IIS Announces PhD Scholarship Awards for 2011
October 2011
The Institute of Ismaili Studies has awarded its doctoral scholarships for the fifteenth year. The two recipients of the 2011 cycle of the scholarship programme are Zarangez Karimova from Tajikistan and Ula Zeir from Syria.
Zarangez Karimova completed the Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities (GPISH) at the IIS in 2009. Whilst studying at the IIS, she conducted field work in Cairo, Egypt, on how ‘traditional’ communities are responding to the initiatives of change introduced by external agencies at Cairo’s historic district of al-Darb al-Ahmar.
She holds an MA in Social Anthropology from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE) with a focus on the Anthropology of Religion. Having worked as a Research Assistant at the IIS, she is now finalising a report on the history of the settlement of the Ismaili community in Penang, Malaysia. She has also been assisting the Department of Curriculum Studies with conducting library research for the forthcoming Secondary Curriculum module entitled Muslim Societies and Civilisations.
Prior to her work with the IIS, Zarangez has held faculty positions in Tajikistan, including on teacher training programmes and at the undergraduate level in the fields of arts, humanities and languages. Zarangez will be studying towards a PhD at the Department of Arab and Islamic Studies of Exeter University under the supervision of Professor Robert Gleave. Her thesis will examine the societal function of hadith literature during the Safavid period.
Ula Zeir, who is currently studying the Turkish language at Istanbul University’s Language Centre, is also an alumna of the GPISH programme having graduated in 2008. She holds an MSc in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies from the Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Edinburgh.
Ula has worked as a Website Editorial Assistant at the IIS and as Researcher for the Department of Community Relations. The scholarship will enable her to undertake doctoral studies at the Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Edinburgh. She will be working on the history of the Syrian Nizari Ismailis of Salamiyya during the Ottoman rule (1846-1918 CE) under the supervision of Dr Anthony Gorman and Dr Andrew Newman.
The Institute of Ismaili Studies has been awarding doctoral scholarships since 1997 to suitable candidates whose work contributes to the academic mandate of the IIS. For more information regarding scholarships offered, past recipients and the application process for next year, please visit the Doctoral Scholarship Programme page of the website where the application form for the 2012 Doctoral Scholarship Cycle will be available in January 2012.
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=112927
THE IIS ACTIVITIES
Scholars Present on Science and Learning in the Ismaili Tradition
November 2011
Senior Research Fellow at the IIS, Professor Wilferd Madelung presented a paper at an interdisciplinary workshop on the traditions of science and learning in the Ismaili tradition entitled ‘Science in Context: The Dustur al-Munajjimin (Statute of the Astronomers) and its world’. The workshop was organised by Mohammad Karimi Zanjani Asl, Professor Eva Orthmann and Petra G. Schmidl at the University of Bonn in Germany.
Professor Madelung’s paper analysed the Kitab Safinat al-ahkam (Book of the Boat of Horoscopes) the title of a work on astrology by Nasir al-Din Tusi, said to be composed during his stay in the fortress of Alamut under the patronage of the Nizari Ismaili Imamat. It thus originates from the same milieu as the anonymous Ismaili work Dustur al-Munajjimin.
In the Kitab Safinat al-ahkam, Tusi expresses his scepticism about the validity of astrology. He quotes, however, from numerous earlier astrological treatises, both Muslim and non-Muslim. Most of these are no longer known to be extant, but are believed to have been available to him in the library at Alamut. Among the texts quoted by him is the Kitab al-Fihrist (The Book of the Index) of the famous pre-Fatimid Ismaili da‘i 'Abdan.
Dr Delia Cortese, Professor Daniel de Smet, Professor Verena Klemm and Professor Paul Walker were amongst the independent scholars presenting at the workshop, all of whom are frequent collaborators with the IIS in different capacities. Dr Cortese’s paper utilised previously unstudied and unpublished manuscripts of Hasan-i Sabbah’s biography, the Sarguzasht-i Sayyidna, so far only known in extracts quoted by the Mongol historian Ata Malik Juwayni. Dr Cortese’s contribution sheds new light on Hasan-i Sabbah’s residence in Egypt. Professor Daniel de Smet investigated the use of tables and diagrams as a didactical instrument in Ismaili manuscripts, and Professor Paul Walker’s paper was entitled Science in the Service of the Fatimids and their Ismaili da‘wa.
The workshop presented different facets of the history of the Ismailis and was attended by many academics, scholars and students over the course of three days.
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113052&l=en
November 2011
Senior Research Fellow at the IIS, Professor Wilferd Madelung presented a paper at an interdisciplinary workshop on the traditions of science and learning in the Ismaili tradition entitled ‘Science in Context: The Dustur al-Munajjimin (Statute of the Astronomers) and its world’. The workshop was organised by Mohammad Karimi Zanjani Asl, Professor Eva Orthmann and Petra G. Schmidl at the University of Bonn in Germany.
Professor Madelung’s paper analysed the Kitab Safinat al-ahkam (Book of the Boat of Horoscopes) the title of a work on astrology by Nasir al-Din Tusi, said to be composed during his stay in the fortress of Alamut under the patronage of the Nizari Ismaili Imamat. It thus originates from the same milieu as the anonymous Ismaili work Dustur al-Munajjimin.
In the Kitab Safinat al-ahkam, Tusi expresses his scepticism about the validity of astrology. He quotes, however, from numerous earlier astrological treatises, both Muslim and non-Muslim. Most of these are no longer known to be extant, but are believed to have been available to him in the library at Alamut. Among the texts quoted by him is the Kitab al-Fihrist (The Book of the Index) of the famous pre-Fatimid Ismaili da‘i 'Abdan.
Dr Delia Cortese, Professor Daniel de Smet, Professor Verena Klemm and Professor Paul Walker were amongst the independent scholars presenting at the workshop, all of whom are frequent collaborators with the IIS in different capacities. Dr Cortese’s paper utilised previously unstudied and unpublished manuscripts of Hasan-i Sabbah’s biography, the Sarguzasht-i Sayyidna, so far only known in extracts quoted by the Mongol historian Ata Malik Juwayni. Dr Cortese’s contribution sheds new light on Hasan-i Sabbah’s residence in Egypt. Professor Daniel de Smet investigated the use of tables and diagrams as a didactical instrument in Ismaili manuscripts, and Professor Paul Walker’s paper was entitled Science in the Service of the Fatimids and their Ismaili da‘wa.
The workshop presented different facets of the history of the Ismailis and was attended by many academics, scholars and students over the course of three days.
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113052&l=en
Asian Alumni Explore Ismaili Traditions in Central Asia
November 2011
The Asian Chapter Group of the IIS Alumni Association held its three-day Annual Meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan from 18 - 21 September 2011. The meeting provided an opportunity for alumni from across the region to discuss the activities of the Alumni Association and learn about the traditions of the Ismaili community in Central Asia.
The meeting began with opening remarks from Shiraz Kabani and Asif Alidina on recent developments at the IIS and the role of the alumni. They expressed the importance of the alumni body being fully aware of the Institute’s work and the rationale behind its projects and publications, in order to increase the impact of the work and complement the intellectual and professional development of the alumni body.
This was followed by three sessions on the traditions and cultural practices of the Ismailis in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Northern Pakistan and Western China. Dr Otambek Mastibekov (GPISH class of 2002) discussed how the recitation of Qasidas and Madoh accompanied by traditional musical instruments like the rubab (lute) and daf (percussion instrument) became integral in preserving Ismaili thought and sentiments amongst the Tajiks in Soviet Russia when religious practices were under scrutiny.
Aziz Bic Fayez (GPISH class of 2005) then presented on the cultural ceremonies performed by Ismailis in Afghanistan whilst Dr Boghshoh Lashkarbekov gave a detailed overview of the Ismaili community in Western China. Both presentations situated the traditions of the community within the current socio-political context of the countries within which they live.
The evening concluded with the Institute’s first major book launch in Tajikistan which was held at the Ismaili Centre in Dushanbe. The event commemorated the release of the Tajik translation of The Assassin Legends: Myths of the Ismailis and the new Tajik edition of Nasir-i Khusraw’s Jami‘ al-Hikmatayn (Twin Wisdoms Reconciled).
Alumni attended the event along with local scholars, government officials and diplomats, as well as members of the Ismaili community. Presentations were made by Dr Farhad Daftary and Hakim Elnazarov as well as Professors Mamadsho Ilolov and Karomatullo Olimov from the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan.
Hakim Elnazarov Coordinator Central Asian Studies Unit IIS 2011.On the second day, Hakim Elnazarov, Central Asian Studies Coordinator at the IIS, spoke about the traditions of the Ismailis in Badakshan and the research being undertaken at the IIS. This was followed by a presentation and panel discussion with senior representatives of the Aga Khan Development Network and the Ismaili community. Presenters and participants included Professors Mamadsho Ilolov (Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan), Yodgur Faizov (Aga Khan Foundation), Ozodkhon Davlatshoev (Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development), Brampton Mundy (First Microfinance Bank), Sharofat Mamadambarova (University of Central Asia) and Karim Mustafa (FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance).
On the final day the alumni participated in a discussion with Dr Farhad Daftary about the field of Ismaili and broader Shi‘i studies and how alumni can play a more active role in the Institute’s academic research agenda.
Over the course of the three-day meeting participants were given a taste of Tajik culture through visits to the Botanical Gardens, which contained a traditional Pamir house as well as the Museum of Antiquities and Ethnography.
The meeting concluded on a high note with an exhibition and cultural performance, organised by the Ismaili community that showcased the crafts, oral traditions and performing arts from the Pamir region of Tajikistan.
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113072&l=en
November 2011
The Asian Chapter Group of the IIS Alumni Association held its three-day Annual Meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan from 18 - 21 September 2011. The meeting provided an opportunity for alumni from across the region to discuss the activities of the Alumni Association and learn about the traditions of the Ismaili community in Central Asia.
The meeting began with opening remarks from Shiraz Kabani and Asif Alidina on recent developments at the IIS and the role of the alumni. They expressed the importance of the alumni body being fully aware of the Institute’s work and the rationale behind its projects and publications, in order to increase the impact of the work and complement the intellectual and professional development of the alumni body.
This was followed by three sessions on the traditions and cultural practices of the Ismailis in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Northern Pakistan and Western China. Dr Otambek Mastibekov (GPISH class of 2002) discussed how the recitation of Qasidas and Madoh accompanied by traditional musical instruments like the rubab (lute) and daf (percussion instrument) became integral in preserving Ismaili thought and sentiments amongst the Tajiks in Soviet Russia when religious practices were under scrutiny.
Aziz Bic Fayez (GPISH class of 2005) then presented on the cultural ceremonies performed by Ismailis in Afghanistan whilst Dr Boghshoh Lashkarbekov gave a detailed overview of the Ismaili community in Western China. Both presentations situated the traditions of the community within the current socio-political context of the countries within which they live.
The evening concluded with the Institute’s first major book launch in Tajikistan which was held at the Ismaili Centre in Dushanbe. The event commemorated the release of the Tajik translation of The Assassin Legends: Myths of the Ismailis and the new Tajik edition of Nasir-i Khusraw’s Jami‘ al-Hikmatayn (Twin Wisdoms Reconciled).
Alumni attended the event along with local scholars, government officials and diplomats, as well as members of the Ismaili community. Presentations were made by Dr Farhad Daftary and Hakim Elnazarov as well as Professors Mamadsho Ilolov and Karomatullo Olimov from the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan.
Hakim Elnazarov Coordinator Central Asian Studies Unit IIS 2011.On the second day, Hakim Elnazarov, Central Asian Studies Coordinator at the IIS, spoke about the traditions of the Ismailis in Badakshan and the research being undertaken at the IIS. This was followed by a presentation and panel discussion with senior representatives of the Aga Khan Development Network and the Ismaili community. Presenters and participants included Professors Mamadsho Ilolov (Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan), Yodgur Faizov (Aga Khan Foundation), Ozodkhon Davlatshoev (Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development), Brampton Mundy (First Microfinance Bank), Sharofat Mamadambarova (University of Central Asia) and Karim Mustafa (FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance).
On the final day the alumni participated in a discussion with Dr Farhad Daftary about the field of Ismaili and broader Shi‘i studies and how alumni can play a more active role in the Institute’s academic research agenda.
Over the course of the three-day meeting participants were given a taste of Tajik culture through visits to the Botanical Gardens, which contained a traditional Pamir house as well as the Museum of Antiquities and Ethnography.
The meeting concluded on a high note with an exhibition and cultural performance, organised by the Ismaili community that showcased the crafts, oral traditions and performing arts from the Pamir region of Tajikistan.
