Archive for 2026
- February 19, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Imam Ali Seminar (London, Sunday, 1st March 2026 – 2:00 PM)
SEMINAR
TO COMMEMORATE THE MARTYRDOM OF
IMAM ALI (a.s.)
SUNDAY 1st MARCH 2026 – 2:00 PM
VENUE – REGENT’S UNIVERSITY LONDON
TUKE HALL
INNER CIRCLE, REGENT’S PARK, LONDON NW1 4NS
Tube station: Baker Street
Chair: Professor Robert Gleave
Robert Gleave is Professor of Arabic Studies in the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, UK. He researches the history of Shīʿīsm, with a particular interest in Shiite Law. His most recent collaborative publications are (with Kumail Rajani) Shi’ite Legal Theory: Sources and Commentaries (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press / Gibb Memorial Trust, 2023) and (with Omar Anchassi), Islamic Law in Context: A Primary Source Reader (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004). He has carried out research into the history of Shiism and the Shiite communities in Iran, Iraq and India. He is currently British Academy Wolfson Professor – and is completing a monograph on the history of Shiite law in the early 19th century CE.
Dr Reza Shah-Kazemi
Nothing but Beauty: Hazrat Zaynab and the Meaning of Bearing Witness
Dr Reza Shah-Kazemi is an author in the fields of Islamic Studies and Comparative Religion; Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies; and Managing Editor of Encyclopaedia Islamica. He studied International Relations and Politics at Sussex and Exeter Universities before obtaining his PhD in Comparative Religion from the University of Kent.
Shaykh Dr Gulamabbas Murtaza Lakha
Interfaith Reflections on the Psalms of Imām ʿAlī (as) and the Old Testament
Shaykh Dr Gulamabbas Murtaza Lakha is a researcher and tutor in Psychology of Religion at the University of Oxford. His first degree in Economics & Econometrics was followed by the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and entrepreneurship, serving as CEO of an investment firm he founded in 2004. Concurrently, he earned four postgraduate degrees in Psychology and Neuroscience (including neuroimaging of dhikr practice for an MSc dissertation), Theology, Islamic Studies, History and Arabic, with an MPhil thesis on commentaries of al-Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādiyya, together with papers on early biographical dictionaries (ṭabaqāt) on Imām Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (as) and Shaykh al-Kulaynī. He continued at Oxford University for a DPhil in Psychiatry, examining how Islamic concepts and practices can inform psychotherapeutic treatments. Following religious training over two decades, he has lectured widely on contemporary Islam and was accredited as a Shaykh in 2020 by the Hākim al-Sharʿ for Europe of Grand Ayatullah Sistani.
AN OPEN INVITATION
PLEASE BE SEATED BY 2:00 PM
ORGANISER & SPONSOR: THE AHMED FAMILY – C/O MUHAMMADI TRUST (020 8452 1739)
- February 18, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.Call for Chapters: Evident Tongues, Evident Bodies: Language, Sense, and Proof in the Early Modern World
Editors: Dr Mary Katherine Newman and Dr Rana Banna
What counted as evidence in the early modern world?
How did language itself – spoken, written, translated, or performed – shape conceptions of proof?
And how did sensory experience lend authority, or uncertainty, to what language claimed as true?
We invite chapter proposals for an edited volume examining how encounters through language and the senses shaped the production of evidence in the early modern period (c.1492–1700). Building on the interdisciplinary reading group Evident Tongues, Evident Bodies held at UCL’s Institute of Advanced Studies, the volume considers how early modern thinkers understood the interplay between linguistic practice and sensory experience in the making of knowledge and truth.
From translation and foreign tongues to sacred utterance, magical speech, the rhetoric of governance, the emerging idioms of science, and the ambitions of poetic language, the early modern world was marked by intense reflection on how words could signify, persuade, and prove. At the same time, theorists and practitioners across domains – from physicians and natural philosophers to theologians, travellers, jurists, and dramatists – debated the evidentiary authority of the senses: what could be seen, heard, touched, tasted, or smelled as proof?
We seek contributions that illuminate how words, sounds, and sensations became sites of truth, persuasion, or belief, and how embodied perception shaped practices of verification, uncertainty, and doubt. Proposals may explore texts, performances, rituals, objects, archives, or embodied practices, and we welcome work that bridges disciplinary boundaries.
Possible topics may include, but are not limited to:
- Language, translation, and sensory perception: as instruments for verifying truth and negotiating authority in colonial and cross-cultural encounters
- Poetic and literary explorations of evidence: how language and embodied experience imagine or question the conditions of proof
- Material texts and visual proofs: scripts, diagrams, maps, and other graphic traces that make evidence visible
- The search for a perfect or universal language: across poetic, philosophical, scientific, occult, and theological traditions, as a pursuit of linguistic certainty and epistemic clarity
- Legal and theological forms of testimony: confession, revelation, and witnessing as practices of verbal and embodied proof
- Theology and religious treatises: revelation, prophetic vision, and the moral or divine authority of evident speech
- Magical and occult philosophies: alchemy, astrology, divination, and demonology, and their verbal and sensory conjuring of hidden or divine evidence
- Scientific and empiricist efforts to produce evidence: the use of plain rhetorical style, sensory observation, and experiment, alongside continuities with poetic and magical idioms of proof
- Medical and anatomical observation: the witnessing of bodies, wounds, and symptoms as persuasive demonstrations of truth
- Bodily proofs: the senses and bodily perception as modes of testing and demonstrating truth
- The evidentiary status of sound: sermons, songs, chants, oaths, spells, and other vocal acts that establish, challenge, or authenticate belief
- Sensory epistemologies in science and natural philosophy: the interplay of observation and description in producing credible knowledge
- Deception and error: illusion, mistranslation, and doubt in the interpretation of sensory or linguistic evidence
- Pedagogies of the senses and of speech: the training of bodies, tongues, and minds to discern reliable evidence
- Afterlives and continuities: the persistence and transformation of early modern sensory and linguistic epistemologies in later practices of proof
Interdisciplinary approaches welcomed, including, but not limited to:
Literature | History/History of Science | Religious Studies | Art History | Translation Studies | Sensory Studies | Legal History | Theatre & Performance | Philosophy | Anthropology | Colonial & Global Studies | Linguistics | Book History | Musicology
Submission details:
Title
Synopsis/abstract (300-400 words)
Author biography (100-150 words)
Deadline for submissions: 12th April 2026
Please send proposals (300-400 words) with short author biographies (100-150 words) to: mary.newman.14@ucl.ac.uk and r.banna@ucl.ac.uk
Full chapters (6,000–8,000 words) will be due in April 2027
Dr Mary Katherine Newman (she/her)
Quirk Postdoctoral Fellow (2025-6)
Institute of Advanced Studies, UCL
www.maryknewman.com
Coordinator Oxford Comparative Criticism and Translation
2. Announcing the Mediterranean Seminar Summer Skills Seminars for 2026
This year the Mediterranean Seminar in conjuction with the CU Mediterranean Studies Group is offering thirteen Summer Skills Seminars – intensive four-day boot-camps for scholars, researchers, graduate and advanced undergraduate students, librarians, teachers, professionals and afficionados. Led by leading authorities and emerging scholars in their respective fields, the Summer Skill Seminars provide either a foundation or an intensive focus on different aspects of Mediterranean Studies. Acquire new skills to augment your research profile and open new areas of specialization, explore a new subject area or theme to enrich your teaching or simply expand your field of knowledge in these small-group hands-on four-day synchronous remote workshops.
This year’s Summer Skills Seminars include:
May 18-21 – Reading Archival Latin
May 18-21 – Reading Medieval Greek Manuscripts
June 15-18 – Reading Ottoman Turkish
June 15-18 – The Archivo General de Indias: A Global Archive (NEW)
June 22-25 – Medieval & Early Modern Cartography
June 22-25 – Medieval Mediterranean Coinage: An Introduction
June 29 – July 2 – Mediterranean Magic: An Introduction
June 2 9 – July 2 – Reading Armenian Manuscripts (NEW)
July 6-9 – Sephardic Culture: An Introduction
July 13-16 – The Archivo General de Simancas: An Introduction
August 3-6 – Reading Medieval Catalan
See below & individual announcements for details.
Regular registration is open until 26 April 2026. Numbers are limited so please register early to guarantee a place.
EXCUSE CROSS-POSTINGS – PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY
Information
For general information regarding fees, enrollment, and administrative matters, contact the Mediterranean Seminar; for questions regarding seminar content and materials, contact the individual instructor directly.
May 18-21 2026 – Reading Archival Latin
Focusing on the documents in Latin held at the Archive of the Crown of Aragon in Barcelona, this seminar presents an introduction to Latin diplomatics and the reading of unedited archival documents through the incredible rich collection of Barcelona’s ACA. The seminar combines hands-on reading practice with units on different genres of documents, abbreviations, research techniques, dating systems, and other relevant information.
Instructor: Brian A. Catlos
Prerequisites: Intermediate reading knowledge of Latin is required, but no previous experience in paleography or diplomatics.
