A brief background
The City Circle aims to highlight the development of a distinct Australia Muslim identity; to assist in building community cohesion by developing friendship and cooperation between Muslim and non-Muslim communities; and to harness and channel the skills and resources of Muslim professionals into practical projects thereby facilitating and empowering young Muslim women and men to 'put back in' to the wider Australian community.
The City Circle is an open circle for open minds. The City Circle provides an atmosphere where individuals are pushed to think outside the box. The City Circle hosts monthly events where ideas develop, the soul is nourished and issues are highlighted, and seeks to promote practical and forward-thinking solutions to community problems.
One key ingredient since its formation in 1999 has been to remain non-aligned to any established doctrinal organisation by facilitating and networking personally between existing Islamic and community organisations.
The goodwill generated allows the City Circle to act in an advisory capacity to encourage integration with wider society. The diverse range of subjects covered in the monthly events and the wide spectrum of Muslim and non-Muslim opinion within it has established a respectable platform for honest critical debate. The City Circle aims to continue this work in highlighting the development of an increasingly confident and positive definition of Australian Muslim identity in Melbourne.
Our previous speakers have included:
Julian Burnside QC
Waleed Aly (Monash University)
Nuim Khaiyath (Radio Australia)
Rev. James Murray (former Religious Editor "The Australian")
Dr. Abdul Khaliq Kazi
Profressor Arief Budiman (The University of Melbourne)
Ziauddin Sardar (UK-based author of Desperately Seeking Paradise)
Hanifa Deen (author of Caravanserai, Broken Bangles, and The Jihad Seminar)
Brother Riyad Al-Adassi (a Palestinian nurse from Gaza with the Union of Health Work Committees)
Dr Helen Durham (Australian Red Cross)
Professor Joseph Camilleri (LaTrobe University)
Waleed Aly, Maria Bhatti & Emily Howie
Professor Abdullah Saeed (Director, National Centre for Excellence in Islamic Studies, University of Melbourne)
Aziz Cooper (ICV Prison Chaplaincy Service)
Dr Abdul Rahim Ghouse (CEO, Kuwait Finance House)
Dr Philip Freier (Anglican Archbishop)
Peter Williams (CEO, Deloitte Digital)
Issam Nabulsi (Architect, Desypher)
Dr Peta Stephenson (Asia Institute, University of Melbourne)
Sheikh Jehad Ismail (Imam, Nabi Akram Mosque, Sydney)
Dr Nasya Bahfen (Journalism Lecturer, RMIT)
Rabbi Meir Kluwgant (Vice-President, Organisation of Rabbis Australia)
The City Circle is modeled around the UK City Circle.
We look forward to seeing you in the near future!
Hyder Gulam FRCNA
Shaan R. Ali
Peter Barnett