Reviving the Caliphate in Malaysia

Operating in over 43 countries in the world, Hizbut Tahrir (HT) is presently active in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and more recently in Asia. Today, HT is becoming increasingly prominent in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia and Malaysia. Yet despite its rapid growth in the region, little is known about HT chapters in Southeast Asia, especially in Malaysia. In light of the dearth in scholarship on Hizbut Tahrir Malaysia (HTM), this article aims to shed some light on the HTM and analyze the likelihood of its emergence as a political force in the country.     

The modern ordinary: changing culture of urban living in Egypt's traditional quarters at the turn of the twentieth century

Having experienced social and political structures of the nineteenth century Europe, western-educated Egyptian elite used public institutions to force new legislative structures and procedures that ruled out traditional housing forms and spatial systems. This essay detects direct and indirect impact of these changes that informed the spatial change of modern living in Egypt in the first quarter of the twentieth century. It offers analysis of socio-spatial practices and change in ordinary Cairenes’ modes of everyday living, using social routine and interaction to explain spatial systems and changing house forms during the first quarter of the twentieth century. In doing so, the essay utilized archival documents, accounts, formal decrees and novels of the time as well as conducting survey of house forms and spatial organizations in Old Cairo.     

Research Note: Hassan al-Turabi,Osama bin Laden,and Al Qaeda in Sudan

This research note explores the events and circumstances surrounding Osama bin Laden's stay in Sudan from 1991 to 1996. In particular, it discusses the role that the Sudanese politician, Hassan al-Turabi may have played in the development of bin Laden and al Qaeda. It draws particular attention to the role of the Popular Arab and Islamic Congress (PAIC) in the emergence of a distinctive form of Radical Islam and offers a preliminary discussion of the emergence of particular qualities of al Qaeda ideology.     

Preparation of Disappearing Inks and Studying the Fading Time on Different Paper Surfaces

Abstract: Disappearing inks have been used in different fields, but it may be abused in forgery and counterfeiting. This research was conducted on the preparation of disappearing inks using different concentrations of thymolphthalein, phenolphthalein, and their mixture. The prepared inks were applied to different types of handwriting papers. It was found that the handwriting stability increased by increasing thymolphthalein, phenolphthalein, or alkali concentration, but in the case of using 4 mL of 1 normal (N) NaOH, the handwriting stability of phenolphthalein and its mixture inks decreased. Deciphering of the faded handwriting was evaluated by different methods; using optical deciphering, the faded handwriting did not respond to the different light sources. All the faded handwriting was visible when treated with alkaline solution. There was no change in the faded handwriting when heated to 100°C; phenolphthalein and mixture inks containing 0.5 mL of 1 N NaOH became red when only Azhar and Xerox papers were heated to 150°C.