KEYNOTE SPEAKER

TAN SRI PROF. DR. KAMAL HASSAN

Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dr. Mohd. Kamal Hassan was born in Pasir Mas, Kelantan in 1942. As a youth, he attended Sultan Ismail School and College (1950-1960) in Kota Bharu and Victoria Institution (1061-1962) in Kuala Lumpur. He obtained a B.A. (Hons) First Class (Islamic Studies) from Universiti Malaya (U.M., 1965), and later attained his M.A. (1970), M.Phil. (1972) and PhD (1976) degrees from Columbia University, New York, specialising in Contemporary Islamic Thought in Southeast Asia. He began his academic career as a tutor at his alma mater (U.M. in 1966-1968, and Columbia University in 1970-1971). He joined the National University of Malaysia (UKM) as a lecturer in 1976, was the Head of the Department of Usuluddin and Philosophy in 1979 and promoted as Associate Professor in 1980. In 1982, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed assigned him to write the concept paper and rationale for the establishment of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). He began his career at IIUM in 1983 as Shaikh al-Kulliyyah at the Centre for Fundamental Knowledge, and was appointed as Professor in IIUM on July 1st 1983. He was the founding Dean of the Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences (KIRKHS), IIUM (1989-1990), and served as the third Rector of IIUM from 1999 to 2006.During Professor Kamal’s decades of service at IIUM, he accumulated a very long list of national and international recognitions, awards, professional appointments and academic positions. For example, he was the First Holder of Malaysia Chair of Islam in Southeast Asia and Visiting Professor, at the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown   University, U.S.A., (1997-1998); the First Holder of Chair of Ibn Khaldun, IIUM (2006 –2008), and was Eminent Visiting Professor at Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Centre of Islamic Studies, University of Brunei Darussalam (2013-2017). In 2010, the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia conferred upon Professor Kamal the title “Profesor Ulung”. Profesor Ulung (Distinguished Professors) in Malaysia are state-owned icons, as their contributions transcend the institutions they represent. The title is the highest honour conferred upon outstanding senior professors in Malaysia in acknowledgement and appreciation of their contributions to the nation. To date, only five professors have been conferred with this very rare and distinguished title. Professor Kamal served as Distinguished Professor at the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (STAC), IIUM from 2011 to 2017, when he retired, after more than 50 years (35 years at IIUM) of sterling service to Malaysian education.In 2017, Professor Kamal was again honoured by the Ministry of Higher Education with the title “Tokoh Anugerah Akademik Negara” (National Academic Figure). To date, he is the only academic that has received both recognitions, which are the highest academic accolades awarded by the Ministry of Education for outstanding academics in Malaysia. In 2018 IIUM conferred him the title Professor Emeritus. He is currently a volunteer consultant for Institut Latihan Islam Malaysia (ILIM) (the Institute of Islamic Trainings Malaysia) and the new Chairman for Lembaga Penasihat Penyelarasan Pelajaran dan Pendidikan Agama Islam (LEPAI) (Islamic Religious Education Coordination and Advisory Board). The latest are among his many post-retirement involvements; all on pro-bono. He is also currently the Honorary Advisor for the Centre for Islamisation (CENTRIS), IIUM.The foci of his writings are mainly philosophy and contemporary Islamic thought, contemporary issues, religion, society, spirituality, ethics and morality and Islamic education. The areas of his interest are (i) Integrated and Holistic Education, (ii) Islamicisation of Human Knowledge and Institutions, and (iii) The Moral and Spiritual Development and Education of Human Beings from the Islamic Perspective. Some of his latest works include Voice of Islamic moderation from the Malay World (2011);  The Heart of the Problems is The Problem of the Heart: An Islamic Spiritual Perspective of Contemporary Civilisational Crises (2015); “The Discourse of Islamic Worldview:  A Conceptual Analysis” (2017); Salam Kasih (2017); Natural Science From The Worldview of The Qur’an: An Introduction (2018) in three volumes for Islamic secondary schools; and “An Islamic University in the Malaysian Context:  Pursuing the Mission of Desecularisation, Integration and Islamicisation of Human Knowledge” (2019).

