Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS)

News story -- Thirty-one participants from Canada, India, Pakistan, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States of America attended the fourteenth Summer Programme on Islam, which was held at the Ismaili Centre, London, from 14 - 20 July. The participants came from a diverse range of professional backgrounds including education, government, journalism, judiciary, medicine, media and non-governmental organisations. The Summer ...

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News story -- Dr Walid Ghali presented a paper entitled To print or not to print. Is that still the question? at the 38th Annual Conference of the Middle East Librarians Committee (MELCom), which was held at Leiden University in The Netherlands. The paper explored the various possibilities that led to the delay in the launch of the printing press during the ...

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News story -- In April 2016, the Institute underwent a three-day review visit by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA). The purpose of the QAA is to safeguard standards for all Higher Education institutions in the UK, which include Alternative Providers such as the IIS. The Higher Education Review (HER) is an in-depth review which examines every aspect of the Institute's work that ...

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News story -- Students from the Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities (GPISH) and the Secondary Teacher Education Programme (STEP) undertook an academic excursion to Andalusia in southern Spain. For over 700 years, Andalusia under Muslim rule was one of the world's cultural and intellectual powerhouses. Despite the Reconquista and, more recently, the Franco dictatorship, the culture of the region's Muslim ...

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News story -- Dr Nuha Al-Shaar presented a paper on The Ritualisation of Food and Table-talk in Arabic Traditions at a conference organised by the Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (AGYA). Entitled, Insatiable Appetite: Food as a Cultural Signifier, the conference highlighted how food not only serves to build bridges, but is also a potent marker of social, religious, gendered, ...

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News story -- The graduation ceremony for the seventh cohort of the Institute's Secondary Teacher Education Programme (STEP) was held on 9th April 2016 at The Ismaili Centre, London. Thirty students from eight different countries graduated at this ceremony. Students from Canada, India, Pakistan, Tanzania, Tajikistan, the UK and the USA graduated with a double Master's degree: an MA in Education (Muslim ...

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News story -- The Institute of Ismaili Studies is currently inviting applications for the next cycle of the alumni research grant. Established in 2009, the grant is designed to support alumni who wish to pursue further research, present papers at academic conferences, publish articles, or undertake field studies in areas of relevance to the IIS. Recipients of the research grant have included ...

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News story -- Codicology is a rapidly expanding area of academic interest. To meet this growing demand, the IIS-ISMC Library hosted an intensive five day workshop on Arabic Manuscript Studies. The workshop, held in April, was delivered by Dr Adam Gacek, a retired lecturer and former Head of the Islamic Studies Library at McGill University, Canada. Dr Gacek, who is recognised as ...

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This 30 min interview with Dr Toby Mayer elaborates on the 'Poem on the Soul' (Qasidat al-nafs), traditionally attributed to Ibn Sina (d. 1037 CE), the great Persian Philosopher and master of Aristotelian thought in the Muslim world, known in Europe as Avicenna. In his commentary, Dr Mayer shares his thoughts on how the Qasida expresses metaphorically the need for a ...

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News story -- Professor Mohammed Arkoun (1928-2010) was one of the most prominent and influential figures in modern Islamic Studies and a member of the Institute's Board of Governors. He was renowned for being an outstanding research scholar, a searching critic of the theoretical tensions embedded in the field of Islamic Studies, and a courageous public intellectual, carrying the banner of an ...

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News story -- An international team - led by an IIS alumnus Professor Karim-Aly Kassam - will work collaboratively with communities in Asia's Pamir Mountains to recalibrate their seasonal ecological calendars to predict the future effects of climate change. Mountain communities, which contribute least to rising greenhouse gas concentrations, are facing the harshest impacts of increasing climate variability. Historically in the Pamir ...

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News story -- A Governor of The Institute of Ismaili Studies, Dr Mohamed Keshavjee, was honoured with the prestigious Gandhi King Ikeda Award for Peace, for his contributions in the area of mediation and peace studies. Dr Mohamed Keshavjee was presented with the award in Atlanta on 5 April 2016 at the Annual Peace Fair and Interfaith Assembly hosted by the Martin ...

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This ... min lecture by Dr Stephen Burge explores aspects of the supernatural in Prophet Mohammed's life, using material found in the biographies of the Prophet and in the hadith Literature. Dr Burge argues that the presence of angels and the supernatural form an important spiritual element within the narratives of the events in the Prophet's life. He illustrates this using ...

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News story -- On 18 and 22 January, the Department of Graduate Studies welcomed back third-year students on the Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities (GPISH), who presented their fieldtrip research papers. The topics of their research reflected their broad and diverse interests in the social sciences and humanities, and the presentations led to stimulating discussions with audiences composed of academic ...

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News story -- The Central Asian Studies Unit (CASU) organised a book launch at the Ismaili Centre, Dushanbe, for two new publications. The first of these publications, Nasirian Ethics, represents the first Russian translation of the well-known work of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi. It was translated from Persian into Russian by Professor Umeda Ghafforova of the Khujand State University in Tajikistan. The second ...

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News story -- A new purpose-built halls of residence developed by the AKDN is now operational. Located within the King's Cross Central development in Central London, the halls of residence provides 198 state-of-the-art bedrooms, which are now being occupied by students from the IIS and AKU-ISMC, as well as students from third-party institutions. Designed by award-winning London-based Stanton Williams Architects, the design ...

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In this 27 min joint presentation, Professors Lawrence and Habib share insights into their ongoing work on a poetic translation of the Qur'an in English. Their work challenges the popular belief that translations of the Qur'an can deliver its meaning, but not its tone and timbre in Arabic. Their project is committed to producing an English translation of the Qur'an that ...

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News story -- Following on from the recent publication of On Astronomia (Epistle 3), comes Sciences of the Soul and Intellect, Part I; An Arabic Critical Edition and English Translation of Epistles 32-36. As with the previous volume, here we find a strong cosmological orientation, with a particular focus on the relationship between microcosm and macrocosm, earthly and celestial. Whereas Epistle 3 ...

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News story -- Dr Farhad Daftary and Dr Gurdofarid Miskinzoda visited Atlanta, Austin and Houston in the USA to launch the first two publications of the Shi'i Heritage Series. Dr Miskinzoda also visited Nairobi, Kenya, where she conducted further presentations on the Series. The Shi'i Heritage Series has been established as an intrinsic part of the publications programme of the Institute, which ...

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In this 21 min interview, Dr Orkhan Mir-Kasimov provides an insight into the Hurufis, a mystical and messianic current that became particularly active in Iran and Anatolia following the end of Mongol rule. Dr Mir-Kasimov sheds light on the history of the Hurufi movement and its founder Fadlallah Astarabadi (d. 796 AH/1394 CE), and contextualises the seminal Hurufi text by Fadaallah, Javdan-Nama-yi ...

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News story -- The IIS continued its programme of book launch events and scholar visits in the latter half of 2015, reaching more than 1,500 people across eight countries. Attendees to these events included diplomats, academics and students from leading global universities, as well as members of the Ismaili community in Canada, India, Kenya, Portugal, Tajikistan, the UK and the USA. In ...

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News story -- The IIS alumni association is pleased to announce the leadership appointments for the Asian, European and North American Chapter Groups. Established in 2005, the alumni association aims to strengthen the relationship between the Institute and its graduates by supporting the personal, academic and professional development of its alumni. There are also regular opportunities that enable individuals to share their ...

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News story -- The Institute of Ismaili Studies participated in the 49th Annual Meeting of the Middle Eastern Studies Association of North America (MESA), a leading international academic organisation promoting research on the Middle East and the Muslim world. This year's conference was held from 21-24 November 2015 in Denver, USA. Chaired by Dr Farhad Daftary, the Institute organised a panel entitled, ...

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News story -- The first Seminar for the IIS Doctoral Scholarship recipients was held in London at The Institute of Ismaili Studies on 23 -24 October. The Seminar provided a platform for the Institute's scholarship students to network, share knowledge and information, and learn more about the work of the IIS and how they can further contribute to its work. Twelve scholarship ...

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News story -- Avicenna's Allegory on the Soulis a rare Ismaili publication written in medieval Yemen. It is the first time that this publication has been translated and made available in a printed edition. As a noteworthy addition to the Ismaili Texts and Translations Series, the volume combines a critical edition of the original Arabic text with a parallel English translation and ...

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The volume approaches lexicology of the Qur'an through a range of disciplines including linguistics, law, literary criticism, gender and mysticism. It also features contributions made by leading scholars, as well as young researchers in the field of Qur'anic exegesis, linguistics, and law: Professor Herbert Berg, Dr S.R. Burge, Dr Ayesha Chaudhry, Professor Agostino Cilardo, Professor Claude Gilliot, Dr Toby Mayer, Professor ...

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News story -- The IIS recently welcomed new students onto the Secondary Teacher Education Programme (STEP) and the Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities (GPISH). Arriving from across the globe, thirty-five students joined STEP from Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uganda and the USA, whilst eleven students from Canada, India, Pakistan, Syria, Tajikistan, and the USA began GPISH. Dr ...

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News story -- The Shi'i World: Pathways in Tradition and Modernity, the fourth book in the Muslim Heritage Series, has been published by The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS). Fresh insights into the multi-faceted world of Shi'a Islam, past and present, fill the sixteen chapters of this new publication. They showcase Shi'i beliefs, practices and traditions in all their diversity through history, ...

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News story -- The IIS is pleased to announce the publication of People of the Prophet's House: Artistic and Ritual Expressions of Shi'i Islam, edited by Dr Fahmida Suleman. The book contains twenty-two essays, which are richly illustrated with over 200 colour pictures, maps and charts. The essays were originally read at a conference held at the British Museum in 2009 as ...

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News story -- The thirteenth Summer Programme on Islam was held at the Ismaili Centre in Toronto, Canada, from 16 - 22 August 2015. Twenty-seven participants from 10 countries, including Afghanistan, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, Portugal, Syria, Tajikistan, United Kingdom and the United States of America, participated in the seven-day programme. The programme faculty included scholars from the IIS as well as ...

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News story -- Janis Esots, an IIS scholar, presented a paper on "Henry Corbin and the Shi'i Legend about the Green Island" at the 8th European Conference of Iranian Studies, which took place at the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg (Russia), on 15-19 September. Dr Esots paper dealt with the final period of Henry Corbin's work (approximately 1970-1978) and his attempts to ...

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Note: This recording was made many years ago and, as such, its quality does not comply with our currents standards. This forty-two minute inaugural lecture on Civil Society in Comparative Muslim Contexts was delivered by (late) Professor Mohammed Arkoun at the IIS in November 2000. In his talk, professor Arkoun explores ideas and issues of civil society from civilisational perspectives along ...

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News story -- During the first half of 2015, IIS scholars interacted with audiences across the globe at 37 events held in Canada, Portugal, Tajikistan and the USA. These events introduced a number of IIS publications to the audience and provided opportunities to discuss relevant issues. Over 3,500 individuals attended these events, including leading figures in academia, diplomats, university students, as well ...

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News story -- The Institute of Ismaili Studies is pleased to announce the publication of The Meaning of the Word: Lexicology and Qur'anic Exegesis, edited by Stephen R. Burge. This volume is the thirteenth in the Qur'anic Studies Series. It arises out of a larger research project that explored the ways in which interpreters of the Qur'an - in exegesis, as well ...

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News story -- "Esoteric Traditions in Islam: Past and Present Manifestations," was the theme of the Annual General Meeting of the Asian Chapter Group of the IIS Alumni Association. The meeting was held from 28-30 March, 2015, in Konya, Turkey, the city where Mevlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, the famous 13th century poet and Sufi mystic, is buried. The main purpose of ...

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News story -- Over fifty IIS alumni from across North America came together in Toronto, Canada, for their Annual General Meeting to explore Celebrating Pluralism and Cultural Diversity: Art, Architecture and Music in the Muslim World from 19-21 June, 2015. Over the course of three days, the alumni engaged with scholars, as the newly opened Ismaili Centre, Aga Khan Park and Aga ...

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Abstract Shi'i Islam, with its rich and extensive history, has played a crucial role in the evolution of Islam as both a major world religion and civilisation. Yet the study of Shi'i Islam has long remained among the most-understudied branches of Islamic Studies in the West. This 15-minute interview with Dr Gurdofarid Miskinzoda provides an overview of the scholarly development on ...

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News story -- The Annual Meeting of the European Chapter Group (ECG) of the IIS Alumni Association took place in Athens, Greece, on 19 - 21 May 2015. The meeting commenced with a welcome address from the ECG President Dr Dagikhudo Dagiev (GPISH 2003), who introduced the theme of the meeting: The Translation Movement between Greek and Arabic Philosophy. Dr Syed Nomanul ...

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News story -- The graduation ceremony for the sixth cohort of the Institute's Secondary Teacher Education Programme (STEP) was held on 11th April 2015 at The Ismaili Centre, London. Students from Canada, India, Pakistan, Portugal, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States of America graduated at the ceremony with a double Master's degree: an MA in ...

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