The Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths

BCV has always been committed to sending missionaries to bring the life-changing good news of the gospel to those of other faiths - Michael Raiter, BCV Principal

In one of the most significant and exciting ventures in our college’s 87-year history, the BCV Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths opened on January 1, 2008.

We believe this is the right time for such a centre. In a world facing challenges such as climate change and global poverty, arguably as Christians, our greatest need is to understand and engage with contemporary Islam. Christians seem confused and, often, alarmed and anxious by an Islam that appears to be increasingly militant. Who do we believe? The many who affirm Islam as a religion of peace, fully at home in a Western democracy? Or the vocal and volatile conservatives who have a clear agenda to bring all the world into submission to Allah and his prophet?

In 1996, Dr Peter Riddell was appointed as founding Director of the Centre for Islamic Studies and Christian–Muslim Relations at London School of Theology (formerly London Bible College), where he was promoted to the rank of Professor in 2003. We are thrilled that Peter has accepted our invitation to be the inaugural director of our centre here at BCV. Melbourne scholar Dr Mark Durie describes Peter as “one of the leading teachers and postgraduate trainers working from an evangelical Christian framework in the English-speaking world”.

Why does BCV need a Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths? While it is important that we rightly and fairly understand Islam and are equipped to engage with Muslims, Australia is now a land of many faiths. The recent census showed the number of Hindus in Australia doubled in the past decade, while the number of Buddhist increased by 109 percent.

BCV has always been committed to sending missionaries to bring the life-changing good news of the gospel to those of other faiths. Under God, we trust this centre will enable many to study Islam and other faiths at the highest academic standard, so raising to a new level our ability to equip our students to connect with people of other faiths. Finally, we trust that the centre will serve the wider church as we inform and equip the church and society to engage with challenges presented to us by contemporary Islam. Please join with us in prayer and financial support for this centre.

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