Conference on Penang and Haj this August

A two-day conference on "Penang and the Haj" which will highlight the prominence of Penang as a port of embarkation for Muslim pilgrims to the holy land as early as the 18th century will be held at the E & O Hotel Penang from Aug 17. The conference, which is jointly organised by the Penang Heritage Trust (PHT) and a subsidary of Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Think City Sdn Bhd (TCSB), will discuss Penang Port as a port of embarkation for the Haj, businesses of Penang Sheikh hajis, the service industry at the port cluster, ships and shipping (conveyance of pilgrims), according to a statement issued, here, today. It said thousands of pilgrims from Sumatra, northern Peninsular Malaysia and southern Thailand went through Penang to realise the fifth pillar of Islam. However, the activity which centred at the port, Acheen Street and adjoining areas ended in the 1970s with the establishment of Lembaga Tabung Haji and the popularity of air travel. The conference will also look at the religious, social and cultural changes stimulated by the Haj returnees. These included Islamic renewal and reform in the formal religious education and literacy in the madrasah, pan-Islamic ideas, anti-imperialism and anti-colonialism ideologies, with implications on Penang and the region. About 20 speakers from the United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, New Zealand, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia will present their papers. Among them is history professor from US Cornell University Prof Eric Tagliocozzo, who will be the keynote speaker on the topic of "The Material World of the Haj in Colonial-Era Southeast Asia". Prof E. Ulrich Kratz from the University of London's Centre of Southeast Asian Studies will deliver a talk on "Islam in Penang: Some Early Evidence" and Suryadi from Leidin University on "A Critical Voice on Haj by a Sumatran Pilgrim". From Malaysia will be Dr Shanti Moorty from Monash University Malaysia campus on "The Haj as a Cosmopolitan Practice", Abdul-Razzaq Lubis on "Mandailing on Haj" and Dr Aiza Maslan@Baharudin from Universiti Sains Malaysia on "Haj Activities and Administrative Development" in Penang. The conference, to be held from 9am to 5 pm during the two days, is open to the public with a registration fee of RM150 to RM250 per person, and registration can be made online at www.pht.org.my.