Archive for 2018

Mystical Messianisms in the 13th Century: Sa’d al-Dīn Ḥamūyeh and ‘Azīz-i Dīn Nasafī

There is a significant gap in the scholarly literature at present, both in terms of critical editions of Sa’d al-Dīn Ḥamūyeh’s (d. 1253 CE) works and publications on his thought.

Australian Journal of Islamic Studies

The Australian Journal of Islamic Studies is a double-blind peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the scholarly study of Islam.

1.The Database of Ottoman Inscriptions (DOI) is searchable digital database comprising information about, as well as transliterations and pictures of, all the Turkish, Arabic and Persian architectural inscriptions created in the Ottoman lands during Ottoman times.

http://info.ottomaninscriptions.com/

 

 

 

2. CALL FOR PAPERS: TENTH SOAS CONFERENCE ON THE QUR’AN

‘The Qur’an: Text, Translation, and Culture’
Friday 9–Saturday 10 November 2018
SOAS, University of London

Convenors: Prof. M.A.S. Abdel Haleem and Dr Mustafa Shah

Deadline for abstracts: 30 April 2018

Submission of Abstracts:
The deadline for abstracts is 30 April 2018. Abstracts of up to 400 words and a short bio (of up to 200 words) should be submitted in MS Word format to quran.conference@soas.ac.uk.

The primary conference language is English, but papers may be presented in English or Arabic, Presented papers should be 25 minutes.

Applicants will be notified of the status of their proposals on 15 June 2018.

Further Information:
It is Centre of Islamic Studies policy to reimburse speakers for their standard travel expenses and hotel accommodation. We do, however, encourage speakers to try to obtain funding from their home universities or other sources wherever possible.

If you would like further information on the conference series, please visit the conference webpages at https://www.soas.ac.uk/islamicstudies/conferences/. These will be updated with the provisional conference programme from July 2018, on an ongoing basis.

For any enquiries, please contact quran.conference@soas.ac.uk.

Venue: Brunei Gallery, SOAS, University of London, Russell Square, Thornhaugh Street, London WC1H 0XG.
 

 

3. ‘South Asia Series’ talks from April to May 2018

The Asia and African Collections department at British Library (BL) is pleased to announce an exciting line-up of talks in April-May 2018, featuring a diverse array of subjects such as Muharram, Delhi waters, Tipu Sultan’s library collection, Sufism and Persian manuscripts, Mughal musical rivalries, colonial police and food!

http://blogs.bl.uk/asian-and-african/2018/03/south-asia-series-talks-from-april-to-may-2018.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+asian-and-african+%28Asia+and+Africa%29

 

 

 

4. Le waqf de la mosquée des Omeyyades de Damas. Le manuscrit ottoman d’un inventaire mamelouk établi en 816/1413 (Presses de l’Ifpo, Feb. 2018). Complete information is available on the Presses de l’Ifpo http://www.ifporient.org/node/2241

The Umayyad Mosque of Damascus was both the emblematic monument of the city and a principal driver of its economic life. By the end of the medieval period, it had established a dense network of links with the city and the surrounding agricultural lands. The manuscript which this volume presents was written in 1518, two years after the Ottoman conquest of Bilād al-Shām. It contains a list of the urban and rural properties belonging to the waqf of the Mosque, established in 1413. In addition to the edition and translation of this inventory, the authors propose a new study of the topography and toponymy of the city and the Ghouta, its surrounding oasis, shortly after its occupation by the troops of Timur Lang in 1401. They provide an analysis of Mamluk and Ottoman notarial and juridical practices, and by examining the geographical distribution of the landed properties, they delve into the implications of the symbiotic relationship between Damascus and its rural territories. The manuscript published here renders accessible to a wider audience a major source for the first time.

 

 

5. CALL FOR PAPERS

Muslims in the UK and Europe

Postgraduate Symposium, University of Cambridge, 18 June 2018  

Organised by the Centre of Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge

The University Of Cambridge Centre Of Islamic Studies invites applications from current Masters and PhD candidates to present their research on issues pertaining to Muslims in the UK and Europe, from any discipline. The postgraduate symposium, taking place on 18 June 2018, will be a platform for students to present and exchange current research on any topic in this field in a dynamic forum. While historical or theoretical context is valuable, we also invite papers to present, analyse or interpret research findings, data or material. The symposium will take place at The Moller Centre, Cambridge. Accommodation will be covered by the Centre of Islamic Studies and travel bursaries will be available.

 

To apply; please submit a 500-word abstract, with curriculum vitae outlining current research interests, to cis@cis.cam.ac.uk by Monday 12 March 2018.  – DEADLINE EXTENDED FOR 1 WEEK

 

Successful candidates will be notified by Monday 26 March 2018 and invited to submit draft papers of no more than 3000 words by Monday 11 June 2018.

 

For further information, please contact cis@cis.cam.ac.uk

 

For more information about the Centre of Islamic Studies please visit: www.cis.cam.ac.uk

 

 

 

6. Colloquium: “Reading is Believing? Sacred Texts in a Scientific Age”, Clare College, Cambridge, 26-28 March 2018

The event will address the function of scripture (Qur’an and Bible) in the modern age, focusing on its interaction with modern science and scientific advances.

Deadline for abstracts: 14 March 2018. Information: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/reading-is-believing-sacred-texts-in-a-scientific-age-26-28-march-2018-tickets-35899721032

 

 

 

 

7. Conference: “Common and comparative Esotericism: Western, Islamic, and Jewish”, European Network for the Study of Islam and Esotericism (ENSIE), Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice, 12-14 June 2018

The conference will help answer the topical question of to what extent Western Esotericism is Western, and reopen the old question of the extent to which Islamic esotericism is Islamic. It will further bring Jewish esotericism into the discussion, importantly given the long history of Judaism in both Western and Muslim worlds.

Deadline for abstracts: 5 March 2018. Please send paper proposals to ensie2018@cini.it

 

 

 

8. International Conference: “Rethinking Halal: Genealogy, Current Trends, and New Interpretations”, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, 18-19 June 2018

The Chair of Law and Religions, the Research Institute of “Religions, Spiritualties, Cultures and Societies” (RSCS) will hold this conference in Louvain-la-Neuve.

Information: http://www.isa-rc22.org/conference-on-halal-at-ucl-belgium/

 

 

 

9. Two Doctoral Fellowships for ERC Project, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland

1) Doctoral Fellowship at 70% in contemporary history for 4 years.

2) Doctoral Fellowship at 50% in contemporary history for 3 years.

Requirements for both positions: capacity to work collectively; very good command of Arabic (reading) and English. Knowledge of French and German is advantageous. Skills in quantitative methods are an additional asset. 2) Doctoral Fellowship at 50% in contemporary history for 3 years:

 

Deadline for applications: 22 April 2018. Information: https://www.unine.ch/histoire/home/recherche/projet-erc-consolidator-grant.html

 

 

 

10. Two PhD Positions on Religion and Politics (RelPol), University of Oslo

 

The Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages at the University of Oslo announces two PhD positions in the field of religion and politics (3 year fulltime research fellowship, connected to the projects ‘Mobile Muslims/Invisible Islam’ and ‘Stories of Heritage’).

 

Deadline for applications: 3 April 2018. Information: https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/147551/two-doctoral-research-fellowships-in-religion-and-politics

 

 

 

11. Faculty Position in Islamic Studies, American University in Cairo

 

The Department of Arab and Islamic Civilizations at the American University in Cairo announces a five-year position for a specialist in Islamic Studies (with a specialization in Islamic legal systems, Quranic Sciences, Hadith, Fiqh or other areas specifically related to Islamic Studies) to begin in Fall 2018.  The successful candidate is expected to teach Undergraduate and Graduate courses on Islamic Law, Quran, Hadith, or Islamic Philosophy, in both Arabic and English, as well as supervise MA Theses.

 

Deadline for applications: 31 March 2018. Information: https://aucegypt.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdetails.jsp;jsessionid=AF0B51F4C43968AF811BD1E1FA75F150;jsessionid=24AFDA178AEDDBFEF10DF7E62A2B060A;jsessionid=42BCD408FC5E9B2C4468F5423ACBEE22;jsessionid=076E935F5DAD06797BDAEE8F303F6C68?JOBID=91683

 

 

 

12. Call for applications, Summer School: 

Reading and analysing Indo-Persian documents

Göttingen, 20.8.-31.8.2018

 

The Seminary for Iranian Studies at the University of Göttingen organises a summer school devoted to reading and analysing Indo-Persian documents.

During the two-week programme we will introduce young researchers (mostly PhD candidates and postdoc researchers, but MA candidates may also apply) to ways of reading and analysing Indo-Persian documents. The summer school aims at training the scholars in identifying different types of documents, at deciphering not only texts written in Nastaliq, but also in Shekasta, at reading seals and stamps and at getting basic knowledge about typical terminology and abbreviations. The documents will all be in Persian, but sometimes interspersed with local terms. Special consideration will therefore be paid to the Indian environment and the particular vocabulary used there. The course will also provide information about basic research tools and the archival situation in India.

 

Contact data:

 

Ali Balaielangroudi

Seminar für Iranistik

Georg-August-Universität Göttingen

Heinrich-Düker-Weg 14

37073 Göttingen

E-Mail: iranist@gwdg.de and s2albala@uni-bonn.de

 

 

 

13. XX^ème Journée Monde Iranien

16 mars 2018

Bibliothèque Universitaire des Langues et Civilisations (BULAC)
Auditorium du Pôle Langues et Civilisations
65, rue des Grands Moulins 75013, Paris

 

http://www.iran-inde.cnrs.fr/evenements-scientifiques/colloques-et-conferences-2018/xxeme-journee-monde-iranien.html?lang=fr

 

 

 

14. Position, Lector or Senior Lector in Sanskrit, Yale University

 

For full details, see: https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=56515

 

The South Asian Studies Council (SASC) at the MacMillan Center invites applications for a Lector or Senior Lector in South Asian Languages for Sanskrit beginning July 1, 2018 for a three-year term, renewable, with actual rank dependent on qualifications/experience. Primary duties include teaching five courses per year including elementary (2 courses) and intermediate (2 courses) in Classical Sanskrit. The fifth will be a lecture course in English focusing on literary, social, cultural and/or sociolinguistic topics pertaining to Sanskrit and Ancient India.

Review of applications will begin on April 1, 2018, and continue until the position is filled.

Website: https://southasia.macmillan.yale.edu/
Posting Date: 03/01/2018
Closing Date 04/01/2018

 

Africa Federation Archives – Khoja Shia Ithna-asheris in Lamu and Mombasa, 1870- 1930 – Part1

KHOJA SHIA ITHNA- ASHERIS IN LAMU AND MOMBASA, 1870- 1930 BY ZAHIR BHALLOO Author’s Note: A chance meeting outside Fort Jesus, Mombasa, with Cynthia Salvadori, author of the remarkable three volumes We Came in Dhows, was what first inspired me to record stories and anecdotes about Ithna-Asheri pioneers at the turn of the century.

Incidents of Anti-Shiism in February, 2018 – Shia Rights Watch

February proved itself to be a much less violent month than January, with sources reporting 343 incidents of Anti-Shiism, half of last month’s 673. However, the crackdowns on freedom of expression and incessant discrimination against the Shia population led to 52 deaths, 226 injuries, 71 arrests and harsh sentencing, and seven related anti-Shia actions, including but not limited to, sectarian slander, police brutality, and vandalism.

Muharram in 19th Century India and Singapore

This paper will focus several examples of such representation: several examples of art works from India in the British Library collections; the ‘Muharram processional scroll’ painting from around 1840 Madras now in the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore; and the Syair Tabut, a 146-quatrain Malay narrative poem from 1864 Singapore, and read these instances of aesthetic presentation in the context of contested claims to authentic religiosity and indeed the right of individuals and groups to practice their religion as they saw fit.

The FRONTLINE Interview: Vali Nasr

In this interview for the FRONTLINE documentary “Bitter Rivals: Iran and Saudi Arabia,” Middle East scholar Vali Nasr talks about the history driving today’s wars in the Middle East, whether these conflicts can be solved, and the parallels between ISIS and the nightwalkers from “Game of Thrones.”

The February 2018 PBS documentary ‘Bitter Rivals: Iran and Saudi Arabia’, for which this interview was conducted, can be accessed here.

Obituary – Alhaj Hassan A.M. Jaffer

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wVPzHagwyqA P2:https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=y1AMTrF-OnY May Allah (SWT) by His infinite grace and mercy grant Marhum maghferat and a lofty place in the proximity of the Masumeen (AS) – Ameen. Please recite Sura-e-Fateha for the maghferat of the departed soul and all Marhumeen.

DYNTRAN Symposium: Paris 2018

Symposium of the DYNTRAN Project (ANR-DFG): Dynamics of Transmission: Families, Authority and Knowledge in the Early Modern Middle East (15th-17th centuries) 7-9 March 2018 Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3 Maison de la Recherche, 4 rue des Irlandais, 75005 Paris Salle Athéna Following the three previous workshops held in Marburg (2015), Cairo (2016) and Naples …

 

1.Two PhD scholarships are available in the Alfred Deakin Institute at Deakin University (Australia)

(1) Working under the supervision of Prof Shahram Akbarzadeh, Dr Zahid Shahab Ahmed and Dr Dara Conduit to research Proxy Wars in Syria and Afghanistan – Details here: http://www.deakin.edu.au/…/hdr-scholarship-proxy-wars-in-sy…

(2) Working under the supervision of Professor Shahram Akbarzadeh and Dr Rebecca Barlow to work on Women NGOs and Policy Change in Iran – Details here: http://www.deakin.edu.au/…/find-…/hdr-scholarship-women-ngos

 

 

 

2. The Department of Arab and Islamic Civilizations (ARIC) at the American University in Cairo (AUC) is pleased to announce its Fall 2018 graduate admissions cycle (deadline: 1 April 2018).

