The future of the Palestinian refugees remains one of the key stumbling blocks to a peace deal in the Middle East. While the world's attention is focused once again on events in the Occupied Territories, it is the fate of the 'external' refugees which is emerging as the most complex challenge for Israel and the Palestinian leadership. Nowhere is this more evident than in Lebanon, one of the region's most fragile states. Based on recent fieldwork, this lecture will explore the situation of the refugees in Lebanon and consider the commonly raised options for resolution of this 60 year crisis.

This presentation explores why Western multiculturalists find it hard to extend their famed 'recognition and tolerance' to embrace people from Islamic culture. It argues that this difficulty arises both from some enduring weaknesses in Multiculturalism itself and from some of the ways in which Islamic cultures are lived today.

Speaker: Brother Riyad Al-Adassi – a speaker at the recent Free Gaza Protest, a Palestinian nurse from Gaza with the Union of Health Work Committees – Gaza. He has been deeply involved in the health system in Gaza and is maintaining a close link with his colleagues in the beleaguered hospitals. There is no charge for this event.

Islamic Banking is one of the fastest growing sectors of the banking industry with funds up to US$200 billion, growth at more than 15% per annum and 150 financial institutions operating in more than 40 countries. The unique value-orientated ethos of Islamic banking is proving increasingly effective in drawing finance from Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Initiatives of Change (IOFC), which are an international interfaith and peace group and have a local 'chapter' based in Toorak, have arranged for Imam Ashafa and Pastor James, both from Nigeria who have been involved in the inter-religious conflict and subsequent reconciliation. They have established the Youth Christian Association of Nigeria. This association has been formed after many years of bitter fighting between the Christians and the Muslims in Nigeria. During the fighting, Imam Ashafa's spiritual mentor and his two cousins were killed. Pastor Wuye lost his hand and increased his hatred for Muslims in general, and Ashafa in particular, during this difficult time. The two men were brought together in 1995, and after months of soul searching, decided to work together to end the violence. Their story has engaged large audiences in many parts of the world. The film of their work together, The Imam and the Pastor, was premiered at the United Nations in New York and subsequently shown in the British House of Commons.

A millennium ago the Middle East was not an economic laggard, but by the 18th century it exhibited clear signs of economic backwardness. The reason for this transformation is that certain components of the region's legal infrastructure stagnated as their Western counterparts gave way to the modern economy. Among the institutions that generated evolutionary bottlenecks are the Islamic inheritance regime, which inhibited capital accumulation; the absence in Islamic law of the concept of a corporation, which weakened civil society and delayed the transition from personal to impersonal exchange; and the waqf, which locked vast resources into unproductive organizations for the delivery of social services. All of these obstacles to economic development were overcome through radical reforms initiated in the nineteenth century. Nevertheless, traditional Islamic law remains a factor in the Middle East's ongoing economic disappointments. The current weakness of the region's private economic sectors and its human capital deficiency stand among the lasting consequences of traditional Islamic law.

As the size of Muslim communities in Australia grows, and as international conflicts involving Muslim groups intensify, the question of what it means to be a Muslim Australian living in a predominantly secularised society becomes increasingly important. This paper discusses the social and educational experiences of Muslim Australian youth and explores their cultural attitudes, social insecurities and subjective perceptions of their own fluid identity.

Professor Hassan's new book, Inside Muslim Minds, is a ground-breaking comparative study of contemporary Islamic consciousness, an important insight into aspects of the Muslim faith, and its place in the twenty-first century. Using data gathered from more than six thousand Muslim respondents from Southeast, South and Central Asia and the Middle East, Riaz Hassan examines attitudes to issues such as religious commitment; the status of women; the concept of jihad and its alleged links to terrorism; Islamic philanthropy; attitudes towards blasphemy; and Muslim perceptions of the 'other'.

The 18 February elections in Pakistan have brought two former political rivals to power as partners in a coalition, bringing the country closer to having legitimate rulers. The results have established the role Benazir Bhutto would continue to play in Pakistani politics even after her assassination on 27 December 2007. While heralded as the beginning of another democratic era, the elections and resulting change is not without potential hazards and risks.

Instigators of conflicts in many regions of our globalised world invoke religious principles to justify destruction and the worst atrocities, and to cause or take advantage of fissures between communities. This may be through sheer ignorance but at times there is deliberate manipulation. There is a need for a common structure for research, training, reflection and action between religions to enable faiths and the faith communities to exercise a real and durable impact on the resolution of conflicts and to contribute to the emergence of a culture of peace. Despite our perceived differences, we are more alike than different, but we choose to focus on our differences.