Archive for 2026
Shii News – Latest Issue of JSIS (Journal of Shi’a Islamic Studies)
2025, Volume 18, Number 1-2, Spring 2025 (Published in 2026)
https://islamic-college.ac.uk/past-issues/
Symbolism and Allegory in Nāṣir Khusraw’s Safarnāmah: A Comparative Analysis with his Confession-Ode
Dawood Mirza
pp. 5-28
Grounded and Groundless Ontologies in Comparison: A Critical Re-Evaluation of Comparative Studies between Mullā Ṣadrā
and Heidegger
Boumediene Hamzi
pp. 29-96
From Moral Counsel to Political Vision: Khumaynī’s Intertextual
Engagement with Nahj al-Balāghah
Sara Abidi
pp. 97-122
Book Reviews
Ashura: Transcendence in Lament by Ayaz Ali and Saarah Bokhari, 2025
Babak Rahimi
pp. 123-127
Islamic Theology and Extraterrestrial Life: New Frontiers in Science and Religion,
edited by Shoaib Ahmed Malik and Jörg Matthias Determann, 2024
Abdullah Ansar
pp. 127-134
The Fatimids: Portrait of a Dynasty by Delia Cortese, 2025
Amir De Martino
pp. 135-142
Malaika and the Seven Heavens: A Memoir of My Encounters with Islam by Toyin Falola, 2023
Huzaifa Dokaji
pp. 143-148
Marital and Sexual Ethics in Islamic Law: Rethinking Temporary Marriage by
Roshan Iqbal, 2023
Saba Fatima
pp. 149-152
- July 08, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. Prix Avicenne de l’Académie royale de Belgique en hommage à Simone Van Riet (2epériode quadriennale, 2022-2025)
Créé 2020, ce prix international est destiné à encourager la recherche et les publications dans les disciplines cultivées par Simone Van Riet, à savoir l’histoire de la philosophie et des sciences de l’époque médiévale, spécialement dans les domaines byzantins, arabes et arabo-latins..
Le prix est décerné à M. Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, Directeur d’études émérite en sciences religieuses de l’École Pratique des Hautes Études à Paris, pour l’ensemble de son œuvre et, plus particulièrement, pour la codirection avec John Tolan, de l’ouvrage intitulé Le Mahomet des historiens, Paris, Éditions du Cerf, 2025.
2. Call for Thematic Issues – Occhialì. Rivista di studi sul Mediterraneo Islamico
We are pleased to invite you to submit proposals for thematic issues devoted to topics relevant to the study of Islamic Mediterranean. Proposals may address, among others, historical, religious, political, social, legal, linguistic, philosophical, anthropological, pedagogical and cultural themes, and may span chronologically from the rise of Islam to the present day, provided that they are relevant to the thematic and (inter-)disciplinary scope of the journal and offer an original contribution to scholarly debate.
Proposals must be submitted using the attached proposal form and must not exceed 1000 words, excluding bibliography. They should include a provisional title, the general theme of the issue, its scholarly relevance, its coherence with the journal’s profile, its possible internal structure, a non-exhaustive list of possible research questions that contributors to the issue are expected to address, the profile of the guest editor(s), and the proposed mode of collecting contributions.
Two formats are possible: a closed special issue, with contributions or authors already identified and with the possibility of launching a dedicated call for papers to further enlarge the range of contributions if deemed appropriate; or a special issue with a dedicated call for papers, to be launched after the proposal has been approved by the editorial board. Proposalsmay be submitted in English, French, Italian or Spanish by 30 September to rivista.occhiali@gmail.com.
Occhialì. Rivista sul Mediterraneo islamico is a six-monthly peer-reviewed open access journal. It publishes academic articles, scholarly essays, original translations, and book reviews. Its main aim is to foster specialized research regarding Islam in the Mediterranean area, in order to make quality information and research available to a broader public of academics, readers and Internet users. Occhialì is supported by Sapienza University of Rome and published by Sapienza Università Editrice.
