Archive for April, 2025

1.We are delighted to invite you to the first event of the MELA NOTES Book Talks series:

From the Moon to the Well

A Conversation with Hossein Atashparvar, M.R. Ghanoonparvar, and Mehrak Kamali

Date: Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Time: 2:00 PM Central | 3:00 PM Eastern | 12:00 PM Pacific

Location: Online via Zoom

Registration: https://forms.gle/pzYCFiA5sXVKtRcm7

Join us for a rich and engaging conversation around the newly translated Persian novel From the Moon to the Well by acclaimed Iranian author Hossein Atashparvar, translated by M.R. Ghanoonparvar and published by Mazda Publishers (2024).

Panelists:

• Hossein Atashparvar– Novelist and author of From the Moon to the Well
• R. Ghanoonparvar– Professor Emeritus of Persian and Comparative Literature, The University of Texas at Austin; Translator of the book
• Mehrak Kamali– Associate Professor of Teaching & Persian Language Program Coordinator, The Ohio State University; Author of the MELA Notes review of the book

Moderator:

        Mahdi Ganjavi – MELA Notes Book Review Editor; Lecturer, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto

 

 

 

 

 

2. On behalf of the International Journal of Islamic Architecture (IJIA), we are delighted to announce the recipient of the 2025 IJIA Book Award and two honourable mentions. This year, the submissions represented a wide array of innovative and rigorous scholarship. The selection committee carefully reviewed each submission and engaged in thoughtful deliberation, and we are pleased to recognize these three outstanding contributions to the field.

IJIA Book Award Recipient

Isfahan: Architecture and Urban Experience in Early Modern Iran by Farshid Emami

Farshid Emami’s book examines the transformation of Isfahan during a pivotal period in the seventeenth century. By focusing on both architectural development and the lived experiences of the city’s diverse residents, the book presents a richly textured and methodologically sophisticated narrative. Emami’s elegant prose and mastery of visual and textual sources make this work both scholarly and accessible, offering fresh insights into one of the most iconic cities in the Islamic world.

IJIA Book Award Honourable Mentions

Placing Islam: Geographies of Connection in Twentieth-Century Istanbul  by Timur Warner Hammond

Hammond’s interdisciplinary work reconstructs the spatial imaginaries of residents of the district of Eyüp in Istanbul through geography, ethnography, and literary analysis. His evocative storytelling and innovative methods reveal how spatial practices and religious identity are deeply intertwined in the shaping of urban experience.

Emotion, Mission, Architecture: Building Hospitals in Persia and British India, 1865–1914 by Sara Honarmand Ebrahimi

In this groundbreaking study, Ebrahimi explores how hospitals, as emerging modern institutions, became sites of cultural negotiation and spatial transformation in colonial contexts. Her careful use of illustrations and deep archival research illuminate the intersections of architecture, empire, and healthcare in previously understudied regions.

 

 

 

3. Persian Manuscripts Association (PMA) – Ibn Sina Research Grant

£1,000 grant for innovative research in Persian studies, open to postgraduate and independent scholars. Deadline: 16 May 2025.

The Ibn Sina Research Grant provides £1,000 to support original research in Persian studies, open to postgraduate and independent scholars from any country and discipline. Administered by the PMA, this annual grant supports activities such as archival visits, publication costs, and the organisation of scholarly events, with a preference for projects involving Persian manuscripts.

More information: https://persianmanuscripts.org/grants/

 

 

 

 

 

4. Persian Manuscripts Association (PMA) – Mihan Memorial Art Prize

£1,500 prize for emerging artists of Iranian descent working in any medium, recognising creative excellence. No Fixed Deadline.

The Mihan Memorial Art Prize is a £1,500 award supporting emerging artists of Iranian descent working in any artistic medium, from painting and photography to video, installation, and performance. Open to PMA members worldwide, this prize honours bold, innovative artistic practice and offers professional opportunities including a talk in PMA’s monthly series. Additional support may be available depending on the artist’s needs and future projects.

More information: https://persianmanuscripts.org/grants/

 

 

 

 

5. Prochaine séance du séminaire “Sociétés, politiques et cultures du monde iranien”, jeudi 15 mai 2025, 17h, à l’INALCO

Le CeRMI a le plaisir de vous convier à la prochaine séance du séminaire “Sociétés, politiques et cultures du Monde iranien”, qui se tiendra le jeudi 15 mai 2025, 17h-19h, en salle 4.15 à l’INaLCO (65 rue des Grands Moulins, Paris XIII, 4^e étage).

Nous sommes heureux d’accueillir M. Austin O’Malley (University of Chicago), pour une conférence intitulée: “Mixtapes and Local Jams: Selection and Regionality in the Nozhat al-majāles, an Early Collection of Persian Quatrains“.

Résumé:

Among the Persian metrical forms, the quatrain (robāʿi) stands out for its brevity, popularity, and wide use in an array of social situations and performance contexts, from humble “folk” recitations to sermons and samāʿ sessions to courtly symposia. In this talk, I will investigate the 13^th-century Nozhat al-majāles, one of the earliest extant collections of quatrains organized by theme, to better understand the role quatrains played within courtly settings and the larger literary ecosystem. Although centered on the Nozhat, the discussion will also make use of early “genre codes” that discuss the social contexts of quatrains’ production and circulation (i.e., Shams-e Qays’ Moʿjam, the Qābus-nāma) as well as the biographical anthology of ʿOwfi and discourses of Neẓāmi-ye ʿArużi.

Taken together, these investigations show how 13^th-century, northwest Iranian potentates engaged in literary culture not only by receiving the “prestige verse” of polished panegyric, but also by presiding over and participating in a more ephemeral process of selection, exchange, and appreciation of quatrains, which were attributed to a wide variety of individuals who were not necessarily professional poets, and many of which were not ultimately preserved in divāns.

Orientations bibliographiques:

• Davidson, Olga M. “Genre and Occasion in the Rubāʿiyyātof ʿUmar Khayyām: The Rubāʿi, Literary History, and Courtly Literature.” In Writers and Rulers: Perspectives of Their Relations from Abbasid to Safavid Times, edited by Beatrice Gruendler and Louise Marlow, 133–44. Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag, 2004.
• Meier, Fritz. Die schöne Mahsati. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1963
• Mir-afżali, Sayyed ʿAli. “Bar-rasi-ye Nozhat al-majāles(bakhsh-e avval).” Maʿāref 4, no. 1 (1376 [1997]): 90–147.
• Mir-afżali, Sayyed ʿAli. “Bar-rasi-ye Nozhat al-majāles(bakhsh-e dovvom).” Maʿāref 14, no. 2 (1376 [1997]): 135–327.
• Seyed-Gohrab, Ali Asghar. “The Flourishing of Persian Quatrains.” In Persian Lyric Poetry in the Classical Era: Ghazals, Panegyrics, Quatrains, edited by Ehsan Yarshater, 488–568. Vol. 2 of A History of Persian Literature, edited by Ehsan Yarshater. London: I.B. Tauris, 2019.
• Shamisā, Sirus. Sayr-e robāʿi dar sheʿr-e fārsi. Tehran: Āshtiāni, 1363 [1984].
• Sharvāni, Jamāl Khalil. Nozhat al-majāles. Edited by Moḥammad Amin-Riyāḥi. 2nd ed. Tehran: ʿElmi, 1375 [1996–97].

Pour rappel, vous retrouverez le programme 2024-2025 du séminaire mensuel de recherche “Sociétés, politiques et cultures du Monde iranien” sur le site du CeRMI:

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1.Al-Mahdi Institute (Birmingham, UK) is delighted to announce the launch of its new advanced-level online course ‘Islam and International Law,’ taught by Professor Seyed Mohammad Fatemi.

This 7-week course critically examines the dynamic relationship between Sharīʿa and contemporary international legal frameworks, exploring key issues such as sovereignty, human rights, war and peace, migration, and legal reform. Designed for students, researchers, and professionals within the field of Islamic studies and law, the course offers a rigorous, comparative exploration of foundational theories and current debates on some of the most pressing legal and ethical questions of our time. Sessions begin on 13th May 2025 and will be held online every Tuesday from 2:00–3:30PM (BST). For further details and registration, please visit: https://ami.is/iil

 

 

 

 

2. The Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies at the University of Toronto, in collaboration with the Department of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago, jointly present the inaugural Webinar on AI-Driven Language Pedagogy for Less Commonly Taught Languages.

The Webinar on AI-Driven Language Pedagogy for Less Commonly Taught Languages will be held beginning in January 2026, and it will assemble scholars from various disciplines teaching less commonly taught languages using innovations in AI. Panels and speakers are invited to present original research on topics related to the AI-Driven Language Pedagogy, including (but not limited to):

• AI and its use for supporting learning, administration, and assessment
• Approaches to course design and assignments that limit the use of AI
• Assessing student use of AI
• Adopting and testing new AI programs, AI agents, or bots
• Expanding and/or assessing existing AI efforts related to teaching and learning
• Fostering AI literacy for instructors and faculty
• Building out an AI module for a course
• Discipline-focused research on AI and pedagogy
• Establish guidelines or policies around AI

The webinar organizers, Azita H. Taleghani and Pouneh Shabani-Jadidi, will invite a select number of proposals to present their papers in a monthly webinar co-hosted by the University of Toronto and the University of Chicago. After the webinars, the papers presented will be published in an edited volume by the organizers.

Abstracts are due May 30, 2025. Please send your proposed title, a 250–300-word abstract, a 100-word bio, and your contact information to: azita.taleghani@utoronto.ca and pshabanijadidi@uchicago.edu

Please include “Webinar on AI-Driven Language Pedagogy for Less Commonly Taught Languages” in the subject line of the email. Notification of acceptance will be sent by September 30, 2025.

 

 

 

 

3. Alwaleed Centre, Edinburgh – Digital British Islam: Research Findings, Insights and Implications | Tues 29th April | 18:00 – 20:00

Committee Room 3, Fleming Room, The Scottish Parliament

We would like to invite you to an event organised by The Alwaleed Centre, to present key findings from the Digital British Islam (DBI) research project for the first time, led by colleagues at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Coventry University, and the University of Edinburgh, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.

The project explores the use of online spaces by Muslim individuals and communities seeking online advice and expressing their views about practicing Islam in Britain, examining how online platforms shape religious practice, community engagement, and cultural expression.

The evening will feature presentations from Prof. Gary Bunt and Prof. Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor, who will discuss their findings on emerging trends in key Muslim-focused websites, the gender dynamics that are developing online as the result of the interactions between content producers and consumers, and insights from their survey of online practices.

Please RSVP by emailing Zainab Hussnain at zhussnai@ed.ac.uk by 27th April and kindly let us know how many tickets you would like, and if you have any accessibility and dietary requirements.

 

 

 

 

4. Reading the Destiny in Your Face

Avicenna on Signed-Based Inferences

Silvia di Vincenzo

06 May 2025 – 5 PM (CET)

Is it possible to discern what is concealed within the human soul through what is outwardly manifest? This question has been a subject of inquiry across logical and medical traditions from antiquity to modern times.

Reflection on this issue forms the foundation of a discipline with a long and complex history spanning the Greek, Arabic, Hebrew and Latin traditions: physiognomy.

Physiognomy is of dual significance, encompassing both theoretical and practical dimensions. On a theoretical level, it examines the causal relationship between external symptoms and their underlying causes.

On a practical level, it seeks to apply this understanding to develop a framework that enables one to infer the invisible (character traits) from the visible (external features) and, to some extent, predict human actions and reactions.

Adopting a theoretical, particularly logical, perspective, this lecture will explore attempts to contextualise the reasoning characteristic of physiognomic practices as sign-based inference within the medieval Arabic tradition.

Special attention will be given to the contribution of one of the most prominent figures of this tradition, the philosopher and polymath Avicenna (Ibn Sīnā, 980–1037).

To register for this event please follow the link:

https://csmbr.fondazionecomel.org/events/online-lectures/avicenna-signes/

 

 

 

 

 

5. MERIP-CAIS Keynote Address: Making Space for the Gulf with Arang Keshavarzian,

Professor of Middle East and Islamic Studies, NYU

April 28 @ 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Join MERIP and Villanova’s Center for Arab and Islamic Studies for a Keynote lecture as part of the MERIP-CAIS Writing Workshop. Making Space for the Gulf, Arang Keshavarzian’s latest book from Stanford University Press, reveals how capitalism, empire-building, geopolitics, and urbanism have each shaped understandings of the Gulf region over the last two centuries.

This event is in-person ONLY.
Villanova University

Villanova, Pennsylvania
Garey Hall 31
4-5:30PM

 

 

 

 

 

6. The Department of Middle Eastern Studies of the University of Chicago is honored to have Prof.Fatemeh Keshavarzas speaker in the Franklin Lewis Lecture Series 2025. The lecture will be in person and on zoom on Wednesday, May 14 at 5:00 PM US Central Time in The Tea Room, The Social Science Research Building.

Title: Once you have Matured, these Words will Shake you to the Core

Abstract: This presentation explores a selection of Jalal al-Din Rumi’s (1207-1273) invocations of human speech in his orally delivered discourses, the Fihe ma fih. These references, allusive or extensive, display attention to the varieties, capacities, impacts, and ultimately significance of speech. A sacred tool in God hand, and also available to seekers of spiritual attainment. Born on the intersection of speculative thought (as in the Masnavi), and poetic fervor and freedom (as in the Divan), the Discourses are often spontaneous, interactive, at times accidental, and always instructive. In all these variations, the orality of the text sharpens the edge of expression. Rumi, the poet, remains aware of the cerebral, as well as affective, complexity of speaking.

Register for Zoom Here.

 

 

 

 

 

7. ONLINE Symposium: “Scholarship Beyond Borders – Resilience and Reform in Syrian Academia”, University of Sussex, 28 April 2025, 11:00 – 14:00 CET

The symposium aims to explore the unique challenges and opportunities faced by Syrian academics at home and in exile, fostering dialogue and collaboration. The event will bring together scholars in Syria, Syrian researchers in the UK, and key external stakeholders.

Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/2n3n78jk

 

 

 

 

 

8. Conference „Key Concepts in Interreligious Discourses: The Concept of Matter and the Concept of Spirit in Judaism, Christianity and Islam”, University of Erlangen, 25-27 June 2025

Deadline for registration: 18 June 2025.

Information and program: https://www.bafid.fau.de/files/2025/04/KCID_06.2025.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

9. PhD in Civilization Studies (4 Years), Alliance of Civilizations Institute, Ibn Haldun University, Istanbul

Fully funded doctoral program, with an additional funded year of Turkish language training. Research areas span Islamic Civilization in the Contemporary World, argumentation theory, comparative history, urban studies, and migra-tion. The program adopts an interdisciplinary framework that engages global challenges through multilayered, comparative, and complementary perspectives.

