By Puteri An Nur
GOMBAK, 19 March 2022: Research is a very important field in innovating new ideas and coming up with solutions to solve the problems faced by society today. Unfortunately, this field lacks young researchers, especially from the Muslim community.
The view was shared by Prof. Dato Seri Dr. Syed Arabi Idid, a senior professor in the Department of Communication, AHAS KIRKHS, who is also the Chair Holder of Ibn Khaldun.
He was delivering his message during “The International Seminar of Young Researchers: Addressing Contemporary Social Issues”, organised by the International Institute for Muslim Unity (IIMU) in collaboration with AHAS KIRKHS, as the keynote speaker.
As a pioneer in the research field, Prof. Dr. Syed Arabi aims to encourage young researchers, especially from the Muslim community, to participate in doing research.
He stated, œThe message is clear. It is for the young Muslim researchers, trying to get them to conduct research, and to provoke them to do more research at the end of the day.
He further said, œIt is also for those who have not done research to think why they are not doing research, and for them to embark on the project and offer solutions in the manner of conducting research.
However, Prof. Dr. Syed Arabi remarked that he discovered the problem of lacking of young researchers in the field is due to the fact that they lack interest and encouragement to do research in the first place.
œYou have to make your research exciting as research can either be exciting, interesting or very dull. It can also be self-motivating in the sense that you can push yourself to do the research in the first place or externally driven by other parties,” he said.
Shifting and focusing the view on the Muslim world, he highlighted the problems faced by Muslim states which are not solved to this day such as poverty, low rate of literacy, low health rate, malnutrition and conflicts, which he believes could be due to the lack of research done.
“This is why we need to have research so we can overcome these problems,” he highlighted.
“At IIUM, we have tried our best to educate as many as possible non-Malaysians so we can give the best form of education, and our Muslim brothers can go back to their own country and solve the problem in their country, he added.
On IIUMs logo, œLeading the way: khalifah, amanah, iqra, rahmatan lil-alamin, Dr. Syed Arabi has hopes for young Muslim researchers, especially from IIUM, to be able to share their research with the world “ in terms of ideas and in offering solutions.
Prof. Dr. Syed Arabi further addressed the steps that young researchers should take in making progress and ensuring success in this field.
He also encouraged young researchers to do research, be conversant with their subject matter, and be willing to contact scholars outside or inside the country.
“Exposure to research from other countries can also help you get the ideas from them, which can be used to solve problems faced by Muslim countries,” he mentioned.
œPresent papers at conferences and seminars and seize the opportunity. At the end of the day the initiative is yours. Old researchers must also encourage young researchers to love research,” he added.
The seminar was held live on Thursday (17 March) via Zoom Meeting and streamed on the YouTube page of the International Institute for Muslim Unity (IIMU).***