Archive for 2026
Shii News – Passing of Charles-Henri de Fouchécour
C’est avec une profonde tristesse que nous avons appris la disparition de Charles-Henri de Fouchécour, survenue vendredi dernier, 19 juin 2026, à l’âge de 100 ans.
Éminent spécialiste de la langue et de la littérature persane classiques, dont il a éclairé l’étude de contributions fondatrices (dont le célèbre Moralia: les notions morales dans la littérature persane du 3e-9e au 7e-13e siècle, Éditions Recherche sur les civilisations,1986), Charles-Henri de Fouchécour a enseigné à l’Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (Inalco) ainsi qu’à la Sorbonne nouvelle, succédant à Gilbert Lazard comme Professeur et directeur de l’Institut d’études iraniennes. Il a également dirigé l’Institut français de recherche en Iran (IFRI) et fondé, en 1978, la revue de bibliographie critique en études iraniennes Abstracta Iranica. Dans le riche héritage que constituent ses nombreux travaux et publications, sa traduction intégrale commentée du Divân de Hâfez (Verdier, 2006), la première en français, comme celle des Maqâlât de Shams de Tabriz (La quête du joyau, les Éditions du Cerf, 2017) comptent au nombre des trésors les plus précieux qu’il lègue, par-delà la communauté scientifique, à des générations de lecteurs, étudiants, et amoureux de la littérature et de la pensée.
Certain.e.s d’entre vous s’en souviennent: Charles-Henri nous avait encore honorés de sa bienveillance en nous rejoignant en visioconférence, grâce aux bons soins de ses proches, à l’occasion de l’hommage qui lui était rendu lors de la XVIe Journée Monde Iranien organisée par notre collègue Wouter Henkelman au Pôle des Langues et Civilisations au printemps 2025. Une exposition, coordonnée par notre collègue Farzaneh Zareie, avait alors été organisée à la BULAC, qui salue aujourd’hui sa mémoire sur cette page.
C’est un savant passionné, un maître généreux et pour nombre d’entre nous, un ami qui nous quitte.
Un hommage lui sera rendu le samedi 27 juin, à 11 heures, au crématorium de Beaumont-lès-Valence.
Ses cendres reposeront au cimetière du Montparnasse, à Paris 14e, dans le caveau familial. Une cérémonie sera organisée en son honneur en septembre, dont nous vous ferons partager les détails lorsqu’ils seront connus.
Au nom du CeRMI, nous adressons à sa famille et à ses proches nos plus sincères condoléances,
Pour la direction,
Justine Landau, avec Denis Hermann et Matteo de Chiara
- June 25, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. The Colour of Dreams
The Physiology of Oneiric Experience in Greek, Arabic, and Latin Traditions
Marco Signori
25 June 2026 – 5 PM (CET)
This talk explores the concept of dream colour as it appears in a selection of medieval Arabic and Latin philosophical and medical texts. Lying at the intersection of psychophysiology, medicine and the doctrine of the rational soul, this subject draws on ancient humoral theory to explain an intriguing aspect of the dream experience.
The idea of a correlation between the colour of oneiric images and the predominance of one of the four humours originates from a concise yet highly significant doxographic passage attributed to Galen, as recorded in the only surviving manuscript, Arabic MS Baġdād (Awqāf 9763), and is referenced in notable resources such as Avicenna’s (Ibn Sīnā, d. 1037) writings and the Persian Book of Science for ʿAlāʾ al-Dawla.
Curiously, however, while other Arabic students of this Galenic excerpt on humoral oneirology, such as Abū l-Faraǧ ibn al-Ṭayyib (d. 1043), omitted references to colour when addressing related topics, this connection reemerges in the Latin tradition, as demonstrated by Albert the Great and, most notably, Boethius of Dacia.
Building on previous scholarship and analysing various intermediary channels, the contribution will discuss the possible historical and doctrinal links between these authors, tracing hypothetical lines of transmission from Greek-Arabic medicine to 13th-century Latin philosophy.
To register for this event, please click here.
Please note the change of date from 23 June to 25 June.
