Staff
Academic | Administrative | Research Co-ordinators, Fellows, Associates & Research Assistants
Academic |
Professor Abdullah SaeedFounding Director Professor Saeed is an active researcher, focusing on one of the most important issues in Islamic thought: the negotiation of text and context, ijtihad and interpretation. He is a strong advocate of reform of Islamic thought and is frequently asked to present at events both nationally and internationally. He also participates in training courses on Islamic issues to community leaders and government agencies in Australia and abroad. Of particular interest, given the current climate, is the promotion of inter-religious initiatives. He regularly engages with the Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities at national and international symposia to enhance community understandings of Islam, Islamic thought and Muslim societies. He has authored and edited numerous works. His recent publications include Islamic Thought: an introduction , Routledge, 2006; Interpreting the Qur'an: Towards a Contemporary Approach , Routledge, 2006; Approaches to the Qur'an in Contemporary Indonesia (editor), Oxford University Press, 2005; Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam (co-author) , Ashgate, 2004.; Islam in Australia , Allen & Unwin, 2003. In addition to his strong research focus, Professor Saeed continues to teach Islamic studies at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and supervise postgraduate students. Professor Saeed is the Foundation Chair of the Sultan of Oman Endowed Chair in Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Melbourne . He is Director of the Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne and Director of the National Centre of Excellence for Islamic Studies (in conjunction with Griffith University and the University of Western Sydney ). Further information is available at: www.abdullahsaeed.org
|
Professor Tim LindseyFounding Co-Director
Professor Tim Lindsey is an ARC Federation Fellow and Director of the Asian Law Centre, which he joined in 1990. He is a graduate of the University of Melbourne Law School and completed his doctoral thesis in Indonesian studies. He teaches Indonesian Law, Malaysian Law and Islamic Law. He researches and teaches in bahasa Indonesia, is a member of the Board of the Australia-Indonesia Institute and is a practising member of the Victorian Bar. His publications include Indonesia: Law & Society (1999), Indonesia After Soeharto: Prospects for Reform (1999) and Law Reform in Developing and Transitional States (in press, 2005). He is currently working on ARC-funded projects relating to Islamic law in Indonesia (with M.B. Hooker) and in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. |
Administrative |
Kathryn TaylorManager
Kathryn Taylor joined the Centre for Islamic Law and Society when it was established in 2005. Kathryn Taylor has been the Administrator of the Asian Law Centre since 1998 and was appointed the Manager of the Centre in 2004. She is also the Project Manager of Asian Law Online and an editorial assistant to the Australian Journal of Asian Law. Kathryn completed her Arts degree with Honours in Chinese from the University of Melbourne in 1999, after spending 16 months studying Mandarin at National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan R.O.C. She has a Master of Management (International Business) from Monash University and has completed a Winter Semester in Chinese Law at the East China University of Politics and Law. Her research interests include the Chinese language and culture (in particular the Southern Min dialect spoken in Tainan), the Chinese legal system, and the current state of China-Taiwan relations. |
Kelly McDermottAdministrator Kelly joined the Centre for Islamic Law and Society in March 2007 as the Administrator. She also works as the Administrator for the Asian Law Centre and the Federation Fellowship. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religious Studies from the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand and a Graduate Diploma in Teaching. Prior to joining the University of Melbourne, Kelly was teaching Religious Studies in England. Kelly is hoping to continue post graduate studies in Islamic Law. |
Research Co-ordinators, Fellows, Associates & Research Assistants |
Dr Adrian GullyResearch Team Leader
Research PlanDr Adrian Gully brings to the field of contemporary Islamic Studies in the CILS a particular expertise in the field of pre-modern Islamic society. His interests in cultural history and the social role of the intellectual community of that period are now being applied on a wider basis to contemporary issues. As well as completing a book in epistolography in Islamic society Dr Gully is looking at the question of text and context on such topics as women, education and pluralism in Islamic societies. He is planning beyond that to undertake fieldwork on one of these topics to see how the contemporary reality of these issues relates to their historical textual precedents. |
Dr Abdul-Samad AbdullahResearch Team LeaderView CV BackgroundAbdul-Samad Abdullah obtained his BA, MA and PhD in Islamic Studies and Arabic Language and Literature from Umm al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia. Before coming to the University of Melbourne, Abdul-Samad lectured at the International Islamic University in Malaysia.Research InterestsMost recently Abdul-Samad has been working in the field of Arabic poetry of West Africa and in Quranic narratives. In the field of West African Arabic poetry he focuses especially on the intertext and allusion while he focuses in Quranic narratives on the repetitions using the inertextual analysis. His research interests include modern and classical Arabic literature, Arabic rhetoric and stylistics; teaching Arabic for specific purposes, West African Arabic literature, Modern Islamic thought, Quranic exegesis and Islam in West Africa. |
Dr Muhammad KamalResearch Team Leader
View CV Muhammad Kamal obtained his MA and PhD in Philosophy at the University of Karachi, was trained in philosophy in Pakistan and Germany, and taught Western and Islamic philosophy. He has published extensively in the area of philosophy, including Islamic philosophy and theology. His research interests include modern Islamic thought, Muslim philosophy, Existentialism and the philosophy of Martin Heidegger. |
Jeremy KingsleyResearch Fellow
Jeremy is a graduate of Deakin University, having completed a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws in 2001. Jeremy has recently completed the Master of Laws at the University of Melbourne (focusing on Asian Law and Comparative Legal Studies). Prior to this Jeremy practiced as a lawyer at a major city law firm. Jeremy is currently a PhD Candidate in the Faculty of Law, under the supervision of Professor Tim Lindsey and Professor Abdullah Saeed. In 2007-2008, he will be undertaking fieldwork in Mataram, Indonesia, as part of his doctoral research. This research is supported by an Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Award and an ARC Federation Fellowship doctoral scholarship. Jeremy’s research interests include comparative legal studies, Indonesian law, Islamic jurisprudence and interdisciplinary research. Jeremy has written widely and has had articles have published in the Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law and the European Business Law Review, as a co-author of several chapters in edited collections on Islamic and Indonesian legal issues and writes regular opinion pieces in the MelbourneHerald Sun, the Australian and Straits Times ( Singapore).
