IIS Update Edition 19
The Institute has been publishing an annual IIS Update since 2000, to inform its supporters, affiliates and well-wishers of its programmes and activities. The IIS Update includes information about the Institute’s recent and forthcoming projects, as well as news about its publications and staff.
Download a copy of the latest issue (December 2020): https://prod-static-iis.s3.eu-west-2.am ... ion_19.pdf or read below.
https://www.iis.ac.uk/iis-update/iis-update-2019
THE IIS ACTIVITIES
-
mahebubchatur
- Posts: 398
- Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2014 7:01 pm
New Board of Governors Appointed December 2020
New IIS Board appointed 10th December 2020
https://www.iis.ac.uk/about-us/board-governors
NEWS REPORT
“Appointed by Hazar Imam as the first Dean of the IIS (1988-1999) and subsequently to the Board of Governors, Dr Esmail has been central to the development of the intellectual and philosophical underpinnings of the Institute’s work in all its aspects. His broad thinking was the impetus behind the establishment of the Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities (GPISH) in 1994.
Mr Vellani has played a crucial role in the strategic direction and growth of the IIS from its inception. Joining in 1976 as its Executive Officer and member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors and then in 1988-2020, as Director of Special Projects and permanent guest of the Board of Governors, he has been a pre-eminent figure in institution-building and the nurturing of partnerships that underpin the work of the Institute.
Both Mr Vellani and Dr Esmail also played an important role in the development of the curriculum, providing intellectual and philosophical oversight, and have made significant contributions to the strength, reach, and impact the IIS enjoys today.
(source simerg) - Link to full article https://wp.me/p7IezD-7JU
Letter to Leadership IIS/ DJI/LIF/ITREBS Boards - for information and clarification below
(no response so far)
16 December 2020
Interview answers by Shafik Sachedina outgoing ex Board member of IIS
Re Selected questions & answers given by Shafik Sachedina.
Published by TheIsmaili and also on Social media (The name of interviewer is not stated. This looks like pre-set written questions and answers - If not, can we have the video of this interview & name of interviewer)
Can you please confirm what Shafik has said below is correct, (including regarding the present IIS policies and future plan & programs of IIS)
What Shafik says cannot be relied on for reasons you know (for any doubt please see my emails & his involvement in the unsuccessful lawsuit filed in the name of Hazar Imam, & blocking of Farmans & our constitution etc)
Summary of answers by Shafik Sachedina
1. Shafik is long-serving member of the outgoing board (& Head of the Department of Jamati Institutions at the Diwan of the Ismaili Imamat. Is he really retiring & who is is replacing him and what positions is he still keeping, LIF, IPL, others?)
2. Board of Governors of IIS handed over the “reins of governance” to newly appointed members, after 25 years. (This group has been controlling since 1980 - Shafik joined in about 1990 - He claims his leadership was thoughtful !)
3. S Vellani and Dr Esmail are now retiring. (what positions are they still keeping and or what new positions and titles are being given to them directly or indirectly)
4. In the 1975 paris conference - E Rupani was there and is still there at IIS - He is effective CEO of LIF. The 1975 minutes say Farmans are to be published and given to the Jamat - but they blocked them and filed an unsuccessful AgaKhan copyright lawsuit - http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... pic&t=8185
5. There was a 15 year IIS agreed plan projections & strategies in 2011. (Can we have a copy of that plan and major changes bearing in mind what Shafik says below about the future of IIS)
6. The Jamat are and be viewed by IIS as their primary constituency (Ismaili and Ismaili faith and practices)
7. Everything that the IIS does benefits the Jamat, directly or indirectly.
8. IIS gives tuition, with empathy and responsibility for our community,
9. IIS is the reference point for academic and human resource development matters for all ITREBs around the world. (IIS teaches and trains all religious teachers Waezeens Leaders Mukhi’s and Jamat)
10. In the practice of the faith, our rituals, rites and practices, it is only the Imam-of-the-Time, that has the authority to make any changes. (The current existing practices rites and ceremonies are taught by IIS to religious teachers students Waezeens Leaders Mukhi’s and Jamat)
11. IIS expansion was undertaken by a core group comprising Diwan Sir Eboo Pirbhai, Vazir Anil Ishani and Vazir Amir Bhatia, assisted administratively by Shams Vellani as the newly recruited IIS Executive Officer, and Eqbal Rupani, who was coordinating the roll-out of the work streams emanating from the Paris Conference. (They are not qualified lecturers or professors of education)!
12. Dr Esmail and Mr Vellani played an important role in developing the secondary curriculum, meticulously reviewing the scholarly narratives to ensure their quality (But they blocked Farmans)
13. On the academic front, three key individuals contribution cannot be overstated: Professor Azim Nanji, Dr Aziz Esmail, and Dr Farhad Daftary, who provided consistent academic and intellectual leadership.
14. About the future of IIS Shafik says the following
15. an acceleration in the growth of our digital teaching and learning capacity, which was already under way before the virus took hold. Many of our courses have moved online, or are employing blended virtual and face-to-face learning, which has actually enabled us to develop virtual teaching skills and broaden our reach across the global Jamat. We are also excited by the potential of this expansion in online learning.
16. Aga Khan Library is also digitising its manuscripts and rare books, so that these treasures can be studied — with the help of new technologies — by scholars from all parts of the globe. More items from the Ismaili collections, such as Khojki manuscripts, will be available online. (They have blocked these for over 20 years & still are -even from Scholars and students
17. We have launched a series of eBooks of some of IIS selected publications. (should have 10 years ago)
18. A future aspiration for IIS is achieving Taught Degree Awarding Powers, which would be a major turning point for the Institute and strengthen its position even further. This is still an IIS goal ( why this secularisation and if so important why not achieved when we have AgaKhan Universities- like pluralism not wanted to)
19. IIS is invested to develop knowledge-based societies, where intellectual capital and the ability to conceptualise and translate knowledge as a shared resource is a key asset. To develop tools for students of all ages to better understand their heritage and history of Muslim societies, and to relate this understanding to their contemporary, lived reality. (what about Ismaili Muslim faith and heritage)
There is no mention of the teaching of Pluralism or to actualise inclusive leadership or best Practice (& IIS and DJI have not responded to requests from their primary constituency - We the Jamat- see my many specific email requests - see 2 Links
http://ismaili.net/timeline/2020/2020-1 ... ociety.pdf
and
http://ismaili.net/source/chatur-best-practice.pdf
Shafik says IIS has 5 thematic areas - Is this true today and is it still the Ismaili Muslim constituency faith in the context of others (& not secularisation of the current Ismaili faith and practices - based on Imams Farmans)
1. development of a resource and archival base;
2. research and scholarship;
3. production of teaching and educational materials;
4. human resource development for the Jamat; and
5. building institutional capacity and partnerships.
Link to full written Questions and answers by Shafik Sachedina
https://the.ismaili/global/news/institu ... stitutions
On Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/theismaili/pho ... 78/?type=3
Looking forward to hearing from you
M Chatur
Salgirah Mubarak.
Re : New IIS Board
Some more requests please;
1. What was the process?
2. Why was this secretive.
3. Were the Jamat? & Mukhi’s? consulted or informed of the nominations , who, when, & can we have copies?
4. Who nominated them
5. Who recommended the names.
6. Was is process ethical transparent inclusive pluralistic and best practice process
Some named are the same (& musical chairs). Can we have a copy of the constitutional appointment process ? Will this group be the same mindset thinking & clique as the last Board reporting to the same DJI clique in the back ground ? Who are the members & executive members of the DJI
Please pass copies of all our requests to the New Board
https://twitter.com/chaturmahebub/statu ... 32675?s=21
Ya Ali Madad
M Chatur
https://www.iis.ac.uk/about-us/board-governors
NEWS REPORT
“Appointed by Hazar Imam as the first Dean of the IIS (1988-1999) and subsequently to the Board of Governors, Dr Esmail has been central to the development of the intellectual and philosophical underpinnings of the Institute’s work in all its aspects. His broad thinking was the impetus behind the establishment of the Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities (GPISH) in 1994.
Mr Vellani has played a crucial role in the strategic direction and growth of the IIS from its inception. Joining in 1976 as its Executive Officer and member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors and then in 1988-2020, as Director of Special Projects and permanent guest of the Board of Governors, he has been a pre-eminent figure in institution-building and the nurturing of partnerships that underpin the work of the Institute.
Both Mr Vellani and Dr Esmail also played an important role in the development of the curriculum, providing intellectual and philosophical oversight, and have made significant contributions to the strength, reach, and impact the IIS enjoys today.
(source simerg) - Link to full article https://wp.me/p7IezD-7JU
Letter to Leadership IIS/ DJI/LIF/ITREBS Boards - for information and clarification below
(no response so far)
16 December 2020
Interview answers by Shafik Sachedina outgoing ex Board member of IIS
Re Selected questions & answers given by Shafik Sachedina.
Published by TheIsmaili and also on Social media (The name of interviewer is not stated. This looks like pre-set written questions and answers - If not, can we have the video of this interview & name of interviewer)
Can you please confirm what Shafik has said below is correct, (including regarding the present IIS policies and future plan & programs of IIS)
What Shafik says cannot be relied on for reasons you know (for any doubt please see my emails & his involvement in the unsuccessful lawsuit filed in the name of Hazar Imam, & blocking of Farmans & our constitution etc)
Summary of answers by Shafik Sachedina
1. Shafik is long-serving member of the outgoing board (& Head of the Department of Jamati Institutions at the Diwan of the Ismaili Imamat. Is he really retiring & who is is replacing him and what positions is he still keeping, LIF, IPL, others?)
2. Board of Governors of IIS handed over the “reins of governance” to newly appointed members, after 25 years. (This group has been controlling since 1980 - Shafik joined in about 1990 - He claims his leadership was thoughtful !)
3. S Vellani and Dr Esmail are now retiring. (what positions are they still keeping and or what new positions and titles are being given to them directly or indirectly)
4. In the 1975 paris conference - E Rupani was there and is still there at IIS - He is effective CEO of LIF. The 1975 minutes say Farmans are to be published and given to the Jamat - but they blocked them and filed an unsuccessful AgaKhan copyright lawsuit - http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... pic&t=8185
5. There was a 15 year IIS agreed plan projections & strategies in 2011. (Can we have a copy of that plan and major changes bearing in mind what Shafik says below about the future of IIS)
6. The Jamat are and be viewed by IIS as their primary constituency (Ismaili and Ismaili faith and practices)
7. Everything that the IIS does benefits the Jamat, directly or indirectly.
8. IIS gives tuition, with empathy and responsibility for our community,
9. IIS is the reference point for academic and human resource development matters for all ITREBs around the world. (IIS teaches and trains all religious teachers Waezeens Leaders Mukhi’s and Jamat)
10. In the practice of the faith, our rituals, rites and practices, it is only the Imam-of-the-Time, that has the authority to make any changes. (The current existing practices rites and ceremonies are taught by IIS to religious teachers students Waezeens Leaders Mukhi’s and Jamat)
11. IIS expansion was undertaken by a core group comprising Diwan Sir Eboo Pirbhai, Vazir Anil Ishani and Vazir Amir Bhatia, assisted administratively by Shams Vellani as the newly recruited IIS Executive Officer, and Eqbal Rupani, who was coordinating the roll-out of the work streams emanating from the Paris Conference. (They are not qualified lecturers or professors of education)!
12. Dr Esmail and Mr Vellani played an important role in developing the secondary curriculum, meticulously reviewing the scholarly narratives to ensure their quality (But they blocked Farmans)
13. On the academic front, three key individuals contribution cannot be overstated: Professor Azim Nanji, Dr Aziz Esmail, and Dr Farhad Daftary, who provided consistent academic and intellectual leadership.
14. About the future of IIS Shafik says the following
15. an acceleration in the growth of our digital teaching and learning capacity, which was already under way before the virus took hold. Many of our courses have moved online, or are employing blended virtual and face-to-face learning, which has actually enabled us to develop virtual teaching skills and broaden our reach across the global Jamat. We are also excited by the potential of this expansion in online learning.
