ALOHA
Muslims around the world celebrated the beginning of the Islamic calendar or the Hijrah calendar in the first week of December as Muharram marked the first month of 1432 AD. We are dedicating this issue to Islamic astronomy, highlighting the 1001 Inventions exhibit that is currently taking place in New York, and examining Muslim contributions to science. We also would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy holiday season.
Mahalo,
Program Coordinators
Muslim Societies in Asia and the Pacific Program
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Observatories and Astronomers of
the Islamic World
The Samarqand Observatory  dating back to 1424 was built by Uluh Beg (1394-1449) a Timurid ruler who was also an astronomer and a mathematician. Ulugh Beg was one of the first to advocate and build permanently mounted astronomical instruments. The observatory included a Fakhri Sextant that had a radius of 40.4 meters, the largest instrument of its type in 16th century. It is among the oldest Muslim observatories. Al-Birun i (973-1048) another great astronomer born in the suburb of Kath, capital of Khwarizmi Kingdom (now Uzbekistan), and contemporary of Ibn Sina. Al-Biruni introduced techniques to measure the earth and distances on it using triangulation and discussed, centuries before the rest of the world, the question about whether or not the earth rotates around its axis. He is among many great Islamic scientists. |
1001 Inventions: Discover Muslim Heritage in our World
Muslim civilization stretched from southern Spain as far as China. From the 7th century onwards, scholars of many faiths built on the ancient knowledge of the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, making breakthroughs that paved the way for the Renaissance. The discoveries made by men and women in Muslim civilization have left their mark on the way we live today. 1001 Inventions uncovers a thousand years of science and technology that had a huge, but hidden impact on the modern world. More on 1001 Inventions and The Library of Secrets can be found here.
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Islamic Society at UH Celebrates Eid Sa'eed
Recently, Islamic Society, the student association at University of Hawai'i at Mānoa successfully organized a gathering for peace, friendship and knowledge. Associate Professor Dr. James D. Frankel, the association's advisor gave a short presentation. Saman dance from Aceh and African drum were among few performances that night. There were also booths that showcase various Islamic culture from East to West. This was the first celebration event organized by the association. MSAP also organized a table to promote Muslim societies in Asia and the Pacific. The association was established less than two years ago with the objectives to promote understanding about the Muslim world and also serve as a platform for students to get together and share common values. Visit Islamic Society at UH on Facebook.
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Islamic Astronomy by Tofigh Heidarzadeh In the interval between Ptolemy (2nd century AD) and Copernicus (16th century), the major developments in observational and theoretical astronomy took place from North Africa to Central Asia - during late Antiquity, and then in pre-Islamic and finally Islamic societies. The main advances happened between the 9th and the mid 15th centuries. During this period, Muslim scholars familiarized themselves with Indo-Persian astronomical traditions and more. Full article available here.
Calendar Conversion Program Used to Analyze Early History of Islam
by Thomas Djamaluddin A simple program to convert the Hijri (Islamic) calendar to the Julian/Gregorian Calendar has been made. This can used to analyze the early history of Islam, to verify the date, the day, or the season of any event during the life of Propohet Muhammad PBUH. Some important events can be concluded as follows. The date of descending of the Quran either on 17 Ramadhan 13 BH (before Hijrah) (Monday 25 August 609 AD) or 12 Rabiul Awal 13 BH (Monday 24 February 609 AD). Full article available here.
An Aspect of Islamic
Influence on Science
by
F. Jamil Ragep
If one is allowed to speak of progress in historical research, one may note with satisfaction the growing sophistication with which the relationship between science and religion has been examined in recent years. The "welfare" model, the "separation" paradigm, and the "partnership" ideal have been subjected to critical scrutiny and the glaring light of historical evidence. Full article available here.
Suggested Global Islamic Calendar
by
Khalid Shaukat
For centuries, Muslims observed the movement of the sun according to the Qur'an and Sunnah. They observed the movement of the sun by their naked eyes every day for their five daily prayers. When clocks were invented, Muslims changed this method and started using calculated movements of the sun. They did so even though there was no Ayah or Hadith that provide for using calculations for Salah.
Full article available here.
The Development of
Mathematical Astronomy:
Islamic Astronomers
by Ruth Howes Arab mathematicians working at the House of Wisdom certainly started their work by understanding such Greek classics as Euclid's Elements. They also made us of Jewish and Indian manuscripts, and they added their own original ideas to the mix. Astronomy was uniquely important to Islamic scholars for two reasons. First, Islamic prayers in finding the quibla from any site on earth requires astronomical reference. Secondly, the Islamic calendar is lunar. Days begin at sunset, and the month begins with the first appearance of crescent moon in the western sky. Full article available here.
