In response to Misnah Fahmi's letter Make room for responsible speech and modern ulama may I add this pertinent point: All competent ulama (Muslim scholars) are only too aware that for Islam to be relevant today or in any other time period, the ulama would have to take into account the concerns of his or her time.

This includes engaging with the ideas and systems of thought or philosophies of the time. Great Muslim ulama like Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Sina, and Ibn Rushd did just that. Unfortunately, those alim (devout persons) had to pay a price for their controversial ideas in responding to the challenges of their times  attacks, criticisms, alienation, and even captivity. Thanks to them, the Muslims can now lay claim to a great intellectual heritage.

Time and again, only those with the most comprehensive of knowledge among the ulama are able to effectively respond to the challenges of their times. The radical breakthroughs in the biological sciences and the ever-increasing challenges of globalisation are indeed formidable modernity challenges that the modern ulama and ummah (community) must contend with.

Given the current narrow curriculum coupled with the immense challenges that lie ahead, will future modern ulama be able to meet the onslaught of such wide challenges?

Institute of Islamic Understanding (Ikim) senior fellow, Ustaz Muhammad Uthman El-Muhammady's recent proposal to introduce Ibn Khaldun's discourse to the national secondary curriculum and tertiary institutions warrants serious consideration. The ustaz pointed out that the thoughts of Ibn Khaldun encompass many aspects of life.

They include philosophy, culture, the creation of urban civilisations, political education and positive communal habits that he deems will help combat the negative influences stemming from the globalisation process. Ibn Khaldun who lived from 1332 through 1406 is the author of al-Muqaddimah , a most original and highly influential scholarship of history, philosophy, sociology and education.

Today as in the past, the challenges that face Muslim remain the same: It is to manage the divisions between our lived experience of faith and the present realities that lie before us. Anything else would be nostalgia or escapism.