Mohd. Kamal bin Hassan (born 27 October 1942 in

Pasir Mas Pasir Mas (Jawi: ڤاسير مس, Kelantanese: ''Pasey Mah'') is a town in Pasir Mas District, in north-western Kelantan, Malaysia. Pasir Mas is Kelantan's second largest city by population (230,424 in 2020 census). History According to legend, ...

Kelantan Kelantan (; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate'') is a state in Malaysia. The capital is Kota Bharu and royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode"). Kelantan is located in t ...

) is a Muslim academic and Islamic scholar, specializing in contemporary Islamic thought, particularly pertaining to the Southeast Asia region. He was the Rector of the

International Islamic University Malaysia The International Islamic University Malaysia ( ms, Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia; Jawi: اونيۏرسيتي اسلام انتارابڠسا مليسيا; ar, الجامعة الإسلامية العالمية بماليزيا), als ...

(IIUM) from 1998 to 2006.

Education background

Kamal attended Sultan Ismail School in Kota Bharu. He attained his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...

in Islamic studies from University of Malaya (UM) in 1965. He furthered his postgraduate studies in

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, where he obtained the degree of

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in 1970, Master of Philosophy in 1972 and

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in 1975.

Career

He started his academic career at the National University of Malaysia, where he chaired the Department of Usuluddin and Philosophy in 1979 and was later made a full professor. He then joined IIUM, where he founded the Faculty of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences in 1983. He succeeded Professor Emeritus Dato' Abdul Hamid Ahmad Abu Sulayman as the third Rector of IIUM on 5 April 1998 and served the office before passing it to Professor Dato' Sri Syed Arabi Syed Abdullah Idid. To mark his contributions to the country, he was chosen to be a National Academic Figure in 2017. He left IIUM on 30 July 2018 after 42 years of service to Malaysian education, on which IIUM awarded him with the title of Professor Emeritus. Before exiting IIUM, he was a Distinguished Professor at its Centre of Islamisation. He was one of three academicians in Malaysia who was promoted to the rank of Distinguished Professor by the Ministry of Higher Education in 2010.

Honour

Honour of Malaysia

* : Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (P.S.M.) (2006)

Education background

Career

Honour

Honour of Malaysia

References

Further reading