May 18-21 2026 – Reading Medieval Greek Manuscripts
Participants will explore Greek manuscript culture through an introduction to paleography with a historical background on the evolution of Greek script. The course emphasizes the major hands and writing styles from antiquity through the Byzantine period, including majuscule and minuscule scripts as well as humanistic and Renaissance scripts. Techniques for deciphering common manuscript abbreviations, ligatures, and symbols, which are essential for understanding Greek manuscripts, will be covered in depth. Participants will also receive guidance on navigating digital repositories and databases for Greek manuscripts, along with tools for accessing online reproductions and secondary literature.
Instructor: Manolis Ulbricht
Prerequisites: Participants need to have reading knowledge of Greek (whether ancient, medieval or modern). The language of instruction is English.
June 15-18 2026 – Reading Ottoman Turkish
This course offers an introduction to Ottoman Turkish, providing an intro level course to the language and a brief overview of Ottoman paleography. By the end of the course, the student will be able to read basic texts in print, recognize different paleographic styles, types of documents, as well as understand how and what dictionary to use for different types of texts. The course is perfect for students with knowledge of Turkish and/or Persian and Arabic, with an interest but no prior knowledge of Ottoman Turkish.
Instructor: Oscar Aguirre Mandujano
Prerequisites: Reading of Turkish and/or Persian and Arabic; no prior knowledge of Ottoman Turkish necessary. The language of instruction is English.
June 15-18 2026 – Introduction to the Archivo General de Indias: A Global Archive (NEW)
This course offers an in-depth introduction to the Archive of the Indies (Archivo General de Indias) in Seville, one of the world’s most important repositories for the study of the Spanish Empire and the early modern Atlantic world. Founded in 1785, the archive houses millions of documents produced by Spanish colonial institutions governing the Americas and the Philippines from the 15th to the 20th centuries, featuring the five continents and numerous different languages. The course is open to anyone -undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, librarians, archivists and general public- interested in early modern, Atlantic, and global history, even with little or no research experience.
Instructor: Jorge Díaz Ceballos
Prerequisites: Applicants should have at least an intermediate level of reading Spanish. The language of instruction is English.
June 22-25 2026 – Medieval & Early Modern Cartography: An Introduction
This Summer Skills Seminar provides participants with an overview of key concepts and methodologies in the study of Mediterranean and Early Modern cartography and the interpretation of maps. The course will address the themes of mobility, connectivity, and encounter in relation to the visual culture of peoples and territories across the sea. Participants will acquire an art historical tool kit to assist them in conducting their own research on the visual culture and artistic production of the medieval Mediterranean.
Instructor: Karen Mathews
Prerequisites: Recommended: AP Art History courses or introductory surveys. Some upper division or graduate art history coursework is ideal but not required
June 22-25 2026 – Medieval Mediterranean Coinage: An Introduction
This Summer Skills Seminar will introduce participants to the dynamic interactions of Roman and Sasanian coinages in the Late Antique period, which gave way to the tripartite division of Latin, Byzantine, and Islamic coinages of the succeeding centuries. We will examine how these three coinages developed and interacted through the later medieval centuries, laying the groundwork for the modern monetary systems.
Instructor: Alan Stahl
Prerequisites: None.
June 29 – July 2 2026 – Mediterranean Magic: An Introduction
This four-day intensive skills seminar will not only provide participants with an overview of magic’s history (broadly defined) throughout the premodern period but also introduce them to recurring patterns in magical practice and representation, significant symbols, and even tools for bringing similar material into their classrooms or personal reflections. As much as possible the content will be catered to participants interests and needs. Medievalists of all disciplines and ranks, graduate students, qualified undergraduate students, library and archival professionals, independent scholars, and modern magic practitioners or enthusiasts are encouraged to apply.
Instructor: Veronica Menaldi
Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites apart from an interest in magic, astrology, and occult science in both culture and literature.
June 29 – July 2 2026 – Reading Armenian Manuscripts (NEW)
From the fifth century CE onward, Armenian writing has spanned an incredible geographic and cultural scope. This intensive and introductory course guides participants to decipher medieval and early modern Armenian manuscripts, running a textual gamut from the work of professional scribes at the Cilician chancellery to the marginal notes of monastic readers, hard pressed for candles (and eyesight); from the personal correspondence of travelers, far from home, to equally well-traveled romances in the worldly vernacular. Through a combination of small-pair and group work, participants will acquire the paleographic skills to accurately read and describe handwritten texts in the Armenian script — a massive corpus that includes works not only in Classical, Middle, dialectal, and modern Armenian, but other languages as well, such as Turkish (Armeno-Turkish) and Persian (Armeno-Persian).
Instructor: Michael Pifer
Prerequisites: Basic reading knowledge of Armenian (Classical or modern) is required.
July 6-9 2026 – Sephardic Culture: An Introduction
This Summer Skills Seminar provides participants with the an overview of main currents in Sephardic Studies including historial and cultural trends, texts, sources for the period 900-1700 CE, and attending to the potential of this field to enhance your own research and teaching. It is designed with academics in mind, particularly graduate students, postdocs, and professors working in disciplines such as history, literature, religious studies, but all interested parties are welcome to apply. Participants will receive a completion certificate which may be listed on your CV and other documents such as grant/fellowship applications. The seminar is held via zoom over four days, with two two-hour sessions each day. Participants are expected to prepare readings in advance of the sessions, which will be a blend of lecture, pair and group discussion, group close readings, and in-class activities.
Instructor: David A. Wacks
Prerequisites: None.
July 13-16 2026 – The Archivo General de Simancas: An Introduction
This seminar offers an introduction early Modern Spanish paleography and the organization of the General Archive of Simancas and an insight into the rich sources of the Spanish monarchy in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Using a hands-on approach, students will learn to analyze original documents and to read and transcribe sources in early modern Spanish and in other languages, enabling students to read documents at the AGS and from across the global empire of Early Modern Spain.
Instructor: Prof. Rubén González Cuerva
Prerequisites: Applicants should have a good reading knowledge of modern Spanish. The language of instruction is English.
August 3-6 2026 – Reading Medieval Catalan
The vast and rich corpus of medieval Catalan literature has yet to be given its full due in our overall understanding of medieval European literature and culture. This is the result, in large part, of the fact that medieval Catalan, unlike Old French or Old Spanish, has not evolved to become the major language of a modern European nation state. For similar reasons, there have been few opportunities, outside a few centers, to study this corpus or to learn to read it in its original medieval language. The present course seeks to begin to fill this gap in the knowledge of medieval European vernacular literatures by offering the basic skills necessary to read medieval Catalan through study of key texts in the development of 13th through 15th century Catalan letters.
Instructor: John Dagenais
Prerequisites: Applicants should have at least a good reading knowledge of modern Spanish, French, Italian and/or Portuguese or some knowledge of Catalan. The language of instruction is English.
3. Manuscripts in Partition
February 25, 2026
HMML’s manuscripts tell stories of borders, upheaval, and resilience. Across the 20th century, the creation of new nation-states often disrupted libraries and displaced cultural treasures, leaving minority communities and their manuscripts fragmented and at risk. As part of HMML’s 60th anniversary celebration, this lecture uncovers how these manuscripts bear witness to the human consequences of partition and reveals the remarkable work HMML does to reconnect, preserve, and share what was thought to be lost.
Presenter
Dr. Josh Mugler, Curator of Eastern Christian & Islamic Manuscripts: Oversees HMML’s Eastern Christian and Islamic manuscript collections, directing cataloging and preservation that reconnect dispersed cultural heritage and make it accessible to scholars worldwide.
Registration
Free and open to the public, but registration is required: https://secure.hmml.org/a/winter-lecture-series-february-2026
Contact Information
Dr. Audrey Thorstad
Director of Programming
Hill Museum & Manuscript Library
Contact Email
4. UCLA: Pourdavoud Lecture Series
Elephantine Goes Global, Island of the Millennia
https://pourdavoud.ucla.edu/events/verena-lepper-elephantine-goes-global/
Verena Lepper (J. Paul Getty Museum)
Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 4:00 pm Pacific Time
Royce Hall 306 and Via Zoom
Register at:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd3Gng2bJvY7hfDB24_aLv9L_w2kn_99PscpYLCUn9truatww/viewform
- February 17, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Online: The Emamzadeh Yahya Project (18.2.26, 15.30 CET)
The first lecture of 2026 in our online series, “Material Culture, Art, and Architecture of Pre-Safavid Shīʿism” will take place on Zoom on Wednesday, February 18th at 15:30 CET:
The Emamzadeh Yahya Project: Reflections on an Interdisciplinary and Independent Research Initiative and Online Exhibition
with Keelan Overton
If you would like to attend, please register here: https://universiteitleiden.zoom.us/meeting/register/MGNA8u2HT3Ca1RG5ubxtXA
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information on how to join the meeting.