Deadline for applications: 16 May 2025. Information: https://medit.ihu.edu.tr/en/ph-d-applications

Workshop: The Materiality of Ziyāra in the Early Islamic World
Tombs, Shrines, Practices and Politics (ca. 650-1300 CE)
Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz, 27-29 October 2025
Marking graves, building tombs, and performing funeral rites are disapproved of—or outright forbidden—by certain segments of Islamic law, with the strictest interpretations labelling these practices as anti-Islamic innovations (bidaʿ). Various prophetic ḥadīths in the canonical collections of the 3rd/9th century categorically prohibit plastering (tajṣīṣ), constructing (bināʾ), and inscribing (kitāba) on graves and firmly oppose visiting, praying at, or even sitting near them. The effects of this radically prohibitive stance have persisted in modern times as manifested in the systematic destruction of tombs and mausolea by the Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia.
This notwithstanding, a substantial body of material and textual evidence attests to precisely the opposite: namely, that by at least the 3rd/9th and 4th/10th centuries, marking, constructing, and visiting tombs was already firmly established as one of the most distinctive features of Islamic culture and practice. As Oleg Grabar notes, “one of the most characteristic buildings of Islamic architecture is, without doubt, the monumental tomb”—a phenomenon suggesting the pre-existence of a cultural and ritual dimension in early Islam centred around ziyāra, the visitation of holy places associated with revered figures and their legends. This challenges the common notion that a prohibitive Islamic orthodoxy concerning burials and commemoration was followed by a deviant innovation in the 3rd/9th-4th/10th centuries. Instead, it suggests that commemorative practices and prohibitive stances both emerged at an early stage, as coexisting and interdependent phenomena.
But how, when, and where did ziyāra originate, and what are the earliest material records of it?
In 1966, Grabar theorised that the original impetus for building—and visiting—mausolea stemmed between the 2nd/8th and the 3rd/9th century from Shīʿism, for which visitation to the tombs of the Imams was—and remains—among the foremost pious obligations. Other scholars, such as Teresa Bernheimer and Christopher Taylor, have highlighted both the inter-communal nature of these visits—driven by a devotion to the Prophet’s family that transcended sectarian boundaries—and the phenomenon of Sunni patronage of major Imami shrines during the medieval period. Although partly prompted by a shared reverence for the ahl al-bayt, such patronage often served specific political agendas among Sunni rulers. Indeed, the persistent involvement of governing powers in the history of these sites—through either sponsorship or attempted suppression—underscores their political significance. There is substantial evidence that interactions with tombs and their material settings—whether in a shrine, cemetery, building, or open space—played a pivotal role in shaping sectarian identities, fostering communal meaning, promoting group cohesion, and at times inciting unruly behaviours.
Last but not least, the rise of ziyāra practices in the early Islamic period needs to be considered within the broader, cross-religious framework of memorialisation in Late Antique Western Asia and the Mediterranean. For instance, the commemoration of burials through epigraphy and built structures, the veneration of saints, and pilgrimage to their tombs were integral aspects of the devotional life of Christian communities, which underscores the porous boundaries between religious groups and the shared ritual mechanisms behind the act of grave visitation. Evidence suggests that early Islamic societies did intersect and overlap with existing sacred landscapes, with sites of Christian pilgrimage becoming embedded within new Islamic religious and political topographies.
The emergence of ziyāra therefore raises a complex range of questions about the materiality and spatiality of death and burial in early Islam, as well as its social, ritual, and political dimension. Yet, our understanding of this practice, its material emergence, and its relationship with the socio-religious landscape of Late Antique Western Asia and the Mediterranean remains fragmented: on one hand, the archaeological record is often scarce and difficult to interpret, on the other, a divide persists between scholars who focus on material culture and those whose work is primarily text-based. New evidence, however, is continually coming to light and calls for interdisciplinary engagement that encompasses archaeology, material culture, architecture, epigraphy, a consideration of spatiality and spatial networks, and their connection to rituals.
It is with this aim that the present workshop—organised jointly by the ERC Horizon Starting Grant Project “Embodied Imamate: Mapping the Development of the Early Shiʿi Community 700-900 CE” at Leiden University and the Kunsthistorische Institut in Florenz—seeks to foster dialogue among art and architectural historians, archaeologists, and historians/philologists who engage with materiality to address, from a variety of angles, the issue of the early crystallisation of ziyāra practices and the broader socio-political transformations reflected in evolving topographies of cemeteries and sacred landmarks in the early Islamic realm.
Submissions that engage with architectural, archaeological, and epigraphical evidence are particularly encouraged. This includes both new archaeological field reports and reassessments of established architectural, material, and archaeological data. The geographical scope covers the entire Islamicate world, with a strict chronological focus on periods before the 8th/14th century.
Specific questions include (but are not limited to):

How did early Muslims negotiate the apparent textual prohibitions on marking and building over graves with the emergence of large-scale tomb architecture and commemorative practices?
At what point, and in which regions, do we first find clear archaeological or architectural evidence of ziyāra-related activity?
In what ways did the first Islamic commemorative buildings incorporate or adapt pre-Islamic local building traditions, aesthetics and topographies?
To what extent did early Islamic sacred landscapes emerge through interaction with pre-existing pilgrimage sites, and in what ways did ziyāra practices develop in relation to established traditions of saint veneration? How did the location and prominence of specific tombs or shrines connect to broader pilgrimage routes, trade circuits, or travel networks?
How do acts of erasure, translation, manipulation of the burial sites of revered figures serve the political agendas of rulers and elites?
How did the spatial arrangement of cemeteries, tombs and shrines shape communal identity and social hierarchies? What role did these sites play in constructing a “sacred topography,” and how did that topography shift over time?
Which ritual practices became materially inscribed in cemeteries, and how do we detect their traces in the archaeological record?
What visual strategies were used to mark the sanctity of tombs, and how did these evolve across different regions or periods in the early Islamic era?