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113072&l=en
International Conference:
Ismaili Traditions and Spirituality of the People of the Pamirs in the Works of Russian Scholars
(Dedicated to 125th Birth Anniversary of Wladimir Alekseyevich Ivanow)
Co-sponsors:
The Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, Russian Academy of Sciences
Saint Petersburg, Russia (www.orientalstudies.ru)
The Institute of Ismaili Studies
London, UK (www.iis.ac.uk)
Dates: 7-9 December 2011
Venue: The Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, Russian Academy of Sciences
Languages of the Conference: Russian and English
Theme
Russian Oriental Studies produced a vast body of knowledge about religious traditions of Central Asian Muslims, which dates back to the beginning of the 19th century. The expansion of the Russian Empire into Central Asia and the encounter with the British Empire in the mountainous terrain of the Pamir and Hindukush mountain ranges prompted extensive documentation of the culture of mountainous societies, encompassing the religious traditions and practices of the Ismaili Muslims of the Pamir region. The studies of the region gained momentum during the Soviet period, when the Pamir region’s diverse linguistic and cultural milieu was brought to the attention of scholars in various fields, including history, ethnography and linguistics.
The pioneering work of Russian scholars, such as Aleksey Bobrinskoy, Ivan Zarubin, Aleksandr Semyonov and Wladimir Ivanow, generated much interest in the culture of the Pamiri people as well as the Ismaili community more generally. This resulted in academic writings about the culture and traditions of Central Asian Ismailis, including their history and intellectual traditions, particularly during the medieval period.
The 125th anniversary of the birth of Wladimir Ivanow, the foremost pioneer of modern Ismaili studies, provides an occasion to commemorate his contribution to Ismaili studies and highlight the extensive scholarship of Russian and Soviet orientalists on the traditions of the people of the Pamir region. The conference aims to create a forum for discussion and critical reflection on this field of scholarship. It will also examine the ways of orienting and developing Ismaili studies within the academic context of the Russian Federation. Further, it aims to create awareness about the present state of Russian scholarship in related fields and to discuss relevant experiences of research in historical and contemporary contexts.
The papers to be presented at the conference address, but are not limited to, the following questions:
•The Evolution of Pamiri and Ismaili studies in Russia and the former Soviet Union: How did Russian scholarship on Ismaili and Pamiri studies evolve over the last two centuries? What factors transformed Oriental studies in Russia and the former Soviet Union with regard to Ismaili and Pamiri studies?
•Contributions of Russian Scholarship to Ismaili and Pamiri Studies: What are the salient features of the contributions of Russian scholars to modern Ismaili studies? How did the individual scholars’ contributions influence and shape scholarly investigations in related fields over the course of the 20th century?
•Approaches and Methodologies: What are the ideological, conceptual and methodological characteristics of Russian scholarship over the course of history with regard to Ismaili and Pamiri studies? How did the ideological and methodological constraints manifest themselves in the works of individual scholars?
•Prospects for the Development of Critical Research in Ismaili and Pamiri Studies in Russia: How can we build on the heritage of Russian scholarship to promote Ismaili studies and to further the exploration of the spiritual traditions of Central Asian mountainous societies? What sources, materials and topics require scholarly investigation? What academic value do the study of these areas represent for the fields of Islamic studies and Humanities?
Conference Programme (PDF version)
Wednesday 7 December
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113112&l=en
Ismaili Traditions and Spirituality of the People of the Pamirs in the Works of Russian Scholars
(Dedicated to 125th Birth Anniversary of Wladimir Alekseyevich Ivanow)
Co-sponsors:
The Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, Russian Academy of Sciences
Saint Petersburg, Russia (www.orientalstudies.ru)
The Institute of Ismaili Studies
London, UK (www.iis.ac.uk)
Dates: 7-9 December 2011
Venue: The Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, Russian Academy of Sciences
Languages of the Conference: Russian and English
Theme
Russian Oriental Studies produced a vast body of knowledge about religious traditions of Central Asian Muslims, which dates back to the beginning of the 19th century. The expansion of the Russian Empire into Central Asia and the encounter with the British Empire in the mountainous terrain of the Pamir and Hindukush mountain ranges prompted extensive documentation of the culture of mountainous societies, encompassing the religious traditions and practices of the Ismaili Muslims of the Pamir region. The studies of the region gained momentum during the Soviet period, when the Pamir region’s diverse linguistic and cultural milieu was brought to the attention of scholars in various fields, including history, ethnography and linguistics.
The pioneering work of Russian scholars, such as Aleksey Bobrinskoy, Ivan Zarubin, Aleksandr Semyonov and Wladimir Ivanow, generated much interest in the culture of the Pamiri people as well as the Ismaili community more generally. This resulted in academic writings about the culture and traditions of Central Asian Ismailis, including their history and intellectual traditions, particularly during the medieval period.
The 125th anniversary of the birth of Wladimir Ivanow, the foremost pioneer of modern Ismaili studies, provides an occasion to commemorate his contribution to Ismaili studies and highlight the extensive scholarship of Russian and Soviet orientalists on the traditions of the people of the Pamir region. The conference aims to create a forum for discussion and critical reflection on this field of scholarship. It will also examine the ways of orienting and developing Ismaili studies within the academic context of the Russian Federation. Further, it aims to create awareness about the present state of Russian scholarship in related fields and to discuss relevant experiences of research in historical and contemporary contexts.
The papers to be presented at the conference address, but are not limited to, the following questions:
•The Evolution of Pamiri and Ismaili studies in Russia and the former Soviet Union: How did Russian scholarship on Ismaili and Pamiri studies evolve over the last two centuries? What factors transformed Oriental studies in Russia and the former Soviet Union with regard to Ismaili and Pamiri studies?
•Contributions of Russian Scholarship to Ismaili and Pamiri Studies: What are the salient features of the contributions of Russian scholars to modern Ismaili studies? How did the individual scholars’ contributions influence and shape scholarly investigations in related fields over the course of the 20th century?
•Approaches and Methodologies: What are the ideological, conceptual and methodological characteristics of Russian scholarship over the course of history with regard to Ismaili and Pamiri studies? How did the ideological and methodological constraints manifest themselves in the works of individual scholars?
•Prospects for the Development of Critical Research in Ismaili and Pamiri Studies in Russia: How can we build on the heritage of Russian scholarship to promote Ismaili studies and to further the exploration of the spiritual traditions of Central Asian mountainous societies? What sources, materials and topics require scholarly investigation? What academic value do the study of these areas represent for the fields of Islamic studies and Humanities?
Conference Programme (PDF version)
Wednesday 7 December
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113112&l=en
IIS Organises MESA Panel on Fatimid Studies
February 2012
The IIS organised a panel presentation at the 45th Middle Eastern Studies Association (MESA) conference held in Washington DC, USA. The panel, entitled Fatimid Studies, continued on from the previous year’s panel, Approaches to Governance in the Fatimid Period, and reflected the Institute’s ongoing work in the fields of Ismaili and broader Shi‘i Studies.
More....
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113222
February 2012
The IIS organised a panel presentation at the 45th Middle Eastern Studies Association (MESA) conference held in Washington DC, USA. The panel, entitled Fatimid Studies, continued on from the previous year’s panel, Approaches to Governance in the Fatimid Period, and reflected the Institute’s ongoing work in the fields of Ismaili and broader Shi‘i Studies.
More....
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113222
Live Webcast of the Launch of Fortresses of the Intellect
The Institute of Ismaili Studies is pleased to announce the launch event for Fortresses of the Intellect: Ismaili and other Islamic Studies in Honour of Farhad Daftary, edited by Dr Omar Ali-de-Unzaga. This volume is dedicated to the achievements of Dr Farhad Daftary, a leading authority on Ismaili Studies and eminent scholar of Islamic history.
Dr Farhad Daftary IIS 2012.
Dr Omar Ali-de-Unzaga will engage in an on-stage discussion with Dr Farhad Daftary about his work and the fields of Ismaili and broader Islamic studies.
This event will be webcast on the IIS website from 8.15pm GMT on 13th March 2012.
Related Pages on the IIS Website:
•News Story: IIS Publishes Fortresses of the Intellect in Honour of Farhad Daftary
•Publication Content: Fortresses of the Intellect: Ismaili and Other Islamic Studies in Honour of Farhad Daftary
•Video: Interview with Farhad Daftary
•News Archive: IIS Scholar Interviewed on BBC World Service
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=112065
****
The Modern Recovery of the Ismaili Legacy and Its Importance for the Study of the Fatimids
A lecture by Paul Walker, University of Chicago
Thursday, April 19, 2012
3:00 PM
10383 Bunche Hall
UCLA
http://www.international.ucla.edu/calen ... entid=9188
The Institute of Ismaili Studies is pleased to announce the launch event for Fortresses of the Intellect: Ismaili and other Islamic Studies in Honour of Farhad Daftary, edited by Dr Omar Ali-de-Unzaga. This volume is dedicated to the achievements of Dr Farhad Daftary, a leading authority on Ismaili Studies and eminent scholar of Islamic history.
Dr Farhad Daftary IIS 2012.
Dr Omar Ali-de-Unzaga will engage in an on-stage discussion with Dr Farhad Daftary about his work and the fields of Ismaili and broader Islamic studies.
This event will be webcast on the IIS website from 8.15pm GMT on 13th March 2012.
Related Pages on the IIS Website:
•News Story: IIS Publishes Fortresses of the Intellect in Honour of Farhad Daftary
•Publication Content: Fortresses of the Intellect: Ismaili and Other Islamic Studies in Honour of Farhad Daftary
•Video: Interview with Farhad Daftary
•News Archive: IIS Scholar Interviewed on BBC World Service
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=112065
****
The Modern Recovery of the Ismaili Legacy and Its Importance for the Study of the Fatimids
A lecture by Paul Walker, University of Chicago
Thursday, April 19, 2012
3:00 PM
10383 Bunche Hall
UCLA
http://www.international.ucla.edu/calen ... entid=9188
IIS Awards Dissertation Writing Scholarship
March 2012
The IIS is pleased to announce the award of its Dissertation Writing Scholarship to Shatha Almutawa who is studying at the University of Chicago Divinity School, USA.
Shatha Almutawa’s dissertation, The Use of Narrative in Rasa’il Ikhwan al-Safa’: Imagination at the Intersections of Religion, Philosophy and Science, focuses on an aspect of the Epistles of the Brethren of Purity that has received very little attention in scholarship, despite the popularity of the work as a whole.
Her dissertation examines and compares the stories and fables that the Ikhwan al-Safa’ borrowed from other cultures (Indian, Greek, Jewish and Christian) as well as the original stories found in the Epistles. Taking the approach of an intellectual historian, she traces the origins of texts adopted by the Ikhwan and considers how the retelling of stories from other traditions and cultures transformed the stories, thus making them accessible to different and wider audiences. The creative techniques used by the Ikhwan al-Safa’ in order to make theological and philosophical arguments are also explored.
By studying the narratives told by the Ikhwan al-Safa’, Shatha Almutawa approaches questions about their identity, beliefs and their audiences in a new way. Her approach sheds light on the reception of the Epistles and the integration of the Ikhwan al-Safa’s thought into later seminal works on philosophy, theology, history and other sciences.
Since 2001, the Institute’s Dissertation Writing Scholarship, which carries a stipend of £3000 (or local equivalent), has been assisting promising graduate research students and doctoral candidates to complete their dissertations.
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113232&l=en
March 2012
The IIS is pleased to announce the award of its Dissertation Writing Scholarship to Shatha Almutawa who is studying at the University of Chicago Divinity School, USA.
Shatha Almutawa’s dissertation, The Use of Narrative in Rasa’il Ikhwan al-Safa’: Imagination at the Intersections of Religion, Philosophy and Science, focuses on an aspect of the Epistles of the Brethren of Purity that has received very little attention in scholarship, despite the popularity of the work as a whole.
Her dissertation examines and compares the stories and fables that the Ikhwan al-Safa’ borrowed from other cultures (Indian, Greek, Jewish and Christian) as well as the original stories found in the Epistles. Taking the approach of an intellectual historian, she traces the origins of texts adopted by the Ikhwan and considers how the retelling of stories from other traditions and cultures transformed the stories, thus making them accessible to different and wider audiences. The creative techniques used by the Ikhwan al-Safa’ in order to make theological and philosophical arguments are also explored.
By studying the narratives told by the Ikhwan al-Safa’, Shatha Almutawa approaches questions about their identity, beliefs and their audiences in a new way. Her approach sheds light on the reception of the Epistles and the integration of the Ikhwan al-Safa’s thought into later seminal works on philosophy, theology, history and other sciences.
Since 2001, the Institute’s Dissertation Writing Scholarship, which carries a stipend of £3000 (or local equivalent), has been assisting promising graduate research students and doctoral candidates to complete their dissertations.
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113232&l=en
IIS Awards Zahid Ali Scholarship
March 2012
The Institute of Ismaili Studies is pleased to announce that it has awarded the Zahid Ali Scholarship to Dr Sean W. Anthony, Assistant Professor of Islamic History in the Department of History at the University of Oregon.
The Zahid Ali Scholarship was established in 1997 by the IIS in the name of Professor Zahid Ali (1888-1958), a pioneer of modern Ismaili Studies, at the bequest of Professor Zahid Ali’s son, the late Professor Abid Ali, and his family.
Belonging to a prominent Bohra Ismaili family from India, Professor Zahid Ali was educated at the University of Oxford and later taught at the Nizam College in Hyderabad, India. He produced some of the first modern studies on Ismaili history and doctrines, based on primary Ismaili sources which were published in Urdu in 1948 and 1954.
