Archive for July, 2017
Shii News – Academic Items
1.13 July, Film Screening – The Past and Present of a Sufi Order: the Qalāndariyya and Sehwa,
Aga Khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations
210 Euston Road
Room 2.3
London
NW1 2DA
Webinar access also available:
2. Conference: “Ethnicity, Faith and Communal Relations in the Pre-Modern Mediterranean”, University of Colorado, Boulder, 3-4 November 2017
We invite abstracts of in-progress drafts of articles or book/dissertation chapters on any aspect of ethno-religious identity, heterodoxy, inter- and intra-faith relations, minority-majority relations, conversion, missionizing, and related topics in the pre-Modern Mediterranean, broadly construed.
Deadline for abstracts: 21 July 2017. Information: http://mailchi.mp/mediterraneanseminar/cfp-ethnicity-faith-and-communal-relations-mediterranean-seminar-fall-2017-workshop-3-4-november-boulder-920661?e=82aeb6c61d
3. 1st Global Conference: “Migration and Diasporas”, Progressive Connections, Vienna, 2-3 December 2017
Our conference seeks to create a lasting network of professionals in all fields related to this topic, to isolate, discuss and explore the main issues, pressing matters and recent developments in this field of research and activity, to identify areas to be subsequently explored in further depth and to generate collaborative action that will lead to lasting change in the way migration and migrants are perceived and approached.
Deadline for abstracts: 4 August 2017. Information: http://www.progressiveconnexions.net/interdisciplinary-projects/cultures-and-societies/migration-and-diasporas/conferences/
4. International Conference: “Rethinking Halal: Genealogy, Current Trends, and New Interpretation”, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, 24-25 April 2018
For this conference, we invite scholars and researchers to speak on the genealogy of halal since Muslim religious scholars started to instruct a written knowledgeable debate on “halal” and to unravel Muslim social practices towards halal.
Deadline for abstracts: 8 January 2018. Information: https://de.scribd.com/document/344316016/Halal-International-Conference-on-23-25-April-2018-at-UCL-Louvain-la-Neuve-Belgium
5. Colloque international : « Pluralisme religieux, sociétés plurielles : les religions dans l’espace public européen », Nantes, 3-5 Octobre 2018
Au cours de ce colloque, nous étudierons l’héritage religieux dans les sociétés européennes et dans leurs espaces d’influence, de contacts et d’échanges à travers cinq sessions académiques sur des thèmes clés en privilégiant des approches favorisant le dialogue entre les disciplines.
Les propositions devront être envoyées avant le 1er septembre 2017. Information: http://ipra.eu/fr/2017/05/03/colloque-international-pluralisme-religieux-societes-plurielles-les-religions-dans-lespace-public-europeen/
6. Post-doctoral Researcher on “Islamic Activists in Exile: Europe, Middle East and South-Asia”, CEFRES, Prague
Candidates for this two years position are expected to have conducted their doctoral research in one of the regions covered by the project (The Gulf, Turkey, South-Asia), to be proficient of one of its languages (Turkish, Arabic, Malay), and have an important knowledge of the fieldwork.
Deadline for application: 23 August 2017. Information: http://www.cefres.cz/en/6214
7. CfP: Emergent Religious Pluralism(s)
April 16th & 17th 2018, The Woolf Institute in Cambridge
We invite 250-word abstracts for an interdisciplinary conference on
thetheme of ‘Emergent Religious Pluralism(s)’. The event will be held at
the Woolf Institute in Cambridge, in April 2018 and will include a keynote
talk from Professor Nasar Meer (University of Edinburgh). Please submit
your abstracts to John Fahy (jef96@georgetown.edu ) by August 15th 2017.