To stay updated on upcoming events, learn more about our broader project, “Embodied Imamate: Mapping the Development of the Early Shīʿi Community 700–900 CE,” or watch recordings of previous lectures in this series, please visit our YouTube channel (Embodied Imamate) and our website: https://embodiedimamate.hcommons.org/.
- February 16, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. Please join the 2026 International Journal of Islamic Architecture (IJIA) ‘Dialogues’ online roundtable on the theme “Healthcare Architecture in Islamic Traditions/Translations”, taking place on March 7, 2026.
This annual Dialogues session explores how Islamic societies have shaped health-conscious architecture, from traditional practices to responses to epidemics and pandemics. Cansu Değirmencioğlu, Sara Honarmand Ebrahimi, and Kamyar Salavati will join IJIA Assistant Editor Deniz Avci to discuss culturally responsive approaches to healthcare design across hospitals, domestic spaces, and urban environments.
Join us for an interdisciplinary conversation on designing for health, hygiene, and care in Islamic contexts.
March 7, 2026 | 15:00–16:30 GMT / 6:00–7:30 Pacific / 9:00–10:30 Eastern
Register via Zoom:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83691919135?pwd=nNd8AKf7uZvzV3MKBezfZrvzNvevXD.1
2. Logics of Localisation: Vernacular Islamic tombstone traditions of Sumatra
Jessica Rahardjo
Thursday, February 19, 2026 at 6:30 PM
In-Person and Virtual Lecture
The Institute of Fine Arts
1 East 78th Street, New York, 10075
Tombstones – among the most abundant, datable forms of material culture in maritime Southeast Asia – are widely considered to be synonymous with the adoption of Islam in the region. This paper presents two distinct vernacular traditions of Islamic tombstones: one from Aceh in northern Sumatra and another from the Minangkabau highlands in western Sumatra. It explores the factors driving the adoption of specific tombstone forms and their subsequent transformations, focusing on the interaction between the incoming monotheistic belief and local immanentist modes of religiosity, as well as the impact of successive waves of religious reformism from the 17th to the 19th centuries.
Jessica Rahardjo is Postdoctoral Researcher on the Leverhulme Trust project Mapping Sumatra’s Manuscript Cultures, SOAS University of London, and Research Associate at the Khalili Research Centre, University of Oxford. Her research focuses on the material and manuscript cultures of Islamic Southeast Asia. She recently completed her DPhil at Oxford with a dissertation on batu Aceh, a Southeast Asian Islamic tombstone tradition (15th–19th centuries). Jessica was a recipient of the Getty Foundation Indian Ocean Exchanges fellowship (2021–23). She is also a committee member of Teaching the Codex, an initiative dedicated to developing pedagogical approaches to palaeography and codicology.
Registration is essential. To register, please use the form available at:
https://ifa.nyu.edu/events/date/2-19-26.html
3. The Hajji Baba Club Research Fellowship was established in 2018 to promote original scholarship in the field of carpet studies. It provides financial support and visibility for emerging scholars and independent researchers. The maximum fellowship award for 2026-2027 is $8,000 USD.
The fellowship is competitive and applications are due by 5:00 PM EST May 1, 2026.
Please see our website for the application details https://www.hajjibaba.org/research-fellowship/ as well as some information on our current and past fellows: https://www.hajjibaba.org/current-fellow/
URL
https://www.hajjibaba.org/research-fellowship/
4. Position – Assistant, Associate, Full Adjunct Professor – Arts of Iran and Central Asia – History of Art and Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures
Position overview
Position title: Assistant, Associate, or Full Adjunct Professor
Salary range: The UC academic salary scales set the minimum pay determined by rank and step at appointment. See the following table(s) for the current salary scale(s) for this position https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/2025-26/policy-covered-october-2025-scales/t1.pdf. The current full-time base salary range for this position is $80,800 – $212,000 (9-month academic year salary). “Off-scale” salaries, which yield compensation that is higher than the published system-wide salary at the designated rank and step, are offered when necessary to meet competitive conditions.
Percent time: 25% – 50%
Anticipated start: As soon as July 2026
Application Window
Open date: January 22, 2026
Most recent review date: Friday, Feb 6, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications received after this date will be reviewed by the search committee if the position has not yet been filled.
Final date: Friday, Feb 27, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.
Position description
The Departments of History of Art and Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Berkeley seek to appoint an Assistant, Associate, or Full Adjunct Professor in the arts of Iran and Central Asia. Applicants should have an active research program, with expertise in relevant languages. The appointee will offer courses with a regional, thematic, or topical focus that contribute to department curricula at all levels. The expected load is two courses per academic year, shared between History of Art and Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures. In addition to teaching, the appointee is expected to pursue research or other creative work and contribute to the departments through service on relevant committees and/or by mentoring undergraduate and graduate students. We seek candidates who can support the success of all students through inclusive curriculum, classroom environment, and pedagogy. Funding for this adjunct position is available from campus for a period of time thanks to a philanthropic Azarpay endowment.
Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States at the time of hire. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.
Department: https://melc.berkeley.edu/
Qualifications
Basic qualifications (required at time of application)
A PhD (or equivalent international degree), or enrolled in PhD or equivalent international degree-granting program at the time of application.
Preferred qualifications
Demonstrated teaching experience at the college or university level.
Specialization in ancient and/or medieval worlds is preferred. In addition to courses in art history, the successful appointee should be able to teach courses of a regional, thematic, or topical focus that contribute to department curricula at all levels.
Application Requirements
Document requirements
- Curriculum Vitae – Your most recently updated C.V.
- Cover Letter – Please discuss research accomplishments and proposed plans (this can include, for example, your publication record, awards, presentations, inclusive research practices that promote the excellence of your research, and areas for future research), prior teaching experience, teaching approach, and future teaching interests (this can include, for example, specific efforts, accomplishments, and future plans to support the success of all students through inclusive curriculum, classroom environment, and pedagogy), and specific prior and proposed academic, professional and/or public service activities.
Reference requirements
- 3 required (contact information only)
References will only be contacted for those candidates selected for an interview. We will alert candidates and seek their permission before contacting references
Apply link: https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05238
Help contact: ealc_gbs_ap@berkeley.edu
URL
https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05238
5. Two New Online Courses – Ferdowsi School of Persian Literature
1.The Shahname: Introduction to the Iranian Epic (The Story of Alexander) March 6 – April 24, 2026
The readings are selected from the story of Pādešāhi-ye Eskandar in the Shahname, and content-wise continue the readings of the previous round, this time focusing on the adventures of Alexander in the mythical lands:
- The story of the travels of Alexander in the land of Darkness in search of the Spring of Life
- The story of the building of the wall against Yajuj and Majuj by Alexander
- The story of the reaching of Alexander to the speaking tree
- The story of the death of Alexander
2. Central Asia through Persian Historical Texts: An Introduction March 12 – May 14, 2026
This course is designed as an introduction to Classical Persian historical prose, during which several important text relevant for the history of Central Asia will be studied with a particular focus on the analysis of their language:
- Iṣṭakhrī, Mamālik wa Masālik (Cl. Persian translation, 13/14th c.);
- Tārīkh-i Bukhārā, by Abū Bakr Muḥammad b. Jaʻfar Naršakhī.
- Juwaynī, Tārīkh-i Jahāngušāy (13th c.);
- Šaraf-ud-dīn ‘Alī Yazdī, Zafar-nāma (15th c.);
- Mīrzā Muḥammad Haidar Dūghlāt, Tārīkh-ī Rašīdī (16th c.);
- Faẓlullāh b. Rōzbihān Khunji, Mihmān-nāma-yī Bukhārā.
Ferdowsi School of Persian Literature
Yerevan, Armenia
Website: www.ferdowsi.org
6. Digging Wells While Houses Burn
Academic responsibility and the study of religion
23–24 April 2026, in Cambridge and online
In a provocative article titled Digging Wells While Houses Burn (2006), David Gordon White argues that certain studies of religion actively stoke supremacist ideologies and politics. The only way to avoid this unsavoury collaboration is to rethink the way we do our work — the stories we choose to tell, and the methods we use to tell them. According to White, academics of religion who fail to engage with this responsibility are “digging wells while houses burn”, ignoring devastating realities that urgently demand their attention.
In this context, we invite scholars of all religions, across all disciplines, to reflect on the relationship between their academic work, on the one hand, and violence and supremacy, on the other. Particular areas of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Studying religion in contexts of majoritarian violence, occupation, and genocide (e.g. Palestine, Kashmir, Bosnia, Tibet).
- Systematic critiques (legal, historical, theological, and so on) of the mutually reinforcing relationship between religious discourses and supremacist ideology.
- How have scholarly agendas and university spaces contributed to the entrenchment of religion-infused supremacies?
- Engagements with “authorship”: what is the role of privilege and identity in crafting religion research?
- Intersectional analyses of religious supremacy: gender, sexuality, race, caste, and class.
- Thematic and methodological issues related to the scholarly analysis of “religious” violence.
- Ways forward: how must our concepts and conversations change?
