Year 2006

This research attempts to study the fatwa management in Indonesia which is represented by three Islamic NGOS namely Majlis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah. The research utilized two methodologies; library research where the researchers obtained the information through books and brochures and field research. The research concentrated on the centers of the three NGOS only, two in Jakarta and one in Yogyakarta. The out come of the research shows that the three NGOS have achieved tremendous achievement in the fatwa management however, there is still room which needs to be improved especially in the area of enforcement and the using of ICT in the fatwa management. The finding of this research is crucial especially for those who intend to improve the fatwa management internationally, since Indonesia has a long experience in the field and at the same time is the most populous muslim country in the world.

One of the major concerns in the ESL classroom is the lack of critical responses of the ESL learners. This brings a gap in the knowledge and language acquisition in the ESL classroom. This study is carried out to see if the use of intertextuality of print (a short story) and visual (a movie) text is able to assist ESL learners in generating Critical Thinking. A study was carried out with 40 ESL students of Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, where the experimental group was exposed to both the print and visual text, while the control group was exposed to just the print text. The Bloom's Taxonomy of Higher Thinking Model was used to analyze the critical thinking ability of both the experimental and the control group. To triangulate the findings, the experimental group was required to answer a set of questionnaire. This study was able to highlight the potentials of intertextuality to affect the students both at their intellectual and personal levels as to prompt the desired critical responses and to later initiate critical analyses and reflections. The finding also showed that the experifnental group has positive perspectives regarding the use of intertextuality in ESL classroom.

This study investigated whether or not the respondents in the study experience communication apprehension (CA) in public speaking. The set up of the research design is the respondents will deliver a public speech in front of an audience and their speech will be videotaped. Their videotaped speech will then be analyzed by a rater who will give a score based on a set of criteria prepared for public speaking. The criteria for public speaking are modeled after McCroskey's (1977) PRCA construct for public speaking categor17. They are: I'm afraid to speak up in conversations. I have no fear of giving a speech. Certain parts of my body feel very tense and rigid while giving a speech. I feel relaxed while giving a speech. My thoughts become confused and jumbled when I am giving a speech. I face the prospect of giving a speech with confidence While giving a speech, I get nervous that I forget facts I really know. For this study. the categories are further developed by the researcher for the rater to use in order to give a score for each presentation. If the respondents obtain 15 marks and above, it indicates that the respondents do not experience CA. Twenty first-year Bachelor of Fiqh and Fatwa students of USIM participated in the study. The topics given to the respondents were sports, tourist spot in Malaysia, space exploration, water treatment and the disabled in Malaysia.The following are the research questions for the study: (1) How many respondents experience CA public speaking? (2) Which categories of public speaking cause the most apprehension among the respondents? From the results, it was found that only two respondents experienced CA in public speaking, It was also found that reading from the text, lacking eye contact, not providing aims of the talk, not providing summary, not providing examples for the talk, not providing overall structure of the talk, displaying distracting mannerisms and not inviting questions were all signs of respondents displaying elements of CA.

This research investigates the obstacles in communicating in the Arabic language among students of Islamic Science University of Malaysia (USIM), formerly known as Islamic College University of Malaysia (KUIM). The methodology used to achieve the objective of the study is the questionnaire approach. This is conducted by distributing the forms to 147 students from three selected faculties: Faculty of Syariah and Law (FSU), Faculty of Quran and Sunnah Studies (FPQS) and Faculty of Major Language Studies (FPBU). In addition, the interview method was also used between the researcher and a few selected individuals who are academicians and student from three local universities: USIM, International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) and National University of Malaysia (UKM). This was conducted to know respondents' views about students' level of communication in Arabic, and to gather guidelines and approach which can be applied to solve the communication problems among students. The findings show that the main factor that contributes to students' difficulty to communicate in Arabic, whether in class or outside class, is because of psychological factor. This refers to students' own attitude which is lack of confidence, shy and afraid of making mistakes in speaking. The approach provided in the research is students and lecturers use the target language in the campus in integration, and through cooperation from the management of the university.

