 By Ahmed Wafi
GOMBAK, 11 June 2015: The would-be M. Kamal Hassan Memorial Library was officially launched at the fourth floor of the Rectory Building which will house important historical documents, pictures, tapes and books related to IIUM since 1982.
œI would like to thank Tan Sri Professor Dr. Mohd Kamal Hassan for handing over this library to the university which I consider to be special and significant. This is the cave of gold of the professor and it is his intellectual space, said the Rector, Professor Dato Seri Dr. Zaleha Kamaruddin.
She added that the library which is expected to be operational by early next year will be renovated to provide for more space and will be open to academic staff and postgraduate students.
Meanwhile, in his speech, Professor Dr. Kamal said that the library will not only showcase documents but also pictures and books he has collected through the years.
œYou will find books on the Malay world, Indonesia, Brunei and subjects related to education, human sciences, law, economy and various other subjects, he explained.
Distinguished Professor, Tan Sri Prof. Dr. Mohd. Kamal Hassan was born in Pasir Mas, Kelantan in 1942. He had his first degree in Islamic Studies from Universiti Malaya (UM) in 1965. He got his masters and doctorate degrees from Columbia University, New York. He was the Head of the Department of Usuluddin and Philosophy at UKM in 1979 and received his professorship there. He began his career at IIUM as Shaikh al-Kulliyyah in 1983 and became the first Dean of KIRKHS and the Rector of IIUM from 1999 to 2006.
Some of his important works are The Encyclopedia of Malaysia: Religions and Beliefs, Islamic Identity Crisis in the Muslim Community in Contemporary Malaysia, and Islamic Studies in Contemporary Southeast Asia: General Observations, Al-Islam fi alam Al-Malaya.***