Outline
The concept of religious pluralism has been at the centre of major
political developments and discourse in recent years. The rise of the Hindu
right in India has contributed to an increasing sense of marginalisation
amongst non-Hindu minorities, and Muslims in particular. Donald Trump’s
divisive rhetoric and persistent attempts to impose a Muslim travel ban
have similarly left Muslim minorities in the U.S. feeling targeted. In war
torn countries throughout the Middle East, the place of the dwindling
Christian communities looks ever more precarious, and the rich tradition of
pluralism seems to be disappearing. Across Europe controversial attempts,
both legal and political, to manage the challenge of religious diversity
have led to heated debates on how to deal with difference. At the heart of
these developments, the very ideal of religious pluralism itself is being
contested. But how have changing realities on the ground informed the ideal
of religious pluralism itself in different parts of the world?
Religious pluralism has often been defined in relation to, but as
distinct from, religious diversity. David Machacek defines pluralism as
“meaningful diversity” (2003) while in Diana Eck’s (2006) words “pluralism
is not diversity alone, but the energetic engagement with diversity”. It is
not just tolerance, Eck writes, but “the active seeking of understanding
across lines of difference”. The ideal of religious pluralism in the
American context, at least, connotes integration, and not segregation. More
than the merely descriptive diversity, it implies both evaluation and
engagement. It is, in other words, a moral response to the existential fact
of diversity.
That such definitions of religious pluralism can encompass the broad
range of ways in which the challenge of religious diversity can (or should)
be managed has been problematised. Taking account of the myriad social,
political and historical factors that shape the kinds of religious
pluralism that have emerged throughout the world, and throughout history,
some now prefer to speak of ‘pluralisms’ (Marty 2007) or ‘modes of
religious pluralism’ (Riis 1999). Such modes of religious pluralism are not
simply alternative approaches to a common ideal, but constitute complex
political responses to particular socio-historical challenges.
But what kinds of challenges elicit what kinds of responses? How is the
ideal of religious pluralism conceived, constructed and contested in
different parts of the world? Are there identifiable approaches to
religious pluralism within or between different religious traditions? How
might we describe the various ways in which the challenge of religious
diversity is being responded to today, and who is responding? What is the
relationship between everyday experiences of diversity, on the one hand,
and ideals of religious pluralism, tolerance and coexistence, on the other?
This conference looks to explore the emergent conceptions of, and
commitments to, the ideal of religious pluralism in different parts of the
world. We invite submissions that engage with one or more of the following
questions:
– How are the ideals of religious pluralism changing in light of recent
social and political developments? Are there identifiable ‘modes’ of
religious pluralism emerging in different parts of the world? Do we find
broader trends that transcend particularities of national (and
nationalistic) political discourses?
– In what ways can the history of religious pluralisms throughout the
world, and across religious traditions, inform our understanding of recent
developments? Is there anything new about how religious difference itself
is being constructed and contested?
– What is the relationship between religious pluralism and broader
strategies for managing difference, such as multiculturalism? To what
extent do ideals of religious pluralism reflect those of other pluralisms,
for example, cultural, ethnic or national?
– What kinds of responses are being offered to the challenge of
religious diversity by both state and non-state institutions and actors?
How is the challenge itself being articulated, and by who? How do the
ideals of religious pluralism, tolerance and coexistence relate to the
everyday experience of diversity?
– What role do religious actors play? How are theological resources
being mobilised to address the challenge of religious diversity, for
example, through interfaith dialogue?
8. Call for Papers Historians of Islamic Art Association Biennial Symposium
“Border Crossing” Yale University, October 25-27, 2018
The 2018 HIAA symposium will bring together an international group of established and emerging scholars of Islamic art and architecture to present new research on the theme of “Border Crossing.” Very often the field has been defined as one centered on select regions of the Middle East, South Asia, and Central Asia, and focusing on traditional media and categories, such as the decorative arts, manuscript studies, and architecture. Less attention has been paid to regions on the so-called peripheries, including, for example, Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, or to disciplines that are not often associated with the field, such as film and anthropology. “Border Crossing” is an invitation to rethink the field of Islamic art and architecture by interrogating the ideas of translation, transmission, and transgression that are suggested by the theme. Among the questions that may be asked are: How can this lens help us rethink works that form the “canon” of Islamic art? What is at stake in crossing disciplinary borders? What is lost and what is gained in abandoning traditional academic parameters? What may be learned through literal border crossings, whether they are by consrvation authorities or refugees? As the works of several contemporary artists show, border crossings are ultimately ethical positions taken to evince the human condition itself. They thus provide potential to rethink the arts and cultures of the Islamic world, as well as the ways in which we study them today.
