RESEARCH

Following the rise of digital technologies and social media in the twenty-first century, the world has experienced a new wave of information access. However, amidst this new development, issues relating to information disorder (ID) became a growing concern for many governments across the globe.

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by Iznan Tarip & Mu’izz Khalid

Purpose Research on Islamic entrepreneurship (IE) is growing but with difficulty. After reviewing six IE models, several problematic inconsistencies were identified, which can be categorized into three: sporadic objectives of IE, diverging core components and inconsistent levels of analysis. This study aims to articulate a synthesized IE model. Design/methodology/approach An Islamic critical realist synthesis is used by combining six IE models and situating them within an Islamic system of governance. Specifically, the Islamic governance conceptual matrix is used to offer an objective template. Findings A synthesized model of IE within an Islamic system of governance comprises the following: the objectives of IE are not to be confined to only financial sustainability, but to achieve all five Maqās.id of the Sharī’ah (i.e. preservation and promotion of faith, life, intellect, posterity and wealth); models of IE should cover the individual, group, organizational, societal, state and international levels for comprehensiveness; tawhīd is crucial to distinguish between IE and conventional entrepreneurship; halal IE activities can be further categorized into obligatory, recommended, permissible and reprehensible; Islamic values are to be differentiated from cultural values; and both Islamic and cultural values shape IE and vice versa. Research limitations/implications Limited number of models of IE were included in this synthesis. Although the resulting synthesized model is extensive, additional models of IE can be built to extend or even challenge it. Originality/value A novel model of IE within an Islamic system of governance is presented.

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by Iznan Tarip

Although there are several conceptions of organizational moral learning (OML), there is a need for more empirical studies. This study aims to provide illustrations of the dynamism of organizational moral learning by spiritual hearts (OML-SH), where OML and organizational immoral learning (OIL) are coupled antagonistically. Two OML-SH initiatives (i.e., the Quality Control Circle program and 100-hour training record system) within Brunei’s public sector are scrutinized to illustrate the dynamic process of OML-SH, spanning individual, group, and organizational levels. From the two exploratory case studies, the purifying mechanism was coined to capture the laminated interplay between the spiritual hearts, group understanding, leadership, organizational intention, structure, culture, and resources to drive OML. In contrast, the corrupting mechanism was also coined as the opposite force to drive toward OIL. From the study, leadership and organizational learning repositories were seen to play essential roles in the purification of the spiritual heart (i.e., individual moral development). Additionally, the spiritually diseased hearts occupying the two extremes of OML and OIL were seen to experience moral ambivalence, which was also not captured in previous studies. The paper concludes with suggestions to manage moral ambivalence for more positive outcomes, drive OML further and impede OIL simultaneously.

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by Siti Zulailah Abdullah & Iznan Tarip

Although there are several conceptions of organizational moral learning (OML), there is a need for more empirical studies. This study aims to provide illustrations of the dynamism of organizational moral learning by spiritual hearts (OML-SH), where OML and organizational immoral learning (OIL) are coupled antagonistically. Two OML-SH initiatives (i.e., the Quality Control Circle program and 100-hour training record system) within Brunei’s public sector are scrutinized to illustrate the dynamic process of OML-SH, spanning individual, group, and organizational levels. From the two exploratory case studies, the purifying mechanism was coined to capture the laminated interplay between the spiritual hearts, group understanding, leadership, organizational intention, structure, culture, and resources to drive OML. In contrast, the corrupting mechanism was also coined as the opposite force to drive toward OIL. From the study, leadership and organizational learning repositories were seen to play essential roles in the purification of the spiritual heart (i.e., individual moral development). Additionally, the spiritually diseased hearts occupying the two extremes of OML and OIL were seen to experience moral ambivalence, which was also not captured in previous studies. The paper concludes with suggestions to manage moral ambivalence for more positive outcomes, drive OML further and impede OIL simultaneously.

