THE Madani concept is inspired by the history of the city, Madinah, during the Prophet's day. It was a municipality even at the time, not a terrifying jungle or arid desert as some had wildly fantasised.
Since its inception, Islam has been associated with an urban life, administrative system, rules, defence, trade, knowledge and culture.
All great civilisations began in cities. However, the fundamental dissimilarity between Islamic and secular conceptions of the city is 'ihsan': The city is not a place to subjugate or torment anyone through greedy means. The city is not to be an open prison for some and a playground for others.
It is a stretch to say a city has features of 'ihsan' when the wealthy have luxurious space but the impoverished have little or nothing. 'Space' has a physical meaning as well as a sense of potential. German philosopher Jurgen Habermas describes it as the "democratic public sphere".
Talking about the sphere, human dignity and democracy, I recall a poem written by an Indonesian, WS Rendra, in May 1998. It is titled "Sajak Orang Kepanasan".
I translated one paragraph.
Because we desolated the road And you have all the calm
Because we flooded And you have a fiesta on a cruise Then we do dislike you.
His criticism of "the poem of incandescent people" is intended to illustrate how the crooked systems implemented by elite politicians or the oligarchy have harmed lives in Indonesia, particularly in Jakarta.
Jakarta has around 30 million inhabitants, and Kuala Lumpur has 90 per cent less. One cannot analogise the latter to the former in terms of population and complexity.
But KL seems to build more high-density complexes.
I have lived in the Seputeh-Bangsar Utama-Telawi area since 1998, and have witnessed how certain areas evolved from being host to the ordinary folk to being places for the elite.
Some places now have Western names, which have nothing to do with local ethos.
The fourth prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, originated the idea of superdevelopment in KL by redeveloping the grounds surrounding Selangor Turf Club.
The sixth prime minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, also had a grand vision to redevelop the southern part of KL — now known as Tun Razak Exchange.
Islam provides the bedrock of a 'soft' kind of urban planning. The great Muslim philosophers, thinkers and artists demonstrated the ultimate concept and ideas for city planning inspired by the Quran. One example is Damascus' majestic Umayyad Mosque.
We need to explore and expand the old ideas with regard to the modern KL cityscape. The task cannot be concluded in a single sitting. But we must begin now, or never.
* The writer, also known as Buddhi Hekayat, is a former policy director at the Selangor menteri besar's office (2015-2018), a political activist and an award-winning lyricist. His writing can be read at hasmihashim.com