The International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) is a private publicly-funded university in Malaysia. It is completely distinct from the International Islamic University in Islamabad, Pakistan. The main IIUM campus is located in Gombak, Selangor. IIUM is sponsored by eight different governments from the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Although the university was founded on Islamic principles, it admits non-Muslim students as well. // History Because of the above definition, the oldest universities in the world were all European, as the awarding of academic degrees was not a custom of older institutions of learning in Asia and Africa. ... The International Islamic University is an important Islamic university located in Islamabad, Pakistan. ... Islamabad (اسلام آباد, abode of Islam), population 955,629, is the capital city of Pakistan, located in the Potwar Plateau, north-west of the country. ... Gombak is a district within the state of Selangor, Malaysia. ... The flag of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC; Arabic: منظمة المؤتمر الإسلامي) (Turkish: İslam Konferansı Örgütü)(French: Organisation de la Conference Islamique) is an inter-governmental organization with a Permanent Delegation to the United Nations. ...

Background

IIUM was first conceived in 1982 by then Prime Minister 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 late Tun Hussein Onn elected as the first president. 1982 (MCMLXXXII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mahathir bin Mohamad (born December 20, 1925 in Alor Star, Kedah) was the Prime Minister of Malaysia from July 16, 1981 to 2003. ... OIC may stand for: Organization of the Islamic Conference Office of Independent Council Office of Internal Communications Office of the Information Commissioner In Internet slang Oh, I see - also popular, in same usage, as comedic element from a scene in Disneys animated movie version of Tarzan. ... The Islamization of knowledge is a term which describes a variety of attempts and approaches to synthesize the ethics of Islam with various fields of modern thought. ... May 10 is the 130th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (131st in leap years). ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Petaling Jaya is a satellite town of the federal territory Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and is located in the Petaling district. ... Tun Hussein bin Dato Onn (February 12, 1922-May 29, 1990) was the third Prime Minister of Malaysia, ruling from 1976 to 1981. ...

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.) A sultan (Arabic: سلطان) is an Islamic title, with several historical meanings. ... State motto: no State motto Capital Kuantan Royal Capital Pekan Sultan Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Chief Minister Dato Seri Adnan Yaakob Area 35,964 km2 Population  - Est year 2005 1,372,500 State anthem Pahang State Anthem Pahang (Jawi: Ú¨Ù‡Ú ) is the largest state in Peninsular Malaysia, occupying the huge Sungai...

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. 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 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. Gombak is a district within the state of Selangor, Malaysia. ... Mayor Datuk Ruslin Hasan District Kuala Lumpur District Area  - Total (City) 243. ... Petaling Jaya is a satellite town of the federal territory Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and is located in the Petaling district. ... The matriculation ceremony at Oxford Matriculation refers to the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by acquiring the required prior qualifications. ... Mayor Datuk Ruslin Hasan District Kuala Lumpur District Area  - Total (City) 243. ... Teluk Cempedak Beach, Kuantan Kuantan (population 340,000) is a town in Malaysia, and is the state capital of Pahang, the largest state in the peninsular, covering around 36,000 km². ... State motto: no State motto Capital Kuantan Royal Capital Pekan Sultan Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Chief Minister Dato Seri Adnan Yaakob Area 35,964 km2 Population  - Est year 2005 1,372,500 State anthem Pahang State Anthem Pahang (Jawi: Ú¨Ù‡Ú ) is the largest state in Peninsular Malaysia, occupying the huge Sungai...

IIUM has 10 faculties, called 'kulliyyah' in the University after the Arabic—the only institution in Malaysia to call them as such. Two faculties unique to IIUM are the Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws (AIKOL) and the Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences. Other courses offered include various disciplines of engineering, architecture, information technology, biological and chemical sciences, and economics and management sciences. The Kuantan campus houses the Kulliyyah of Medicine, Kulliyyah of Allied Health Sciences, Kulliyyah of Pharmacy and Kulliyyah of Nursing.

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. Teluk Cempedak Beach, Kuantan Kuantan (population 340,000) is a town in Malaysia, and is the state capital of Pahang, the largest state in the peninsular, covering around 36,000 km². ... Breast cancer is cancer of breast tissue. ...

Mosque of Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah

The Mosque 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. IIUM is also noted for its gleaming blue-tiled roofs and characteristic sandstone buildings.

IIUM started with just 153 students in 1983, but today approximately 3,000 students enrol each year. Although this is an uncommon practice in Malaysian varsities, every student is entitled to have their own rooms in hostels within the IIUM campus.