PROF. DATO' DR. MOHAMMAD HASHIM KAMALI

Professor Dato’ Dr. Mohammad Hashim Kamali is founding CEO of the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies, Malaysia (2007—continuing), and a world renowned scholar in his field of specialisation. He served as Professor of Islamic Law and Jurisprudence at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM, 1985–2004); and was Dean of the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (ISTAC, 2004–2006). Currently he is Senior Fellow at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia, a Senior Fellow of the Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan, and also Senior Fellow of the Royal Academy of Jordan. He serves on the International Advisory Board of thirteen academic journals published in Malaysia, USA, Canada, Kuwait, India, Australia and Pakistan. Professor Kamali has served as a member and sometime Chairman of the Constitution Review Commission of Afghanistan (2003); as a UN consultant on constitutional reforms in Afghanistan, the Maldives, and Iraq; and currently advises the UN on a new constitution for Somalia. He graduated from Kabul University in Afghanistan with 1st Class Honours in Law and Political Science (1965), and served as Public Prosecutor with the Afghan Ministry of Justice for two years. He completed his LLM in Comparative Law, and Ph.D in Islamic and Middle Eastern Law, at the University of London (1969–1976); following which he was employed as a broadcasting support staff by the BBC in Reading, UK (1976–1979). Dr. Kamali was Assistant Professor at the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University in Montreal (1979–84); and a Research Associate with the Canada Council for Social Science and Humanities (1984–1985). He has been a Visiting Professor at Capital University, Ohio (1991), as well as Visiting Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin, Germany (2000–2001).

PROF. DR. OMAR KASULE

Dr. Omar Hasan Kasule graduated from Makerere University in Uganda and subsequently obtained his postgraduate training in public health including a doctorate in epidemiology from Harvard University. Additionally, Dr. Kasule had obtained a certification in Arabic and Islamic studies from Bilal Institute in Kampala, Uganda. From 1987-1995, Dr. Kasule worked in USA involved in managing development projects involving education and health in North America and the Caribbean and clinical epidemiology as a Quality Assurance Consultant in several states in USA. After working in USA for few years, Dr. Kasule accepted a position at the newly established Islamic university in Malaysia where from (1995-2005) he held the appointments of Professor of Medicine, Deputy Dean for Research and Post Graduate, founding Chief Editor of the International Medical Journal www-e-imj.com. Prof. Kasule’s teachings emphasize the study and practice of medicine that integrates social and ethical values into the medical curriculum. He has had 7 years’ experience conducting Problem-based learning sessions for undergraduates. Since June 2005, Dr. Kasule has been on the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Brunei where he teaches undergraduate students courses on epidemiology, biostatistics, and medical ethics. He teaches postgraduate courses on advanced research methods and evidence-based health policy and practice. The King Fahd Medical City in Riyadh was fortunate in recruiting Dr. Kasule to its Faculty of Medicine in 2009.Dr. Kasule is a consultant for many hospitals and faculties of medicine in the South East Asia region on Islamic Medicine and integration of Islam in medical practice and teaching. His pioneering work across Indonesia, Malaysia and more recently Brunei has transformed the medical education in significant number of the medical schools in SE Asia and this has resulted in Prof Kasule being a frequent invited scholar all over the globe. 