16. Aga Khan Library is also digitising its manuscripts and rare books, so that these treasures can be studied — with the help of new technologies — by scholars from all parts of the globe. More items from the Ismaili collections, such as Khojki manuscripts, will be available online. (They have blocked these for over 20 years & still are -even from Scholars and students
17. We have launched a series of eBooks of some of IIS selected publications. (should have 10 years ago)
18. A future aspiration for IIS is achieving Taught Degree Awarding Powers, which would be a major turning point for the Institute and strengthen its position even further. This is still an IIS goal ( why this secularisation and if so important why not achieved when we have AgaKhan Universities- like pluralism not wanted to)
19. IIS is invested to develop knowledge-based societies, where intellectual capital and the ability to conceptualise and translate knowledge as a shared resource is a key asset. To develop tools for students of all ages to better understand their heritage and history of Muslim societies, and to relate this understanding to their contemporary, lived reality. (what about Ismaili Muslim faith and heritage)
There is no mention of the teaching of Pluralism or to actualise inclusive leadership or best Practice (& IIS and DJI have not responded to requests from their primary constituency - We the Jamat- see my many specific email requests - see 2 Links
http://ismaili.net/timeline/2020/2020-1 ... ociety.pdf
and
http://ismaili.net/source/chatur-best-practice.pdf
Shafik says IIS has 5 thematic areas - Is this true today and is it still the Ismaili Muslim constituency faith in the context of others (& not secularisation of the current Ismaili faith and practices - based on Imams Farmans)
1. development of a resource and archival base;
2. research and scholarship;
3. production of teaching and educational materials;
4. human resource development for the Jamat; and
5. building institutional capacity and partnerships.
Link to full written Questions and answers by Shafik Sachedina
https://the.ismaili/global/news/institu ... stitutions
On Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/theismaili/pho ... 78/?type=3
Looking forward to hearing from you
M Chatur
Salgirah Mubarak.
Re : New IIS Board
Some more requests please;
1. What was the process?
2. Why was this secretive.
3. Were the Jamat? & Mukhi’s? consulted or informed of the nominations , who, when, & can we have copies?
4. Who nominated them
5. Who recommended the names.
6. Was is process ethical transparent inclusive pluralistic and best practice process
Some named are the same (& musical chairs). Can we have a copy of the constitutional appointment process ? Will this group be the same mindset thinking & clique as the last Board reporting to the same DJI clique in the back ground ? Who are the members & executive members of the DJI
Please pass copies of all our requests to the New Board
https://twitter.com/chaturmahebub/statu ... 32675?s=21
Ya Ali Madad
M Chatur
IIS Short Courses
The Department of Community Relations (DCR) at The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) is pleased to announce Short Courses for 2021. These courses are designed to introduce participants to a social, cultural and civilisational approach to the study of Islam and Muslim societies, with a particular focus on Ismaili contexts.
In 2021 six of the eight Short Courses will be run online via Zoom, after a successful series of virtual courses in 2020 and in light of the continuing restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both our online and field-based programmes aim to provide a forum in which participants and faculty can develop frameworks and vocabulary to engage with the issues explored during the programme.
To find out more about individual courses and how the programme works, please see our 2021 Short Course catalogue [pdf] https://prod-static-iis.s3.eu-west-2.am ... web-lr.pdf.
Eligibility Criteria: The programme is open to adult members of the Jamat with an undergraduate degree and proficiency in English. Preference will be given to applicants affiliated with the Ismaili Community Institutions.
Apply:
https://forms.office.com/Pages/Response ... QlQCN0PWcu
Course schedule
Shari’a: Development of Fiqh and Ethics in Muslim Contexts
Course dates: 12 – 30 April 2021
Apply by: 15 February 2021
Shi’i Islam: Thought, Beliefs and Practice
Course dates: 17 – 28 May 2021
Apply by: 15 February 2021
Introduction to Islam
Course dates: 9 – 25 June 2021
Apply by: 18 April 2021
The Qu'ran and its Interpretations
Course dates: 5 – 16 July 2021
Apply by: 18 April 2021
Trends in Education about Islam: Opportunities and Challenges
Course dates: 2 – 13 August 2021
Apply by: 18 April 2021
Educational Evaluation
Course dates: 1 – 15 September 2021
Apply by: 8 July 2021
Exploring Ismaili History: Walking in the Footsteps of the Fatimids
Course dates: 7 – 11 November 2021
Apply by: 8 July 2021
Understanding Culture
Course dates: 26 November – 1 December 2021
Apply by: 8 July 2021
Download course schedule [pdf].
https://prod-static-iis.s3.eu-west-2.am ... hedule.pdf
https://www.iis.ac.uk/short-courses
The Department of Community Relations (DCR) at The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) is pleased to announce Short Courses for 2021. These courses are designed to introduce participants to a social, cultural and civilisational approach to the study of Islam and Muslim societies, with a particular focus on Ismaili contexts.
In 2021 six of the eight Short Courses will be run online via Zoom, after a successful series of virtual courses in 2020 and in light of the continuing restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both our online and field-based programmes aim to provide a forum in which participants and faculty can develop frameworks and vocabulary to engage with the issues explored during the programme.
To find out more about individual courses and how the programme works, please see our 2021 Short Course catalogue [pdf] https://prod-static-iis.s3.eu-west-2.am ... web-lr.pdf.
Eligibility Criteria: The programme is open to adult members of the Jamat with an undergraduate degree and proficiency in English. Preference will be given to applicants affiliated with the Ismaili Community Institutions.
Apply:
https://forms.office.com/Pages/Response ... QlQCN0PWcu
Course schedule
Shari’a: Development of Fiqh and Ethics in Muslim Contexts
Course dates: 12 – 30 April 2021
Apply by: 15 February 2021
Shi’i Islam: Thought, Beliefs and Practice
Course dates: 17 – 28 May 2021
Apply by: 15 February 2021
Introduction to Islam
Course dates: 9 – 25 June 2021
Apply by: 18 April 2021
The Qu'ran and its Interpretations
Course dates: 5 – 16 July 2021
Apply by: 18 April 2021
Trends in Education about Islam: Opportunities and Challenges
Course dates: 2 – 13 August 2021
Apply by: 18 April 2021
Educational Evaluation
Course dates: 1 – 15 September 2021
Apply by: 8 July 2021
Exploring Ismaili History: Walking in the Footsteps of the Fatimids
Course dates: 7 – 11 November 2021
Apply by: 8 July 2021
Understanding Culture
Course dates: 26 November – 1 December 2021
Apply by: 8 July 2021
Download course schedule [pdf].
https://prod-static-iis.s3.eu-west-2.am ... hedule.pdf
https://www.iis.ac.uk/short-courses
Events
Islamic Traditions in 'Greater Khurāsān’: Ismailis, Sufis and Sunnis
24th February 2021 to 27th February 2021
Register now
https://iis-ac-uk.zoom.us/webinar/regis ... P89iI9nm7g
The Institute of Ismaili Studies warmly invites scholars and researchers to its forthcoming international conference, convened by Dr Dagikhudo Dagiev.
Sign up for conference alerts and news.
Important Dates
Conference Dates: 24 - 27 February 2021
Conference venue: Online via Zoom
The goal of this international conference is to explore a variety of manifestations of Islamic culture over a vast geographical area situated in the easternmost part of the Islamic world, including contemporary Central Asia, Afghanistan, north-eastern Iran, the Xinjiang region of western China and northern and western Pakistan. We have chosen to use the medieval geographic term ‘Greater Khurāsān’ to refer to this area.
The conference covers cultural and intellectual expressions of Islam in its philosophical, theological, mystical and artistic interpretations, as well as in its political and legal theories, linguistic aspects, social practices and rituals, some of which are unique to various locations within ‘Greater Khurasan’. It is hoped that this conference will contribute to deepening current understanding of the role played by this region in Islamic history.
The following themes will be explored during the conference:
1) Global Khurāsān: Khurāsānians in the Islamic World and Beyond
2) Philosophical and Theological Debates related to Ismaili Doctrines
3) Rituals
4) Law, Political Theories and Social Transformations
5) Sufism and Sufi Literature [two panels]
6) Sufi–Ismaili Interactions, the Arts and Material Culture
7) The Persian Language as a Cultural Vehicle
The contributors include: Eyad Abuali, Belal Abu-Alabbas, Khalil Andani, Snejana Atanova, Daniel Beben, Philipp Bruckmayr, Dagikhudo Dagiev, Devin DeWeese, Leila Dodykhudoeva, Maxime Delpierre, Janis Esots, Abdulmamad Iloliev, Benjamin Gatling, Fârès Gillon, Chorshanbe Goibnazarov, Jo-Ann Gross, Tatiana Korneeva, Otambek Mastibekov, Toby Mayer, Shin Nomoto, Nourmamadcho Nourmamadchoev, Alexandre Papas, Aslisho Qurboniev, Yuri Stoyanov, Paul Walker, Thierry Zarcone.
The conference will be followed by the publication of an edited volume.
Download conference programme
https://prod-static-iis.s3.eu-west-2.am ... e_1502.pdf
Register to attend
https://iis-ac-uk.zoom.us/webinar/regis ... P89iI9nm7g
Sign up here for alerts about the IIS academic research and publications, including conferences and lectures. For any queries about the conference please contact Dr Dagikhudo Dagiev.
Cover image: Magok-i-Attari mosque in Bukhara, Uzbekistan by Nassima Cha
https://www.iis.ac.uk/events/islamic-tr ... r-khurasan
Islamic Traditions in 'Greater Khurāsān’: Ismailis, Sufis and Sunnis
24th February 2021 to 27th February 2021
Register now
https://iis-ac-uk.zoom.us/webinar/regis ... P89iI9nm7g
The Institute of Ismaili Studies warmly invites scholars and researchers to its forthcoming international conference, convened by Dr Dagikhudo Dagiev.
Sign up for conference alerts and news.
Important Dates
Conference Dates: 24 - 27 February 2021
Conference venue: Online via Zoom
The goal of this international conference is to explore a variety of manifestations of Islamic culture over a vast geographical area situated in the easternmost part of the Islamic world, including contemporary Central Asia, Afghanistan, north-eastern Iran, the Xinjiang region of western China and northern and western Pakistan. We have chosen to use the medieval geographic term ‘Greater Khurāsān’ to refer to this area.
The conference covers cultural and intellectual expressions of Islam in its philosophical, theological, mystical and artistic interpretations, as well as in its political and legal theories, linguistic aspects, social practices and rituals, some of which are unique to various locations within ‘Greater Khurasan’. It is hoped that this conference will contribute to deepening current understanding of the role played by this region in Islamic history.
The following themes will be explored during the conference:
1) Global Khurāsān: Khurāsānians in the Islamic World and Beyond
2) Philosophical and Theological Debates related to Ismaili Doctrines
3) Rituals
4) Law, Political Theories and Social Transformations
5) Sufism and Sufi Literature [two panels]
6) Sufi–Ismaili Interactions, the Arts and Material Culture
7) The Persian Language as a Cultural Vehicle
The contributors include: Eyad Abuali, Belal Abu-Alabbas, Khalil Andani, Snejana Atanova, Daniel Beben, Philipp Bruckmayr, Dagikhudo Dagiev, Devin DeWeese, Leila Dodykhudoeva, Maxime Delpierre, Janis Esots, Abdulmamad Iloliev, Benjamin Gatling, Fârès Gillon, Chorshanbe Goibnazarov, Jo-Ann Gross, Tatiana Korneeva, Otambek Mastibekov, Toby Mayer, Shin Nomoto, Nourmamadcho Nourmamadchoev, Alexandre Papas, Aslisho Qurboniev, Yuri Stoyanov, Paul Walker, Thierry Zarcone.
The conference will be followed by the publication of an edited volume.
Download conference programme
https://prod-static-iis.s3.eu-west-2.am ... e_1502.pdf
Register to attend
https://iis-ac-uk.zoom.us/webinar/regis ... P89iI9nm7g
Sign up here for alerts about the IIS academic research and publications, including conferences and lectures. For any queries about the conference please contact Dr Dagikhudo Dagiev.
Cover image: Magok-i-Attari mosque in Bukhara, Uzbekistan by Nassima Cha
https://www.iis.ac.uk/events/islamic-tr ... r-khurasan
Watch highlights of "Islamic Traditions in 'Greater Khurāsān'"
Thank you for your interest and participation in this conference at The Institute of Ismaili Studies.