Medium of instruction and compulsory course

The medium of instruction is English, with Arabic used in courses related to the study of fiqh and sharia. Basic Arabic is a compulsory course, even for non-Muslim students. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Arabic (; , less formally, ) is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... Islamic jurisprudence, (Arabic: Fiqh) (in Arabic and Persian: فقه) is made up of the rulings (Fatwa) of Muslim Islamic jurists (Ulema) to direct the lives of the Muslims. ... Sharia (Arabic: ; also Sharīah, Sharia, Shariah or Syariah) is the Arabic word for Islamic law, also known as the Law of Allah. ...

Students

As of last year (2004), there were approximately 15,000 students from over 40 Islamic countries studying in IIUM, as well as students from non-Islamic countries with a sizable Muslim minority (such as Germany, the Philippines and Thailand). 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم) (sometimes also spelled Moslem) is an adherent of Islam. ...

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

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.

Tudung controversy

In October of 2005, the university was highlighted in Parliament by opposition leader Lim Kit Siang of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) who raised the subject of female non-Muslim students being barred from attending their convocation unless they wore the headscarf (tudung in Malay). The headscarf bears Muslim connotations in Malaysia. Look up October in Wiktionary, the free dictionary October is the tenth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Parliament of Malaysia consists of the lower house (Dewan Rakyat or literally Peoples Hall, in Malay) and upper house (Dewan Negara or Nations Hall in Malay). ... Lim Kit Siang Lim Kit Siang (b. ... Democratic Action Party (DAP) logo The Democratic Action Party (DAP, Parti Tindakan Demokratik in Malay) is Malaysias largest secular and Socialist opposition party. ... Not to be confused with the Malayalam language, spoken in India. ...

As a result of this university policy, Foo Yueh Jiin (25 years old), who graduated with honours (second upper) in law was barred from attending her convocation on the 30th of August 2005.

Eventually the Minister of National Unity, Maximus Ongkili, ruled that the university's decision did not violate "basic human rights" and that the university's policy, which had been introduced by the university Senate, was "a matter of uniforms that must be followed".

The issue had also been raised earlier in parliament, in 2003, when IIUM alumnus Fong Po Kuan, also a Member of Parliament (MP) from the DAP, recalled being forced to don a headscarf for her graduation ceremony. Then, she had been assured by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Mahadzhir Mohammad Khir, that although wearing the tudung was encouraged, it was not compulsory. However, in 2004, the university Senate made it mandatory for female students to wear the tudung to their convocation ceremony. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Fong Po Kuan (Chinese : 冯宝君) (born 15 September 1973 in Perak) is a Malaysian politician from the Democratic Action Party (DAP) political party. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A Convocation is a group of people formally assembled for a special purpose. ...

The Cabinet later decided that donning the tudung, including to the convocation ceremony, would be made optional for all Malaysian undergraduates. After the meeting that made the decision, Ongkili told the press that the Ministers agreed no student, including those of the Muslim faith, should be coerced into wearing the tudung.

Famous alumni

• The famous Afghan-born Islamic legal scholar, Mohammad Hashim Kamali, is a professor in law at the Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws.
• 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.

Mohammad Hashim Kamali is professor of law at the International Islamic University, Malaysia. ... Fong Po Kuan (Chinese : 冯宝君) (born 15 September 1973 in Perak) is a Malaysian politician from the Democratic Action Party (DAP) political party. ... The Parliament of Malaysia consists of the lower house (Dewan Rakyat or literally Peoples Hall, in Malay) and upper house (Dewan Negara or Nations Hall in Malay). ... Democratic Action Party (DAP) logo The Democratic Action Party (DAP, Parti Tindakan Demokratik in Malay) is Malaysias largest secular and Socialist opposition party. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

• Atan, Hamidah (Nov. 10, 2005). "Tudung IS optional". New Straits Times, p. 1–2.
• Fong, Po Kuan (2005). "Foo Yueh Jiin vs Fong Po Kuan in IIU (Part One)". Retrieved Nov. 4, 2005.
• Lim, Kit Siang (2005). "Religion sensitisation for universities, Parliament and policy makers". Retrieved Oct. 30, 2005.
• "Malaysia says university can make non-Muslims wear headscarves". (Oct. 27, 2005). AFP.

The New Straits Times is a Malaysian English language newspaper. ... AFP as an acronym can stand for: Agence France-Presse Alpha-fetoprotein American Free Press Apple Filing Protocol Association for Financial Professionals Armed Forces Police Australia First Party Australian Federal Police Automatic Frequency Planning, a term used in mobile communications Advanced Function Presentation, an IBM printing architecture and file format. ...