International Islamic University Malaysia

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International Islamic University Malaysia
Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia
Logo of the International Islamic University Malaysia
Motto	Taman Ilmu dan Budi
Motto in English	The Garden of Knowledge and Virtue
Established	1983
Type	Public
President	Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan
Rector	Professor Dato' Dr Syed Arabi Idid
Location	Gombak,Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Website	http://www.iiu.edu.my/

The International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM)(Arabic: الجامعة الإسلامية العالمية ماليزيا‎) is a private publicly-funded university in Malaysia. The main IIUM campus is located in Gombak, Selangor. IIUM is sponsored by eight different governments from the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Although the university was founded on Islamic principles, it admits non-Muslim students as well.

It is completely distinct from the International Islamic University in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Background

IIUM was first conceived in 1982 by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad during a special meeting between OIC leaders to establish an international institution for tertiary education based on Islamic principles (the Islamization of Knowledge). It was officially opened on 10 May 1983 at Petaling Jaya, with the Allahyarham Tun Hussein Onn elected as the first president.

IIUM is a private university and operates under the direction of a Board of Governors with representatives of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) as well as eight sponsoring governments. Nevertheless, the Constitutional Head, President and Rector of this international university are all Malaysians. The current Constitutional Head is the Sultan of Pahang, Sultan Hj Ahmad Shah al-Musta'in Billah. (The central mosque is named in his honour.)

Faculties, Centres, and Campuses

Presently, the university has moved to a sprawling 700 acre (2.8 km²) campus at Gombak, Kuala Lumpur. The original campus in Petaling Jaya has been converted to a matriculation centre and now known as Centre For Foundation Studies (CFS). IIUM also has newly opened a CFS new campus at Bandar Baru Nilai, Negeri Sembilan for Art students such as BEN, HS, IRK, BAR, LAWS and ECONOMICS. Apart from these two campuses, IIUM has another two campuses—the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), Kuala Lumpur and Kuantan, about 250 km to the east in the state of Pahang; ISTAC might more properly be referred to as a research institute rather than a campus. Nevertheless it comes within the administration of the University.

IIUM has 13 faculties, called 'kulliyyah' in the University from the Arabic word meaning the same. Two faculties unique to IIUM are the Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws (AIKOL) and the Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences (KIRKHS). Other courses offered include various disciplines of Engineering, Dentistry, Nursing, Allied Health Sciences, Architecture, Information Technology, Biomedical Science, Biotechnology ,Economics and Management Sciences.

An IIUM panoramic view.

The faculties (kulliyyah) of IIUM are:

• Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws
• Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences
• Kulliyyah of Economics and Management Sciences
• Kulliyyah of Engineering
• Kulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design
• Kulliyyah of Information and Communication Technology
• Institute of Education
• [Centre of Languages and Pre-University Academic Development (CELPAD)]

The Kuantan campus houses the :

• Kulliyyah of Medicine,
• Kulliyyah of Allied Health Sciences,
• Kulliyyah of Pharmacy
• Kuliyyah of Nursing
• Kulliyyah of Science
• Kulliyyah of Dentistry.

There are 12 'excellence centres'. Among the notable centres include the IIUM Breast Centre, located in the Kuantan campus and devoted to the research and diagnosis of breast cancer, the number one killer of women in Malaysia.

The Cultural Activity Centre (CAC) is the University's biggest centre, which is significant as a venue for the annual convocation ceremony. The centre also can be converted as an examination venue. Several cultural performances, talks and seminars were held at the centre; but the most notably was the 2003 Asia Pacific Indigenous Plays Festival which featured international cultural performances from Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Japan, and the United States of America.

Facilities

Although this is an uncommon practice in Malaysian universities, every student is entitled to have their own rooms in hostels within the IIUM campus.

IIUM is particularly well-known, at least in Malaysia, for its extensive law library and research centre, as well as for producing top-class university debaters; the University was placed seventh in the world varsity rankings in 2003.

Masjid of Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah

The Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Mosque of IIUM.

The Masjid of Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah lies in the centre of the main campus grounds, interconnected to the rest of the administrative and academic buildings. This is symbolic of the Muslim belief that religious and worldly education are indivisible and inseparable from each other.^{[citation needed]} IIUM is also noted for its gleaming blue-tiled roofs and characteristic sandstone buildings.

Medium of instruction and compulsory course

The medium of instruction is English, with Arabic used in courses related to the study of Islamic sciences like theology, jurisprudence and ethics. Basic Arabic is a compulsory course, even for non-Muslim students. In addition, basic Bahasa Melayu is also compulsory for international students.

