Archive for 2025

Since July 2023, Dr. Qutbuddin is the AlBabtain Laudian Professor of Arabic in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Oxford, and a Professorial Fellow of St John’s College.
Originally from Mumbai, Dr. Qutbuddin earned a BA and Tamhidi Magister from Ain Shams University, Cairo, and a PhD from Harvard. She taught briefly at Yale and the University of Utah, then for two decades at the University of Chicago.
She teaches classical Arabic literature from its oral beginnings in the 7th century to the cusp of modernity around 1800, seeing it as a direct window into the rich culture and thought of the vast medieval Arabic-speaking world.
She has been awarded by HE Sheikh Thani in the category of Arabic to English translations, for her work on the Nahj al-Balagha, in the “2024 Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding” winners circle.

Dr Sobhani’s Lecture: “Environmental Challenges and Islamic Legal Solutions”

1. Zoom: The Forgotten German Civilians of Persia

Professor P Khosronejad will be sharing fascinating research on the forgotten German civilians from Persia who were interned in Australia during WWII. Discover the remarkable research, untold stories, cultural legacies and the powerful impact these families had on post-war.

This event will also feature Mrs. Helga (Girschik) Griffin, the only surviving female from this group, who will share personal memories of life in the Internment Camp.

Friday 1^st August 2025

Iluka Library 2-4 pm (Sydney time)

Online zoom link:

https://uws.zoom.us/j/82662853883…

Meeting ID: 826 6285 3883

Password: 388690

 

 

 

 

 

2. CfP: Text, Context and Interpretation: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Qur’an

Sharjah, April 8–9, 2026 | الشارقة في 8–9 أبريل 2026

Department of Arabic and Translation Studies (ATS) | قسم دراسات العربية والترجمة

American University of Sharjah (AUS) | الجامعة الأميركية في الشارقة

Abstract submission deadline: November 17, 2025

https://info.aus.edu/text-content-and-interpretationhttps://info.aus.edu/text-content-and-interpretation

 

 

 

 

 

3. Iran and French Orientalism

Persia in the Literary Culture of Nineteenth-Century France

J C Hartley

Bloomsbury, 2025

with articles of interest to Shii News by
Hannah Richter
Robert Gleave
Ali-reza Bhojani
Sümeyra Yakar
Maryam Rutner
Zahir Bhalloo
Elham Bakhtary

1.Submissions Open for BRISMES Conference Student Paper Prize

Submissions are currently open for this year’s BRISMES Conference Student Paper Prize. Established in 2021, this prize aims to support BRISMES student members in the development of peer-reviewed work. If you are a student member of BRISMES and presented a paper at the conference, please do consider making a submission!

Deadline | 17:00 (UK time) on Friday, 31 October 2025

 

 

 

 

2. Lecturer (Edu) in the History of the Middle East

School of Oriental and African Studies
SOAS are looking for a one-year replacement covering the History of the Middle East for a colleague who will be on research leave during the 2025-2026 academic year. You will be expected to teach and supervise UG and PGT dissertations on the history of the Middle East and related areas. The preferred candidate will hold a PhD in History or a closely related discipline and have gained some initial teaching and supervision experience. A strong commitment to innovative approaches to teaching and research and a collegial working style will be welcome.
Deadline | 27 July 2025
More information

 

 

 

 

 

3. Lecturer in Islamic Studies
King’s College London
The Department of Theology and Religious Studies at King’s College London is seeking to appoint a fixed-term Lecturer in Islamic Studies for 12 months, ideally starting 1 September 2025. You will contribute to co-taught undergraduate modules including Global Philosophy, Religious Traditions and God, and to a sole-taught third-year module, Philosophy of Religious Life. You will also contribute to MA modules, possibly ‘Asian Religions in Global Context’ and ‘Religion, Spirituality and Health’.
Deadline | 31 July 2025
More information

 

 

 

 

 

4. Call for Papers | Ethnographic Experiments from and within the Arab World

Symposium, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies

This symposium seeks to bring together scholars working in/on/from/with the Arab world who are engaged in developing innovative ethnographic practices and critical contemplations on broader epistemological concerns within the discipline of anthropology. In particular, we seek to bring scholars whose research agenda does not only emerge from the political and existential urgencies of the present moment, but who are also grappling with the incommensurability between the ethnographic practices of the discipline’s older generation of scholars and the contemporary crises shaping this present moment.