Kindest regards,
Andreas Hylla
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
2. Conference in London: Before “The Pursuit of Happiness”
https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/british-academy-conferences/before-pursuit-happiness-emotional-flourishing-early-judaism-christianity-islam/
Before “The Pursuit of Happiness”: emotional flourishing in early Judaism, Christianity and Islam
Tue 7 – Wed 8 Jul 2026 , 09:00 – 17:00
The Aga Khan Centre, 10 Handyside Street, N1C 4DN
What emotions have been understood to shape human wellbeing?
Today, many in the English-speaking world would readily point to happiness, a concept now both positively felt and positively valued. Yet this association is historically contingent. The meaning and moral status of happiness have long been subjects of debate, especially in early religious discussions of the relationship between virtue, the state of being good, and pleasure, the feeling of goodness. Surprisingly, there have been few comparative investigations of emotional flourishing before the ideal of pursuing happiness became dominant, and none that examine this theme across the major religious traditions of the western world.
This conference brings together leading international scholars of early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam to explore the ideals that shaped emotional and moral life in these traditions. Participants will consider how these ideals developed over time, how they intersected across communities, and what social functions they served. In doing so, the conference offers a significant contribution to the study of human happiness, flourishing, and wellbeing, illuminating a rich and understudied intellectual history.
Please register to attend
- June 23, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
- June 22, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. Fons Vitae has just published: KANZ AL-ASRAR: A TREASURE OF MYSTERIES – ‘Mulay al-‘Arabi al-Darqawi and some of his goodly companions as seen through the eyes of a loving disciple’ by Muhammad Buziyan al-Gharisi al-Ma’askari (d. 1271/1854). Translated by Mohamed Fouad Aresmouk & Michael Abdurrahman Fitzgerald. Pages: 266
MULAY AL-ARABI al-Darqawi (ca. 1743 to 1823) was the gifted spiritual master whose teachings inspired a Sufi order and movement that attracted tens of thousands of followers in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and beyond. Among those who were able to visit the Shaykh in his remote zawiya in the mountains of northeast Morocco was a young man named Muhammad Buziyan al-Gharisi, who arrived with a caravan in 1803 from his native Algerian town of Maʻaskar.
The resulting work, which he entitled Kanz al-asrar fi munaqib Mawlana al-Arabi al-Darqawi wa ba‘di as·habihi ’l-akhyar (“A Treasure of secrets concerning the lives of Mulay al-Arabi al-Darqawi and some of his goodly disciples”) became a much-quoted reference for many later writings about the order. Purchasing details- Now Available…
2. The Fons Vitae Quranic Commentaries Series
NOW AVAILABLE in PDF & eBook formats: Up until now, these fundamental tafasir texts have remained out of reach for many English speaking Muslims (and non-Muslims). Among the most important sources for understanding the Qur’an are the tafsir works, commentaries on the Qur’an, which help to properly explain and contextualise the Revelation. VIEW ALL COMMENTARIES…
3. AMECYS 2026 Senior Scholar Award
The Association of Middle East Children and Youth Studies invites nominations for the inaugural AMECYS Senior Scholar Award
The Association of Middle East Children and Youth Studies (AMECYS) is a 501 (c) (3) private, non-profit, international membership-based association for scholars with an interest in the study of children and youth in the Middle East, North Africa, Gulf and their diasporic communities. Through interdisciplinary programs, publications, and services, AMECYS promotes innovative scholarship, facilitates global academic exchange, and enhances public understanding about and by Middle Eastern, North African and Gulf children and youth in diverse times and places from any disciplinary and methodological approach.
The AMECYS Senior Scholar Award recognizes an outstanding scholar whose career has advanced the study of children and youth in the Middle East, North Africa, the Gulf, and their diasporic communities. In keeping with AMECYS’s mission, the award honors sustained contributions that strengthen the field through innovative scholarship, interdisciplinary exchange, and the expansion of public understanding about and by children and youth in these regions.
Nominations for the award can be self-made or made by anyone who can speak to the credentials of the senior scholar, given they meet the following criteria:
- Open to senior scholars (e.g., associate/full professor or equivalent, including independent scholars).
