The Islamic Studies Program of the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies, the UP Institute of Islamic Studies, and the Embassy of Indonesia in Manila will organize an international seminar-workshop on Madrasah Education with a theme, Exploring Best Practices in Madaris and Islamic Studies Education between Indonesia and the Philippines, on July 4-5, 2018 at Balay Kalinaw of the University of the Philippines Diliman.
Since 2015 there are strong moves across the regions to promote the seventeen (17) targets in order to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as quality education, reduced inequalities and peace, justice and strong institutions. In order to support these three targets in the field of Islamic Education, the Indonesian government through the Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Phillipines through the UP-CIDS -Islamic Studies Program, UP Institute of Islamic Studies and the Office of the Education Attaché organized this International Seminar Workshop on Madrasah Education seminar-workshop with the following objectives:
To gather experts to share best practices on Madrasah Education between Indonesia and Philippines;
To conduct workshop that can provide assessment on gaps and areas for development on Madrasah pedagogies, curriculum, teachers’ support system and instructional resources such as books, textbooks etc.;
To plan out future activities and areas for further collaboration to enhance the quality of madrasah education in the Philippines;
To strengthen linkages and sharing of experiences between Indonesia and the Philippines;
To produce and publish discussion and policy papers in compliance with the UPCIDS-ISP requirement.
The organizing committee believes that education (Madrasah Education) is one of the indispensable tool in promoting moderate Islam to prevent extremism and terrorism (“counter extremist narrative through education”) in some vulnerable areas in the country.
It is an honor for the graduate students of History of Islam and Islamic Political Thought facilitated by Asst. Prof. Dr. Nassef Manabilang Adiong to invite everyone on May 16, 2018 (Wednesday) at 1:00 PM at the Bulwagang Salam of the Romulo Hall, UP Diliman for an open forum lead and lectured by three prominent intellectual and pious speakers of their respective faith traditions:
Rabbi Eliyahu Azaria is the head of the Bait Yaacov Synagogue of the Jewish Association of the Philippines, the only synagogue in the country.
Rev. Fr. Rolando V. Dela Rosa, O.P., SThD is the former Rector Magnificus of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome and the University of Santo Tomas.
Asst. Prof. Macrina A. Morados is the 8th Dean of the Institute of Islamic Studies of the University of the Philippines Diliman.
Programme
01:00–01:10 – Opening Remarks and Introduction of the 1st Speaker by Asst Prof. Dr. Nassef Manabilang Adiong
01:10–02:10 – The Jewish Faith by Rabbi Eliyahu Azaria
02:10–02:15 – Introduction of the 2nd Speaker by Mr. Simon Peter D.L. Ramos
02:15–03:15 – The Christian Faith by Rev. Fr. Rolando V. Dela Rosa, O.P., SThD
03:15–03:45 – Muslim Prayer and snacks for Rabbi Azaria, Fr. Dela Rosa, and their fellows
03:45–03:50 – Introduction of the 3rd Speaker by Ms. Jonty F. Biona
03:50–04:50 – The Islamic Faith by Dean Macrina A. Morados
04:50–06:00 – Open Forum by the three speakers moderated by Asst Prof. Dr. Nassef Manabilang Adiong
06:00 onwards – Iftar, the main meal of the fasting day, which occurs at sunset every day of the holy month of Ramadan.
Profiles of the Prominent Speakers
Rabbi Eliyahu Azaria is the head of the Bait Yaacov Synagogue of the Jewish Association of the Philippines, the only synagogue in the country that houses a large function room, a spacious kosher kitchen, a library, classrooms, a mikveh and offices. The community owns a Jewish cemetery as well. Rabbi Azaria, a native of Chicago, and his family moved to the Philippines in September 2004, after his rabbinical studies and ordination at the Midrash Sephardi Yeshiva (Shehebar Sephardic Center) in Jerusalem. A graduate of the Joseph Straus Rabbinical Seminary’s Amiel Program (Straus-Amiel), Rabbi Azaria underwent training to meet the challenges of serving different communities, whether within monolithic religious communities, in mixed congregations with religious and secular members, or communities seeking to find their way back to Judaism. Straus-Amiel training covers understanding Diaspora communities; professional leadership; communications and public relations; family counseling, rhetoric and public speaking; guiding families through life-cycle events; the structure and management of the synagogue throughout the Jewish year; and contemporary questions in the Jewish world. After several years, the Jewish community in the Philippines has grown, their membership has almost tripled and they now have more visitors. The Friday night meals that they used to host at the Rabbi’s home were moved to the Social Hall because of the increase in the number of people coming that now ranges between 40 to 50 at night and 80 to 100 in the morning. With the help and support of their community, they have established a minyan on Mondays, Thursdays, Rosh Hodesh, Holidays, Shabbat and any other time that they have a special occasion like a Brit Milah, burial, wedding, etc.
