Islamic-based educational leadership in Southeast Asia embraces principles rooted in Islamic values, blending faith with academic excellence. It emphasizes holistic development, nurturing ethical and moral characters in students. Leaders foster a supportive and inclusive environment, promoting religious tolerance and cultural diversity. Historical, political and socio-cultural forces form a unique Islamic identity in this region, which resulted in different practices and thinking about Islamic educational leadership. Based on empirical and theoretical perspectives from peer-reviewed journal articles, the study has found that different countries in this region have salient emphasis.