|
Dr Helen McCue, AMResearch Fellow Dr McCue has held various academic positions including that of Visiting Honorary Associate UNSW School of Politics and International Relations 2001-2004, Associate Lecturer, Faculty of Arts University of Wollongong 2002-03. In 2005 Helen taught a short course on Women in Islamic Civilisation at the ANU Centre for Continuing Education. Helen’s area of interest and expertise include gender and Islam, Muslim women in Islamic history, Muslim women in Australia, Islamic philanthropy, refugee and human rights, and Australian community foundations. Helen is presently working on a research papers on women and waqf and gender and Islam. Helen’s community work has included initiating and co-founding Union Aid Abroad APHEDA, the overseas aid agency of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, founding WREN (Women’s Refugee and Education Network), co-founding RAR (Rural Australian for Refugees) and initiating the establishment of the Wingecarribee Community Foundation and the Wingecarribee Reconciliation Group. |
Kerstin SteinerResearch Fellow
|
Anisa BuckleyResearch AssistantAnisa Buckley is a Research Assistant with the Centre for Isalamic Law and Society (CILS) and a PhD Candidate in Islamic Studies at The University of Melbourne, focusing on experiences of Muslims involving Islamic family law within Western legal systems. Previous qualifications include an MA (Islamic Studies) from the University of New England, a Graduate Certificate in International Development from RMIT, and a B.Ed from The University of Sydney. Anisa's research aims to explore the various avenues available to Muslims in matters of divorce in both Australia and England, and to identify and discuss the points of divergence that arise as a result of the intersection of Islamic law and Western law. Her other areas of interest include: Muslim Communities in the West, Islamic Law and Intercultural Communication. Anisa is also a Board Member of Noor Al Houda Islamic College in Sydney, a Director with the Islamic Foundation Australia Inc in Adelaide, and a member of the Media Committee of the Islamic Council of Victoria. |
Muhammad Eeqbal Farouque HassimResearch Assistant Muhammad Eeqbal Farouque Hassim is a Research Assistant with the Centre for Islamic Law and Society (CILS) and a PhD Candidate in Islamic Studies at The University of Melbourne, focusing on the volitional aspects of learning in Islam. He is also a recipient of the Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) Scholarship funded by the Department of Education Science and Training (DEST). Eeqbal completed his BA (Hons) with First Class Honours in Arabic/Islamic Studies and Indonesian Studies at The University of Melbourne in 2004. His Honours thesis was on The Origins of Salafism in Indonesia. He has also completed research on the styles of hal (circumstancial expression) in the Quran, the significance of Quranic verses in the Islamic literature of Ali Ahmad Bakathir, varying interpretations of bidah hasanah ('good innovation') in Islam, the Sunnah and Jemaah Islamiyah and Muhammadiyah's varying interpretations of Jihad, Shariah and the Islamic state, among others. His current research interests include Islamic educational psychology, particularly the role of the volition Islamic learning theory, reforms in Islamic education, Salafism, varying interpretations of Sunnah and bidah (innovation) and relationships between past and present Muslim ideologies. Eeqbal is involved in teaching Islamic studies, Islamic education in particular, to members of Melbourne's Muslim community and is a member of the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE). |
Imran K. LumResearch Assistant
Imran K. Lum is a research assistant with the Centre for Islamic Law and Society (CILS) and a PhD candidate in Islamic Studies at Melbourne University focusing on Islamic banking and identity amongst Australian Muslims. Imran completed his bachelors degree at Adelaide University and a Masters degree at The University of New England on Ijtihad: The Construction and De-construction of Religious Authority. Imran's research interests include Islamic banking and finance, minority fiqh and Muslim integration in the West. Imran is a Director of the Islamic Foundation Australia Inc. and is on the Media Committee of the Islamic Council of Victoria. |
|
|
|
back to top |
