Archive for September, 2016

 

1.Program of the International Colloquium “Precious Metals in the Medieval Mediterranean“. It will be organised by Aix-Marseille Université and Università degli studi di Siena in Aix-en-Provence (France) from October, 6th, 7th and 8th 2016.

– Program :

https://metaux2016.sciencesconf.org/data/pages/Programme.pdf

– Poster :

https://metaux2016.sciencesconf.org/data/pages/Colloque_metaux_2016.pdf

https://metaux2016.sciencesconf.org/data/pages/Colloquium_metals_2016.pdf

 

Free registration and practical informations are available on this website (before September, 20th) :

http://metaux2016.sciencesconf.org/

For the organizing committee,

 

Nicolas Minvielle Larousse

PhD Student – Aix-Marseille Université

LA3M – UMR 7298

 

 

 

2. Open Access journal

http://emam.revues.org/

Revue interdisciplinaire à comité scientifique, les Cahiers d’EMAM se proposent de contribuer à la restitution des savoirs en sciences sociales sur le Monde arabe et la Méditerranée. La revue est ouverte aux analyses traitant des questions urbaines, des processus de constructions/reconfigurations territoriales dans leurs dimensions historiques, sociales, économiques et politiques ainsi que leurs interférences avec le reste du monde.

S’inscrivant dans la continuité des Cahiers d’URBAMA (parus entre 1988 et 2000 et dont la mise en ligne est prévue sur ce même site), la revue perpétue ainsi une tradition d’édition qui doit permettre l’échange et le débat scientifique entre chercheurs confirmés et doctorants, mais aussi entre le monde de la recherche et celui des professionnels, des acteurs de l’aménagement et des acteurs sociaux.

Les Cahiers d’EMAM doivent notamment stimuler la valorisation des travaux des chercheurs basés dans le Monde arabe et méditerranéen. Les approches nouvelles, les travaux en cours ainsi que les démarches comparatives sont privilégiés (se reporter à “Procédure de publication et de sélection”).

 

 

 

3. Call for papers

First International Conference of Capacity and Impact of Cyberspace in Promoting Religious Education

In Seven Languages: Persian, Arabic, English, French, Urdu, Turkish, and Azeri

May 2017,Al-Mustafa Open University,Qom,I.R.Iran

Al-Mustafa Open University (MOU) invites all interested professors,scholars,researchers and graduated students to submit their papers to the first international conference under the title of “Capacity and Impact of Cyberspace in Promoting Religious Education”. MOU is holding this conference in order to bring together academics and researchers to discuss about the capacity of web-based and virtual education and to exchange ideas regarding the ways how to promote Religious Studies in cyberspace with no limitation of time and place.

For further information, please refer to conference website:
http://hamayesh.miu.ac.ir/cyberspace/en

 

 

4. The Islamic Manuscript Association, together with the Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation, Cambridge University Library, and the University of Cambridge’s HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies, announces its Tenth Annual Intensive Introduction to Islamic Codicology Course, which will be held from 3-7 October 2016 at the Cambridge University Library.

This intensive five-day course will introduce the study of Islamic manuscript codices as physical objects, or the archaeology of the Islamic book. Daily illustrated lectures will provide an overview of writing supports, the structure of quires, ruling and page layout, bookbinding, ornamentation, tools and materials used in book making, and the paleography of book hands. Participants may choose to register for hands-on sessions during which they will examine Islamic manuscripts from Cambridge University Library and complete a series of practical exercises on manuscript description.

The course will be taught by Professor François Déroche, holder of the Chair of History of the Qur’an, Text and Transmission at the Collège de France, and Professor Nuria Martínez de Castilla Muñoz, Professor of the Codicology and History of the Manuscript Book in the Islamicate World, École Pratique des Hautes Études, both leading scholars of Islamic codicology and palaeography.

All instruction will be in English. A scholarship offered by the Centre of Islamic Studies for a participant from the Islamic World is also available. For more information, see www.islamicmanuscript.org

 

 

5. Fourth Conference of the School of Mamluk Studies, Beirut, May, 2017

Call for Papers

We are pleased to announce the Fourth Conference of the School of Mamluk Studies which will be held at the American University of Beirut from May 11-13, 2017.

The conference will be conducted in two parts and will be preceded by a three-day intensive course on Mamluk architecture from May 8-10, 2017.

The first day of the conference, May 11, will be themed.  In consideration of the quincentennial of the fall of the Mamluk sultanate of Cairo in 1517, the theme of this part of the conference will be Time.  This theme may be interpreted in a variety of ways, from problems of traditional historical periodization, to notions and explorations of time and temporality in history writing, daily life, literature, material culture, and other areas of research relating to the Mamluk sultanate of Egypt and Syria.  Without attempting to offer an exhaustive presentation of possible approaches to the theme, papers may deal with conceptions of time and temporality—cyclical, linear, teleological, etc.—in the construction of chronologies and narratives; the ordering and division of time in daily life, spiritual life, literature, and the study of the natural world; notions of change and continuity over time; temporal practices—the use of and interaction with time; and the experience and understanding of time.

A maximum of 12 to 15 paper proposals will be selected. Should a greater number of proposals be received, the authors of those which are not selected for the conference may be offered the possibility to publish their contribution in the proceedings. Time allotted to each paper will be twenty minutes, plus ten minutes for discussion.

The following two days of the conference (May 12 and 13) will be structured in panels, which may focus on any aspect of the intellectual, political, social, economic, and artistic life of the Mamluk period. The panels will be organized into presentations of three to four papers of twenty minutes each. Panel proposals must be made by a representative, who will be responsible for its organization. Please note that in case of cancellation of two papers out of the three (or three out of the four) composing the panel, the panel will have to be withdrawn from the program. Time allotted to each paper will be twenty minutes. Discussion will take place at the end of each panel.

Language: The official language of the conference will be English.

Fees: The conference registration fees will be $50 for participants and attendees. A farewell dinner will take place on the last day (May 13) at a cost to be determined. Payment of the fees (registration and farewell dinner) must be received by April 30, 2017 (information on the method of payment to be used will be provided in the first circular, which will be sent in January 2017). Participants must make their own travel arrangements; information and suggestions for accommodations will be provided in the first circular.

Proposals: Paper proposals for the themed day must be submitted electronically through the School of Mamluk Studies webpage  (http://mamluk.uchicago.edu/school-of-mamluk-studies.html ) by October 31, 2016. Panel proposals must be submitted in the same manner by November 30, 2016. The paper proposals should provide the name and a one-page CV of the speaker, a provisional title, and an abstract of a maximum of 1500 characters (about 300 words) per paper. Panel proposals must be submitted as such, including the relevant information for each component paper as well as the name of the panel’s chair (the chair can be one of the panelists).

Acceptance: Paper and panel proposals will be peer-reviewed. A first circular will be sent by January 2017 to those whose proposals have been accepted, and to those who have expressed interest in attending the conference as listeners.

Publication:

1. a) Themed day: the papers will be published in a volume of proceedings.
2. b) Panels: selected papers will be published in Mamlūk Studies Review.

Intensive course: Mamluk Architecture

A three-day intensive course in Mamluk architecture intended for advanced graduate students and other qualified participants will be offered by Professor Howayda al-Harithy (American University of Beirut) and will be held immediately before the fourth conference of the School of Mamluk Studies held at the American University of Beirut (May 8-10, 2017). The course will be demanding and hands-on in its format, but no previous training is required.  The course will cover topics such as building typology, stylistic evolution, patronage of architecture, construction techniques, and decorative styles.

Since the number of the participants will be limited (a maximum of 10), those who desire to take part in the course are requested to submit a CV, a statement of purpose, and a letter of recommendation by someone familiar with your work to the following email address: sms2017beirut@gmail.com by the end of January, 2017. Those who are selected for the course will be notified by the end of February, 2017, at which time information about the method of payment for the course fees will be provided.

The course fee is $300.00, which also includes the registration fee for the subsequent conference (May 11-13). The fees must be paid by April 30, 2017. Registration and participation will not be confirmed until payment is received. Participants must make their own travel arrangements. The local organizer will provide suggestions for lodging at an affordable price.