If you wish to participate, please submit a title, an abstract of no more than 500 words, and a CV to the following email address: a.santi@hum.leidenuniv.nl
All submissions must be received no later than May 18th, 2025
Notifications of acceptance will be sent by late June.

‘Shii News Chats’ aims to profile academics across the world whose research focuses on Shiism and Shii communities across the world. These thereby highlight the diversity of the researchers but also the diversity of the faith and its practitioners.
The link to these can be found on the menu along the top of the site’s main page.
The third of these, with Yafa Shanneik, presently at Lund University but coming to SOAS in December, is now available.

An online exhibition, exhibition catalog, and academic edited volume in one, this website offers an alternative museological space for exploring the Emamzadeh Yahya shrine complex’s many looks, functions, resonances, and stories over the last 700 years. The mirrored website in English and Persian includes six thematic galleries and about 70 contributions in various formats, including essays, films, digital interactives, and catalog entries. About 20% of the multilingual contents (English, Persian, and French) is available in translation. At the time of launch in January 2025, the website was about 90% complete.

The primary mission of the Emamzadeh Yahya Project is to increase awareness and understanding of the shrine complex and its dispersed tiles, collections, and archives, without pursuing commercial, political, or institutional objectives. Through our interdisciplinary collaborations and diverse modes of presentation, we chart an alternative course for how research is conducted and shared across disciplines, languages, and audiences. Through our curatorial interventions, we seek a more balanced and inclusive museological space for experiencing and exhibiting Persian art. Through our holistic study of one relatively small site, we offer a general exploration of Persian art and Iranian culture from the medieval period to the present.

The Emamzadeh Yahya Project is an independent research initiative created and governed by individuals beyond institutions. Directed by Keelan Overton since 2021, it has involved a research team dedicated to the shrine, a production team responsible for the website and academic publication within, and a cast of over 40 contributors worldwide. The website is an independent production of 33 Arches, is hosted by Khamseen: Islamic Art History Online, and has been partially supported by academic grants.

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@EmamzadehYahyaProject2025

1.HYBRID Summer Schools: “Ottoman Paleography” & “Ottoman Diplomatica” of the “Archive Languages Training Program”, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakif University, Istanbul, 8-31 July 2025

The classes will be held between 09.00-12.30 (UTC +3 Istanbul) on Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday.

Deadline for applications: 30 May 2025. Information: https://mailchi.mp/mediterraneanseminar/enroll-ottoman-paleography-ottoman-diplomatica-summer-school-istanbul-831-july?e=82aeb6c61d

 

 

 

 

 

2. Exhibition – “MAMLOUKS 1250-1517” – Musée du Louvre

The Musée du Louvre presents, for the first time in Europe, an important exhibition dedicated to the Mamluk Sultanate.

MAMLOUKS 1250-1517

Main exhibition Hall (Hall Napoléon), Musée du Louvre, Paris

From April 30 to July 28, 2025

Institutional curator: Souraya Noujaim, Director of the Islamic Art Department

Scientific curator: Carine Juvin, Curator for the Medieval Near East collections

The exhibition gathers 260 objects from around 40 international institutions.

It is accompanied with a catalogue, edited by Carine Juvin : Mamlouks 1250-1517, Musée du Louvre/ Skira, 2025, 360 p., ISBN : 2370742674. The book gathers contributions from numerous specialists: Omniya Abdel Barr, Iman R. Abdulfattah, Julien Auber de Lapierre, Thomas Bauer, Doris Behrens-Abouseif, Agnès Carayon, Moya Carey, Amélie Chekroun, Hadrien Collet, Anna Contadini, Damien Coulon, Alice Croq, Kristof D’hulster, Shireen Ellinger, Mathieu Eychenne, Gwenaëlle Fellinger, Finbarr Barry Flood, Noah Gardiner, Carine Juvin, Miriam Kühn, Adeline Laclau, Boris Liebrenz, Julien Loiseau, Clément Moussé, Souraya Noujaim, Alison Ohta, Stéphane Pradines, Nasser Rabbat, Mariam Rosser-Owen, Camille Rouxpetel, Noha Sadek, Maria Sardi, Rachel Sarfati, Vera-Simone Schulz, Élodie Vigouroux, Rachel Ward.

A related conference, Mamluk art: attributions, evolutions will be organized on June 23, 2025, at Musée du Louvre, Centre Dominique-Vivant Denon (limited capacity room) with Omniya Abdel Barr, Doris Behrens-Abouseif, Annabelle Collinet, Shireen Ellinger, Carine Juvin, Corinne Mühlemann, Élodie Vigouroux, Rosalind Wade-Haddon, Rachel Ward.

The exhibition will travel for a second venue at Louvre Abu Dhabi, from September 17, 2025 to January 25, 2026, in a slightly revised version, accompanied with a different catalogue, edited by Carine Juvin, featuring numerous international contributors: Mamluks. the Legacy of an Empire, Louvre Abu Dhabi/Kaph, 2025 (Arabic, English, French versions).

