The hadith, sayings of the Prophet Muhammed not recorded in the Quran, are often cited in support of killing apostates. This is based on a serious misunderstanding, says a Muslim scholar.
Author Archives: Abdullah Saeed
Abdullah Saeed is currently the Director of the National Centre of Excellence for Islamic Studies at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Professor Saeed began his academic career at the University of Melbourne in 1993 and was appointed Sultan of Oman Professor of Arab and Islamic Studies in 2003 at the University of Melbourne.
He is an internationally recognised scholar, prolific author and contributor to modern Islamic thought and writes for both scholarly and general audiences. His research focus is one of the most important issues in Islamic thought: the negotiation of text and context, ijtihad and interpretation. His publications cover Qur’anic hermeneutics, Islamic finance, Islam in the West, Islam and human rights, reform of Islamic education
and Islamic law. Among his publications are: The Qur’an: An Introduction (2008); Interpreting the Qur’an: Towards a Contemporary Approach (2006), Islamic Banking and Interest (1999); Islam in Australia (2003); Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam (co-authored, 2004).
Professor Saeed is consulted regularly on contemporary Islamic issues and participates in a number of major international projects. He has a wide range of professional and research relationships around the world and is on the editorial board of several international refereed journals. He is a member of the UNESCO Commission of Australia and a Board Member of Australia-Thailand Institute of
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Australia. He contributes to print and electronic media on Islamic issues. He is well-known for his interfaith activities in Australia and overseas and for his progressive outlook, and is considered one of the key Muslim thinkers in the West.