If you would like to be alerted when the video highlights of the conference are available to watch, as well as be the first to hear about other academic news, upcoming publications and events from the Institute, please subscribe to our mailing list.
Subscribe:
https://iis.us13.list-manage.com/subscr ... 17949bf5dd
https://us13.campaign-archive.com/?e=%5 ... a562dfa56e
Thank you for your interest and participation in this conference at The Institute of Ismaili Studies.
If you would like to be alerted when the video highlights of the conference are available to watch, as well as be the first to hear about other academic news, upcoming publications and events from the Institute, please subscribe to our mailing list.
Subscribe:
https://iis.us13.list-manage.com/subscr ... 17949bf5dd
https://us13.campaign-archive.com/?e=%5 ... a562dfa56e
Second-year GPISH Students Present Research Project Proposals
In an online session watched by fellow students, teaching faculty, scholars and staff, the 11 students outlined their studies’ topics, research questions, methodologies and limitations. The proposals touched on a broad and diverse range of subjects—women’s rights, refugee studies, religion and development, education, identity, online activism and the Covid-19 pandemic, to name a few—but all reflected the GPISH course’s engagement with some of the most pressing issues in contemporary Muslim societies and cultures.
The proposals prompted discussion and debate among students, teachers and scholars, whose questions and suggestions will now help students to hone the focus of their projects and whose source and reading recommendations will enrich their research.
Students will undertake the data-collection phase of their dissertation projects over the summer and will present their findings later in the year. The Covid-19 pandemic continues to pose a challenge to GPISH students conducting fieldwork but, as with last year’s cohort, students demonstrated their ability to harness skills in research and technology to develop comprehensive, thought-provoking projects despite the current limitations.
In their first two years, GPISH students are enrolled on a Master’s in Islamic Studies and Humanities at the Institute of Ismaili Studies. The course encourages an inter-disciplinary approach to Islamic civilization, and particular attention is given to issues of modernity that arise as Muslims seek to relate their heritage to contemporary circumstances. The programme aims to prepare students for a second Master’s degree at a UK university in their third year, and the research component is a core part of this preparation.
The preliminary titles of the students’ research projects can be found below.
More...
https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/second-year- ... -proposals
In an online session watched by fellow students, teaching faculty, scholars and staff, the 11 students outlined their studies’ topics, research questions, methodologies and limitations. The proposals touched on a broad and diverse range of subjects—women’s rights, refugee studies, religion and development, education, identity, online activism and the Covid-19 pandemic, to name a few—but all reflected the GPISH course’s engagement with some of the most pressing issues in contemporary Muslim societies and cultures.
The proposals prompted discussion and debate among students, teachers and scholars, whose questions and suggestions will now help students to hone the focus of their projects and whose source and reading recommendations will enrich their research.
Students will undertake the data-collection phase of their dissertation projects over the summer and will present their findings later in the year. The Covid-19 pandemic continues to pose a challenge to GPISH students conducting fieldwork but, as with last year’s cohort, students demonstrated their ability to harness skills in research and technology to develop comprehensive, thought-provoking projects despite the current limitations.
In their first two years, GPISH students are enrolled on a Master’s in Islamic Studies and Humanities at the Institute of Ismaili Studies. The course encourages an inter-disciplinary approach to Islamic civilization, and particular attention is given to issues of modernity that arise as Muslims seek to relate their heritage to contemporary circumstances. The programme aims to prepare students for a second Master’s degree at a UK university in their third year, and the research component is a core part of this preparation.
The preliminary titles of the students’ research projects can be found below.
More...
https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/second-year- ... -proposals
New Board of Governors Shares Vision for IIS at First Town Hall
The IIS’s new Board of Governors met staff and shared their thoughts on, and early plans for, the Institute on March 5th in an online town hall.
The meeting was a chance for the governors, who took up their roles in December 2020, to reveal their aspirations after their recent inductions and initial Board meetings, as well as an opportunity for staff to get to know them a bit better on a personal level, a process otherwise complicated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Board will meet IIS students at a second Town Hall on March 19th.
Professor Ali Asani and Professor Tashmin Khamis, on behalf of the members, reported a very successful first meetng held virtually with the Chairman of the Board, His Highness the Aga Khan, on February 18th. During the meeting, the Institute’s operational plan and budget for the year were presented—and signed off—alongside a set of guiding principles for the workings of the new Board, which His Highness wholeheartedly endorsed.
These principles focus on three main areas: mutual trust and respect; responsibility; and inclusion and belonging. Mutual trust and respect, Professor Asani emphasised, was important to sustain and develop an IIS culture built on the sharing of ideas. Inclusion and belonging were also essential in this respect, to ensure an openness of discussion and free exchange of creative thought.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF THE NEW BOARD OF GOVERNORS
Mutual Trust and Respect
- Integrity in our decision making and conduct.
- Conducting our activities with a commitment to transparency.
- Creating the space and freedom for constructive challenge and debate and listening to other points of view.
Responsibility
- Striving for excellence in all we do.
- Being clear about our roles as Governors and the responsibilities of the senior management team and staff.
- Relying on facts, contextual realities, and thoughtful analysis as the basis for sound decision making.
- Focusing on the needs of IIS’ beneficiaries and stakeholders in all our policies and decisions.
- Sustaining financial probity and fiscal responsibility.
Inclusion and Belonging
- Building an inclusive and equitable environment.
- Creating a thriving community and a place where everyone can belong.
To improve efficiency and to encourage greater collaboration between different areas of the Institute, the number of Board-led committees has been reduced and a new committee covering all Jamati Programmes has been formed. The remit of the Academic Committee has been broadened and it will have an increased frequency of meetings going forward. The existing committees in Finance and HR, and the Constituency Studies Advisory Group will continue with new members from the Board.
Alongside this, short- to medium-term working groups have been established to address some of the IIS’s key areas of focus: AKDN Linkages; Climate and Sustainability; Digital Strategy; Management Succession Planning; Review of Resource Allocation; and Student and Alumni Engagement.
Achieving Taught Degree Awarding Powers has also been earmarked as an important initiative. His Highness commented at the Board meeting in February that obtaining this status would serve the IIS well.
The Board also underlined the importance of harnessing technology and reflecting and building on the expansion in digital resources and offerings expedited by the Covid-19 pandemic, to expand the IIS’s international reach, particularly across the global Jamat.
Before outlining the planned initiatives, the governors reflected on the Institute’s progress so far. “Overall, the IIS has achieved a level of standing and maturity across a lot of different areas of activity in what is a relatively short space of time, and done it in a way which has got the Institute in a position that’s also financially stable, and I think that’s thanks to the leadership and guidance and support we’ve had from His Highness since the beginning and the wonderful work of the team,” said Naguib Kheraj, who was re-appointed to the Board in December.
A number of governors identified the quality of the Institute’s research and publications in Ismaili and Islamic studies and its associated academic reputation as a particular strength. They also emphasised the impact of this in breaking down barriers; the IIS’s academic work is “a door for understanding … that has built bridges between diverse Islamic traditions and communities, and non-Muslim communities,” said Dr Shogufa Mir Malekyar.
Professor Nacim Pak-Shiraz felt that the intellectual tradition and legacy of the last Ismaili centres of learning and its vast libraries in Alamut, after their destruction and hundreds of years of polemical writing against the Ismailis, had “finally found a home”.
Others emphasised the importance of people—students, scholars and staff. “It’s the staff and the students and the alumni that make the IIS. It’s not a building or a bunch of books, it’s a group of people, and that’s what I would highlight,” said Naguib Kheraj.
Addressing staff directly, Tashmin Khamis concluded “We look forward to working with you with open discussion, we look forward to your creative ideas, we look forward to benchmarking always to best practice, to create that strong institution with a strong purpose.”
https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/new-board-go ... vision-iis
The IIS’s new Board of Governors met staff and shared their thoughts on, and early plans for, the Institute on March 5th in an online town hall.
The meeting was a chance for the governors, who took up their roles in December 2020, to reveal their aspirations after their recent inductions and initial Board meetings, as well as an opportunity for staff to get to know them a bit better on a personal level, a process otherwise complicated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Board will meet IIS students at a second Town Hall on March 19th.
Professor Ali Asani and Professor Tashmin Khamis, on behalf of the members, reported a very successful first meetng held virtually with the Chairman of the Board, His Highness the Aga Khan, on February 18th. During the meeting, the Institute’s operational plan and budget for the year were presented—and signed off—alongside a set of guiding principles for the workings of the new Board, which His Highness wholeheartedly endorsed.
These principles focus on three main areas: mutual trust and respect; responsibility; and inclusion and belonging. Mutual trust and respect, Professor Asani emphasised, was important to sustain and develop an IIS culture built on the sharing of ideas. Inclusion and belonging were also essential in this respect, to ensure an openness of discussion and free exchange of creative thought.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF THE NEW BOARD OF GOVERNORS
Mutual Trust and Respect
- Integrity in our decision making and conduct.
- Conducting our activities with a commitment to transparency.
- Creating the space and freedom for constructive challenge and debate and listening to other points of view.
Responsibility
- Striving for excellence in all we do.
- Being clear about our roles as Governors and the responsibilities of the senior management team and staff.
- Relying on facts, contextual realities, and thoughtful analysis as the basis for sound decision making.
- Focusing on the needs of IIS’ beneficiaries and stakeholders in all our policies and decisions.
- Sustaining financial probity and fiscal responsibility.
Inclusion and Belonging
- Building an inclusive and equitable environment.
- Creating a thriving community and a place where everyone can belong.
To improve efficiency and to encourage greater collaboration between different areas of the Institute, the number of Board-led committees has been reduced and a new committee covering all Jamati Programmes has been formed. The remit of the Academic Committee has been broadened and it will have an increased frequency of meetings going forward. The existing committees in Finance and HR, and the Constituency Studies Advisory Group will continue with new members from the Board.
Alongside this, short- to medium-term working groups have been established to address some of the IIS’s key areas of focus: AKDN Linkages; Climate and Sustainability; Digital Strategy; Management Succession Planning; Review of Resource Allocation; and Student and Alumni Engagement.
Achieving Taught Degree Awarding Powers has also been earmarked as an important initiative. His Highness commented at the Board meeting in February that obtaining this status would serve the IIS well.
The Board also underlined the importance of harnessing technology and reflecting and building on the expansion in digital resources and offerings expedited by the Covid-19 pandemic, to expand the IIS’s international reach, particularly across the global Jamat.
Before outlining the planned initiatives, the governors reflected on the Institute’s progress so far. “Overall, the IIS has achieved a level of standing and maturity across a lot of different areas of activity in what is a relatively short space of time, and done it in a way which has got the Institute in a position that’s also financially stable, and I think that’s thanks to the leadership and guidance and support we’ve had from His Highness since the beginning and the wonderful work of the team,” said Naguib Kheraj, who was re-appointed to the Board in December.
A number of governors identified the quality of the Institute’s research and publications in Ismaili and Islamic studies and its associated academic reputation as a particular strength. They also emphasised the impact of this in breaking down barriers; the IIS’s academic work is “a door for understanding … that has built bridges between diverse Islamic traditions and communities, and non-Muslim communities,” said Dr Shogufa Mir Malekyar.
Professor Nacim Pak-Shiraz felt that the intellectual tradition and legacy of the last Ismaili centres of learning and its vast libraries in Alamut, after their destruction and hundreds of years of polemical writing against the Ismailis, had “finally found a home”.
Others emphasised the importance of people—students, scholars and staff. “It’s the staff and the students and the alumni that make the IIS. It’s not a building or a bunch of books, it’s a group of people, and that’s what I would highlight,” said Naguib Kheraj.
Addressing staff directly, Tashmin Khamis concluded “We look forward to working with you with open discussion, we look forward to your creative ideas, we look forward to benchmarking always to best practice, to create that strong institution with a strong purpose.”
https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/new-board-go ... vision-iis
IIS Holds Online Conference on Islamic Traditions in 'Greater Khurasan’
The IIS ran its first online international academic conference, Islamic Traditions in 'Greater Khurasan’: Ismailis, Sufis and Sunnis, at the end of February.