MA students my chose one from the following areas of specialization:

– Middle East History
– Islamic Art and Architecture
– Arabic Literature (classical and modern)
– Islamic Studies

The department currently offers two graduate tracks: The MA program, which culminates in a research-based thesis, and the Graduate Diploma, which requires course work only.

For information about the generous funding opportunities available for graduate study at AUC, please consult: http://www.aucegypt.edu/admissions/fellowships

Please visit our website for further information about our MA and Graduate Diploma programs, department faculty, and application process: http://schools.aucegypt.edu/huss/aric/Pages/default.aspx

Specific queries about the program should be addressed to: Ellen Kenney (ARIC Director of Graduate Studies), ekenney@aucegypt.edu, or Marwa Sabri (Senior Administrative Affairs Assistant), msabri@aucegypt.edu

Please pass this message on to interested students and advisors! The final application deadline is 1 April 2018.

 

 

 

3. Making Modernity in Nineteenth-Century Islamic Art and Architecture

March 1-2, 2018

Indiana University

This workshop will explore the changing production and reception of artworks and architecture during the long nineteenth century, in urban centers across the Islamic Mediterranean. Eleven papers by scholars working at the cutting edge of this emerging area of research will map transformations in image-making, architecture, and craft, with particular focus on changing technologies of production and reproduction, circulation, and exchange. Together, the papers in this workshop will break new ground by integrating artworks from the Islamic world into fully realized frameworks of modernity.

Co-organizers: Margaret Graves, Alex Dika Seggerman, and Ashley Dimmig
For more information, visit: https://makingmodernityislamicart.wordpress.com/

 

 

 

4. Dynamics of Transmission:  Families, Authority and Knowledge in the Early Modern Middle East (15^th-17^th Centuries)

Paris, 7-9 March 2018

Université Sorbonne Nouvelle , Maison de la Recherche – 4, rue des Irlandais, 75005 Paris, salle Athéna

 

Contact: sandra.aube.lorain@gmail.com

Full program on: www.dyntran.hypotheses.org

Convenors: Maria Szuppe, Christoph Werner, Albrecht Fuess and Nicolas Michel

Organizing team in Paris:
CNRS, Mondes iranien et indien, 27 rue Paul-Bert, F-94204 Ivry-sur-Seine. France:
Sandra Aube,Sacha Alsancakli and Emmanuel Giraudet
with the cooperation of Anthony T. Quickel (in Cairo, IFAO) and Alberto Tiburcio (in Marburg, Philipps-Universität)

 

 

 

5. 5 Day Intensive Courses
Intensive Course on Pre-Islamic Arabia
Princeton, New Jersey (USA) May 28 – June 1, 2018

The course is intended primarily for graduate students, both from Princeton and from other universities.

The instructor will be Professor Christian Robin, a leading expert in the study of pre-Islamic Arabia. The objective of the program is to present the state of knowledge about ancient Arabia until the time of Muḥammad. Archaeological excavations and innumerable epigraphic discoveries have profoundly renewed the question in recent decades.

The program will have three objectives:

1.    Give students access to the main source of information about Pre-Islamic Arabia, namely epigraphic texts. Two days will be devoted to the scripts and languages used in ancient Arabia (especially those of Sabaʾ, Maʿīn, Qatabān, Ḥaḍramawt, Nagrān, Qaryat, Hagar, Dedān and Taymāʾ, plus those of the desert populations) and those of the 5th and 6th century of the Christian era (with the appearance of Arabic writing which can be interpreted as a rejection of Ḥimyar).

2.    Summarize what is known about the history and institutions of the main kingdoms of ancient Arabia, with a focus on dating issues and the emergence of so-called “Arab” populations from the beginning of the Christian era.

3.    Present the political, religious and cultural situation in Arabia of the 5th and 6th centuries, on the eve of Islam, with a kingdom of Ḥimyar (Jewish, then Christian) which dominates the whole of the peninsula, and to highlight certain continuities between antiquity and the first Islam.