Rev. Fr. Rolando V. Dela Rosa, O.P., SThD is the former Rector Magnificus of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome and the University of Santo Tomas (UST), the oldest and the largest Catholic university in Asia. In 2004, he was appointed by then Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as the Chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education. Reverend Father Dela Rosa was born in Legazpi City, Albay in 1953. He finished his primary and secondary education at Aquinas University Rawis in the same city, while he earned his BA degree in Philosophy at the Dominican House of Studies graduating Magna cum Laude (with great distinction). In 1980, Fr. Dela Rosa completed his second bachelor’s degree (with great distinction as well) in Sacred Theology at UST. Three years after, he was ordained to the priesthood and completed another two degrees from the same university, these are, Magna cum Laude in Licentiate in Sacred Theology and Summa cum Laude in the Master of Arts in Higher Religious Studies. By 1985, he attained full Professorship at the UST Ecclesiastical Faculty, and subsequently thereafter, he earned two highest Doctoral degrees from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. From 1990 to 1998, he was the President of the Association of Catholic Universities of the Philippines, and in 1995 he founded the Network of Dominican schools, colleges and universities in the country. In addition, he also served as the President of the International Council of Universities of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Over the years of his illustrious scholarly life, he has published books, journal articles, Manila Bulletin’s editorial pieces, and received several national and international awards, including the 1991 National Book Award in History, 1995 Outstanding Manila Award in Education, 1996 Medal of Highest Honor from South Korea’s Kyung Hee University, 1997 Catholic Authors Award, among others.
Asst. Prof. Macrina A. Morados is the 8th Dean of the Institute of Islamic Studies of the University of the Philippines Diliman. She finished her Bachelor of Arts in Islamic Studies and Bachelor of Laws at the Mindanao State University in 1991 and 2001, respectively. She earned her Master’s Degree in Islamic Studies at the UP-IIS in 2003 and presently pursuing her PhD in Philippine Studies at the UP Tri-College majoring in Philippine Culture and Society. She passed the Shariáh Bar Examinations and granted license to practice by the Supreme Court on November 7, 2006. Her field of expertise include: Muslim Personal and Family Relations (PD 1083), Muslim Women and Children’s Rights in Islam, Interfaith Relations, Islamic Civilization and History of the Muslims in the Philippines. She is co-author with Dr. Carmen A. Abubakar of the book titled: “CRC and Islamic Law Divergences and Convergences: The Philippine Case” (2007). In 2008, she was recipient of a Cultural Exchange Program granted by the US Department of State and Purdue University. Her recent published articles include topics on Theocentricism and Pluralism. She was Shari’ah Bar Examiner in 2008 and recently in 2013 for the subjects in Islamic Inheritance Law and Persons and Family Relations, respectively. For this year (2016), she is hoping to finish her second book titled: “Islamic Adab (Ethics) in the Context of Filipino Values,” a UP-IIS book project funded by Zayed University, Dubai, UAE. Recently, she was tapped by the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) as Lecturer on the Islamic perspective during the National Gender and Development (GAD) Orientation Seminar conducted by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) held in various divisions particularly in the cities of Cagayan de Oro City, Davao, Cebu and Quezon City, Metro Manila She is also a member of the Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) under the Historical Injustice Study Group (2015). Also team leader of an ongoing research engagement (for Caloocan City Cluster) on the study: “Children and Harmful Work in the Philippines: A Child Rights Situational Analysis” in collaboration with Prof. Rufa Guiam of Mindanao State University, General Santos City and Save the Children International.