Those interested in participating should complete this form (https://forms.gle/MygENBHjLUA5m3Xu8) by 1st March 2026. Successful applicants will be notified by 10th March 2026. Scholars residing outside the United Kingdom will have the option to present online. In case of any queries, please contact Namrata Narula (nn307@cam.ac.uk) or Dr Hina Khalid (hk410@cam.ac.uk).
_____________________________________________________________________________
Featured Article: White, D. G. (2006). Digging Wells While Houses Burn. History and Theory, 45. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2303.2006.00387.x.
7. Between Text and Image
Diagrams of the (Ventricles of the) Brain in the Medieval Islamicate Tradition
Shahrzad Irannejad
19 February 2026 – 5 PM (CET)
In this lecture, I will discuss the few yet thought-provoking visual representations of the brain and its ventricles in the medieval Islamicate tradition. While some illustrations of the brain appear in the Avicennan tradition, numerous mini diagrams of the brain’s ventricles show up in the Kitab al-Manṣuri fi al-Ṭibb (The Book of Medicine) by al-Razi (865–925 CE) — a concise yet comprehensive and influential encyclopaedia of medicine.
Several manuscript copies of this work contain numerous anatomical diagrams of the ventricles of the brain. The particularly intriguing aspect of these diagrams, which were not necessarily intended to depict reality or precise anatomy, is their variation. In other words, these diagrams, as ‘imagetexts’, were subject to movance — accidental or deliberate changes — just like the text copied by hand from one manuscript to another.
At the nexus of codicology and philology, I explore the utility of the family tree metaphor (stemma codicum) in establishing the relationship between various manuscripts based on the visual affinities of their respective diagrams. I investigate the extent to which establishing anatomical truth and reconstructing the archetype should be prioritised over exploring the dynamism of visual representation resulting from scribal practices across time and space.
To register for this event, please click here.
Centre for the Study of Medicine and the Body in the Renaissance (CSMBR) – Assistant Coordinator
Domus Comeliana, Via Cardinale Maffi 48, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Tel.: +39.02.006.20.51 – Mobile: +39.333.13.12.203
Email: ah@csmbr.fondazionecomel.org
8. Arab World English Journal for Translation and Literary Studies welcomes the submission of papers for the May Issue 2026.The submission deadline is March 30, 2026. The issue publication date is May 2026. Please read the submission guidelines https: //www.awej-tls.org/paper-submission/ and submit your paper: https://www.awej-tls.org/submission-form/. If you have any questions, please contact TLS@awej.org
For more details, please read
Kind regards,
AWEJ for Translation and Literary Studies
https://www.awej-tls.org/
9. UCLA: Pourdavoud Institute for the Study of the Iranian World
Biennial Ehsan Yarshater Lecture Series
Ancient Iran and Central Asia
Interactions and Shifting Identities
Professor Frantz Grenet (Collège de France)
A Series of Four Lectures in March 2026 at 4:00 pm Pacific Time
Royce Hall 314 and via Zoom
More info and registration at:
https://pourdavoud.ucla.edu/events/frantz-grenet-2026-yarshater-lecture-series/
10. Tajikistan Learning Tour (May 2026)
Join Hikmat International Institutefor an unforgettable Tajikistan Learning Tour—a journey through breathtaking landscapes, rich Persian heritage, and a culture that few have truly explored.
🌄 Explore stunning mountains and natural beauty
🏛️ Visit historical and cultural landmarks
👥 Meet local academics, students, and cultural figures
📚 Attend special educational workshops on:
- Persian Identity in Central Asia
- Society & Transformation in Tajikistan
🍲 And of course… taste authentic Tajik cuisine and traditional sweets you’ve likely never tried before!
https://hikmat-ins.com/tajikistan-learning-tour/
11. CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: 2 post-doc positions at UCLouvain (as part of ERC Synergy MOSAIC project
12. SPRING 2026 AKPIA Lecture Series
A Forum for Islamic Art & Architecture at Harvard University
February 19, 2026
“Harvard’s Safavid Multi-Text Compendium: The Codex as a Communal Gathering of Riddles”
Christiane Gruber
Mehmet Ağa-Oğlu Collegiate Professor of Islamic Art History, University of Michigan
co-sponsored with Standing Committee on Medieval Studies at Harvard University
March 26, 2026
“Picturing the İskendername: Visual Interpretation in Fifteenth-Century Ottoman Manuscripts”
Serpil Bağcı
AKPIA Fellow; Professor, Department of History, Bilkent University
April 30, 2026
“Vaulting Techniques in Iranian Islamic Architecture: An Unpublished Study by Myron Bement Smith and Doǧan Kuban”
David Roxburgh
Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Professor of Islamic Art History, Harvard University
THE AGA KHAN PROGRAM FOR ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Lectures are open to the public and held Thursdays, 6:00-7:30pm, at 485 Broadway, HAA Lower Lecture Hall, Cambridge, MA.
For further information, call 617-495-2355 or email agakhan@fas.harvard.edu
Visit the website https://agakhan.fas.harvard.edu/news-events
13. 2e Atelier interdisciplinaire – Etudes iraniennes et approches environnementales, lundi 16 février 2026, 10h-13h à la Maison de la Recherche de la Sorbonne Nouvelle, Salle Athéna
Nous avons le plaisir de vous convier au 2e atelier interdisciplinaire ” Etudes iraniennes et approches environnementales”, qui se tiendra lundi prochain, 16 février 2026, 10h-13h, à la Maison de la Recherche de la Sorbonne Nouvelle, Salle Athéna (4 rue des Irlandais, Paris Ve).
Cet atelier est organisé conjointement par l’Université Aix-Marseille, la Sorbonne Nouvelle et l’Inalco, avec le soutien du CeRMI (UMR 8264), de l’IREMAM (UMR 7310), et de BioArch (UMR 7209).
Vous trouverez le programme ci-dessous, et en pièce jointe.
En espérant vous y retrouver nombreux!
Bien cordialement,
Les organisateurs –
Camille Rhoné-Quer, Justine Landau, Matteo de Chiara
Contact: Camille Rhoné-Quer (camille.rhone@univ-amu.fr)
14. UCLA:
Averroes and Maimonides: Translating Religious Motives into Philosophy
Averroes Lecture Series
A lecture by Ali Benmakhlouf (Mohammed VI Polytechnique University, Morocco)
Moderator: Aomar Boum (UCLA)
Thursday, February 19, 2026
4:00 PM – 6:00 PM PST
Bunche Hall 10383
Organized by the UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies. Co-sponsored by the UCLA Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies.
https://www.international.ucla.edu/cnes/event/17477
15. Hybrid: COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SEMINAR IN ARABIC STUDIES
Why wasn’t print adopted in the early modern Middle East?: A New Perspective
Arabic Studies Seminar w/ Nir Shafir Monday 2/23 4pm
Please find below information regarding our upcoming meeting with Professor Nir Shafir (UC San Diego) on Monday (2/23) at 4 pm EST in Faculty House. Please note that we are not holding the talk at our usual day or time this month due to scheduling conflicts. The talk is titled: “Why wasn’t print adopted in the early modern Middle East?: A new perspective”
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 4:00 pm. If you would like to join the speaker for dinner immediately following the talk at Faculty House please RSVP to the seminar’s rapporteur (rma2152@columbia.edu). The cost of dinners is $30, payable via card or check.
Abstract:
Why was print not widely adopted in the Ottoman Empire until the late 1800s? It’s a question that has puzzled scholars for almost 400 years. Ottoman subjects had known about European printing for centuries and even had short-lived experiments with printing, but the vast majority of books continued to be copied by hand. Previous explanations have emphasized cultural roadblocks like religious opposition or scribal resistance, but there is little evidence for these theories. In this talk, I posit an economic explanation instead: Manuscript technology continued to flourish because it was more economically rational and printing was too burdensome. The project will analyze 1) the production costs of books, both printed and handwritten, 2) their prices on the secondary market, and 3) the commercialization of the book trades. This will be done across Arabic, Turkish, Armenian, Greek, and Hebrew books. The project promises a new approach to the history of books in the Islamic world and a clearer understanding of commercialization and capitalist development of the early modern Middle East.
Bio:
Nir Shafir is an associate professor of history at the University of California, San Diego. His research investigates the intertwined histories of communication, religion, and science in the Middle East between 1200-1800. His first monograph, The Order and Disorder of Communication: Pamphlets and Polemics in the Seventeenth-Century Ottoman Empire, was published by Stanford University Press in 2024 and was awarded the book prize of the Ottoman and Turkish Studies Association in 2025. He is an occasional contributor and editorial board member of the Ottoman History Podcast and served as its editor in 2018.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://columbiauniversity.zoom.us/j/92597500745
16. ITS
RAMADAN DISCOUNT 2026
This Ramadan embrace the spirit of reflection and devotion. Enjoy 15% off all our titles, with free delivery on orders over £25.
Deepen Your Connection with the Qur’an this Ramadan
We invite you to explore the timeless wisdom of Al-Ghazali On Proper Conduct for Reciting the Qur’an, a guide to deepening your connection with the Qur’an during this blessed month.