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by Iznan Tarip

All nations are continuously learning how best to live with the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing organizational moral learning and Islamic spirituality perspectives, this paper proposes a learning framework called the whole-of-nation moral learning by spiritual hearts to understand the dynamics of learning and change in a nation tackling the pandemic. It proposes that to overcome the pandemic or any other crises, governance requires the combination of moral leadership and followership by spiritual hearts as agents for moral learning and change, supported by realigned and reconfigured systems for holistic growth. Brunei’s journey in tackling the pandemic illustrates the framework.

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by Iznan Tarip & Zuraihi Ashari

Agama Islam telah memberikan garispandu dalam menghiasi diri yang merangkumi perhiasan zahir iaitu Zīnah Muktasabah dan Zīnah Nafsiyah sebagai perhiasan batin. Telah ditemukan pada kajian lepas tentang amalan fesyen yang berfokuskan kepada kewajipan menutup ‘aurat ke atas Muslimah. Namun demikian, konsep penghayatan Islam kurang diketengahkan dalam konteks Islam khususnya dalam amalan berfesyen. Oleh itu, kajian ini ingin menelusuri konsep penghayatan Islam dalam amalan berfesyen Muslimah berkerjaya di Brunei. Kepentingan kajian ini ialah untuk meneliti sejauh mana praktikal Islam itu dimanifestasikan dalam amalan fesyen secara menyeluruh. Kajian ini menggunakan pendekatan analisis data biografi, teks dan tematik. Dapatan bagi kajian ini diteliti dengan analisis deduktif berdasarkan kepada literatur melalui pengumpulan data secara naratif. Kajian mendapati bahawa Muslimah berkerjaya di negara ini lebih menghayati praktikal Islam dalam Zīnah Nafsiyah berbanding dengan menutup ‘aurat dalam Zīnah Muktasabah. Islam has given a guideline for adorning oneself, including external adornment, which is Zīnah Muktasabah, dan internal adornment, known as Zīnah Nafsiyah. Previous studies have focused on covering the ‘aurat among Muslim women. However, the concept of internalisation of Islam is less highlighted in the context of Muslim women fashion. Therefore, this study explores the internalisation of Islam in fashion practices amongst Muslim working women here in Brunei. The importance of this study is to seek the extent of the manifestation of Islam in the practice of fashion holistically. This study uses a biographical, textual and thematic data analysis approach. The findings are examined with deductive analysis based on literature through narrative data collection. This study found that there are more Muslim working women observing fashion in the aspect of Zīnah Nafsiyah rather than Zīnah Muktasabah.

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by Norhazerah Baha & Iznan Tarip

Purpose – This paper document the first pilot classroom action research (CAR) for secondary Mathematics professional development (PD) in Brunei Darussalam, and assess the efficacy of CAR to teachers’ PD. Approach – A case study method is utilised, combining qualitative and quantitative data. The case context is the CAR programme conducted by 12 teacher-researchers from the PD Hub School committee under the 2021 Subject Based Committee for mathematics. CAR reports and presentations were analysed, along with an online questionnaire to capture CAR’s usefulness to the teacher-researchers’ PD. A CAR sharing session was also conducted as part of the programme, and the attendees’ feedback was also collected and analysed. Findings – Overall, the CAR programme was beneficial for teachers’ PD, as well as student learning. Attendees of the CAR sharing session also responded positively, with half of them interested in conducting their respective CAR. However, improvements can be made to CAR reports to enhance their quality and usefulness, and continuous support and encouragement for teacher-researchers to pursue CAR for PD. From the study, it is important to sustain this platform by giving opportunities for teachers to continue learning and growing in the education profession through CAR practice. Originality – The documentation and assessment of CAR practice in Brunei’s secondary Mathematics classroom are new.