The International Book Seminar in partnership with UP-CIDS Islamic Studies Program will be held on September 24, 2018 (Monday) from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the Bulwagang Salam of the UP Institute of Islamic Studies. It is open to public and it is free.
The seminar is on “Islamic Identity, Postcoloniality, and Educational Policy: Schooling and Ethno-Religious Conflict in the Southern Philippines” by Professor Dr. Jeffrey Ayala Milligan. The book was published in 2005 by Palgrave Macmillan.
Abstract: Tensions between Muslim communities and state institutions are endemic in many parts of the world. For decades successive colonial and independent governments in the Philippines have deployed educational policy as a tool to mitigate one such conflict between Muslims and Christians, a conflict which has claimed more than 100,000 lives since the 1970’s. Postcolonial Education and Islamic Identity in the Southern Philippines offers a postcolonial critique of this century-long educational project in an effort to understand how educational policy has failed Muslim Filipinos and to seek insight from their experience into the potential and pitfalls of educational responses to ethnic and religious tensions.
Professor Dr. Jeffrey Ayala Milligan is the UP-IIS Visiting Professor and Fulbright Specialist for 2018. Prof. Milligan is a Professor of Philosophy of Education and Sociocultural & International Development Education Studies. He is also the Director of the Center for International Studies in Educational Research and Development for the Learning Systems Institute at Florida State University.
Dr. Milligan’s research explores the challenges posed by religious tensions in the educational systems of multicultural, religiously diverse communities in the United States and Southeast Asia. He is the author of two books – Islamic Identity, Postcoloniality and Educational Policy: Schooling and Ethno-Religious Conflictin the Southern Philippines (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005) and Teaching at the Crossroads of Faith and School: The Teacher as Prophetic Pragmatist (Lanham: University Press of America, 2002). He is the co-editor of Citizenship, Identity and Education in Muslim Communities: Essays on Attachment and Obligation (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010), and author of more than thirty refereed articles in Philosophy of Education, Comparative Education Review, Journal of Thought, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, Asia-Pacific Education Review, Educational Policy, and other academic journals.
He typically teaches courses such as Multicultural Education, Philosophy of Education, Religion and Education, and Comparative Education. He has been the recipient of two Fulbright Senior Fellowships (Philippines, 1999 and Malaysia, 2006), a National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship, and a Coolidge Fellowship from the Association for Religion and Intellectual Life. He has also received research and development grants totaling more than $7 million. Dr. Milligan is a fellow and past Executive Director of the Philosophy of Education Society and a member of the International Network of Philosophers of Education and the Comparative and International Education Society. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma.
These momentous academic events are sponsored by the Islamic Studies Program of the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UP-CIDS ISP), UP Office of International Linkages (UP-OIL), United States Embassy in Manila, and in partnership with Research Association for Islamic Social Sciences (RAIS) and UP-IIS Graduate Students Organization (GSO).
Updates: As part of the registration process, please fill out the form below:
To confirm your registration, please be advised that submission of registration payment is on September 21, 2018 in the conference venue. Please pay the exact amount of 2,000 pesos onsite. Once paid, you will have access to the workshop and conference presentations and obtain kits, personal certificate, and food for lunch and morning/afternoon snacks.
The UP Institute of Islamic Studies (UP-IIS) is very proud to organize its first international conference and international exploratory workshop that will tackle publication opportunities of research works on Islam in Southeast Asia, including the role of the State, education, community outreach, responsible media, and religio-cultural dialogues in countering violent extremism. We are inviting everyone to submit your book and paper proposals on or before July 31, 2018 via iis@up.edu.ph. Below are the details.
Call for book and paper proposals for the first UP-IIS international exploratory workshop on Islam in Southeast Asia, which will be held on September 21, 2018 (Friday) at the UP NISMED.
