News story -- On the occasion of the book launch, the President of the Ismaili National Council for India, Mr. Nizamuddin Ajani, and the book's publisher, Mr. Hemant Thakkar made speeches. The Chairman of ITREB India, Mr. Bakhtawar Dharani, the CEO of ITREB India, Mr. Hussain Jasani, ITREB Secretary, Mr. Imtiaz Momin, and the editor of The Ismaili (India), Dr. N.M. Irani ...
News story -- Amman, Jordan - 4th - 6th July, 2005 Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim I am happy that we have been invited to participate in the International Islamic Conference being held in Amman, from the 4th to the 6th of July, 2005, under the auspices of the Hashemite Kingdom. In light of the purpose of the Conference, I find it appropriate to reiterate, in ...
News story -- A specialist on the Ikhwan al-Safa' and a Professor of History of Muslim Philosophy at the Università degli Studi di Napoli "L'Orientale" in Naples, Italy, Professor Baffioni spoke about the content of several epistles of the Ikhwan al-Safa' (The Brethren of Purity, ca. 10th century Iraq), a collective of scholars and thinkers who produced a compendium of knowledge of ...
News story -- Dr. Abbas' talk explored the impact of socio-economic transition on education and careers of the youth of isolated mountainous regions. In particular, he looked closely at recent challenges faced by Tajikistan's Pamiri youth who are completing their education and entering the labour market, making comparisons with the challenges their parents had faced. The aim of the talk was to ...
News story -- The Syrian Preparatory Programme is jointly funded and managed by the IIS' Department of Graduate Studies and Ismaili community institutions in Syria. It prepares students by improving their English reading and writing skills to a level suitable for academic study at English-medium higher education institutions. The curriculum, designed by the Department of Graduate Studies, is taught by the British ...
News story -- The program was conducted at the French Institute (Institut Français du Proche-Orient - IFPO) in Damascus, and was developed in collaboration with the GPISH Arabic Coordinator, Ms Lucy Collard. A range of different modules were offered to students, all delivered in Arabic, including: Arabic Grammar and Conversation, Muslim Civilisations, Ismaili History, Arabic Literature and Mystical Poetry. The immersion programme ...
News story -- Scholars and guests who attended the book launches organised by the Institute at the Ismaili Centre in London heard the authors speak about the research that underpins these publications. Professor Abdullah Saeed, editor of Approaches to the Qur'an in Contemporary Indonesia (Oxford University Press, 2005), noted that Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim country and yet much of ...
News story -- To facilitate the acquisition of skills and experience, as well as to provide career-enhancement opportunities, the IIS devised an internship programme in 2006 which funds appropriately designed internships in partner institutions, in particular agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network and, in some cases, other development-related institutions. For the fresh graduates, this enables them to get work-experience and perhaps ...
News story -- Written during one of the most exciting periods in Sufism's history and based on the only surviving text of the famous Hanbali mystic, 'Abd Allah al-Ansari (d.481/1089 CE), the Kashf al-Asrar of Rashid al-Din Maybudi (fl. 1126 CE) is counted among the most popular Persian tafsirs and its importance, both for an understanding of the development of Sufi hermeneutics ...
News story -- Al-Qadi al-Nu'man entered the service of the first Fatimid Caliph-Imam al-Mahdi billah (r. 297-322 AH/ 909-934 CE) in Ifriqiya (present-day Tunisia and eastern Algeria). He served the first four Fatimid Caliph-Imams in various capacities for almost fifty years until his death. An addition to being an important exponent of Fatimid jurisprudence, al-Nu'man produced historical and bibliographical works directed at ...
News story -- Al-Qadi al-Nu'man entered the service of the first Fatimid Caliph-Imam al-Mahdi billah (r. 297-322 AH/ 909-934 CE) in Ifriqiya (present-day Tunisia and eastern Algeria), and served the first four Fatimid Caliph-Imams in various capacities for almost fifty years until his death. He reached the height of his career during the reign of the Caliph-Imam al-Mu'izz li-din Allah (r. 341-365 ...
News story -- By analysing original sources, the author explores the wisdom of Imam 'Ali which has been described as an intellectual treasure locked in the Arabic language. "One of the things I tried to do in this book", said Dr Shah-Kazemi, "is to make some of the jewels of this treasury of spiritual wisdom accessible to those who cannot read Arabic. ...
News story -- The main objective of this workshop was to bring together the results of recent scholarship in the field of the esoteric interpretation of the Qur'an. From North America, Europe, the Middle East, specially Iran and Turkey, scholars at the workshop were able to compare and contrast the methods employed in various texts belonging to the esoteric tradition of Qur'anic ...