DR. AASIM PADELLA

Dr. Aasim Padela is an internationally-recognized thought and research leader in the fields of Muslim health disparities and Islamic Bioethics. At present, he is Professor of Emergency Medicine, Bioethics and the Medical Humanities, as well as Vice Chair of Research and Scholarship in the Department of Emergency Medicine, at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He also directs a non-profit platform for research, education and dialogue, the Initiative on Islam and Medicine.Dr. Padela holds an MD from Weill Cornell Medical College and received an MSc in Healthcare Research from the University of Michigan. He completed residency in emergency medicine at the University of Rochester, and clinical medical ethics training at the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago. He also holds Bachelor’s degrees in Biomedical Engineering and Classical Arabic from the University of Rochester, and has studied Islamic theology and law in seminary and academic settings nationally and abroad.As a scholar, Dr. Padela’s focus is on the intersections of healthcare, bioethics, and religion. Overall, his scholarship aims at improving health and healthcare through better accommodating religious values in healthcare delivery. Using Muslim Americans and Islam as a model, he studies how (i) religion impacts patient health behaviors and healthcare experiences, (ii) informs the professional identities and workplace experiences of clinicians, and (iii) furnishes bioethical guidance to patients, providers, policy-makers, and religious leaders. This knowledge is subsequently mobilized towards educational and policy interventions. His projects cover critical issues related to cancer screening, organ donation, end-of-life care, and the intersection of religion and science. This work has been funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation, the Templeton Religion Trust, the American Cancer Society, the Health Research and Services Administration, the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, the Greenwall Foundation, the Institute for Social Policy & Understanding, and other foundations.  As a scholar and thought-leader, he has authored over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and three forthcoming books on Islam and Biomedicine and Ethics. He has also delivered dozens of keynote lectures and seminars across the globe, and has consulted with religious and health authorities on topics related to policy and ethics. Critically, his work and expert commentary has been featured in multiple leading media outlets including the New York Times, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, National Public Radio, BBC, and CNN.  As a service to the profession, he holds editorial positions for the Encyclopedia of Islamic Bioethics, the American Journal of Bioethics, BMC Medical Ethics, Global Bioethics, the International Journal of Islam, BETIM Journal of Medical Humanities, and TAHFIM Journal of Islam and the Contemporary World.

ASSOC. PROF. DR. NORA MAT ZIN

Graduated as medical doctor with total experience of almost 23 years in medical and health services. Certified psychiatrist with more than 15 years’ experience in managing mental health and psychiatric disorders at inpatient and outpatient clinical setting. Has excellent background in  managerial post, teaching, research training of the medical professional in the field of psychiatry. Skilled psychiatrist in the area of psychotherapy and applied psychology and additional experienced in occupational mental health.

PROF. DR. ABDUL WAHAB BIN ABDUL RAHMAN

Professor Abdul Wahab started his career with Hewlett Packard Singapore as a production engineer and was then given the post of R&D Project Manager since 1982. He has worked in Singapore and Colorado, USA prior to joining the faculty member of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore in 1990.In 2009 He joined the Kulliyyah of Information and Communication Technology, International Islamic University, Malaysia. Professor Abdul Wahab had published more than 100 conferences, Journal, patent and book chapters in areas of digital and optical computing, signal processing, Artificial Intelligence, and Neuroscience and computing.He has taught the digital system design courses, computer organizations and architectures, Research methodologies, industrial attachment coordinator. His areas of expertise covers digital system design based on reconfigurable logics, speech processing especially in the areas of speech enhancement, speech recognition and speaker identification, and integrating signal processing with Fuzzy neural networks (especially in the areas of cerebellum).His current research are in the areas of understanding and analyzing brain developmental disorder using the EEG and ECG as neuro-cardio physiological data modeling of the brain and the heart. Professor Abdul Wahab is also the board member of Mercy Relief Singapore since 2003 and was also the vice chairman of mercy relief Singapore from 2008 to 2012.In 2008 he received the Friends and goodwill award from the Singapore SOKA Association for humanitarian contribution and a long service award from the Ministry of Community Development and Sports (MCDS) on 2004. He was also the Winner of the Rotary – ITE Alumni Professional Achievement Award in 2003, which was also named as the Paul Harris Fellow of the Rotary Foundation of the Rotary International.In 2006 he was awarded the most popular teacher award in school of computer engineering, NTU. Professor Abdul Wahab was the advisor to the Singapore Malay Chamber of commerce (1989 – 1993). As chairman and supervisor to the IRSYAD School, Singapore, (1996 – 2000), he transform the school to a more English speaking, science educated students. He was also the Council member of Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS), (1997 – 2004).In 1993 to 1994 professor Abdul Wahab was the Consultant to OMNI DESIGN Singapore Pte. Ltd, for the design, development and project management of an ergonomic keyboards and a 3D pointing device and in 1994 – 1999, he was the Chairman to Technical Committee review SS337: 1989 – safety of information technology equipment including business equipment (TC 118/4/8R), SISIR, Singapore.