- Nominees may come from any disciplinary or methodological approach.
- The nominee’s record must demonstrate sustained engagement with children and youth studies in MENA/Gulf and/or diasporic contexts.
- Nominee must be an AMECYS member at the time the nomination is made.
Selection Criteria
Nominees will be evaluated on the following:
- Substantial Scholarly Contribution–A significant body of work that has shaped knowledge and debate on children and youth in the Middle East, North Africa, the Gulf, and/or diasporic communities; evidence of impact (e.g., influence on the scholarship, teaching, methods, or research agendas of others).
- Innovation and Interdisciplinarity–Scholarship that is conceptually, methodologically, ethnographically or archivally innovative; work that advances interdisciplinary dialogue and helps build children and youth studies as a shared scholarly space across fields.
- Global Academic Exchange and Field-Building–Contributions that facilitate scholarly exchange across regions, institutions, and disciplines such as conference programming, collaborative network development, center/institute leadership, editorial leadership, academic association and other organizational leadership, or other forms of infrastructure-building.
- Mentorship and Support for Emerging Scholars–Demonstrated commitment to mentorship, especially toward graduate students and early-career scholars; concrete evidence may include teaching, advising, mentoring collaborative projects, co-publication, sponsorship, and community-building that expands participation in the field.
- Public Understanding and Engagement–Work that enhances public understanding about and by Middle Eastern, North African, and Gulf children and youth, whether through public scholarship, community partnerships, policy work, educational programming, and/or media engagement.
What nominators should send appended as one pdf:
- 1 Nomination letter– mapping the nominee’s contributions based on the criteria
- 1 Supporting recommendation – mapping the nominee’s contributions based on criteria
- A comprehensive CV
- Optional: up to 2 representative items (e.g., article, chapter, public essay, project link) that demonstrate contributions.
The winner of the AMECYS Award will receive $300 and a certificate of award. In the event of co-winners, prize money will be divided evenly among the winners. Honorable mentions also receive a certificate of award. Winners will be announced during the 59th MESA Annual Meeting in Boston. The results will also be posted on the AMECYS website and in other publications as deemed appropriate by AMECYS.
Nominations must be received by September 1, 2026 and be sent to the chair of the Awards Committee, Dylan.Baun@uah.edu
Reviewers
- Dylan Baun, Department of History, University of Alabama in Huntsville
- Heidi Morrison, Department of History, University of Wisconsin, La Crosse
3.Hilary Falb Kalisman, Endowed Professor of Israel/Palestine Studies, University of Colorado, Boulder
For any questions, can email Dylan.Baun@uah.edu
To learn more about AMECYS, visit www.amecys.org
To become an AMECYS member, visit https://www.amecys.org/membership
URL
4. Celebrating 1,000 Years of Avicenna’s al-Shifaʾ
The year 2027 marks 1,000 years since Avicenna completed al‑Shifāʾ(The Cure), his encyclopedic summa of philosophy and the sciences. The Avicenna Study Group (ASG, https://avicenna-study-group.org/) sees this milestone as reason for celebration and a timely opportunity to highlight the The Cure’scontinuing relevance, engage wider audiences, and stimulate new research.
We would be delighted if you and your institution would consider hosting an event in 2027. This could take the form of a multi‑day conference or symposium, a one‑day workshop or roundtable, a lecture series or reading group, an exhibition or manuscript showcase, a public talk, an online or hybrid event, or even a small, focused meeting with, for example, three speakers.
The ASG will support organizers with promotion and listing on a global calendar, coordination with other hosts and potential partners, shared visual assets and suggested messaging, and an option to publish outcomes in our peer‑reviewed series Avicenniana: Publications of the Avicenna Study Group (https://www.degruyterbrill.com/serial/pasg-b/html).
If you are interested, please send a brief expression of interest by 01 August 2026 – a short note outlining your initial idea for the event (format, prospective date(s) and location, and intended audience). We will then follow up with an organizer pack, clarify details with you, and add your event to the global calendar. If you would like more information about the 2027 commemoration activities or encounter any issues in planning your own, please do not hesitate to contact the ASG (https://avicenna-study-group.org/contact).
