News story -- Rafiq Rayani is a student on the IIS's Secondary Teacher Education Programme (STEP). Here he presents five strategies to master the craft of teaching that he has learned from his teachers and peers, and from personal experience, during his time at the Institute. 1. We teach who we are It is said that a teacher's disposition has a significant ...
News story -- There are few concepts as widely misunderstood as shari'a. This is the case among both Muslims and non-Muslims; in the West, especially, misconceptions surrounding shari'a--which literally translates as "the way"--have evoked fear and hostility, and fed into Islamophobia. "Sadly, shari'a has become a metaphor today", says Dr Keshavjee, a scholar affiliated with The Institute for Ismaili Studies (IIS), "for ...
News story -- The IIS ran its first online international academic conference, Islamic Traditions in 'Greater Khurāsān': Ismailis, Sufis and Sunnis, at the end of February. Convened by Dr Dagikhudo Dagiev of the Shiʿi Studies Unit, the conference explored a variety of manifestations of Islamic culture in 'Greater Khurāsān', a medieval name for a vast geographical area that includes contemporary Central Asia, ...
News story -- Nazia Sajid Karmali is a first-year student on the IIS's Secondary Teacher Education Programme (STEP). Living your dream in the midst of a lockdown sounds daunting, doesn't it? That's because it is! My experience flying to London from Mumbai for the first time to pursue my long-nurtured dream of studying at the IIS has been nothing short of a ...
News story -- The Silk Road: A Living History, an open-air photography exhibition documenting Christopher Wilton-Steer's journey along the historic trade route, opens in King's Cross on April 8th. Over a period of four months in 2019, photographer Wilton-Steer travelled 40,000 km overland from London to Beijing, traversing 16 countries. The Silk Road: A Living History, which comprises over 160 photographs arranged ...
News story -- The IIS's new Board of Governors met staff and shared their thoughts on, and early plans for, the Institute on March 5th in an online town hall. The meeting was a chance for the governors, who took up their roles in December 2020, to reveal their aspirations after their recent inductions and first Board meeting, as well as an ...
News story -- Second-year students on the Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities (GPISH) presented their MA dissertation research proposals on March 2nd.In an online session watched by fellow students, teaching faculty, scholars and staff, the 11 students outlined their studies' topics, research questions, methodologies and limitations. The proposals touched on a broad and diverse range of subjects--women's rights, refugee studies, ...
News story -- Attiya Nathoo is in her final year of the IIS's Secondary Teacher Education Programme (STEP). Here she shares her experience of the course, the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the three biggest lessons she's learned as she approaches graduation. As I write this, I reflect on my journey from being a STEP student to pursuing this dream of ...
News story -- For International Women's Day, we asked IIS staff and students to highlight one woman from Muslim societies and cultures who inspires them--and who they think more people should know about. From scholars to singers to activists to writers, every woman chosen and her life and actions express this year's theme: "Choose to Challenge". Here, staff and students tell us ...
News story -- Pedro Sánchez Rodriguez is a Librarian at the Aga Khan Library who oversees the Aga Khan Library Digital Collections (AKLDC) project, together with Shah Hussain, Librarian. Here, for World Book Day, they discuss the recently launched Ismaili Printed Materials Collection and the amazing response it has already received. We initiated the AKLDC project in 2019. Its aim is to ...
News story -- Mr Pyarali Jiwa passed away peacefully at his home in London on 2nd February 2021, and was laid to rest on 11th February. He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Maleksultan, and is survived by his three sons, their families, and his beloved grandchildren, through whom his legacy will continue to live on. Pyarali will be remembered by IIS ...
News story -- Professor Ebrahim Moosa, a leading exponent of contemporary Muslim thought, will be giving the keynote address for the 2021 IIS Short Course on "Shari'a: Development of Fiqh and Ethics in Muslim Contexts", which will run online between April 12th and 30th. One of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world, according to The Muslim 500, he is a ...
News story -- To mark this year's International Education Day, with its theme "Recover and Revitalise Education for the COVID-19 Generation", students, teachers and programme staff at the IIS's Department of Graduate Studies reveal the challenges posed by the pandemic, how the Institute's programmes have responded, and what it's like to teach and learn under lockdown. Both IIS graduate programmes, the Secondary ...
