Centre for the Study of Contemporary Islam

http://www.mials.unimelb.edu.au/programs/islamic/csci.html

The CSCI was founded in late 2004 and is hosted by theMelbourne Institute of Asian Languages and Societies (Faculty of Arts) and the Faculty of Law. The Director of the Centre is Professor Abdullah Saeed (Sultan of Oman Chair in Arab and Islamic Studies) and the Deputy Director is Associate Professor Tim Lindsey (Asian Law Centre).

Aims:

To create a global centre of excellence in Islamic studies at the University of Melbourne;
To promote interdisciplinary approaches to contemporary Islamic thought at the University of Melbourne, with particular focus on areas such as law, human rights, Islam in the West, inter-religious relations and responses to Muslim militant movements;
To provide commentary on issues related to Islam and Muslim societies;
To offer short courses and training to enhance community understandings of Islam, Islamic thought and Muslim societies, both on ex gratia and commercial bases.

Key activities for 2005:

Miegunyah Public Lecture: Prof. Azyumardi Azra ;
An International conference on Islam and the Secular State in Melbourne in July, 2005;
A series of seminars titled Melbourne Public Dialogues on Islam ;
A CSCI Briefing Paper series.