The Centre is excited to confirm that Dr Mohammed Alsudairi recently received a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) from the Australian Research Council. In a highly competitive process, the project entitled “Building and governing sectarianism: Muslims and the modern Chinese state” received a grant valued at approximately $528,773.

As part of the grant, Dr Alsudairi will investigate how modern states shape and institutionalise sectarianism, focusing specifically on the encounter between the Chinese state and its Muslim citizens along its Northwest frontier regions. This will contribute to enhancing Australia’s national capacity in analysing Chinese politics and regime resilience.

The DECRA scheme is designed to build Australia’s research capacity by supporting promising scholars in developing independent research trajectories and international collaborations. In this context, Dr Alsudairi’s project contributes to global discussions on religion, politics, and state power, particularly in understudied intersections between Islam and East Asia. It is expected to generate significant academic and policy-relevant outcomes, enhancing our understanding of how states manage religious plurality in complex geopolitical settings.