The current recipient of the scholarship, Dr Sean W. Anthony’s current project, The Apocalyptic Origins of Shi‘i Esotericism, aims to explore the reasons behind why Shi‘i Islam eventually came to be viewed as a sectarian movement during the Umayyad and early Abbasid periods (ca.661-809 CE). Central to the project’s argument is that one of the most important, determining factors for the creation of Shi‘i identity is the reverence accorded to members of Prophet Muhammad’s family, not merely as worthy of respect because of their kinship with Prophet Muhammad, but also as vanguards of an impending climax of history in which justice would triumph over injustice and as stewards of an esoteric knowledge about these events inherited from Prophet Muhammad.
Dr Anthony’s project explores how these ideas reflect an unmatched openness to the currents of late-antique apocalypticism and it’s politically transformative possibilities, as manifested most prominently in the messianic and millenarian hopes promulgated during the revolt of al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi and the ‘Abbasid Revolution.
The project will also include the first complete, annotated translation of two hitherto neglected apocalypses from the Shi‘i tradition dating to the ninth century CE: the first being ‘the Mufaddal Apocalypse’, a text preserved in the Hidaya al-kubra of al-Khasibi (d. 969 CE) that ostensibly contains the dialogues of Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq with his disciple Mufaddal b. ‘Umar al-Ju‘fi (fl. late eighth century CE); and the second being the so-called ‘Jabir-Apocalypse’ preserved in the anonymous esoteric text known as Umm al-Kitab (ca. 12th century CE).
Dr Sean Anthony specialises in the history of religious movements and the evolution of early Islamic polity from the 7th through to the 9th centuries CE. His more recent publications include a monograph titled The Caliph and the Heretic: Ibn Saba’ and the Origins of Shi‘ism (Leiden, 2011), a study which examines Shi‘i origins through the lens of the legends and stories about one of its earliest and most controversial figures ‘Abd Allah b. Saba’ (fl. Mid-7th century CE) and his followers known as the Saba’iyya.
The Zahid Ali Scholarship, in the amount of £5000, is awarded once every five years to a scholar working in the field of Classical Arabic Literature who intends to use the award to carry-out research on a topic of relevance to Ismaili and broader Shi‘i studies.
Related Pages on the IIS Website:
•Collection: The Zahid Ali Collection
•News Archive, 2003: The Institute’s Library Publishes Fourth Collection Catalogue
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113287
March 2012
The Institute of Ismaili Studies is pleased to announce that it has awarded the Zahid Ali Scholarship to Dr Sean W. Anthony, Assistant Professor of Islamic History in the Department of History at the University of Oregon.
The Zahid Ali Scholarship was established in 1997 by the IIS in the name of Professor Zahid Ali (1888-1958), a pioneer of modern Ismaili Studies, at the bequest of Professor Zahid Ali’s son, the late Professor Abid Ali, and his family.
Belonging to a prominent Bohra Ismaili family from India, Professor Zahid Ali was educated at the University of Oxford and later taught at the Nizam College in Hyderabad, India. He produced some of the first modern studies on Ismaili history and doctrines, based on primary Ismaili sources which were published in Urdu in 1948 and 1954.
The current recipient of the scholarship, Dr Sean W. Anthony’s current project, The Apocalyptic Origins of Shi‘i Esotericism, aims to explore the reasons behind why Shi‘i Islam eventually came to be viewed as a sectarian movement during the Umayyad and early Abbasid periods (ca.661-809 CE). Central to the project’s argument is that one of the most important, determining factors for the creation of Shi‘i identity is the reverence accorded to members of Prophet Muhammad’s family, not merely as worthy of respect because of their kinship with Prophet Muhammad, but also as vanguards of an impending climax of history in which justice would triumph over injustice and as stewards of an esoteric knowledge about these events inherited from Prophet Muhammad.
Dr Anthony’s project explores how these ideas reflect an unmatched openness to the currents of late-antique apocalypticism and it’s politically transformative possibilities, as manifested most prominently in the messianic and millenarian hopes promulgated during the revolt of al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi and the ‘Abbasid Revolution.
The project will also include the first complete, annotated translation of two hitherto neglected apocalypses from the Shi‘i tradition dating to the ninth century CE: the first being ‘the Mufaddal Apocalypse’, a text preserved in the Hidaya al-kubra of al-Khasibi (d. 969 CE) that ostensibly contains the dialogues of Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq with his disciple Mufaddal b. ‘Umar al-Ju‘fi (fl. late eighth century CE); and the second being the so-called ‘Jabir-Apocalypse’ preserved in the anonymous esoteric text known as Umm al-Kitab (ca. 12th century CE).
Dr Sean Anthony specialises in the history of religious movements and the evolution of early Islamic polity from the 7th through to the 9th centuries CE. His more recent publications include a monograph titled The Caliph and the Heretic: Ibn Saba’ and the Origins of Shi‘ism (Leiden, 2011), a study which examines Shi‘i origins through the lens of the legends and stories about one of its earliest and most controversial figures ‘Abd Allah b. Saba’ (fl. Mid-7th century CE) and his followers known as the Saba’iyya.
The Zahid Ali Scholarship, in the amount of £5000, is awarded once every five years to a scholar working in the field of Classical Arabic Literature who intends to use the award to carry-out research on a topic of relevance to Ismaili and broader Shi‘i studies.
Related Pages on the IIS Website:
•Collection: The Zahid Ali Collection
•News Archive, 2003: The Institute’s Library Publishes Fourth Collection Catalogue
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113287
IIS Co-Sponsors Conference to mark 125th birth Anniversary of Wladimir Ivanow
April 2012
The IIS, in conjunction with the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts (IOM) of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), organised an international conference in Saint Petersburg to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Wladimir Alekseyevich Ivanow, the pioneer of modern Ismaili Studies.
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113342
April 2012
The IIS, in conjunction with the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts (IOM) of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), organised an international conference in Saint Petersburg to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Wladimir Alekseyevich Ivanow, the pioneer of modern Ismaili Studies.
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113342
The Qur’an and Adab: Conference Description
The Qur’an And Adab Traditions
The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London
24 – 26 April 2012
Conference description
Conference programme
Biographies
Abstracts
Many scholars have studied the Qur’an’s importance in religious literature, however less attention has been paid to the influence of the Qur’an and its exegesis upon the kind of activity that was later to be known as adab (classical Arabic literature), and how in turn the udaba’ contributed to the reception history of the Qur’an.
This colloquium aims to examine the use of and different responses to the Qur’an and its narratives in the works of the udaba’ of the 9th - 15th centuries. It will explore the diverse ways in which udaba’ in the classical period employed the concepts, stories, images, and language of the Qur’an. A larger aim of the colloquium is to investigate how the Qur’an shaped the concept of adab itself, and the ways of thinking or ethical values which adab works attempted to construct, and which were appropriated to a wider framework. It will also demonstrate that experiences with the Qur’an are not limited to formal exegesis, but that udaba’ often employ the Qur’anic text in a variety of contexts in different ways. This will enable scholars to better situate the reading and interpretation of the Qur’an in a larger social and cultural context, and to understand how the Qur’an was interpreted and received outside the professional scholastic circles of tafsir works.
Nuha al-Sha‘ar: Conference Convenor
The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113297
The Qur’an And Adab Traditions
The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London
24 – 26 April 2012
Conference description
Conference programme
Biographies
Abstracts
Many scholars have studied the Qur’an’s importance in religious literature, however less attention has been paid to the influence of the Qur’an and its exegesis upon the kind of activity that was later to be known as adab (classical Arabic literature), and how in turn the udaba’ contributed to the reception history of the Qur’an.
This colloquium aims to examine the use of and different responses to the Qur’an and its narratives in the works of the udaba’ of the 9th - 15th centuries. It will explore the diverse ways in which udaba’ in the classical period employed the concepts, stories, images, and language of the Qur’an. A larger aim of the colloquium is to investigate how the Qur’an shaped the concept of adab itself, and the ways of thinking or ethical values which adab works attempted to construct, and which were appropriated to a wider framework. It will also demonstrate that experiences with the Qur’an are not limited to formal exegesis, but that udaba’ often employ the Qur’anic text in a variety of contexts in different ways. This will enable scholars to better situate the reading and interpretation of the Qur’an in a larger social and cultural context, and to understand how the Qur’an was interpreted and received outside the professional scholastic circles of tafsir works.
Nuha al-Sha‘ar: Conference Convenor
The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113297
IIS Scholars Attend Launch of Diwan-i Qa’imiyyat
April 2012
Dr Jalal Badakhchani and Professor Hermann Landolt were special guests at a book launch programme held in Tehran towards the end of 2011, dedicated to the 13th century Diwan-i Qa’imiyyat (Poems of the Resurrection) by Hasan Mahmud Katib. The launch was held at the Centre for Research of the Written Heritage (Markaz Nashr-i Miras-i Maktoob).
More...
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113372
April 2012
Dr Jalal Badakhchani and Professor Hermann Landolt were special guests at a book launch programme held in Tehran towards the end of 2011, dedicated to the 13th century Diwan-i Qa’imiyyat (Poems of the Resurrection) by Hasan Mahmud Katib. The launch was held at the Centre for Research of the Written Heritage (Markaz Nashr-i Miras-i Maktoob).
More...
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113372
IIS Co-Sponsors Workshop in San Francisco on Cultural Responses to the Qur’an
April 2012
Dr Nuha Al-Sha‘ar, from the Qur’anic Studies Unit at the IIS, organised a Pre-Conference Workshop entitled Cultural Responses to the Qur’an in association with the American Academy of Religion (AAR) Qur’an Group. The workshop explored the reading and interpretation of the Qur’an in the wider social and cultural context. The papers presented looked at the ways in which concepts, stories, images, and the language of the Qur’an have influenced folklorists, Persian poetry, modern Arabic novels, Ottoman courtly literature, architecture as well as American writers and artists.
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113377
April 2012
Dr Nuha Al-Sha‘ar, from the Qur’anic Studies Unit at the IIS, organised a Pre-Conference Workshop entitled Cultural Responses to the Qur’an in association with the American Academy of Religion (AAR) Qur’an Group. The workshop explored the reading and interpretation of the Qur’an in the wider social and cultural context. The papers presented looked at the ways in which concepts, stories, images, and the language of the Qur’an have influenced folklorists, Persian poetry, modern Arabic novels, Ottoman courtly literature, architecture as well as American writers and artists.
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113377
Hatim Mahamid’s Thank You Letter to the Institute of Ismaili Studies
The first centre since the Fatimid era specifically dedicated to Ismaili Research came into being in 1977 when His Highness the Aga Khan announced the establishment of The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) in London, England. From its modest beginnings some thirty-five years ago, the IIS functions today as an internationally recognized academic centre. In this continuing series on Thank You Letters to Ismaili Historical Figures, Dr. Hatim Mahamid acknowledges the fruits of scholarship that the IIS has started to bear in the history, philosophy, theology and literature of Ismailism and Islam.
____________
1 May, 2012.
Dear Institute of Isma’ili Studies (IIS),
With deep appreciation, I thank the administrative staff, scholars, and everyone in the IIS, who work with inspiration and the strong motivation of their belief to make the work sufficient. The IIS and its staff spare no effort to complete the mission of the Institute in reviving Islamic and Isma’ili Culture with all its depth, richness, and symbolism.
Since its establishment in 1977 by His Highness the Aga Khan, the Institute of Isma’ili Studies in London has become one of the most important research institutes for Islamic studies in the world, particularly regarding Isma’ilis. Since its inception, the Institute continues to promote the study of Muslim cultures and societies, to enhance good relationships and understanding with other societies and faiths. It has contributed in reviving many aspects of Islamic Culture and spotlighting glorious happenings in the Isma’ili community, and highlighting its role in Islamic History and Culture. It also works and functions with the Aga Khan University in London, and other Isma’ili institutions around the world, particularly the Ismaili Tariqah and Religious Education Board that was formerly known as the Ismailia Association.
Since the Aga Khan chaired the Ismailia Association Conference in Paris in April 1975, many conferences and seminars have been held, aiming to promote, revive, and invigorate Islamic Culture, stressing Isma’ili studies. As a result — and in addition to the conferences–the Institute draws upon knowledge and scholars from around the world to create awareness through initiatives and publications in the field of Isma’ili studies. It has published monographs, critical editions of original texts, and collections of short papers and studies on the Shi’a sect in general and on Isma’ilis in particular — in addition to other Islamic Studies. The Institute library is a vital central archive of Ismaili manuscripts in many languages (Arabic, Persian, Gujarati and others), in printed texts and audiovisual materials, and continues to support the activities and programmes of the Institute by providing necessary resources. Today, the Institute library includes the largest-known accessible collection of Isma’ili documents and codices in the world, and is considered a major resource in the field.
As a scholar specializing in Isma’ili history through my studies, I became more attracted to this topic since my participation in the celebration devoted to Nasir Khusraw Millennium in Tajikistan sponsored by IIS in September 2003. My soul was touched by the generous treatment of the Isma’ili community in Badakhshan and the goodness of the many other participants and organizers. The places and monuments of Isma’ili figures, cultural symbols, and centres — such as of Nasir Khusraw in Qabodiyon at the foot of the Pamir Mountains — all of these took me back about a thousand years, and recalled to mind the inspired words of Nasir Khusraw in expressing his persecution:
I was prepared to seek justice from the devil of the time,
But all I found in the king’s service was enslavement.
I had to perform a hundred acts of servitude to him before
I was able to fulfill even a single hope of mine.
I gained nothing at all except toil and suffering from
the one to whom I had gone for the sake of healing.
When my heart became disappointed with kings and princes,
I turned to the people of the mantle, turban and cloak.
I said to myself that they would show me the path of religion
because the people of the world had tormented my heart.
Therefore I wasted some years of my life with them in a lot
of empty prattle and useless disputations.
But their wealth and piety was only corruption and hypocrisy,
And I said: “O God, why have I become afflicted again?”
It was as if by going from the king to the jurist, I had
entered a dragon’s mouth for fear of an ant.
About a hundred and fifty years after Khusraw’s death, the poet Farid al-Din ‘Attar wrote a poem about him, saying:
The cry of Nasir Khusraw when he dwelt in Yumgan,
Arched even past heaven’s nine-storied vault.
A little corner he took to hide himself away
Hearing the Prophet himself had named that very spot,
Not a man to enter into the fighting fields of dogs,
Like a Ruby in Badakhshan he hid himself away.
Mid the hidden hearts of mountain he chose the cover of Yumgan,
So as not to have to look upon the horrid faces of his foes.
Thank you IIS for the work and effort you do, and I hope you continue in your great projects for the Isma’ilis, Islam and the whole of humanity. I close with the words of Nasir Khusraw from his Divan:
If you do not turn away from the pursuit of knowledge,
You, in turn, can lead the way.
If your tree bears the fruit of knowledge,
Its force can surely bring down the sphere of heaven.
With full success and all the best,
Dr. Hatim Mahamid,
Sakhnin, Israel.
http://simerg.com/thanking-ismaili-hist ... i-studies/
The first centre since the Fatimid era specifically dedicated to Ismaili Research came into being in 1977 when His Highness the Aga Khan announced the establishment of The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) in London, England. From its modest beginnings some thirty-five years ago, the IIS functions today as an internationally recognized academic centre. In this continuing series on Thank You Letters to Ismaili Historical Figures, Dr. Hatim Mahamid acknowledges the fruits of scholarship that the IIS has started to bear in the history, philosophy, theology and literature of Ismailism and Islam.
____________
1 May, 2012.
Dear Institute of Isma’ili Studies (IIS),
With deep appreciation, I thank the administrative staff, scholars, and everyone in the IIS, who work with inspiration and the strong motivation of their belief to make the work sufficient. The IIS and its staff spare no effort to complete the mission of the Institute in reviving Islamic and Isma’ili Culture with all its depth, richness, and symbolism.
Since its establishment in 1977 by His Highness the Aga Khan, the Institute of Isma’ili Studies in London has become one of the most important research institutes for Islamic studies in the world, particularly regarding Isma’ilis. Since its inception, the Institute continues to promote the study of Muslim cultures and societies, to enhance good relationships and understanding with other societies and faiths. It has contributed in reviving many aspects of Islamic Culture and spotlighting glorious happenings in the Isma’ili community, and highlighting its role in Islamic History and Culture. It also works and functions with the Aga Khan University in London, and other Isma’ili institutions around the world, particularly the Ismaili Tariqah and Religious Education Board that was formerly known as the Ismailia Association.
Since the Aga Khan chaired the Ismailia Association Conference in Paris in April 1975, many conferences and seminars have been held, aiming to promote, revive, and invigorate Islamic Culture, stressing Isma’ili studies. As a result — and in addition to the conferences–the Institute draws upon knowledge and scholars from around the world to create awareness through initiatives and publications in the field of Isma’ili studies. It has published monographs, critical editions of original texts, and collections of short papers and studies on the Shi’a sect in general and on Isma’ilis in particular — in addition to other Islamic Studies. The Institute library is a vital central archive of Ismaili manuscripts in many languages (Arabic, Persian, Gujarati and others), in printed texts and audiovisual materials, and continues to support the activities and programmes of the Institute by providing necessary resources. Today, the Institute library includes the largest-known accessible collection of Isma’ili documents and codices in the world, and is considered a major resource in the field.
As a scholar specializing in Isma’ili history through my studies, I became more attracted to this topic since my participation in the celebration devoted to Nasir Khusraw Millennium in Tajikistan sponsored by IIS in September 2003. My soul was touched by the generous treatment of the Isma’ili community in Badakhshan and the goodness of the many other participants and organizers. The places and monuments of Isma’ili figures, cultural symbols, and centres — such as of Nasir Khusraw in Qabodiyon at the foot of the Pamir Mountains — all of these took me back about a thousand years, and recalled to mind the inspired words of Nasir Khusraw in expressing his persecution:
I was prepared to seek justice from the devil of the time,
But all I found in the king’s service was enslavement.
I had to perform a hundred acts of servitude to him before
I was able to fulfill even a single hope of mine.
I gained nothing at all except toil and suffering from
the one to whom I had gone for the sake of healing.
When my heart became disappointed with kings and princes,
I turned to the people of the mantle, turban and cloak.
I said to myself that they would show me the path of religion
because the people of the world had tormented my heart.
Therefore I wasted some years of my life with them in a lot
of empty prattle and useless disputations.
But their wealth and piety was only corruption and hypocrisy,
And I said: “O God, why have I become afflicted again?”
It was as if by going from the king to the jurist, I had
entered a dragon’s mouth for fear of an ant.
About a hundred and fifty years after Khusraw’s death, the poet Farid al-Din ‘Attar wrote a poem about him, saying:
The cry of Nasir Khusraw when he dwelt in Yumgan,
Arched even past heaven’s nine-storied vault.
A little corner he took to hide himself away
Hearing the Prophet himself had named that very spot,
Not a man to enter into the fighting fields of dogs,
Like a Ruby in Badakhshan he hid himself away.
Mid the hidden hearts of mountain he chose the cover of Yumgan,
So as not to have to look upon the horrid faces of his foes.
Thank you IIS for the work and effort you do, and I hope you continue in your great projects for the Isma’ilis, Islam and the whole of humanity. I close with the words of Nasir Khusraw from his Divan:
If you do not turn away from the pursuit of knowledge,
You, in turn, can lead the way.
If your tree bears the fruit of knowledge,
Its force can surely bring down the sphere of heaven.
With full success and all the best,
Dr. Hatim Mahamid,
Sakhnin, Israel.
http://simerg.com/thanking-ismaili-hist ... i-studies/
IIS Scholars Speak at Islam and Rationality Conference
May 2012
Dr Eric Ormsby, Deputy Head of the Department of Academic Research and Publications, and Professor Wilferd Madelung, leading Islamic scholar and Senior Research Fellow at the IIS, were invited to speak at an international interdisciplinary conference entitled Islam and Rationality: The impact of al-Ghazali at Ohio State University, USA.
More...
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113397
May 2012
Dr Eric Ormsby, Deputy Head of the Department of Academic Research and Publications, and Professor Wilferd Madelung, leading Islamic scholar and Senior Research Fellow at the IIS, were invited to speak at an international interdisciplinary conference entitled Islam and Rationality: The impact of al-Ghazali at Ohio State University, USA.
More...
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113397
IIS Research Associate Presents at a Qur'an Conference at SOAS
May 2012
Dr Karen Bauer, Research Associate in the Qur’anic Studies Unit at the IIS, presented at the Seventh Biennial Conference on The Qur’an: Text, Society & Culture held at SOAS. Dr Bauer’s paper, entitled Women’s Testimony and the Re-Interpretability of the Qur’an, investigated a specific verse of the Qur’an, 2:282. According to Dr Bauer, this verse seems, at first glance, to be an unequivocal statement that two women should testify in the place of one man, and therefore that women’s testimony is not equal to that of men.
More...
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113432
*****
The Mohammed Arkoun Doctoral Scholarship
In recognition of the late Professor Mohammed Arkoun’s contribution to the the field of Islamic Studies and allied disciplines, the Institute of Ismaili Studies has established a new scholarship entitled “The Mohammed Arkoun Doctoral Scholarship”.
More...
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113402
******
Fragmentation and Compilation: Workshop Description
Fragmentation and Compilation: The Making of Religious Texts in Islam
A Comparison with Ancient Mesopotamia, Judaism and Christianity
Workshop, 29-30 May 2012
The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London
2nd Floor, Room 2.3
Convenor: Asma Hilali
More....
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113412
May 2012
Dr Karen Bauer, Research Associate in the Qur’anic Studies Unit at the IIS, presented at the Seventh Biennial Conference on The Qur’an: Text, Society & Culture held at SOAS. Dr Bauer’s paper, entitled Women’s Testimony and the Re-Interpretability of the Qur’an, investigated a specific verse of the Qur’an, 2:282. According to Dr Bauer, this verse seems, at first glance, to be an unequivocal statement that two women should testify in the place of one man, and therefore that women’s testimony is not equal to that of men.
More...
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113432
*****
The Mohammed Arkoun Doctoral Scholarship
In recognition of the late Professor Mohammed Arkoun’s contribution to the the field of Islamic Studies and allied disciplines, the Institute of Ismaili Studies has established a new scholarship entitled “The Mohammed Arkoun Doctoral Scholarship”.
More...
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113402
******
Fragmentation and Compilation: Workshop Description
Fragmentation and Compilation: The Making of Religious Texts in Islam
A Comparison with Ancient Mesopotamia, Judaism and Christianity
Workshop, 29-30 May 2012
The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London
2nd Floor, Room 2.3
Convenor: Asma Hilali
More....
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113412
Dr Farhad Daftary Appointed to the Board of Encyclopaedia Iranica
May 2012
Dr Farhad Daftary, Co-Director of the Institute, has been elected to the membership of the Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation’s Board of Directors. He has been and continues to be a consulting editor with them.
More.....
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113447
May 2012
Dr Farhad Daftary, Co-Director of the Institute, has been elected to the membership of the Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation’s Board of Directors. He has been and continues to be a consulting editor with them.
More.....
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113447
Encyclopaedia Contributions
Khaki Khurasani
Dr Sayyad Jalal Badakhchani
This is an edited version of an article that was originally published in Encyclopaedia Iranica,Online Edition, November 2006
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113452
Khaki Khurasani
Dr Sayyad Jalal Badakhchani
This is an edited version of an article that was originally published in Encyclopaedia Iranica,Online Edition, November 2006
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113452
IIS Research Associates Present at International Conference in Germany
May 2012
Drs Nuha al-Sha‘ar and Asma Hilali, of the Qur’anic Studies Unit at the IIS, attended the conference entitled Knowledge and Education in Classical Islam: Historical Foundations and Contemporary Impact at the University of Gottingen, Germany. The conference was held by The Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Gottingen in collaboration with the Program of Islamic Studies in Foreign Language at Al-Azhar University
More...
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113462
*****
VIDEO
This video is a 44 minute recording of Professor Waardenburg’s lecture delivered in 1983 at the IIS on ‘German Orientalism and the Study of Islam’. The talk was part of a seminar series centered on the theme of ‘Orientalism and the Study of Islam’.
More...
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113392
May 2012
Drs Nuha al-Sha‘ar and Asma Hilali, of the Qur’anic Studies Unit at the IIS, attended the conference entitled Knowledge and Education in Classical Islam: Historical Foundations and Contemporary Impact at the University of Gottingen, Germany. The conference was held by The Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Gottingen in collaboration with the Program of Islamic Studies in Foreign Language at Al-Azhar University
More...
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113462
*****
VIDEO
This video is a 44 minute recording of Professor Waardenburg’s lecture delivered in 1983 at the IIS on ‘German Orientalism and the Study of Islam’. The talk was part of a seminar series centered on the theme of ‘Orientalism and the Study of Islam’.
More...
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113392
The Gwalior Qur’an Manuscript: Conference Introduction
The Gwalior Qur’an Manuscript: The Polysemy of an Illuminated Codex
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113472
Paris, 14–15 June, 2012
Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (Site Richelieu).
Convenors: Éloïse Brac de la Perrière (University of Paris – Sorbonne), in collaboration with Francis Richard (Bibliothèque Universitaire des Langues et Civilisations, Paris) and Jean-Pierre Van Staëvel (University of Paris – Sorbonne).
Coordination: Sandra Aube (Panthéon-Sorbonne University).
For more details please email: coran.de.gwalior@gmail.com.
Sponsorship and partner institutions: The Institute of Ismaili Studies has co-sponsored this conference in partnership with other institutions, mainly ‘Orient et Méditerranée’, Laboratoire Islam médiéval, unité mixte de recherché (UMR) 8167 and ‘Mondes iranien et indien’, unité mixte de recherche (UMR) 7528. Other supporting institutions include the Aga Khan Trust for Culture; the University of Paris – Sorbonne; the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris; the Laboratoire d’excellence ‘Religion et Sociétés dans le Monde Méditerranéen’ (Labex RESMED) and the Museé des Beaux Arts, Orléans.
