Impact investments can be made in both emerging and developed markets, and target a range of returns from below market to market rate, depending upon the circumstances.
The responsible investment business is supported by a sophisticated infrastructure, including data and index providers, screening consultants, legal advisors, marketing companies, specialised asset managers, industry associations and lobby groups. Although the volume growth of the RI industry is mainly driven by an increasing engagement of institutional investors (especially pension funds), retail clients can find customisable and interactive web‐based screenings of responsible investment funds and tests of their performance.

The volume of responsible investments exceeds by far the global assets of the Islamic finance industry (estimated at $1.3 trillion by 2011): the volume of assets under management (AuM) in responsible investment funds in Europe alone is estimated at EUR 6.8 trillion by 2011 [Eurosif: European SRI Study 2012] which is half of the total European asset management industry (and the AuM of the European asset management industry accounts for approximately 33 per cent of the global AuM).

Obviously, there is a huge market for investments with a ‘responsible’ dimension, and Islamic finance structures fit well into this scheme as an exclusion strategy. But to capture a wider share of this market, Islamic finance has to make considerable progress.

Similarities in the structure (form) of processes in Shariah-compliant and responsible investing cannot hide the fact that there are fundamental differences in substance. Conventional and Islamic institutions apply an “exclusion” filter on the first‐level of their screening process and exclude prohibited (haram) businesses. Islamic fund managers have to limit the investment universe further by filtering out companies with an unacceptable level of interest‐based assets and liabilities.

Such financial ratios are not a major concern for conventional responsible investors. What is a major concern is how the actual investment objects are chosen from those which passed the exclusion filter(s). Here lies the major difference: while Islamic financial institutions (like ‘non-responsible’ conventional institutions and responsible funds that apply only an exclusion strategy) decide on the basis of financial performance criteria, the majority of responsible investment funds (which combine exclusion with other strategies) take additional non‐financial criteria such as the ESG performance into account. This is where the attraction lies for individual and institutional investors (such as Western pension funds) who are looking for responsible investment opportunities.

MORE INCLUSION, NOT EXCLUSION

For the time being, Islamic finance has not much to offer in this area: The exclusion strategy alone is probably not the most appealing one of all responsible investing strategies. Given the widespread poverty in the majority of Muslim countries, themed investments with high relevance for poverty alleviation (e.g. sanitation, healthcare or renewable energy related themes) and impact investment strategies could make substantial contributions. Western funds have shown that such strategies can yield a satisfactory return on investment.

Unfortunately, Islamic funds or financial institutions with such profiles are extremely difficult to find. If they do exist, they are virtually invisible for non‐Muslims.

While even universal banks with a strong investment banking arm rediscover the retail client and acquire deposit collecting institutions (such as Deutsche Bank who bought the German Postal Bank), Islamic retail business is scaled down – most visible by the closure of HSBC Amanah in the UK. This could be seen as an early warning sign.

Given meagre market shares of 10 per cent or less of total bank deposits from the general public even in many Muslim countries where Islamic finance is operating since two decades or (much) more, it becomes apparent that Islamic finance as it is practiced today is not so well received by the average Muslim. Thus it may be a good idea not only to look for non‐Muslim clients, but also to target the 90 per cent or more of Muslims who still prefer conventional finance.

Maybe they have similar problems as non‐Muslims have to appreciate a difference in substance that could compensate for increased contractual complexity and legal risks without higher returns or superior product qualities. The responsible investing movement is a great opportunity for Islamic finance, but also a great challenge at the same time.

Regards
Zulkifli Hasan

Hospital Raja Perempuan Zainab II, Kota Bharu

Egypt’s new economic ministers prioritise IMF deal, Islamic finance

Egypt’s new economic ministers prioritise IMF deal, Islamic finance

Available at: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/70968/Business/Economy/-Egypts-new-economic-ministers-prioritise-IMF-deal.aspx

Finance Minister Fayad Abdel-Moneim and Planning Minister Amr Darrag stress IMF-mandated economic reform aimed at reducing the budget deficit is an immediate priority

Ministerial change won’t affect IMF negotiations: Cabinet spokesman
Egypt’s newly-appointed economy ministers highlighted the importance of continuing the efforts exerted by their predecessors to ensure Egypt’s economic future in their first public statements on Wednesday.