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by Norshanita Erni Haji Tarip & Iznan Tarip

With rising public expectations on corporations to have better ethical standards, the concept of ‘organisational moral learning’ (OML) offers an alternative perspective to examine how organisations learn to develop their morality over time. The aim of this paper is to use the OML perspective to examine the Royal Brunei Police Force’s (RBPF) transformation to be more ethical, relevant, and future-ready. Data is collected from the 2nd Executive Development Programme for Middle Management Officers for the RBPF in various forms. The findings showed that despite the numerous achievements over the century, a number of root causes have been identified, spanning individual, group, organisational, national/societal, and international levels. Policy recommendations are provided to ensure OML processes can flow smoothly. In particular, the whole training curriculum needs to reflect the future aspirations. Ultimately, individual agency is pertinent for change and learning. Hence, due emphasis on training should be given for self-governance.

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by Iznan Tarip

The Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) is under pressure to transform to be more ethical, relevant, and future-ready. This paper aims to articulate the transformative process of the RBPF using the Islamic governance approach pioneered by the Universiti Brunei Darussalam. The articulation of Islamic governance is divided into two parts: the strategic objectives, and the operational framework. The strategic objectives are the Maqāṣid of the Sharī’ah (i.e., preservation and promotion of faith, life, intellect, progeny, and wealth), and the operational framework covers four pillars (i.e., tauḥīdic, juristic, value, and culture) and four levels (individual, societal, national, and international). This framework is then used to analyse 77 policy items contained in the 20 policy papers submitted during the 2 nd Executive Development Programme for Middle Management Officers for the RBPF. The findings showed that much progress has been made, but more can be done in terms of framing policies and implementing them in accordance with the Sharī’ah. From the collective policy items, there is dominance in the preservation and promotion of intellect (66.23%), followed by wealth (19.84%), faith (7.79%), life (3.9%) and progeny (2.6%). Policy implications are as follows: 1) substantial improvements on organisational learning systems, 2) due considerations for key investment areas, and 3) a whole-of-RBPF to tackle ethical issues.

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by Iznan Tarip

The role of the spiritual heart in transformation and reformation is vital. However, the dynamism of change emanating from the heart is less understood. Using the work of al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111), this paper centralises the noetic of the spiritual heart and its roles as a learning medium and a change agent. The heart is then conceptually operationalised within the national settings, particularly its role in whole-of-nation moral learning. This is further illustrated by a whole-of-nation moral learning trajectory situated within Brunei’s governance context, which is the (re)Islamisation of the national education system during three periods: pre-independence 1984, post-independence, and the new norm. The case showed the important roles of virtuous leaders to push for moral changes, followers to also engage in moral learning to suppress immoral learning, structures and cultures to be institutionalised to perpetuate moral learning, and selective international relations to catapult local progress

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by Iznan Tarip, Nur Firdaus Abu Bakar, Zuraihi Ash’ari, Fatin Zulkifli & Muzhafar Marsidi

The head-heart-hand tripartite is often used to depict holistic education, not focusing only on academic merits of the ‘head’ and technical skills of the ‘hand’, but also character building, spiritual enlightenment, and emotional resilience of the ‘heart’. Unfortunately, the development of the spiritual heart is often neglected, especially in higher education where most of the learning assessments pertain to the critical heads and skilful hands. This paper argues for that the balanced development of the head, heart, and hand. In particular, the purification of the spiritual heart is emphasised to heighten moral and God-consciousness for better decision-making. Additionally, such holistic development is needed to ensure the achievement of the Maqāṣid of the Sharī’ah collectively, i.e., the preservation and promotion of Faith, Life, Intellect, Progeny, and Wealth. By setting the head-heart-hand tripartite with the Maqāṣid, a frame of reference is constructed as an evaluative tool to examine individual holistic development. This framework is then used to examine the reported developmental experiences of undergraduate students in the Universiti Brunei Darussalam, giving particular attention to the issues and challenges faced in light of the five Maqāṣid. The preliminary findings signalled challenges faced in preserving and promoting Life, Intellect, and Progeny.