In order to take advantage of this offer, please visit our website https://its.org.uk and enter the coupon code RAMADAN26. This offer is valid from 17 February to 22 March 2026.
17. HYBRID World Policy Forum: “Muslim-Christian-Jewish Coexistence in the Holy Land”, Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy (CSID), Washington, DC, 17 February 2026, 18:00 CET
This timely forum will bring together three distinguished voices from the Muslim, Christian, and Jew-ish traditions to reflect on the moral, historical, and political foundations of coexistence in the Holy Land, and to explore what a just and sustainable future might require.
Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/2rjb3tsj
18. HYBRID World Policy Forum: “Muslim-Christian-Jewish Tolerance and Peaceful Coexist-ence in the Holy Land”, Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), Washington, DC, 17 February 2026, 18:00 – 20:00 CET
This forum will examine the historical foundations, moral traditions, and contemporary challenges shaping relations among the three Abrahamic faith communities in Israel and Palestine. Bringing together leading Jewish, Christian, and Muslim thinkers, the discussion will explore what justice, dignity, and equal rights require today, and how religious and ethical traditions can contribute to a future grounded in coexistence rather than exclusion.
Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/2rjb3tsj
19. ONLINE Lecture “Literature’s Refuge: Rewriting the Mediterranean Borderscape” by William Stroebel (University of Michigan), University of Texas, Austin, 17 February 2026, 23:00 – 24:00 CET
The Greco-Turkish Population Exchange of 1923-1925 was the final nail in the Empire’s coffin, up-rooting and swapping nearly two million Christians and Muslims between Europe and West Asia. William Stroebel will recover something of the rich refugee literatures that fell through the cracks of the modern border regime, straddling Greek Orthodoxy and Sunni Islam, Greek-script, Arabic-script, and Latin-script literary traditions.
Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/4us88mmy
20. ONLINE Webinar „Excavating Hope in a Time of Cynicism: A New Reading of the Iranian New Wave” by Sara Saljoughi, Center for Middle East Studies, Brown University, Provicence, 4 March 2026, 18:00 – 19:00 CET
Sara Saljoughi (University of Toronto) offers a fresh interpretation of the Iranian New Wave of the 1960s and 1970s. She argues that New Wave cinema carries an anticipatory vision of a better future that ultimately never came to fruition. She suggests that this unrealized potential continues to resonate today, providing new insights into both the films themselves and the ongoing revolutionary strug-gles in Iran.
Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/557kzf26
21. American Association of Teachers of Turkic Languages (AATT) Graduate Student Conference, 8 May 2026
This conference aims to support and promote research that significantly utilizes sources in Turkish or other Turkic languages by graduate students from fields including but not limited to literature, history, linguistics, language education and related fields at North American academic institutions. It also offers a collaborative platform for the student presenters to share their work and exchange re-search ideas with their peers and the colleagues in attendance from the field.
Deadline for abstracts: 31 March 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/mryevjyb
22. Interdisciplinary Symposium “Illuminating the Dark! Night Histories from Byzantion to Istanbul“, Pera Museum Auditorium, Istanbul, 4-5 June 2027
This interdisciplinary symposium will explore Istanbul’s night histories across three pivotal periods; Byzantine Constantinople, Ottoman Istanbul, and republican/contemporary Istanbul, examining con-tinuities, ruptures, and transformations in nocturnal urban life. We seek to foster cross-fertilization between history, urban studies, anthropology, geography, literature, art history, ecology, and the broader emerging field of night studies.
Deadline for abstracts: 13 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4rrue7sx
23. Journée d’étude « Construire la déviance religieuse en Islam et dans les Chrétientés mé-diévales. Histoire des représentations et approches sémantiques », Lyon, 12-13 novembre 2026
Cette journée d’étude propose d’analyse du vocabulaire et des représentations discursives et pic-turales de l’exclusion religieuse. La discrimination s’appuie en effet sur un lexique de la stigmatisation et de la différenciation qui prend racine dans le registre de la polémique, se diffuse dans différents domaines de la culture écrite et visuelle, mais peut aussi gagner le domaine du droit.
Propositions de communication avant le 30 avril 2026. Information : https://tinyurl.com/yvnd645h
24. Library Traineeship (Civil Service, “Bibliotheksreferendariat”), Profile “Arabic and Islamic Studies” at the Bavarian State Library, Bayreuth and Munich
The two-year preparatory service (A13h) is starting 1 October 2026 with a practical year in Bayreuth, followed by a theoretical year in Munich. Field profile C: Arabic and Islamic Studies; Master’s degree required, PhD desirable. Full-time, on-site; appointment as civil servant on probation.
Deadline for applications: 25 February 2026.
Information: https://interamt.de/koop/app/stelle?0&id=1393142
25. Visiting Assistant Professorship (2 Years) in International Studies (Focus Middle East), Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
Qualifications: All applicants must have either received a bachelor’s degree or lived for a substantial period in Africa, Asia, or Latin America and the Caribbean. They must have earned a Ph.D. in the humanities and/or social sciences after 2021.
Review of applications will begin on 18 February 2026 until the position is filled.
Information: https://trincoll.peopleadmin.com/postings/3749
26. Appeal for the Reopening of the French “Institute for the Near East (Ifpo)” in Syria
Since 2011 two Syrian centers of Ifpo in Damascus and Aleppo have been closed. They brought an internationally recognized input to Near East archaeological research and to studies in humanities and social sciences on the Arab and Muslim world. We firmly call for the swift and full reopening of this historical and unique institution. The more people who sign, the more likely our message will be heard.
Please see the full appeal and sign at https://forms.gle/R68WRCD5W42VJhhy8
27. “DECRIPT Program”: Call for Applications for 20 International Research Residencies (1 Month, Focus Middle and Near East), INALCO, Paris
During their stay, researchers must propose to conduct or formalize high-level academic research related to the program’s core scientific question on civilizational narratives and/or civilizationism, in connection with the Middle and Near East or its methodological area. Compensation: €3,400 covering transportation and living expenses. Location: Paris, Bordeaux, Lille.
Deadline for applications: 28 February 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/2nmn5nyk
28. ONLINE Seminars of the Historians Association (Tarihçiler Derneği) in Ottoman and Karamanli Turkish
Historians Association (TAD) is pleased to announce its 2026 Spring Semester online seminar pro-gram, designed to strengthen methodological, linguistic, and paleographic skills in historical and hu-manities research. Delivered by scholars with recognized expertise in their respective fields, the seminars address a diverse audience from students to professional researchers.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/4589s329
29. Summer School “Reading and Analysing Ottoman Manuscript Sources”, Ifpo and Seven 0ther Institutions, Amman, 13-17 September 2026
The five-day program will introduce young researchers (mostly MA and Ph.D. candidates, though postdocs may also apply) to reading, combining and analysing manuscript sources from various archives of the Ottoman era, produced at the local, provincial and imperial levels. Materials from the 16th through the 20th centuries will receive most of our attention, but explorations into earlier ar-chives are welcome. No tuition fees will be charged.
Deadline for applications: 15 March 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/432xt9rt
30. Sībawayh et les savoirs de son temps
Influences, dialogues, critiques & héritages
Figure fondatrice de la grammaire arabe, Sībawayh (m. vers 180/796) occupe une place singulière dans l’histoire intellectuelle de l’islam médiéval. Axes thématiques : – Les savoirs reçus par Sībawayh : traditions, maîtres et contexts. – Les éventuelles influences extra-arabes dans le Kitāb de Sībawayh. – Sībawayh comme fondateur : concepts, méthodes et innovations. – Critiques, con-troverses et savoirs concurrents. – Postérités et circulations interdisciplinaires.
Les articles sont à envoyer avant le 31 décembre 2026. Information : https://tinyurl.com/2e8676yk
31. Chapters for Edited Volume on “During the Ottomans, After the Outlaws: Histories of Banditry, Memory, and Heritage in Balkans and Turkey” in Routledgs`s Book Series “Outlaws in Literature, History and Culture”
We especially value contributions that follow the full circuit of representation – from administrative and judicial production (policing, court files, petitions, press) to oral tradition and performance, and onward into museums, monuments, politics, nationalism, curricula, festivals, tourism, and digital af-terlives – while developing concepts and methods that travel across post-Ottoman settings.
Deadline for abstracts: 1 April 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/459nanb6
32. New books:
New Book: “Satellite Ministries: The Rise of Christian Television in the Middle East,” by Febe Armanios, Oxford University Press, 2025, 368 Pages
The book draws on extensive oral history interviews and archival research conducted in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. It examines the history of Arabic, Turkish, and Persian Christian channels in the Middle East for the first time, and it describes the historical links between evangelical media missions and the rise of indigenous Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant channels that launched across the Middle East over four decades.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/3y66fsz7
New Book: “Torn is the Curtain: Early Film Cultures in Istanbul” by Canan Balan, New York and Oxford, Berghan Books, Dec. 2025, 234 Pages
Offering a feminist history of cinema at the edges of empire and the nation-state, this book explores how gender, class, and ethno-religious divisions were projected, performed, and entangled. It fo-cuses on the former Ottoman capital from the late nineteenth century to the early 1930s and inves-tigates how cinema both reflected and shaped Istanbul’s complex social fabric. The analysis reveals how religious and cultural practices informed emerging notions of cinematic modernity and cross-cultural exchange in the region.
