Lecture Abstract:

On 29 June 2014 ISIS self-declared the re-establishment of the Caliphate over seized swats of territory in Syria and Iraq, promoting itself as the epitome of Muslim righteousness. In addition to its outright violent methods, ISIS captured the attention of the media due to its puritanical rhetoric which supposedly revealed an intimate link between Islam and violence. This seminar seeks to explore the doctrinal dimensions of ISIS, the extent to which the group’s doctrinal interpretation represents a threat to Malaysia’s socio-political environment and what policies could potentially be adopted in order to address this threat.

Ustadz Dr Zamihan will be conducting the seminar in Malay, which will be translated into English by the moderator.

About the Speaker:

Ustadz Dr Zamihan Mat Zain is a religious officer in the Ministry of Home Affairs, currently attached to the Prisons Department where he works on rehabilitating religious extremists. As a Muslim missionary, he is President of the Association of Sunni Malaysia (Aswaja). Dr Zamihan has a doctorate in Aqidah and he is currently pursuing another PhD in conflict management in religious extremism at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.