With our best regards,
Occhialì – Rivista sul Mediterraneo islamico
https://rosa.uniroma1.it/occhiali
3. Call for Papers: Transmedia, Transmaterials, Translations
Renaissance Society of America Islamic World Discipline invites abstracts for three panels to be held at the 2027 RSA Conference in Philadelphia, on March 11-13.
Structured under the umbrella title “Transmedia, Transmaterials, Translations,” the three panels are going to explore the mobility of media, materials, and texts within the Islamic World, and between the Islamic World and other geographies. Rather than the transfer of objects, artworks, and texts from one locale to another, we are interested in papers that explore movements from one medium to another (painting to print and vice versa), from one material to another (textiles to mosaics and vice versa), and from one language to another. The purpose of the three panels is to switch the focus from transregional connections and cultural exchange to varied practices of localization; to how, whatever that travelled was reworked, and made familiar and intelligible. Papers specifically on such localization practices within the Islamic World, as well as those investigating how media, materials, and texts from the Islamic World were localized elsewhere are welcome to apply.
Although there will be obvious overlaps, each panel is going to be dedicated to one theme: media, materials, and texts. In that regard, please submit your abstracts by indicating whichever theme suits your paper best.
Please submit the following materials: Paper title (maximum 15 words); Abstract (maximum 200 words); Short CV (PDF or Word format, and including the date that PhD was awarded, or the expected date).
Please send your proposal to Saygin Salgirli at saygin.salgirli@ubc.ca by 05 August 2026.
I look forward to receiving your submissions.
Contact Information
Saygin Salgirli, University of British Columbia
Contact Email
4. ALiDiM | CfA: 2 Postdocs (Islamic intellectual history/Arabic studies) & 1 Research assistant (DH/TEI) | Deadline Aug 30
The ERC-funded ALiDiMproject is expanding its team!
We are looking for three motivated researchers to join us in exploring the roots of the Arabic linguistic tradition and in uncovering how early scholars shaped the foundations of Arabic linguistic thought. If you are passionate about Islamic intellectual history, classical Arabic texts, and interdisciplinary collaboration, we would love to hear from you!
We are offering three fully-funded positions starting November 1, 2026; the deadline for applications is August 30, 2026.
- Postdoc 1: Arabic linguistic thought and scholarly networks (2-year contract)
Focusing on the formative period of the tradition, this research approaches the emergence of Arabic grammatical thought through the lens of evolving intellectual networks and cross-tradition exchanges.
https://tinyurl.com/ALiDiM-ALTSN-2026-1 - Postdoc 2: Data, language scholars, and (meta)linguistic discourse (2-year contract)
This position examines how early language scholars acted as active agents in shaping linguistic systems, looking closely at how they selected, interpreted, and transformed primary data (e.g., poetry, Qurʾānic verses, spoken language data) into normative frameworks.
https://tinyurl.com/ALiDiM-DLSMLDCA-2026-2; - Research assistant (MA): TEI-encoding of classical Arabic texts (1-year contract)
Embedded in our Digital Humanities work package, this position focuses on working on an existing TEI/XML corpus, tracking technical terminology and patterns of citation.
https://tinyurl.com/ALiDiM-IncRicTEI-2026-3.
You will be an integral member of an interdisciplinary group, working closely with the PI and fellow researchers. Weekly seminar-style meetings will provide opportunities for discussion and collaboration. The position offers flexibility, including remote work options. The team emphasizes collaboration and mentorship, providing training opportunities for professional development. You will also actively participate in organizing and implementing a variety of academic activities, including seminars, workshops, and conferences
Detailed responsibilities, formal criteria, and salary breakdowns can be found via the individual links above. Further information on the project is available at unive.it/alidim, and you can read more about the team and current calls at https://tinyurl.com/ALiDiM-Team-Calls.
For any research-related information, prospective candidates may contact me and the ALiDiM team at simona.olivieri@unive.it & alidim@unive.it. For questions related to the application process or other administrative aspects, please refer to the relevant offices indicated in the call and on the university website.
Thank you for sharing these openings with any qualified candidates or networks who might be interested!