Contact Information
Shahrzad Irannejad
Avicenna Study Group Communications Officer
Contact Email
contact@avicenna-study-group.org
URL
https://avicenna-study-group.org/
5. CfP: 10th meeting of the International Society for Arabic Papyrology (ISAP) in Leiden, 22–25 March 2027
The International Society for Arabic Papyrology (ISAP) invites submissions for its tenth congress, to be held in Leiden from 22 to 25 March 2027.
The congress aims to bring together scholars wording on (Arabic, Coptic, Greek, Pahlavi, …) papyri and related documentary sources from the Islamic period (6th-16th centuries CE) to foster dialogue between philology, papyrology, and historical research. The tenth ISAP congress will be dedicated to showing how papyrological materials can be used to illuminate broader historical questions and debates in Islamicate history.
For updated information on the congress, see the congress website.
Paper Proposals (20 minutes)
We invite proposals for 20-minute papers that engage directly with papyrological (and related documentary) sources for historial inquiry in Islamicate history. Contributions should clearly demonstrate how such sources illuminate our understanding of historical processes, structures, or experiences across the Islamicate world from the sixth to sixteenth centuries CE.
We welcome papers addressing themes such as, but not limited to, administration, economy, law, religion, social history, and material culture.
It will also be possible to present collaborative (co-presented) papers, in which one presenter focuses on the edition and philological aspects of a text, and the other discusses its historical and historiographical significance.
Short Presentations: Editions In Progress (10 minutes)
The programme will also include a dedicated session for the presentation of text editions or parts of editions. These 10-minute presentations are designed as a forum for discussion and feedback on ongoing work, including new texts, re-editions, or methological issues.
Submissions Guidelines
- Proposals should be approximately 300 words (for both full papers and short presentations).
- Please include your name, affiliation, and contact details.
- Fo co-presented papers, please indicate clearly the roles of each contributor.
- Please send your proposal by the deadline to: p.m.sijpesteijn@hum.leidenuniv.nl.
Deadline And Notification
- Submission deadline: 1 September 2026
- Notification of acceptance: 15 September 2026
Please note that there will be limited number of grants available to support the participation of scholars whose institutions provide no or insufficiant financial support. Information on how to apply for a grant will be provided after a paper has been accepted.
Jelle Bruning and Petra Sijpesteijn
Contact Information
Dr Jelle Bruning
Contact Email
URL
https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/humanities/institute-for-area-studies/arab…
6. Islamic Art, Games/XR & GLAM – Digital Lab Days Edinburgh, 2-3 July 2026
The Digital Lab for Islamic Visual Culture & Collections annual Digital Lab Days event will take place in Edinburgh on 2–3 July 2026. The event brings together scholars, curators, developers, educators, and heritage professionals working across Islamic art & architecture, history, video games/immersive media, and GLAM. The programme is designed to foster conversation across Islamic art, games/entertainment/XR, and GLAM sectors and to share new approaches to research, representation, and public engagement.
Speakers and workshops will engage with topics including:
- Digital tools for Islamic architectural heritage
- Al-Andalus in Arabic television
- Game design as art historical methodology
- Self-Orientalism in games and popular media
- Art and MENA representation in contemporary digital media
This event is particularly relevant to scholars and practitioners in:
- Islamic history and art history
- Medieval and Middle East studies
- Digital Humanities
- Museum/Heritage studies
- Games, Entertainment, & Creative Industries
- Game Studies
Contact Email
URL
https://www.digitallabivcc.com/digital-days-islamic-art-games-xr-glam-edinburgh…
7. New book in open access: Philip Bockholt, Türkische Übersetzungen aus dem Arabischen und Persischen. Akteure, Adaption und Rezeption in der Frühen Neuzeit[Empires in Translation, vol. 1], Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter, 2026
In the monograph “Türkische Übersetzungen aus dem Arabischen und Persischen”—the first volume of the series “Empires in Translation: Intersections of Arabic, Persian, and Turkish in the Eastern Mediterranean”—Philip Bockholt demonstrates that early‑modern Ottoman elites deliberately commissioned Turkish renderings of Arabic and Persian historiographical and advisory texts in order to appropriate the established Islamic scholarly tradition and thereby embed themselves within it. Treating translation as a cultural practice rather than a purely linguistic operation, the study maps the network of translators, patrons, and readers; it documents multiple recensions of the same work and analyses marginalia, colophons, and decorative elements that reveal the production and circulation contexts. By foregrounding the trilingual Ottoman scholarly world (elsine‑i s̱elās̱e—Arabic, Persian, Turkish), the research shows how translation functioned as an instrument of patronage, self‑positioning and imperial consolidation. Consequently, the monograph fills a significant lacuna in Ottoman intellectual history and underscores translation’s central role in early‑modern empire formation.
Contact Information
Prof. Dr. Philip Bockholt
Juniorprofessor für Geschichte des turko-persischen Raumes
Institut für Arabistik und Islamwissenschaft
Schlaunstr. 2
Raum 359
48143 Münster
Germany
Contact Email
philip.bockholt@uni-muenster.de
URL
https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783112219751/html?fbclid=I…
8. Racializing the Ummah
Muslim Humanitarians beyond Black, Brown, and White
Rhea Rahman
https://mngbookshop.co.uk/9781517920272/racializing-the-ummah/
20% Discount code*: LSMNGUPS26
*Valid until 11:59 BST, 30st December 2026. Discount only applies to the MNG website
9. The Islamic College
Qur’anic Arabic Certificate-Starting in June
Designed as a foundation for students wishing to pursue further studies in Islamic disciplines — or simply to gain proficiency in classical Arabic — this programme focuses on the language of the Qur’an and the classical scholarly tradition, rather than the Modern Standard Arabic used in contemporary contexts. No prior knowledge of Arabic is required..
The complete course is divided into three parts, each comprising 12 sessions held twice per week.
Modules offered: Part 1 – Reading, Writing & Morphology
Entry requirement: No prior knowledge of Arabic required
Duration: 12 weeks per part (36 weeks for all three parts)
Fees: £ 125 for Reading & Writing, £125 for Morphology, or £200 for both modules
Location: In-person and online
Part 1 start date: 30th June 2026
Part 1 — Reading and Writing & Morphology. An introduction to Arabic script and word patterns, exploring how Arabic words are formed and change.
Part 2 — Listening and Speaking and Syntax. A focus on correct sentence construction alongside the development of listening and reading skills.
Part 3 — Qur’anic Recitation & Analytical Grammar. Applied reading of Qur’anic texts with deeper engagement in grammatical analysis.
The instalment plan for the full fee is also available.
Questions? Contact The Islamic College at admissions@islamic-college.ac.uk
- June 20, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
- June 19, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
- June 17, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. International Journal of Islamic Architecture 15.2
Special Issue: ‘Gender in Islamic Architecture’
Real and imagined spaces are inherently gendered. This relates to widely accepted heteronormative and patriarchal ways of living, and affects how buildings and cities are accessed, used, and experienced. Yet, women and marginalized peoples have found innovative ways to claim their right to experience and shape cities. Against these complex yet urgent ongoing questions, the contributors to this special issue of the International Journal of Islamic Architecture interrogate the past and present relationship between gender and architecture through an interdisciplinary approach.
Including ‘Tactics of Resistance: Palestinian Women and the Reclamation of Space in the Old City of Hebron, Palestine’ by Rana Abughannam and Nuha Dandis and ‘Chlorine, Concrete, and Coquette: Women at the Pool in Egypt, 1930–69’ by Alexandra Camille Schultz.
For more information about the journal and issue click here:
https://www.intellectbooks.com/international-journal-of-islamic-architecture
Issue 15.2
Table of Contents
Editorial
Women as Agents of Social Change and Disruptors of Normative Structures
GÜL KALE
Design in Theory Articles
Mother of Abundance, Queen of the Ill: Bezmiâlem Sultan and the Architectures of Tahaffuz
SHARON MIZBANI
RANA ABUGHANNAM AND NUHA DANDIS
SELİN ÜNLÜÖNEN
Chlorine, Concrete, and Coquette: Women at the Pool in Egypt, 1930–69
ALEXANDRA CAMILLE SCHULTZ
Fluid Boundaries, Liminal Identities: The Chhatri Tomb of Mughal Princess Shah Begum
SRINANDA GANGULY
Design in Practice Articles
Unveiling Sacred Boundaries in Qatar: Al-Mujadilah Center and Women’s Spatial Experience
FATEMA SHUBBAR, AMINA AL- KANDARI AND GÖZE BAYRAM
Book Reviews
HARVEY MOLOTCH
ASLIHAN GÜNHAN
ASMA MEHAN
SUNA GÜVEN
NADER SAYADI
Exhibition Review
SIBEL ZANDI-SAYEK
Contact Information
Alex Dika Seggerman
Contact Email
URL
https://www.intellectbooks.com/international-journal-of-islamic-architecture
2. The production of material culture in the Islamic world (EHG 21st Colloquium)
The 21st colloquium of the Ernst Herzfeld Society for Islamic art and archaeology at the Goethe-University Frankfurt discusses the Islamic world from a materiality perspective. The colloquium focuses on craftsmen, production techniques or ‘know how’, production centers and workshops and the transfer of knowledge and highlights social and economic dynamics that often go unnoticed. It hosts Islamic art historians and Islamic archaeologists in addition to scholars from the fields of manuscript studies, museology, archaeometry, and anthropology. Through this interdisciplinary discussion we hope to better understand social dynamics in the Islamic world during different eras.
All lectures takes place in Frankfurt. They are not livestreamed and not recorded.
Contact Information
Registration to the colloquium until 25.6.26 by Mustafa Ahmad
Contact Email
URL
https://www.fb09.uni-frankfurt.de/186610338/EHG_Program_Poster_Draft_01.pdf
3. ARS APODEMICA
From the Sadberk Hanım Museum and Ömer Koç Collections
Curator: Makbule Merve Uca
8 May 2026-23 May 2027
Ars Apodemica constructs its narrative around journeys to Ottoman territories across a broad time span, from the late fifteenth century to the first quarter of the twentieth century, approaching these travels through the motivations behind them. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Koç Group, the exhibition, composed of a selection of works from the Sadberk Hanım Museum and the Ömer Koç Collections, centers on travelogues that consider travel not merely as a change of place, but as a deliberate practice of selection and recording. Beyond these travelogues, paintings reflecting the world of the period and objects related to the Ottoman geography also appear in the exhibition as integral parts of this visual and intellectual process of production.
Contact Email
URL
- June 16, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. IHF Modern Iran Book Series 2026
We are pleased to announce the third round of our call for book proposals under the IHF Modern Iran Series, a new Open Access, peer-reviewed academic book series published by Bloomsbury Academic. The Iran Heritage Foundation (IHF) is supporting successful applicants with Open Access publication costs.
Please submit your proposal to Hassan Hakimian, Series Editor, and Rory Gormley, Senior Commissioning Editor at Bloomsbury Academic.
The deadline for submission for this round is 31 August 2026.
The IHF Modern Iran Series publishes innovative Open Access books with a broad thematic focus on modern and contemporary Iran. The chronological scope of the series covers the late nineteenth century to the present day with thematic areas ranging from cultural and social to political and economic issues.
The full announcement can be read here.
2. Registration Now Open: A Historical Journey through the Life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH
🌟 In the Light of the Prophetic Radiance
A Historical Journey through the Life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
Join us for a truly unique and comprehensive exploration of the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). This summer, we will journey through the sands and stories of Arabia, uncovering the historical, social, and spiritual landscape that gave rise to one of the most transformative figures in human history.
This intensive 15-session program offers a rigorous exploration of the life of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), examining the historical context of 7th-century Arabia, the Meccan and Medinan periods, and the lasting impact of the Prophetic mission.
📅 August 5–27, 2026
🖥 Live on Zoom (recordings available)
🎓 Certificate provided (upon request)
🌍 Open worldwide
🎓 Partial scholarships available
🔗 Learn more and apply:
[Course Website Link]
We hope you will join us for this unique journey through the life and legacy of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
With warm regards,
Hikmat International Institute
📧 info@hikmat-ins.com
🌐 www.hikmat-ins.com
3. The Islamic College
Monthly Talk: Reading the Qur’an as a “Discourse of Signs”
Reading the Qur’an as a “Discourse of Signs”
Speaker: Professor William A. Graham
Date: 19 June 2026
Time: 6:00-7:30 pm (London time)
Location: Online
This talk will argue that the Qur’an taken as a whole is best understood as a text offering first and foremost a rehearsal of God’s many signs given freely for the purpose of instruction and guidance of human beings in their behavior in this world. In other words, the qur’anic notion of ‘ibrah (instructive example or lesson), âyah (sign), and other concepts such as bayyinah, mathal, or burhân, when considered together form a web of didactic and paranetic material that dominates the qur’anic text. In considering the prominence of these categories, God’s message clearly emerges as a call above all to note and consider His signs in nature, in human history, and in His Word itself and then to live and order one’s life accordingly.
William A. Graham is the Murray A. Albertson Professor of Middle Eastern Studies, Emeritus, and University Distinguished Service Professor, Emeritus, at Harvard University. He taught in Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences from 1973 to 2018, serving also as Dean of Harvard Divinity School from 2002-12. His scholarly work has focused on early Islamic religious history and textual traditions and problems in the history of world religion.
https://islamic-college.ac.uk/registration-for-reading-the-quran-as-a-discourse-of-signs/
4. CSMBR Upcoming Lecture:
The Colour of Dreams
The Physiology of Oneiric Experience in Greek, Arabic, and Latin Traditions
Marco Signori
23 June 2026 – 5 PM (CET)
This talk explores the concept of dream colour as it appears in a selection of medieval Arabic and Latin philosophical and medical texts. Lying at the intersection of psychophysiology, medicine and the doctrine of the rational soul, this subject draws on ancient humoral theory to explain an intriguing aspect of the dream experience.
The idea of a correlation between the colour of oneiric images and the predominance of one of the four humours originates from a concise yet highly significant doxographic passage attributed to Galen, as recorded in the only surviving manuscript, Arabic MS Baġdād (Awqāf 9763), and is referenced in notable resources such as Avicenna’s (Ibn Sīnā, d. 1037) writings and the Persian Book of Science for ʿAlāʾ al-Dawla.
Curiously, however, while other Arabic students of this Galenic excerpt on humoral oneirology, such as Abū l-Faraǧ ibn al-Ṭayyib (d. 1043), omitted references to colour when addressing related topics, this connection reemerges in the Latin tradition, as demonstrated by Albert the Great and, most notably, Boethius of Dacia.
Building on previous scholarship and analysing various intermediary channels, the contribution will discuss the possible historical and doctrinal links between these authors, tracing hypothetical lines of transmission from Greek-Arabic medicine to 13th-century Latin philosophy.
To register for this event, please click here.
5. ONLINE International Symposium “The Cultural Impact of Janissaries in the Ottoman Periphery”, Forum Tauri, Istanbul, 14 June 2026, 12:00 – 18:00 CET
Focusing on the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Egypt, and North Africa, the symposium invites reflection on how Janissary communities operated within provincial societies. In these regions, Janissaries were not only soldiers; they were urban actors, participants in local economies, members of devotional networks, and agents of institutional transmission. Through ritual practices, brotherhood structures, musical and ceremonial traditions, and social integration, they contributed to the shaping of local cultural land-scapes.
Information, program and registration: https://tinyurl.com/54pkua37
6. HYBRID International Conference “Lost in a Forest of Signs: Describing and Understanding Graphic Variation in Ancient Writing Systems” (Including Middle East), Liège University, Belgium, 15-17 June 2026
One of the main aims of this meeting is to bring together scholars working on undeciphered writing systems with those studying deciphered ones, fostering dialogue and shared insights – particularly through a more precise and nuanced description of the diverse phenomena encompassed by what we term graphic variation.
Information, program and registration: https://tinyurl.com/45zyhrj9
7. Articles on “Gender, Sexualities, and Middle Eastern Matricultures” for a Special Issue of ” Matrix: A Journal for Matricultural Studies”
Authors are encouraged to explore the symbols and meaning relating to women, mothers, and the feminine in a Middle Eastern society and how these symbols and meanings shape sexual behaviours and gender identities – or vice versa.
Deadline for abstracts: 29 June 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/ynyvz6k7
8. ONLINE New Article “The World Cup and the Politics of Football in the MENA Region” by André Bank, Idriss Jebari, Hamid Talebian, Eckart Woert, GIGA Focus Middle East, No. 3, 9 June 2026, 10 Pages
A record-high nine men’s national teams from the MENA will take part, testifying to the region’s in-creased role in global football. In this region, the World Cup is stirring up debates over nationalism, sportswashing, and social protests.
Link: https://tinyurl.com/frt8rkaz
9. ONLINE New Issue on “Female Health Professionals and Colonial and Imperial Medicine in the Middle East and the Ottoman Empire” of the “Journal of Women`s History”, Vol. 38, No. 2, June 2026, 112 Pages
Themes: Representing (Some) Jewish Midwives in the Re-formation of the Ottoman State. – Charity and Social Networks: The Haifa Infant Welfare Association During the British Mandate in Palestine. – From Mobility Restrictions to a Modern Health Center in Baqa Al-Gharbiyyeh: Arab Women Under the Military Government in Israel, 1949-1966. – Doctoring Empire: American Women Physicians and the Politics of Professional Identity in Iran, 1888-1971. – Reproductive Justice: From the Local to the Global.
Link: https://muse.jhu.edu/issue/56910
10. ONLINE Annales islamologiques 60, Dossier « Symbolismes et représentations de la Kaʿba », IFAO, “Annales islamologiques 60”, juin 2026, 367 Pages
The collected contributions analyse both processes of historiographical sacralisation and the symbolic, visual, and speculative elaborations associated with the sanctuary, from the early period of Islam to Sufi and Shiʿi traditions. By bringing together historical, iconographic, and hermeneutical perspectives, the dossier situates the Kaʿba at the centre of a nexus of practices, narratives, and symbolic construc-tions constitutive of classical Islam.
Information and links to articles : https://tinyurl.com/3bdw5wuv
11. New Book: “The Yezidis in Kurdish Nationalist and Islamic Discourses after the 2014 Geno-cide” by Qader Saleem Shammo, Yezidi Studies, vol. 4, Berlin: Frank and Timme, 2026, 282 Pages
In the aftermath of the 2014 genocide perpetrated by ISIS against the Yezidis, one critical issue has been largely overlooked: How are the Yezidis represented in Kurdish nationalist discourse within the Kurdistan Region of Iraq? And how are they portrayed in Kurdish Islamic religious discourse beyond Iraq’s borders? This book examines how the Yezidi genocide has been appropriated for political, symbolic, and strategic purposes.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/3yc9685k
12. New Book: “From Fatwa to Genocide: Historic and Contemporary Manifestations of the Islamic Genocide against the Yezidis” by Qader Saleem Shammo, Yezidi Studies, vol. 5., Berlin: Frank and Timme, 2026, 348 Pages
What is the history and the present-day reality of the Yezidis? Are there enduring patterns of discrimi-nation and persecution by Islamic communities and political authorities? And how did and do they affect women and children? This research pays particular attention to the enslavement of Yezidi women and children and to the sûq al-sabâyâ, the slave markets established for their sale.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/bdfv9szc
13. New Volume “From Cairo to Jerusalem and Beyond: Studies of the Later Islamic Middle Period in Honor of Linda Stevens Northrup” Edited by Mustafa Banister and Fadi Ragheb, Brill, Islamic History and Civilization Series, 8 June 2026, 573 Pages
This volume is a collection of essays dedicated to the esteemed Middle East historian Linda S. Northrup. It presents thirteen original contributions authored by international scholars from diverse fields such as pre-modern history, architecture, and Middle Eastern studies. The first section examines Crusader-era historiography, the second focuses on the “Mamlūk” period, the third explores late medieval medical science, and the fourth investigates urban history and material culture.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/39bhkvvw
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