Information: https://www.berghahnbooks.com/title/BalanTorn
LATIN AND EASTERN CATHOLICISM IN OTTOMAN ANATOLIA: SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND RELIGIOUS INQUIRIES FROM 14th-20th CENTURIES
Edited by Vanessa R. de Obaldía, Radu Dipratu, Anaïs Massot, Padraic Rohan
This book brings together thirteen chapters that examine a variety of primary sources that shed new light on the often-ignored history of Catholicism in Anatolia, from the dawn of the Ottoman Empire to the early Republican era. We are grateful to all contributors whose scholarship and collaboration made this project possible.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/yhbtj3sm
- February 14, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – CfP: “Ritual in Shiʿi Islam” (Chicago, 15-16 May)
Shiʿi Studies Symposium 2026: “Ritual in Shiʿi Islam”, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 15-16 May 2026
The symposium explores the practices through which Shiʿi institutional, communal, and theological commitments are enacted and contested. We welcome papers with a variety of approaches, spanning the earliest periods of Shiʿism up through the contemporary moment.
Deadline for abstracts: 28 February 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/5y4nnjut
- February 12, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. Zoom talk: In honour of Babur’s birthday on 14 February — a day celebrated in Uzbekistan as part of its cultural heritage — we warmly invite you to a special lecture:
Babur Day Special: Mirza Haydar Dughlat and East Turkestan in Literary Memory
The lecture will explore how writers have told and retold the history of East Turkestan, beginning with Mirza Haydar Dughlat’s Tārīkh-i Rashīdī and examining how later authors responded to and built upon this foundational work. It will engage with themes of historiography, literary memory, and the Chagatai literary tradition.
Guest Speaker:
Dr Eric Schluessel
Associate Professor in Modern Chinese & East Asian History
Tutor in History, Keble College, University of Oxford
Dr Schluessel’s research focuses on Central Asia and Xinjiang (Eastern Turkestan), with particular attention to literature, culture, and historical memory.
Please find the Zoom link below.
Time: Feb 13, 2026 06:00 PM London
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86861817875?pwd=5Fi8C7nwvdP9N9KtZPhzPJRti0G2X6.1
Meeting ID: 868 6181 7875
Passcode: 9mLteF
2. CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: MYSTICISM(S) BEYOND THE WEST
Conference venue: Campion Hall, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
Conference dates: 9 am Monday 29 June 2026 – 1 pm Wednesday 1 July 2026
Abstract submission deadline: 1 March (end of day)
Notification of acceptance: 15 March
Keynote speakers
Dr. Marta Domínguez Díaz (Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies, University of St Gallen)
Professor Gavin Flood (Professor of Hindu Studies and Comparative Religion; Senior Research Fellow, Campion Hall)
Description
This conference invites papers that explore mystical traditions beyond the Western canon, with a particular focus on traditions that have remained underrepresented in mainstream scholarship. The conference aims to foreground non-Western mystical traditions and to foster dialogue across religious, cultural, and disciplinary boundaries. Traditions of interest include, but are not limited to, Indian, Islamic, East Asian, Eastern Christian, and Indigenous contexts. Papers may be historical, philosophical, theological, anthropological, or interdisciplinary in approach.
We welcome contributions that address, among other topics:
- Theoretical and methodological challenges in applying the category of mysticism beyond Western contexts
- Comparative, cross-cultural, and decolonial approaches to mystical traditions
- Relationships between mysticism and rationality, philosophy, or theology in non-Western traditions
- Mysticism and ethics, practice, embodiment, or social life
- Marginalised, neglected, or emerging mystical voices and texts
The event is intended for established scholars, early-career researchers, and advanced postgraduate students working in comparative religion, theology, philosophy, and related fields. We will aim at a gender balance among speakers and we welcome contributions from members of underrepresented groups. Selected papers may be considered for publication in either an edited volume or a special issue of a peer-reviewed journal.
Submission guidelines
Submissions should take the form of an abstract of around 300 words, submitted by email in word or pdf format to mysticismsoxford@gmail.com by 1 March (end of day). Applicants will be notified of the outcome of the selection process by 15 March.
Conference fees
£60 for waged participants, £30 for unwaged / student participants. Please note that we are unable to cover accommodation or travel costs.
Organisers
Dr Szilvia Szanyi (Faculty of Theology and Religion & Campion Hall, University of Oxford)
Dr Brett Parris (Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Oxford)
3. CfP: Edinburgh’s Seventh International Graduate Conference in Late Antique, Islamic and Byzantine Studies: ‘Institutional Identities in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages’ taking place on the 18th & 19th May 2026 at the University of Edinburgh.
The conference is held in a hybrid format, so we accept virtual papers as well. The deadline for submissions is the 20th of March, and applicants will be notified by the 31st of March. Please see the linked webpage for further details, and contact edibyzpg@ed.ac.uk for any questions.
4. Syracuse University Press: Upcoming Events of Interest:
https://press.syr.edu/home/news-and-events/
5. Empire and Nation in the City
Rusçuk from Ottoman Rule to Bulgarian Statehood
Mehmet Çelik
SUP, 2026
https://press.syr.edu/supressbooks/9430/empire-and-nation-in-the-city/
6. A Study of ›Tawriya‹ in the Qur’an
Exegesis, Rhetoric and the Reader
Luca Rizzo,
Brill, 2026
7. The Concept of Emotions in Judaism, Christianity and Islam
Edited by: Catharina Rachik and Georges Tamer
Brill, 2026
8. University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point – Teaching Assistant Professor in History
https://networks.h-net.org/jobs/69760/university-wisconsin-stevens-point-teaching-assistant-professor-history
Closing date: 1 March, 2026
9. A History of Ottoman Poetry by E. J. W. Gibb
This six-volume set reissues E. J. W. Gibb’s classic study of Ottoman Poetry, spanning from 1450 to the late-19th century, with new forewords by Christine Woodhead, Honorary Fellow in Ottoman History, University of Durham
EUP,
10. The Mathnawí of Jaláluʾddín Rúmíby Reynold A. Nicholson
This eight-volume set of The Mathnawí of Jalálu’ddín Rúmí reissues Reynold A. Nicholson’s authoritative Persian edition, English translation and commentary with new forewords by Alan Williams, Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Religion at the University of Manchester.
EUP,
- February 10, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
- February 09, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. CfP: “Muslims Between Fragility and Hope in an Age of Existential Crisis”
Online Conference (MS Teams), Tuesday 29th September 2026
Hosted by The MUSER Project, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University
of Glasgow
How do Muslims understand and make sense of the multiple existential crises that face
humanity in 2026? For the first time in human history, these crises present species-level
threats to the future of life on our planet. They include (but are not limited to): the climate
emergency, the rise of potentially malevolent Artificial Intelligence (AI), the prospect of
nuclear annihilation through escalating international warfare, and future pandemic diseases.
This one-day, online international conference will explore how Muslims experience,
understand, and respond to these threats as well as to existential crisis more broadly
conceived.
We invite abstract submissions from across the humanities and social sciences which explore
how both ‘fragility’ and ‘hope’ are visible in the ways Muslims and the Islamic tradition
engage with questions of existential risk. While studies that focus on the four ‘big risks’ listed
above are welcome, we also encourage submissions that consider alternative epistemic
perspectives on current existential crises, and which decolonise the literature on existential
risk by critiquing the secular paradigm at the heart of the ex-risk literature and/or
foregrounding Muslim perspectives on what constitutes ‘risk’. Such ‘alternative’ existential.
risks that Muslims experience within the spiritual and intellectual realms in addition to
physical risks could include: the widespread loss of imān and adab, the break-down of
families, the ubiquitous riba-based economic system, disconnection from ‘ulamā, amongst
others.
We therefore welcome papers which address one or more of the following questions:
- In Muslim contexts, how are existential risks defined and understood?
- What resources does the Islamic tradition offer on the question of humankind’s
relationship to risk?
- How do questions of existential risk feature in Muslim eschatological futures?
- How do Muslims across diverse cultural, political, and geographical contexts
experience and respond to risk differently?
- What conceptions of the human being’s relationship to the world and the cosmos
underlie Muslim engagements with existential risks?
Across all these areas, we encourage submissions which explore ways in which Muslims
perceive human fragility and vulnerability – as is emphasised by the Qur’an itself (Q 4.28, Q
35.15) – in connection to our current circumstances, and/or devise pathways to hopeful
futures in spite of these challenges. The analytical categories of ‘fragility’ and ‘hope’ are
themselves open to critical scrutiny and interrogation.
Papers may draw on empirical and/or textual methodologies and may engage historical as
well as contemporary case studies. The focus can be on any geographical, social or political
context around the world where Muslims live or have lived.