Description:
On 24 September 1398, Tamerlane crossed the Indus River and invaded Delhi, bringing an end to the reigning sultanate there, which had been weakened by internal dissent within the Indo-Muslim territories and by incessant conflict with the Hindu kingdoms. That was a definitive turning point in the history of pre-Mughal Muslim India, as Delhi became deserted and abandoned by a population who moved to other sultanates hoping to find refuge in quieter areas of the most prosperous regimes.
It was in the summer of 1399 in Delhi, which was characterised by an air of doom, that the copy of an extraordinary manuscript was completed, a copy of the Qur’an whose existence has raised many questions since it was brought to scholarly attention in 1974. This copy of the Qur’an, known as the Gwalior Qur’an, is now housed in the Aga Khan Collection, and is the focus of this conference.
A multifaceted work and project
The analysis of this codex began in 2009 as part of a four-year research programme at the unité mixte de recherche (UMR) 8167 ‘Orient et Méditerranée – Laboratoire Islam médiéval’. Such research on the codex is crucial for furnishing a better understanding of illuminated manuscripts in the Eastern Muslim world in medieval times.
The immense wealth of illuminations in this copy of the Qur’an immediately excites interest and raises far-ranging issues. Indeed, this manuscript from the Aga Khan Collection provokes questions closely related to the history of art (iconography, compositions, chromatic scales) and all subjects tangential to it (artisans, artistic exchanges); however, it also elicits questions related to the reception of the Qur’an itself, its transmutations and developments in distant areas of the Muslim empire.
The manuscript presents itself as a sort of catalogue of ornamental motifs used in the Near and Middle East between the end of the thirteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries. This quite exceptional iconographic variety invites us to reflect on the artistic transfers and the political and economic exchanges between the centre of the empire and its confines. The problem is made more complex by the fact that this is a period marked by a stabilisation of aesthetic forms which saw the birth of ‘classical’ Persian painting, with its well known miniatures. Moreover, the manuscript includes a complex apparatus with marginal notes and a book of divination in its final part, the first example of this type in the Muslim world. Thus, the text offers specialists an unprecedented field of research on the mystical rituals associated with Qur’anic materials.
Thanks to collaborative work, an international team of researchers in various fields has produced very important results pertaining to Islamic codicology. The joint analysis of the various elements has allowed them to question a number of assumptions about manuscript production in Indo-Muslim contexts as well as the nature of trade in the Muslim world during the medieval period.
The multidisciplinary nature of the research was of paramount importance because it has brought together, and combines for the first time, data belonging to fields of specialisation which were in principle quite distant from each other, as well as data of diverse chronology and from different geographical areas.
Over the past three years, the work proceeded along two main lines. Researchers participating in the project took part by either:
a) working on the codex itself by analysing the Gwalior Qur’an manuscript of the Aga Khan Collection in Geneva, where it was preserved, or taking a comparative perspective, by studying other manuscripts scattered in different funds, both public and private, such as the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris, the Staatsbibliothek in Berlin, the Keir collection, now housed in the Pergamon Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin, and the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore; or
b) holding monthly workshops at the Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art in Paris, where researchers and doctoral students could engage in a dialogue concerning a problem directly related to their speciality (divination, exegesis, iconography, and so on).
The conference: presentation of results and perspectives
This two-day conference is the concluding point of four years of research. It brings together, for the first time, all the participants in this project. They are recognised specialists in the areas of art history, history, codicology, paleography, Islamic studies, divination and magic.
On the first day, always within a multidisciplinary perspective, the results obtained after all these years of joint research (the dynamics of which has been particularly fruitful) will be presented. The second day will open the debate on related issues and will provide a methodological reflection on the art history of books in Muslim contexts.
Far from being restricted to a coterie of specialists, and because of the exceptional nature of this rare Qur’an manuscript, the conference is open to a wider audience – those interested in areas such as the artistic exchanges within the medieval world, the circulation of the patterns, models and actors involved in book production outside courtly contexts, the esoteric interpretations of the Qur’an, and the material expressions of the Qur’anic text. It is expected that the proceedings of the conference will be published.
The Gwalior Qur’an Manuscript: The Polysemy of an Illuminated Codex
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113472
Paris, 14–15 June, 2012
Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (Site Richelieu).
Convenors: Éloïse Brac de la Perrière (University of Paris – Sorbonne), in collaboration with Francis Richard (Bibliothèque Universitaire des Langues et Civilisations, Paris) and Jean-Pierre Van Staëvel (University of Paris – Sorbonne).
Coordination: Sandra Aube (Panthéon-Sorbonne University).
For more details please email: coran.de.gwalior@gmail.com.
Sponsorship and partner institutions: The Institute of Ismaili Studies has co-sponsored this conference in partnership with other institutions, mainly ‘Orient et Méditerranée’, Laboratoire Islam médiéval, unité mixte de recherché (UMR) 8167 and ‘Mondes iranien et indien’, unité mixte de recherche (UMR) 7528. Other supporting institutions include the Aga Khan Trust for Culture; the University of Paris – Sorbonne; the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris; the Laboratoire d’excellence ‘Religion et Sociétés dans le Monde Méditerranéen’ (Labex RESMED) and the Museé des Beaux Arts, Orléans.
Description:
On 24 September 1398, Tamerlane crossed the Indus River and invaded Delhi, bringing an end to the reigning sultanate there, which had been weakened by internal dissent within the Indo-Muslim territories and by incessant conflict with the Hindu kingdoms. That was a definitive turning point in the history of pre-Mughal Muslim India, as Delhi became deserted and abandoned by a population who moved to other sultanates hoping to find refuge in quieter areas of the most prosperous regimes.
It was in the summer of 1399 in Delhi, which was characterised by an air of doom, that the copy of an extraordinary manuscript was completed, a copy of the Qur’an whose existence has raised many questions since it was brought to scholarly attention in 1974. This copy of the Qur’an, known as the Gwalior Qur’an, is now housed in the Aga Khan Collection, and is the focus of this conference.
A multifaceted work and project
The analysis of this codex began in 2009 as part of a four-year research programme at the unité mixte de recherche (UMR) 8167 ‘Orient et Méditerranée – Laboratoire Islam médiéval’. Such research on the codex is crucial for furnishing a better understanding of illuminated manuscripts in the Eastern Muslim world in medieval times.
The immense wealth of illuminations in this copy of the Qur’an immediately excites interest and raises far-ranging issues. Indeed, this manuscript from the Aga Khan Collection provokes questions closely related to the history of art (iconography, compositions, chromatic scales) and all subjects tangential to it (artisans, artistic exchanges); however, it also elicits questions related to the reception of the Qur’an itself, its transmutations and developments in distant areas of the Muslim empire.
The manuscript presents itself as a sort of catalogue of ornamental motifs used in the Near and Middle East between the end of the thirteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries. This quite exceptional iconographic variety invites us to reflect on the artistic transfers and the political and economic exchanges between the centre of the empire and its confines. The problem is made more complex by the fact that this is a period marked by a stabilisation of aesthetic forms which saw the birth of ‘classical’ Persian painting, with its well known miniatures. Moreover, the manuscript includes a complex apparatus with marginal notes and a book of divination in its final part, the first example of this type in the Muslim world. Thus, the text offers specialists an unprecedented field of research on the mystical rituals associated with Qur’anic materials.
Thanks to collaborative work, an international team of researchers in various fields has produced very important results pertaining to Islamic codicology. The joint analysis of the various elements has allowed them to question a number of assumptions about manuscript production in Indo-Muslim contexts as well as the nature of trade in the Muslim world during the medieval period.
The multidisciplinary nature of the research was of paramount importance because it has brought together, and combines for the first time, data belonging to fields of specialisation which were in principle quite distant from each other, as well as data of diverse chronology and from different geographical areas.
Over the past three years, the work proceeded along two main lines. Researchers participating in the project took part by either:
a) working on the codex itself by analysing the Gwalior Qur’an manuscript of the Aga Khan Collection in Geneva, where it was preserved, or taking a comparative perspective, by studying other manuscripts scattered in different funds, both public and private, such as the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris, the Staatsbibliothek in Berlin, the Keir collection, now housed in the Pergamon Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin, and the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore; or
b) holding monthly workshops at the Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art in Paris, where researchers and doctoral students could engage in a dialogue concerning a problem directly related to their speciality (divination, exegesis, iconography, and so on).
The conference: presentation of results and perspectives
This two-day conference is the concluding point of four years of research. It brings together, for the first time, all the participants in this project. They are recognised specialists in the areas of art history, history, codicology, paleography, Islamic studies, divination and magic.
On the first day, always within a multidisciplinary perspective, the results obtained after all these years of joint research (the dynamics of which has been particularly fruitful) will be presented. The second day will open the debate on related issues and will provide a methodological reflection on the art history of books in Muslim contexts.
Far from being restricted to a coterie of specialists, and because of the exceptional nature of this rare Qur’an manuscript, the conference is open to a wider audience – those interested in areas such as the artistic exchanges within the medieval world, the circulation of the patterns, models and actors involved in book production outside courtly contexts, the esoteric interpretations of the Qur’an, and the material expressions of the Qur’anic text. It is expected that the proceedings of the conference will be published.
IIS Research Associate Presents on Persian Mystical Exegetical Traditions
June 2012
Dr Alessandro Cancian, Research Associate in the Institute’s Qur’anic Studies Unit, presented a paper at the 5th Biennial Convention of the Association for the Study of Persianate Societies held at the Maulana Azad University, Hyderabad, India.
In his paper, entitled Mystical Exegesis in Modern Iran: The Case of the Gunabadi Order and RidaʿAli-Shah’s Commentary on Three Qur’anic Stories, Dr Cancian analysed the work of one of the masters of the Gunabadi of the Niʿmatullahi Sufi order, Sultan Husayn Tabanda RidaʿAli-Shah (d. 1992), in the framework of his Order’s exegetical tradition. The treatise, entitled Qur’an-i majid va seh dastan-e asrar-amiz-i ʿirfani (“The noble Qur’an and three mysterious esoteric stories”) is an augmented translation of Rida ‘Ali-Shah’s predecessor Sultan ʿAli-Shah’s exegesis of three Qur’anic pericopes: the Ashab al-kahf, the story of Moses and al-Khidr, and that of Dhu’l-Qarnayn, as contained in the Tafsir Bayan al-saʿada fi maqamat al-ʿibada.
According to Dr Cancian, the relevance of the work does not rest in the translation itself, which was not new to Rida ʿAli-Shah. Rather, it is the originality with which the subject is addressed that deserves a closer analysis. Rida ʿAli-Shah does not limit himself to an authoritative translation of his illustrious predecessor’s words, but adds historical and personal clarifications to the narrative, in line with his multifarious interests, that set him and the work apart from the classical tradition.
The study of recent exegetical material, such as the one under scrutiny here or the Rahnama-yi Saʿadat, also by Rida ʿAli-Shah, may help understand the development of Iranian Shiʿi mystical exegesis in the 20th century. Furthermore, an analysis of the use of sources external to Islamic literature deployed by the author in explaining Qur’anic passages, may contribute to the understanding of the intellectual trends of religious thinking in Iran in the face of its encounter with modernity.
The Convention was organised by the Association for the Study of Persianate Societies, which supports the efforts of scholars around the world. It also publishes the Journal of Persianate Studies, a collection of scholarly articles, book reviews and conference reports.
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113502
June 2012
Dr Alessandro Cancian, Research Associate in the Institute’s Qur’anic Studies Unit, presented a paper at the 5th Biennial Convention of the Association for the Study of Persianate Societies held at the Maulana Azad University, Hyderabad, India.
In his paper, entitled Mystical Exegesis in Modern Iran: The Case of the Gunabadi Order and RidaʿAli-Shah’s Commentary on Three Qur’anic Stories, Dr Cancian analysed the work of one of the masters of the Gunabadi of the Niʿmatullahi Sufi order, Sultan Husayn Tabanda RidaʿAli-Shah (d. 1992), in the framework of his Order’s exegetical tradition. The treatise, entitled Qur’an-i majid va seh dastan-e asrar-amiz-i ʿirfani (“The noble Qur’an and three mysterious esoteric stories”) is an augmented translation of Rida ‘Ali-Shah’s predecessor Sultan ʿAli-Shah’s exegesis of three Qur’anic pericopes: the Ashab al-kahf, the story of Moses and al-Khidr, and that of Dhu’l-Qarnayn, as contained in the Tafsir Bayan al-saʿada fi maqamat al-ʿibada.
According to Dr Cancian, the relevance of the work does not rest in the translation itself, which was not new to Rida ʿAli-Shah. Rather, it is the originality with which the subject is addressed that deserves a closer analysis. Rida ʿAli-Shah does not limit himself to an authoritative translation of his illustrious predecessor’s words, but adds historical and personal clarifications to the narrative, in line with his multifarious interests, that set him and the work apart from the classical tradition.
The study of recent exegetical material, such as the one under scrutiny here or the Rahnama-yi Saʿadat, also by Rida ʿAli-Shah, may help understand the development of Iranian Shiʿi mystical exegesis in the 20th century. Furthermore, an analysis of the use of sources external to Islamic literature deployed by the author in explaining Qur’anic passages, may contribute to the understanding of the intellectual trends of religious thinking in Iran in the face of its encounter with modernity.