Convened by Dr Dagikhudo Dagiev of the Shi'i Studies Unit, the conference explored a variety of manifestations of Islamic culture in ‘Greater Khurasan’, a medieval name for a vast geographical area that includes contemporary Central Asia, Afghanistan, north-eastern Iran, the Xinjiang region of western China, and northern and western Pakistan.
It attracted speakers from universities across the world, who presented on a variety of cultural and intellectual expressions of Islam in its philosophical, theological, mystical and artistic interpretations. Speakers also covered Islamic political and legal theories, linguistic aspects, social practices and rituals, some of which are unique to various locations within ‘Greater Khurasan’.
On the virtual format, Dr Dagiev said “Even though online conferences will never replace the live face-to-face experience, there is still an advantage to these sort of events. It gave us the possibility to reach out to people internationally, particularly during the current pandemic situation.”
Supporting this, the conference proved exceptionally popular, inviting around 1,300 registrations and up to 400 attendees in some of the panels. Scholars, students and members of the Jamat from Canada, the USA, the UK, Russia, Tajikistan, India and Iran, to name a few, were among these.
“The end of the conference is not the end of our common journey. The next step will be the publication of an edited volume, which will be part of our Shiʿi Heritage Series,” added Dr Dagiev.
Visit The Institute of Ismaili Studies YouTube channel to watch presentations made at Islamic Traditions in 'Greater Khurasan’ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... jQMvHB7A4f
https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/online-confe ... r-khurasan
The IIS ran its first online international academic conference, Islamic Traditions in 'Greater Khurasan’: Ismailis, Sufis and Sunnis, at the end of February.
Convened by Dr Dagikhudo Dagiev of the Shi'i Studies Unit, the conference explored a variety of manifestations of Islamic culture in ‘Greater Khurasan’, a medieval name for a vast geographical area that includes contemporary Central Asia, Afghanistan, north-eastern Iran, the Xinjiang region of western China, and northern and western Pakistan.
It attracted speakers from universities across the world, who presented on a variety of cultural and intellectual expressions of Islam in its philosophical, theological, mystical and artistic interpretations. Speakers also covered Islamic political and legal theories, linguistic aspects, social practices and rituals, some of which are unique to various locations within ‘Greater Khurasan’.
On the virtual format, Dr Dagiev said “Even though online conferences will never replace the live face-to-face experience, there is still an advantage to these sort of events. It gave us the possibility to reach out to people internationally, particularly during the current pandemic situation.”
Supporting this, the conference proved exceptionally popular, inviting around 1,300 registrations and up to 400 attendees in some of the panels. Scholars, students and members of the Jamat from Canada, the USA, the UK, Russia, Tajikistan, India and Iran, to name a few, were among these.
“The end of the conference is not the end of our common journey. The next step will be the publication of an edited volume, which will be part of our Shiʿi Heritage Series,” added Dr Dagiev.
Visit The Institute of Ismaili Studies YouTube channel to watch presentations made at Islamic Traditions in 'Greater Khurasan’ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... jQMvHB7A4f
https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/online-confe ... r-khurasan
World Book Day - A beginner's guide to IIS books
Are you curious to learn more about Islamic history, culture, and societies? The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) publishes a wide range of books that explore some of the diverse manifestations of Islam. This guide, in celebration of World Book Day, suggests a few good places to start.
As a means to engage with new ideas, widen our perspectives, and travel imaginatively, books have been a source of stimulation, solace, and connection for many of us over the past year of pandemic and lockdowns. The IIS’s publications programme has continued apace through this time, with a number of new titles released. Not all of these texts are the academic works on Ismaili, Shi‘i, and Islamic studies that the IIS is well known for. The Institute also publishes books in these fields for a more general reader, that will engage, inspire, and stimulate them to think differently about Islam. Not sure where to start? Here’s a guide to some of the IIS’s most rewarding recent books for a general reader:
More...
https://the.ismaili/global/news/feature ... -iis-books
Are you curious to learn more about Islamic history, culture, and societies? The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) publishes a wide range of books that explore some of the diverse manifestations of Islam. This guide, in celebration of World Book Day, suggests a few good places to start.
As a means to engage with new ideas, widen our perspectives, and travel imaginatively, books have been a source of stimulation, solace, and connection for many of us over the past year of pandemic and lockdowns. The IIS’s publications programme has continued apace through this time, with a number of new titles released. Not all of these texts are the academic works on Ismaili, Shi‘i, and Islamic studies that the IIS is well known for. The Institute also publishes books in these fields for a more general reader, that will engage, inspire, and stimulate them to think differently about Islam. Not sure where to start? Here’s a guide to some of the IIS’s most rewarding recent books for a general reader:
More...
https://the.ismaili/global/news/feature ... -iis-books
Inside the Recording Studio: Making the Audiobook of The Prophet Muhammad
Audiobooks have seen a steady rise in popularity over the past few years and this trend has only intensified since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns. Not only are they convenient (available at the press of a button and accessible while doing other activities like cooking or exercising), but the experience of being read to can be a balm, especially in turbulent times.
To provide comfort and engagement, though, the reading has to be right. Russell Harris, Audiobook Production Manager for The Prophet Muhammad: Islam and the Divine Message, reports from the recording studio on how the team brought the latest title in the World of Islam series to life.
Once more I have had the privilege of overseeing the production of an audiobook in the World of Islam series. This time it was for The Prophet Muhammad: Islam and the Divine Message, authored by our colleague Dr Stephen Burge from the Qur’anic Studies Unit of the IIS. From my experience as production manager for the two previous audiobooks in the series, I had ideas about how we could make this the most compelling listen yet.
The recording process itself took place in a small commercial studio in Fitzrovia, London, over three intense days in November 2020, when we seized the opportunity of a slight relaxation in the lockdown at the time. Stephen was ushered into the studio, plied with water, headphoned and positioned in his chair by the studio technician at a specific distance from the huge microphone. I would then set him reading aloud by quoting to him the first words of surat al-ʿAlaq: “Recite in the name of your Lord”!
There are a few intrinsic issues with an audiobook, particularly since the texts that the IIS has produced contain many Arabic terms and names. The reader must be able to pronounce these both reasonably authentically and in a manner comprehensible to a non-Muslim or non-Arabic speaker. Then we have issues regarding the text, making sure that the stress is always on the correct syllable, that the reader does not drop his or her Ts, uses non-rhotic pronunciation, differentiates between “the” before a vowel or a consonant, and pronounces the indefinite article, “a”, as a schwa and not as “ay”. And to top it all off, the reading, intonation and cadence of the sentences must sound natural!
Pronunciation matters agreed upon, the reader also needs to communicate a certain amount of connectedness to the text, and this was what I felt we could improve upon, especially for a book dealing with the Prophet. How does one convince an actor or voice-over artist that he or she must be “in love” with the text?
In my personal experience as a budding opera singer many decades ago, I realised that the first essay at singing an aria is never any more than a pedestrian reproduction of the composer’s idea. In the opera world people say that you must “work a piece of music into your body”, i.e. you need to practise it as many times as necessary until its performance feels natural.
Fortunately, after carrying out a few sound tests with Stephen, Raeesah Akhtar (the book’s editor), Tara Woolnough (our series manager), and I, we all decided that not only was Stephen’s reading very accurate, mellifluous and fluent, but the drama of his narration was also convincing. In short, we felt that he was providing all the elements needed for a good recording.
I also believe that, possibly as a result of Stephen’s experience of public speaking as a priest in the Anglican Church, the recording sounds like someone speaking from the heart. Once I discovered that Stephen was capable of delivering Qur’anic quotations and hadith in his vox maiestatis (or “magisterial voice”), I encouraged him to use this style of delivery on various occasions throughout the book.
Before recording a text, a further process must be carried out. Generally academic, or “serious”, books are written to be taken in by the eyes, and not read aloud. This means that authors can write things which are a little difficult to understand when read out verbatim. For example, the quotation By the morning light (Qur’an, 93:1). We have no problem reading this silently, but for recording I rephrased this as: As sura 93, verse 1, states: By the morning light. The intention in making these tweaks is to provide the listener with the most uncluttered listening experience and to remove any potential moments of aural confusion.
It is a credit to Stephen’s patience that not once after my many interventions on these issues, did his voice betray even a hint of irritation. This made the recording process infinitely more enjoyable and fruitful, and I believe that the final product does justice to Stephen’s narrative.
Once we received the edited sound files from the studio, Tara, Raeesah and I all set about the process of listening through the whole book to check that no lines had fallen out in the editing, that there were no audible underground rumblings picked up by the microphone, or strange clicks that those pesky little gremlins can introduce everywhere. Happily, we found none of these. The book is now available to listen to on Audible and readers can hear an audio sample of Stephen’s beautiful reading on our own website as well.
Russell Harris, Audiobook Production Manager for The Prophet Muhammad
https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/inside-recor ... t-muhammad
Audiobooks have seen a steady rise in popularity over the past few years and this trend has only intensified since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns. Not only are they convenient (available at the press of a button and accessible while doing other activities like cooking or exercising), but the experience of being read to can be a balm, especially in turbulent times.
To provide comfort and engagement, though, the reading has to be right. Russell Harris, Audiobook Production Manager for The Prophet Muhammad: Islam and the Divine Message, reports from the recording studio on how the team brought the latest title in the World of Islam series to life.
Once more I have had the privilege of overseeing the production of an audiobook in the World of Islam series. This time it was for The Prophet Muhammad: Islam and the Divine Message, authored by our colleague Dr Stephen Burge from the Qur’anic Studies Unit of the IIS. From my experience as production manager for the two previous audiobooks in the series, I had ideas about how we could make this the most compelling listen yet.
The recording process itself took place in a small commercial studio in Fitzrovia, London, over three intense days in November 2020, when we seized the opportunity of a slight relaxation in the lockdown at the time. Stephen was ushered into the studio, plied with water, headphoned and positioned in his chair by the studio technician at a specific distance from the huge microphone. I would then set him reading aloud by quoting to him the first words of surat al-ʿAlaq: “Recite in the name of your Lord”!
There are a few intrinsic issues with an audiobook, particularly since the texts that the IIS has produced contain many Arabic terms and names. The reader must be able to pronounce these both reasonably authentically and in a manner comprehensible to a non-Muslim or non-Arabic speaker. Then we have issues regarding the text, making sure that the stress is always on the correct syllable, that the reader does not drop his or her Ts, uses non-rhotic pronunciation, differentiates between “the” before a vowel or a consonant, and pronounces the indefinite article, “a”, as a schwa and not as “ay”. And to top it all off, the reading, intonation and cadence of the sentences must sound natural!
Pronunciation matters agreed upon, the reader also needs to communicate a certain amount of connectedness to the text, and this was what I felt we could improve upon, especially for a book dealing with the Prophet. How does one convince an actor or voice-over artist that he or she must be “in love” with the text?
In my personal experience as a budding opera singer many decades ago, I realised that the first essay at singing an aria is never any more than a pedestrian reproduction of the composer’s idea. In the opera world people say that you must “work a piece of music into your body”, i.e. you need to practise it as many times as necessary until its performance feels natural.
Fortunately, after carrying out a few sound tests with Stephen, Raeesah Akhtar (the book’s editor), Tara Woolnough (our series manager), and I, we all decided that not only was Stephen’s reading very accurate, mellifluous and fluent, but the drama of his narration was also convincing. In short, we felt that he was providing all the elements needed for a good recording.
I also believe that, possibly as a result of Stephen’s experience of public speaking as a priest in the Anglican Church, the recording sounds like someone speaking from the heart. Once I discovered that Stephen was capable of delivering Qur’anic quotations and hadith in his vox maiestatis (or “magisterial voice”), I encouraged him to use this style of delivery on various occasions throughout the book.
Before recording a text, a further process must be carried out. Generally academic, or “serious”, books are written to be taken in by the eyes, and not read aloud. This means that authors can write things which are a little difficult to understand when read out verbatim. For example, the quotation By the morning light (Qur’an, 93:1). We have no problem reading this silently, but for recording I rephrased this as: As sura 93, verse 1, states: By the morning light. The intention in making these tweaks is to provide the listener with the most uncluttered listening experience and to remove any potential moments of aural confusion.