The language of the conference will be English. There are plans for conference proceedings
to be published, and authors should indicate on submission of the abstract whether they wish
their paper to be considered for inclusion.
Abstracts should be no longer than 250 words long, and should be submitted along with a
one-page CV to muser@glasgow.ac.uk . The deadline for submissions is Monday 25th May
2026 at midnight BST.
2. The British Library:
Iranian Womens’ Voices
Writers Mosaic presents an evening of conversation, poetry, film, music and protest.
Monday 16 March 19.00
3. Transform Ottoman Documents into Searchable Digital Archives with Osmanlica.com
4. WEBINAR | Archaeology as National Archive: Herzfeld’s History of Iran
The Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies and Invisible East present ‘Rethinking History: Returning to Archives and Documents’, a series of monthly online seminars.
Convened by Arezou Azad and Mohamad Tavakoli, the seminars are held on Zoom.
Please join us on Wednesday 11 February at 12PM EST / 5PM GMT to hear Jennifer Jenkins of the University of Toronto speaking on ‘Archaeology as National Archive: Herzfeld’s History of Iran’. Pre-registration is essential.
5. New from SUP | Muslims in Milwaukee
https://press.syr.edu/supressbooks/9496/muslims-in-milwaukee/
6. Join Our Persian Language & Culture Residency Program
Hikmat International Institute – Qom
For registration and more details, please visit:
https://hikmat-ins.com/persian-language-culture-residency/
7. Indiana University’s Summer 2026 Language Workshop is now accepting applications for its intensive online Pashto program!
Online Courses
- Learn 1 year of language in 2 months
- Enjoy 18 hours of live instruction per week, plus cultural activities
- Combine the effectiveness of intensive study with the convenience of an online class
- Speed your learning by studying alongside enthusiastic and talented language learners
Funding Opportunities
- Explore your funding options here: http://go.iu.edu/language-workshop-funding
Priority Application Deadline
- May 21, 2026
Learn more and apply here: go.iu.edu/pashto-workshop
Questions? Email the Language Workshop at languageworkshop@iu.edu or join virtual office hours.
Contact Information
Kathleen Evans, Director, Indiana University Language Workshop
Contact Email
URL
http://go.iu.edu/pashto-workshop
8. Indiana University’s Summer 2026 Language Workshop is now accepting applications for its intensive online Persian program!
Online Courses
- Learn 1 year of language in 2 months
- Multiple levels of instruction
- Enjoy 18 hours of live instruction per week, plus cultural activities
- Combine the effectiveness of intensive study with the convenience of an online class
- Accelerate your learning with daily 1-on-1 skills training
- Speed up your learning by studying alongside enthusiastic and talented language learners
Funding Opportunities
- Explore your funding options here: http://go.iu.edu/language-workshop-funding
Priority Application Deadline
- MaY 21, 2926
Learn more and apply here: go.iu.edu/persian-workshop
Questions? Email the Language Workshop at languageworkshop@iu.edu or join virtual office hours.
Contact Information
Kathleen Evans, Director, Indiana University Language Workshop
Contact Email
URL
http://go.iu.edu/persian-workshop
9. Indiana University’s Summer 2026 Language Workshop is now accepting applications for its intensive, accelerated Arabic programs!
Online Courses
- Learn 1 year of Arabic in 2 months
- 5 levels of study
- Enjoy 18 hours of live instruction per week, plus cultural activities
- Combine the effectiveness of intensive study with the convenience of an online class
- Speed your learning by studying alongside enthusiastic and talented language learners
Funding Opportunities
- Explore your funding options here: http://go.iu.edu/language-workshop-funding
Priority Application Deadline
- May 21, 2026
Learn more and apply here: go.iu.edu/arabic-workshop
Questions? Email the Language Workshop at languageworkshop@iu.edu or join virtual office hours.
Contact Information
Kathleen Evans, Director, Indiana University Language Workshop
Contact Email
URL
http://go.iu.edu/arabic-workshop
10. CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
The Textile Museum Journal
Volume 54 2027
The Textile Museum Journal publishes high-quality academic research on the textile arts and serves as an interface between different branches of academia and textile scholars worldwide. International in scope, the journal is devoted to the presentation of scholarly articles concerning the cultural, technical, historical, and aesthetic significance of textiles.
This volume will be dedicated to the untold stories of how museum textile collections come to be and how museums develop identities around their textile collections. Studies centering on the history of individual textile collections, problems inherent in acquiring museum collections, the creation of textile collections, provenance research on collection materials, repatriation of textiles, and identification of forgeries will be considered. Research from all disciplinary perspectives is welcome. Manuscripts should be based on original documentary, analytical, or interpretive research.
Deadline for abstract submissions: April 30, 2026.
Deadline for full manuscript submissions: August 31, 2026.
Manuscripts should be submitted by email to the Editorial Assistant of The Textile Museum Journal at tmjournal@gwu.edu.
For Manuscript Submission and Author Style Guide documents, please visit https://museum.gwu.edu/submit-research
11. Christian Voices in Arabic: A Manuscript Heritage
About six weeks ago, I launched an online programme dedicated to reading Christian Arabic manuscripts for students and academics. Since then, I have shared eighteen excerpts from a wide range of manuscripts, each accompanied by a transcription, translation and explanatory notes. Here are some of my personal favourites from the series:
- A Syrian Orthodox Scribe on Cyprus (posts 12a and 12b, 17a and 17b)
Yūsuf b. Sabāṭ, the scribe in question, claims that the Torah was revealed to Moses in Syriac and the seventy sheikhs translated it into Hebrew. He refers to this original Syriac version of the Torah as the Targum.
- Islamic versus Christian Purification (posts 5a and 5b)
Attributed to a monk named Ibrāhīm b. ʿAmr, this short text argues that Christians are no less pure than Muslims despite not practicing ritual ablutions.
- The Youngest Copyist in History? (posts 4a and 4b)
This colophon comes from a horologion copied by a twelve-year-old boy, ʿAbd al-Masīḥ b. Ḥannā. His handwriting is remarkably clear—better than that of many experienced scribes. Throughout the manuscript, numerous pages are adorned with beautifully executed decorative borders.
You can find them all here: https://drkrisztina.substack.com/
These posts are a useful resource for anyone interested in Christian Arabic literature, manuscript studies and book history—as well as for those looking to sharpen their Arabic. If your Arabic is at an intermediate level or beyond, reading these manuscripts will not be an exercise in frustration and it becomes more rewarding with every text you tackle. After sharing a manuscript excerpt, I give readers a few days to try their hand at it before posting the full transcription and translation.
Free subscribers are very welcome!
Best wishes,
Krisztina Szilágyi
Contact Information
Dr Krisztina Szilágyi
Contact Email
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https://drkrisztina.substack.com/
12. ONLINE Seminar “Nile Floods and Delta Revolts in the Eighth and Ninth Centuries CE” by Prof. Andrew Marsham (University of Cambridge) and Prof. Philip Booth (St Peter’s Col-lege, Oxford), SSE1K Project, Università Ca’ Foscari, Venezia, 9 February 2026, 17:00 CET
Part of the series “People and their Environments in the First Millennium CE” (SSE1K), this sem-inar investigates the causal relationships between environmental change – specifically variations in Nile flooding – and fiscal revolts during the 8th and 9th centuries.
Registration: https://shorturl.at/FpIAR \
13. HYBRIDE Atelier-rencontre avec Chantal Verdeil : “Femmes missionnaires dans les mondes musulmans”, Institut d’études de l’Islam et des sociétés du monde musulman (IISMM), Paris, 11 février 2026, 12h00 – 13h30 CET
Ce livre s’attache à rendre compte du foisonnement de l’action des missions féminines dans les mondes musulmans du XIXe siècle à nos jours. Personnalités très fortes ou figures plus discrètes catholiques ou protestantes, religieuses ou laïques, seules ou membres d’une congrégation, ces femmes, plus nombreuses que les hommes, ont mené des actions très diverses, ouvert des clas-ses, dirigé des écoles, tenu des dispensaires, exercé comme médecin, mais aussi secouru des réfugiés ou créé une société de colporteurs.
Information et inscription:
https://iismm.ehess.fr/evenement/atelier-rencontre-avec-chantal-verdeil
14. HYBRID “Celebrating 20 Years of the Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation”, SOAS, University of London, 13 February 2026, 19:00 CET
Join us for a keynote lecture by Boyd Tonkin, reflecting on the past quarter-century of literary translation in a talk titled “Republic of letters or global bazaar: literary translation in the new mil-lennium.” Following the lecture, the 20th year Saif Ghobash Banipal prize winner Marilyn Booth will discuss her acclaimed translation of “Honey Hunger”.
Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/48fsybdy
15. Conference “The Concept of Suffering and the Concept of Happiness in Judaism, Chris-tianity and Islam”, Bayerisches Forschungszentrum für Interreligiöse Dialoge (BaFID), Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen, 25-27 February 2026
Detailed program at https://tinyurl.com/2jazz8s4.