Deadline | 10 August 2025

More information

 

 

 

 

 

5. Call for Applications | Global Innovation Fellowship: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Fellowship, The British Academy

The objective of the Global Innovation Fellowships is to provide opportunities to UK-based early and mid-career researchers from across the humanities and social sciences to develop their skills, networks and careers in the creative and cultural, public, private and policy sectors to address challenges that require innovative approaches and solutions. The Academy and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace invite applications for fellowships in various areas, one of which is “Middle East and North Africa.”

Deadline | 24 September 2025

More information

 

 

 

 

 

6. Call for Applications | Sir William Luce Fellowship

Fellowship, Durham University

The Sir William Luce Memorial Fund committee welcomes applications for the 2026 Sir William Luce Fellowship, 27 April – 26 June 2026. The committee seek to appoint a Fellow whose work will provide fresh perspectives on urgent regional issues in the area comprising Sudan, South Sudan, Yemen, the Gulf monarchies and Iran. Fellows are expected to engage with academic staff at Durham and with the distinctive resources available at Durham – The Sudan Archive and the extensive documentary and library collections relating to the MENA region and Gulf in particular.

Deadline | 1 October 2025

More information

 

 

 

 

 

7. Book Launch: The Enduring Legacy of the Habsburg Islam Policy

The Aga Khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (AKU-ISMC) is proud to announce the publication of The Enduring Legacy of the Habsburg Islam Policy, edited by Sevgi Adak and Thomas Schmidinger. This timely volume explores how Islam was governed, represented and instrumentalised under the Habsburg Empire, and how these imperial legacies continue to shape the treatment of Muslim minorities in contemporary Central and Southeastern Europe.

Published as part of AKU-ISMC’s Governance in Muslim Contexts series, the book draws on archival and ethnographic research across multiple regions to examine the enduring impact of imperial Islam policies in shaping state–Muslim relations. Published Open Access – download your free copy here.

And join us on Thursday, 16 October 2025 for a Book Launch to celebrate with editors Sevgi Adak and Thomas Schmidinger, who will discuss the key themes and motivations behind the volume. The event will be held at the Aga Khan Centre in London and will also be streamed live via Zoom

Booking

The event is free, but booking is essential.

Register to Attend:

In-Person (Aga Khan Centre, London)
Register on Ticketsource

Online via Zoom
Register for Zoom

 

 

 

 

 

8. Asemana Books: The Art of Speaking and Writing by Mirza Agha Khan Kermani – Edited by M. Rezaei Tazik

Fann-e Goftan wa Neveshtan

(The Art of Speaking and Writing)
By Mirza Agha Khan Kermani
Edited by: M. Rezaei Tazik
ISBN: 9781997503071

This volume presents for the first time in book form a complete collection of articles by the influential Iranian thinker Mirza Agha Khan-e Kermani (1853/4–1896), originally published in the Akhtar newspaper of Istanbul. Kermani was one of the pioneering intellectuals of modern Iranian thought, a prominent critic of religion and autocracy, and a foundational figure in the discourse of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution.

During his stay in Istanbul, Kermani contributed to Akhtar with a series titled The Art of Speaking and Writing, spanning twelve articles. These pieces, published between August and November 1889, offer invaluable insights into Kermani’s evolving literary philosophy and intellectual vision at a formative period in his career.

🔗 Order the book:
https://www.lulu.com/shop/mirza-agha-khan-kermani-and-m-rezaei-tazik/the-art-of-speaking-and-writing/paperback/product-7kvpkjw.html

📚 Read more:
https://asemanabooks.ca/the-art-of-speaking-and-writing/

 

 

 

 

 

9. CFP – LAMPS Seminar Series, semester one
We are very pleased to announce the attached call for papers for the Late Antique and Medieval Postgraduate Society’s seminar series, to take place in the upcoming semester (September – December 2025). The seminar series is intended to serve as an open forum for postgraduate students from Edinburgh and beyond to present their research and gather valuable feedback and input from an interdisciplinary cohort. As such, we encourage the submission of works-in-progress and completed research alike.

