21 February, 2017: IIIT Congratulates IKIM for Its 25th Anniversary Celebration

IIIT East and Southeast Asia Office would like to take the opportunity to congratulate The Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia, better known as IKIM for its 25^th Anniversary. IKIM was established with the primary aim of making Islam better understood. Its objectives include: to conduct research and consultancy from the point of view of spirituality, to provide a forum for Muslim and non-Muslim scholars to discuss and analyze various issues, to create awareness and in-depth understanding of current issues as well as to be a source of information to Muslims and non-Muslims at the local and global levels.

In conjunction with the Anniversary, the Institute organized an International Seminar on "Religion and Civilizational Sustainability" which was held from 20 – 21 February 2017 at the IKIM Grand Hall. The two-day seminar highlighted the ideas of international experts in various fields related to respective areas of sustainability. Civilizational sustainability has also been chosen to be the theme of IKIM’s 25th year commemorating.

Prof. Dr. Omar H. Kasule, the Secretary General of IIIT and also Assistant Dean, Knowledge Exchange Program, Faculty of Medicine, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh was invited to deliver a paper on ‘Preventive Medicine in Management of Public Health in Muslim World.’ Prof. Dr. Kasule believed that faith-based approach to public health will be effective in creating the necessary individual and societal will to a healthier lifestyle. Prof. Dr. Kasule argued that scientific knowledge today is enough to prevent diseases but there is lack of will on the individual to change behavior and on society to legislate and enforce lifestyles. He proposed that religious media such as sermons on Friday and other occasions, religious books and videos to be utilized as venues to promote and educate the publics. He hoped that religious media personalities would be willing to be trained and equipped with appropriate medical knowledge to educate the public on the importance of healthy lifestyle.

IIIT is very proud with the achievements of IKIM and would like again to congratulate its current Director General, Datuk Dr. Azizan Baharuddin and her team for their efforts and hard works. We look forward to collaborate with the Institute in relevant programs and activities in the near future.