Deadline to register for participation: 18 February 2026
16. ONLINE Webinar “The Heirs of Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī (d. 1505 AD). Zoom Series on the Persistence of Islamic Scholarship in the Early Modern Period”, by OIB/University of Bam-berg/University of Göttingen, every Wednesday, 22 April – 15 July 2026, 18:00 pm CET
The Ottoman conquest of Egypt was long regarded as marking the decline of Islamic scholarship, with al-Suyūṭī as its last great figure. Despite all efforts, the “Middle Period” remains insufficiently explored. Thus, the series explores Suyūṭī’s legacy between the 16th and 19th centuries, from the Maghreb to Southeast Asia.
Information: hhttps://tinyurl.com/y3p7c2ch
17. Conference “Fairytales of the Other: The Orientalist Gaze, the Villain, and the Cultural Myths from Beyond”, School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture, University of Aberdeen, 23-24 April 2026
the conference brings together scholars, filmmakers, students, and wider audiences to examine how stories of difference are crafted and experienced across global film traditions. Drawing on postcolonial studies, psychology, and visual culture, we explore how moving images generate empathy or fear and how narratives from beyond the western canon challenge our most funda-mental cultural assumptions.
Deadline for abstracts: 2 March 2026. Information: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/llmvc/events/23383/
18. Workshop “Demarcating Literary Genres in Premodern Arabic Literature. Semantics, Pragmatics, and the Question of Fictionality”, Orient-Institut Beirut, 3-5 June 2026
Through presentations delivered in Arabic, the workshop will explore how we can demarcate and interrelate premodern Arabic literary genres and systems of generic classification, what specific functions genres serve in changing social and cultural contexts, and to what extent the use of genre terms and concepts can be indicative of fictionality. Full travel and accommodation ex-penses of the participants will be covered.
Deadline for abstracts: 15 February 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/2mbj5yeb
19. Regional Conference of the Central Eurasian Studies Society (CESS): “(Re)thinking Central Eurasia: Spaces, Societies, and Power” (Focus Iran), Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan, 16-19 June 2026
We invite submissions relating to all aspects of humanities and social science scholarship that fall within the conference theme.
Deadline for abstracts: 15 March 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4uxvf4fu
20. Third Turkic World Summer Forum “The Future of the Turkic World”, Ibn Haldun University, Istanbul, 6-15 July 2026
We invite scholars, practitioners, and students to engage in an interdisciplinary dialogue on the evolving political, economic, cultural, and technological landscape of the Turkic region. Main themes: 1. Historical and Civilizational Perspectives. – 2. Politics, Governance, and Security. – 3. Economy, Energy, and Connectivity. – 4. Society, Culture, and Soft Power. – 5. Future Visions and Global Outlook
Deadline for abstracts: 20 February 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/yavua94a
21. Second Khalaqat Conference: “Gender and Contemporary Arab Artistic Creation”, Sa-pienza University of Rome, 9-10 July 2026
The conference aims to place Arab artistic creation at the centre of contemporary debate, recog-nising its value within and beyond the region and contributing to the questioning of colonial and orientalist frameworks that have shaped its reception. We invite proposals addressing contempo-rary Arab artistic and literary production from a gender perspective. Interdisciplinary, practice-based, and artistic contributions are welcome. Languages: Arabic, English, Spanish
Extended deadline for abstracts: 28 February 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/yy27hppj
22. International Conference “God, Human, Machine: Images and Imaginations of Religion in the Age of AI” (Focus Islam), University of Erfurt, 28-30 September 2026
The conference draws attention to the hitherto largely neglected aesthetic, ethical, and intellectual implications of AI-generated imagery in religious contexts. We invite theoretical and empirical re-search papers that examine how AI-generated imagery offers new avenues to render the Unseen tangible and enact the expressive dimension of religious texts, as well the ways in which these technologies are employed by religious practitioners to inform their ideas about human relations to the world and the Sacred.
Deadline for abstracts: 22 February 2026.
Information: https://www.uni-erfurt.de/to/godhumanmachine
23. Colloque « De la poésie préislamique, 1926-2026 : Bilan et perspectives sur un siècle de débat », Inalco, 21-22 octobre 2026
Ce colloque international entend interroger son héritage à la lumière d’un siècle de recherches et de débats. Il se propose de revenir d’une part sur l’histoire du débat intellectuel ouvert par la parution de cet essai dans et hors des milieux académiques arabes, et d’autre part sur les diffé-rentes tentatives et propositions de chercheurs qui ont tâché de répondre à la question de l’au-thenticité dans sa dimension philologique, historique, linguistique ou esthétique. Les langues de travail du colloque seront le français, l’arabe et l’anglais.
Date limite : 23 février 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/2b2wywnm
24. Seminar “Travellers in Ottoman Lands”, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece, 21-24 April 2027
The speakers will explore many fascinating subjects relevant to travel to and from Thessaloniki (previously Salonica) as well as other Ottoman Lands during the Ottoman period, including: • Artist-travellers and early photographers • Horticulturalists and botanists • Women travellers • Support networks: Consulates, dragomans and merchants • Travellers at classical and archaeo-logical sites • Architecture and landscapes • Ports, coasts and seascapes • Etc.
Deadline for abstracts: 15 November 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3t64zfv7
25. Call for Hosting the “XII Islamic Legal Studies Conference” of the “International Society for Islamic Legal Studies (ISILS)”, 2028
ISILS, the leading international professional association for scholars of Islamic law, invites ex-pressions of interest from institutions wishing to host its next triennial conference in 2028. The conference combines an invited panel or roundtable, developed in collaboration with the host, with approximately twenty peer-reviewed papers spanning Islamic legal studies in its broadest sense.
Deadline for applications: 15 May 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/tntxhksr
26. Open Rank Professorship in Social Anthropology (Including Migration Studies on the Middle East), Department of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies, University of Bern
The successful candidate will represent the discipline of social anthropology in its entirety with a special focus on the anthropology of migration. The position is advertised as open rank (tenure-track Assistant Professorship, Associate Professorship, or Full Professorship). Appointment level will be decided by the appointment committee on the basis of candidates’ prior experience and qualifications.
Deadline for applications: 15 February 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/2et5h58e
27. Junior Fellowships (6 Months, 50 %) for Postdoctoral Researchers from the Humani-ties, Cultural and Social Sciences (Including Middle East Studies), University of Bern
Requirements: You hold an excellent PhD in a discipline within the humanities, cultural studies, or social sciences. – You are working on an interdisciplinary postdoc project. – You have knowledge of German (at least passive) and English (active and passive).
Deadline for applications: 1 March 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/yj2trfav
28. Lecturer (50 %) in Qualitative Methods (Including Studies on Middle East Societies), Department of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies, University of Bern
The successful candidate will teach and conduct research broadly with a focus on qualitative empirical (ethnographic and historical) methods. In addition to research-based teaching, the po-sition involves the supervision of students (BA, MA, and possibly PhD), as well as active collabo-ration within the Department and with related disciplines.
Deadline for applications: 8 March 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/bdddphsa
29. Visiting Fellowship (3 Months) for Palestinian Scholars or PhD Students, University of Bologna
This call is for scholars and PhD students from Palestinian Territories whose research has been compromised by the ongoing conflict in the region. Selected applicants will be invited to carry out activities related to the dissemination of their knowledge, research methodologies, and results.
Deadline for applications: 19 March 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/mrysdtrw
30. Two Open Rank Faculty Positions in Islamic Ethics, Research Center for Islamic Leg-islation and Ethics, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar
We are seeking dynamic scholars whose work bridges the Islamic scholarly tradition with con-temporary moral challenges. We are particularly interested in candidates who can bring fresh perspectives to both theoretical and applied Islamic ethics across diverse disciplines.
Applications will be reviewed immediately. Closing date: 25 April 2026
Information: https://tinyurl.com/ycx3ktsp
31. 8th Leiden Summer School on “Philology and Manuscripts from the Muslim World”, Leiden University, 17-28 August 2026
Invitation to participate in two weeks of lectures, exchange and hands-on practice with examples (of the student’s choice) in Leiden University’s rich collection of Oriental manuscripts. The summer school is meant for graduate students (MA and PHD), post-doc’s and researchers.
Deadline for applications: 4 May 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/yefzk2yj
32. New Book: “Before the Qur’an: Material Sources at the Advent of Muslim Scripture” by Suleyman Dost, Edinburgh University Press, 2026, 248 Pages
Information: https://tinyurl.com/b25cjbhx
33. New Book: “Colonial Legacies and Arab-Majority Regions: From Contemporary Condi-tions to Alternative Futures”, Edited by Ali Kassem, Bristol University Press, 2026, 300 Pages
Information: https://tinyurl.com/bd9p6h4k
- February 07, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – BBC: Islamabad Shii Mosque Bombed
On ISIL’s involvement, see
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/6/explosion-rocks-mosque-in-pakistans-islamabad
- February 06, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment