BURN THE BOATS

smillahir rahmanir Rahim
Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh

Yang Amat Berbahagia Tun Dr Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi
Former Prime Minister of Malaysia and recipient of Honorary Doctorate in Philosophy from IIUM

His Excellency Tan Sri Professor Dr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu
Honourable Secretary General
Organisation of the Islamic Conference
Yang Berbahagia Professor Dato’ Sri Dr. Syed Arabi Idid
Rector of International Islamic University of Malaysia

Yang Berbahagia Professor Dato’
Dr. Md. Tahir Azhar
Chairman IIUM Convocation 2010

Members of Board of Governors, Majlis and Senate of IIUM

Excellencies Ambassadors and High Commissioners,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Saya panjatkan kesyukuran ke hadrat Allah Subhānahu wa Taāla kerana dengan limpah kurniaNya kita dapat berhimpun di dewan yang mulia ini sempena pengurniaan Ijazah Kehormat Doktor Falsafah Sains Politik kepada Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Profesor Dr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Setiausaha Agung Persidangan Negara-Negara Islam. Tidak syak lagi pengurniaan ini merupakan suatu penghargaan dan pengiktirafan seluruh warga universiti ini terhadap jasa dan sumbangan yang tidak ternilai oleh Tan Sri Profesor Dr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu kepada Persidangan Negara-Negara Islam, umat Islam dan juga dunia sejagat. Ketokohan dan kebijaksanaan Tan Sri Profesor Dr. Ekmeleddin begitu menyerlah dan telah berjaya mempertahan maruah umat Islam di pentas antarabangsa.

Honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen,

2. On this auspicious occasion, the International Islamic University Malaysia is privileged to confer the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science upon His Excellency Tan Sri Professor Dr. Ekemeleddin Ihsanoglu, the Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Conference in recognition of his great contribution not only to the muslim world but also to the world at large.

3. The Constitutional Head of IIUM, His Royal Highness Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Al-Musta’in Billah Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Abu Bakar Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mu’adzam Shah requested that I convey to you Excellency his Salams. HRH was originally scheduled  to and would have very much liked to  have officiated today’s conferment but is unable to now. HRH has commanded that I do it, which I am doing with great privilege and much pleasure.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

TARIQ BIN ZIYAD

4. The legendary history of King Roderick of Spain tells of the time when Islam saw its crown to glory. It was a time said to have been foretold and feared by the Greeks, for it would change the very face of Europe if it happened. King Roderick ruled Spain and its people with such tyranny that in one such displays of oppression, it so infuriated Count Julian, the Governor of Ceuta who approached Musa bin Nusayr, the then governor of Muslim North Africa, for help.

5. Musa, with the sanction of Caliph Al-Walid, entrusted Tariq bin Ziyad, a young 20-year old general to rid Spain of King Roderick. In 711 A.D., Tariq landed at a small mountain of Jabal-ul-Tariq, now known as Gibraltar. On disembarking, he established that his army was outnumbered by the Spaniards by over five to one. The Spaniards had an army strength of 100,000. With his back to the Mediterranean Sea, and an army strength that stood to lose the battle on sheer counts, Tariq gave the brave and inconceivable order to his men – – to “burn their boats.” He said, “We have not come here to return. Either we shall conquer and establish ourselves here or we will perish.” The boats were his army’s only means of escape. Tariq’s arrival at Gibraltar in the 7th Century heralded the rule by Muslims in Spain for the 800 years that followed.

6. Leaders like Tariq bin Ziyad, led with courage and determination. They commanded with the strength of faith and the depth of knowledge. They summoned the conviction of “giving their all” to the society they served. They possessed the strength of character that enabled “burning the boats” and returning only with deserving success. Such was the honour and leadership qualities that led to the glory and glorious days of Islamic civilisation.

FACE OF CIVILISATION

7. The face of every civilisation, no matter the creeds and philosophies that make it, is ultimately determined by the values that dwell the hearts and minds of the people. Where there is lack of understanding of the self, first and foremost, followed by the lack of knowledge of the surroundings that make us, there can be no real progress, no real establishment of dignity in a society, no true sustainable success. There can be no basis to even building a future. History wrote that one of the reasons for the rapid success of Muslims in Spain was due to their generosity to the people they served.

