Bandar Seri Begawan - Muslim creative writers and literary activists are urged to analyse the Holy al-Quran in order to propagate Islam through their writings, said a paper presenter from Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) at the Creative Writing Seminar 2007 held at the Main Lecture Hall, Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan (Aswara) in Kuala Lumpur recently.
Prof Datuk Dr Hashim Awg of the Malay Literature Department, Faculty of Arts and Social Science, UBD said al-Quran is the most reliable reference for Muslim literary writers as their foundation of creativity in order to achieve quality works. "A writer should not blame their limited Islamic knowledge as one reason for not attempting to insert Islamic values in their writings. Good writing techniques are available in Islam if properly researched," he said.
Prof Datuk Dr Hashim Awg presented his working paper entitled "The Techniques of Writing Islamic Literature" during the seminar, themed "Continuity of National Variety in Writing Contemporary Creative Stories". The professor is confident that many things can be studied from the al-Quran through its writing, explanations, examples and comparisons.
"However, writers need to study in detail the contents and meaning of the al-Quran if they want to use it as their reference," he said.
For Muslims, the al-Quran is considered the ‘Pen of Allah‘ whereby its truth cannot be doubted; he said and added, "If examined carefully, the al-Quran actually has high literature value and element."
Meanwhile, Prof Madya Dr Sohaimi Abdul Aziz, Deputy Dean of Research and Post-Graduate Studies, Humanity Studies Centre, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), said that literary writers can use the history deconstruction theory to create a new perfect image.
The effectiveness of this approach was used by a Latin American writer, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, through his novel, entitled "One Hundred Years of Solitude", in his attempt to find the truth behind a bloody incident in Columbia in 1928 where thousands died, he added.
Also present to deliver papers at the seminar were Malaysian writer Faisal Tehrani, Datuk Dr Anwar Ridhwan, Malaysian National Laureate (SN) Prof Dr Syed Othman Syed Omar or S Othman Kelantan, Legal Consultant Nisah Haron and Lecturer of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Dr Mawar Shafie.
Source : www.brudirect.com (26 Desember 2007)
