IIUM acts against lecturer over 'prophet's wife from Malay realm' clip

The International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) has taken appropriate action against a lecturer for causing confusion on social media.

Although it did not mention the name of the academic, it is believed that it is related to a viral video clip in which the professor, Solehah Yaacob, spoke about postulations on Prophet Muhammad’s wife, Siti Khadijah Khuwailid, having originated from the “Malay realm” (alam Melayu).

IIUM said the action was in line with the code of ethics for staff of institutions of higher education.

It also reminded the Arabic language lecturer to be more cautious about what she shares on public platforms.

"In general, IIUM also stresses that the views of the academics must be in line with the standard put in place by the academic integrity committee.

“Despite this, the university has never curtailed academic freedom and always supports knowledge-based programmes,” said its Communications, Advocacy and Promotions Office.

IIUM said it always reminded its academics to be responsible and to provide views based on clear facts and supported by research published in accredited journals.

“IIUM is committed to ensuring the quality of our education and scholars are preserved.

“We believe that academics bear the responsibility of teaching society with authentic and facts-based knowledge,” it added.

Claim related to gold

In the viral clip, Solehah said she had watched numerous TikTok videos which claimed that Khadijah was from the Malay realm.

“I was shocked by this view. Because based on my research, Arabic writers had never mentioned details about Khadijah.

“Suddenly, there is this ‘Malay realm’ (claim suggesting that), Khadijah is from here. We have to be cognisant of the fact that she was a rich woman with a large business.

“To have a large business at the time, you needed gold. There was no Forex or Bitcoin then. She had to have something which people around the world were interested in, which was gold.

“And there is no gold in the Arab world. Ladies and gentlemen, where is there gold? In our place. We are ‘bumi emas’ (land of gold),” she added.

When she realised that her video had become viral, Solehah issued a statement on Facebook that she never mentioned Khadijah was from Tanah Melayu.

She said the video titled “Khadijah al-Khuwailid adalah dari alam Melayu” (Khadijah al-Khuwailid is from the Malay realm) was uploaded by an individual who had edited her ceramah.

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