Kind regards,
Simona Olivieri
Assistant professor of Arabic language
PI ERC project ALiDiM – Arabic Linguistic Discourse in the Making
Department of Asian and North African Studies
Ca’ Cappello
Calle del Magazen, San Polo 2035
30125 Venezia
- +39 041 234 8848
- simona.olivieri@unive.it
- July 07, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. CFP: Translation and Multilingualism across the Premodern Arabo-Islamic World and Europe (2–5 December 2026, Toledo, Spain
The workshop is co-organised by Nuha Al-Shaar, Corinna Assmann, Linda Ammann, José Ignacio Sánchez, Nicola Carpentieri and myself. It will take place from 2 to 5 December 2026 at Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Toledo, Spain.
This workshop explores multilingualism and translation across the premodern Mediterranean, the Arabo-Islamic world and Europe as dynamic processes of negotiation, transformation and intellectual co-production. Focusing on scholars, translators and cultural intermediaries working across languages such as Arabic, Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Persian, it asks how knowledge was shaped and reshaped as it moved between languages, institutions and intellectual traditions.
Travel and accommodation costs will be covered by the Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (AGYA), subject to funding approval. There is also a commitment to publish selected papers in the workshop proceedings.
The deadline for submitting proposals is 31 August 2026.
We warmly welcome contributions and would be grateful if you could circulate the CFP among interested colleagues and networks.
2. Persian Manuscripts Association (PMA) Talk Series
“Topographies of the Unseen: Illustrated Hafiz Manuscripts and the ‘World of Image’ in Early Modern Iran”
Dr. Michael Chagnon, Aga Khan Museum
Thursday, 9 July 2026, 5:00-6:30 pm BST (UK)
Join via Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81795016137?pwd=AQ5kcuTmSHYKcrSttMVGtp8ptND5ku.1
Hafiz of Shiraz (d. 1390 CE) is considered the foremost lyric poet of the medieval Persian tradition. Since the fifteenth century, his Divan has been revered for its oracular authority, reflected both in its use as a tool of bibliomancy (fal) and in an epithet shared by poet and compendium alike: lisan al-ghayb, ‘the Tongue of the Unseen.’ A sumptuously illustrated manuscript of the Divan from 1658, now dispersed, features paintings that depict varied combinations of stock characters who inhabit Hafiz’s verses—sufis, wine-servers, and musicians, among others. The figures are executed in pen-and-ink and are often set within chromatically brilliant landscapes, disrupting the conventional relationship between figure and ground. This lecture presents new discoveries in the manuscript’s codicological features and explores its distinctive pictorial language in relation to its intended bibliomantic application. This nexus of form and function will be situated within philosophical currents of later Safavid Iran, particularly a revived interest in ‘alam al-mithal, the ‘World of Image’, a liminal realm bridging the material and immaterial worlds.
Contact Email
URL
https://www.facebook.com/PersianManuscripts.org/
3. CFP: RSA 2027 Panel on Early-Modern Eurasia – Rethinking “Gunpowder Empires” – Deadline July 20, 2026
Proposed panel:
Rethinking “Gunpowder Empires”: The Cultural, Intellectual, and Material Histories of Early-Modern Eurasia
The concept of “gunpowder empires” has accrued a productive tension for interdisciplinary scholarship today. In The Venture of Islam (1974), Marshall Hodgson embedded this concept in a rich civilizational framework of cultural florescence, religious transformation, courtly patronage, and philosophical renewal. However, William McNeill’s later use of the concept gave it a narrower, military-technological inflection which appears to have prevailed in subsequent scholarship. This session invites papers recovering what McNeill bracketed, and what was always central to Hodgson: the cultural, intellectual, artistic, religious, and material worlds of the early-modern Eurasian empires. Situating a wide range of Islamicate, East Asian, and other early-modern Eurasian worlds—including but not limited to the Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal, Ming, Qing, Sengoku, and Edo contexts—within a shared and productively contested early modern framework, papers may address the following (or any combinations thereof):
Mobility, exchange, and encounter: circulation of people, goods, and knowledge; diplomacy and translation; trade and infrastructure; migration and diaspora; encounters across linguistic, political, and confessional boundaries.
