Abdullah Saeed is the Sultan of Oman Professor of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Melbourne. He is also the director of the National Centre of Excellence for Islamic Studies (a cooperative initiative of the University of Melbourne, University of Western Sydney, and Griffith University) and co-director of Melbourne's Centre for Islamic Law and Society. His publications cover Qur’anic hermeneutics, Islam and human rights, Islamic law reform, Islamic finance, Muslim communities in Australia, and Islam and freedom of religion. His publications include The Qur’an: an Introduction (2008) and Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam (2004). Born in the Maldives, Saeed received his B.A. in Arab/Islamic Studies from the Islamic University (Saudi Arabia) and his Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from the University of Melbourne.