Subjek Balaghah ditawarkan kepada pelajar di sekolah-sekolah menengah agama sebagai sebahagian daripada subjek-subjek bahasa arab, manakala di peringkat Sijil Tiggi Agama Malaysia STAM ia mempunyai kertas peperiksaan tersendiri. Kurikulumnya digubal berdasarkan kepada kurikulum sekolah Menengah Azhar, Mesir. Para pelajar mempelajari pelbagai tajuk daripada ilmu ma'ani dan ilmu badi'. Tujuan penyelidikan ini ialah untuk mengenal pasti tahap penguasaan pelajar terhadap aplikasi ilmu Balaghah dan mengkaji permasaalahan yang dihadapi oleh mereka. Bagi mendapatkan data kajian, borang soal selidik telah di rangka khusus bagi mengenal pasti tahap penguasaan pelajar melalui soalan-soalan subjektif bagi menguji tahap kefahaman mereka terhadap tajuk-tajuk yang telah dipelajari. Selain itu, ia juga bertujuan untuk mengenal pasti permasaalahan yang dihadapi oleh pelajar melalui soalan-soalan diskriptif yang mempunyai skala tertentu untuk dipilih oleh responden. Borang soal selidik tersebut diedarkan kepada 252 orang pelajar yang terdiri daripada lima buah sekolah menengah agama di negeri Selangor. Dapatan kajian ini menunjukkan bahawa tahap penguasan pelajar sasaran terhadap subjek ini terlalu lemah. Ini kerana pembelajaran mereka berorientasikan kepada hafalan contoh-contoh dan kaedah-kaedahnya serta kurang penekanan kepada unsur aplikasi. Turut di kenal pasti permasaalahan yang dihadapi oleh para pelajar yang berhubung dengan proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran (P&P) dan buke teks. Sasaran dan cadangan turut dikemukakan bagi menangani permasaalahan tersebut.

Morphology is part of the main subjects in Arabic language learned by the students in order to know the Arabic root word and its meaning. Most of the students at religious schools have learned this subject since they are in form one. The learning process of this subject is continuing until they are in form five and six. Students at the Islamic University College of Malaysia (KUIM) have learned this subject at their former schools as well. The aim of this research is to identify the level of acquisition among Islamic University College of Malaysia (KUIM) students in mastering this subject. Three different aspects have been identified which are: first, the ability of the students in recognizing various forms of words. Secondly, the questionnaire also tried to test their knowledge skills in identifying the root word. Moreover, it examined their awareness of the changes of the words according to certain forms that have been made to suit the meaning intended in the text. Lastly, their competency in knowing the meaning of the words according to its form was also tested. About 21 1 questionnaires were distributed to the first year and second year students. It was found that they were lack of knowledge in those three aspects. This has been proven via the result obtained from the survey. Several solutions have been suggested as to improve their level of competency in this subject and for the betterment of the teaching of Arabic language especially in this university.

Enzyme catalysis is most attractive for the synthesis and modification of biologically relevant classes of organic compounds which are difficult to prepare and to handle by conventional means. In this study, commercial hydrolytic enzymes were used in the preparation of two novel organic compounds with excellent properties and application as fragrance and flavour - isoamyl acetate, a substance with peculiar banana fragrance and (-)-menthy1 butyrate, a substance with cooling and refreshing minty effects. In the synthesis of isoamyl acetate, reaction consisting of acetic anhydride and isoamyl alcohol were catalysed using lipase from Rhizomucor miehei (Lipozyme IM- 20), based on the method by Krishna et al., (2001). Yields above 93 % were achieved with substrate concentration as high as 1.5 M and more than 150 g/L isoamyl acetate concentrations were obtained employing relatively low enzyme concentration of 10 g/L after 100 hours of incubation. The product was then subjected to characterization using Fourier-transform infra-red (FT-IR) spectrophotometer, gas chromatographymass spectrometer (GC-MS) and nucleus magnetic resonance (NMR) to ensure purity. Biological activity assay of the compound was done for their cytotoxic effect against HL60 (human promyelocytic leukemia) and breast cancer (MCF7) cell lines. In the actimicrobial activity assay, microbes tested were MRSA (MethiciNin resistant S~aphylococcus aureus), Bacillus substilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Isoamyl acetate was found biologically inactive towards targeted microbes and both cancer cell lines. In this synthesis of (-)-menthy1 butyrate, among seven lipases tested, Candida rzrgosa lipase exhibited the best ability to catalyze the resolution of (*)-menthol in organic solvent. To ensure purity of the compound, it was characterized using Fouriertransform infra-red (FT-IR) spectrophotometer, gas chromatography (GC), thin layer chromatography (TLC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS).

