JOHOR BAHRU, 29 June 2016 – Culture is far different from religion because religion emphasizes belief in God, while culture is the emphasis on tradition alone.
With regard to this, the concept of ‘conversion to Islam means to convert yourself to become Malay’ as is the norm in Malaysia should not be forced because the two are not identical entities.

Dr Hisham stated that even the earliest Islamic missionaries who came to the Nusantara brought the core of the religion, not the Arabic culture. Thus Islam was allowed to take on a distinct flavour that was totally unique to the region.

“Being Muslim does not mean following the traditional practices of any race” Said Dr Hisham, “Islam is universal, and should be treated as such”

Dr. Hisham said this when discussing the topic of Islamic Acculturation: Muslims, Malaysia and Cultural Creation at Premier Lecture Programme session organized by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) at Persada Johor.
The programme was attended by UTM Chancellor, Her Royal Highness Raja Zarith Sofiah Sultan Idris Shah.
The public lecture was moderated by Dr. Abdullah Mohd. Nawi, Deputy Director of Corporate Communications, Office of Corporate Affairs, UTM.
Dr. Hisham holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom and an Advanced Degree in International Political Economy from the same university.
After completing his degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at the University of Warwick, Dr. Hisham served as Senior Non-Resident Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Center for the Middle East and an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies (RUSI), United Kingdom.
Previously he served as a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Foreign Policy section and he was also Democracy Non-Resident Fellow for the academic year 2014 – 2015 at the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University, United States.