Controversy over compulsory Islamic studies on foreign campuses

By Yojana Sharma and Emilia Tan. An Islamic studies and Asian civilisation course, compulsory for students in Malaysia’s public universities, will also be mandatory for all private university students – including those at foreign branch campuses – from 1 September. Amid controversy over the course content, Muhyiddin Yassin, Malaysia’s deputy prime minister and education minister, said the move was intended to “streamline the requirements” of private and public universities. Vincenzo Raimo, director of the international office at the University of Nottingham in the UK, which has a branch campus in Malaysia, said the subject was being made compulsory across the board, including at foreign branch campuses. TITAS, as the religion and civilisation course is known by its Malaysian acronym, has sparked considerable debate within the country, particularly among non-Malay communities. Critics have called on the government to make the subject non-compulsory for non-Muslims; Malaysia has significant Hindu, Chinese Buddhist and Christian minorities, many of them attending private universities because of restricted places at public institutions. Just over 60% of Malaysians consider themselves to be Muslim, according to official census figures. More...