The objective of this research is to investigate the effect of the Arabic language in terms of its terminology, semantic and culture focusing on the issue of food in Quranic surahs of al-Miiidah and al-hCiim. The research also tried to analyse the level of public understanding and their awareness towards halal food. For the first objective, library research method was used to analyse verses fiom the selected surahs regarding the food issue. For the second objective, 300 questionnaire forms were distributed to the respondents consist of iecturers, students, officers, teachers and food producers. These questionnaires were analysed using the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences software (SPSS) which used the descriptive method (frequency and percentage) and crosstabulations. Apart from that, interviews were held with Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM) and Jabatan Hal Ehwal Agama Islam Negeri Sembilan (JHEAINS) as to achieve the result for the second objective. The findings show that the three aspects of Arabic language that are: terminology, semantic and culture have a close relationship and must be taken into account when discussing the issue of food in both surahs of al-Miiidah and al-An%. The findings of the research also indicate that majority of the community shows great concern on halal food issue and they also observe its development. However, when it is associated with linguistics. factors, it is found that our community has lack of knowledge regarding the roles of terminology, semantic and culture in the interpretation of al-Quran especially on the food issue.

Penyelidikan ini mengkaji kesan faktor bahasa arab iaitu terminology, semantic dan budaya terhadap penghuraian isu makanan dalam surah Al-Maidah dan surah An’am. Disamping itu, penyelidikan ini cuba melihat tahap pengetahuan masyarakat dan kesedaran mereka terhadap isu makanan halal. Bagi tujuan pertama, metod kajian perpustakaan digunakan mengkaji beberapa ayat al-Quran yang berkaitan isu makanan dalam dua surah tersebut. Dalam merealisasikan tujuan kedua, sebanyak 300 borang soal selidik telah diedarkan kepada responden yang terdiri daripada pensyarah, pelajar, pegawai, guru dan pengusaha makanan. Pengalisan Sciences (SPSS) dengan menggunakan perisian Statistikal Packages for Social dan jadual silang (Crosstabulations). Selain daripada itu , kaedah temu bual juga dijalankan dengan Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM) dan Jabatan Hal Ehwal Agama Islam Negeri Sembilan (JHEAINS) bagi mencapai tujuan kedua ini. Hasil kajian mendapati bahawa ketiga-tiga aspek bahasa arab iaitu terminologi, semantic dan budaya mempunyai kaitan yang amat rapat dan mesti diambil kira dalam penghuraian isu makanan dalam surah al-Maidah dan al-An’am. Dapatan kajian ini juga menunjukan bahawa sebahagian besar masyarakat semakin mengambilberat terhadap isu makanan halal dan mengikuti perkembangannya. Namun, apabila dikaitkan dengan faktor-faktor ini terehadap penghuraian al-Quran khususnya ddalam makanan

This research explores the students of Faculty Syariah and Law, Islamic University College of Malaysia's perception on the application of teaching methodology for the subject of Usul Fiqh. This method refers to the application of "problem" which has been presented to the students and they were asked to discuss it based on al-Quran, Surmah, methodology of Usul Fiqh and Qawaid Fiqh. This method will be able to build confident, skills and the students' capabilities in providing proof and reason on any issue in order to facilitate themselves to become bright future generations who will continue the works of previous mujtahidin. This research is not only intended to get the students' perception on this teaching methodology but in fact it is done in order to get their response and it is indeed suggested that this method should be implemented in every subject of Islamic studies. The research findings found that the respondents showed positive impact on the learning methodology based on "problematic based learning" (PBL). The result of the research also shows that the application of PBL is able to assist the students to develop their thinking skills to be more creative and critical.

This study surveyed The Managenzent of Fatwa in Thailand. The objective of this study is to determine how far the management is able to solve problems of minority Muslims researched. The data obtained in this study were based on interviews, observations and documents collected. They were analyzed and found that the management of Fatwa in Thailand already existed. At the national level, the Fatwa is managed by Chula Ratmontri. He is assisted by an Advisory Council. At the local level, the Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah is responsible in solving the local problems. The Fatwa in Thailand is based on Al-Shfliyy Sect. The Fatwa is documented and distributed to the Muslim population in the form of written texts and also for the imams to use as a teaching material after prayers. Result of the study showed that the management of Fatwa in Thailand is well organized though several aspects need to be improved.

