International Islamic University Malaysia

It is distinct from the Indonesian International Islamic University and International Islamic University Chittagong, Bangladesh. The university was established on 23 May 1983 and founded upon Islamic principles. Islamic values are inculcated into all disciplines. IIUM offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees courses at its 14 faculties or "Kulliyyah" ("Kulliyyat", in plural). Since 1987, IIUM has produced more than 70,000 graduates and undergraduates from more than 100 countries, as of 2020, with majority of them were Malaysians. Its medium of instruction is English, with Arabic used in courses related to the study of Islamic Sciences, although the university also uses Bahasa Malaysia in certain courses. IIUM is one of the only two public universities in Malaysia to have English as the official language of instruction and administration, the other being Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM).

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad conceived the idea for an international institution of Islamic education in 1982 during a meeting between OIC leaders about the Islamization of knowledge. The idea was shared with the then-minister of education, Sulaiman Daud; the then-director-general of education, Murad Mohamed Nor; and two others. Mohd Kamal Hassan, then of the National University of Malaysia, along with a senior academic official who attended the meeting, produced the first working paper on the concept of the university. Ismail al-Faruqi, a prominent scholar, played a significant role in this movement. He advised political leaders in the Muslim world, including Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in Pakistan and Mahathir Mohamad. During Zia-ul-Haq’s administration, al-Faruqi contributed to the establishment of the International Islamic University in Islamabad in 1980, which aimed to integrate Islamic values with contemporary academic disciplines. In Malaysia, al-Faruqi's advisory role was instrumental in the foundation of the university in 1983. These institutions were part of broader efforts to develop educational systems that combined religious and secular knowledge, fostering intellectual and cultural development in the Muslim world. The university would be the first Islamic university in the world to conceptualize the "integration of knowledge with morals," a concept adopted at the International Convention of Islamic Education in Mecca, Saudi Arabia in 1976. IIUM was once a private university. As the university's language of instruction was not to be Malay but instead English and Arabic, which was initially prohibited by Malaysian law, IIUM was initially incorporated under the currently repealed Companies Act 1965. It was an absolute authority of the Companies Act 1965 allows IIUM to stay using English as its official language and it does not fully exempted from Malay language usage as per act although IIUM are not obligated to adhere the National Language Act 1963/1967. However, IIUM was officially made a public university on 23 May 1983, by Section 5A (2) of the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971, when the university received its establishment order from the then King, Ahmad Shah of Pahang, after an exchange of diplomatic notes of co-sponsorship between the government of Malaysia, seven other governments and OIC. A batch of 153 students from Malaysia and abroad were enrolled for the first academic session, which started on 8 July 1983. Courses were conducted under the Faculty of Economics, the Faculty of Laws, the Centre for Fundamental Knowledge, and the Centre for Languages. The members of this first batch received their degrees and diplomas during the first convocation held on 10 October 1987. 68 graduates were conferred the degree of Bachelor of Economics, 56 other graduates received the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and 29 Qadhis were conferred Diploma in Law and Administration of Islamic Judiciary. Ahmad Shah of Pahang was the founding constitutional head since 1 July 1983. Before his death, he was replaced by his daughter-in-law, the current Tengku Ampuan of Pahang, Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah. She was made the constitutional head on 12 April 2019 for a five-year term, ending her father-in-law's chancellery in IIUM for 36 years, but the instrument of appointment was only presented to her by the federal government on 17 June 2019. Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Hussain, was appointed as the 10th IIUM President effective 1 July 2025. He was appointed in recognition of his distinguished leadership and reputation in the Malaysian corporate sector, particularly in Islamic finance. On 2 September 2025, the Institute of International and Asean Studies (IINTAS) was formally established as a think tank under the IIUM during a ceremony where Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Zambry Abd Kadir was the guest of honour.

IIUM is headquartered at a 700-acre (2.8 km²) campus at Gombak, Selangor and has six other campuses. Three of the campuses are in Kuantan, Pahang, with the Centre for Foundation Studies situated at Gambang, a medical-centric campus situated at Bandar Indera Mahkota, and a clinical campus situated near Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital. Two city campuses are located at Persiaran Duta and Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur, both for the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (ISTAC). Another campus is located at Bandar Universiti Pagoh, Johor for the Kulliyyah of Sustainable Tourism and Contemporary Language (KSTCL).

IIUM has 14 following faculties. Each of them is, in Arabic, called "Kulliyyah" ("Kulliyyat" in plural):

IIUM is the only public university in Malaysia that requires all of its foundation and undergraduate students to attend Usrah, i.e. Islamic study circle held weekly for the purpose of social, spiritual and intellectual enhancement. Since the establishment of IIUM, Usrah has been a requirement for students to graduate from IIUM. Since 2014, a separate Usrah has been held at residential colleges in addition to centralised Usrah, which is also compulsory to intermediate undergraduate students living in campus. IIUM is also the only public university in Malaysia that requires all of its students to undergo a community engagement usrah programme known as Usrah in Action, where students undergo two consecutive semesters of organising sustainability projects to help local communities around the university. The projects are long-term in nature, and would be continued by the following batches of students to perpetually benefit the communities in need.

IIUM has been known to be the most influential Islamic tertiary education institute in the country as well as one of the leading Islamic universities in the Muslim world.

Abdul Rashid Moten, Professor of KIRKHS, political scientist Abdullah al-Ahsan, Professor of KIRKHS, contemporary Muslim historian Marzuki Mohamad, Associate Professor of KIRKHS, political scientist, and Chief Private Secretary to the 8th Prime Minister of Malaysia Mohamed Hanipa Maidin, Lecturer of AIKOL, MP of Sepang (federal constituency) (2013-2022), Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Legal Affairs) (2018-2020) Shamrahayu Abdul Aziz, Professor of AIKOL, constitutional expert Solehah Yaacob, Associate Professor of KIRKHS, Arabic linguist Syed Arabi Syed Abdullah Idid, Senior Professor of KIRKHS, media and communication expert and Rector of IIUM (2006–2011) Zaleha Kamarudin, Professor of AIKOL, family law expert and Rector of IIUM (2011–2018)

Abdul Aziz Bari, lecturer and professor of AIKOL (1989–2011), MLA for Tebing Tinggi, Perak and member of Perak State Executive Council, Malaysia (since 2018) Abdul Hamid Ahmad Abu Sulayman, Rector of IIUM (1988–1998) Ahmad Mohamed Ibrahim, founding Dean of AIKOL, Attorney-General of Singapore (1959–1967) Ahmet Davutoğlu, lecturer of political science at KIRKHS (1993–1996), Prime Minister of Turkey (2014–2016) Maszlee Malik, lecturer of KIRKHS (2002–2018), MP for Simpang Renggam, President of IIUM and Minister of Education, Malaysia (2018-2020) Mohammad Hashim Kamali, professor of Islamic law at AIKOL and ISTAC (1985–2007), CEO of International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (since 2007) Mohd. Kamal Hassan, Rector of IIUM (1999–2006) Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, founder of ISTAC, then visiting professor at UTM