Long-term study

The feature "Minaret among the dreaming spires" (July 7) contains a number of statements that it is surprising to see in The Times Higher . One would have expected the writer to be aware that there is nothing novel in studying Islam "as a cultural rather than a religious phenomenon". Islamic culture, society, history and science have long been studied in Europe. At Oxford Univer-sity we have been concerned with such things at least since the establishment of our first chair in Arabic in 1636.

It is even odder to suggest that Oriental studies treats Islamic culture as "the Other", an observation that suggests a confusion between Oriental studies and "Orientalism" as conceived by Edward Said.

The Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies is a welcome addition to the study of Islamic culture. The centre is not part of the university, but we have a fruitful relationship with it and look forward to that relationship developing.

Ralph Walker
Oxford University