Science and the Islamic world:
The Quest for Rapprochement
by Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy
This article grew out of the Max von Laue Lecture that I delivered earlier this year to celebrate that eminent physicist and man of strong social conscience. When Adolf Hitler was on the ascendancy, Laue was one of the very few German physicists of status who dared to defend Albert Einstein and the theory of reality. It therefore seems appropriate that a matter concerning science and civilization should be may concern. The question I was to pose - perhaps as much to myself as to anyone else - is this: With well over a billion Muslims and extensive material resources, why is the Islamic world disengaged from science and the process of creating new knowledge?
Full article available here.
Islamic Contributions to Modern Scientist Methods
by
Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad
The author suggests that the rise of modern science was not a revolutionary development confined to modern Europe, but an evolutionary process that began in the Islamic civilization. He reviews those elements of the Islamic religious outlook that appear to have transformed science from the deductive methodology of the ancient Greeks to the inductive approach of modernity. Finally, he suggests that the supposed inherent tension between religion and science is a consequence of the sudden exposure of medieval European culture to the "new" scientific paradigm that had evolved in the Muslim world.
Full article available here.
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Events
TalentimeDirector: Yasmin Ahmad Malaysia, 2009, 120 min. In Malay, Tamil and English with English subtitles 26 December 2010 at 1, 4 and 7:30 pm 28 December 2010 at 1 and 7:30 pm
 Featured the Shangri La tour coordinated by the MSAP at UH Manoa. This is a 1.5 hour tour of the center for Islamic arts and cultures. Free with limited seating to first 23 respondents. 20 January 2011, 9:30am - 12:30pm Honolulu Academy of Arts Brown Bag Lecture Sulaiman Mappiasse, a doctoral student at the UHM Sociology Department will talk about his experience at Al-Azhar University in Cairo. 27 January 2011, 12:00 - 1:00pm Tokioka Room, Moore Hall 319 International Islamic Expo 20114 to 6 February 2011 Jakarta Convention Center, Jakarta - Indonesia One World 2011Beginning June 2011 Seattle, WA
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Employment Opportunities
Academic
Sociology, Assistant/Associate Professor
National University of Singapore
Last day to apply: 4 January 2011
Faculty, Asian Religion and Philosophy
Asian University for Women, Chittagong, Bangladesh
Last day to apply: 8 January 2011
Assistant Professor, South Asian Religions
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Last day to apply: 19 January 2011
Adjunct Professor, Religion and Spirituality in Asia
University of San Francisco
Last day to apply: 21 January 2011
Assistant Professor, Religions of East Asia
Western Kentucky University
Last day to apply: 21 February 2011
Assistant Professor, South Asian Studies
University of Utah
Last day to apply: 1 March 2011
Two Faculty Positions, Sociology of Religion / Cultural Sociology and Sociology of Language / Sociology of Emotions
Nanyang Technological University Singapore
Last day to apply: 24 March 2011
Assistant Professor, Islamic or Buddhist or Confucian Religious Thought/Philosophy
Syracuse University, New York
Last day to apply: 1 May 2011
Community
Marketing Manager
Islamic Relief USA
Alexandria, Virginia, United States
Last day to apply: 20 December 2011
Disaster Assistance Manager
Islamic Relief USA
Alexandria, Virginia, United States
Last day to apply: 3 January 2011
Program Coordinator
Project Nur, American Islamic Congress
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Last day to apply: 14 January 2011
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Conferences
11th annual East Asian Studies Graduate Conference
University of Toronto
Abstract Deadline: 24 December 2010
28th Annual Spring Symposium "Media, Culture and Democracy in South Asia"
6 to 8 April 2011
University of Hawaii - Center for South Asian Studies
Abstract Deadline: 15 January 2011
European Conference for Academic Disciplines
10 to 15 April 2011
Gottenheim near Freiburg, Germany
Abstract Deadline: 1 March 2011
American Canadian Conference for Academic Disciplines
23 to 26 May 2011
Toronto, Canada
Abstract Deadline: 18 March 2011
2nd International Congress on Islamic Archeology
21 to 25 January 2011
Islamabad, Pakistan
Center for Islamic Studies National Conference
17 to 19 February 2011
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Islamic Civilization - Potentials and Challenges
9 to 10 March 2011
Lahore, Pakistan
In the Mix: Asian Popular Music Conference
25 to 26 March 2011
Princeton University
10th East-West Philosophers' Conference
16 to 24 May 2011
University of Hawaii - East West Center
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