The d evelopment of I slamic b anking and finance s ector i n M alaysia needs support infrastructure and one of the most important structures is the Shariah Committee. Good governance of the Shariah Committee is the very essence in the development of Islamic banking and finance sector in Malaysia. The Shariah Committee normally consists offiqh scholars, practitioners and academicians with knowledge and expertise in Islamic jurisprudence in order to advise Islamic financial institutions on the shariah compliance in all aspects and its operations. This research explores the shariah and legal frameworks of the Shariah Committee of Islamic financial institution in Malaysia with reference to the relevant statutory legislation, Central Bank of Malaysia's Guidelines and Procedures including interviews with the practitioners and distributing questionnaires. It is submitted that Malaysia has set up an effective frameworks in the implementation of Islamic banking and finance and this research offers some recommendations for further improvement.

The research entitled "Concept of Al-yamin and Its Implementation in Syariah Court of Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan (Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya)" is one of the efforts to compile a comperehensive data on al-yamin with an objective to improve the implementation of Islamic law of evidence in Malaysia. The aim of this research is to give a clear picture on the usage of alyamin at the Syariah Court specifically in Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan theoretically and practically. The findings of the research might be made a reference to the legal practitioners in Malaysia as well as other Islamic countries and then it is hoped that the implementation of al-yamin can be standardized and straightly it will avoid any misunderstanding on its usage. The method employed in conducting this study will be library research and fieldwork research. Firstly, library research mostly concerns by referring contemporary and traditional textbook from various madhhab, reported cases, enactment, acts and etc. Secondly, fieldwork research refers to collection of primary data through interviewing judges, lawyers, court's officers and academician. This research concludes that there was no unified implementation of al-yamin in the Syariah Court especially in determining the party's rights to implement al-yamirz, taghliz al-yamin has not been implemented accordingly and there was also no standard guideline in determining which parties are muddai' and mudda'a alaih. This situation is happened due to the absence of one specific Rule or guideline that should be followed by the legal practitioners in the court's proceedings.

Kajian ini dijalankan untuk mengetahui tahap penyalahgunaan dadah dan gejala sosial di kalangan remaja dan belia di tanah rancangan tanah felda. Di samping itu kajian ini juga meninjau tentang tahap aktiviti dakwah di kalangan masyarakat felda. Kajian ini adalah berbentuk participiant observation dan ia telah dijalankan di salah sebuah tanah rancangan felda di negeri Pahang selama dua bulan dengan menerangkan dan memperihalkan budaya sesebuah masyarakat yang kompleks. Hasil kajian mendapati bahawa memang terdapat masalah penyalahgunaan dadah dan gejala sosial di kalangan masyarakat tanah rancangan Felda. Di antara gejala sosial ini termasuklah pengangguran, melepak, merokok, ponteng sekolah, VCD lucah, pornografi dan sebagainya. Diantara punca berlakunya gejala sosial ini ialah kelesuan aktiviti dakwah, kelemahan institusi pentadbiran dan pengurusan, ketidakseimbangan antara pembangunan ekonomi dan infrantruktur dengan aspek pembangunan insan, keruntuhan institusi kekeluargaan dan sebagainya. Kajian ini mencadangkan supaya diwujudkan pusat ilmu dan dikendalikan oleh penggerak masyarakat di setiap tanah rancangan bagi membolehkan seseorang kebali kepada penghayatan agama yang kukuh sebagai satu usaha kepada penyelesaian masalah sosial dan penyalahgunaan dadah.

The research entitled Management Fatwa in Nusantara Countries: fatwa Management in Cambodia is perform to collect information of fatwa management for INFAD. The objective of this research is to share experience and information of fatwa management in Cambodia in relation to its organizational structure as well as edictment process. In addition, the research also interested to know how far the fatwa activities has been applied in the life of muslims, as the minority in Cambodia. This research also is to strengthen the fatwa management in Malaysia and throughout the world. Two approaches have been used in this research; in the preliminary stage involved searching materials from libraries as well as through the ICT technology. In this stage, it include collecting the information regarding the history, development an Islamic society in Cambodia. The second stage, involved field research through data gathering fiom interview with mufti, higher officers and other relevant parties. Based from the findings, it can be concluded that the fatwa management in Cambodia need some improvement. Management in Cambodia is found to be left behind from the other region in South East Asia. Lack of expertise in fiqh and profesional body has been identified. As the main problem are lack of relevant resources such as reference book and ICT infrastructure. This may due to the conflict faced by the muslim community in Cambodia whom just obtained their freedom from the communist administration.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play an important supportive role in the Malaysian economy. In capturing this market segment, Islamic banks offer various banking products to cater SMEs' needs in daily business transactions. This research examines their perception towards the banking products offered which includes a study on their level of acceptance, knowledge, factors considered important in bank selection, current marketing strategy and customer satisfaction in Islamic banking. The research adopted a survey-based approach in collecting the data by distributing a set of selfadministered questionnaires to the potential SMEs. A total of 180 SMEs from Federal Tenitory of Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan participated in this research. The results indicate that majority of the SMEs still do not consider the Islamic banks as the most desirable financial institution. The less effective marketing strategy has been identified as one of the reasons contributing to the low acceptance of products offered. It is also found that variances in the SMEs profiles infleunce their perception towards Islamic banking. The research concludes with some recommendations to be adopted in enhancing the effectiveness of Islamic banks marketing strategy.

