Dr. Aqsa Isa is a Senior Lecturer based in the Department of English Language, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya (UM), Malaysia and Research Associate at Rabdan Academy, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Her teaching and scholarly interests are focused on the areas of Critical Discourse Studies, Social Semiotics and Multimodality. She is interested in multidisciplinary work and research involving (violent) extremism and (de) radicalisation, especially on social media, as well as religion and politics, among others. As a linguist, she has looked at various violent extremist and far right propaganda materials, exploring and understanding the ideologies and linguistic strategies used to garner support and attract potential followers. She is also exploring the recruitment, radicalisation as well as the reintegration processes, in which she has worked closely with former detainees, their family members and various local and international agencies.

In addition, Dr. Aqsa has been invited as a speaker and resource person in various Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE) programmes by agencies such as the Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs (Security Division), Malaysian public universities, civil society organisations, the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the SEA Women Peacebuilders Network. 

Currently, she is also the Programme Coordinator for the Bachelor of English Language and Linguistics. Her tasks include overseeing accreditation processes and curriculum reviews, coordinating class schedules, and ensuring the wellbeing of students in the programme. She also engages with local and international institutions to build academic collaborations. As part of her role, she provides academic guidance and supports continuous programme improvement to align with current educational and industry needs.

Recent publication:
‘Dust Off the Dirt of Laziness and Break the Shackles of the Dunya’: The Language of Female Extremists in Daesh Propaganda Magazines, Journal of Gender and Language.

Forthcoming publications:

1. Media Framing of Violent Extremism Cases in Malaysia: A Discursive News Values Analysis (Journal Article)

2. Psychological Impacts of News Reporting on Individuals Arrested for Violent Extremism in Malaysia and Their Families (Journal Article)

3. "As Long As Nobody’s Hurt”: A Digital Discourse on Justifying Quran Burning from an Argumentation Perspective (Journal Article)

4. From Delegitimisation to Conditional Legitimacy: Media Slant and Multimodal Framings of Quran-Burning Protests (Journal Article)

5. Stance-taking in Online Far-Right Discourse Communities: Anti-immigration and Identity Politics (Journal Article)