About Me

Hello and welcome to my website.

Something about my academic background: I hold degrees from Australia and overseas. I received a BA in Arab/Islamic Studies from Saudi Arabia in 1986. I then joined the University of Melbourne (Australia) and received my PhD in Islamic Studies in 1992. I also completed a Master of Arts degree in Applied Linguistics at the University of Melbourne. In 1993, I joined the then Department of Asian Languages and Anthropology at the University of Melbourne as a Lecturer, rising to Senior Lecturer in 1996, Associate Professor in 2000 and a full professor in 2003. I was appointed Sultan of Oman Professor of Arab and Islamic Studies in 2003. In 2010, I was elected Fellow of Australian Academy of Humanities.

My research focus is an important issue in Islamic thought today: the negotiation of text and context, ijtihad and interpretation. I am a strong advocate of reform of Islamic thought. My publications cover Qur’anic hermeneutics, Islam and human rights, Islamic law reform, Islamic finance, Muslim communities in Australia, and Islam and freedom of religion. I write for both scholarly and general audiences.

I have taught Arabic and Islamic Studies at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Among these subjects are: Great Texts of Islam: Qur’an; Great Empires of Islamic Civilization; Principles of Islamic Finance; Qur’anic Hermeneutics; Principles of Islamic Law; Islam and Human Rights; and Islam and Muslims in Australia.

I am involved in interfaith dialogue between Muslims and people of other faiths. I also teach short courses on Islam and Islamic culture for government, business and community organisations. I am on the board of a number of national and international bodies and travel widely. I have a broad range of professional and research relationships around the world. [Please see above-right for downloadable CV]