We look forward to meeting you in Beirut.

John Meloy, American University of Beirut (local organizer)

sms2017beirut@gmail.com

Frédéric Bauden, Université de Liège

Antonella Ghersetti, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice

Marlis Saleh, University of Chicago

 

 

 

6. CALL FOR PAPERS

Travellers in Ottoman Lands: The Botanical Legacy

A two-day seminar is to be held at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh on

Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th May 2017

This is a formal Call for Papers for a two-day event of the Association for the Study of Travel in Egypt and the Near East (ASTENE) in conjunction the Centre for Middle Eastern Plants, part of the RBGE. Presentations should be rigorous and accessible. They should take around thirty minutes, with ample time allowed for discussion and debate. The event will be recorded and the plan is to publish final versions of the papers.

Deadline for submission of abstracts is 15 January 2017

Please e-mail your offers of papers to ottomanlandsastene@gmail.com together with a working title, a brief abstract of not more than 250 words, and the names of authors and their affiliations.

We also welcome the offer of pre-organised panels of up to four speakers on specific themes.

Participants will be informed about the acceptance of their paper by 15 February 2017.

Seminar Bursaries are also offered to attend (these bursaries do not cover travel or accommodation): please contact treasurerastene@gmail.com for further information.

Contributions to the Seminar are welcome from a wide range of disciplines and interests. It is envisaged that the Seminar will cover many fascinating subjects on (though not restricted to) the following main themes:

— Travellers’ accounts related to the botanical legacy of any part of the former Ottoman Empire (e.g. present-day Turkey,  the Levant, Egypt, the Balkans, Arabian Peninsula etc.)

— The flora of the region, including their heritage, preservation and medicinal uses

— Bulbs of the region, especially tulips, and their cultural significance; Tulipomania

— Ottoman garden design and architecture

— Floral and related motifs in Ottoman art, including textiles, ceramics etc.

— Culinary aspects of the botanical legacy of the region

— Literary, pictorial and photographic depictions of any aspect of the botanical and horticultural legacy of the region

— Orientalism as applicable to any of the seminar’s main themes.

The Seminar Booking Form and the Draft Seminar Programme will be available on Eventbrite in early January 2017 with the deadline for bookings being 15 April 2017. Tickets will also be available at the event. All Welcome!

In the meantime, any enquiries should be addressed to ottomanlandsastene@gmail.com

Sponsored by: The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh; The Centre for Middle Eastern Plants; The Association for the Study of Travel in Egypt and the Near East (ASTENE; Cornucopia, the magazine for connoisseurs of Turkey; the Republic of Turkey Consulate General, Edinburgh.

 

 

 

7. Conference: “Modern Hadith Studies Between Arabophone and Western Scholarship”, Pembroke College, University of Oxford, 9-10 January 2017

The organizers Belal Alabbas, Prof. Christopher Melchert and Dr Nicolai Sinai invite scholars from Arabophone and Western institutions to discuss current research on the hadith corpus, aiming to bridge the divide between Anglophone and Arabophone research in hadith studies. It is based on the belief that the absence of any engagement of the scholarly communities with one another inhibits any significant methodological convergence.

Deadline for abstracts: 15 October 2016. Information: www.religiousstudiesproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/CFP-Hadith-Studies-Oxford.pdf

______________

 

8. Full time fixed-term position as Postdoctoral Associate, Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, Hamburg

The Max Planck Institute invites applications for a position as Postdoctoral Associate (m/f) within its Research Group “Changes in God’s Law – An Inner Islamic Comparison of Family and Succession Law”. The successful candidate must have primary research interests in the family law of contemporary Muslim societies.

Deadline for application: 31 October 2016. Information : www.mpipriv.de/files/pdf4/Postdoctoral_Associate_mf_Position.pdf

 

 

 

9. Senior Research Fellow, MENA Programme (Iran Specialist), Emirates Diplomatic Academy (EDA), United Arab Emirates

The ideal applicant has expertise in the relations between Iranian and the Arabian Peninsula. The EDA is an Abu-Dhabi based independent, federal UAE entity that opened its doors in 2015.

