Islamic centre open to Ramsay course in Western civilisation

An Islamic education centre director would welcome a Western civilisation degree being taught at the same campus.

UniSA’s professor Mohamad Abdalla would welcome a Western studies program there.

The director of an Islamic education and research centre at the University of South Australia says he would welcome a Western civilisation degree being taught at the same campus after the Australian National University withdrew from negotiations with the Ramsay Centre.

The day after government frontbencher Josh Frydenberg said he was worried about the “long march to the left” at universities, based on the ANU’s decision, UniSA professor Mohamad Abdalla said he was happy to work alongside a course on Western history, saying “no civilisation could happen in a vacuum”.

“If we set aside some of the ideological underpinnings and look at teaching Western civilisation in a way that will bridge the gap and look at some of the successes but also the failures, then I see absolutely no problems in that,” Professor Abdalla said.

“Civilisation should be taught. Whether it’s Western civilisation or Islamic civilisation, they should be taught in a balanced way.

“The underlying theme, however, should not be the supremacy of one civilisation over the other. I am big on the question of interconnectedness of civilisations.”

He said there was “substantial evidence that Islamic civilisation in terms of its achievement in the sciences, mathematics, astronomy, medicine would not have achieved what it did without relying on the Greek civilisation”.

“By extension, the rise of ­science, in particular in the Western civilisation, could not have happened without reliance on ­Islamic civilisation,” he said.

The key was teaching civilisation without shying away from its negative aspects but demonstrating there were periods of “interconnectedness, co-operation, co-existence and so on”, he said.

Mr Frydenberg has blamed the ANU for withdrawing from talks with the Ramsay Centre to hold a course on Western history, saying this was part of a broader “lurch to the left” at universities.

Speaking at the weekend, he said it was “absolutely critical that the next generation of students understand about where the rule of law came from, where democracy came from, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, women’s suffrage”.

A Ramsay Centre spokes­woman said its initial focus was on NSW and the ACT, but the centre was open to partnering with other universities “down the track”.

University of Melbourne vice-chancellor Glyn Davis yesterday told The Australian of an approach from Ramsay Centre director Simon Haines.

“The university has appreciated the opportunity to learn about the Western civilisation program … but has not submitted an expression of interest,” Professor Davis said.

Melbourne University offers a major in Islamic studies, while other universities such as Griffith and Charles Sturt offer bachelor courses in Islamic studies.

Professor Abdalla helped ­establish UniSA’s Centre for ­Islamic Thought and Education in August 2016 with funding from the former state Labor government and the university.

The centre, part of the univer­sity’s education school, has about 20 undergraduate students and 15 PHD students. A focus has been working with Islamic schools to create a program relevant to a modern-day Australian context.

A UniSA spokeswoman said the centre was “an integral part of UniSA’s School of Education and operates like any other academic centre in the university, subject to our normal governance and in academic policy terms entirely ­independent of external agents”.