Academy of Islamic Studies

The department of Shariah and Law is an action-oriented and high-yielding department. Established formally in 1996 but its origins only began in 1990 with the formation of law specialization within the then Faculty of Shariah. The department aims to advance Shariah studies, particularly Islamic law based on the tradition of Islamic knowledge and modern scientific methods through quality education for the nation and humanity. The major strength of the Department of Shariah and Law is assembled through various expertise along with the experienced academic staff. All 5 senior lecturers, 3 Associate Professor, 2 Professor in the department are Ph.D. holders and one international faculties from Thailand. Apart from that, a majority of the department has great expertise and established research area with strengths in the areas of Islamic Administration Law/Shariah Courts, Islamic Family Law, Law on Islamic Estate Planning, Islamic Law of Evidence, Islamic Criminal Law, Conflicts of Law, Islamic Judiciary, Constitutional Law, Islamic Civil dan Criminal Procedure, Islamic Law on Banking and Finance, Islamic Law and Human Rights, as well as Halal and Consumer Law. On top of that, a majority of the staff also have had their research programs supported by various grants from internal and external agencies. The department also has evidence of quality research work by way of well-built linkages with industries and professional bodies, strong international collaborations, services on scholarly journal editorial boards, invited presentations speaker at national and international conferences as well as committee members for research centre organization, and to add on, service as referees for journal articles.

Furthermore, the department has provided a academic program that includes a Ph.D. by research program, Master of Shariah by research program, Master of Shariah Law program (Course work and research) and Bachelor of Shariah and Law Program Structure. The curriculum has been reviewed in 2016 while the programs have been accredited by MQA and recognised by JPA and AUN-QA – 2007. The program offers 156 credit programs (4 years/8 semesters) with the following breakdown:

University Course – 20 credit
Academy Core – 10 credit
Shariah Law Core – 42 credit
Shariah Law Professional – 33 credit
Civil – 36 credit
Elective – 9 credit
Faculty Elective – 3 credit
Student Attachement/Placement – 3 credit

Quality teaching has been a priority for the department. The procedure is referring to the University Learning Guidelines comprising Class Instructions; lectures, tutorials, Guided Learning; mooting, case management, attachments and Self-Learning; assignment, presentation, examination. The University Assessment Guidelines is whereas comprising Formative Assessment; assignment, presentation, reports, project, quiz, test, etc. (40%) and Summative Assessment; final examination (60%).

The department also has brought substantial funds to the alma mater from the revenue generated by students taking the programs provided by the department. On the other hand, these programs also provide excellent career prospects to name a few, Shariah Court Officers, Shariah Lawyer/Counsel, Religious Officer, Islamic Finance and Banking, Government Sectors, Enforcement Officers, Research Officers as well as Lecturer and so on. As we have well-built connections with external and international institutions, there are also Prominent Visitors/Adjunct Professor who had been visiting the department, which includes;

En Muazzam Mohamed (CEO Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad) – Adjunct Professor (currently)
YBhg Datuk Dr. Nik Nozrul Nik Thani (President ZICO Law) – Adjunct Professor
Professor Dr. Khoiruddin Nasution (Professor UIN Yogyakarta, Indonesia) – Visiting Senior Fellow
Professor Dr. Taslima Mansoor (Dean of Law Faculty, Dacca University, Bangladesh) – Visiting Senior Fellow
Professor Dr. Asmak Begum Siddiqa (Dean of Law Faculty, Rajshahi University, Bangladesh) – Visiting Senior Fellow
Professor Dr. Michael Peletz (Professor Emory University, USA) – Visiting Professor
Professor Dr. Abdul Majed Saleheen (Professor Faculty of Shariah, Jordan University) – Speaker
Professor Dr. Najma Moosa, Law Faculty, Western Cape University, South Africa - Speaker
Dr Kerstin Steiner (Senior Lecturer, Business School, Melbourne University) – Visiting Fellow
Dr. Laura Alder (Department of Global Studies at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, USA) – Fulbright Scholar
Dr. Sobia Abdul Razaq, Senior Lecturer, University of Westminster, United Kingdom – Speaker