News story -- On Tuesday 24th and Friday 27th November third-year students on the Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities (GPISH) presented their field research papers to an audience of academics, students and staff. Although the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic posed a particular challenge this year, with research necessarily being largely desk-based and presentations delivered via Zoom, students successfully harnessed ...
News story -- On Thursday 19 November the Aga Khan Library will take part in History Day, which connects students and researchers with information professionals from libraries, archives and research organisations across the UK. This year's event also coincides with the Being Human festival, the UK's national festival of humanities. The event is a unique opportunity to raise awareness of the Library ...
News story -- The IIS Alumni Association is pleased to announce the appointment of its elected leadership 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 career development of the alumni as well as working with them to maximise ...
News story -- United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Zahira Virani of Canada as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Angola, with the host Government's approval. Zahira Virani is a graduate of the GPISH class of 1997; she completed a Master of Science from the London School of Economics in the UK. Official Announcement: ...
News story -- 06 March 2020 Staff and students are advised to refer to this page for advice and updates on Coronavirus. Due to the recent developments in the situation concerning the novel coronavirus COVID-19, we are taking precautionary measures to ensure the safety and well-being of our employees, students, visitors and members of the local community which is of the utmost ...
News story -- "The way in which children are educated in their earliest years is a key which can unlock the doors of opportunity for the rest of their lives." His Highness the Aga Khan, Commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of the Madrasa Programme, Mombasa, Kenya, 14 August 2007 His Highness the Aga Khan has emphasised Early Childhood Development (ECD) as a ...
News story -- At the end of every year, Choice publishes a list of Outstanding Academic Titles that have been reviewed during the previous calendar year. This prestigious list reflects the best in scholarly titles reviewed by Choice and brings with it the extraordinary recognition of the academic library community. In reviewing the publication for "Choice 2019 Outstanding Academic Title,"L. J. Alderink, ...
News story -- In a well-known Sufi tale, a group of people are trying to describe an elephant in a dark room. Each of them touches a different part of the animal's body and therefore their opinions differ: one touches the trunk and thinks that the elephant is like a water pipe, another touches the ear and imagines a fan-like animal, the ...
News story -- The passing of Raficq Abdulla, a leading Muslim thinker, on 19 December 2019 is a loss that will be felt by many in light of his seminal contributions to a number of civil society institutions in the United Kingdom. Over the last few years, Raficq spent much of his time at The Institute of Ismaili Studies where he conducted ...
News story -- Abbas Hamdani passed peacefully at home in Bethesda with his family by his side on 23 December 2019. He was laid to rest on Thursday 26 December 2019. He was predeceased by his beloved wife Zubeda Hamdani in 2015, and daughter Amal in 1994. He is survived by his daughter Sumaiya, and grandchildren Ali Hamdani-Shaw, Anisa Hamdani-Shaw Conde, and ...
News story -- The Aga Khan Library, London, in collaboration with Bloomsbury Publishing has launched a Digital Collections website, showcasing manuscripts, artworks, rare books, out-of-print publications, photographs, and maps which have been produced in different periods and areas of the Muslim world. As the custodian of several research collections and the personal archive of the late Professor Mohammed Arkoun of acclaimed scholars, ...
News story -- Sub-Saharan Africa's engagement with Muslims, the Qur'an and Islam stretches back over several millennia. In fact to 616 CE, when a number of the Prophet Muhammad's followers, who were fleeing persecution in Mecca, sought refuge in the lands of present-day Eritrea and Ethiopia. It was also in sub-Saharan Africa that the words of the Qur'an were reported to have ...
News story -- The Mughal dynasty is renowned for its great architecture and patronage of the arts. Perhaps more than any other Islamic dynasty, the Mughals made their passion for the arts and its aesthetic principles, a central part of their identity. Typically using the form of miniatures, Mughal paintings drew on a multitude of themes, from, legendary stories, wildlife, royal life, ...
News story -- To mark the advancement of Ismaili studies in the Russian Federation, an exhibition in memory of the great Russian scholar of modern Ismaili studies, Wladimir A. Ivanow, was held in St. Petersburg, Russia, on 11 October 2019. Dr Farhad Daftary, Co-Director of IIS; Dr Stanislav Prozorov, Head of the Academic Activities at Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, and Alla Dydymova, ...
News story -- Dr Laila Halani, Head of the Department of Graduate Studies, described what the incoming students can look forward to over the next two years: "The next two years at the IIS will be an intellectually stimulating and humbling journey which will open up new ways of thinking for our students on STEP and GPISH. The students will benefit from ...
News story -- Wladimir A. Ivanow (1886-1970), the celebrated Russian academic who paved the way for modern scholarship on Ismaili and Iranian linguistic Studies was the inspiration behind many of the papers presented at the flagship conference entitled Intellectual Traditions of Ismailis and Sufis, held at the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Oriental Manuscripts in St Petersburg, on 10 - 11 ...
News story -- The second publication in the Institute's new World of Islam series, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship, is a first person exploration of sacred spaces across the breadth of the Muslim world. The author, Rizwan Mawani, describes how his interactions with both well-known spaces of worship as well as those off-the-beaten-track have religious significance for their Muslim ...
News story -- In recent times, there have been a number of misunderstandings and misconceptions around Sharia or Islamic law in both the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds. Understanding Sharia: Islamic Law in a Globalised World is helping to bridge this knowledge gap and to make a positive contribution to the much-needed conversations on understanding the origins and evolution of sharia in the ...
News story -- Persian culture has had a long-standing engagement with the Qur'an since early classical times, and this has been visible in various forms from their poetry, calligraphy to Qur'anic exegesis. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, technological advancements made it easier to disseminate information to a larger pool of intellectuals who occupied the middle ground between the traditional learned clerics ...
News story -- Alumni are our ambassadors, representing the values, principles and work of the IIS in their chosen fields; whether it be academia, development, law, arts and culture to name a few. In this new series of "In Conversation with IIS Alumni" we catch up with individual alumni to find out more about their current work and their journey to this ...
News story -- On 26 June, a special event was hosted in Tehran, Iran, to honour the academic contributions of IIS Co-Director, Dr Farhad Daftary, to the study of Islamic and Ismaili studies. The event was organised by Bukhara (a prestigious Persian language academic journal) and the Centre of the Great Islamic Encyclopaedia. At the event, a Persian translation of Dr Daftary's ...
News story -- Professor Amir-Moezzi, Director of Islamic Studies at École Pratique des Hautes Études, Sorbonne University and IIS Research Fellow, was honored with the Prize for the History of Religions by the Pierre-Antoine Bernheim's Friends Foundation for his book The Proof of God: Shi'ite Mysticism through Kulaynî's work (La Preuve de Dieu: La Mystique Shi'ite à travers l'oeuvre de Kulaynî) at ...
News story -- As part of a series of celebratory events that have been taking place within the first year of the opening of the Aga Khan Centre and of IIS moving into its new and permanent home, IIS hosted an educational programme for its friends and supporters during the weekend of 15-16 June. Delivered by leadership, faculty and staff of IIS, ...
News story -- On 26 March, Professor Omid Safi, Director of Duke University's Islamic Studies Centre, took audiences through a mystical journey in his talk entitled, RadicalLove: Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Tradition at the Aga Khan Centre. He spoke about the goals of the spiritual path and traced the popular poetic tradition that celebrates love for both humanity and the Divine. ...
Watch this video to follow the eventful life Journey of Aga Khan I through maps of his travels, locations of his stays in Persia and the Subcontinent and his interactions with the the political powers of his time. Part of the Ismaili Texts and Translations Series, the The First Aga Khan - Memoirs of the 46th Ismaili Imam is the first ...
News story -- Colleagues and staff will remember with great affection Kutubdin (Kutub) Kassam, who passed away in London on 24 March 2019 at the age of 75. Best known for his literary prowess, Kutub was the man behind many of the IIS's finest published works. As a judicious editor, he had a meticulous regard for the conventions of language, and contributed ...
News story -- While the Fatimid and Alamut periods have received considerable scholarly attention and are more widely written about, the Nizari Ismaili history of the 19th century has had much less coverage. Shedding light on this understudied, yet significant period in Ismaili history, the joint Editors of The First Aga Khan: Memoirs of the 46th Ismaili Imam,Dr Daniel Beben and Dr ...