It is a credit to Stephen’s patience that not once after my many interventions on these issues, did his voice betray even a hint of irritation. This made the recording process infinitely more enjoyable and fruitful, and I believe that the final product does justice to Stephen’s narrative.
Once we received the edited sound files from the studio, Tara, Raeesah and I all set about the process of listening through the whole book to check that no lines had fallen out in the editing, that there were no audible underground rumblings picked up by the microphone, or strange clicks that those pesky little gremlins can introduce everywhere. Happily, we found none of these. The book is now available to listen to on Audible and readers can hear an audio sample of Stephen’s beautiful reading on our own website as well.
Russell Harris, Audiobook Production Manager for The Prophet Muhammad
https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/inside-recor ... t-muhammad
Events
Scholars, Apostasy and States in Medieval Islam: Historiographical and Juridical Issues
17th June 2021
Islamic History and Thought Lecture Series
Sign up to IIS academic news, publications and events alerts.
Register for this lecture: https://iis-ac-uk.zoom.us/webinar/regis ... UvrZ6qTzMQ
Scholars, Apostasy and States in Medieval Islam: Historiographical and Juridical Issues
17th June 2021
Islamic History and Thought Lecture Series
Sign up to IIS academic news, publications and events alerts.
Register for this lecture: https://iis-ac-uk.zoom.us/webinar/regis ... UvrZ6qTzMQ
IIS Sponsors Panel on Ismaili Thought at Aquinas and the Arabs Conference
The IIS has continued its engagement with the Aquinas and “the Arabs” International Working Group Meeting this year, which runs online in May-June 2021.
On May 19th, the Institute sponsored the panel "Ismaili Thought: Between Neoplatonism and Aquinas" at the conference, which this year has the title “Philosophy in the Abrahamic Traditions: Structures of Being, World and Mind”.
The panel was organised and chaired by Dr Janis Esots, a Research Associate in the IIS’s Shi'i Studies Unit, and featured two IIS scholars, Dr Fârès Gillon and Professor Carmela Baffioni, as well as Dr Cristina D’Ancona of the Università di Pisa.
Dr Gillon, who has also recently convened the Islamic History and Thought Lecture Series at the IIS, investigated the pre-philosophical roots of Ḥamīd al-Dīn al-Kirmanī’s doctrine of ‘two perfections’.
Professor Baffioni, building on her work on the Rasā’il of Ikhwān al-Ṣafā’, proposed to consider Ismailism as a philosophical medium between East and West.
Dr D’Ancona elaborated on the intellect and the intellection of the human soul as an Aristotelian problem and its non-Aristotelian solutions in Arabic philosophy.
On the conference, Dr Esots said “The initial plan, drafted in 2019, was to hold this event live at the IIS, in June 2020, with much more involvement of our researchers and students. The programme was drafted and circulated in early 2020. Then the pandemic happened and the conference was postponed for a year. In late 2020, we decided to have a Zoom event instead.”
“I am very glad that everything went smoothly, and that the panel was well received. I would like to warmly thank the speakers, Fârès, Carmela and Cristina, for their well-prepared and insightful talks, and the audience for their interest and engagement. I hope we will be able to sponsor more events of this kind in the future.”
https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/iis-sponsors ... conference
*******
The Ismaili Imams: A Biographical History by Farhad Daftary
Video:
https://www.iis.ac.uk/video/ismaili-ima ... ad-daftary
In this video, Dr Farhad Daftary speaks about how this book builds on decades of research, and represents an important contribution to the Ismaili community.
Dr Farhad Daftary, Co-Director of The Institute of Ismaili Studies and, since 1992, Head of the Department of Academic Research and Publications is a leading authority on Shi'i studies, and particularly its Ismaili tradition. In this revealing interview, he speaks about what motivated him to write The Ismaili Imams: A Biographical History - the first ever collection of biographies of all 49 Ismaili Imams - and who it's intended for.
Drawing on a lifetime of research and complete with full-colour illustrations and photographs, this represents a major contribution to, and reference for, not only students and scholars but also the Ismaili community and its shared history and heritage.
The IIS has continued its engagement with the Aquinas and “the Arabs” International Working Group Meeting this year, which runs online in May-June 2021.
On May 19th, the Institute sponsored the panel "Ismaili Thought: Between Neoplatonism and Aquinas" at the conference, which this year has the title “Philosophy in the Abrahamic Traditions: Structures of Being, World and Mind”.
The panel was organised and chaired by Dr Janis Esots, a Research Associate in the IIS’s Shi'i Studies Unit, and featured two IIS scholars, Dr Fârès Gillon and Professor Carmela Baffioni, as well as Dr Cristina D’Ancona of the Università di Pisa.
Dr Gillon, who has also recently convened the Islamic History and Thought Lecture Series at the IIS, investigated the pre-philosophical roots of Ḥamīd al-Dīn al-Kirmanī’s doctrine of ‘two perfections’.
Professor Baffioni, building on her work on the Rasā’il of Ikhwān al-Ṣafā’, proposed to consider Ismailism as a philosophical medium between East and West.
Dr D’Ancona elaborated on the intellect and the intellection of the human soul as an Aristotelian problem and its non-Aristotelian solutions in Arabic philosophy.
On the conference, Dr Esots said “The initial plan, drafted in 2019, was to hold this event live at the IIS, in June 2020, with much more involvement of our researchers and students. The programme was drafted and circulated in early 2020. Then the pandemic happened and the conference was postponed for a year. In late 2020, we decided to have a Zoom event instead.”
“I am very glad that everything went smoothly, and that the panel was well received. I would like to warmly thank the speakers, Fârès, Carmela and Cristina, for their well-prepared and insightful talks, and the audience for their interest and engagement. I hope we will be able to sponsor more events of this kind in the future.”
https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/iis-sponsors ... conference
*******
The Ismaili Imams: A Biographical History by Farhad Daftary
Video:
https://www.iis.ac.uk/video/ismaili-ima ... ad-daftary
In this video, Dr Farhad Daftary speaks about how this book builds on decades of research, and represents an important contribution to the Ismaili community.
Dr Farhad Daftary, Co-Director of The Institute of Ismaili Studies and, since 1992, Head of the Department of Academic Research and Publications is a leading authority on Shi'i studies, and particularly its Ismaili tradition. In this revealing interview, he speaks about what motivated him to write The Ismaili Imams: A Biographical History - the first ever collection of biographies of all 49 Ismaili Imams - and who it's intended for.
Drawing on a lifetime of research and complete with full-colour illustrations and photographs, this represents a major contribution to, and reference for, not only students and scholars but also the Ismaili community and its shared history and heritage.
GPISH Alumni Promoted to Senior University Positions
We are delighted to announce that Professor Farid Panjwani and Dr Arif Jamal have been appointed to senior management positions in two renowned academic institutions. Their career paths started with GPISH, and both now also sit on the IIS Board of Governors.
Farid Panjwani, one of IIS’s first GPISH graduates, made Dean
Professor Farid Panjwani, a graduate from the first cohort of the Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities (GPISH), has recently been appointed as Dean of the Institute for Educational Development (IED) at Aga Khan University, Pakistan. He moved to the AKU after spending eight years as the founding director of the Centre for the Study of Education in Muslim Contexts at University College London (UCL).
With his rich experience in the education field—particularly in developing countries and Muslim contexts—Professor Panjwani is a natural choice to head the IED. The institute seeks to improve the quality of education in Pakistan and other developing contexts.
Arif Jamal promoted to Vice Dean of Graduate Studies
Dr Arif Jamal, also a GPISH alumnus from the first cohort, has likewise been appointed to a senior university position, becoming Vice Dean of Graduate Studies, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore (NUS).
In his new role, he will lead two taught postgraduate programmes, a newly launched Juris Doctor (JD) and a Masters of Law (LLM). Dr Jamal joined NUS Law in 2010 and has held various roles at the Faculty, alongside teaching and research responsibilities. He most recently served in a leadership position at the Centre for Asian Legal Studies.
Careers started with GPISH
The seeds of the careers of both Professor Panjwani and Dr Jamal were sown on the GPISH programme. Of his time on the course, Dr Jamal says “GPISH was intellectually formative for me. The ideas and perspectives I was exposed to have continued to be inspiring, challenging, and thought-provoking.”
“GPISH provided me with a network, which I have continued to benefit from and extend to this day,” he adds.
For Professor Panjwani, it was “the time when I went through serious intellectual transformation, acquiring both a degree of critical distance from the traditions I grew up in and gaining a new respect and appreciation for their potential as resources for meaning and critique”.
Expertise on IIS Board of Governors
As well as their new roles, Professor Panjwani and Dr Jamal also bring to bear their expertise in education as members of the new IIS Board of Governors, which includes a number of other IIS graduates. The Board recently outlined their vision for staff and students, which included guiding principles of mutual trust and respect, responsibility, and inclusion and belonging.
Advice to IIS graduates
Reflecting on his own career, Professor Panjwani advises recent graduates of the IIS to “Choose life, not career”.
Dr Jamal urges graduates to be “intellectually courageous and honest, especially with themselves, and to be open to unplanned and unexpected opportunities. It was an opportunity like that which brought me to Singapore and I have benefited from it greatly.”
We wish both Professor Panjwani and Dr Jamal the very best in their exciting new roles and look forward to hearing more about their work in the future.
https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/gpish-alumni ... -positions
We are delighted to announce that Professor Farid Panjwani and Dr Arif Jamal have been appointed to senior management positions in two renowned academic institutions. Their career paths started with GPISH, and both now also sit on the IIS Board of Governors.
Farid Panjwani, one of IIS’s first GPISH graduates, made Dean
Professor Farid Panjwani, a graduate from the first cohort of the Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities (GPISH), has recently been appointed as Dean of the Institute for Educational Development (IED) at Aga Khan University, Pakistan. He moved to the AKU after spending eight years as the founding director of the Centre for the Study of Education in Muslim Contexts at University College London (UCL).
With his rich experience in the education field—particularly in developing countries and Muslim contexts—Professor Panjwani is a natural choice to head the IED. The institute seeks to improve the quality of education in Pakistan and other developing contexts.
Arif Jamal promoted to Vice Dean of Graduate Studies
Dr Arif Jamal, also a GPISH alumnus from the first cohort, has likewise been appointed to a senior university position, becoming Vice Dean of Graduate Studies, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore (NUS).
In his new role, he will lead two taught postgraduate programmes, a newly launched Juris Doctor (JD) and a Masters of Law (LLM). Dr Jamal joined NUS Law in 2010 and has held various roles at the Faculty, alongside teaching and research responsibilities. He most recently served in a leadership position at the Centre for Asian Legal Studies.
Careers started with GPISH
The seeds of the careers of both Professor Panjwani and Dr Jamal were sown on the GPISH programme. Of his time on the course, Dr Jamal says “GPISH was intellectually formative for me. The ideas and perspectives I was exposed to have continued to be inspiring, challenging, and thought-provoking.”
“GPISH provided me with a network, which I have continued to benefit from and extend to this day,” he adds.
For Professor Panjwani, it was “the time when I went through serious intellectual transformation, acquiring both a degree of critical distance from the traditions I grew up in and gaining a new respect and appreciation for their potential as resources for meaning and critique”.
Expertise on IIS Board of Governors
As well as their new roles, Professor Panjwani and Dr Jamal also bring to bear their expertise in education as members of the new IIS Board of Governors, which includes a number of other IIS graduates. The Board recently outlined their vision for staff and students, which included guiding principles of mutual trust and respect, responsibility, and inclusion and belonging.
Advice to IIS graduates
Reflecting on his own career, Professor Panjwani advises recent graduates of the IIS to “Choose life, not career”.
Dr Jamal urges graduates to be “intellectually courageous and honest, especially with themselves, and to be open to unplanned and unexpected opportunities. It was an opportunity like that which brought me to Singapore and I have benefited from it greatly.”
We wish both Professor Panjwani and Dr Jamal the very best in their exciting new roles and look forward to hearing more about their work in the future.
https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/gpish-alumni ... -positions
Coming soon: Living Ismaili Traditions series
Created specifically for the Jamat, Living Ismaili Traditions (LIT) is the IIS’s first in-house series and is set to launch on September 2nd with Ismaili Festivals: Stories of Celebration by Dr Shiraz Kabani https://www.iis.ac.uk/publication/ismai ... elebration.