The finance ministry’s highest priorities over the coming period will be to complete negotiations with the International Monetary Fund over an economic reform plan required to secure a $4.8 billion loan, said Egypt’s new Minister of Finance Fayad Abdel-Moneim.

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Amr Darrag also told reporters in his first press conference on Wednesday that obtaining the loan was among his foremost duties, because it would signal that Egypt’s government is on the right track regarding the country’s economy.

Darrag will take over the bulk of the responsibility of negotiating Egypt’s loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund, which is expected to be finalised by the end of May.

Abdel-Moneim, who pledged to continue with the policies in place at the ministry as part of the economic plan previously set by Prime Minister Hisham Qandil, added that at the top of his to-do list was securing the approval for the state budget from Egypt’s upper house of parliament, the Shura Council, and the passage of amendments to the taxation laws currently debated in the council.

In April, the ministry of finance handed the Shura Council the draft budget for the fiscal year 2013/14 (beginning on 1 July 2013) that includes a projected deficit of LE197.5 billion.

Last week, the Shura Council postponed debating a new income tax law, citing insufficient information on the potential effects of the law from the finance ministry.

The new tax legislation is needed to meet the conditions for the IMF loan.

Darrag said that reducing the budget deficit to 9.5 percent of the GDP is among the challenges currently facing the government.

The 2013/14 budget deficit is around 7 percent higher than the revised figure for the current 2012/13 fiscal year, which is forecast to reach LE185 billion by 30 June.

The cabinet should work hard to boost the country’s net international reserves to reach at least $20 billion in the coming period, according to Darrag.

Egypt’s foreign currency reserves currently stand at $14.4 billion. The reserves have plunged by more than half since the January 2011 uprising, when they stood at around $36 billion.

Abdel-Moneim, who has a doctorate in Islamic banking and was an economy professor at Al-Azhar University before becoming minister, stressed his eagerness to start issuing sovereign Islamic bonds to finance public projects, which he described as an important addition to the range of financial instruments on offer, as a significant segment of investors prefer equity to debt instruments.

The new finance minister also stressed the importance of implementing a maximum wage for government employees, which will be 35 times as high as the minimum wage.

Since the January uprising in 2011, successive interim governments have promised to impose wage caps to meet one of the key demands of the revolution, social justice.

In June 2011, Egypt’s then transitional government granted public servants a monthly minimum wage of LE700 ($120).

The minimum wage was supposed to come into effect at the start of July, the beginning of the 2011-2012 financial year, but was only implemented for government employees on permanent contracts.

Regards
Zulkifli Hasan

In front of house of Imam al Shafii Rahimahullah, Cairo, Egypt

Can Egypt’s Islamist finance minister cut a deal with the IMF?

Can Egypt’s Islamist finance minister cut a deal with the IMF?

Available at: http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/05/07/can_egypts_islamist_finance_minister_cut_a_deal_with_the_imf

The big news in Cairo is that a long-awaited Cabinet reshuffle has finally become a reality. President Mohamed Morsy swore in nine new ministers today in a move that increases the Muslim Brotherhood’s representation in the government. The shakeup comes as Egypt is deep in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) about a $4.8 billion loan intended to help the country jumpstart its stagnant economy.

The IMF talks mean that the replacement of Egypt’s finance minister is the most important change to come out of the reshuffle. The new finance minister is Fayyad Abdel Moneim, who previously worked as an economics professor at al-Azhar University, the oldest Sunni Muslim educational institution in the world.