Information http://eda.ac.ae/careers/eda-vacancies

 

 

10. Postdoctoral Scholarships: Academy Scholars Program 2017-2018 of the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies

The program supports outstanding scholars at the start of their careers whose work combines disciplinary excellence in the social sciences (including history and law) with a command of the language, history, or culture of non-Western countries or regions. Their scholarship may elucidate domestic, comparative, or transnational issues, past or present.

Deadline for application: 1 October 2016. Information: www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=53348

 

 

11. Assistant Professor in Comparative Politics or International Relations, Miami University

The successful candidate will be an expert who studies some combination of the following in a Middle Eastern setting:  governance, gender politics, human rights, conflict and conflict resolution (domestic and/or international), identity politics, trade and development, energy, water, agricultural, and natural resource issues, and/or environmental problems.

Screening of applications will begin September 30, 2016. Information: http://miamioh.hiretouch.com/job-details?jobID=3238

 

 

 

12. Assistant Professor, Anthropology and Global Languages and Literatures, Bridgewater State University

The successful candidate should be able to teach some currently offered lower and upper division courses and add offerings in the Anthropology of the Middle East and other areas of expertise, including writing- and/or speaking-intensive courses as well as Introductory and Intermediary Arabic.

Information: https://jobs.bridgew.edu

 

 

 

13. The Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures at Barnard College, Columbia University, is seeking a full-time tenured or tenure-track teacher-scholar for the Moinian Professorship in Pre-modern Middle Eastern Cultures and Civilizations, starting September 1, 2017. Rank open with strong preference for candidates with an established record of teaching and research and a mastery of the languages relevant to their specialization. Candidates should demonstrate a broad interest in the history, cultures and/or literatures of the Middle East; discipline and geographic area of specialization are open. Ph.D. required.

Teaching will include undergraduate general education courses such as “Middle Eastern Civilizations” and “Asian Humanities: Colloquium on Major Texts of South Asia and the Middle East,” as well as more specialized and graduate courses. Particular attention will be given to candidates with a record of diverse, innovative, and interdisciplinary research and teaching. The successful candidate will be responsible for helping to build an independent Program in Middle Eastern Studies at Barnard, and coordinating with MESAAS, Columbia University.

To apply: please submit a complete curriculum vitae, a writing sample, and the names and contact information for three references to http://careers.barnard.edu/postings/2378.

Review of applications will begin on October 15, 2016, and continue until position is filled1.

Punishing Dissent in Bahrain

Saudi Arabia’s top cleric says Iranians are ‘not Muslims’ – BBC News

See also al Jazeera.

Letter From a Bahraini Jail

Card

Saudis Contain Shiite Unrest at Home

[The full text is accessible to those with WSJ accounts – Ed.]

سومين همايش بين­ المللي سيره و معارف رضوي :: icjeca

International Conference on Justice and Ethics
The Contributions of the Ahl al-Bayt

With special emphasis on Imam ‘Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha

Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran
April 15-16, 2017
Call for Papers

Abrahamic religions are highly committed to the creation of a just polity on earth which would reflect their doctrinal emphases on fairness in politics, economy, and society as a whole. However, as the Muslim community witnesses the unfolding of intra- and interfaith conflicts in different parts of the world, the application of Islamic teachings at both domestic and global levels tends to be a main subject of discussion. What does Islam teach about a just polity?

What are the ways through which Islamic teachings about justice and ethics can be practically implemented? Ethics in this conference serves to underscore applied ethics in all areas of human interaction.