We encourage the submission of abstracts on, but not limited to, the following topics:

• Late Antique Studies
• Archaeology
• Medieval Studies
• Byzantine and Islamic Studies
• Renaissance Studies
• Medieval Romance
• Neo-Medievalism
• Art History
• Reception Studies

Practicalities:

• Seminars will be held in-personon Tuesdays at 17:00, location TBA
• Submissions of a 300-word abstract and professional bio must be made to lampsedinburgh@gmail.com
• Deadline for submissions is the 29^thof August, and applicants will be notified by the 1^st of September

For further information and a QR code to sign up to our mailing list, see attached the poster for our CFP. For any further enquiries you can contact us at lampsedinburgh@gmail.com.

Kindest regards,

The LAMPS committee

 

 

 

 

 

10. New Book: “Covidocracy: Do Pandemics Defend Dictatorships and Challenge Democracies” by Nicolai Due-Gundersen (Bloomsbury Academics)

The book examines Saudi Arabia’s and other responses to Covid. For Saudi Arabia, the book focuses on government responses to previous pandemics, MBS’ rise to power and analyses speeches given by King Salman during Covid before analysing Saudi Arabia’s health diplomacy during Covid.

Information: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/covidocracy-9781350581265/

 

 

 

 

 

11. New Open Access Book: “Handbook of Families in the Arab Gulf States” Edited by Md Mizanur Rahman, Kaltham Al-Ghanim, Ziarat Hossain, Sharique Umar (Springer)

The book demarcates how Gulf families are experiencing many formidable challenges and undergoing profound changes due to speedy economic transformation, educational reforms, extensive use of social media, rapid urbanization, migration, women empowerment, and the intersections of popular culture from both the East and the West.

Information and online access: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-96-3412-5

 

 

 

 

 

12. New Book: “Islam and Pseudoscience” by Stefano Bigliardi (Cambridge University Press); Free Online 21 July – _4 August 2025

This book discusses, in critical fashion, different ideas and approaches that combine pseudoscience and Islam. It begins by historically reconstructing the debate on Islam-related pseudoscience developed by Muslim and non-Muslim critics. After a section discussing other malpractices and erroneous approaches, which do not strictly qualify as pseudoscience but accompany and foster it, the book ends with the discussion of overarching questions constituting an agenda for future discussions of Islam-related pseudoscience.

Information and online access: https://tinyurl.com/vrk8x6r8

The Islamic College

Nahj al-Balāghah stands as one of the most celebrated and enduring works in the Arabic-Islamic intellectual tradition. Al-Sharīf al-Raḍī’s compilation of the sermons, letters, and sayings of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib has inspired profound theological, ethical, literary, and political reflection across centuries.

This edited volume (under the auspices of ICAS Press) seeks to explore Nahj al-Balāghah through the interconnected lenses of text, thought, and tradition. We invite original, unpublished contributions that offer close readings, critical engagements, and interdisciplinary or comparative approaches to the Nahj as a literary text, a vehicle of doctrinal and philosophical reflection, and a living tradition transmitted, interpreted, and rearticulated across diverse contexts.

Suggested Themes
Text
Manuscript traditions and transmission history
Authorship, attribution, and compilation
Linguistic, rhetorical, and literary analysis
Genre and stylistic features of sermons, letters, and aphorisms
Thought
Doctrinal themes: tawḥīd, ʿadl, nubuwwah, imāmah, and maʿād
Philosophical and mystical dimensions of the soul and intellect
Political theology and theories of governance
Spirituality, asceticism, and the inner life
Tradition
Shi‘i and Sunni commentary traditions
Engagements with hadith, Qur’anic exegesis, and jurisprudence
Reception and reinterpretation across historical and regional contexts
Contemporary political, pedagogical, or devotional appropriations
Cross-sectarian or interfaith transmission and interpretation

Submission Instructions
Submissions should be sent via email to: shiistudies@islamic-college.ac.uk

Please include the following:
Abstract (400–600 words)
Brief academic biography (150 words)
Curriculum Vitae
Email subject line: Nahj al-Balāghah CFP – [Your Full Name]
Timeline
Deadline for Abstracts: 15 September 2025
Notification of Acceptance: 15 October 2025
Final Chapters Due: 15 April 2026
Chapter Length: 6,000–8,000 words (excluding references)

https://islamic-college.ac.uk/call-for-papers-nahj-al-balaghah-text-thought-and-tradition/

1. Fons Vitae Publishing is delighted to announce a new very exciting partnership with the recently launched Tokat Institute for Advanced Islamic Studies.