Contact Information

Carine Juvin, Curator for Medieval Near East, Department of Islamic Art, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France

Contact Email

carine.juvin@louvre.fr

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. UCLA Bilingual Lecture Series – Farhad Khosrokhavar

The Mahsa Movement and the Feminist Uprising in Iran

Farhad Khosrokhavar

Sunday, April 27, 2025 at 11:30 am

Lecture in Persian

Zoom Registration:

https://ucla.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_HxPN8qGWQuSbj1Y1WO9TRQ

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Online Workshops. HIAA: Dialogs with Islamic Art: Hamra Abbas and Varunika Saraf. April 25. 9:00am Los Angeles / 12:00pm NYC / 9:30pm Hyderabad.

Join HIAA for a conversation between two contemporary South Asian artists—Hamra Abbas (w. Lahore, Pakistan) and Varunika Saraf (w. Hyderabad, India)—as they discuss their recent work, their relationship to the history of Islamic art, and the urgency of beauty and care in their turbulent present. Moderated by Sylvia W. Houghteling and Meghaa Parvathy Ballakrishnen.

To register: https://temple.zoom.us/meeting/register/QEim4Cw8QNWvd8C1dcng4w

 

 

 

 

 

5. NEW SERIES FROM MAZDA PUBLISHERS

Mazda Publishers – Bibliotheca Iranica: Americans in Iran/Persia Collection

From the 18th to the early 20th centuries, Persia (modern-day Iran) attracted a modest but notable number of American travelers, including missionaries, diplomats, scholars, and adventurers. Although overshadowed by the more prominent European presence in the region, these Americans played a unique role in cultural exchange and early U.S.–Persia relations. Many recorded their observations in travelogues that reflected both fascination and misunderstanding.

One of the earliest and most influential groups of Americans in Persia were Christian missionaries. Arriving in the mid-19th century, particularly through the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, they focused their efforts on Assyrian and Armenian Christian communities in northwestern Persia. These missionaries established schools, medical clinics, and printing presses. Their presence introduced aspects of modern education and medicine to certain areas, but also stirred tensions, as they were often perceived by locals as agents of foreign—and at times, disruptive—influence.

Diplomatic missions also contributed to American engagement with Persia. By the late 19th century, the United States began formalizing relations with the Qajar dynasty. American diplomats and consuls, though relatively few in number, reported on Persia’s internal politics, trade opportunities, and strategic significance—especially as the country found itself entangled in the imperial rivalry between Britain and Russia. These reports fostered a growing, though still limited, American interest in the Middle East.

Among individual travelers, some of the most vivid accounts came from American adventurers, archaeologists, and educators. One such figure was Howard Baskerville, a young teacher from Nebraska who became directly involved in Persian affairs. During the Constitutional Revolution of 1905–1911, he joined the movement in Tabriz and died in battle, becoming a local hero and a rare symbol of American solidarity with Persian aspirations for democracy.

Overall, while the American presence in Persia during this period was limited in scale, it was significant in influence. Their experiences—documented in letters, memoirs, and official reports—reveal a complex blend of idealism, cultural bias, and sincere curiosity. These early encounters laid the groundwork for the longer and sometimes contentious relationship between Iran and the United States in the 20th century.

Mazda Publishers is proud to announce the launch of a new collection of books focusing on this subject. These volumes highlight the contributions and firsthand accounts of American travelers in Iran/Persia over the past several centuries. What truly motivated these journeys—religious conviction, commercial interest, or political involvement? Whatever the reasons, one of the most valuable outcomes of their writings is the vivid and detailed portrait they offer of Persian society during this transformative era.

These memoirs and observations contain highly valuable material for scholars and researchers studying Iranian and Persian history from the 18th to the 20th centuries.

 

 

 

 

 

6. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SEMINAR IN ARABIC STUDIES

4/23 Magical Realism in Jordan and Egypt with Caroline Seymour-Jorn

upcoming meeting with Professor Caroline Seymour-Jorn this Wednesday (4/23) at 7pm EST in Faculty House. The talk is titled Magical Realism in Jordan and Egypt:  Interrogating Indigeneity, Colonialism and Futurity in the fiction of Samiha Khrais and Hani Abdel Mourid.

Please note that due to new regulations, non CUID holders will not be allowed into Faculty House without prior notice. If you intend to be present in-person and do not have a Columbia ID, please RSVP ASAP. If we don’t receive your RSVP we will not be able to let you in. You should receive a QR code before Wednesday morning–if not, please reply to this message.  The talk will be live streamed here on ZOOM for guests who can’t make it in person.

We will begin at 7:00 pm. If you would like to join the speaker for dinner at 6:00 pm at Faculty House please RSVP to the seminar’s rapporteur (rma2152@columbia.edu). The cost of dinners is $30, payable via card or check. Attendees who are fasting may take their dinner into the seminar room.

