Mohammad Hashim Kamali
Chairman
International Institute of Advance Islamic Studies Malaysia

Area of Expertise

• Islamic Jurisprudence & Legal Theory
• Islamic Commercial Law
• Constitution and Laws of Afghanistan

BIOGRAPHICAL HIGHLIGHTS

Mohamad Hashim Kamali was a Professor of Islamic Law and Jurisprudence at the International Islamic University Malaysia, and also Dean of the International Institute of Islamic Thought & Civilisation (ISTAC) from 1985 - 2007. He is currently Chairman & CEO of the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies, Malaysia. He graduated from Kabul University and then completed his LLM in Comparative Law, and Ph.D in Islamic and Middle Eastern Law at the University of London (1969 – 1976). Then he worked as a broadcasting support staff with the BBC in Reading, UK (1976 – 1979). Dr. Kamali was Assistant Professor at the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University in Montreal, and then a Research Associate with Canada Council for Social Science and Humanities (1979 – 1985). He was a Visiting Professor at Capital University, Ohio in 1991 and Visiting Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study Berlin, Germany (2000 – 2001). He is currently a Fellow of that Institute and also a member of the Royal Academy of Jordan. He was a member and Chairman of the Constitution Review Commission of Afghanistan (2003). He is currently on the International Advisory Board of eleven academic journals published in Malaysia, USA, Canada, Kuwait, India, Australia and Pakistan. Professor Kamali has served as a UN consultant on constitutional reforms in the Maldives, and as a Shariah expert on the constitution of Iraq (2005 – 2006).

He is currently a member of the Golbal Expert Finder Network of the UN Alliance of Civilisations, Chairman of the CIMB Shariah Committee and Chairman of Shariah Board, Stanlib Corporation of South Africa. Professor Kamali is a signatory to the “Common Word” between Muslims and Christians worldwide, has addressed over 120 national and international conferences, published 16 books and over 110 academic articles. He delivered the Prominent Scholars Lecture Series (Silsila Muhadarat Ulama’ al-Barizin) No. 20 at the Islamic Research and Training Institute of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 1996 and the Multaqa Sultan Ahmad Shah Lecture in Kuantan 2002.Professor Kamali has featured frequently on the print media, radio, TV and the internet. He featured a full page article in Berliner Zeitung just before the Taliban blew up the Bamian Statues and on the Iran Television network just before the US invasion of Afghanistan. He also appeared on RTM Malaysia, Afghanistan Ariana TV, TV Kuwait, Al Arabiya, The Maldives TV, and Al-Jazira, the last just before the Archbishop of Canterbury spoke on recognition of aspects of Shariah in Britain. He received the Isma’il al-Faruqi Award for Academic Excellence twice in 1995 and 1997, and he is listed in a number of leading Who’s Whos in the World.

Pubications

• “The Islamic State: Origins, Definition and Salient Attributes”, in ed. K.S. Nathan & Mohammad Hashim Kamali, Islam in Southeast Asia: Political, Social and Strategic Challenges for the 21st Century, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2005, pp. 278-298.
• “Equity and Fairness in Islam”, Cambridge, Islam Texts Society, 2005, pp.143.
  “Istihsan and the Renewal of Islamic Law,” Islamic Studies 43 (2004), pp. 561-581.
• Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence (third revised and expanded edition), Islamic Texts Society, Cambridge, UK, 2003, 553 pages.

Presentations

• “Prospects for a New Constitution of Iraq”, presented at International Constitutional Law Experts in Amman, 18 April 2005.
• “Open Fatwa and Shari’ah Audience Discussion”, presented at the Inaugural Asian Islamic Banking and Finance Summit, Kuala Lumpur, 22 September 2004.
• “Civilian and Democratic Dimensions of Governance in Islam”, presented at the 13th Session of the Royal Academic of Jordan on Islamic Governance and Democracy: Commonalities and Differences Between the Islamic System of Governance and Democracy, 22 August 2004.
• “Debt, Debt Securities and Deferred Sales: An Islamic Legal Analysis”, presented at the jointly organised IIUM – Securities Commission of Malaysia Conference, `Islamic Bonds Colloquium’, Kuala Lumpur, 24 June 2004.

Books

The Dignity of Man: An Islamic Perspective

Synopsis:

The Dignity of Man: An Islamic Perspective provides the most detailed study to date on the subject of the dignity of man from the perspective of Islam. M H Kamali sets out the proclamations on human dignity found in the Quran and then discusses topics pertaining to or resulting from human dignity: the physical and spiritual nobility of man; God's love for humanity; the sanctity of life; and the necessity for freedom, equality and accountability. Finally, the author examines the measures that the Shariah has taken to protect human dignity and to promote it in social interaction. The discussion is here presented in the light of the debate on the universality of human rights as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This book goes a long way towards exploring an alternative to Western concepts of human rights. The Dignity of Man: An Islamic Perspective is part of a series of studies on fundamental rights and liberties in Islam and should be read with its companion volumes of Freedom, Equality and Justice in Islam, and Freedom of Expression in Islam also available from Fons Vitae books.

Videos

Professor Kamali Reacts to Anglican Archbishop backing Partial Sharia in UK - 08 Feb 08