Archive for December 13th, 2025
Shii News – Academic Items
1. Modern Standard Arabic (MSA)
Language Course
Dates: 27th January- 14th April 2026
Time: Tuesday 06:00 to 08:00 PM
Location: The Islamic College, London, NW10 2SW
More info and registration at:
2. Amir Khosrow Afshar Visiting Fellowship, 2026-27
The LSE Iranian History Initiative welcomes applications for the Amir Khosrow Afshar Visiting Fellowship for the 2026-27 academic year. The Afshar Fellowship provides an opportunity for an external post-doctoral scholar of modern Iranian history, including both early-career researchers and established scholars, to travel to London and be affiliated with LSE while conducting research on any aspect of the modern history of Iran between 1500 and 1979. This might include research at the UK National Archives, the British Library, the LSE Library and Archives, or other libraries and archives in London and the UK.
The Iranian History Initiative particularly welcomes applications from scholars based outside of the UK; from scholars whose research involves the use of Persian-language primary sources; and from scholars working on any aspect of the history of Pahlavi Iran (1921-1979).
The Afshar Fellowship is tenable for a period of one month during either the Autumn (28 September to 11 December 2026), Winter (11 January to 25 March 2027) or Spring (26 April to 11 June 2027) terms at LSE. Fellowships are not tenable outside of these dates of term. Afshar Fellows will be reimbursed up to £2,000 for the cost of return economy travel to London, up to £125 per night for accommodation for a maximum of 31 days stay in London, and up to £125 for UK visa expenses.
Fellows will be formally affiliated with the Iranian History Initiative and the Department of International History at LSE. Afshar Fellows will receive an LSE ID card, granting them access to campus buildings, including the LSE Library. An IT account, including LSE e-mail and access to the LSE Library’s online resources, will also be provided. Afshar Fellows are expected to attend IHI and departmental events during the period of their residency in London and to present their research in a departmental forum or public event.
Applications, consisting of a research proposal (no more than three pages) and CV, should be made by email to Dr Roham Alvandi (R.Alvandi@lse.ac.uk) by no later than 19 January 2026. Applications will be assessed by a selection committee, and the fellowship will be awarded by the Department of International History’s Research Committee.
3. Iʿjāz al-bayān
Arabic Edition with an Introduction
Ṣadr al-Dīn Qūnawī
Edited by Anthony F. Shaker
series: Monographs in Arabic and Islamic Studies
352 pages
Available in hardback and ebook editions
For more information and to order at a discount visit the webpage:
https://equinoxreligionlibrary.com/projects/i-jaz-al-bayan
Quote the code RELIGION for 25% off the print editions or RELIGION35 for 35% off the ebook edition
4. 4th Webinar, Saudi Women: From Where and Whither?
The 4th Webinar of our ‘ Empowering Muslim Women in Scientific Research’ Series co-organized by the Universities of Sharjah & Manchester.
Dr Fowziyah Abu Khalid,
Title: Saudi Women: From Where and Whither?
17th Dec 2025, 1pm UK time/ 5pm UAE time
Registration at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/saudi-women-from-where-and-whither-fowziyah-abu-khalid-tickets-1977271463173?aff=oddtdtcreator [eventbrite.com]
5. Islamic Normative Legal Theory: Framework and Applications
Habib Ahmed
Journal of Law and Religion, Volume 40 / Issue 1, January 2025, pp 28 – 58
doi: 10.1017/jlr.2025.10056 Published Online on 27 August 2025
6. Call for Expression of Interest for an edited volume on Histories of Islam and Muslims in Canada
We are trying to gauge interest for a potential edited volume examining the history of Islam and Muslims in Canada. This represents an understudied aspect of both Islamic studies and Canadian studies. Since there are very few scholars (professors, postdocs, graduate students) working in the area, we hope this proposed volume will garner interest and hopefully spur further interest in the subject matter.
This call for expression of interest is intentionally broad and encourages a diverse set of methodologies. Potential topics might include:
- Micro- and/or microhistories
- Focus on individuals (e.g., Peter Baker, Yasmin Rantansi, Nazem Khadri)
- Focus on a particular community, ethnicity, religious group (e.g., Twelver, Ismaili, Ahmadi)
- Municipal/provincial/geographic regions
- Historical/archival/statistical/ethnographic approaches (if the latter, please add a historical component.)
- Comparative (e.g., Cedar Rapids, IA, and London, ON; comparative/contrasting trends with other countries: e.g., US, UK, Sweden)
- Reflective pieces by senior scholars
Again, we are asking only for expressions of interest at this point. We will proceed accordingly depending upon what comes in. Please feel free to circulate to faculty, postdocs and graduate students.
If interested, by December 31, please contact:
Aaron W Hughes Jennifer Selby
aaron.hughes@rochester.edu jselby@mun.ca
7. Mission Studies,
Volume 42 (2025): Issue 3 (Dec 2025): Special Issue: Indo-Persian Missions and Their Interreligious Challenge, edited by Norbert Hintersteiner and Haila Manthegi
https://brill.com/view/journals/mist/42/3/mist.42.issue-3.xml
8. For the benefit of those who could not attend the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) 2025 conference in Washington, DC, here is the link to their program:
https://www.mazdapublishers.com/images/upload/news/MESA-2025_Final-Program-R.pdf
9. The editors of Imago Mundiare pleased to share a call for papers prepared by IM editorial board member Martin Brückner who invites proposals for a thematic issue of Imago Mundi, Maps and the Imagination.
10. UCLA:
Panel Discussion on Afghan Refugees in Iran
Monday, January, 12, 2026 at 11:00 am Pacific Time
Online via Zoom
In Persian and English
Registration Required
Registration Link: https://ucla.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hcYEa8i_QB6EIvQRBb9YEw
11. ONLINE Webinar “A Modern Iraq Convening” Organized by Pietro Menghini, Kiki Santing, and Peter Wien, Academic Research Institute in Iraq (TARII), 18 December 2025, 14:00 – 18:00 CET
The Modern Iraq Convening brings together a new generation of international scholars sharing an interest in Modern Iraqi studies to establish an international network of researchers focusing on Iraq in a multi- and cross-disciplinary fashion. This first edition of the Convening will be held in English, with Arabic editions planned for the near future.
Information, program, and registration: https://www.tarii.org/events/moderniraqconvening
12. International Conference “Islam and Digitality. Media, Materiality, Hermeneutics”, Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 10-11 July 2026
Main themes: We will address images of Islamic history and explore how their mediation in the digital age relates to contemporary religious identity and forms of theological differentiation. – We will examine how the digitisation of sacred texts and exegetical literature is changing the ways in which Muslim scholars engage with them. – We will investigate how Muslims employ the affordances of digital media to articulate specific interpretations of how Islam should be lived, interpreted and proclaimed
Deadline for abstracts: 19 December 2025.
Information: https://aiwg.de/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CfP-IuD.pdf
13. Philip K. Hitti Endowed Chair in Middle Eastern Studies, American University in Beirut
We seek a distinguished and collegial scholar with a demonstrated commitment to high-level research relevant to the politics of the Middle East region; a sustained record of teaching and service at an internationally recognized institutions; and an established record of public and student engagement. We are open to applicants in Middle East Studies, particularly in the fields of Politics or Global Affairs, and at the rank of full professor.
Deadline for applications: 30 January 2026. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/178776
- December 13, 2025
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment