 |
Born |
7 February 1944 |
| Birthplace |
Lal pura, Nangarhar, Afghanistan |
| Education |
PhD in Islamic and Middle Eastern Law at the University of London (1969 – 1976) |
Professor Dr. Mohammad Hashim Kamali was born in Lal pur district of Nangarhar province of Afghanistan in 7 February 1944. His areas of expertise include Islamic jurisprudence and legal theory, Islamic commercial law, and constitutional law of Afghanistan. He graduated from Kabul University with BA in Law & Political Science in 1965 and completed his LLM in Comparative Law, and Ph.D in Islamic and Middle Eastern Law at the University of London (1969 – 1976).
Professor Mohammad Hashim Kamali is Founding Chairman and 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 PhD 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). Additional current affiliations include the Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan, the Royal Academy of Jordan, and the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia.
Professor Kamali has given presentations at over 130 national and international conferences, published 20 books and over 120 academic articles. He is a member of the Global Expert Finder Network of the UN Alliance of Civilisations; Chairman of the CIMB Shariah Committee (Malaysia); and Chairman of Shariah Board, Stanlib Corporation (South Africa). He is an original signatory to, and active participant in, the ‘Common Word’ initiative between Muslims and Christians. He delivered the 20th ‘Prominent Scholars Lecture Series’ (Silsila Muhadarat Ulama’ al-Barizin) in 1996 at the Islamic Research and Training Institute in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and the Multaqa Sultan Ahmad Shah Lecture of 2002 in Kuantan.
Professor Kamali has featured frequently in print media, radio, TV and the internet. He published an Open Letter and a full page article in the newspaper Berliner Zeitung just before the Taliban blew up the Bamian Statues, and appeared on the Iranian Republic’s Television network just before the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. He has been featured on RTM Malaysia, Al-Jazeera, Afghanistan Ariana TV, TV Kuwait, Al Arabiya, and The Maldives TV. He was twice awarded IIUM’s ‘Isma‘il al-Faruqi Award for Academic Excellence’ in 1995 & 1997. His books Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence, Freedom of Expression in Islam, A Textbook of Hadith Studies, and Shari‘ah Law: An Introduction are standard text books in English speaking Universities worldwide. Professor Kamali’s scholarly studies are translated into Bahasa Indonesia, Farsi, Pashto, Dari, Arabic, Bengali, and Turkish.
Kamali is the author of many books, including Shari'ah Law: An Introduction (2008) and Islam in Southeast Asia (2005). He was one of the signatories in October 2007 of "A Common Word Between Us and You," a letter addressed to Christian leaders in an appeal for peace and cooperation among the two world religions. He received the Isma'il al-Faruqi Award for Academic Excellence twice, in 1995 and 1997, and he is listed in leading Who's Who in the World.
Books Published
Professor Kamali has participated in over 100 national and international conferences, published 13 books and over 80 academic articles. He delivered the Prominent Scholars Lecture Series No. 20 at the Islamic Research and Training Institute in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 1996.
- IAIS Malaysia: Exploring the Intellectual Horizons of Civilisational Islam (Kuala Lampur 2008. pp.vi + 98 (revised 2nd ed 2009)
- Moderation and Balance in Islam: The Quranic Principle of Wasatiyyah (Kuala Lumpur: IAIS Malaysia, 2010, pp iv + 66.)
- Istihsan (Juristic Preference) And Its Application to Contemporary Issues (Islamic Research and Training Institute (Islamic Development Bank), 1997, pp 148.)
- Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence (Cambridge, and K.L., 1991 & 1998)
- Freedom of Expression in Islam (Fundamental Rights and Liberties in Islam series) (August 1st 1997 by Islamic Texts Society (first published July 1996))
- Freedom, Equality and Justice in Islam (Fundamental Rights and Liberties in Islam series) (June 1st 2002 by Islamic Texts Society (first published 2002))
- The Dignity of Man: An Islamic Perspective, Islamic Texts Society, 2nd edition, 2002)
- A Textbook of Hadith Studies: Authenticity, Compilation, Classification and Criticism of Hadith (September 1st 2009 by Islamic Foundation (first published July 12th 2005))
- Shari'ah Law: An Introduction (February 8th 2008 by Oneworld Publications)
- Islamic law in Malaysia: Issues and developments (2000 by Ilmiah Publishers)
- Equity and Fairness in Islam (Islamic Law and Jurisprudence series) (April 1st 2005 by Islamic Texts Society)
- The Right to Life, Security, Privacy and Ownership in Islam (Fundamental Rights and Liberties in Islam series) (July 1st 2008 by Islamic Texts Society (first published July 1st 2007))
- Law in Afghanistan: A Study of the Constitutions, Matrimonial Law and the Judiciary (Social, Economic and Political Studies of the Middle East and Asia , No 36) (June 1st 1997 by Brill Academic Publishers (first published 1997)
- Islamic Commercial Law: An Analysis of Futures and Options (I.B.Tauris in Association With the Islamic Texts Society) (January 1st 1990 by Islamic Texts Society)
- Maqasid Al-Shariah Made Simple (Occasional Papers) (June 2008 by IIIT)
- Islam in Southeast Asia: Political, Social and Strategic Challenges for the 21st Century (March 21st 2005 by Institute of Southeast Asian Studies)
References