There are three categories of submission: Pre-arranged panels (4 papers and a discussant); individual papers; graduate student papers. Please submit your abstract/s and a brief curriculum vitae to presidentelect.hiaa@gmail.com by September 7, 2017.
The 2018 Symposium Committee:
Christiane Gruber
Yael Rice
Kishwar Rizvi
Ünver Rüstem
9. THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
DEPARTMENT OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES
PRE-MODERN ARABIC TENURE-TRACK POSITION
The Department of Near Eastern Studies (NES) at the University of Michigan invites applications for the James A. Bellamy Professorship in Pre-Modern Arabic Culture at the rank of Assistant Professor (tenure-track) or Associate Professor (with tenure) beginning September 1, 2018. This is a university-year (nine-month) appointment.
We seek to hire an innovative scholar with a specialization in law, theology, or philosophy, or any combination of those fields. Preference will be given to candidates working on questions of social history, gender and sexuality, or critical theory. For a department that prides itself on collaborations across disciplinary, chronological, and linguistic boundaries we seek a colleague who can complement existing faculty strengths in Middle Eastern Studies, history and literature in NES and at the University of Michigan.
Candidates must hold a Ph.D. at the time of the appointment, and have native or near-native proficiency in English and Arabic. It is expected that they will have experience in curriculum development and will be committed to maintaining and enhancing the long-standing excellence of Arabic Studies at the University. Candidates must produce evidence of substantial, innovative research in their fields of specialization. The successful candidate will offer undergraduate and graduate courses in their area of specialization, and be prepared to also teach content courses in Arabic. Salary will be commensurate with the candidate’s training and experience.
Please submit a cover letter with a statement of teaching philosophy and experience, a statement of current and future research plans, evidence of teaching excellence, samples of syllabi and publications, and curriculum vitae. In addition, candidates should send three letters of recommendation.
Application materials must be submitted electronically. Please go to https://webapps.lsa.umich.edu/Apply/1079 to apply.
To be assured consideration, applications must be received by October 15, 2017. The University of Michigan is an Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action Employer. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. The University is supportive of the needs of dual career couples. All applications will be acknowledged.
10. Kalamazoo College – Assistant Professor, Medieval or Early Modern
Mediterranean History
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=55099
- July 12, 2017
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – BRISMES 2017 (5-7 July, Edinburgh)
3 presentations on Shiism were among the papers presented at BRISMES in Edinburgh:
Radicalism, Reform and Migration: The Transformations of Shaykh Nimr Baqir al-
Nimr – Robert Riggs, University of Bridgeport
The Madrasa Habibiya at Firdus – Alireza Anisi, Iranian Research Institute for Cultural
Heritage and Tourism
The Limits of “Orthodoxy”?: Notes on the Anti-Abu Muslim Polemic of Early 11th/17th
Iran – Andrew Newman, IMES, University of Edinburgh
For the full programme, click here.
- July 08, 2017
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – ‘Rising Tide’, violence against Pakistan’s Shia (2012-2016)
Rising Tide – Shia Rights Watch
The Shia Rights Watch report entitled “Rising Tide” is 18 pages, detailing incidents of violence and intimidation against Pakistani Shia Muslims between 2012 and 2016.The report gives a detailed account of how this already oppressed group has been marginalized further in recent years through systematic violence and lack of protection.