The Convention was organised by the Association for the Study of Persianate Societies, which supports the efforts of scholars around the world. It also publishes the Journal of Persianate Studies, a collection of scholarly articles, book reviews and conference reports.
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113502
IIS Research Associate Presents Paper at Annual Meeting of American Oriental Society
June 2012
Dr Stephen Burge, Research Associate in the Institute’s Qur’anic Studies Unit, attended the American Oriental Society (AOS) Annual Meeting, held in Boston, USA. His paper was entitled Jihad in the late Mamluk Period: A Comparison of Two Arba’un Collections by al-Biqa’i (d.1480 CE) and al-Suyuti (d.1505 CE).
The paper presentedan analysis of two collections of Forty Hadiths (arba’un) Collections, namely: (i) al-Biqa’i’s Dhayl al-istishad bi-ayat al-jihad (The appendix to Martyrdom in the Verses on Jihad), a hadith collection that follows a series of Qur’anic quotations about jihad; and (ii) al-Suyuti’s Abwab al-su’ada’ fi asbab al-shuhada’(The Gates of Bliss in the Occasions of Martyrdom).
Al-Biqa’i’s text focusses on the ‘lesser’ jihad and martyrdom. We know from details of his life that he was a mujahid himself, and took part in jihad expeditions, probably those against Cyprus and Rhodes between 1440-1444 CE. Knowing this, it is possible to understand the hadith collection with more clarity, and to see the deep personal significance the theme had to al-Biqa’i. The collection can then be read as an exhortation to jihad; or, if compiled after the attacks on Cyprus and Rhodes, it can be read as being highly influenced by the compiler’s own experiences.
Al-Suyuti’s emphasis is entirely different and his definition of martyrdom encompasses a wide range of pious actions. Al-Suyuti does, however, include a large number of hadiths about plague at the beginning of the work. This focus on the plague resonates with the social reality of late Mamluk Cairo, where outbreaks were common and had devastating consequences. If we look at the relationship between the ‘ulama and the masses in the fifteenth century CE, we see that it was intensely interactive - perhaps more than it is now. Scholars, then, had a duty to respond to the needs of the masses - and ahadith about the plague (and positive ones at that) would have been an important part of the scholarly reaction to such outbreaks.
The paper argued thatby closely analysing the material included and excluded from a hadith collection it is possible to gain a deeper understanding of particular nuances within a text in which a compiler does not give a reader his views openly.
Dr Burge argued in his paper that these two collections were highly influenced by the historical milieux in which they were written and that we can use these collections of ‘Forty Hadiths’ to gain an understanding of the social history of the period, and what the scholarly community believed to be important, and how they reacted to certain events.
Related Pages on the IIS Website:
•Academic Article: Al-Suyuti on the Merits of Imam ‘Ali by Dr Stephen Burge
•News Archive, 2011: IIS Launches Qur’anic Studies Lecture Series
•News Archive, 2009: Two Research Associates join IIS’ Qur’anic Studies Unit
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113517
June 2012
Dr Stephen Burge, Research Associate in the Institute’s Qur’anic Studies Unit, attended the American Oriental Society (AOS) Annual Meeting, held in Boston, USA. His paper was entitled Jihad in the late Mamluk Period: A Comparison of Two Arba’un Collections by al-Biqa’i (d.1480 CE) and al-Suyuti (d.1505 CE).
The paper presentedan analysis of two collections of Forty Hadiths (arba’un) Collections, namely: (i) al-Biqa’i’s Dhayl al-istishad bi-ayat al-jihad (The appendix to Martyrdom in the Verses on Jihad), a hadith collection that follows a series of Qur’anic quotations about jihad; and (ii) al-Suyuti’s Abwab al-su’ada’ fi asbab al-shuhada’(The Gates of Bliss in the Occasions of Martyrdom).
Al-Biqa’i’s text focusses on the ‘lesser’ jihad and martyrdom. We know from details of his life that he was a mujahid himself, and took part in jihad expeditions, probably those against Cyprus and Rhodes between 1440-1444 CE. Knowing this, it is possible to understand the hadith collection with more clarity, and to see the deep personal significance the theme had to al-Biqa’i. The collection can then be read as an exhortation to jihad; or, if compiled after the attacks on Cyprus and Rhodes, it can be read as being highly influenced by the compiler’s own experiences.
Al-Suyuti’s emphasis is entirely different and his definition of martyrdom encompasses a wide range of pious actions. Al-Suyuti does, however, include a large number of hadiths about plague at the beginning of the work. This focus on the plague resonates with the social reality of late Mamluk Cairo, where outbreaks were common and had devastating consequences. If we look at the relationship between the ‘ulama and the masses in the fifteenth century CE, we see that it was intensely interactive - perhaps more than it is now. Scholars, then, had a duty to respond to the needs of the masses - and ahadith about the plague (and positive ones at that) would have been an important part of the scholarly reaction to such outbreaks.
The paper argued thatby closely analysing the material included and excluded from a hadith collection it is possible to gain a deeper understanding of particular nuances within a text in which a compiler does not give a reader his views openly.
Dr Burge argued in his paper that these two collections were highly influenced by the historical milieux in which they were written and that we can use these collections of ‘Forty Hadiths’ to gain an understanding of the social history of the period, and what the scholarly community believed to be important, and how they reacted to certain events.
Related Pages on the IIS Website:
•Academic Article: Al-Suyuti on the Merits of Imam ‘Ali by Dr Stephen Burge
•News Archive, 2011: IIS Launches Qur’anic Studies Lecture Series
•News Archive, 2009: Two Research Associates join IIS’ Qur’anic Studies Unit
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113517
IIS Research Associate Presents at Workshop on Greco-Arabic Rationalism
July 2012
IIS Research Associate Dr Toby Mayer presented a paper at a workshop at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, USA entitled Greco-Arabic Rationalism in Islamic Traditionalism. The workshop comprises an on-going series of seminars which are expected to run for a few years. The series is dedicated to tracing the reception of philosophy into Islamic culture.
Dr Toby Mayer was part of the first seminar entitled Rationalist Sciences I: Logic, Physics, Metaphysics, and Theology in the Post-Classical Period. The seminar brought together a number of scholars in order to achieve a deeper understanding of the major system-wide transformations, critiques, and shifts in the focus of post-classical rationalist disciplines such as logic, physics, metaphysics, and theology.
Dr Mayer’s session concerned texts of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi in defence of the Avicennan cosmological principle “only one emanates from the One”, particularly focusing on Tusi’s attempt to defend the principle against Shahrastani. In his Ismaili texts, Tusi is content to refer the problem of how multiplicity arose from God’stranscendent unity back to the intermediate reality of the Command (al-Amr), which is a mystery that is simultaneously God and ‘not-God’. However, in several works of his, written as a defender of Ibn Sina and his philosophy, such as Tusi’s critique of Shahrastani, he suspends this solution and instead develops a complex calculus which attempts to trace the world’s multiplicity back to the absolute unity of God Himself. Tusi’s use of these mathematical models probably represent the most sophisticated and elaborate presentation of the principle “only one comes from the One” in the history of this cosmological problem.
The investigations carried out in the various workshops will be published in one or more co-edited volumes in the form of articles. The workshop was intended to allow scholars in the history of Islamic philosophy the opportunity to engage deeply with each other’s on-going research projects, and provide comments and suggestions on their work. The strong focus was on each participant’s chosen texts which were provided well in advance of the workshop to allow all involved to prepare. The series of seminars are an excellent opportunity for scholars to meet, share ideas and learn from each other.
Related Pages on the IIS Website:
•Video: Interview with Dr Toby Mayer
•News Archive, 2011: IIS Launches Qur’anic Studies Lecture Series
•Publication Content: Keys to the Arcana: Shahrastani’s Esoteric Commentary on the Quran
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113537
July 2012
IIS Research Associate Dr Toby Mayer presented a paper at a workshop at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, USA entitled Greco-Arabic Rationalism in Islamic Traditionalism. The workshop comprises an on-going series of seminars which are expected to run for a few years. The series is dedicated to tracing the reception of philosophy into Islamic culture.
Dr Toby Mayer was part of the first seminar entitled Rationalist Sciences I: Logic, Physics, Metaphysics, and Theology in the Post-Classical Period. The seminar brought together a number of scholars in order to achieve a deeper understanding of the major system-wide transformations, critiques, and shifts in the focus of post-classical rationalist disciplines such as logic, physics, metaphysics, and theology.
Dr Mayer’s session concerned texts of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi in defence of the Avicennan cosmological principle “only one emanates from the One”, particularly focusing on Tusi’s attempt to defend the principle against Shahrastani. In his Ismaili texts, Tusi is content to refer the problem of how multiplicity arose from God’stranscendent unity back to the intermediate reality of the Command (al-Amr), which is a mystery that is simultaneously God and ‘not-God’. However, in several works of his, written as a defender of Ibn Sina and his philosophy, such as Tusi’s critique of Shahrastani, he suspends this solution and instead develops a complex calculus which attempts to trace the world’s multiplicity back to the absolute unity of God Himself. Tusi’s use of these mathematical models probably represent the most sophisticated and elaborate presentation of the principle “only one comes from the One” in the history of this cosmological problem.
The investigations carried out in the various workshops will be published in one or more co-edited volumes in the form of articles. The workshop was intended to allow scholars in the history of Islamic philosophy the opportunity to engage deeply with each other’s on-going research projects, and provide comments and suggestions on their work. The strong focus was on each participant’s chosen texts which were provided well in advance of the workshop to allow all involved to prepare. The series of seminars are an excellent opportunity for scholars to meet, share ideas and learn from each other.
Related Pages on the IIS Website:
•Video: Interview with Dr Toby Mayer
•News Archive, 2011: IIS Launches Qur’anic Studies Lecture Series
•Publication Content: Keys to the Arcana: Shahrastani’s Esoteric Commentary on the Quran
http://iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113537
Approaches to the Qur'an in Contemporary Iran
Two panels at the Ninth Biennial Iranian Studies Conference, Istanbul - 3 August 2012
Colloquium at The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London - 2–4 September 2013. (Please see Call for Papers section below)
Convenor: Dr Alessandro Cancian, Research Associate, Qur’anic Studies Unit, IIS
For further details, please contact Dr Alessandro Cancian: acancian@iis.ac.uk.
The Qur’an is a central reference for various levels of public discourse in Iran. As the founding scripture of Islam, it influences the expression of all aspects of the life of Muslims, be it religious, cultural or social. Its interpretation, in the form of tafsir or in other genres and fields, establishes the boundaries of religious identity of each denomination; informs its religious outlook and practice; and shapes the character of each individual’s relationship with the divine and within society.
In Iran, where the majority of the population adheres to Twelver Shi‘ism, the relationship between the Qur’an and society is charged with a set of peculiarities that have not been investigated comprehensively and in detail by specialists in Iranian or Qur’anic studies. For example, until recently, the Qur’an was given relatively less attention in the Twelver Shi‘i institutions of religious learning than in most Sunni madrasas.
On the other hand, the Qur’an has had an impact on many areas of Iranian society and culture: its script has been creatively seen as inspiration for the arts; its meaning has been employed by rival factions in political discourse; its depths have been explored by the mystics of every persuasion and its symbols have never ceased to permeate and influence, by devotion or by reaction, almost every kind of literary expression in the Persian language.
From the much debated issue of the canonical text to the revival of Qur’anic studies in post-revolutionary Iran, the Qur’an has been extensively read, revered, interpreted and translated in contemporary Iran. Furthermore, it has been used as a source of inspiration, carried as a banner, instrumentally used by politicians, turned into a manifesto for the oppressed, and even critiqued.
By bringing together specialists in early modern and contemporary Iran from various disciplines, ranging from Islamic studies to the social sciences, the main aim of the project is to draw as comprehensive as possible a picture of the various approaches to the Qur’an that have been adopted in contemporary Iran.
The panel and wider project focuses on the past 150 years, from the second half of the nineteenth century, when the intellectual drive that would breed the constitutional uprising was at its height, to the first decade of the twenty-first century, where Iran is one of the key arenas of religious, intellectual, political and social debate in the world.
The project will culminate in a peer-reviewed edited volume of articles selected from the colloquium and panels, which will be submitted to the Qur’anic Studies Series, published by Oxford University Press in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies.
This is part of a wider ‘Regional Approaches’ project at the Institute’s Qur’anic Studies Unit which is committed to exploring the reception of the Qur’an in various regions in the contemporary Muslim world. Other projects have included, or will include, Indonesia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Turkey, the Maghreb, South Asia, Central Asia and the Arab Middle East.
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113552
Two panels at the Ninth Biennial Iranian Studies Conference, Istanbul - 3 August 2012
Colloquium at The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London - 2–4 September 2013. (Please see Call for Papers section below)
Convenor: Dr Alessandro Cancian, Research Associate, Qur’anic Studies Unit, IIS
For further details, please contact Dr Alessandro Cancian: acancian@iis.ac.uk.