This innovative series will spotlight Ismaili histories and cultures, and through author reflections will explore what it means to be an Ismaili and part of the global Jamat.
The first title, Ismaili Festivals, is a unique and personal account of festivals and traditions from the author’s own lived experience as an Ismaili. Dr Kabani—who heads the IIS’s Department of Community Relations—shares some of his most compelling memories, questions and insights.
You will discover details of how different Ismaili traditions around the world celebrate shared festivals such as Nawruz and the Imam’s Salgirah. Recalling lively episodes from his days as an inquisitive schoolboy in Pakistan, as well as his more recent experiences as a well-travelled alwaez—including late-night contemplative drives across Texas on Laylat al-Qadr and vibrant Imamat Day festivities in the heart of London—Dr Kabani describes key aspects of these special occasions.
The forthcoming titles in the LIT series will be informative and inspiring reads for members of the Jamat. Above all, they aim to tell the stories of the diverse living traditions that are the heartbeat of the Ismaili community today.
*******
Find out more about the first title in the series Ismaili Festivals: Stories of Celebration https://www.iis.ac.uk/publication/ismai ... elebration.
Ismaili Festivals will be available to order from local ITREBs in September.
Created specifically for the Jamat, Living Ismaili Traditions (LIT) is the IIS’s first in-house series and is set to launch on September 2nd with Ismaili Festivals: Stories of Celebration by Dr Shiraz Kabani https://www.iis.ac.uk/publication/ismai ... elebration.
This innovative series will spotlight Ismaili histories and cultures, and through author reflections will explore what it means to be an Ismaili and part of the global Jamat.
The first title, Ismaili Festivals, is a unique and personal account of festivals and traditions from the author’s own lived experience as an Ismaili. Dr Kabani—who heads the IIS’s Department of Community Relations—shares some of his most compelling memories, questions and insights.
You will discover details of how different Ismaili traditions around the world celebrate shared festivals such as Nawruz and the Imam’s Salgirah. Recalling lively episodes from his days as an inquisitive schoolboy in Pakistan, as well as his more recent experiences as a well-travelled alwaez—including late-night contemplative drives across Texas on Laylat al-Qadr and vibrant Imamat Day festivities in the heart of London—Dr Kabani describes key aspects of these special occasions.
The forthcoming titles in the LIT series will be informative and inspiring reads for members of the Jamat. Above all, they aim to tell the stories of the diverse living traditions that are the heartbeat of the Ismaili community today.
*******
Find out more about the first title in the series Ismaili Festivals: Stories of Celebration https://www.iis.ac.uk/publication/ismai ... elebration.
Ismaili Festivals will be available to order from local ITREBs in September.
Madhiya: How my School of Music and IIS’s Special Collections are Helping to Keep a Living Tradition Alive
Dr Otambek Mastibekov, Manuscript Researcher and Cataloguer in the Ismaili Special Collections Unit, set up Maktab-i Madhiya-khani in Tajikistan in 2011.
On July 2nd I gave a talk called “Restoring the Values of the Past: Creating a School of Music in Tajikistan” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VBdo2erQzc&t=18s , which was part of The Silk Road: A Living History exhibition, presented by the Aga Khan Foundation UK. The talk was about the role of music and dance within the Ismaili communities of Tajikistan and the impact of Maktab-i Madhiya-khani (School of Devotional Literature), which I established in 2011, on religion and culture. You can watch the talk here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VBdo2erQzc&t=1279s.
Madhya is a poetic genre in Persian and Arabic literature. For the Ismaili Muslims of the Silk Road—in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Western China and Northern Pakistan—madhiya is devotional singing that embodies the art of music, religion, philosophy and ethics. Known in the region as madhiya-khani (singing madhiya) or qasida-khani (singing qasida), its origin goes back, according to tradition, to the 11th century poet, philosopher and traveller Nasir Khusraw (1004-1088 CE). (You can follow the route of his Safar-nama, or “Travelogue”, from Central Asia to the Mediterranean Coast, Egypt, Arabia and back through this interactive map http://nasirkhusraw.iis.ac.uk/.)
Due to the broadness of the theme and time limitation, it was not possible to explore the School of Music in real depth during the talk. Therefore I want to add a few important words here on two aspects. First, the main reason for establishing the school. Second, why the relationship between the IIS and Maktab-i Madhiya-khani is important for the future of this tradition.
The Madhiya-khani tradition has come under threat three times since the late nineteenth century. First, when Badakhshan came under the Afghan ruler in 1883 and under the Manghits—both dynasties were Sunni Muslims and made all attempts to eradicate Ismailism. Second, when Badakhshan of Tajikistan became part of the USSR and all kinds of religious practices by all religious communities came under threat. Third, when the funeral ceremony of Charagh-rawshan was shortened in length from the full night, which significantly reduced the amount of madhiya-khani that was played as part of the ceremony.
Despite these three harmful waves, madhiya-khani was resilient, but after each episode certain norms and values were lost. So it was from here that the idea of establishing the school—instead of opposing the political upheaval or the religious authorities—came into my mind. In the first instance, I was thinking about how to preserve and restore this valuable heritage. But when I started to work on it, the ideas expanded and I planned to transform madhiya from amateur performance to professional and from the local milieu to the global. Therefore I chose to teach four subjects in the school:
- Madhiya as a source of Islamic ethics
- Poetical aspects of madhiya
- Art and music of madhiya
- A history of madhiya and Islamic history through madhiya
Since the school has been set up, I have developed the links between it and the IIS, in particular the work of the Ismaili Special Collections Unit (ISCU), where I work as a Manuscript Researcher and Cataloguer. Madhiya-khani in its present sense is embodied in the performance, but it has a strong link with the past, where the text as a primary source plays a vital role. Exploration of this relationship between the original text and the current life of the madhiya is essential to sustaining it as a living tradition. ISCU is a unique place, where a vast collection of Persian manuscripts, including those from Badakhshan, are collected. The original texts of around 90% of madhiya/qasida that are recited by the Ismailis are identifiable in these manuscripts. Therefore ISCU is the first path towards finding the original sources for Maktab-i Madhiya-khani.
As well as this, ISCU scholars based in Khorog, including Shohzodamamad and Umed Mamadsherzodshoev, have given sessions in the school as visiting lecturers. I plan to involve more IIS scholars in the future to strengthen the intellectual capacity of the school—and continue to preserve this unique and important Ismaili heritage.
Dr Otambek Mastibekov
https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/madiya-how-m ... tion-alive
Dr Otambek Mastibekov, Manuscript Researcher and Cataloguer in the Ismaili Special Collections Unit, set up Maktab-i Madhiya-khani in Tajikistan in 2011.
On July 2nd I gave a talk called “Restoring the Values of the Past: Creating a School of Music in Tajikistan” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VBdo2erQzc&t=18s , which was part of The Silk Road: A Living History exhibition, presented by the Aga Khan Foundation UK. The talk was about the role of music and dance within the Ismaili communities of Tajikistan and the impact of Maktab-i Madhiya-khani (School of Devotional Literature), which I established in 2011, on religion and culture. You can watch the talk here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VBdo2erQzc&t=1279s.
Madhya is a poetic genre in Persian and Arabic literature. For the Ismaili Muslims of the Silk Road—in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Western China and Northern Pakistan—madhiya is devotional singing that embodies the art of music, religion, philosophy and ethics. Known in the region as madhiya-khani (singing madhiya) or qasida-khani (singing qasida), its origin goes back, according to tradition, to the 11th century poet, philosopher and traveller Nasir Khusraw (1004-1088 CE). (You can follow the route of his Safar-nama, or “Travelogue”, from Central Asia to the Mediterranean Coast, Egypt, Arabia and back through this interactive map http://nasirkhusraw.iis.ac.uk/.)
Due to the broadness of the theme and time limitation, it was not possible to explore the School of Music in real depth during the talk. Therefore I want to add a few important words here on two aspects. First, the main reason for establishing the school. Second, why the relationship between the IIS and Maktab-i Madhiya-khani is important for the future of this tradition.
The Madhiya-khani tradition has come under threat three times since the late nineteenth century. First, when Badakhshan came under the Afghan ruler in 1883 and under the Manghits—both dynasties were Sunni Muslims and made all attempts to eradicate Ismailism. Second, when Badakhshan of Tajikistan became part of the USSR and all kinds of religious practices by all religious communities came under threat. Third, when the funeral ceremony of Charagh-rawshan was shortened in length from the full night, which significantly reduced the amount of madhiya-khani that was played as part of the ceremony.
Despite these three harmful waves, madhiya-khani was resilient, but after each episode certain norms and values were lost. So it was from here that the idea of establishing the school—instead of opposing the political upheaval or the religious authorities—came into my mind. In the first instance, I was thinking about how to preserve and restore this valuable heritage. But when I started to work on it, the ideas expanded and I planned to transform madhiya from amateur performance to professional and from the local milieu to the global. Therefore I chose to teach four subjects in the school:
- Madhiya as a source of Islamic ethics
- Poetical aspects of madhiya
- Art and music of madhiya
- A history of madhiya and Islamic history through madhiya
Since the school has been set up, I have developed the links between it and the IIS, in particular the work of the Ismaili Special Collections Unit (ISCU), where I work as a Manuscript Researcher and Cataloguer. Madhiya-khani in its present sense is embodied in the performance, but it has a strong link with the past, where the text as a primary source plays a vital role. Exploration of this relationship between the original text and the current life of the madhiya is essential to sustaining it as a living tradition. ISCU is a unique place, where a vast collection of Persian manuscripts, including those from Badakhshan, are collected. The original texts of around 90% of madhiya/qasida that are recited by the Ismailis are identifiable in these manuscripts. Therefore ISCU is the first path towards finding the original sources for Maktab-i Madhiya-khani.
As well as this, ISCU scholars based in Khorog, including Shohzodamamad and Umed Mamadsherzodshoev, have given sessions in the school as visiting lecturers. I plan to involve more IIS scholars in the future to strengthen the intellectual capacity of the school—and continue to preserve this unique and important Ismaili heritage.
Dr Otambek Mastibekov
https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/madiya-how-m ... tion-alive
Students Recognised for Outstanding Leadership and Service to the IIS Community
The IIS Student Recognition Awards were held at the Aga Khan Centre on July 29th. Students, faculty and staff attended the in-person event, the first of its kind in over a year.
In an upbeat atmosphere, the ceremony recognised those students who had made outstanding contributions over the past academic year. Two awards were given: one for service to the IIS community and the other for leadership in an academic and/or social context, each with two recipients.
Dilrabo Khujanazar (GPISH 2022) and Nilufari Miraziz (STEP 2021) were recognised for their leadership in an academic and/or social context. Dilrabo was awarded for co-founding the Pamiri Youth Network. The Recognitions Committee, which judged nominations, said that she had recognised that there was a social need and stepped up to address it, even during a pandemic.
Nilufari won for her interest and passion for the STEP course. The Committee said that Nilufar made an extra effort to understand the concepts taught during her lectures, by initiating discussions with her classmates outside of class time and continuously motivating her classmates in their own learning.
Junaid (STEP 2022) and Suleman Pirani (STEP 2021) were awarded for their service to the IIS community. Junaid received numerous nominations and is described as “the thread that ties the cohort together”. According to those nominating him, he is dedicated to the student community, and has worked relentlessly to make sure everyone is able to meaningfully connect despite the pandemic restrictions.
This is the second year that Suleman has won in this category, which is testament to the effort he puts in to supporting his fellow students. He was awarded for the work he did to help the new cohort of students settle in. He arranged trips around London for new students and warmed up food for students who were quarantining.
The Student Representatives were also awarded for their hard work and diligence. In 2020-21 these were: Yasmeen Lila and Attiya Rafiq Nathoo (STEP 2021); Ali Bhimani and Hafeeza Murji (STEP 2022); Fariah Bakhsh and Urooj (GPISH 2022); and Aqib Lakhani and Farhan Feroz Ali (GPISH 2023).
