Perak Native Becomes First Malay Lecturer at the University of Oxford
The success of Dato' Dr. Afifi al-Akiti, also known as Sheikh Afifi, is not widely known. He is a lecturer at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies in the field of Islamic studies at the Faculty of Theology, University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, and is also a fellow at Worcester College, Oxford.
What makes this a source of pride is that he is the first Malay to successfully become a lecturer at one of the world's most prestigious universities. Dato' Afifi successfully obtained his Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in Medieval Arabic Philosophy from the University of Oxford as a Clarendon Scholar in 2008.
His thesis explained and systematically categorized a form of philosophical writing placed under the first group known as the Madnun corpus, attributed to the renowned Islamic theologian Imam Al-Ghazali. His findings were based on in-depth research of approximately 50 medieval Arabic manuscripts. Additionally, his three-volume study presents a critical edition of the most advanced and technical works from the corpus, a manual on metaphysics and natural philosophy called the Major Madnun.
Hailing from Batu Gajah, Perak, he was trained as a theologian and philosopher with expertise in both the Islamic world and Western traditions. He was educated by various renowned scholars of the Islamic world since he began his studies at a traditional pondok school. Both of his parents were also teachers. He received a First Class Bachelor's degree in Scholastic Philosophy and the History of Science from Queen's University Belfast, where he had the opportunity to receive various scholarships to continue his master's and doctoral studies at Oxford. His areas of expertise are in Islamic theology, philosophy, and science.
In 2009, together with Professor Muhammad Abdel Haleem and the IIIT, Dato' Afifi was shortlisted for the Annual UK Muslim Awards for his excellence in contributing to Islamic education.
In 2010, Dato' Afifi was appointed as a member of the Perak Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council, an appointment officiated by the current Sultan of Perak,
Sultan Dr. Nazrin Shah
. His success is a significant achievement in Islamic education and has indirectly elevated the image of the country, bringing honor to Malaysia and Perak on the world stage.
