Azhar Ibrahim, PhD. is a Visiting Fellow at the Department of Malay Studies National
University of Singapore ( NUS ). He obtained his PhD., MA, from the same Department
in 2002 and 2008 respectively. His dissertation focused on the humanism and
intellectualism among Malay literary intelligentsia while his MA thesis dealt with the
study of religious orientations as reflected in feudal Malay society and its continuities in
the present. He majored both in Malay Studies, and Southeast Asian Studies at
undergraduate level. He has been a Lecturer for almost ten years at the National Institute
of Education, (NIE) Nanyang Technological University, teaching classical and modern
Malay literature, sociology of the Malays, as well as Islamic intellectual traditions and
civilization. At NIE he also co-teach multiculturalism and critical pedagogy. His research
interest includes sociology of religion, sociology of literature and critical literacy, and the
Malay-Indonesia intellectual development. Currently he is pursuing his post-doctoral
research at the Faculty of Theology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark for
(2009/2010), and later at Temple University, USA (2010/2011) under the NUS Overseas
Postdoctoral Fellowship. His postdoctoral research focuses on Social Theology in
Muslim Southeast Asia: Trends and Challenges, and the Theology of Dialogue in MalayIndonesian Societies: Prospects and Impediments. He has co-edited and published widely
in Malaysia and Indonesia. Amongst his major publications in English are:
-- Humanistic Traditions in Islam: A Preliminary Survey. (Singapore: The Print Lodge,
2008)
-- Moral Vision and Social Critique: Selected Essays of Syed Hussein Alatas. ( Singapore:
The Reading Group, 2007)
-- Islam, Religion and Progress: Critical Perspectives. (Singapore: The Reading Group,
2006)
--“The Idea of Religious Reform: Perspectives of Singapore Malay-Muslim Experiences”
in Syed Farid Alatas (ed.) Muslim Reform in Southeast Asia: Perspectives from Malaysia,
Indonesia and Singapore. (Singapore: MUIS, 2009)
--“Discourses on Islam in Southeast Asia and their Impact of the Singapore Muslim
Public,” in Lai Ah Eng (ed.) Religious Diversity in Singapore. (Singapore: ISEAS, 2008 )
--“Critical Humanism in Islamic Educational Philosophy,” in Charlene Tan (ed.)
Philosophical Reflections for Educators. ( Singapore: Cengage Learning, 2008)
-- “An Evaluation of Madrasah Education: Perspectives and Lessons from the
Experiences of Some Muslim Societies,” in Lai Ah Eng & Noor Aisha Abdul Rahman
(eds.) Secularism and Spirituality: Seeking Integrated Knowledge and Success in
Madrasah Education in Singapore. (Singapore: Institute of Policy Studies 2006 )
-- “Critical Perspectives on Contemporary Islamic Thought,” in Philosophy in Schools:
Developing a Community of Inquiry. Intro & Edited by Ho Wah Kam. ( Singapore:
Singapore Teachers’ Union, 2006 )
Riem Spielhaus is a Research Fellow at the Centre for European Islamic Thought. She
obtained her MA in Islamic Studies and African Studies in 2001 from the Institute of
Asian and African Studies (IAAW) at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin in 2001. Her
doctorate was completed at the same institution in 2008 with a dissertation focusing on
processes leading to the emergence of a Muslim conscious in Germany between
ascription and self-identification. Since completing her Masters Riem Spielhaus has been
working as advisor for the commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration of the
German Federal Government. She is a member of several working groups set up by the
German government as well as civic organizations like the German Islam Conference.
She has been a lecturer for almost eight years in the Area Studies Programmes at
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin teaching Arabic, Muslims in minority situations,
introductions to Islamic Studies and Area Studies as well as courses on methodology. Her
research interest includes Muslim minority studies with a focus on production and
dissemination of Islamic knowledge, identity politics, and the institutionalization of Islam
in Europe. Her main field of expertise is religious practice and institutionalisation of
Muslims in Germany and Europe.
Recent publications include:
Amongst her publications in English are:
- “The Concept of the Muslim Enemy in the Public Discourse” (with Yasemin Shooman)
in Jocelyne Cesari (ed), Muslims in Europe and the United States after 9/11, London:
Routledge 2009, pp.
- “Interessen vertreten mit vereinter Stimme: Der ‘Kopftuchstreit‘ als Impuls für die
Institutionalisierung des Islams in Deutschland“, in Sabine Berghahn and Petra Rostock
(eds), Der Stoff, aus dem Konflikte sind. Debatten um das Kopftuch in Deutschland,
Österreich und der Schweiz, Bielefeld: Transcript, 2009, pp.
- “Autorität darstellen - Legitimationsstrategien muslimischer Akteure,“ in Anke Bentzin
et al. (eds), Islam auf Sendung. Islamische Fernsehsendungen im Offenen Kanal Berlin,
Berlin: Dagyeli, 2007, pp. 93-117.
- “Germany” (with Yasemin Karakasoglu, Frank Peter and Sigrid Luchtenberg) in
Jocelyne Cesari (ed), Securitization and Religious Divide in Europe: Islamophobia in
Germany, Paris: European Commission on Security Issues in Europe. 2006, pp.
- Islamisches Gemeindeleben in Berlin, with Alexa Färber, Berlin 2006.
- “Cooperation between Muslim organizations and state institutions: Obstacles und
opportunities” in Peter Heine and Aslam Syed (eds.), Muslim Philanthropy and Civic
Engagement, Berlin: Maecenata, 2005, pp. 409-424.