Students

IIUM started with just 153 students in 1983, but today approximately 3,000 students enroll each year.^{[citation needed]} As of 2005, there were approximately 20,000 students from over 40 Islamic countries studying in IIUM, as well as students from non-Islamic countries (such as Germany, China, Japan, India, United States of America, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Thailand).

Perhaps significantly for an Islamic institution, the ratio of female-to-male students is 3:1.

To date, IIUM has produced 28,065 and 10,767 graduates at bachelor's, and master's and doctorate levels respectively. Of these 38,832 graduates, 4,270 were international students from more than 100 countries. As such, IIUM is recognised by OIC countries as an institution that produces many international graduates.

Having graduates all over the world, IIUM has officially established Alumni Chapters in Thailand, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Indonesia, Maldives, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Singapore. Branches of Alumni Chapters have also been opened in Turkey, China, Nigeria, the Philippines, Yemen, Brunei, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Gambia and the United Arab Emirates.

The main functions of these Alumni Chapters are to promote the concept of humanity and development of the world community, improve relations among members throughout the world, and set up communication networks to develop IIUM and Malaysia in general.

Awards and Recognition

IIUM has participated on an international competitions in the field of debate, public speaking and mooting competitions. In debating, IIUM has been listed in the “Malaysia Book of Records” as the first among the Top 10 international universities^{[citation needed]} in debating competitions.

The debating team won the World's Best Debater Award in the competition held at the University of British Columbia in 2006^{[citation needed]}.

In the field of research, IIUM has received recognition at regional and international level by winning gold, silver and bronze medals at various exhibitions and expos, including PENCIPTA, INPEX, ITEX and Geneva.^{[citation needed]}

Notable alumni

• Fong Po Kuan, a Member of Parliament in Malaysia for the constituency of Batu Gajah, Perak and a member of the Democratic Action Party, received a law degree from IIUM in 1997.
• Melati Abdul Hamid was the first Malaysian to win the Best Oralist award in the final round of the 2005 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, an international law competition held in Washington D.C. In 2006, she received the Fulbright scholarship which enabled her to pursue an LL.M at Harvard University.
• Damina Khaira graduated from the law school and later enrolled at Oxford University for her Master's degree. In 2008, she received the Fulbright scholarship which enabled her to pursue a Ph.D at Harvard University.
• Tan Sri Dato' Azman bin Mokhtar, Managing Director/CEO of Khazanah Nasional Berhad^[1].
• Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, former Mufti of Perlis.^[2]
• Ezam Mohd Noor, politician.^[3]
• Datuk Reezal Merican Naina Merican, President of GPMS and UMNO Youth Exco member.
• Tengku Amalin A'ishah Putri, Kelantanese Princess.
• Tunku Aminah Kalsom, Johorian Princess.
• Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, Menteri Besar of Perak.
• Mohammad Fairus bin Khairuddin, former Deputy Chief Minister 1 of Pulau Pinang.
• Malik Imtiaz, prominent human rights lawyer and activist.
• Norjuma Habib Muhammad, famous television celebrity and winner of Pengacara Jemputan NONA.
• Rafe Haneef, Islamic Banking Consultant and Managing Director of Fajr Capital,Malaysia & Former head of Islamic banking for Citigroup Asia, received a law degree from IIUM and completed a LL.M at Harvard University

It is also noted that then Prime Ministers of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei and Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, king of Saudi Arabia were conferred honorary doctorates by IIUM in various fields.

Notable faculty members

• Mohammad Hashim Kamali, Afghan-born Islamic legal scholar, professor of law at the Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws.
• Arshad Islam, Associate Professor of History.
• Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim, Deputy Minister in Prime Minister's Department.
• Datuk Dusuki Ahmad, former political secretary of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed and Chairman of Amanah Raya Berhad.
• Tan Sri Harun Hashim, former controversial judge who banned UMNO.
• Tan Sri Ahmad Ibrahim, former Attorney General of Singapore.
• Datuk Md Hashim Yahya, former Mufti of Wilayah Persekutuan.
• Yusri Mohamad, President of ABIM.
• Amina Wadud, controversial female Islamic scholar.
• Dr. Muhammad Arif Zakaullah, professor of economics.

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ http://infad.usim.edu.my/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=9644
3. ^ http://www.ezam.my/v2/index.php/Profile.html

• Aiming to be premier Islamic university, The Star, November 30, 2007.

External links

• International Islamic University Malaysia's Official Homepage
• IIUM Student Info Portal
• IIUM's E-Learning Page
• Student's Network

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