This is the second year the Department of Graduate Studies (DGS) have delivered the Student Recognition Awards. Every May, nominations are sought from students, staff, faculty, ITREB UK and the UCL Institute of Education. The nominations are then sent to the Recognitions Committee, which is made up of two members of DGS staff, one staff member from the Department of Community Relations and two alumni.
Shelina Adatia, one of these two alumni, said “I think that the creation of the Student Recognition Awards is an excellent way to acknowledge and celebrate students’ leadership and commitment to the wellbeing of the IIS community. I am both grateful and humbled to have had the opportunity to serve as the committee’s STEP alumnus member for the past two years, and I extend my sincere congratulations to all of the nominees and winners.”
“It is only through recognising and acknowledging the good in the other that we can strive to inspire one another,” Semina Halani, who represented GPISH alumni on the committee, added.
Last year the ceremony took place online. The winner of the Award for Leadership in an Academic and Social Context in 2019-20 was Zain Asrani (STEP 2021) and the winner of the Award for Service to the DGS Community was Suleman Pirani, who was awarded in the same category again this year.
The Student Representatives last year were: Khushnur Toshmamadov and Saleeta Rajwani (STEP 2021); Shaba Shabbir Parpia and Zaina Peermohamed (GPISH 2022); and Nazra Ranmall and Imran Khan (GPISH 2021).
We congratulate everyone on their awards and recognitions, and all students of both STEP and GPISH—who have navigated an exceptionally challenging year with resilience, care for each other and a passionate dedication to learning.
https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/students-rec ... -community
The IIS Student Recognition Awards were held at the Aga Khan Centre on July 29th. Students, faculty and staff attended the in-person event, the first of its kind in over a year.
In an upbeat atmosphere, the ceremony recognised those students who had made outstanding contributions over the past academic year. Two awards were given: one for service to the IIS community and the other for leadership in an academic and/or social context, each with two recipients.
Dilrabo Khujanazar (GPISH 2022) and Nilufari Miraziz (STEP 2021) were recognised for their leadership in an academic and/or social context. Dilrabo was awarded for co-founding the Pamiri Youth Network. The Recognitions Committee, which judged nominations, said that she had recognised that there was a social need and stepped up to address it, even during a pandemic.
Nilufari won for her interest and passion for the STEP course. The Committee said that Nilufar made an extra effort to understand the concepts taught during her lectures, by initiating discussions with her classmates outside of class time and continuously motivating her classmates in their own learning.
Junaid (STEP 2022) and Suleman Pirani (STEP 2021) were awarded for their service to the IIS community. Junaid received numerous nominations and is described as “the thread that ties the cohort together”. According to those nominating him, he is dedicated to the student community, and has worked relentlessly to make sure everyone is able to meaningfully connect despite the pandemic restrictions.
This is the second year that Suleman has won in this category, which is testament to the effort he puts in to supporting his fellow students. He was awarded for the work he did to help the new cohort of students settle in. He arranged trips around London for new students and warmed up food for students who were quarantining.
The Student Representatives were also awarded for their hard work and diligence. In 2020-21 these were: Yasmeen Lila and Attiya Rafiq Nathoo (STEP 2021); Ali Bhimani and Hafeeza Murji (STEP 2022); Fariah Bakhsh and Urooj (GPISH 2022); and Aqib Lakhani and Farhan Feroz Ali (GPISH 2023).
This is the second year the Department of Graduate Studies (DGS) have delivered the Student Recognition Awards. Every May, nominations are sought from students, staff, faculty, ITREB UK and the UCL Institute of Education. The nominations are then sent to the Recognitions Committee, which is made up of two members of DGS staff, one staff member from the Department of Community Relations and two alumni.
Shelina Adatia, one of these two alumni, said “I think that the creation of the Student Recognition Awards is an excellent way to acknowledge and celebrate students’ leadership and commitment to the wellbeing of the IIS community. I am both grateful and humbled to have had the opportunity to serve as the committee’s STEP alumnus member for the past two years, and I extend my sincere congratulations to all of the nominees and winners.”
“It is only through recognising and acknowledging the good in the other that we can strive to inspire one another,” Semina Halani, who represented GPISH alumni on the committee, added.
Last year the ceremony took place online. The winner of the Award for Leadership in an Academic and Social Context in 2019-20 was Zain Asrani (STEP 2021) and the winner of the Award for Service to the DGS Community was Suleman Pirani, who was awarded in the same category again this year.
The Student Representatives last year were: Khushnur Toshmamadov and Saleeta Rajwani (STEP 2021); Shaba Shabbir Parpia and Zaina Peermohamed (GPISH 2022); and Nazra Ranmall and Imran Khan (GPISH 2021).
We congratulate everyone on their awards and recognitions, and all students of both STEP and GPISH—who have navigated an exceptionally challenging year with resilience, care for each other and a passionate dedication to learning.
https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/students-rec ... -community
Interview with Zulfiqar Khimani: Manager for Educational Programmes
Zulfiqar Khimani has recently been promoted to Manager for Educational Programmes in the Department of Community Relations. He also undertakes academic work and teaches on the GPISH programme. Here he talks about his new role, his plans for the unit and what he values most about working at the IIS.
What does your role entail and what are your key responsibilities?
The Department of Community Relations (DCR) is a unique department in that it deals with the global Ismaili community and its leadership. Within the department, there are several units, one of which is the Educational Programmes Unit (EPU). The responsibility of this unit is to manage educational and academic programmes at the diploma and certificate level related to various Ismaili community constituencies. In short, the Educational Programme Manager is a critical leadership role that develops and implements programmes and provides educational materials around areas that the Ismaili community deems important.
In the EPU, we are currently running eight short courses, which are for adults in the Ismaili community who want to improve their understanding on various subjects in the field of Islamic Studies. The other programmes we run are focused on leadership education, including the ITREB Members Training Programme. We also run the Postgraduate Research Fellowship Programme (PGRF), which aims to support IIS graduates working in ITREBs who are theoretically grounded in social sciences and humanities but may not be as conversant in operating in community institutions.
The EPU, in a way, responds to the question of what the IIS is doing for the general Ismaili community. My role is to observe what is happening all around the IIS—cutting-edge research work produced by IIS scholars—and, from that, work with my team to extrapolate and extract ideas that can be useful for three major constituencies: the general Ismaili community, Ismaili community leadership, and academically oriented audiences, mainly ITREB professionals and IIS graduates who participate in some of the EPU’s academically oriented programmes such as PGRF. So, in a way, it mirrors the IIS: at one end, it is an academic institution, and at the other, it is an Ismaili community institution, and that combination is reflected in action through the work of the EPU.
What are your top three priorities for the unit?
When I joined the IIS in early 2015, we were only offering one short course, which was a precursor of the short course on Islam. The idea was to increase the offer for adult learners, and we have already achieved that milestone. My priority now is to expand the short course portfolio, depending on the capacity, but more importantly, work towards accreditation and quality assurance of the short courses offered by the EPU. Our unit is working closely with Dr Tullio Lobetti’s Quality Assurance and Evaluation team to achieve this goal.
My second priority is to create some MOOC style courses. After Covid, we have all witnessed how important the digital spectrum has become. In the unit, we’re currently running many online synchronous courses, where everyone joins at a particular time to participate in the programme. But my future goal is to introduce courses that can be done asynchronously, where people can do the required learning independently and at their own pace.
The third priority is to provide support to ITREB in terms of their human resource capacity development. We want to strengthen what we have already started in the PGRF pilot project and plan to run it again in 2022. It’s a big programme—30-40 faculty are involved in its delivery—and we want to operate at a level where it can be accredited by external authorities or by the IIS when it becomes a degree-granting institution in the future.
What exciting projects do you have in the pipeline in 2021-22?
So, as I said, one is to start the second cycle of PGRF based on the learnings we gained from the pilot project. Dr Farouk Mitha is working with us on this project as a Course Director, developing course work and supporting us in programme planning. It’s a unique course because it’s academically intensive, but at the same time it attempts to provide language and articulation that will be contextually appropriate and provide comfort for a culturally diverse Ismaili community. PGRF provides the lens of how to operate in a faith community context, which is not really available in any degree programmes around the world, because these operate on purely academic terms. Empathy towards the normative directions of a community is often missing from university graduate programmes, so through PGRF we are trying to bridge that gap. There’s a lot of opportunity for improvement and creativity, so I’m really excited and looking forward to that in 2022.
I’m also hoping that in 2022 we will be able to resume some of the short courses face to face—particularly the short courses focusing on Ismaili heritage. In the past, we travelled to Tunisia and Cairo to walk through Ismaili Muslim heritage and experience Muslim civilisation first hand. These programmes are exciting, and I’m really looking forward to these short courses coming into play again, face to face.
The planning of the short MOOC will also be exciting, but the fruits of that planning will emerge in 2023 probably.
What do you value most about working at the IIS?
I value the IIS because it allows people to grow in terms of academic scholarship. You have a lot of freedom, so for me, that means I’m not just doing managerial work, but I’m able to engage in academic work as well.
The second is the opportunity to interact with a diverse and wide variety of people. You rarely find in organisations where so many different languages and cultures are present, everyone ready to interact and talk about what they are working on and how their scholarship could benefit a larger audience. In other corporate sectors certainly, you will see different kinds of cultures, but people’s culture does not necessarily become part of their day-to-day working routine. But here, we encourage people’s culture to be part of and visible within the work of the institution, and I think that is something I really cherish about the IIS.
The third aspect is how the IIS is involved in developing human resource capacity and providing channels for that human resource to work within the Ismaili Imamat institutions. I’m a product of the IIS because I’ve done GPISH, then went on to work with the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) in the Quality of Life Assessment Programme, but eventually came back to the IIS because it allowed me that space to grow. So there is a kind of value incentive there. The IIS values its own graduates to come back to the Institute and work for it.
https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/interview-zu ... programmes
Zulfiqar Khimani has recently been promoted to Manager for Educational Programmes in the Department of Community Relations. He also undertakes academic work and teaches on the GPISH programme. Here he talks about his new role, his plans for the unit and what he values most about working at the IIS.
What does your role entail and what are your key responsibilities?
The Department of Community Relations (DCR) is a unique department in that it deals with the global Ismaili community and its leadership. Within the department, there are several units, one of which is the Educational Programmes Unit (EPU). The responsibility of this unit is to manage educational and academic programmes at the diploma and certificate level related to various Ismaili community constituencies. In short, the Educational Programme Manager is a critical leadership role that develops and implements programmes and provides educational materials around areas that the Ismaili community deems important.
In the EPU, we are currently running eight short courses, which are for adults in the Ismaili community who want to improve their understanding on various subjects in the field of Islamic Studies. The other programmes we run are focused on leadership education, including the ITREB Members Training Programme. We also run the Postgraduate Research Fellowship Programme (PGRF), which aims to support IIS graduates working in ITREBs who are theoretically grounded in social sciences and humanities but may not be as conversant in operating in community institutions.
The EPU, in a way, responds to the question of what the IIS is doing for the general Ismaili community. My role is to observe what is happening all around the IIS—cutting-edge research work produced by IIS scholars—and, from that, work with my team to extrapolate and extract ideas that can be useful for three major constituencies: the general Ismaili community, Ismaili community leadership, and academically oriented audiences, mainly ITREB professionals and IIS graduates who participate in some of the EPU’s academically oriented programmes such as PGRF. So, in a way, it mirrors the IIS: at one end, it is an academic institution, and at the other, it is an Ismaili community institution, and that combination is reflected in action through the work of the EPU.
What are your top three priorities for the unit?
When I joined the IIS in early 2015, we were only offering one short course, which was a precursor of the short course on Islam. The idea was to increase the offer for adult learners, and we have already achieved that milestone. My priority now is to expand the short course portfolio, depending on the capacity, but more importantly, work towards accreditation and quality assurance of the short courses offered by the EPU. Our unit is working closely with Dr Tullio Lobetti’s Quality Assurance and Evaluation team to achieve this goal.
My second priority is to create some MOOC style courses. After Covid, we have all witnessed how important the digital spectrum has become. In the unit, we’re currently running many online synchronous courses, where everyone joins at a particular time to participate in the programme. But my future goal is to introduce courses that can be done asynchronously, where people can do the required learning independently and at their own pace.