lfutu miLr~>bictlogJia n LckrLr.sctn~n ranatan ozon kc atas Iwlognrl n~cntahd an h3logna masak dinilai berdasarkan pengiraan piring jumlah (aerobik mesofilik), jumlah kolifonn, koliform najis dan Escherichia coli, pengiraan Salmonella spp., Pseudomonas spp., Listeria monocytogenes dan Sraphylococcus aureus. Kesemua sampel bologna mentah dan sampel bologna masak yang dirawat dengan ozon mengalami pengurangan dalam nilai pengiraan piring jumlah (aerobik mesofilik). Sampel mentah yang didedahkan dengan kepekatan ozon 1.00 pprn selama 2 dan 10 minit mampu mengurangkan mikroorganisma aerobik mesofilik dengan signifikan (p0.05) bagi bilangan Pseudonionas spp. dalam sampel mentah. L. monocytogenes dan Staph. aureus tidak dikesan hadir dalam semua sampel mentah dan masak. Selain itu, ciri fizikokimia pH dan aktiviti air, a, tidak mengalami perubahan signifikan di antara semua sarnpel kawalan (0 pprn ozon) dan sampel rawatan ozon (0.20, 1 .OO pprn). Akan tetapi sampel masak mengalami perubahan signifikan (p<0.05) untuk pH dan a , pada bulan 1 tempoh penyimpanan sejuk. Penggunaan ozon sebanyak 1.00 pprn marnpu mengurangkan sesetengah miroorganisma aerobik mesofilik, jumlah koliform. koliform najis dan E. coli dengan perbezaan praktikal (- 1 log cful g atau >I log cfu' g\ tetapi tiada psngurangan dengan perbezaan praktikal (

Branding is an important process that can determine the marketability of the products or services as well as the profitability of the organizations involved especially when becoming a global Halal hub has been the main agenda of our country. The objectives of the research are to identify the fallacies in the current branding concept adopted by Muslim's SMI based on the fallacies listed by Jack Trout, to measure the effectiveness of the current branding concept, and also to propose a suitable branding concept for Muslims' SMIs in the food sector. A survey was conducted on selected samples from the industries in Johor and Selangor. This was further enhanced through interviews with relevant trade organizations. Descriptive analysis was done through a frequency analysis that highlights level of awareness and perceptions among the respondents. Finally, cross tabulation analysis further investigates the relationship between selected variables such as sales turnover, paid-up capital, marketing expenditure, and capital orientation and level of awareness and perception. One of the significant findings is that it was identified that the fallacies among SMIs in the industry are minimal and it would be an added advantage if the SMIs acknowledge its significance and try to avoid falling into the category. This can be done through continuous improvement in learning and training. Another significant finding is that, based on amount of the paid-up capital and their ability to generate revenue, their current branding concept is sufficient for the time being. If they wanted to become global players and have the ability to generate substantial revenue, changes in branding concept have to be proportionate to changes in those factors. Through the analysis, it is advisable that for the time being due to their limited paid-up capital,the Muslim SMIs should focus on the Multiproduct branding strategy.

The global business environment is really demanding the investors to be prepared with the emerging and dynamic markets. Measuring company's performance is important for management, shareholders, government, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders that have importance or linkage with the wealth distribution directly or indirectly. To evaluate company's performance, we need tools that can be used to measure the performance and one of most popular tools is the financial ratio analysis. This paper will explore the use of alpha Jensen technique to classify the shariah compliance companies in the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia into two categories i.e. performing and non performing. Then the result would be used with the companies 20 financial ratios to identify the model that could discriminate the performing and non performing companies using multiple discriminant analysis. The study found that only shareholders fund / share ratio is significantly contributing to the discriminant function.