FIRST OMANI RESEARCH & STUDIES CENTRE TO BE ESTABLISHED AT IIUM

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 6 (Bernama) -- The first Omani Research & Studies Centre is set to be established at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).

The centre will serve as a platform for research exchange and academic collaboration across various fields.

IIUM Rector, Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Osman Bakar, stated that researches at the centre would encompass Islamic heritage, cultural studies, as well as the inclusion of policy and ethics in historical studies.

“I also hope the scholarly research conducted will explore not only the ties between Oman and Malaysia but also the Malay World in this region,” he said.

He made these remarks following the Signing Ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the establishment of the Omani Research & Studies Centre between the Office of the Grand Mufti of Oman and IIUM at the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia here on Wednesday.

The Office of the Grand Mufti of Oman was represented by its Secretary-General, Sheikh Ahmed Saud Al Siyabi, while Osman Bakar represented IIUM.

Also present were Chairman of the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM), Prof Datuk Dr Muhammad Nur Manuty, representing the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar; Oman’s Ambassador to Malaysia, Sheikh Alabbas Ibrahim Alharthi; and academics and foreign diplomats.

The establishment of the Omani Research & Studies Centre was the result of a collaboration between the Office of the Grand Mufti of Oman, the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs of Oman, and IIUM.

The centre will operate under the AbdulHamid AbuSulayman Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences (AHAS KIRHS) of IIUM, and will be led by its inaugural director, Prof Dr Rahmah Ahmad H. Osman.

-- BERNAMA