The third priority is to provide support to ITREB in terms of their human resource capacity development. We want to strengthen what we have already started in the PGRF pilot project and plan to run it again in 2022. It’s a big programme—30-40 faculty are involved in its delivery—and we want to operate at a level where it can be accredited by external authorities or by the IIS when it becomes a degree-granting institution in the future.
What exciting projects do you have in the pipeline in 2021-22?
So, as I said, one is to start the second cycle of PGRF based on the learnings we gained from the pilot project. Dr Farouk Mitha is working with us on this project as a Course Director, developing course work and supporting us in programme planning. It’s a unique course because it’s academically intensive, but at the same time it attempts to provide language and articulation that will be contextually appropriate and provide comfort for a culturally diverse Ismaili community. PGRF provides the lens of how to operate in a faith community context, which is not really available in any degree programmes around the world, because these operate on purely academic terms. Empathy towards the normative directions of a community is often missing from university graduate programmes, so through PGRF we are trying to bridge that gap. There’s a lot of opportunity for improvement and creativity, so I’m really excited and looking forward to that in 2022.
I’m also hoping that in 2022 we will be able to resume some of the short courses face to face—particularly the short courses focusing on Ismaili heritage. In the past, we travelled to Tunisia and Cairo to walk through Ismaili Muslim heritage and experience Muslim civilisation first hand. These programmes are exciting, and I’m really looking forward to these short courses coming into play again, face to face.
The planning of the short MOOC will also be exciting, but the fruits of that planning will emerge in 2023 probably.
What do you value most about working at the IIS?
I value the IIS because it allows people to grow in terms of academic scholarship. You have a lot of freedom, so for me, that means I’m not just doing managerial work, but I’m able to engage in academic work as well.
The second is the opportunity to interact with a diverse and wide variety of people. You rarely find in organisations where so many different languages and cultures are present, everyone ready to interact and talk about what they are working on and how their scholarship could benefit a larger audience. In other corporate sectors certainly, you will see different kinds of cultures, but people’s culture does not necessarily become part of their day-to-day working routine. But here, we encourage people’s culture to be part of and visible within the work of the institution, and I think that is something I really cherish about the IIS.
The third aspect is how the IIS is involved in developing human resource capacity and providing channels for that human resource to work within the Ismaili Imamat institutions. I’m a product of the IIS because I’ve done GPISH, then went on to work with the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) in the Quality of Life Assessment Programme, but eventually came back to the IIS because it allowed me that space to grow. So there is a kind of value incentive there. The IIS values its own graduates to come back to the Institute and work for it.
https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/interview-zu ... programmes
GPISH Faculty Member Awarded Harvard Prize for Excellence in Teaching
Professor Ali Asani, who teaches on the IIS’s GPISH programme and is a member of the Institute’s Board of Governors, has been awarded the Harvard University 2021 Alpha Iota Prize for Excellence in Teaching. He has also been appointed to the Chancellor’s Commission of Aga Khan University (AKU).
The Alpha Iota Prize is voted on by Harvard’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, an honour society to which undergraduate students in the US are elected in recognition of outstanding academic performance. In the award’s citation, Professor Asani is described as “an amazing and brilliant instructor” and “warm and inclusive community member” who gives his students “the tools to think critically about religion in a way that privileges diverse and marginalised religious traditions and emphasises inclusivity and religious pluralism”.
On receiving the award, Professor Asani says “I was pleased that the award recognised not only my teaching, but also my efforts to highlight traditionally marginalised and excluded voices. In this way, the award is personally meaningful since it recognises my long-standing efforts at improving understanding of Islam and religious pluralism.”
Teaching on GPISH
Professor Asani also applies this approach to his teaching on the Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities (GPISH) at the IIS. He has been teaching on the course and its predecessor programmes for more than 30 years, most recently offering a first-year course, “Religion, Literature and Identity in South Asian contexts”.
The course aims to foster literacy about religion by emphasising the multiple contexts in which it is embedded. It does so by using the Ismaili ginan literature of South Asia as a case study. “I greatly enjoy teaching this course as it allows me to interact with and learn from Ismaili students who come from a variety of backgrounds and cultural traditions.”
Appointment to AKU Chancellor’s Commission
Professor Asani has also been appointed to the Chancellor’s Commission of AKU, where he will help to provide recommendations to the Chancellor, His Highness the Aga Khan, on the course the university should take in the next 25 years. “This appointment affords me the platform to engage with a distinguished group of talented individuals who will assist in steering AKU to meet its future challenges and opportunities in higher education,” he says.
Three Elements Central to Professor Asani’s Teaching
Professor Asani cites three elements that are most important to him as a teacher. First, getting to know his students and learning about their backgrounds and diverse experiences. “When you engage with students in a deeper and more meaningful way by learning their stories, you appreciate and empathise with the experiences they have had and discover ways in which you can make the course relevant to their worlds.”
The second element is “enabling students to have greater agency in their education by encouraging them to be more reflective and creative in demonstrating their learning”.
Third, he says, is recognising that students do not have just an intellectual capacity, but they possess many other kinds of intelligences, such as musical, interpersonal, spatial-visual and linguistic. “In order to capture the full range of abilities and talents that students possess, it is important to engage with these intelligences in the classroom, for instance, by incorporating various multi-media.”
We are proud to have Professor Asani as a member of the teaching faculty at the IIS and as a governor, helping with the oversight of the Institute as well as ensuring our academic rigour. We congratulate him on his very well-deserved award and new appointment.
https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/gpish-facult ... e-teaching
Professor Ali Asani, who teaches on the IIS’s GPISH programme and is a member of the Institute’s Board of Governors, has been awarded the Harvard University 2021 Alpha Iota Prize for Excellence in Teaching. He has also been appointed to the Chancellor’s Commission of Aga Khan University (AKU).
The Alpha Iota Prize is voted on by Harvard’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, an honour society to which undergraduate students in the US are elected in recognition of outstanding academic performance. In the award’s citation, Professor Asani is described as “an amazing and brilliant instructor” and “warm and inclusive community member” who gives his students “the tools to think critically about religion in a way that privileges diverse and marginalised religious traditions and emphasises inclusivity and religious pluralism”.
On receiving the award, Professor Asani says “I was pleased that the award recognised not only my teaching, but also my efforts to highlight traditionally marginalised and excluded voices. In this way, the award is personally meaningful since it recognises my long-standing efforts at improving understanding of Islam and religious pluralism.”
Teaching on GPISH
Professor Asani also applies this approach to his teaching on the Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities (GPISH) at the IIS. He has been teaching on the course and its predecessor programmes for more than 30 years, most recently offering a first-year course, “Religion, Literature and Identity in South Asian contexts”.
The course aims to foster literacy about religion by emphasising the multiple contexts in which it is embedded. It does so by using the Ismaili ginan literature of South Asia as a case study. “I greatly enjoy teaching this course as it allows me to interact with and learn from Ismaili students who come from a variety of backgrounds and cultural traditions.”
Appointment to AKU Chancellor’s Commission
Professor Asani has also been appointed to the Chancellor’s Commission of AKU, where he will help to provide recommendations to the Chancellor, His Highness the Aga Khan, on the course the university should take in the next 25 years. “This appointment affords me the platform to engage with a distinguished group of talented individuals who will assist in steering AKU to meet its future challenges and opportunities in higher education,” he says.
Three Elements Central to Professor Asani’s Teaching
Professor Asani cites three elements that are most important to him as a teacher. First, getting to know his students and learning about their backgrounds and diverse experiences. “When you engage with students in a deeper and more meaningful way by learning their stories, you appreciate and empathise with the experiences they have had and discover ways in which you can make the course relevant to their worlds.”
The second element is “enabling students to have greater agency in their education by encouraging them to be more reflective and creative in demonstrating their learning”.
Third, he says, is recognising that students do not have just an intellectual capacity, but they possess many other kinds of intelligences, such as musical, interpersonal, spatial-visual and linguistic. “In order to capture the full range of abilities and talents that students possess, it is important to engage with these intelligences in the classroom, for instance, by incorporating various multi-media.”
We are proud to have Professor Asani as a member of the teaching faculty at the IIS and as a governor, helping with the oversight of the Institute as well as ensuring our academic rigour. We congratulate him on his very well-deserved award and new appointment.
https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/gpish-facult ... e-teaching
WTEP Alumna Secures Role as Interpreter at G7 Summit
WTEP (1994) alumna Nazneen Lakhani attended the G7 Summit as a Hindi Interpreter in June. Here she gives an insight into her experience, which included working with India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi.
“I had the privilege of working at the G7 Summit with my colleague, Amina Saif, to interpret simultaneously in Hindi for the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi. I worked within a team of 17 interpreters who all spoke a diverse set of languages, each interpreting for different senior politicians from across the globe.
While initially I felt it would be an intense and nerve-racking responsibility, I embraced the challenging task of listening and interpreting at the same time when the prime minister was speaking. I can confidently say that it was a unique and once-in-a-lifetime experience to see the world’s most powerful leaders so closely and hear first-hand their views on how to make the world a safer and better place for global citizens.
The real honour was mine to contribute in my unique way to serve the wider community.”
https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/wtep-alumna- ... -g7-summit
WTEP (1994) alumna Nazneen Lakhani attended the G7 Summit as a Hindi Interpreter in June. Here she gives an insight into her experience, which included working with India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi.
“I had the privilege of working at the G7 Summit with my colleague, Amina Saif, to interpret simultaneously in Hindi for the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi. I worked within a team of 17 interpreters who all spoke a diverse set of languages, each interpreting for different senior politicians from across the globe.
While initially I felt it would be an intense and nerve-racking responsibility, I embraced the challenging task of listening and interpreting at the same time when the prime minister was speaking. I can confidently say that it was a unique and once-in-a-lifetime experience to see the world’s most powerful leaders so closely and hear first-hand their views on how to make the world a safer and better place for global citizens.
The real honour was mine to contribute in my unique way to serve the wider community.”
https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/wtep-alumna- ... -g7-summit
GPISH Alumna Receives Scholarship for Harvard World Literature Summer Programme
GPISH (2018) alumna Semina Halani received a scholarship from Harvard University to attend a four-week Institute of World Literature Summer Programme in July.
The programme, which took place online this year owing to the pandemic, included a total of ten seminars taught by leading professors and researchers in world literature, together with outstanding guest lectures and the opportunity for participants to share their work in colloquia.
“Even through the online mode of study, this course has helped me to analyse the impact and value of the field of literature in the current times by looking at different relationships that world literature has with capitalism, cosmopolitanism and globalisation. I am certain that this intellectually stimulating journey will form an important anchoring point for my PhD studies,” Semina said.
Semina presented her thesis "Oral traditions in World Literature: Analysing the Bhagavad Gita and the Ginans" at the Harvard colloquium ‘Premodern Literature and World Literature’.
“The opportunity to share my work in the colloquium with valuable and insightful feedback from professors and peers from diverse backgrounds has helped me to situate and broaden my understanding of literature and its values in the current times,” she said.
We congratulate Semina on her scholarship and securing this unique and exciting opportunity.
https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/gpish-alumna ... -programme
GPISH (2018) alumna Semina Halani received a scholarship from Harvard University to attend a four-week Institute of World Literature Summer Programme in July.
The programme, which took place online this year owing to the pandemic, included a total of ten seminars taught by leading professors and researchers in world literature, together with outstanding guest lectures and the opportunity for participants to share their work in colloquia.
“Even through the online mode of study, this course has helped me to analyse the impact and value of the field of literature in the current times by looking at different relationships that world literature has with capitalism, cosmopolitanism and globalisation. I am certain that this intellectually stimulating journey will form an important anchoring point for my PhD studies,” Semina said.
Semina presented her thesis "Oral traditions in World Literature: Analysing the Bhagavad Gita and the Ginans" at the Harvard colloquium ‘Premodern Literature and World Literature’.
“The opportunity to share my work in the colloquium with valuable and insightful feedback from professors and peers from diverse backgrounds has helped me to situate and broaden my understanding of literature and its values in the current times,” she said.
We congratulate Semina on her scholarship and securing this unique and exciting opportunity.
https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/gpish-alumna ... -programme