39th IIUM Convocation: AIKOL graduate prefers IIUM for offering Islamic law

By Nur Najia Nazri

GOMBAK, 29 November 2023: œMainly because it is an Islamic university as I did not want to lose touch with Islamic law, said international Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws (AIKOL) graduate, Shaikh Sameera Shahid to IIUM Today.

She was one of the three international graduates of AIKOL who received her scroll in the fifth session of the 39th IIUM Convocation Ceremony on Monday afternoon (27 November), at IIUM Gombak.

A law degree from Malaysia is not recognised by Saudi Arabia. Sameera shared her plan to take her bar exam in the United Kingdom after this and then work in Saudi Arabia. 

Sameera recalled that her journey to becoming a lawyer was inspired by her parents, who were Indian immigrants, and their struggle with the law in Saudi Arabia. Consequently, her parents experience unleashed her need to read law. 

Sameera also added that overall, the journey she undertook to complete her degree was decent. However, sometimes she faced issues with language.

This affected her coursework, as some court visitations were held in Malay which she did not understand well enough. She also expressed her gratitude to her understanding lecturers who willingly gave her a different assignment. Additionally, some legal drafting samples were in Malay, which required more effort to understand as they needed to be translated into English. 

Being one of the few international students in AIKOL, sometimes it was quite difficult for Sameera to find her groupmates as some of her batch mates were shy about communicating in English. 

Asked about a valuable lesson learned, Sameera advised, œDont be so introverted, it could save you from a lot of hassle if you go out of your comfort zone and interact more with others. This is because in the past, sometimes she was left out of the loop as she did not interact much with other students. 

Sameera ended the interview by mentioning her friend, Yusra, who was also her support system at the IIUM throughout the years.

Yusra and her were the only international female law students in her batch, and they became good friends. With that, they pushed each other to be better every day. 

œWe pretty much did the entire law school together, said Sameera.***