Academic Staff Association of IIUM

 STATEMENT ON THE NEED TO UPHOLD ACADEMIC FREEDOM

The Academic Staff Association (ASA) of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) would like to reiterate its stance on academic freedom which entails the right for academic members to voice their views and opinions. The 1997 UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel defines academic freedom as “the right, without constriction by prescribed doctrine, to freedom of teaching and discussion, freedom in carrying out research and disseminating and publishing the results thereof, freedom to express freely their opinion about the institution or system in which they work, freedom from institutional censorship and freedom to participate in professional or representative academic bodies.” The Ministry of Higher Education and Institutions of Higher Education should not be seen to curb this fundamental freedom.

Nonetheless, ASA IIUM would like to remind academic members to exercise this right responsibly and that their views and opinions can also be challenged.

ASA IIUM would like to note its concerns on the ‘policing’ of social media posting which can be ‘subjectively’ construed as not in favour of any parties and subsequently subjected to rigorous questioning and accusations of ‘insubordination’.

وَلَا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ ۚ إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُولَٰئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْئُولًا

Do not follow blindly what you do not know to be true: ears, eyes, and heart, you will be questioned about all these [al-Isrā’/17: 36]

عَنْ أَبِي ذَرٍّ رضي الله عنه قَالَ: قَالَ لِي رَسُولُ اَللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: قُلِ اَلْحَقَّ, وَلَوْ كَانَ مُرًّا

Narrated Abū Dharr, Allah’s Messenger said to me: “Say the truth even though it is bitter (i.e. difficult to admit).” [Ibn Ḥibbān]

Academic Staff Association

International Islamic University Malaysia