On 18 and 19 October, the Centre hosted a conference on the ‘Study of Islam and Contemporary Muslim Societies’, in partnership with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Director of the Centre, Dr Farhan Nizami, welcomed the guests. Dr Abdullah Lheedan delivered the inaugural speech on behalf of HE Shaikh Saleh bin Abdulaziz Al-Alsheikh, Minister of Islamic Affairs. Sir Alan Munro, former British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia responded to the opening remarks. Leading scholars from across the world participated in a weekend of discussion on the history of scholarship on Islam, its current state and future direction. The conference examined the different disciplinary approaches to the study of Islam and stressed the need to preserve institutional space and funding for this important academic endeavour. Participants included, amongst others, Professor Richard Martin, Emory; Dr Adel Al-Sheddi, MWL; Professor Reinhard Schulze; Professor Alison Scott-Baumann; Dr Zaid Al-Dakkan, Riyadh; Professor Rashid Naim, Georgia, and Professor Abdel Haleem, SOAS. Also in attendance were representatives from international Islamic organisations and political and civic bodies.