- July 06, 2017
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships 2017
Aga Khan University (International) in the UK
Location: London
Salary: Not specified
Hours: Full Time
Contract Type: Permanent
Placed on: 29th June 2017
Closes: 20th July 2017
The Aga Khan University’s Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations in London, United Kingdom (“the Institute”) is currently inviting expressions of interest for Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships. Holders of Fellowships will have the opportunity to pursue research within a stimulating and supportive environment by playing an active role in the intellectual life of the Institute. The Institute does not itself award the Fellowship but supports selected applications to the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme.
The Institute aims to focus on issues that are relatively unexplored within contemporary Muslim societies. In particular, it concentrates on two broad research themes:
The Construction of Knowledge about Muslim Cultures and Societies
Understanding the Processes of Social Change in Muslim Cultures and Societies
The Institute is also building several research programmes and projects, two in particular which might benefit from a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow:
Governance for the Public Interest in Muslim Contexts (with a focus on constitutional law in Muslim contexts)
Digital Humanities – KITAB, a project which undertakes a far-reaching evaluation of the classical Arabic textual tradition (750–1200) for the purpose of understanding how cultural memory was negotiated and shaped by authors when they created books. Its ingenuity derives from the application of text reuse methods, which detect the copying of texts into other texts and thus enable study of the form and content of the textual tradition.
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions (MSCA) provide grants for all stages of researchers’ careers and encourage transnational, intersectoral and interdisciplinary mobility. Individual Fellowships – European are 1-2 years in duration and provide opportunities to acquire and transfer new knowledge and to work on research in a European context (EU Member States and Associated Countries). The scheme particularly supports the return and reintegration of researchers from outside Europe who have previously worked here. It also develops or helps to restart the careers of individual researchers that show great potential, considering their experience.[1]
Those applicants whom we wish to support will be contacted by 31 July 2017.
2. CfP:Iinaugural conference of the Australian Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies (AAIMS).
Abstracts (100- 200 words) with a brief bio (50-100 words) to be sent to Dr Joshua Roose: nceis-office@unimelb.edu.au
Abstract submission closes 11 August 2017.
3. What was Philology in Arabic?
Arabic-Islamic Textual Practices in the Early Modern World
Freie Universität Berlin, 13-15 July.
For a list of participants, abstracts and conference schedule see: http://www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/en/e/semiarab/arabistik/whatwasphilology/index.html
4. PhD Fellowship, Faculty of Theology (Qur’anic Studies), University of Copenhagen
A three-year PhD scholarship will be available from October 1st 2017. To be considered, applicants must have a Master’s degree in Islamic studies or any other relevant Master’s degree or similar qualifications. Experience in or knowledge about digital humanities is considered an asset.
Deadline for application: 1 September 2017. Information: http://jobportal.ku.dk/phd/?show=145413
5. Jobs:
Lecturer in Arabic, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Selection Criteria: Postgraduate qualification in one or more of: Second Language Acquisition, Arabic Linguistics, Teaching Arabic as a Second Language; Native proficiency in written and spoken Arabic; Experience and demonstrated excellence in teaching Arabic preferably at tertiary level; etc.
Deadline for application: 31 July 2017. Information: http://cml.soh.ntu.edu.sg/aboutUs/Pages/Job-Openings.aspx
Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern Politics, Claremont McKenna College, CA
The Department of Government invites applications for a tenure-track position beginning July 1, 2018. A qualified candidate, with PhD in hand or a nearly completed doctoral dissertation, would have research experience on the domestic politics or policy of one or more Middle Eastern countries, as well as expertise on the international issues that these countries face. The candidate would have sufficient mastery of one or more Middle Eastern languages to engage in the research.
Deadline for application: 1 August 2017. Information: https://webapps.cmc.edu/jobs/faculty/faculty_opening_detail.php?PostingID=16021
6. 2018/19 Civil Society Leaderships Awards, Durham University and Open Society Foundation
The awards provide fully funded Master’s level scholarships for individuals who demonstrate both academic and professional excellence and have the potential to become civil society leaders in their home communities. Applicants from Afghanistan, Egypt, Libya, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, etc. are eligible to apply for these awards.