The international exploratory workshop on “Islam in Southeast Asia (SEA)” concentrates on publishing selected ‘peer-reviewed’ academic and policy works that focuses on theoretical, methodological, empirical, religious, spiritual, and critical studies of Islam, including mundane praxes and day-to-day realities of Muslims (and their relations to non-Muslims) in Southeast Asia. It welcomes theoretical, conceptual, comparative, and issue-based research on historical and contemporary Southeast Asian Muslim communities, which are then examined and analyzed using paradigmatic lenses of philosophy, theology, jurisprudence (law), mysticism, and related social sciences. The workshop’s four major categories are: 1. Muslim Majority and Minority States in SEA; 2. Islam and Ethnicity in SEA; 3. Islam and Middle East Influences in the region; and 4. Muslim–non-Muslim relations in SEA. The UP-IIS encourages interdisciplinarity and eclectic contributions from (early, mid-career, and senior) scholars and practitioners (e.g. preachers, spiritual/religious leaders, and policy makers) to facilitate a holistic approach towards the study of Islam and of Muslim societies in the region.
Submission Process: Email the workshop organizers with a heading “UP-IIS Workshop” on or before July 31, 2018 (Tuesday) at iis@up.edu.ph with a word (.doc/.docx) attachment containing your 200 to 300-word abstract proposal of either for a book or for a paper, including its title and three relevant keywords. In the attached word file, please include your full name, university affiliation, and current status (faculty member or graduate student). Notification of accepted abstracts is on August 10, 2018 (Friday).
Call for papers for the first UP-IIS international conference on The role of the State, Education, Community Outreach, Responsible Media, and Religio-Cultural Dialogues in Countering Violent Extremism (CVE), which will be held on September 22, 2018 (Saturday) at the UP NISMED.
Countering Violent Extremism (abbreviated as CVE) has been at the forefront of international and domestic security policies around the world. The United States created financial, military and socio-political mechanisms in curbing the radicalization of its citizens and stopping them to support militant groups that commit acts of violence. In 2014, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 2178 which provided a comprehensive CVE approach that calls for member-states to emphasize “the importance of the role of the media, civil and religious society, the business community and educational institutions” toward mutual understandings, dialogues, tolerance and coexistence. Southeast Asians have perennially experienced violent and terroristic attacks by extremist groups, such as Jemaah Islamiyah and other ISIS-linked organizations and sympathizers. In June 2017 report of Solicitor General Jose Calida to the Philippines’ Supreme Court, he revealed that aside from the Abu Sayyaf Group, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, and the Maute Group, there are over 20 terrorist groups operating in Mindanao that claimed several violent attacks in just a short period of time. Professor Dr. Imtiyaz Yusuf lamented the danger of racializing, nationalizing and ethnicizing religion as part of one’s own political identity which may lead to anomie, insurgency and social disorder. It is this existential threat of politico-ethnicizing Islam that the UP Institute of Islamic Studies (UP-IIS) strives to prevent.
CHED Endorsement
The UP-IIS, mandated to create deeper understanding of Filipino Muslims’ ethos and confident in taking part of UP’s excellence as public service university that provides scholarly and technical assistance to all stakeholders of the country, is organizing an international conference to address the CVE issue. The conference theme seeks to understand the ontologies, epistemologies, theories, studies, narratives, motivations, causes, effects, and impacts of violent extremism, including exploring approaches, frameworks, solutions, and mechanisms on how to counter it by utilizing the imperatives and significances of the state, education, sustainable community outreach programs, highly principled and responsible media, and inter/intra-faith or religio-cultural dialogues that promote religious pluralism, multiculturalism, respect for diversity, acceptance and tolerance.
Dr. Mohamed Elsanousi advocates the Safe Space Initiatives by creating communicative spaces in the larger civic-community in order to prevent, intervene, and eject presence of radicalized individuals and groups seen to have potentials of violent tendencies. With increasing threats, violent acts, and the need to look for preventive mechanisms against violent extremism, we invite proposals that address and problematize CVE within the lenses and parameters of state, education, community outreach, responsible media, and religio-cultural dialogues. We aim to bring scholars, practitioners and graduate students from a range of interdisciplinary and methodological perspectives to discuss, present research and receive collegial feedback. Of special interest are papers that develop new cross-disciplinary connections, methods, and theoretical approaches to the use of state, education, community outreach, media and dialogues in CVE. Some representative questions the international conference theme seeks to engage are:
How can we identify, define, and distinguish radicalism, extremism or terrorism? Are there any differences among violent acts carried-out by radicals, extremists or terrorists? Is there a connection between Islam/Muslims with radicalism, extremism or terrorism? Is conducting military operation the effective way to counter violent extremism?
