From The Director

It has been an extremely positive and productive first year of the National Centre of Excellence for Islamic studies Australia (NCEIS).

The introduction of the Islamic studies major in the first semester 2008 has been well met with interest from students at the three participating universities (University of Melbourne, University of Western Sydney and Griffith University).

The first year of the Islamic studies major has run smoothly and we are  currently receiving student and staff feedback in order to refine our program in 2009.

In addition to a number of research projects undertaken by Centre staff, we were fortunate to receive two major grants: a three year Myer Foundation grant and a significant ARC Discovery Grant.

During the year, the Centre also held discussions with students and community groups on ways in which the needs Centre could meet the needs of the Muslim community in Australia.

At the end of our first year, the Centre has now laid the foundations for teaching, research and knowledge transfer programs in 2009 and beyond.

-- Prof Abdullah Saeed

Philosophy of Existence

Understanding the philosophy of existence, and what it means to be human, cannot be discussed without the consideration of great Eastern and Western thinkers such as Mulla Sadra, Hegel and Heidegger. This is an area of study that particularly interests Dr Muhammad Kamal who lectures in Islamic studies at NCEIS.

As a student in the late 1980s, Dr Kamal was eager to expand his knowledge of philosophy. He felt that in order to understand the latest developments in philosophy, he had to better understand Hegel. As a result he completed his PhD on Hegel at the University of Karachi and later researched the philosophy of existence and Heidegger.

As Dr Kamal explains, philosophy requires critical and creative thinking, and “needs a free atmosphere to deconstruct ideas and culture to create something new.” A free atmosphere no longer existed in the politically charged Pakistan of the time, prompting Dr Kamal to move to Australia.

Although Dr Kamal specialised in Western philosophy in his early years, he later developed an interest in a type of Muslim Existentialist philosophy pioneered by thinkers like Ibn Sina, Ibn al-Arabi and Mulla Sadra.

In the debate on philosophy of existence there are two main schools of thought; materialism and idealism. However, another group of thinkers believe that the philosophical debate should be constructed on more genuine philosophical questions, such as the meaning of being.

“It does not matter if these [intellectuals] think that the universe is created by a rational cause or not; whether the reality is material or immaterial – existence becomes an ontological foundation for everything,” Dr Kamal said.

Dr Kamal believes that in order to understand existence, you need to understand how its meaning is approached by different schools and thinkers, as arguments vary. For example, Jean-Paul Sartre, the French Existentialist, does not start with God. He is more concerned with understanding his own existence. “He wants to know whether he is free or not and what does it mean to be free,” Dr Kamal explains. On the contrary, Mulla Sadra, a Muslim Existentialist of the 16th century,  goes beyond human existence and freedom.

Dr Kamal believes that philosophy is not something that is just read in books. but should be made relevant to everyday life, as it is “important to live philosophically.”

Dr Kamal argues the relevance of philosophy in today’s world by explaining that “philosophy will help us remain creative”. He also addresses the problems of technology and its impact on human creativity stating, “I have a problem with technology as it crowns calculative thinking and not thinking critically.”

Dr Kamal criticises technology for encouraging an age of standardised content - everything being readily available and popularised. From the music we listen to and the way we perceive ourselves in society.

“It is all due calculative thinking, marginalization of creative thinking. As we know, creative thinking safeguards our authenticity. Those who are creative are authentic and every authentic being is creative. In this era of technology and consumerism our authenticity is at risk,” Dr Kamal said.

At the University of Melbourne Dr Kamal’s research focuses on the philosophy of existence and the comparison of the ideas of Muslim thinkers with their Western counterparts. This is reflected in his current research prepared ‘From Essence to Being’ compares the philosophical ideals of Mulla Sadra and those of Martin Heidegger.

Dr Kamal’s research higher degree students are working on similar philosophical studies and other areas of Islamic theory. Some of the current projects being supervised are related to Muslim philosophy and politics.

Aside from writing books and papers on Eastern and Western philosophy, Dr Kamal has also written extensively in Kurdish on philosophy.