8. His Excellency Tan Sri Ekemeleddin once said and I quote, “We do not have the luxury of blaming others for our own problems. It is high time we addressed our national and regional problems with courage, sincerity and openness.” (end quote). These words cannot be any closer to the realism faced by Muslims today, everywhere. As an accomplished scholar, a great writer and an eloquent speaker, you have travelled the world and worked across communities and countries in addressing conflicts across divergent views, desperation and poverty. In no small measure, your ideas in your own writings and speeches has jolted the much needed rethinking, integration, reconciliation between the divergent ideologies that span us today. Heterogeneous societies to a small extent erect walls of fear where ignorance prevails, but to a larger extent offers such richness when powered by engagement and empathy.

9. Evidently your work has touched people from heterogeneous ideologies and creeds that make this world, today’s world. In a lecture in Padau, Italy, you related and I quote, “In this new period one of the most frequently referred themes is certainly that of inter-cultural relations, in particular the relations between the Muslim world and the Western world. While they indirectly affect economic relations, trade and business, these relations directly involve and spontaneously engage both political activity on one hand, and academic inquiry on the other. The reason for directing attention to the subject of inter-cultural relations is certainly not only academic.”

10. When speaking on the topic of ‘The Islamic World, United States of America and the West’, at the New York University, you shared, “The history of mankind is a continued uninterrupted process of mutual giving and borrowing from one another and a process of cultural cross-breeding. Since the dawn of history, men have, over millennia, related and exchanged views about coping with life, the means of survival, production, trade, state formation, technology, cultural and religious issues.”

11. Your Excellency, your words, whilst accurately depicting the challenges of today, pictures the opportunities that lay before us, before the Muslim Ummah. They lend towards the fundamentals of Islam – peace and democracy. They urge integration, engagement, assimilation in the societies we each live and work in. It simply says – – we can all be Muslims and live anywhere in the world. The two are not mutually exclusive. We need not compromise ourselves, our faith and values to fully function and give in the societies we call home.

12. Working with 57 member countries that make over 1 billion Muslims today, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) itself is admittedly leading the mission of restoring dignity to those who may have lost it, offering hope to those seeking it, providing tangible future to those who see it elusive, as well as addressing the challenges of perceptions, and indeed realities that harm and hurt brand Islam. Your own personal work and contributions, only humbly tell part of your invaluable contributions to the Ummah that span the globe. The whole would display such tribute when told.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

PLATFORM FOR NEW LEADERS

13. Since its establishment on the 23rd of May 1983 and over the last 27 years, the work of International Islamic University of Malaysia has been determined in developing leaders; new kind of leaders. Leaders who will return into their communities and societies and enact and persevere impactful and constructive change. Leaders who will develop knowledgeable communities equipped for the world of today and the world that will be for the next generation. From social security to education, to safety and security, to poverty eradication and economic success, the University’s endowment is founded on restoring dignity to all humanity; in returning lost faith to the disenchanted; regaining economic independence in communities that are adrift; reinstating the jewel of knowledge in our own lives, all our lives – the young, the old, the wise, the sage. We all have something new to learn, always.

14. Your own work, Your Excellency Tan Sri Ekemeleddin Ihsanoglu, choruses with the Vision of the University. It chorales with the needs of Muslim societies, today. But of greater significance, it also synchronises across communities that do not necessarily share our own belief system; but yet yearn the same ideals to ethics-based life. Yearn the same future for their children and grandchildren, as we do for our own.

15. In recognition of his invaluable and significant contribution to the Muslim world, it is with great honour that the International Islamic University of Malaysia confers the Honorary Degree of Doctorate of Philosophy in Political Science to His Excellency Tan Sri Professor Dr. Ekemeleddin Ihsanoglu. We applaud his contributions to date and pray that his work continues to touch lives in places that we may have lapsed.

LEADERS DEVELOPING LEADERS

16. The 21st century is set by inter-twined destinies. The socio-political imperatives demand that a new generation of educated and intelligent people lead change and reformation. Leaders who will nurture across cultures, create sustainability, enrich diversity and display courage. A time when leaders must make leaders. The values that led our 800 years of invention and prosperity. One that delivered likes of Tariq bin Ziyad.

17. One that delivered leaders who will say “burn the boats”. We will not return until we bring victory back to our communities and our country!

On that note, I thank you.
Wabillahittaufiq walhidayah Wassalamualaikum
warahmatullahi wabarakatuh