News story -- In his opening remarks, the Director of The Institute of Ismaili Studies, Professor Azim Nanji, who chaired the conference, stressed that the purpose of the conference was to explore how music enables a deeper understanding and appreciation of the parallels and exchanges among the three Abrahamic traditions. Among the aims of the conference was to bring together scholars studying ...
News story -- WOCMES-2 is unique in being the first major academic event on Middle Eastern Studies that took place in the Middle East, providing a greater opportunity for scholars from North Africa and Asia, including the Middle East, to participate along with specialists from North America and Europe. Featuring numerous academic panels and roundtable discussions by an international committee, WOCMES-2 hosted ...
News story -- Yahia is originally from Afghanistan and began his research on education in Afghanistan in 2000 by visiting three cities which had the largest concentration of Afghan refugees in Pakistan: Karachi, Rawalpindi and Peshawar. During this trip to Pakistan, Yahia observed the lives of Afghan refugees, studying their challenges and issues as well as their achievements with regard to the ...
News story -- Farid al-Din 'Attar (d. 1221 CE) is regarded as the principal Muslim mystic poet of the second half of the 12th century. He is best known for his often-translated masterpiece Mantiq al-tayr or The Conference of the Birds, a tale of the spiritual quest of thirty birds to find their supreme sovereign, the Simurgh. This new publication brings together ...
News story -- Dr. Taji-Farouki's research focuses on aspects of Ibn 'Arabi's legacy in the modern world. A second title, Beshara and Ibn 'Arabi: A Movement of Sufi Spirituality in the Modern World (Oxford, 2007), explores the application of Ibn 'Arabi's teaching in the context of contemporary western spirituality. A third, still in progress, examines ongoing intra-Muslim debates concerning aspects of Islamic ...
News story -- The students' research contributes to scholarship on Tajik Ismailis and a better understanding of the ethno-linguistic features of the inhabitants of the Pamirs. Umed Bulbulshoev explored the Anthropo-toponymy (names of geographic locations) of the western Pamir region, focusing on the Shohdara valley in Badakhshan. Through examining the names of places, such as shrines, settlements, and springs, he was able ...
News story -- Throughout her career as one of the foremost scholars of Persian poetry and Sufism, Professor Schimmel, who passed away in January 2003, had published numerous articles and books on Islamic art, theology, poetry, calligraphy and mysticism, as well as translations of Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu and Sindhi poetry into German and English. In accordance with her wishes, Annemarie Schimmel's ...
News story -- In late 2005, the IIS established an Alumni Association with Chapter Groups for its North American, European and Asian Alumni. This and other initiatives by the Institute strive to build a closer working relationship with its alumni and to continue to contribute to their intellectual development. Where possible, the Institute also seeks to facilitate the graduating students' transition into ...
News story -- Mr. Vellani's speech at the inaugural session Mr. Vellani's speech: Philanthropy in Islam The three-day seminar, from 12th to 14th October, 2004, was an opportunity for officials and experts in China to exchange experience and views with their international counterparts on the challenge of determining how to reform and develop the country's philanthropic sector. Referring to the ongoing reforming ...
News story -- The exhibition titled "L'age D'or des Sciences Arabes" (The Golden Age of Arabic Sciences), shown at the Institut du Monde Arabe displayed a large collection of manuscripts, calligraphy, artefacts and images from the 9th to the16th centuries CE, a time when the Muslim world was at the forefront of scientific innovation and thinking. The students engaged with the contributions ...
News story -- Throughout his studies in the Institute's Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities, Amin Mahdavi was a research assistant for the Shahnama Project under the direction of Dr Charles Melville (Cambridge) and Prof. Robert Hillenbrand (Edinburgh). Firdausi's Shahnama (Book of Kings), completed in eastern Iran in 1010 A.D, is a Farsi epic poem of great beauty drawing upon myths, ...
News story -- Dr Fahmida Suleman is currently a Research Associate in the Department of Academic Research and Publications and the Administrative Co-ordinator of the Qur'anic Studies Project. Fahmida obtained a BA in Islamic & Religious Studies from the University of Toronto in 1994. In 1997, she graduated from the Institute's Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities, which was completed by ...
News story -- Among the first recipients of the Institute's Ph D scholarship is Dr Zulfikar A Hirji who is a Research Associate in the Department of Academic Research and Publications of the IIS and currently co-ordinates the Ph D Scholarship Programme as well as other scholarships and fellowships offered by the IIS. Zulfikar Hirji obtained a BA (Hons) in Anthropology and ...
News story -- Hosted by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, with an inaugural address by His Hashemite Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein, the Conference brought together more than 170 religious leaders and scholars from 40 countries, from the main Shia schools - Ithna Ashari, Ismaili and Zaidi; the four Sunni schools - Hanafi, Maliki, Shafii and Hanbali; as well as the ...
News story -- Professor Nanji began his presentation by suggesting that "... as we look at the 21st century, we need to set the ground for where a shared connection exists; between the religious traditions on the one hand, and their influences on the societies of Britain, Europe, and the Muslim world..." He shared with the audience that he is "...often asked ...
News story -- At the Ashmolean Museum, which was established in 1683 and is Britain's oldest public museum of art and archaeology, students attended a gallery talk by Dr Ruth Barnes on the exhibition, Pilgrimage: The Sacred Journey. This exhibition was installed by the Ashmolean Inter-Faith Exhibition Service (AIFES) and it examines the commonalities and differences of the pilgrimage phenomenon in the ...
News story -- Dr Haldane also taught on Islamic Arts as part of the Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities and was a mentor and advisor to many students at the IIS. During the Institute's Worlds of Learning Campaign (2000-2001), he accompanied an extensive exhibition and delivered talks on The Institute of Ismaili Studies' collection in Los Angeles, San Jose, Chicago, ...
News story -- According to Dr Zulfikar A Hirji, Co-ordinator of PhD Scholarship Programme, "the expertise that can be gained from doctoral studies should not be regarded as knowledge for the benefit of academicians alone. This programme has and will continue to produce expertise that can assist human societies generally, and be used to critically examine the particular challenges facing Muslim societies ...
News story -- The Assassin Legends: Myths of the Ismailis was originally published in English in 1994 and was subsequently translated into Arabic (in 1996), Hungarian (in 2000) and Farsi (in 1997). In the book, Dr. Daftary used the then new scholarship on Ismaili history to establish the extent to which older Western accounts of medieval Ismailis had confused fact and fantasy. ...
News story -- In introducing Professor Nanji, the Director of PISAI, Justo Lacunza-Balda, emphasised the efforts of the IIS to promote understanding within the Muslim and wider world through its courses and publications, and noted that the mission of PISAI consists of "promoting the understanding, improving the relations and exploring ways of religious and cultural interaction between Christians and Muslims". Professor Nanji ...
News story -- Gallery of images of Participants Over the past two decades, in excess of 200 individuals have graduated from a range of human resource development initiatives of the IIS. These alumni are now engaged in a wide range of exciting endeavours across the world. Although many of them have remained in touch with their alma mater, the Institute has now ...
News story -- Jointly organised by the Edinburgh International Centre for World Spiritualities (EICWS) and the Edinburgh Institute for Advanced Learning (EIAL), the Festival included participation from Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities as well as Baha'is, Druzes, Zoroastrians and other traditions whose histories and communities are connected with what today is referred to as the Middle East. In her conference paper, 'Articulation ...
News story -- The twentieth century was an historical turning point in the Muslim world. Rapid advances in the physical sciences, changes in modes of production, the revolutionising of communication, and the breakdown of old systems transformed the human condition, the way people relate to themselves, to one another, their heritage and the world at large. However, there is a crucial difference ...
News story -- The first image selected by Professor Ormsby was the Mosque of 'Umar or the Dome of the Rock (Qubbat as-Sakhrah) in Jerusalem. The building was erected between 687 CE and 691 CE by the Umayyad Caliph 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. Being the first example of monumental architecture by Muslims, the mosque's location is of importance for Muslims, Jews and ...
News story -- Azim Nanji Rob Beckley Norman RichardsonThe conference featured keynote discussions and panel debates on: the role of regulation; sexual orientation; gender; work/life balance; race; religion/faith; disability; and age. In drawing upon the expertise and knowledge of academics, media commentators, policy makers and senior politicians through debate and discussion, the conference provided a forum from which the agenda of diversity ...
News story -- A panel was organized by the Department of Academic Research and Publications on 4th December with four scholars conducting research on the Ismailis of South Asia. The presentations illustrated parallel themes and ideas on the formation and negotiation of identity of the Ismailis of the Indian Subcontinent throughout the nineteenth century to the present. Each of the panelists provided ...
News story -- One of the foremost poets of the Persian language and a prominent Ismaili da'i, Nasir Khusraw has attracted passionate attention for nearly a thousand years. Celebrated for a poetry that combines art with philosophy and trusted for the details of his travels throughout the Middle East, Nasir Khusraw remains one of the most fascinating figures in Muslim history and ...