The Tokat Library of Islamic Classics, a translation series published in partnership with Fons Vitae.

“The Tokat Library of Islamic Classics (Fons Vitae) endeavors to present the timeless writings of the Islamic tradition to contemporary readers in robust and lively English translations.

With full awareness of the breadth and creativity of Islam’s literary achievements across languages such as Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Punjabi, Malay, and Chinese, the Library encompasses works from a wide variety of genres, namely philosophy, mysticism, theology, scriptural commentary, legal theory, science, poetry, history, travel writing, and biography.

Each translation in the Tokat Library of Islamic Classics is of the highest quality and is undertaken by a skilled translator who is also a widely recognized expert in the text’s subject matter, thereby ensuring both readability and scholarly precision.

For more information, visit https://tokatinstitute.org

 

 

 

 

 

2. Studies in Iranian History and Culture

In Honor of Elton L. Daniel

M Ashtiany et al eds.,

Brill, 2025

https://brill.com/display/title/72704?utm_source=marketing-cloud&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_term=monthly-newsletter-en_July2025

 

 

 

 

 

3. Poetic Desire and Literary Thievery

Economies of Intertextuality in Arabic Literature

M J al-Musawi

CUP, 2025

https://www.cambridge.org/us/universitypress/subjects/history/middle-east-history/poetic-desire-and-literary-thievery-economies-intertextuality-arabic-literature#description

 

 

 

 

 

4. Departmental Lecturer in Classical Arabic Literature

The University of Oxford from January 2026 to June 2027.

Deadline to apply is August 14.

Further Information: Job Details

 

 

 

 

 

5. ASPIRANTUM’s 2025 Persian Language Winter School (from December 01 to December 26, 2025) in Yerevan, Armenia. 

For more details about the Persian Language Winter School and to apply, please visit: https://aspirantum.com/courses/persian-language-winter-school

The 2025 Persian Language Winter School will last for 4 weeks (80 hours).

The participation fee is:

$1900 – 4 weeks

We offer a special discount exclusively to PhD students.

$1200 – 4 weeks (only for PhD students).

 

1.The Tokat Institute for Advanced Islamic Studies is pleased to announce its inaugural Book Completion Grant (in the amount of $3000). 

See here for details: https://tokatinstitute.org/grants/book-completion-grant

 

 

 

 

2. Visualizing Egypt: European Travel, Book Publishing, and the Commercialization of the Middle East in the Nineteenth Century

P Banas,

AUC Press, 2025

https://aucpress.com/9781617976674/

 

 

 

 

 

3. Classical Persian through Living Books: Introduction to Persian Manuscripts

The course will take place from August 11 until August 21st (two weeks).

Designed for students with little or no prior exposure to Persian manuscripts, this intensive course offers an introduction to the Persianate manuscript tradition. Here is a short-hand list of the main manuscripts that will be discussed (links on the website):

1. Kitāb al-abniya ‘an haqāiq al-adwiyya. 1056 AD
2. Florence Shahnameh, 1217 AD, Florence
3. Naṣr-Allāh Munšī, Kalīlah va-Dimnah (Persian MS 68), 1219 AD, Manchester
4. Prince Baysunghur’s Rose Garden (Gulistan) by Sa`di (Per 119), 1427 AD
5. Dawlatshāh Samarqandī (d. ca. 1494). Taẕkirat ul-Shuʻarā (Persian MS 54). Date 1749.

By the end of the course, participants will:

• Be able to read and interpret Classical Persian manuscripts
• Be familiar with key scripts, including Nasqand Nasta‘liq
• Understand Persian orthographic conventions and their development
• Gain insight into historical manuscripts from diverse regions and periods
• Explore the connection between Persianate literature and manuscript art
• Build the skills needed to work independently with Persian manuscripts

You can read more and apply via the link below.
The application deadline is August 4th.

https://ferdowsi.org/classical-persian-through-living-books-summer-2025/

Ferdowsi School of Persian Literature

Yerevan, Armenia

Website: www.ferdowsi.org

 

 

 

 

 

4. Four and a Half Ghazals from the time of Ferdowsi (in Early Judeo-Persian)

The manuscript presented in the post (Ms. Heb. 8333.195, probably from the first half of the 11th century, kept at the NLI) is a unique piece in that it preserves to us a small collection of 4 (and a half) poems written in Persian in Hebrew characters, which in my estimate date to the late 10th century.

This manuscript is highly important in that it can provide us with a glimpse into the earlier stages of the development of Persian literary traditions.

You are welcome to read more about it in this post:

https://ferdowsi.org/four-and-a-half-ghazals-from-the-time-of-ferdowsi-in-early-judeo-persian/

 

 

 

 

 

5. ‘Black Light in Akbarian and Persianate Sufism’ online lecture IIS

Please join us at 5 pm (British time) on Thursday, 24^th of July, for the next session of the Islamic History and Thought Lecture Series organised by the Institute of Ismaili Studies.

Dr Dunja Rašić’s talk is titled  “Behind the Veil of the Night: The Black Light in Akbarian and Persianate Sufism”, with Dr Toby Mayer as discussant.

This lecture will focus on Ibn ʿArabī’s writings on the black light of the night. We will explore Ibn ʿArabī’s notions of the night serving as the source of knowledge, power and protection for the spiritual seekers known as the Nightfolk (ahl al-layl) and identify the possible origins and parallels of these teachings in Persianate Sufism.

To join, please register for online attendance at https://www.iis.ac.uk/events/behind-the-veil-of-the-night/

 

 

 

 

 

6. “International Conference on Turkic Studies”, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Warsaw, 13-14 November 2025

Proposals for papers and panels are invited in the domains of language, literature, history, culture, society, and politics, and philology of the Turkic peoples.

Deadline for abstracts: 30 July 2025. Information: https://tinyurl.com/2rey25p7

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Workshop “Cities and Decolonization: Anti-colonial Struggles, Urban Protest, and Global Solidarities”, University of Oxford, 19-20 March 2026

The workshop advances current approaches to anti-colonialism by rethinking the urban histories of the struggle against empire in Asia and Africa through a focused examination of actors, venues, and tensions. This approach moves beyond comparative frameworks to reveal the complex entanglements and ongoing legacies of urban anti-colonial protest, connecting historical struggles with contemporary debates over urban space and colonial heritage.

Deadline for abstracts: 30 September 2025. Information: https://tinyurl.com/yke5hts2

 

 

 

 

 

8. Conference “Istanbul: Cultural Pasts – Urban Futures” Işık University Istanbaul, 6-8 July 2026

The conference is expressly international and welcomes perspectives from across a range of fields: the humanities and the social sciences; architecture, urban planning and landscapes; heritage studies and design, and more. As such, it is open to local, regional and international discussions of art historical research, building renovation projects, digital art and heritage, anthropological study and socio-cultural critiques – past, present and future.

Deadline for abstracts: 30 July 2025. Information: https://amps-research.com/conference/istanbul-heritages/

 

 

 

 

 

9. Assistant, Associate or Full Professor in Middle East History, Brigham Young University, Utah

The appointment is for a scholar with expertise in Middle East history, preferably with a specialization in the period 600-1800 CE. Those with exceptional teaching and a strong research agenda are encouraged to apply. The position may be filled with visitor

Deadline for applications: 30 September 2025. Information: https://tinyurl.com/2k5uvun9

 

 

 

 

 

10. Articles on “The Arab World and Middle East in an Age of Dynamism and Change” for a Special Issue of “The Journal of Social Encounters”

The latest developments in the MENA region will be explored from the perspectives of Anthropology, Arab and/or Arabic Studies, Classics, Communication and Rhetoric, Diaspora Studies, Education, Ethnic Studies, Gender Studies, Government, History, Human Rights, International Law, International Relations, Media Studies, Mediter-ranean Studies, Middle East Studies, Peace Studies, Political Science, Religious Studies, and/or Theology.

Deadline for abstracts: 30 August 2025. Contact Dr. Mawa Mohamed at mawabagi@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

11. Articles on “Gift Giving and Economic Anthropology” for a Special Issue of the Journal “Anthropology of the Middle East”

We invite contributions to investigate gift giving, receiving, and reciprocating as they occur within complex value systems of different cultures of the Middle East and North Africa. These investigations could be within religious, social, economic, and political dimensions. Submissions may draw on data from archaeology, linguistics, and cultural anthropology to illuminate the complexities and historical depth of gift exchange.

Deadline for articles: 1 August 2025. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3wrhtn24

For more information, click here.