 

 

 

Mapping Global Populism — Panel XXI: Ethnic & Sectarian Politics and Populism in Iraq, Syria and Kurdish Regions

1.UCLA Bilingual Lecture Series – Touraj Atabaki & Lana Ravandi-Fadai

Fallen in the Whirlwind:

The Odyssey and Destiny of Iranian Victims of Stalinist Great Repression in the Soviet Union

Sunday, May 18, 2025 at 11:30 am PST via ZOOM

Zoom Registration:

https://ucla.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_rBjt0ANzRrSrmOOM7chltg

 

 

 

 

 

2. Call for Papers – Digital Methodologies

Digital Methodologies for the Study of Religion

25^th June 2025, Coventry University

A Knowledge Exchange Symposium organised as part of the ESRC-funded Digital British Islam Project

Deadline for Abstracts: 15^th May 2025

https://digitalbritishislam.com/call-for-papers-digital-methodologies/

 

 

 

 

3. Hybrid: UCLA – Pourdavoud Lecture Series with Gunvor Lindström

The Denavar Satyrs as Time Travelers:

From Ancient Persia to Greece, Rome, and 20th Century Collections

Wednesday, May 21, 2025 at 4:00pm Pacific

Royce Hall 306

Hybrid Zoom Option Available

Registration Required

 

 

 

 

4. Hybrid: UCLA – Global Antiquity Distinguished Speaker Series

Climate Change along the Silk Road?

Sitta von Reden

Thursday, April 24, 2025 at 4:00 pm Pacific Time

Royce Hall 306 and Via Zoom

https://globalantiquity.ucla.edu/event/global-antiquity-distinguished-speaker-series-climate-change-along-the-silk-road-with-sitta-von-reden/

 

 

 

 

5. Hybrid: UCLA – Pourdavoud Lecture Series with Wu Xin

Imperial Foundations of the Silk Road: Persian Roads and Han Walls

Wednesday, May 14, 2025 at 4:00pm Pacific

Royce Hall 306

Hybrid Zoom Option Available

Registration Required

 

 

 

 

6. IIS London – Hybrid: Conceptual Photography and the Craft of Reading Islamic Historical Texts Lecture

Please join us at 5 pm on Thursday, 24 April, for the next Islamic History and Thought Lecture Series session organised by the Institute of Ismaili Studies.

Professor Shahzad Bashir’s talk is titled “Conceptual Photography and the Craft of Reading Islamic Historical Texts”, with Prof. Amanda Lanzillo as discussant.

The event can be attended in person at the Aga Khan Centre in London and online (on Zoom). To join, please register at https://www.iis.ac.uk/events/conceptual-photography/

Abstract:

When historical texts are read, readers rely on their intellectual conditioning to understand and judge what such texts are conveying. In this experimental talk, Dr Shahzad Bashir utilises 19th-century Indian Islamic texts to suggest that anamorphism highlighted in concept-driven photography provides a useful analogy for seeing how historians’ narratives become containers for irreducibly complex worlds. Historians’ claims about the past are always equally valid and distortive, mirroring the way a two-dimensional image in a photograph captures a three-dimensional world. The analogy helps scholars appreciate historical knowledge as a particular form of truth that cannot be mapped to basic notions of objectivity, subjectivity, normativity, and so on.

 

 

 

 

7. The Spring 2025 issue of Journal18, an online journal dedicated to eighteenth-century art and culture, may be of interest to historians of Islamic art. The theme of the issue is Africa: Beyond Borders.

It can be accessed at:

https://www.journal18.org/

ARTICLES

Between Europe and Africa: A Gift of Prestige in the Era of the Trade in Enslaved Africans
Ana Lucia Araujo

From Harar to Diu: Circulation and Reception of a Qur’anic Manuscript across the Indian Ocean
Sana Mirza

The Indian Madras Cloth and Elite Self-Fashioning in the Bight of Biafra
Eguono Lucia Edafioka
SHORTER PIECES

Forging Swahili Muslim Style: Material Culture from Pate Island (ca. 1750-ca. 1850)
Zulfikar Hirji

The Ujumbe of Mutsamudu, an Eighteenth-Century Swahili Stone House in the Comoros
Stéphane Pradines and Olivier Onezime

Arts of the Maghreb: North African Textiles and Jewelry – Curatorial Reflections
Helina Gebremedhen

URL

https://www.journal18.org/

 

 

 

 

 

8. ONLINE Webinar on “Their Religion Was a Real and Living Thing”: Alan Villiers’ Interactions with Islam and Arabian Culture, 1938-39″ by Taibah Al-Fagih, Royal Museums Greenwich, 22 April 2025, 18:15 – 19:30 CET

Alan Villiers was a celebrated Australian author, photographer, and seafarer who spent his life seeking to extensively document maritime traditions around the world throughout the 20th century. He documented especially the rich sea-faring heritage in the Arabian Gulf in 1938-39. His photographic collection was studied by Taibah Al-Fagih.

Information and registration: https://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/online/alan-villiers-interactions-islam-arabian

 

 

 

 

 

9. 2025 Assyrian Studies Symposium”, Arizona State University, 24-26 October 2025

By fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration, we aim to push the boundaries of critical Assyrian Studies and contribute to a deeper and more just understanding of Assyrian history, culture, and identity. This is an

opportunity to challenge conventional perspectives, explore new research avenues, and elevate the field of Assyrian Studies to a central position in academic discourse.