What is the role of the state in CVE and in the framing of the discourse on radicalism, extremism and terrorism? In what ways has the state advocated for military and non-military responses? Have there been instances when various state agencies have come into conflict about strategies vis-a-vis CVE?
Does education decreases or increases radicalism especially in madrasa or traditional Arabic/Islamic schools? Why madrasa education opposes secular or Western education? Are combined secular-madrasa approaches, methods, and pedagogies plausible? Does state/government control or negligence of madrasa education contribute to the growing seeds of extremism?
How sustainable are community outreach programs in preventing violent extremism? What tools and approaches applicable for community outreach advocates in addressing CVE? When extremist groups utilize outreach programs in providing social services, what responses the communities or government must do?
How can we identity highly principled and responsible mass/social media with ethical value in addressing CVE from pseudo, commercialized and propagandistic ones, particularly those being used by political elites and business conglomerates? Furthermore, how media stakeholders maintain independence in their reportage and neutral presentation of ‘alleged’ radical individuals or groups without the socio-political influence of sectional interest (or lobbying) groups?
To what extent are inter/intra-faith dialogues effective in deradicalizing extremists? What impacts do religio-cultural norms and values have on militant radicals or extremists? How do agents of dialogues approach violent extremism? What have been the influence, effects and implications of interfaith conventions had on CVE?
One of the keynote speakers is Professor Dr. Jeffrey Ayala Milligan of Florida State University. He is the 2018 UP-IIS VIsiting Professor and Fulbright Specialist, and author of several scholarly articles and books on Islam and Muslims in the Philippines. His works are available here.
Submission Process: Email the conference organizers with a heading “UP-IIS Conference” on or before July 31, 2018 (Tuesday) at iis@up.edu.ph with a word (.doc/.docx) attachment containing your 200 to 300-word abstract proposal, including its title and three relevant keywords. In the attached word file, please include your full name, university affiliation, and current status (faculty member or graduate student). Notification of accepted abstracts is on August 10, 2018 (Friday).
Registration Process: PH₱2,000 (or US$40) for all participants and attendees (e.g. scholars, researchers, practitioners, teachers, graduate and undergraduate students) and it is due on August 17, 2018 (Friday) via bank-to-bank (wire) transfer or PayPal. Additional charges, such as bank transfer or PayPal charges, will be paid by the participant and attendee. Bank details will be available soon. If you plan to attend only one event, whether the conference or workshop, the fee is PH₱1,000 (or US$20).
It is possible to attend the conference and workshop without presenting a paper as long as registration is fully paid. It will give you access to all presentations, coffee breaks and programme related activities. Unfortunately, no conference, travel or accommodation grants are provided for both domestic and foreign participants. CHED endorsement and list of keynote and guest speakers will be available soon. For inquiries, please call +63.2.929.8286 or +63.2.981.8500 local 3583 and/or email us at iis@up.edu.ph.
The UP-Institute of Islamic Studies (UP-IIS) would like to invite you in celebration of the Hijabi’s Courage together with the UP Gender Office, National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, Quezon City Muslim Consultative Council National, United Muslim Mothers, and the UP-IIS Graduate Student organization.
As part of the UP-IIS’ pivotal role in promoting tolerance and culture of peace, presents the Hijab tradition that explains its cultural and religious contexts. The event will take place on February 5, 2018, aiming to discuss the contemporary issues surrounding the Hijab, have a better understanding and raise Hijab awareness.
This forum will tackle the increasing incidents of Hijabis (veiled women) experiencing discrimination, biases and negative-stereotypes despite the issuances of Memoranda affirming their rights. This event also aims to promote understanding among peoples of different cultures and achieve peaceful co-existence.
2018 World Hijab Day
Theme: “We can do it too!” #StrongInHijab
2018 World Interfaith HarmonyWeek
Theme: “Celebrating the Transforming Power of the Love of God and Love Neighbor for the Common Good.”
One of the keynote speakers is Professor Dr. Jeffrey Ayala Milligan of Florida State University. He is the 2018 UP-IIS VIsiting Professor and Fulbright Specialist, and author of several scholarly articles and books on Islam and Muslims in the Philippines. His works are available 
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