Applications must be emailed to Julia Gilbert (jb85@princeton.edu) at the Near Eastern Studies Department at Princeton University by March 16, 2018. The subject line of the email should read, “Application for Pre-Islamic Arabia Workshop.”

Applications should comprise the following:

Letter of application with statement of interest
CV
Names, positions, and email addresses of two referees.

All items should be included in a single attachment, which may be a pdf.

Successful applicants will be notified in late March 2018 and students accepted for the course but coming from outside of Princeton will receive partial scholarships to help defray travel and accommodation costs. The course itself is free.

 

 

 

6. Le département d’études persanes de l’Université de Strasbourg recrute un Maître de Conférences. La personne recrutée assurera des enseignements de langue et linguistique persanes à tous les niveaux (initiation, moyen et avancé), panorama des langues iraniennes et la grammaire persane. Il ou elle assurera aussi des enseignements de traduction aux niveaux de licence et de master (cours de version et de traductologie) ainsi que des enseignements en français sur l’histoire de la littérature persane allant de la période antique à la période moderne. Une solide maîtrise des deux langues (persan et français) est exigée afin que le candidat recruté ou la candidate recrutée puisse assurer les cours fondamentaux de la spécialité et ceux offerts comme options aux autres composantes. Une solide expérience d’enseignement est essentielle.

Pour plus d’informations concernant ce poste, veuillez cliquer sur le lien suivant (voir 15ème section, numéro 4479) :

http://www.unistra.fr/index.php?id=20607

 

 

 

7. Poste de en études iraniennes à l’Université d’Uppsala

lecturer in Iranian languages, expecially Kurdish in Uppsala:

http://www.uu.se/en/about-uu/join-us/details/?positionId=195248

 

 

 

8. The Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (Section des Sciences historiques et philologiques), Paris, invites applications for a full professorship in “Histoire et philologie du monde indo-persan / History and philology of the Indo-Persian World”. (Starting on 1st October 2018)

Please see https://www.ephe.fr/actualites/recrutement_des_enseignants-chercheurs_2018/shp-profils-postes-dossier-candidature-2018.pdf for details.

Deadline for application: 15 March 2018, 4pm (Paris time)

 

 

 

9. The Centrum für Religionswissenschaftliche Studien (CERES) of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum is advertising a job in the history of Iranian/Western Asian religions. Please follow the link for further information

https://www.stellenwerk-bochum.de/jobboerse/wissenschaftl-mitarbeiterin-wissenschaft-mitarbeiterin-3983-stdwoche-bis-31102021-bo-2018-02-15-167044

 

 

 

10. Rencontre internationale : „Religions, identités, pratiques et perspectives plurielles“, Université Fès, Maroc, 17 mai 2018

Limite des résumes : 30 mars 2018. Information: ababoumoha@hotmail.com

 

 

 

11. Annual Conference: “The Interdisciplinary Study of Religions (ISR)”, Association for Interdisciplinary Studies (AIS), Wayne State University, Detroit, 11-13 October 2018

ISR aims to bring comprehensive, integrated insights from multiple disciplines to the study of religions as complex human phenomena.  Insights may be brought to bear on religions or religious phenomena from humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, along with other areas such as arts and professions.

Deadline for abstracts: 15 March 2018. Information: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rlNvq-gICuf5g-IjjHrOHpLJENvCHVDUgXPunBfsh4Y/edit

 

 

 

12. International Conference: “The Druze Millennium: Celebrating a Thousand Years of Diversity”, American University of Beirut, 30-31 October 2018

The conferenwill bring together leading researchers who have contributed to the field of Middle Eastern Studies with particular reference to the Druze. The conference will focus on the political, social and cultural evolution and/ or role of the Druze.

 

Deadline for abstracts: 15 March 2018. Information: https://website.aub.edu.lb/cah/Pages/Call-for-Papers-The-Druze-Millennium—Celebrating-a-Thousand-Years-of-Diversity.aspx

 

 

 

13. Annual Conference: “AAR Qur’an Unit”, Denver, 17-20 November 2018

Topics that were mentioned at the last annual meeting are: The Qur’an and the Late Antique, the Qur’an and philosophy, Conceptions of time and history in the Qur’an, Liturgical uses of the Qur’an, Material culture and the Qur’an, Mystical letters and symbols in the Qur’an, Popular culture and the Qur’an, Reception history of the Qur’an, Regional issues and the Qur’an (e.g., the Qur’an in Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.), Ulum al-Qur’an, The Qur’an in the context of teaching the study of religion. This list of topics is meant as inspirational rather than limiting.

Information: https://papers.aarweb.org/content/quran-unit