By Imran Ssemuddu
A three-day training camp on social transformation and leadership held from 25 until 27 February at Eryabysuria in Cherating, Pahang, was aimed at exposing participants to build resilience among youth leaders and set an agenda for Muslim global unity.
Organised by Nama Foundation, International Islamic University (IIUM), and International Institute for Muslim Unity (IIMU), the camp was officiated by the Director of IIMU, Prof. Dr. Dawood A.Y. Al-Hidabi.
Apart from IIUM, the participants of the training camp came from Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) and Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP). They comprised youth leaders and students from Yemen, Malaysia, Uganda, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Uyghur, and Kenya.
Prof. Dr. Dawood A.Y. Al-Hidabi in his talk titled “Social transformation during Mecca period: a prophetic approach”, asserted the need for youth to be proactive, exemplary, and to be ready to inspire change which is a reflection of the path of Prophet Muhamad (PBUH).
He told the participants to make social change with the first step in personal change because supporting each other nurtures the rise of individual character.
The second talk by Prof. Dr. Waleed Fekry Faris, the deputy dean of IIUM-ISTAC Kuala Lumpur campus, was based on “Social transformation undertaken by Omar bin Abdulaziz”.
In his talk, Prof. Waleed emphasised leading by example as well as doing good for the sake of Allah’s pleasure and justice, believing that young people can indeed accomplish great things in life.
He mentioned the great leadership by Umar (RA), one of the caliphs, and reminded participants about the history of Islamic leadership by other caliphs.
Prof. Waleed tasked young leaders to reflect on practices that induced transformation, learn about the history of great Muslim leaders and “that is how social transformation will be a reality”.
A talk by Dr. Fatmir Shehu, deputy director IIMU centred on “Social responsibilities pioneered by sahaba during Madinah time” where she used case studies to highlight social responsibilities young leaders should embrace in order to socially transform the society.
He narrated the important events of Prophet Muhammad’s time in Madinah that included the conquest of Makkah, the treatment of Hudaibiyah, the building of the first mosque among other events.
In summary, Fatmir encouraged young leaders to reflect on individuals’ good efforts and how they can benefit society to create mutual responsibility.
He further pointed out the need to think in the long term about projects that help others and the ummah at large, emphasising the need to study situations in societies we live in, and lastly implementation of the Islamic values.
The young leaders were then graced by an engaging presentation by Dr. Saleh Bazead, CEO, Nama Foundation.
Saleh briefly talked about what his organisation does, such as empowering civil communities, institutions, and the education sector through partnerships, grants and facilitation to achieve sustainable development.
In the session, groups were tasked to come up with different projects that affect the ummah. The different projects focused on the challenges and problems faced as root causes, the impact of the project, objectives, and came up with suggested solutions.
After a brain storming among each group, their group leaders presented the projects that they had discussed. The projects presented tackled issues on conflicts and wars among Muslims, divorce and its impacts, rise of ex-Muslims, insufficient knowledge sharing among students, food wastage among others.
In his concluding remarks, Saleh said he was extremely impressed by the suggested projects that affect the ummah and he laid emphasis that no problem is too big, but it should be done through small steps such as leadership training of the youth.
Saleh also gave an example of different successful projects carried out in Indonesia and Tanzania. He promised to sponsor the best projects and ensure formal proposals are done for implementation which received the support of Prof. Dawood.
Another facilitator, Dato’ Hamidon Abdul Hamid, the administrator and academic fellow at IIUM, spoke on “Self-transformation as a pre-requisite for social transformation: an Islamic perspective”.
During his one-hour session, Hamidon elaborated on the impacts of social change which include alterations in social culture in terms of value systems, rules of behaviour, and social organisation.
He demonstrated the vast knowledge that has seen him travelling to various countries around the world accumulating lots of experience and wisdom regarding social and self-transformation.
He shared fond memories and examples of social change that should be embraced by youth leaders where he highlighted the types of change that ought to be known, including partial versus complete change, reformative versus transformation change.
He ended his talk discussing the role of individual behaviour and its impact in terms of change. On the role of individuals, Hamidon focused on human faculties such as the physical body, aqal, qaib, ruh, and nafs.
Additionally, Hamidon touched on good deeds, spiritual enrichment, cognitive behaviour and positive attitude also contributed to an individual’s overall self-transformation. “Changes happen when there is cumulative effect of changed individuals,” he said.
The final talk of the programme focused on “Managing change and leading the way’ which was presented by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohamad Faris Abdullah, the director, Office for Strategy and Institutional Change (OSIC).
Faris gave an inspiring talk that provided young leaders with food for thought, especially regarding strategic planning and how to manage change.
He also tasked participants to create initiatives aimed at enhancing performance both on an individual basis and for social good. Regarding strategic planning, he focused on quality rather than quantity that can be achieved through working as a team, proper evaluation, coordination, and monitoring of progress, through different spells of time such as quarterly, and half-yearly evaluation.
In his closing remarks, Faris encouraged young leaders to make strategies based on the formulation of activities, planning projects strategically, and ensuring there is proper self-development.
Following the talks, knowledge sharing sessions were held where participants were tasked to come up with overall self-reflection ideas, topics, and projects that they have learned throughout the programme.
Issues on lack of unity among Muslims, western influence on the Islamic world, the plight of refugees among Muslim communities were presented and discussed in groups where winners were awarded.
During the entire programme, activities were to enhance bonding and teamwork were conducted, such as tazkirah after every after solat by both facilitators and participants.
The social transformation and leadership programme had brought together young leaders enthusiastic about social development, religious, and intellectual knowledge showcasing key values regarding youth leadership, the life of Muslims in the contemporary world, building social brotherhood, relevant manifestations of positive transformation, strengthening the unity of the Muslim ummah.
The training camp and leadership programme was one of the many planned activities by IIMU and its partners which included forums, workshops, studies, and forums to enhance leadership and unity of the Muslim ummah.***
(This report is written by Imran Ssemuddu, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Communication, AHAS KIRKHS, who was the participant of the training camp.)