Islamic Studies in Australia’s Higher Education Sector

Abstract

This report presents an overview of the discipline of Islamic studies in the Australia’s higher education sector collected in 2017. After a brief exploration of the history of teaching Islam and Islamic studies in modern Western institutions, the report briefly discusses the types of theoretical and methodological issues that concern the contemporary discipline of Islamic studies in the Western context. This leads to the main subject matter of the report, which focuses on identifying the major Australian universities that currently offer substantial Islamic studies courses and discusses the types of majors and programs offered; the institutional background in which these majors and programs emerged and currently operate; the breakdown and content of the courses offered; and what graduate outcomes the institutions envisage for their graduates. Finally, the report makes a few brief, general and preliminary observations regarding the future of Islamic studies in the Australian context.