Objectives of the International Centre for Muslim
and
Non-Muslim Understanding
The MnM Centre was established to improve relations between Muslims and non-Muslims by improving understanding. Understanding is not simply a matter of gaining better knowledge or developing empathy but also changing the original terms of reference by which misunderstandings are generated. For this reason the International Centre for Muslim and Non-Muslim Understanding (MnM) is committed to the development of a distinct analytical approach that focuses on understanding Muslims outside the prism of religious studies (such as Islamic studies or Quranic studies) and area studies (such as Middle-Eastern studies, Asian studies or African studies). Critical Muslim studies draws on and extends the insights of post-Orientalism, postcolonialism and post-structuralism in examining the assumptions of western hegemony, the political formations of Muslim and non-Muslim subjectivities and the unresolved imbrications of multiculturalism and racism.
What motivates this approach is the idea that understanding Muslim and non-Muslim interactions necessitates a critical analysis of the way in which 'the Muslim question' is constructed by the histories, geographies and cultures of colonialism and racism. One of the ways of conceiving coloniality is to see it as a framework in which the distinction between the West and non-West becomes the overriding dyad that structures the world. The reduction of the non-West to a residual category announced the subaltern position of the rest of the world as a lack in relation to the West. However, the relationship of lack between Muslim and non-Muslim politics, geographies and histories becomes crucial not only because it seems to mark out a volatile and violent border but more importantly because it opens up the horizon of an ambiguous postcolonality. Giving the non-West a name opens a decolonising horizon which is a way of re-orienting the world. This re-orientation points to the possibility of imagining a different configuration of the planet, which underscores the contingency inherent in the initial colonial ordering.
Some substantive research topics have included:
- Critical analyses of the politics of post-9/11 security contexts and its effects on Muslim populations
- Muslims in comedy television
- Everyday security in postcolonial cities
- Hindu and Islamicate thought in the formation of regional identity in India
- Analysing 'violent extremism'
- Islamicate diasporas
- Muslim youth
PhD scholarships to research at the MnM Centre
PhD scholarships are available for students wishing to undertake research within the field of critical Muslim studies, working with a diverse and dynamic team of international and interdisciplinary scholars. The PhD scholarships provide a stipend of $30,000 annually and a thesis allowance of $840. For international students, the fees applicable as well as Overseas Student Health Cover would be covered as well.
The MnM Centre encourages scholarship that contributes to the development of critical Muslim studies as a distinct approach combining insights from post-orientalism, postcolonialism and post-structuralism. Muslim studies is aimed at re-framing the Muslim question that haunts the contemporary world.
Applicants working broadly within the humanities and social sciences can apply. However, applicants' research topics should reflect the MnM Centre's core interest in developing critical Muslim studies. Applicants will have at least an undergraduate degree in an associated discipline with an outstanding academic record. The centre strongly encourages applications from individuals of minority groups. The scholarships are available to Australian citizens and permanent residents, New Zealand citizens and international applicants. For more information go to this website
