Profile

Dr Majdey Zawawi is a Lecturer in Islamic Studies (History, Civilisation and Shari’ah) at Sultan Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Centre for Islamic Studies. He is also the programme leader for the centre.

Education

• BA (Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences) – International Islamic University Malaysia
• MA (Islamic Studies) – University of Birmingham
• PhD (Islamic Governance) – Universiti Brunei Darussalam

Background

Dr Majdey holds a Ph.D. in Islamic Governance from the Institute of Policy Studies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, and is one of the first in the world to have graduated with said degree and specialisation. His doctoral research titled “Power Dynamics between Religious and State Authorities: The Case of the Four Mujtahid Imams” employs the Islamic Governance Conceptual Matrix (IGC Matrix) as a conceptual tool for understanding the complex relational dynamics of power and authority between the four great mujtahids of Islam and their respective state authorities. His research findings on the “power currencies” that historically and contextually determined how the Ulama and the State responded to and influenced one another has spurred his interest in digging further into the nature and scope of power dimensions of Muslim politics, particularly through the lens of the Maqasid al-Shariah.

He has a diverse academic background, having been trained in three different fields (Comparative Religion for his BA, Islamic Studies for his MA, and Islamic Governance for his PhD) at three different institutions (International Islamic University Malaysia, the University of Birmingham, and Universiti Brunei Darussalam) across the globe. His varied experiences allow him to make use of a broad range of approaches in his thinking on Islamic Governance and Muslim politics. Although his research interests mainly revolve around Islamic Governance, Dr Majdey is keen on interdisciplinary research that traverses many disciplines.

Research Area(s)

• Classical Islam
• Islamic Political Thought
• Political Islam
• Islamic Governance