Abdel Moneim, however, may not have a great deal of experience cutting deals with the IMF. According to his biography published on the prospectus of an Islamic capital holding, where he served as sharia advisor, he has made his career entirely in the insular world of Islamic finance. He received his Master’s degree and PhD from al-Azhar University, the oldest institution of Sunni Muslim learning in the world. His Master’s thesis tackled the issue of how the money supply should be organized in Islamic thought, while his PhD thesis addressed the performance of Islamic banks in Egypt.

The new finance minister parlayed this knowledge of Islamic finance into a successful career in the field. He was the manager of the Islamic Research Center in Cairo’s International Islamic Investment and Development Bank, a consultant to numerous Islamic banking enterprises, and conducted research “on the international economic crises from an Islamic economic perspective,” as well as “the economic roles of the Islamic country in the Prophet’s and major eras.”

A strict interpretation of sharia forbids paying interest, or engaging in other activities that form the basis for the modern banking system — Islamic finance is an effort to align Islamic law with today’s investment practices. Sharia-compliant financial products boomed in the 2000s, and Islamic finance assets hit $1.3 trillion in 2011. The growth may be impressive, but Islamic finance is still a niche field – the Islamic bond market, for instance, represents only .1 percent of the global bond market.

The IMF has studied Islamic finance in the past, and some of Egypt’s ultra-conservative Salafist leaders have made their peace with the prospect of an international loan. A deal, therefore, is still likely possible — and a government spokesman was quick to argue that “[t]here will be no impact on the IMF discussions,” according to Bloomberg. But with negotiations having already dragged out for the entirety of Morsy’s term, that may not be good enough.

Regards
Zulkifli Hasan

With my family in Luxembourg

THE NEED FOR AN ARAB CULTURAL REVOLUTION

THE NEED FOR AN ARAB CULTURAL REVOLUTION

By Tariq Ramadan Available at: http://www.tariqramadan.com/spip.php?article12840

Culture constitutes an essential element of human life. As people have risen up across the Middle East and North Africa, the diversity of their cultures is not only the means but also the ultimate goal of their liberation and their freedom. Though imperialism was primarily political and economic, it was also cultural; it imposed ways of life, habits, perceptions and values that rarely respected the societies under its domination, that seized control of minds — a true colonisation of human intelligence.

Globalisation extends to culture, often leading, in the societies of the Global South, to self-dispossession. Genuine liberation, the march toward dignity and democracy, requires a “cultural uprising” in all dimensions of its popular, artistic, intellectual and religious expressions. The importance of culture and the arts in undertaking the task of re-appropriation is critical: the tools of thought and tradition must be used to lend shape and substance to the sense of belonging that alone can guarantee the well-being of individuals. If there is no culture without religion, and no religion without culture and if, finally, culture is not religion, the issue must be explored; the complex questions of values, meaning, spirituality, tradition and the arts — the factors that give form to history, memory, nations and identities; that transmit well-being and freedom, or fail to — must be faced squarely.

Arab and Muslim majority societies are riven by religious and cultural tensions that have at times torn them apart. The role of the religious reference is a subject of constant discussion and heated debate over relations with tradition and with Arabic — or other national languages — have set ruling elites and intellectuals at loggerheads. Close examination and study of these experiences leads but to one sole conclusion: we are dealing with a complex, deeply rooted malaise. Its dimensions are manifold: cultural, religious, linguistic and therefore, a fortiori, strongly identity-related.

It cuts across all social sectors, all classes, and all trends of thought, from secularists to Islamists and from atheists to believers, whether observant or not. The attraction-repulsion complex vis-à-vis the West is not new; it existed even before the colonial period. It has created an ambiguous relationship in which imaginations are fascinated and attracted by the now-global Western culture, while the same force of attraction is rejected by the analytical, cultural and ethical conscience that is experienced as self-dispossession, colonisation and on occasion as the violence of cultural rape. The “Arab problem” was never simply one of the violent dictatorships that succeeded political decolonisation; it has always lain in the perpetuation of an alienating and paralysing, if not destructive, intellectual colonisation.

More than intellectual constructs

The process of reclaiming the self is one of reconciliation with meaning. Cultures, along with the religions that shape and nurture them, are value systems, sets of traditions and habits clustered around one or several languages, producing meaning: for the self, for the here and now, for the community, for life. Cultures are never merely intellectual constructs. They take form through the collective intelligence and memory, through a commonly held psychology and emotions, through spiritual and artistic communion. The Arab awakening cannot afford to overlook these, the fundamental dimensions of freedom and of the liberation of individuals and societies. The Islamic reference is of crucial importance and cries out for special attention for, like all religious references, it can have, in particular historical circumstances, a positive, liberating function — or become a reactionary, dogmatic and authoritarian instrument, an instrument of oppression. Its examination must be preceded by political and economic analysis, by systematic reference to studies in anthropology, cultures and religions.

Cultural emancipation is imperative, and will require a holistic approach. If the message of religion is to be reconciled with spirituality, cultural fulfillment can only be achieved through the celebration of and respect for the languages, memories and heritage of all, and with the positive integration of minority ethnic affiliations and dialects.

Negative effects of globalisation

Along with the West, Africa, the Islamic Orient and Asia have fallen into the trap set by the negative effects of globalisation, including but not limited to exclusivist, sectarian if not deadly claims to culture and identity. The same claims are omnipresent in the Arab world as well. Hence the importance of cultural policies, which must be developed in tandem with social policy, drawn from the common ground that determines the sense of national belongs.

Culture lends meaning to a horizon. Everything in the heritage of culture and tradition is worthy of celebration. To achieve cultural liberation means calling into question all possible forms of parallel and/or secondary alienation: economic dispossession is devastating, just as cultural imperialism can be. Spirituality, posited as a point of recall, as a quest for meaning in and through itself, individually and collectively, is an act of liberation. Yet it must be part of an open, constructive involvement that, acting from within society and in full respect of the pluralism that distinguishes those of the Middle East and North Africa, will determine the ultimate goals that body forth the cultures whose substance constitutes the narrative of each nation.

To assert culture, memory and identity is to assert that they are meaningful, to affirm that they are capable of addressing the challenges of the day. To assert one’s self is to become a subject, to take full responsibility for one’s heart, body and mind, as well as for one’s fellows, one’s society, and for nature itself. The imperative of coherence is incontrovertible; the very condition of genuine well-being and freedom. Western societies are today taking stock of the deficiencies that afflict them, that undermine the principles of democracy by maintaining a culture of fear and insecurity. Insecurity of mind is the negative image of peace of heart. Arab societies are undergoing a similar crisis, in a different way perhaps, but with equal intensity.

An awakening required

They suffer from a malaise of incoherence, and no amount of reform, or of political freedom, will resolve the feeling of unease that has sapped the foundations of East and West alike. There is no lack of obstacles to be overcome in the Middle East and North Africa. Both the political and economic difficulties are well known, as is the strength of the people’s cultural and religious references; the potential for spiritual and ethical opening is palpable. What remains is to find the means for their multiform expression. It is time to remind ourselves that in the profoundest of Islamic teachings, believers do not rise to pray during the night in order to find themselves and forget the world; they do so indeed to find themselves, the better to invest the daylight hours with meaning, and to reform the world. The Arab world and Muslim majority societies stand in need of an awakening that is responsible, free of illusions, self-critical and resolutely positive as much as they stand in need of creativity and imagination.

Reconciliation with self, liberation from intellectual and cultural colonialism, not to mention the emergence of an “Arab subject” can only take place when new life is breathed into our relationship with meaning and with ultimate goals, only when imagination, art, literature, painting and music are reclaimed. Science too, along with knowledge and the ways in which women and men express themselves and their imaginations, their hurts and desires, their grief and their hopes. The Arab world is in the throes of another crisis: the crisis of a fettered imagination from which it is struggling to escape, and that has a powerful impact on its very wellbeing. By this token, the Arab awakening must do more than overthrow dictators. It must break free of the fetters that decades of abdication have applied to the order of science, knowledge, esthetics, art and beauty in general.

Regards

With grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dr Mustafa Ceric