Deadline for application: 15 July 2017. Information: http://www.dur.ac.uk/postgraduate/finance/scholarships/csla/
7. “Coercion and Responsibility in Islam”, Mairaj Syed
8. Asma Hilali, The Sanaa Palimpsest: The Transmission of the Qur’an in the First Centuries AH
(Oxford: Oxford University Press in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2017), 271 pp. ISBN: 9780198793793.
9. Dans le cadre du 2ème Congrès du GIS “Moyen-Orient et Mondes musulmans”, nous sommes heureux de vous convier à l’atelier “Familles, autorité et savoir dans l’espace moyen-oriental (XVe-XVIIe s.)” qui se tiendra le samedi 8 juillet de 9h à 15h30, à l’INALCO (65 rue des Grands Moulins, Paris 13e) en salle 3.01.
Vous trouverez le programme de cet atelier en pièce-jointe, et toutes les activités du programme de recherche DYNTRAN sur le site : http://www.dyntran.hypotheses.org/
- July 06, 2017
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Anti-Shii Incidents in June, 2017
Incidents of Anti-Shiism in JUNE, 2017 – Shia Rights Watch
June 2017 Anti-Shiism Across the Middle East As anti-Shiism runs high, over 133 were killed in the month of June. New this month are attacks on Iranian soil and a death sentence given by social media posting in Pakistan.
- July 05, 2017
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Bahawalpur v Parachinar
Bahawalpur and Parachinar
If there is one thing that sets Shias apart from other Muslim denominations, it is their elaborate rituals of mourning centred on the gravest tragedy in Islamic history – the massacre of the…
- July 04, 2017
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – CfP: ‘Twelver Shiites and Christians’
Call for papers: Interactions between Twelver Shiites and Christians: history, theology, literature
International conference with the participation of Rudi Matthee (University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware) and Francis Richard (CNRS, Paris), in Paris, France, Wednesday, April 11, through Friday, April 13, 2018 The interactions and exchanges between Twelver Shiites and Christians, Catholics as well as Protestants, have rarely been studied in detail.However, there were intensive mutual contacts, as indicated by numerous travelogues, missionary reports, theological and polemical works, diplomatic correspondence, etc.
- July 04, 2017
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – ‘Women as peacemakers’ (London, 5.7.17)
The International Imam Hussain Council invites all to attend the Syeda Fatima Interfaith Conference.
The theme of the event is ‘Women as peacemakers: bridging divides and overcoming difference’.
Date: 5th of July
Time: 13:00 hrs for a !4:00hrs start
Venue: London, House of Lords.
Speakers include Rev Rose Chaplain House of Lords, Lynne Townley QC,
Jaffer Ladak, Bharti Taylor, Gurmit Kaur , Rabbi Debbie Young Somners
For further information, contact Rubab Mehdi Rizvi, rubabmehdi@hotmail.com
Speakers:
Lynne Townley -barrister and lecturer at City Law School, City, University of London. I am currently working on a PhD on crimes involving honour violence and forced marriage. I am a committee member of the Association of Women Barristers, a charity encouraging and assisting women and other minority candidates to become practising barristers.
Yarjan Abdul Samad-materials scientist working with European space agency on space related research.He will be part of a zero gravity flight end of this year to perform some of his scientific experiments”.
Revd Rose- Chaplain House of Lords
Rabbi Debbie Young-Somers is the Community educator at The Movement for Reform Judaism. She teaches World Religions 101; Dialogue and Encounter to student Rabbis at Leo Baeck College. She was ordained in 2009, and her first degree was in Religious Studies (2001). She is a Buber Fellow of Paideia, the European Centre for Jewish Studies. Debbie has been active both professionally and as a volunteer in the interfaith world since her teens. Her first Rabbinic post was at West London Synagogue where she co-ordinated Interfaith activities and the Jewish Preparation programme. She has been published in magazines, books, Jewish press and journals, and is a regular contributor to Radio 2’s Pause for Thought and In Spirit on BBC London
- July 03, 2017
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment