What does “Islam” actually mean in Malaysia?

A Malaysian preacher who’s also the former Mufti of Perlis, Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin has been arrested for delivering an unauthorized lecture in the state of Selangor. As a moderate preacher believes he is the target of more conservative senior clerics who have recently stepped up on harsh measures such as banning yoga. Despite his arrest, he will not back down from warning others not to blindly follow other clerics blindly. One point of interest is the word “Islam” itself which recalls a related incident on Malaysian politician’s issue with the name of the organization “Sisters in Islam.” Asri is quoted to have said – “Whenever I have the chance to speak on Islam I will do so, if they stop me then maybe I won’t mention the word Islam.” This suggests that his arrest was not, as already suspected by many, about the illegality of giving a lecture, but the content of the lecture itself which purported to be about “Islam.”

Law education in Islamic university in Brunei

The Sultan of Brunei laments the lack of graduates who specialize in Islamic law in the country. The law program country’s Islamic university, Unissa, focuses more on civil law (70%) than Islamic law (30%). He says that the Islamic university should not over-prioritize marketability in designing courses, at the expense of religious courses.