Deadline for abstracts: 15 May 2025. Information: https://www.assyrianstudiesassociation.org/2025symposium

 

 

 

 

 

10. 4th Biennial Conference on Contemporary Iranian Studies: “Iranian Studies in the Contemporary Era”, University of Tehran, 27-28 October 2025

Main Topics: Contemporary history – Political science & international relations – Sociology & social transformations – Religions & theology – Art & cultural studies – New media & communication studies – Diaspora studies. Interdisciplinary and comparative studies are highly encouraged. Conference Languages: Persian & English.

Deadline for abstracts: 31 May 2025. Information: https://iranianstudies.ut.ac.ir/

 

 

 

 

 

11. Conference “Poetry and Knowledge: The Production and Transmission of Knowledge in Arabic Verse (1100–1800)”, Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Münster, 20-22 November 2025

We aim to explore the diverse strategies used to produce, convey, and disseminate knowledge through poetry. This may include, for example, the composition and structure of the poem, the choice of meter, stylistic devices, sonic and performative aspects, and the use of a specific technical lexicon. We hope this shift in perspective will instead enable a comprehensive analysis of the stylistic, structural, and functional features of the poems.

Deadline for abstracts: 1 June 2025.

Information: https://www.uni-muenster.de/ArabistikIslam/Forschen/Tagungen/poetry-and-knowledge.html

 

 

 

 

 

12. International Symposium: “A Century of Revolutions – Centennial of the Great Syrian Revolt (1925-2025)”, Maison méditerranéenne des sciences de l’homme (MMSH), Aix-en-Provence, 8-10 december 2025

We invite researchers from all disciplines in the humanities and social sciences (history, sociology, anthropology, linguistics, political science, etc.) to submit proposals for papers (in English, French or Arabic) on the main themes: Anti-colonial ṯawrāt: rebels and locations of revolt. – Questions at a time of profound changes between two worlds (1918-1946. – From one ṯawra to another. – Rediscovering sources.

Deadline for abstracts: 15 June 2025. Information: https://networks.h-net.org/group/announcements/20066275/cfp-century-revolutions-centennial-great-syrian-revolt-1925-2025

 

 

 

 

 

13. University Assistant Predoctoral (4 Years), Department of Islamic-Theological Studies, University of Vienna

Qualification: Completed Master’s degree in Islamic Theology or Religious Education or a comparable discipline. – Willingness and ability to engage in interdisciplinary and international discourse. – Didactic skills, experience in student supervision. – Good IT skills. – Excellent knowledge of English (C1) – High level of written and oral commu-nication skills.

Deadline for applications: 24 April 2025. Information: https://jobs.univie.ac.at/job/University-assistant-predoctoral-at-the-Department-of-Islamic-Theological-Studies/1186314001/

 

 

 

 

 

14. University Assistant Postdoctoral (4 Years), Department of Islamic-Theological Studies, University of Vienna

Qualification: Outstanding dissertation in Islamic-Theological Studies or a comparable discipline. – Research in the field of Islamic theology with a focus on its relevance for European societies. – Critical reflection on socio-political discourses on Islam. – Experience in research management. – Didactic skills and experience in e-learning – Good IT skills. – Excellent knowledge of English (C1).

Deadline for applications: 24 April 2025. Information: https://jobs.univie.ac.at/job/University-Assistant-postdoctoral-at-the-Department-of-Islamic-Theological-Studies/1186325501

 

 

 

 

 

15. “Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions – Postdoctoral Fellowship” (12-24 Months), Institute for Mediter-ranean Studies / Foundation of Research and Technology – Hellas (IMS/FORTH), Rethymno, Crete

Research fields: Ottoman History: preferably (but not exclusively) cultural, economic, political, and social Ottoman history. – Maritime History: maritime history in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, 17th-20th century. – Mediterranean and Global Economic and Social History: Social history of the 19th and 20th centuries, preferably in Mediterranean and Balkans and in topics relevant to labour history. Etc.

Deadline for applications: 10 May 2025. Information: https://networks.h-net.org/group/announcements/20065744/institute-mediterranean-studiesforth-pre-call-applications-marie

 

 

 

 

 

16. ONLINE “11th Yemen Exchange – An Intensive Online Course on Yemen” Hosted by the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies (SCSS), 5-16 May 2025

The course is designed to provide unique access to information, perspectives, updates, and analysis on Yemen for those seeking to develop a working background on the country as well as those already thoroughly versed in its dynamics. Participants will listen to Yemeni analysts, academics, politicians, bureaucrats, business leaders, and international experts to gain insight and rare first-hand knowledge about the country from a wide range of per-spectives.

Deadline for application: 30 April 2025. Information: https://sanaacenter.org/event/the-11th-yemen-exchange

 

 

 

 

 

17. Articles on “Within and Beyond Islam. Stories and Engagement of Young Muslims in Italy” for a Special Issue of the Journal “Occhialì – Rivista sul Mediterraneo islamico”

We invite both theoretical and empirical contributions that address a diverse array of themes and contexts pertaining to the lived experiences of second-generation Muslims in Italy. Key areas of exploration include: The dynamics of their relationship with Islam and Islamic communities; interactions with the broader Italian population; and engage-ments with media and political landscapes. Contributions may examine the implications of rising Islamophobia, etc.

Deadline for abstracts: 30 April 2025. Information: https://rivistaocchiali.com/cfp-no-17/