News

Muslims in the West - coexistence or conflict?

Media Release, Tuesday 19 October 2004

The University of Melbourne's Sultan of Oman Chair in Arab and Islamic Studies, Professor Abdullah Saeed, delivered his inaugural professorial lecture "Muslims in the West - Coexistence or Conflict?" at the University of Melbourne today Tuesday 19 October.

Professor Saeed said that recent global events have increased the awareness in the West of Muslim communities living in Western countries. Migration and conversion have increased the Muslim population in the European Union, North America and Australia to over 20 million.

A present debate in relation to those Muslims is their ability to live harmoniously in the West within a multicultural context and whether there is an inherent conflict between modern political values such as human rights, pluralism and democracy, and the values of Muslims.

In his lecture, Professor Saeed explored Muslim responses to this debate, the transformation that is taking place in relation to the notion of what it means to be Muslim in the West, and the prospects for a more harmonious and pluralist vision for Muslims in the West.

The lecture marked the formal launch of the Sultan of Oman Chair in Arab and Islamic Studies which was awarded to the University of Melbourne in 2003, with an endowment of US$1.5 million, by the Sultanate of Oman, as a lasting token of the partnership between Oman and Australia.

A delegation from the Sultanate of Oman led by the Minister for Higher Education, Her Excellency Dr Rawya Saud Al Busaidi, attended the launch of the Chair and the lecture.

Others attending included former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, Governors-General, Sir Ninian Stephen and Dr Peter Hollingworth, and leaders of Melbourne's Muslim community including Yasser Soliman and Sheik Femi.

All attendees, both Muslim and non-Muslim, were invited to join Professor Saeed for a Ramadhan Iftar, or breaking of the fast, at the conclusion of the lecture.