Muhammad Kamal

Associate Professor Muhammad Kamal serves as Head of Islamic Studies in the Asia Institute within the Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne. A Kurdish scholar originally from Iraq, he obtained a BA (Honours), MA, and PhD in Philosophy from the University of Karachi, complemented by a Diploma in Education from the Teachers Institute in Erbil. His academic career commenced at the University of Karachi, where he taught as a lecturer and assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy from 1985 to 1994. In 1992, he undertook postdoctoral research in Germany funded by a DAAD scholarship. Relocating to Australia in 1994, he has since contributed to philosophy and Islamic studies at Victorian universities, holding his current position at the University of Melbourne.

Kamal's research focuses on Eastern and Western existentialism, ontology, metaphysics, phenomenology, and comparative philosophy, with particular emphasis on Islamic thinkers like Mulla Sadra alongside Western philosophers such as Martin Heidegger and Spinoza. His scholarly output includes articles such as 'Spinoza and the Relativity of Evil in the World' (Open Journal of Philosophy, 2018), 'Ibn 'Arabi and Spinoza on God and the World' (Open Journal of Philosophy, 2017), 'The Ezidi Genocide and the Need to Challenge the Islamic State's Ideology' (Melbourne Asia Review, 2025), and 'A Critique of Heidegger's Understanding of the Meaning of Being'. Notable books encompass 'A Universe in Constant Change: Mulla Sadra and Transubstantial Change' (ICAS Press, 2022), 'Mulla Sadra's Transcendent Philosophy' (Taylor & Francis, 2016), and 'From Essence to Being: The Philosophy of Mulla Sadra and Martin Heidegger' (ICAS Press, 2010). He has enriched Kurdish intellectual tradition through original philosophical works and translations into Kurdish of seminal texts including Heidegger's 'Being and Time', Hegel's 'Phenomenology of Spirit', and Sartre's 'Being and Nothingness'. Kamal engages in interreligious dialogue, supervises PhD students, participates in public podcasts like Ear to Asia, and serves on editorial boards.

Professional Email: muhammad@unimelb.edu.au