Cultural and intellectual production: manuscript and print cultures; literary and artistic production; courtly and cosmopolitan formations; religion and empire; technologies of knowledge.
Power, environment, and society: technologies of warfare and sovereignty; environmental transformation; gender and imperial power.
By foregrounding these worlds as a deliberate intervention into Renaissance studies’ conventional geographies, this session proposes Eurasia as a shared space of comparative early modernity in dialogue with, rather than parallel to, the European formations that have traditionally anchored the field.
Please submit the following materials to Mehvish Siddiqui at mehvishsiddi@umass.edu by July 20, 2026:
- paper title (15-word maximum)
- paper abstract (200-word maximum)
- resume (.pdf or .doc upload, maximum 2 pages)
- PhD or other terminal degree completion year (past or expected)
- full name, current affiliation, and email address
Accepted presenters will be notified by July 31, 2026.
Contact Email
URL
https://www.rsa.org/forms/FormResponseView.asp?id=7E67237F-47E8-4E2B-9B49-08074…
4. Posts:
The American University in Cairo – Assistant, Associate or Full Professor in the Americas, Asia, and/or World History
https://networks.h-net.org/jobs/70079/american-university-cairo-assistant-associate-or-full-professor-americas-asia-andor
Wolf Humanities Center – Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Humanities, 2027–28
https://networks.h-net.org/jobs/70085/wolf-humanities-center-mellon-postdoctoral-fellowship-humanities-2027-28
History Department University of Zurich – Senior Teaching and Research Assistant position
https://networks.h-net.org/jobs/70090/history-department-university-zurich-senior-teaching-and-research-assistant-position
5. State Histories: The Politics of Teaching the Past in Iran
By Yasamin Alkhansa. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2026,
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-032-08641-9
6. ONLINE Webinar “Assessing Social Protection for South Asian Migrants in the GCC: Views from the Countries of Origin and Destination”, Gulf Labour Markets, Migration, and Population (GLMM) Programme, Gulf Research Center (GRC), 8 July 2026, 13:00 CET
Around 24 million foreign workers reside in the GCC, mainly from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. Most of them migrate to send money to their families back home. These workers are central to GCC economies, yet many remain excluded from adequate social protection. The webinar will assess recent policy changes in the Gulf and the South Asian countries; the difficulties migrant workers still face in accessing their rights; the multilateral efforts involving both countries of origin and destination to address these challenges; etc.
Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/4uxtv23w
7. HYBRID “8th Middle East Congress on Politics and Society” on the Theme: “Changing International Order and the Middle East: Back to the Future?”, Sakarya University, 8-9 October 2026
The Congress welcomes studies from international relations, political science, sociology, history, eco-nomics, political economy, security studies, law, migration studies, and related fields. Its aim is not only to discuss current developments but also to examine the broader patterns through which regional order is contested, reproduced, and transformed.
Deadline for abstracts: 21 August 2026. Information: https://middleeastcongress.org/call-for-paper/
8. Workshop “Migration and Mobility in the Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Borderlands (19th – 21st Centuries)”, Vienna, 13-14 November 2026
We aim to discuss the border(land) and trans-border mobility as the site of vibrant social, economic, and cultural dynamics, individual agency, transgression, trans-border relations, identity, and memory production. By entwining micro-historical perspectives and minority histories with broader debates in border and mobility studies, the workshop aims to open new methodological and conceptual avenues for studying the Ottoman and post-Ottoman world.
Deadline for abstracts: 17 August 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/ywm2f8vr
9. Symposium “Arab Comics: Creation, Circulation, and Reception”, IREMAM, Aix-en-Provence, 30 November 2026
Main questions: How does Arab comics production configure a space of meaning around the dynamics of these societies, and what approaches allow us to account for it? By bringing together researchers from a range of disciplines (literature, art history, linguistics, translation studies, cultural studies, sociol-ogy, anthropology, philosophy, political science, etc.) as well as artists, publishers, and archivists, this study day aims to establish a first scholarly panorama of this production and to identify the stakes it raises for research on the Arab and Muslim worlds.
Deadline for abstracts: 30 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/22zfyztm
10. Workshop “Fishing Communities and Livelihoods in Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia: Bridging Historical and Anthropological Perspectives”, Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO), Berlin, 10-11 March 2027
Themes: Aquatic livelihoods in the drylands: emergence and decline of fishing communities. – Negoti-ating use rights to water and fishing grounds. – Moral economies of fishing communities: kinship and non-commercial exchanges. – Knowledge from below: fishing techniques and responses to resource depletion.
Deadline for abstracts: 1 August 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/2tzfm3k8
11. Two Postdoctoral Researchers (5 Years) in the Project “TabA – Tafsīr beyond Arabic”, Uni-versity of Freiburg
Qualification: PhD in Islamic Studies or a related field. – Specialisation in tafsīr and/or Islamic manu-scripts. – Passion for historical research. – Ability to work with sources in Arabic and at least one further relevant source language. – Proficiency in English. – Willingness to acquire skills in digital methods and contribute to a team effort.
Deadline for applications: 31 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/2r67zd9v
12. Stop Redundancies at the University of Exeter (UK)!!!
On 23 June, the University of Exeter announced a massive programme of job cuts that places over 500 staff at risk of compulsory redundancy. These cuts represent an existential threat to humanities and social science disciplines at Exeter: if they go ahead, student experience will suffer enormously, and both teaching programmes and research culture will be damaged beyond repair. A petition was pub-lished by the Exeter University and College Union in response to this announcement.
Please click here to sign onto the petition: https://tinyurl.com/ydpwt2bu
13. Summer Academy of the Corpus Musicae Ottomanicae (CMO): “Working with Ottoman Music Sources – Critical Music & Text Editions, Cataloging, Data Management, Digital Humanities & Performance”, Orient-Institut Istanbul, 7-11 September 2026
The Summer Academy offers an intensive program of workshops, presentations, discussions, and col-laborative activities focused on working with Ottoman musical, lyrical, and related historical sources. The program brings together approaches from music and text manuscript studies, critical editions, cat-aloging, research data management, digital humanities, and performance. Participation is free of charge.
Deadline for applications: 31 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4pfb7epe
14. International Summer School “Roma in the Ottoman and Post-Ottoman World”, İzmir Insti-tute of Technology (İYTE), 16-22 August 2026
Bringing together perspectives from history, anthropology, sociology, political science, communication studies, memory studies, cultural studies, and related disciplines, the program examines the diversity of Roma communities, imperial and post-imperial transformations, migration, identity, language, dis-crimination, persecution, the genocide of Roma cultural heritage, and contemporary challenges. No participation fee.
Deadline for applications: 15 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/33w3exr2
15. Chapters on “Alternatives to the Nation-State: Federalism, Autonomy, and Post-Imperial Imaginaries in the Mediterranean Long Nineteenth Century” for a Volume Edited by Erkjad Kajo & Alexandros S. Balatsoukas
Themes: Imperial decentralization as a design problem (Algerian decentralization debates, khedivial Egypt, the Mount Lebanon mutasarrifiyya as mixed sovereignty). – Constitutional moments and their Mediterranean circulation (Ottoman 1876 and 1908). – Religious internationalisms as political alterna-tives (pan-Islamism, the Alliance Israélite Universelle). – Mountain and local autonomies (Druze, Maronite, Kabyle) as working models behind larger federalist projects. – Etc.
Deadline for abstracts: 15 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4nshrjac
16. ONLINE Article: “The Invisible Front: Exploring the Dynamics of Afghan Resistance Movements in the Shadow of the Taliban’s Second Authoritarian Rule – Understanding Resistance in Post-2021 Afghanistan” by Arash Beidollahkhani in “Small Wars & Insurgencies”, 29 May 2026, 32 Pages
This paper analyzes resistance under Taliban’s de facto rule since August 2021 in a context defined by repression, surveillance, and criminalized dissent. It develops a modality-based typology distinguishing armed opposition, women-led civic and cultural resistance, and dispersed grassroots mobilizations. Drawing on qualitative analysis of scholarly literature, reports by international organizations, and primary materials produced by resistance actors, the study shows how these modalities differ in organization, repertoire, visibility, and relation to coercion.
View: https://doi.org/10.1080/09592318.2026.2665759
17. Nouveau livre : “Târof. L’art de la guerre à l’iranienne” de Sina Abedi, Gondishapour Édi-tions, 15 mai 2026, 156 pages
Face aux tempêtes de l’Histoire, le peuple iranien a développé une capacité de résilience hors du commun. À chaque époque, il a su résister, s’adapter, plier sans rompre, et surtout, préserver une identité culturelle riche, complexe, parfois insaisissable pour l’observateur extérieur. Parmi les piliers de cette incroyable faculté d’adaptation se distingue un instrument social et stratégique d’une subtilité inouïe : le Târof.
Information : https://tinyurl.com/2kks9ywu
18. Nouveau livre : “La Langue arabe en Europe – Histoire de politiques linguistiques” de Tarek Abouelgamal, Classiques Garnier, 26 juin 2026, 198 pages
Il s’agit d’étudier les méthodes d’arabe publiées en Europe du xvie au xixe siècle comme reflets des politiques linguistiques. On analyse les liens entre orientalisme et enseignement de l’arabe (religieux, politique, dandy) et l’émergence de la “diglossie didactique”.
Information : https://tinyurl.com/4t999ssr
19. New Book: “Kuwait and its Hinterland: Land Politics, Imperial Networks and Modern Urban Development” by Asseel Al-Ragam, Edinburgh University Press, June 2026, 288 Pages
Drawing on extensive research in colonial and local archives, the book focuses on the period from 1904 to 1971, from the arrival of the first Political Agent to the British withdrawal from the Gulf. It shows how indirect rule operated through networks of intermediaries who transferred and adapted a range of ad-ministrative and planning models from across the British Empire, playing a central role in shaping urban growth while also negotiating – and sometimes containing – competing spatial futures.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/y78pvjnd
20. Neues Buch: “Die Suche nach neuen Lesarten des Korans. Taʾwīl von der Klassik zur Mo-derne” von Ahmed Ishaq Amer, Ergon Verlag, Juni 2026, 464 Seiten
Die islamischen Wissenschaften entstanden zur Erschließung religiöser Texte. Taʾwīl bildet dabei das Fundament der Interpretation und des religiösen Denkens. Das Buch widmet sich einer systemati-schen, vergleichenden und analytischen Untersuchung von taʾwīl, seinen vielfältigen Methoden, For-men und Anwendungen. Es behandelt zentrale Positionen klassischer und moderner islamischer Schu-len und zeichnet die historische Entwicklung von Methodik und Praxis des taʾwīl nach.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/55yrzus3
21. New Book: “Iranian Exiles and Stalin’s Great Terror: State Violence in the 1930s Soviet Union” by Touraj Atabaki & Lana Ravandi-Fadai, Edinburgh University Press, June 2026, 392 Pages
This book examines how Iranian nationals fell victim to Stalin’s Great Terror. – Uncovers the untold history of Iranian political exiles and migrant workers during Stalin’s Great Terror. – Draws on newly accessible Soviet archival sources to reconstruct individual lives and state violence. – Bridges multiple fields including Stalinist repression, Soviet-Iranian relations, and global communist history. – Highlights the vulnerability of foreign nationals under authoritarian regimes and the politics of forced disappear ance. – Challenges dominant narratives by centering marginalized voices affected by ideological purges.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/5ff2rtb3
22. New Book: “(Un)known Islam in Ukraine – The History of Islam in the Territories of Ukraine from the Late 19th to the Early 21st Century” by Denys Brylov, De Gruyter/Brill, ZMO-Studien 50, June 2026, 209 Pages
Based on materials from private and state archives, as well as interviews with representatives of Muslim communities and state bodies responsible for religious policy, the book reveals the previously unknown history of Muslim communities in Ukraine since the late 19th century: first as part of the Russian Empire, then the Soviet Union, and after 1991 in independent Ukraine. It analyzes how Muslims have preserved, transformed, and passed on their religious identity through formal, informal, and often underground structures.
Information: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783112225172
23. New Book: “Syria down to Saladin: Ibn Asakir’s History of the City of Damascus” by David Cook, Edinburgh University Press, June 2026, 728 Pages
This is the first comprehensive historical study of post-Umayyad Syria based on Ibn ꜤAsākir’s “Tā’rīkh madīnat Dimashq” (History of the City of Damascus). As the largest work that has ever appeared doc-umenting pre-modern Syria, Ibn ꜤAsākir’s History is a major source for the study of the region. It has, however, been underutilised for the simple reason that it is vast. This book makes this unique local history newly accessible to a broader scholarly audience.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/4xrd5y93
24. New Book: “Needs That Bind: Materializing Nationality in Post-Ottoman Regimes” by Orçun Can Okan, Stanford University Press, 1 April 2026, 272 Pages
The author reconsiders the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire and the construction of new regimes in the decade after World War I, to understand the consequential connections that remained among the new republican regime in Turkey and neighboring French and British Mandates in Syria-Lebanon and Iraq. Orçun Can Okan examines how these new states and their people managed problems of state succession through diplomatic, administrative, and legal interactions with and between bureaucracies.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/4e5adzd
26. New Book: “Imperial Iran in the Eighteenth Century: Identity and State Formation under Nader” by Mohammad Amir Hakimi Parsa, Edinburgh University Press, June 2026, 384 Pages
This is the first monograph to offer an integrated understanding of state formation in post-Safavid Iran (c.1720 – 1750), demonstrating how politico-cultural, military, administrative and ecclesiastic develop-ments related to one another. Drawing on a wide range of neglected primary sources in Arabic, Turkish (both Ajami and Ottoman) and Kurdish (Hawrami), as well as Persian and European sources, the book sheds light on Iran in its last iteration as a great power.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/3py7prwh
- July 04, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
- July 02, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Passing of Professor Tomoko Masuya
In Memoriam – Professor Tomoko Masuya
It is with profound sadness that I write to inform you that our dear supervisor, Professor Tomoko Masuya (Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, The University of Tokyo), passed away on the morning of 21 June from gallbladder cancer, which she had been battling since the autumn of 2024.
Until the very end, she remained deeply committed to her research, working to complete her projects on the tiles from Takht-i Sulayman and the Daniel Marie Fouquet Collection at the Ohara Museum of Art. She was particularly proud of her recently published volume, Persian World Histories in the Mongol Era: The Compilation and Transmission of Rashid al-Din’s Jamiʿ al-Tavarikh, edited with Osamu Otsuka and Masatomo Kawamoto (Edinburgh University Press, 2026), which made the rich body of Japanese scholarship on Ilkhanid history accessible to a wider international readership. Although she grew increasingly frail, her final days were filled with moments of joy, surrounded by her family, friends, and two of her students, Yumiko Kamada and Yui Kanda.
Her funeral ceremonies will take place in Tokyo on 4 and 5 July at the “Tsuru” Hall of Kirigaya Funeral Hall (5-32-20 Nishi-Gotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Wm5PFG1sY56cVw2b6). Condolence telegrams will be gratefully received. In the meantime, we would be glad to pass on any messages you may have for her family, colleagues, or friends, and we would also be grateful to receive any memories of Tomoko that you would like to share with us. Please write to Yumiko (yumiko-kamada@est.hi-ho.ne.jp) or Yui (kanda@aa.tufs.ac.jp).
She has left us far too soon, and her loss is immeasurable. We will remember her not only as an exceptional scholar and devoted supervisor but also for the warmth, generosity, and joy she brought into the lives of those around her.