The Qur’an is a central reference for various levels of public discourse in Iran. As the founding scripture of Islam, it influences the expression of all aspects of the life of Muslims, be it religious, cultural or social. Its interpretation, in the form of tafsir or in other genres and fields, establishes the boundaries of religious identity of each denomination; informs its religious outlook and practice; and shapes the character of each individual’s relationship with the divine and within society.
In Iran, where the majority of the population adheres to Twelver Shi‘ism, the relationship between the Qur’an and society is charged with a set of peculiarities that have not been investigated comprehensively and in detail by specialists in Iranian or Qur’anic studies. For example, until recently, the Qur’an was given relatively less attention in the Twelver Shi‘i institutions of religious learning than in most Sunni madrasas.
On the other hand, the Qur’an has had an impact on many areas of Iranian society and culture: its script has been creatively seen as inspiration for the arts; its meaning has been employed by rival factions in political discourse; its depths have been explored by the mystics of every persuasion and its symbols have never ceased to permeate and influence, by devotion or by reaction, almost every kind of literary expression in the Persian language.
From the much debated issue of the canonical text to the revival of Qur’anic studies in post-revolutionary Iran, the Qur’an has been extensively read, revered, interpreted and translated in contemporary Iran. Furthermore, it has been used as a source of inspiration, carried as a banner, instrumentally used by politicians, turned into a manifesto for the oppressed, and even critiqued.
By bringing together specialists in early modern and contemporary Iran from various disciplines, ranging from Islamic studies to the social sciences, the main aim of the project is to draw as comprehensive as possible a picture of the various approaches to the Qur’an that have been adopted in contemporary Iran.
The panel and wider project focuses on the past 150 years, from the second half of the nineteenth century, when the intellectual drive that would breed the constitutional uprising was at its height, to the first decade of the twenty-first century, where Iran is one of the key arenas of religious, intellectual, political and social debate in the world.
The project will culminate in a peer-reviewed edited volume of articles selected from the colloquium and panels, which will be submitted to the Qur’anic Studies Series, published by Oxford University Press in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies.
This is part of a wider ‘Regional Approaches’ project at the Institute’s Qur’anic Studies Unit which is committed to exploring the reception of the Qur’an in various regions in the contemporary Muslim world. Other projects have included, or will include, Indonesia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Turkey, the Maghreb, South Asia, Central Asia and the Arab Middle East.
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113552
IIS Qur’anic Studies Unit Hosts Occasional Lecture
July 2012
The Institute’s Qur’anic Studies Unit hosted an occasional lecture by Dr Nuria Martínez de Castilla of the Complutense University of Madrid. The lecture, entitled Surviving the Fall of Granada: The Qur’an among Muslims in 16th Century Spain, focused on the methods used by Muslims in the Iberian peninsula to keep their cultural traditions alive.
Providing some background, Dr Martínez de Castilla discussed how various territories of the Iberian Peninsula remained under Muslim rule from 711 CE until the end of the 15th century. When the keys of the city of Granada were handed over to the Catholic Kings in 1492 CE, Iberian Muslims were stripped of any political power. A few years later, many were compelled to relinquish their identity. Their religion, their cultural customs (clothing, food, feasts and creeds) as well as the use of the Arabic language, both spoken and written, were all forbidden.
However, in spite of these prohibitions, books written in Arabic script were still transcribed and circulating, especially the Qur’an. Within Muslim communities, where Arabic was no longer spoken or understood, as it happened in Castile or Aragon, the “Mudejar” Muslims (who kept their faith but lived under Christian rule) developed a linguistic variant of Spanish called “Aljamia”, which had its own peculiarities and was usually written in Arabic script. Aljamia came to full blossoming in the second half of the 16th century CE with the Moriscos (descendants of Muslims who had converted to Christianity, at least publicly).
The aim of the lecture was to assess the production and transmission of these proscribed books, written in Arabic or in Arabic script, notably the Qur’an, and to offer fresh views about the historical, sociological and cultural context in which these texts were transmitted.
Related Pages on the IIS Website:
•News Archive, 2011: IIS Sponsors Panel on The Bible and the Qur’an in Ismaili Sources
•Quranic Studies Workshop: Fragmentation and Compilation: The Making of Religious Texts in Islam, A Comparison with Ancient Mesopotamia, Judaism and Christianity
•News Archive, 2011: IIS Graduate Students Visit Al-Andalus
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113567
July 2012
The Institute’s Qur’anic Studies Unit hosted an occasional lecture by Dr Nuria Martínez de Castilla of the Complutense University of Madrid. The lecture, entitled Surviving the Fall of Granada: The Qur’an among Muslims in 16th Century Spain, focused on the methods used by Muslims in the Iberian peninsula to keep their cultural traditions alive.
Providing some background, Dr Martínez de Castilla discussed how various territories of the Iberian Peninsula remained under Muslim rule from 711 CE until the end of the 15th century. When the keys of the city of Granada were handed over to the Catholic Kings in 1492 CE, Iberian Muslims were stripped of any political power. A few years later, many were compelled to relinquish their identity. Their religion, their cultural customs (clothing, food, feasts and creeds) as well as the use of the Arabic language, both spoken and written, were all forbidden.
However, in spite of these prohibitions, books written in Arabic script were still transcribed and circulating, especially the Qur’an. Within Muslim communities, where Arabic was no longer spoken or understood, as it happened in Castile or Aragon, the “Mudejar” Muslims (who kept their faith but lived under Christian rule) developed a linguistic variant of Spanish called “Aljamia”, which had its own peculiarities and was usually written in Arabic script. Aljamia came to full blossoming in the second half of the 16th century CE with the Moriscos (descendants of Muslims who had converted to Christianity, at least publicly).
The aim of the lecture was to assess the production and transmission of these proscribed books, written in Arabic or in Arabic script, notably the Qur’an, and to offer fresh views about the historical, sociological and cultural context in which these texts were transmitted.
Related Pages on the IIS Website:
•News Archive, 2011: IIS Sponsors Panel on The Bible and the Qur’an in Ismaili Sources
•Quranic Studies Workshop: Fragmentation and Compilation: The Making of Religious Texts in Islam, A Comparison with Ancient Mesopotamia, Judaism and Christianity
•News Archive, 2011: IIS Graduate Students Visit Al-Andalus
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113567
CASU Organises Lecture on the State of Science and Scholarship in Central Asia
August 2012
The IIS’ Central Asian Studies Unit (CASU) organised a lecture, entitled The State of Science and Scholarship in Central Asia: Challenges and Possibilities, delivered by Dr. Duishon Shamatov, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Central Asia (UCA).
In his introductory remarks, Mr. Hakim Elnazarov, Coordinator of CASU, highlighted the importance of understanding various dimensions of educational reforms and the challenges of scholarship in Central Asia in order to make meaningful interventions in the advancement of science and scholarship in the region. While there is noticeable exposure of Central Asian scholarship to modern educational and research methodologies, the output of academics in the region remains questionable and wanting.
Developing critical and constructive thinking and attitudes as well as adaptation and contextualisation of the various methodologies generally stand out in debates on improvement of scholarship in Central Asia. At the same time, collaborative endeavours between indigenous and foreign scholars appear to emerge as other means of improving the quality of research in the region.
Talking about the state of scholarship in Central Asia, Dr. Duishon Shamatov emphasised that, while scholarship in Central Asian republics had achieved certain scope, prominence and quality during the Soviet period, Soviet-era scholarship has been criticised for its highly-politicised backdrop and reductionist projections.
He explained that most Soviet research, including the research emerging from Central Asia, primarily attempted to make aggressive arguments to disprove and delegitimise Western scholarship. It had been shaped by ideological imposition and often represented personal political interpretations rather than conclusions based on rigorous empirical fieldwork. After the break-up of the USSR, there appeared new challenges related to research and scholarship. In addition to lack of incentives for conducting research, most scholars seem not to be equipped with modern theories and knowledge of cutting-edge research and its methodologies.
In his presentation Dr. Shamatov advocated joint collaborative research and peer reviewed publications engaging the local and foreign scholars as platforms for mutual learning and knowledge generation. He presented a mechanism of such initiatives and how it could be implemented in the Central Asian context with the support of individual scholars and institutions.
Dr. Duishon Shamatov is Senior Research Fellow at the University of Central Asia (Central Administration in Bishkek). His research focuses on primary, secondary and higher education, curriculum, education quality, and professional development of teachers. He is a co-chair of the Public Lecture Series at UCA.
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113607
August 2012
The IIS’ Central Asian Studies Unit (CASU) organised a lecture, entitled The State of Science and Scholarship in Central Asia: Challenges and Possibilities, delivered by Dr. Duishon Shamatov, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Central Asia (UCA).
In his introductory remarks, Mr. Hakim Elnazarov, Coordinator of CASU, highlighted the importance of understanding various dimensions of educational reforms and the challenges of scholarship in Central Asia in order to make meaningful interventions in the advancement of science and scholarship in the region. While there is noticeable exposure of Central Asian scholarship to modern educational and research methodologies, the output of academics in the region remains questionable and wanting.
Developing critical and constructive thinking and attitudes as well as adaptation and contextualisation of the various methodologies generally stand out in debates on improvement of scholarship in Central Asia. At the same time, collaborative endeavours between indigenous and foreign scholars appear to emerge as other means of improving the quality of research in the region.
Talking about the state of scholarship in Central Asia, Dr. Duishon Shamatov emphasised that, while scholarship in Central Asian republics had achieved certain scope, prominence and quality during the Soviet period, Soviet-era scholarship has been criticised for its highly-politicised backdrop and reductionist projections.
He explained that most Soviet research, including the research emerging from Central Asia, primarily attempted to make aggressive arguments to disprove and delegitimise Western scholarship. It had been shaped by ideological imposition and often represented personal political interpretations rather than conclusions based on rigorous empirical fieldwork. After the break-up of the USSR, there appeared new challenges related to research and scholarship. In addition to lack of incentives for conducting research, most scholars seem not to be equipped with modern theories and knowledge of cutting-edge research and its methodologies.
In his presentation Dr. Shamatov advocated joint collaborative research and peer reviewed publications engaging the local and foreign scholars as platforms for mutual learning and knowledge generation. He presented a mechanism of such initiatives and how it could be implemented in the Central Asian context with the support of individual scholars and institutions.
Dr. Duishon Shamatov is Senior Research Fellow at the University of Central Asia (Central Administration in Bishkek). His research focuses on primary, secondary and higher education, curriculum, education quality, and professional development of teachers. He is a co-chair of the Public Lecture Series at UCA.
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113607
YAM.
Your advice of reading is giving me more n more(jigar)courage.Remeber no Biryani is complete without a nice Dahi kucumber
Your invaluable postings of IIS info really really good.
I have from my view of understanding of one of Hazar Imam's farman and scientific data of an world organization.
with few of our inputs, I feel IIS along with other Imamat institution can have VERY VERY promising research project to consider upon.
How do we (u r now my partner n brother ) inspire,induce or suggest them.
Please advice me on this.
Have u given a thought of we meeting in future, or just laughing it off?
Your advice of reading is giving me more n more(jigar)courage.Remeber no Biryani is complete without a nice Dahi kucumber
Your invaluable postings of IIS info really really good.
I have from my view of understanding of one of Hazar Imam's farman and scientific data of an world organization.
with few of our inputs, I feel IIS along with other Imamat institution can have VERY VERY promising research project to consider upon.
How do we (u r now my partner n brother ) inspire,induce or suggest them.
Please advice me on this.
Have u given a thought of we meeting in future, or just laughing it off?
IIS Qur’anic Studies Unit Hosts Lecture on Mulla Sadra
August 2012
The Qur’anic Studies Unit hosted an occasional lecture at the IIS by Prof. Mohammed Rustom of Carleton University based in Ottawa, Canada. The lecture, entitled Mulla Sadra on the Link Between Scripture and Idolatry, explored the creative manner in which the seventeenth-century Muslim philosopher-mystic Mulla Sadra Shirazi (d.1640 CE) tackles the problem of idolatry.
Prof. Rustom pointed out that, besides the opposition to idol-worship in Islam,Sadra did not confine “idolatry” to the worship of material representations of the Divine. The lecture showed how Mulla Sadra, drawing on his profound knowledge of the Islamic intellectual sciences as well as the work of the famous Sufi Ibn ‘Arabi (d.1240 CE), argued that since scripture and being are two sides of the same coin, those who remain on the surface of being, who have a particular idolised conception of the nature of reality, will likewise remain on the surface of scripture.
Prof. Rustom explained that, according to Mulla Sadra, if one remains confined to the exoteric dimensions of being and scripture, one will naturally have an exoteric conception of God. Thus, people may avoid idolatry physically, but, with a superficial understanding of the nature of things, are likely to fall into the trap of what Henry Corbin (d. 1978) called “metaphysical idolatry.”
Finally Prof. Rustom explored Mulla Sadra’s proposition that in order to free oneself from idolised mental images of God, people should penetrate being by delving deeply into the ocean of scripture, thereby shattering their intellectual constructs of the nature of reality, and, hence, God.
Prof. Rustom is Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. He is also the author of The Triumph of Mercy: Philosophy and Scripture in Mulla Sadra.
