Zulkifli Hasan (academic)

Zulkifli bin Hasan (born 3 June 1977) is a Malaysian academic who serves as Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of Religious Affairs in the Unity Government administration under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Minister Mohd Na'im Mokhtar as well as a Senator since December 2023. He was the academician (Professor) of the Syariah programme at the Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) as well as the deputy rector at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). He is presently the sole independent deputy minister.

Career
In a cabinet reshuffle on 12 December 2023, shortly after being appointed as Professor of the Syariah programme at USIM, Zulkifli was selected as the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of Religious Affairs, deputising for Minister Mohd Na'im Mokhtar after the position was vacated for little over a year. Zulkifli was appointed as a Senator assembling in the Dewan Negara or the State Council in order be positioned as the new deputy minister as he was not a Member of Parliament (MP).

Zulkifli has held positions as Editor for the Malaysian Journal of Syariah and Law, Associate Editor for the Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research, and Advisory Board member of the Journal of Contemporary Maqasid Studies. Additionally, he was an Associate Editor for the Malaysian Journal of Islamic Movements and Muslim Societies. Zulkifli has also served on various expert panels, including those concerning Muamalat and Halal regulation for JAKIM (the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia), and has been involved in committees related to Syariah and legal education.

Zulkifli served as a board member of the Malaysian-American Commission on Educational Exchange (MACEE) and contributed as an Advisory Board member of Marmara University Institute of Islamic Economics and Finance in Istanbul, Turkey. Furthermore, his engagements include roles as a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Selangor and as an academic advisor for Dar al-Hikmah College in Selangor.

Zulkifli has served as the Board of Trustee of Global Peace Mission Malaysia and held leadership positions such as former Chairman of the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement in Negeri Sembilan. Zulkifli has also been a board member of Sekolah Rendah Islam Seremban and as Chairman of MYCOM4SDG.

In the United Kingdom, he was involved with the Durham Islamic Society and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Similarly, in the United States, Zulkifli contributed to the Association of Muslim Lawyers of New York and the Fordham Islamic Society.