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by Iznan Tarip

Learning and development are often linked in the organization studies literature. To understand the dynamics of organizational moral development, this paper utilizes the notion of organizational moral learning (OML). It is explored using three perspectives: organizational learning, Islamic and critical realist perspectives. The perspectives are then synthesized together to form a single framework, called the OML by ‘spiritual hearts’ framework. At the centre of the framework is the spiritual heart, the seat of profound understanding and moral consciousness. The heart plays a central role in organizational moral development, especially with regard to its potential to be ‘purified’ and corrupted. Two extreme parameters then are created: on one side is the ‘purified hearts’ with high moral consciousness contributing towards OML, and on the other is the ‘corrupted hearts’ with high immoral consciousness contributing towards organizational immoral learning. Between the two extremes are the ‘diseased hearts’, possessing a mixture of moral and immoral consciousness to various degrees, and have the potentials to contribute to both moral and immoral developments. The paper further suggests strategies to facilitate OML and simultaneously inhibits organizational immoral learning.

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by Iznan Tarip

Critical thinking is often misunderstood negatively as the unending pursuit of faults for criticism. Rather, it is a performative practice to develop critical judgements and produce impactful outcomes. It goes beyond higher-order thinking skills to also include strong commitments to one’s core belief and purpose. Additionally, critical thinking is not confined to personal achievements, but also the collective drawing upon group criticality to reap abundant societal benefits. Muslim minds require such criticality, but socio-religious taboos surrounding the notion may hinder, as it is often associated with dissent and heresy. As such, the education system may not promote critical thinking and thus leads to backwardness. This is the current situation faced by many Muslim societies. Such misconceptions need to be addressed. Critical thinking has been discussed by Muslim and Western secular scholars for centuries, however, its necessity is arguably more important today than ever
before. With the lack of advanced Muslim polymaths, as seen in older generations, and the increasingly sophisticated nature of various fields, Muslims require the knowledge and confidence to undergo such way of thinking, not as an end but a means to achieve the Maqāṣid or objectives of the Sharī’ah. In this paper, we will first argue that the inclusion of critical thinking is a religious obligation. Then, we propose that the foundation of these skills must form within early religious education to complement the existing rote-learning methods of learning. We conclude with a call for more critical thinkers for the Islamic system of governance.

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by Alawi Shahrin & Iznan Tarip

The ‘heart’ analogy is always used by many traditions, as well as contemporary research and practice. However, the term has been used incoherently, which can potentially be detrimental to research and practice. The infamous head, heart and hand tripartite, for example, are referring to cognition, affection and psychomotor respectively. This paper posits that the heart is not mere emotions and affections, but rather, plays a central role in organisational moral development. The work of Imam al-Ghazali is employed to re-introduce the term ‘heart’ defined within the worldview of Islam, and its importance in organisational life in achieving prosperity. Only with this immaterial and spiritual heart can human recognise Allah Ta’āla, rather than solely using the ‘head’ or rational. Additionally, a successful individual is the one that is able to develop their head, heart and hand holistically. Furthermore, the state of the heart, especially its purity, is important as it affects oneself, as well as others. The purified, diseased and dead hearts have their own respective implications to organisational (im)moral development: purified hearts contribute to the formation of the virtuous organisation, while the dead and corrupted hearts to the corrupt and hypocritical organisation. The diseased heart, a state between the two extremes of purified and dead hearts, would then have the potentials to lean to either side. Hence, the need for active process of purification of the heart within the organisational settings.

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by Iznan Tarip & Nur Firdaus bin Abu Bakar

There are emerging works on the dark side of organisation, looking at the dark out-side (e.g. political instability, multi-national corrupt syndicates), and in-side (e.g. workplace violence, nepotism). The ‘darkness’ not only involves generalised corrupting mechanisms, but also specific issues that are purposefully ‘brushed under the carpet’ by the organisation. This paper contributes to the evolving field by introducing the theme ‘darkness to light’ from an Islamic perspective. It is situated within the discourse of Islamic corporate governance, looking not only at the shadows lurking within an Islamic system of corporate governance, but also its ‘light’ side that tries to illuminate every nook and cranny of the virtuous organisation. Furthermore, the dynamic interplays between organisational darkness and light are scrutinised, forming these ‘grey’ areas in which organisational members struggles to navigate. The paper also presents an illustrated case study to help explore these interplays. The case shows that some organisational elements are situated exclusively on the light and dark sides, but many in these grey areas. Strategies and mechanisms are then proposed to systematically shine more light into these dark sides and grey areas, in order for the organisation to gain benefits from them.

