Depok – The Faculty of Islamic Studies at Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia (UIII) proudly celebrates the international academic achievement of Dr. Muhammad Al-Marakeby, a lecturer at the Faculty of Islamic Studies, UIII, who recently completed a prestigious fully-funded fellowship at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg, Germany. The fellowship provided him with the opportunity to pursue advanced research on Islamic legal thought at one of the world’s leading research institutions.
The Max Planck Institute is internationally recognized as one of the most prestigious research institutions in Europe and globally renowned for its academic excellence, whose researchers have been associated with more than thirty Nobel Prize laureates across various disciplines. For Dr. Al-Marakeby, the fellowship represented not only an opportunity to advance his own research but also to strengthen the international presence of UIII within the global academic community.
Rethinking Family Waqf through the Lens of Islamic Justice
During his fellowship, Dr. Al-Marakeby conducted a research project entitled “Rethinking Family Waqf: Islamic Justice and Premodern Juristic Critique of Endowment Misuse”. The project forms part of Dr. Al-Marakeby’s long-term scholarly agenda on Islamic legal thought, particularly the concept of justice as articulated in classical Islamic jurisprudence. Rather than treating waqf merely as a legal institution, the research investigates how Muslim jurists historically balanced legal principles with ethical concerns to safeguard the public interest and prevent abuses of charitable endowments.
Reflecting on the fellowship, Dr. Al-Marakeby explained that the uninterrupted research environment allowed him to devote his full attention to developing the project.
“My time at the institute was a good time to focus on my own research, apart from the teaching load. The environment provided an ideal setting for concentrated research, supported by an impressive library collection of more than half a million volumes related to law and legal history,”
The paper produced during the fellowship is currently under review by the Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient (JESHO), a leading Q1 journal widely recognized for publishing research on Islamic history, law, and waqf studies.
Contributing to Global Scholarship on Islamic Law
Beyond completing a major research project, Dr. Al-Marakeby views the fellowship as part of a broader effort to contribute to international conversations on Islamic law and legal history. He hopes that his work will open new avenues for understanding justice within the Islamic legal tradition and serve as the foundation for future publications examining different dimensions of Islamic legal thought.
He also noted that the fellowship created valuable opportunities to introduce UIII and the Faculty of Islamic Studies to scholars working in comparative law, legal history, and international law. Through academic discussions and exchanges with researchers from diverse disciplinary backgrounds, he demonstrated the relevance of Islamic legal studies to broader global debates on law and justice.
Strengthening UIII’s International Academic Engagement
Dr. Al-Marakeby expressed his sincere appreciation for the institutional support he received throughout the fellowship. He acknowledged the encouragement provided by UIII Rector Prof. Jamhari, Vice Rector Dr. Phil. Syafiq Hasyim, and Dean of the Faculty of Islamic Studies Prof. Yanwar Pribadi, whose support enabled him to pursue this international research opportunity.
His fellowship reflects the Faculty of Islamic Studies’ continuing commitment to fostering globally engaged scholarship and expanding international research collaboration. By participating in leading academic institutions such as the Max Planck Institute, UIII scholars continue to strengthen the university’s presence within the international research community while contributing new perspectives to the study of Islamic law, legal history, and comparative jurisprudence.
As the Faculty continues to encourage international academic mobility and research excellence, achievements such as Dr. Al-Marakeby’s fellowship demonstrate how UIII scholars are actively contributing to global scholarship while advancing innovative research rooted in the rich intellectual traditions of Islam.