Subject: New books from Gerakbudaya – Final Release for 2010

Dear friends and customers,

We wish you successful ventures, inspiring moments and meaningful relationships in the days ahead.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

SELAMAT TAHUN BARU

The following books are now available.

Perak: A State of Crisis

Audrey Quay

Publisher: LoyarBurok Publications

Year: 2010

ISBN: 9789670102009

170 Pages

RM45.00 / SGD31.50

This book is a record of a crucial point in our nation’s history: the 2009 Perak crisis. It contains several commentaries and critical analyses, some penned during the times when events were still unfolding and the final outcome unknown. That crisis had all the hallmarks of a Hollywood movie: intrigues, unpredictable twists, temptations, betrayals, courtroom dramas, violence and even sex. Despite the significant legal, political and societal repercussions, that crisis was only one battle lost in an on-going political war. More worrying is that the success of such strategies would undoubtedly tempt repetition. If Malaysia and Malaysians are to learn anything and emerge from that dark and deplorable episode, it is important for every Malaysian to gain a better understanding of what really transpired and the reasons why they happened. This book enables that better understanding with its critical approach. It is a torch showing all Malaysians the way to greater awareness and rising resilience. The rest is up to us. – Yeo Yang Poh, former President of the Malaysian Bar

Reclaiming the Conversation: Islamic Intellectual Tradition in the Malay Archipelago

Rosnani Hashim

Publisher: Islamic Book Trust

Year: 2010

ISBN: 9789839541748

288 Pages

RM45.00 / SGD31.50

The area once known as the Malay archipelago, which is now Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, southern Thailand, parts of Cambodia and parts of Southern Philippines, once boasted of a glorious intellectual tradition which was central to Islamic discourses in the early twentieth century. While most works on the history of Islam in this region tend to focus on differences and debates between traditionalists and modernists, few have addressed the topic of educational reform in the Malay world, which underlined the role of the 'ulama' in facing the challenges of colonialisation and the social changes it heralded. The ideas of these scholars which did not fit the conventional dichotomy of the modernist and traditionalist schools have also been neglected.

This book brings together writings by academics from around the region highlighting the efforts of eleven Malay-Muslim educational reformers, and examines the debates that took place on this crucial topic. It aims to show that these scholars were not only teachers of religion, but were those imbued with deep knowledge in both the 'worldly' and 'religious' sciences, and committed both to engaging with the challenges their societies faced at the time and reviving the intellectual tradition among the Malay intelligentsia. As such, the essays in this book represent an effort to revive the discourse initiated by these scholars in the hope of stimulating and informing discussion on the problems faced in the region today.

Within the Boundaries of Islam: A study on Bid'ah

Shaykh Muhammad Al-Ghazali (translated and introduced by Aslam Farouk-Alli)

Publisher: Islamic Book Trust

Year: 2010

ISBN: 9789675062650

269 Pages

RM45.00 / SGD31.50

This modern study of bid'ah, or heretical innovation, critically explores the boundaries of normative Islam and outlines the legal debate surrounding the subject. It also examines the influence of foreign elements in Islamic thought, focusing on corrupt religious practices, as well as distorted beliefs, acts of worship and customary practices pertaining to religious expression. It emphasizes the importance of embracing normative Islamic practice, even if one has to "walk the solitarity parth" as a result. Muhammad al-Ghazali argues for a 'Sufi core' in the reformist tradition, but one that has been stripped of the foreign accretions that have corrupted many Sufi movements. Like Ibn Taymiyyah, he advocates at-Tassawuf as-Sunni, a regime of Islamic spirituality and aesthetics based on the teachings of the Qur'an and Sunnah.

The list of Gerakbudaya titles for the YEAR 2010 is in the attached Excel file.

To purchase these or any Gerakbudaya/SIRD title, you can:

a) Drop in at the following address:

No. 11, Lorong 11/4E

46200 Petaling Jaya,

Selangor, Malaysia

Tel: (603) 7957 8343/8342

Fax: (603) 7954 9202

b) Send us an email at sird@streamyx.com or gerakbudaya@pd.jaring.my

c) Buy it online at bookshop.gerakbudaya.com or bookshop.gbgerakbudaya.com

d) Get it from all major bookstores in Malaysia

Thank you for your kind interest and support.

GB Gerakbudaya Enterprise Sdn Bhd