The current engineering workforce place much emphasis on internationally recognized engineering education with engineers able to work in remote and alien environments, highly mobile and adaptable to local cultures. It is common today that engineers from the West be placed in predominantly Muslim countries. Inadequate exposure to these cultures and insufficient understanding of the societal values and structures create difficulties in their new workplace. In this paper, the authors highlight the importance of understanding a multi-cultural society, their belief systems and basic needs with special reference to Muslim communities in developing countries. The paper relates experience gained by the team in developing and implementing an Islam and Engineering course in the International Study in Engineering at the Universität Duisburg Essen (UDE) in Germany, and a similar course, Technology and Civilization at the Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. The Islam and Engineering course is offered as an elective to students taking up their studies in UDE. It covers the fundamental worldview of Islam, its teachings and practices, its contribution to science and technology, its views on professionalism and a discussion on the engineering profession and ethics. The course provides the necessary exposure to students on the multi-cultural nature of the Muslim communities in the East. The same emphasis is given in the course offered at UKM. It is greatly hoped that by introducing these courses, students and future technologists will be able to appreciate the inherent compatibility between Islam, Technology and Civilization.
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