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by Iznan Tarip

This conceptual paper contributes to the study of moral and immoral organizational development by combining two different perspectives: organizational learning (OL) and the worldview of Islam. The OL perspective, particularly Crossan, Lane and White’s (1999) 4I OL framework, outlines four sub-learning processes involved in strategic renewal spanning the individual, group and organizational levels. Then, the framework is recast in the light of the worldview of Islam, particularly on the natural connection between learning and moral development. From an Islamic perspective, knowledge is soteriological and plays a crucial role in the ‘purification of the heart’, i.e. individual moral development. However, corruption of knowledge can also occur, which then leads to corruption of the ‘heart’, i.e. individual immoral development. This then has profound implications for the 4I OL framework. As a result, a reconceptualized framework is conceived called ‘OL by hearts’, which outlines the strategic moral & immoral development of individuals, groups and the organization.

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by Iznan Tarip

Poverty is a sign of civilisational failure. That is why the world is moving towards alleviating poverty all around. Eradication of poverty is very important in Islam. This is because poverty is tightly linked with faith. If one is afflicted with poverty, they would have more inclination to enter into disbelief (kufr). To meet this social obligation for sustained holistic human development, society needs to work collaboratively to achieve the Maqāṣid of the Sharī’ah. A ‘whole-of-nation’ approach is very much needed, and for it to work every member of the society has to play their role. Youth activism has emerged with diverse solutions to combat poverty over the past few years. This manuscript provides some examples of youth-led initiatives tackling poverty as categorised using the Maqāṣid of the Sharī’ah.

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by Iznan Tarip

The processes of strategic change, undertaken from time to time by organisations so as to maintain its functional relevance and effectiveness, are often conflict-ridden. This is in large part due to the nature of the human agency. Humans bring not only rationality into the decision-making processes, but also their inherent dispositions: intuitions, biases, emotions, and so on. In order to understand the factors that cause conflict in the processes of strategic change, this paper employs al-Ghazali’s concept of the ‘purification of the heart’, and ‘organisational moral learning’. An analytical framework is constructed using these two concepts to illustrate the interplay between contextual organisational configurations, the wider socio-environmental forces, and the human agents’ potentials and powers. This paper proposes some strategies that may help to drive ‘organisational moral learning’ forward, and conversely, hinder ‘organisational immoral learning’ from taking root. Ultimately, it is human agents –­ or rather, wise human agents – who are the critical factors for maintaining and/or transforming themselves and their surroundings.

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by Iznan Tarip

The processes of strategic change, undertaken from time to time by organisations so as to maintain its functional relevance and effectiveness, are often conflict-ridden. This is in large part due to the nature of the human agency. Humans bring not only rationality into the decision-making processes, but also their inherent dispositions: intuitions, biases, emotions, and so on. In order to understand the factors that cause conflict in the processes of strategic change, this paper employs al-Ghazali’s concept of the ‘purification of the heart’, and ‘organisational moral learning’. An analytical framework is constructed using these two concepts to illustrate the interplay between contextual organisational configurations, the wider socio-environmental forces, and the human agents’ potentials and powers. This paper proposes some strategies that may help to drive ‘organisational moral learning’ forward, and conversely, hinder ‘organisational immoral learning’ from taking root. Ultimately, it is human agents –­ or rather, wise human agents – who are the critical factors for maintaining and/or transforming themselves and their surroundings.

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by Iznan Tarip