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This blogspot is a medium to share my thoughts and adventures apart from promoting my books. Below are the books which have been written or authored and published by myself.


"Berpetualang ke Aceh: Mencari Diri dan Erti".

ISBN 983-42031-0-1, Jun 2006


"Berpetualang ke Aceh: Membela Syiar yang Asal"

ISBN 983-42031-1-x, May 2007


"Berpetualang ke Aceh: Sirih Pulang ke Gagang?"

ISBN 978-983-42031-2-2, November 2007


It is interesting to note that while these books were written in Malay it has gained enough attention to merit being part of the collections of the American Library of Congress and National Library of Australia. Look here and here.


While the first three books were published by my own company, the fourth titled "Rumah Azan" was published in April 2009 by a company called Karnadya with the help of the Malaysian national literary body Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. It features beautiful pictures along with stories behind selected mosques which could be related to the history of Islam and the Malays alongside the formation of the Malaysian nation. Look at the article A collaboration of old collegemates - the book "Rumah Azan".


My fifth book "Ahlul Bait (Family) of Rasulullah SAW and Malay Sultanates", an English translation and adaptation of the Malay book "Ahlul Bait (Keluarga) Rasulullah SAW dan Kesultanan Melayu" authored by Hj Muzaffar Mohamad and Tun Suzana Othman was published early 2010. Look here... My 5th book is out! Ahlul Bait (Family) of Rasulullah SAW and the Malay Sultanates... . For more information check out my Malay blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU.



Like my fourth book "Rumah Azan", the sixth book "Kereta Api Menuju Destinasi" is also a coffee-table book which is published by the company Karnadya with the cooperation of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (the main Malay literary body in Malaysia). Coming out January 2011 it features pictures and stories on the adventure travelling by train to all of Peninsular Malaysia along with the interesting places which could be reached this way.


My seventh book "Jejak keluarga Yakin : Satu sketsa sejarah" in turn is a coffee-table book which is written, editted, designed and has pictures taken by me. Coming out of the factory October 2011, this book which combines family history with history of places such as Singapura, Johor, Batu Pahat, Muar and in fact the history of the island of Java and England has been reviewed with me interviewed live in the program Selamat Pagi Malaysia at RTM1. Look at the article Siaran langsung ulasan buku "Jejak keluarga Yakin : Satu sketsa sejarah" dan temu ramah di Selamat Pagi Malaysia. Some selected contents have been featured in Sneak peek "Jejak keluarga Yakin : Satu sketsa sejarah".


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The "Berpetualang ke Aceh" series of novels could be obtained in e-book form. Enter http://www.e-sentral.com/, click general novel and go to page 4. You can also type the word "Aceh" at the search box. Or click straight Book 1, Book 2 and Book 3.


Monday, October 26, 2015

Commemorating the deeds of Wali Songo



In Pasuruan we lodged at a pesantren or traditional religious school owned and operated by a local kiyai or religious master. The main reason we came here was to attend a function held there.


It was a hol function, remembering the deceased Wali Songo, the famous 9 saints of the Indonesian island of Java.


The saints who lived in the 15-17th century AD were responsible for converting most of Java populace to the faith of Islam.


So remembering the deceased in cases like this means also commemorating their deeds.








Gracing the function were many modern day religious masters from Indonesia and Malaysia. 





In fact there is one master who came all the way from Turkey... 




















Here's a Malaysian master giving a fiery speech about the deeds of the Wali Songo...


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Here's the Turkey master, Sayyid Sheikh Muhammad Fadhil Al-Jailani al-Hasani. Speaking in Arabic with a local master translating into the Indonesian language, he is descended from the world-famous Sheikh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani, the 11-12th AD century master who is recognised as the Sultanul Awliya, king of saints in the Muslim world...


"Daulah Melayu" shoot at a dry village in Pasuruan

OK. I believed I have talked about my involvement with a documentary project called "Daulah Melayu" at least twice in this blogspot. Look at the articles Boatmaking in progress at Pulau Duyong and Convoy to Pulau Meranti. Well. Here's another one...


Last Thursday 22nd October 2015 me and my documentary team went to Surabaya, Indonesia for our first overseas shoot. The following day we went to a village in Pasuruan and took advantage of a current situation...



The village has vast expanses of ricefields. But due to drought the last 7 months or so the land had dried up.



This gave rise to a rather intreesting background. My director took advantage by calling a number of local youths to participate.


They played the part of students studying religion, discussing and studying among themselves with the dry backdrop providing a quaint view of things...





Me being the documentary host was also part of whole proceeding. But I had no pictures of myself in action to show...


So let's just let the boys play centre stage ya. Earlier, they had to pretend like bumping into me while returning from a religious class...