The Islamic notion of justice is not to be approached as an abstraction. Throughout Islamic history, the Qur’anic and Prophetic teachings undertook to develop ethical principles from which practical rulings have been derived in the areas of social relationship and organization. Most importantly, Prophetic teachings were preserved and advanced in the form of traditions by members of the Prophet’s Household (the Ahl al-Bayt). Largely from a Shi‘ite perspective, the Imams or the rightful successors of the Prophet, further elaborated by their example the ethics of just human relationships. In fact, according to the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt, the significance of justice is manifested in its paradigmatic role in formulating dominant structures within social life, as well as its relationship to ethics and morality. Today, the Muslim community needs to turn again to these teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt, especially the heritage left by Imam ‘Ali al-Ridha, who lived in remarkable times and provided many indicators for future retrieval and application; the heritage which relates to contemporary issues faced by the Umma.
Considering the realization of such justice in all spheres of social life, what kind of ethical values should be promoted and what practical patterns for human behavior and interaction are to be associated with justice? How can the moral and ethical teachings of Islam as narrated by the Ahl al-Bayt lead to justice in society? What are the models to be reproduced from the history of the Ahl al-Bayt’s efforts -especially that of Imam ‘Ali al-Ridha – in providing the cultural and spiritual setting for fair interaction and coexistence among different religions? How can this model contribute to the establishment an Islamic civilization founded upon justice and ethics?
Hence, the conference encourages prospective participants to closely discuss the topics in light of the overall contribution of the school of the Ahl al-Bayt in advancing the ethics of justice. Following are our suggested topics:

1. Islamic (re)sources for justice and ethics
Religious (re)sources in the modern discourse of justice
Revelation and reason in the development of Islamic ethics of justice
Islamic heritage in Imam al-Ridha’s teachings on justice and ethics
Justice and relational ethics in the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt
Distributive justice in the jurisprudential heritage of the Ahl al-Bayt

2. Justice and ethics from the perspective of theology, jurisprudence, and philosophy
Theological ethics of human responsibility
Jurisprudential and legal implications of justice
Responsible choice by the citizen in preserving just polity
The ethical philosophy of the just society
The purpose of human life: a just society?

3. Islamic ethical discourse and legal justice discourse
Ethical values and the paradigms of justice
Contemporary globalization of the culture of justice
Sources for and barriers against the growth of indigenous culture of justice
Problematizing the application of justice in contemporary society
Various areas of applied ethics of justice in the Ahl al-Bayt school

4. The ethics of dialogue and just coexistence in the teachings of Imam al-Ridha

Important aspects of Imam al-Ridha’s life as sources of unity among Muslims
The possibility and realization of true interfaith dialogue
The Razavi paradigm of coexistence
The future of intra- and inter-religious relations within the Islamic world
Religious conflict resolution in the teachings of Imam al-Ridha

5. Justice and the civilizational interaction of Islam with other civilizations
The role of justice in the flourishing of Islamic civilization
Justice as a criterion in the civilizational structure of Islam
Ethics founded upon Islamic justice in civilizational interaction
The significance of justice in the convergence of civilizations
Justice as a characteristic of Islamic politics and state
Justice and the new Islamic civilization

6. Mashhad as a source of cultural unity and Islamic spirituality
The main characteristics of Mashhad as potential sources of unity
Spiritual and intellectual (re)sources in Mashhad in the field of Islamic studies
Mashhad as the beating heart of peace-based Islamic Revival
Notable scholars and intellectuals from Mashhad

We also invite papers from researchers, lecturers, educators, and scholar students in various fields of study who would like to address the topics from a diverse range of approaches, including but not limited to:

Theology
Philosophy
Law and Jurisprudence
The Qur’an and Hadith
Mysticism
The Islamic World
World Religions
Politics
History and Civilization
Economy
Education
Culture and Society
Globalization
Peace
Conflict Resolution
Coexistence
Interreligious Relations
Spirituality

The working language of the conference is English, but contributions in Persian and Arabic are also possible. All abstracts and full paper submissions will be peer reviewed and evaluated based on originality, research content and depth, relevance to conference, innovative contributions, and readability.
Deadline for abstract submission is October 5, 2016.
For more information please see the conference website: http://icjeca.um.ac.ir
For any inquiries, please email us at akbari.iru@gmail.com

Incidents of Anti-Shiism in August, 2016 – Shia Rights Watch

The Political Economy of Sectarianism in the Gulf

‘…Gulf governments can frighten their populations into accepting the political status quo.’