About the Centre for Islam and the Modern World (CIMOW)
The Faculty of Arts at Monash has a long history of scholarship on Islam and Muslim society. In recent years one of the key research centres bringing together a concentration of faculty and postgraduate researchers was the Centre for Muslim Minorities and Islam Policy Studies (CMMIPS). Beginning in 2008 it was renamed as the Centre for Islam and the Modern World (CIMOW). CIMOW continues CMMIPS interests in Muslim minorities living in Australia and other western democracies and in contributing to the development of appropriate social policies for matters affecting Muslim communities. It adds to thesis interests, however, a focus on Muslim nations and social movements proactively rising to the challenges of modernity and on progressive Islamic thought. As CIMOW the Centre will continue to work closely with its sister centre in the school of Political and Social Inquiry (PSI), the Global Terrorism Research Centre (GTReC). CIMOW and GTReC share a commitment to empathetic engagement with Muslim communities and finely nuanced analysis contributing to the development of sophisticated, humanitarian social policies. Many of the researchers associated with CIMOW and GTReC participate in research projects in both centres.
CIMOW Research
CIMOW researchers seek to better understand the evolving dynamics linking Islam, modernity and the modern nation state. CIMOW is intended to be place in which Muslim and non-Muslim researchers, writers and teachers, both from Australia and around the world, can come together to work in a positive, collegial environment that respects difference and diversity and values synergistic collaboration and learning. CIMOW researchers employ empathetic social science approaches to understanding contemporary Islamic thought and Muslim societies and to exploring the complex relationship between the religious, the cultural and the political in democratic societies as diverse as Australia, India, Indonesia and Turkey. CIMOW is committed to improving the possibility of civic harmony and social cohesion through research, dialogue and better understanding and to this end will support appropriate opportunities for inter-religious and inter-communal dialogue and collaboration. It is also committed to the broad and effective dissemination of results and insights through engagement in public discourse, publishing and through offering advisory, educational and training services to national and international governments and the community.
The following areas are of special interest.
- Islam and pro-democracy civil society movements in the Muslim world
- Muslim citizenship rights in Australia and other Western democracies
- Inter-religious and inter-communal dialogue between Muslims, Christians and Jews and others
- Islam and democracy in India, Indonesia, Turkey and other democracies within the Muslim world
- New Islamic thought relating to the modern nation state, pluralism and to Islamic politics
- Radical Islamist and other illiberal social movements in the Muslim world and amongst diaspora communities and their relationship to mainstream Muslim communities
- The development of post-Islamist, democratic Islamic politics
- Multiculturalism and Muslims’ inclusion in Australia and other Western democracies
- Media representation of Islam
- Community understanding of Islam and issues faced by Muslim minorities
Related research centres in the Faculty of Arts at Monash
The Monash centres and initiatives listed below (in alphabetic order) currently offer courses, undertake research and provide other services connected to the study of Islam and Muslim communities and societies. As has already been alluded to, CIM works closely with GTReC with the aim that the two centres form two halves of a greater whole, freely exchanging research staff and community links according to the changing needs of research projects to maximise synergistic benefits. To this end, the senior leadership of each centre participates in the leadership of both centres and actively supports the work of both centres. At the same time CIMOW and Monash Asia Institute (MAI) collaborate closely on a variety of research projects and HDR supervisions involving research in Asia; and CIM and the Centre for the Study of Religion and Theology are exploring opportunities for cooperation that make use of their complementary strengths in contemporary social research and the history of ideas.
- The Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation– initiatives to resolve Arab-Israeli conflict and seek a two state solution with a viable Palestinian state, Arab Israelis, and dialogue initiatives and exchanges between Jews, Muslims and Christians
- The Centre for European and European Union Studies- Islam in Europe and government responses to radicalism and terrorism.
- The Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology- Interdisciplinary scholarship in the fields of religion and theology;
- The Global Terrorism Research Centre - Generation of knowledge that helps reduce the threat of terrorism within Australia and overseas while simultaneously strengthening democracy and multiculturalism.
- The Monash Asia Institute (MAI) - Studies of Islam across the Asia-Pacific as a religious, political, social and cultural phenomenon.
- The UNESCO Chair in Inter-religious and Intercultural Relations– Asia Pacific - Research into the management of intercultural and inter-religious diversity in the Asia-Pacific, particularly as it relates to the contribution of religious actors and institutions to peacemaking, productive cooperation and the building of social and cultural capital in the region.