Related Pages on the IIS Website:
•Academic Article: Philosophical remarks on scripture
•Publication Content: Between Reason and Revelation: Twin Wisdoms Reconciled
•Qur’anic Studies Unit
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113622
August 2012
The Qur’anic Studies Unit hosted an occasional lecture at the IIS by Prof. Mohammed Rustom of Carleton University based in Ottawa, Canada. The lecture, entitled Mulla Sadra on the Link Between Scripture and Idolatry, explored the creative manner in which the seventeenth-century Muslim philosopher-mystic Mulla Sadra Shirazi (d.1640 CE) tackles the problem of idolatry.
Prof. Rustom pointed out that, besides the opposition to idol-worship in Islam,Sadra did not confine “idolatry” to the worship of material representations of the Divine. The lecture showed how Mulla Sadra, drawing on his profound knowledge of the Islamic intellectual sciences as well as the work of the famous Sufi Ibn ‘Arabi (d.1240 CE), argued that since scripture and being are two sides of the same coin, those who remain on the surface of being, who have a particular idolised conception of the nature of reality, will likewise remain on the surface of scripture.
Prof. Rustom explained that, according to Mulla Sadra, if one remains confined to the exoteric dimensions of being and scripture, one will naturally have an exoteric conception of God. Thus, people may avoid idolatry physically, but, with a superficial understanding of the nature of things, are likely to fall into the trap of what Henry Corbin (d. 1978) called “metaphysical idolatry.”
Finally Prof. Rustom explored Mulla Sadra’s proposition that in order to free oneself from idolised mental images of God, people should penetrate being by delving deeply into the ocean of scripture, thereby shattering their intellectual constructs of the nature of reality, and, hence, God.
Prof. Rustom is Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. He is also the author of The Triumph of Mercy: Philosophy and Scripture in Mulla Sadra.
Related Pages on the IIS Website:
•Academic Article: Philosophical remarks on scripture
•Publication Content: Between Reason and Revelation: Twin Wisdoms Reconciled
•Qur’anic Studies Unit
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113622
IIS Co-Sponsors Conference on The Gwalior Qur’an Manuscript: The Polysemy of Illuminated Codex
September 2012
The Qur’anic Studies Unit of the IIS co-sponsored a conference entitled Autour du Coran de Gwalior: polysémie d’un manuscrit à peintures (The Gwalior Qur’an Manuscript: The Polysemy of Illuminated Codex) which took place at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and the Institut national d'histoire de l'art (INHA) in Paris.
The manuscript at the centre of the conference is a complete copy of the Qur’an found in Gwalior, India, and dated to the fourteenth century. The importance of this manuscript lies in its rich decoration and the complexity of its textual structure. A large portion of the Qur’anic text contains an interlinear Persian translation. The manuscript ends with a book of divination (fal nama) on how to read the Qur’an to find out auguries and omens. The conference was multidisciplinary, bringing together scholars who have been approaching this fascinating manuscript from various different specialisations as part of a four-year collaborative research programme at the unité mixte de recherche (UMR) 8167 ‘Orient et Méditerranée – Laboratoire Islam médiéval’.
The conference was introduced by the organiser, Éloïse Brac de la Perrière from the University of Paris – Sorbonne, after opening remarks from Heather Ecker (Head of Curatorial Affairs at the Aga Khan Museum Project in Toronto), Jean-Pierre Van Staëvel (Professor of Archaeology and History of Islamic Arts at the University of Paris – Sorbonne) and Omar Ali-de-Unzaga (Academic Coordinator of the Qur’anic Studies Unit at The Institute of Ismaili Studies).
The conference was divided into four sessions. During the first session (‘The Gwalior Qur’an Manuscript as an objet d’art’), the variety of decorative techniques used in the Gwalior Qur'an manuscript was explored. Papers in the second session (‘The Gwalior Qur’an Manuscript and Indo-Persian Manuscripts’) explored the repertoire of graphic styles adopted in the redaction of the Gwalior Qur’an manuscript, as well as the circulation of the artistic motifs between China and India during the Sultanates period. The work was compared to other manuscripts coming from similar periods and locations.
The third session (‘The Gwalior Qur’an Manuscript as an Object of Knowledge’) showed the functions of the divinatory book at the end of the manuscript in the context of other divination manuscripts, many of which were produced in Safavid Iran and attributed to the Shi‘i Imams ‘Ali b. Abi Talib or Ja‘far al-Sadiq. In her paper, Asma Hilali, Research Associate in the Qur’anic Studies Unit at the IIS, discussed the mixture of religious texts in the circles of religious teaching in the formative period of Islam. The second part of her paper was dedicated to the oldest manuscript of the Qur’an and its importance in showing the confusion of textual genres in the circles of transmission.
In the last session of the conference (on ‘Contexts’), presentations dealt with the Muslim presence in Gwalior and in India before the sixteenth century as well as the artistic taste of Indo-Persian elites during that period. They also explored the patronage of knowledge during the pre-Mughal period and the issue of the production of religious literature.
With its multidisciplinary approach, the conference provided wide-ranging perspectives on the Gwalior Qur’an Manuscript in its artistic and textual aspects. Many of the discussions dealt with the issue of how this manuscript was produced and used, and highlighted that the manuscript is a witness to various Islamic and non-Islamic traditions of painting and book-composition. In this respect, the Gwalior Qur’an manuscript constitutes a fundamental monument in Indo-Persian Islamic culture.
The Institute of Ismaili Studies co-sponsored this conference in partnership with other institutions, mainly ‘Orient et Méditerranée’, Laboratoire Islam médiéval, unité mixte de recherché (UMR) 8167 and ‘Mondes iranien et indien’, unité mixte de recherche (UMR) 7528. Other supporting institutions included the Aga Khan Trust for Culture; the University of Paris – Sorbonne; the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris; the Laboratoire d’excellence ‘Religion et Sociétés dans le Monde Méditerranéen’ (Labex RESMED) and the Museé des Beaux Arts, Orléans.
Related Pages on the IIS Website:
Seminars and Conferences: The Gwalior Qur’an Manuscript
Gallery: Khojki Manuscripts
News Story 2012: IIS Research Associates Present at International Conference in Germany
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113642
September 2012
The Qur’anic Studies Unit of the IIS co-sponsored a conference entitled Autour du Coran de Gwalior: polysémie d’un manuscrit à peintures (The Gwalior Qur’an Manuscript: The Polysemy of Illuminated Codex) which took place at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and the Institut national d'histoire de l'art (INHA) in Paris.
The manuscript at the centre of the conference is a complete copy of the Qur’an found in Gwalior, India, and dated to the fourteenth century. The importance of this manuscript lies in its rich decoration and the complexity of its textual structure. A large portion of the Qur’anic text contains an interlinear Persian translation. The manuscript ends with a book of divination (fal nama) on how to read the Qur’an to find out auguries and omens. The conference was multidisciplinary, bringing together scholars who have been approaching this fascinating manuscript from various different specialisations as part of a four-year collaborative research programme at the unité mixte de recherche (UMR) 8167 ‘Orient et Méditerranée – Laboratoire Islam médiéval’.
The conference was introduced by the organiser, Éloïse Brac de la Perrière from the University of Paris – Sorbonne, after opening remarks from Heather Ecker (Head of Curatorial Affairs at the Aga Khan Museum Project in Toronto), Jean-Pierre Van Staëvel (Professor of Archaeology and History of Islamic Arts at the University of Paris – Sorbonne) and Omar Ali-de-Unzaga (Academic Coordinator of the Qur’anic Studies Unit at The Institute of Ismaili Studies).
The conference was divided into four sessions. During the first session (‘The Gwalior Qur’an Manuscript as an objet d’art’), the variety of decorative techniques used in the Gwalior Qur'an manuscript was explored. Papers in the second session (‘The Gwalior Qur’an Manuscript and Indo-Persian Manuscripts’) explored the repertoire of graphic styles adopted in the redaction of the Gwalior Qur’an manuscript, as well as the circulation of the artistic motifs between China and India during the Sultanates period. The work was compared to other manuscripts coming from similar periods and locations.
The third session (‘The Gwalior Qur’an Manuscript as an Object of Knowledge’) showed the functions of the divinatory book at the end of the manuscript in the context of other divination manuscripts, many of which were produced in Safavid Iran and attributed to the Shi‘i Imams ‘Ali b. Abi Talib or Ja‘far al-Sadiq. In her paper, Asma Hilali, Research Associate in the Qur’anic Studies Unit at the IIS, discussed the mixture of religious texts in the circles of religious teaching in the formative period of Islam. The second part of her paper was dedicated to the oldest manuscript of the Qur’an and its importance in showing the confusion of textual genres in the circles of transmission.
In the last session of the conference (on ‘Contexts’), presentations dealt with the Muslim presence in Gwalior and in India before the sixteenth century as well as the artistic taste of Indo-Persian elites during that period. They also explored the patronage of knowledge during the pre-Mughal period and the issue of the production of religious literature.
With its multidisciplinary approach, the conference provided wide-ranging perspectives on the Gwalior Qur’an Manuscript in its artistic and textual aspects. Many of the discussions dealt with the issue of how this manuscript was produced and used, and highlighted that the manuscript is a witness to various Islamic and non-Islamic traditions of painting and book-composition. In this respect, the Gwalior Qur’an manuscript constitutes a fundamental monument in Indo-Persian Islamic culture.
The Institute of Ismaili Studies co-sponsored this conference in partnership with other institutions, mainly ‘Orient et Méditerranée’, Laboratoire Islam médiéval, unité mixte de recherché (UMR) 8167 and ‘Mondes iranien et indien’, unité mixte de recherche (UMR) 7528. Other supporting institutions included the Aga Khan Trust for Culture; the University of Paris – Sorbonne; the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris; the Laboratoire d’excellence ‘Religion et Sociétés dans le Monde Méditerranéen’ (Labex RESMED) and the Museé des Beaux Arts, Orléans.
Related Pages on the IIS Website:
Seminars and Conferences: The Gwalior Qur’an Manuscript
Gallery: Khojki Manuscripts
News Story 2012: IIS Research Associates Present at International Conference in Germany
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113642
message for IIS
YA ALI MADAD
This message is for IIS.
I just read a few books n papers of IIS.
It was very informative.
Is the mandate and objective Of IIS to
duplicate the existing book with few
modification or even to have original thinking?
A 19 page essay on Imamat history the matter
is picked form 57 books of reference with their
names.
In modern computer age.It is Like copy,adjust
n paste at yearly expences of million of
pounds.
I feel IIS can explore to get orignal path
breaking reseach on:
1.Name n word ALLAH
2.Name n word ALI.
What Dai Nasir Khusraw delivered to Pamiri
Ismailis of glow of noor on faces, smiling jaw
line.contentment and prostate cancer rate of 4%
of the western world.
this is physical output of embedded ALI ALI in
thier souls from over 1000 years.
I can offer my humble service of any research
of baatin info of past sufi,dai etc.
In the box thinker may not justify an out of
the box thinker messages of spirituality.
The banner of your research department
henceforth should " FEAR IS NOT THE KEY.HOPE IS
THE KEY.ALI IS THE MASTER KEY.
This Universe is ALI's chessboard,we are just
pawns.It is HE who makes the move maybe
sometimes to checkmate the non movers.
This message is for IIS.
I just read a few books n papers of IIS.
It was very informative.
Is the mandate and objective Of IIS to
duplicate the existing book with few
modification or even to have original thinking?
A 19 page essay on Imamat history the matter
is picked form 57 books of reference with their
names.
In modern computer age.It is Like copy,adjust
n paste at yearly expences of million of
pounds.
I feel IIS can explore to get orignal path
breaking reseach on:
1.Name n word ALLAH
2.Name n word ALI.
What Dai Nasir Khusraw delivered to Pamiri
Ismailis of glow of noor on faces, smiling jaw
line.contentment and prostate cancer rate of 4%
of the western world.
this is physical output of embedded ALI ALI in
thier souls from over 1000 years.
I can offer my humble service of any research
of baatin info of past sufi,dai etc.
In the box thinker may not justify an out of
the box thinker messages of spirituality.
The banner of your research department
henceforth should " FEAR IS NOT THE KEY.HOPE IS
THE KEY.ALI IS THE MASTER KEY.
This Universe is ALI's chessboard,we are just
pawns.It is HE who makes the move maybe
sometimes to checkmate the non movers.
New students join the graduate programmes at the Institute of Ismaili Studies
September 2012
The new Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities (GPISH) and Secondary Teacher Education Programme (STEP) students have arrived at the IIS and are beginning their studies. This September, students from across the globe have come to gain postgraduate degrees while learning from some of the leading scholars in Ismaili and Shi’i studies.
Nine students from ten different countries have commenced the GPISH programme and an additional 32 students from seven countries have joined STEP.
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113657
September 2012
The new Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities (GPISH) and Secondary Teacher Education Programme (STEP) students have arrived at the IIS and are beginning their studies. This September, students from across the globe have come to gain postgraduate degrees while learning from some of the leading scholars in Ismaili and Shi’i studies.
Nine students from ten different countries have commenced the GPISH programme and an additional 32 students from seven countries have joined STEP.
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=113657