Zuleyha Keskin

Associate Head of School3893058

Associate Professor Zuleyha Keskin

BPharm USyd, MA USyd, PhD ACU

Associate Head of School, Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation
Melbourne
ISRA Centre, 250 Hume Highway, Somerton, VIC, 3062

Zuleyha is the Associate Head of School at the Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation (CISAC) and a lecturer in Islamic Spirituality and Contemporary Islamic Studies. Zuleyha co-founded ISRA Australia in 2009 with the vision to establish university level Islamic studies courses that teach both classical and contemporary Islamic studies at university level. This led to the establishment of the Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation (CISAC) at Charles Sturt University.

Zuleyha led the development of the Bachelor of Islamic Studies, Bachelor of Islamic Studies (Honours), Master of Islamic Studies, Master of Classical Arabic, and, most recently, the Graduate Certificate in Islamic Psychology. She oversaw these initiatives during her role as Course Director (2010–2021), before being appointed Associate Head of School.

Zuleyha is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Australian Journal of Islamic Studies (AJIS) and the Vice President of the Australian Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies (AAIMS).

Zuleyha lectures in Islamic spirituality with a particular focus on spiritual growth, inner transformation, and Qur’anic approaches to the human self. She also coordinates and supervises research subjects, mentoring students in guided research and thesis development within Islamic Studies.

Units Currently Teaching:

  • ISL170 Ihsan (Spirituality) Essentials
  • ISL470 Essentials of Islamic Spirituality
  • ISL597 Guided Research in Islamic Studies

She has previously taught additional subjects, including Islam in the Modern World and Faith Essentials.

Research Interests

  • Islamic spirituality
  • Psycho-spirituality in Islam
  • Inner peace, resilience, and spiritually integrated wellbeing
  • Qur’anic anthropology, theology, and ethics
  • Faith-informed mental health and counselling
  • Social justice, gender, and women in Islam

Supervision

Current HDR Students

  • Nadia El-Mouelhy (PhD) – Halal Certification in Australia: History, Muslim Consumer Perception and Reliance
  • Osman Mah (PhD) – Leadership Development Models: Insights from the Prophetic Leadership of Muhammad (pbuh) for Empowering Emerging Muslim Leaders in Contemporary Contexts
  • Rinto Azhar (PhD) – Exploring Entrepreneurial Competence among Muslim Youth in Australia
  • Khalid Muhieddine (MPhil) – Bridging the Mystical and the Legislative: Integrating Islamic Spiritual Traditions and Contemporary DEI Frameworks for Holistic Practice

Co-Supervision

  • Nasreen Hanifi (PhD) – Expressions of Compassion among Muslims during Times of Adversity: A Psycho-Spiritual Analysis
  • Ismail Haskara (PhD) – The Nature of Political, Social, and Religious Change in Secular Türkiye (2011–2022) under the AKP Government

Editor-in-Chief – Australian Journal of Islamic Studies
Leads the editorial direction of an open-access, double-blind peer-reviewed journal dedicated to rigorous scholarly research on Islam and Muslim societies.

Vice President – Australian Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies (AAIMS)
Serves on the executive of a national interdisciplinary network of scholars that promotes excellence in teaching and research on Islam and Muslim experiences in both minority and majority contexts.

Member – Wellbeing and Mental Health Research Group
Contributes to a collaborative research network focused on advancing innovative, inclusive, and impactful scholarship in wellbeing and mental health.

Member – Religiously-informed Resilience and Wellbeing Research Group
Engages in interdisciplinary research exploring resilience and wellbeing through the lens of faith and spirituality, examining how faith and religious practice contribute to flourishing communities and resilient people.