With deepest sorrow,
Yumiko Kamada and Yui Kanda
- July 01, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.🔹 IQP Review on Yearly Qur’anic Studies Around the world 2025-26
🔹Program:
https://event.fourwaves.com/iqp2026/pages
🌐Virtually via:
https://meet.google.com/csb-uurg-bjc
🗓Time:
12 to 14 July 2026 , 08:00 _12:00 AM (Tehran time)
🔹 Six specialized panels:
- The Holy Qur’an in Exegesis
- Qur’anic philology
- Qur’anic Exegesis Methodology
- Qur’anic sciences
- Holy Qur’an and History
- Holy Qur’an in Society_
✍️ Registration :
https://event.fourwaves.com/iqp2026/registration
________________________
🔹Ind. Int. Quranic Parliament (IQP)
🆔https://chat.whatsapp.com/IvyUpqDXcKWAtIz2yxLwu6
2. Chinese Translation of Islamic Chinoiserie: The Art of Mongol Iran
Publication details:
Title: 波斯中国风: 13世纪蒙古帝国治下的伊朗艺术 (Islamic Chinoiserie: The Art of Mongol
Iran)
Author / Translator: Yuka Kadoi (transl. Fan Wu)
Publisher: Shanghai: Zhongxi Book Company, 2025
ISBN: 9787547521755
Pages: 407 pp.
3. CFP (ONLINE SEMINAR / PUBLICATION OPPORTUNITY): Borders and Sustainability: Mapping Landscapes, Resources, and Spatial Traditions from Antiquity to the Contemporary Era — Entangled Histories Seminar Series 2026–2027
Call for Papers Entangled Histories Seminar Series 2026–2027 Theme: Borders and Sustainability: Human and Natural Resources across Time and Space
Following the success of the previous edition, the Entangled Histories Seminar Series invites abstracts for its 2026–2027 cycle.
This entire seminar series will be held fully online and will offer a publication opportunity with a leading global academic publisher for a selection of the most significant contributions.
We warmly welcome contributions centred on the History of Cartography, Historical Geography, Spatial Humanities, Philology, Material Culture, and Environmental History, adopting an interdisciplinary, diachronic perspective that spans a wide chronological trajectory from antiquity and the medieval world, through the early modern era and the milestone cartographic shifts of the 18th century, up to colonial mapping, national state-building, and contemporary digital geographies. In alignment with H-Maps’ mission, this series encourages proposals that investigate how the making, circulation, use, and preservation of maps negotiated, represented, and shaped ecological limits, resource management, and the fluid dynamics of territorial, political, and conceptual boundaries (borders).
Mapping the Limits: Cartography, Resource Management, and the Visualisation of Borders
This edition explores sustainability and borders not merely as modern environmental or political frameworks, but as historical concepts deeply intertwined with the development of cartographic literacy, imperial expansions, and indigenous spatial resistance. The series investigates these dynamics across several interconnected dimensions:
- The Cartography of Frontiers, Boundaries, and Environmental Limits: The graphic and mathematical drawing of imperial, national, and internal boundaries on maps (with a strong interest in cartographic transitions and reforms before and after 1725); how the lines traced by cartographers conditioned resource exploitation, access to water basins, pastoral mobility, and the enclosure of common lands from the Mediterranean to the Americas.
- Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and Indigenous Spatialities in Visual Archives: The historical study of how indigenous, vernacular, and non-Western spatial traditions—such as Mesoamerican codices, Andean khipus, or local North African oasis charts—visualised ecological micro-climates, communal resource management, and agricultural topographies; how these alternative modes of mapping survived, resisted, or were absorbed by Western geometric cartography.
- Global Elemental Theory, Cosmological Mapping, and Humoral Geographies: Intellectual and visual approaches to how environmental elements (earth, water, air, fire), climate zones, and bodily humours were mapped in ancient, medieval, and early modern cartography. We welcome proposals addressing the representation of the elements in medieval mappae mundi, early modern portolan charts, and geographical treatises where the physical environment and human health were bound together through spatial icons.
- Textual and Material Reuse, Palimpsests, and the Overwriting of Maps: The material and philological history of cartographic recycling, alteration, and reuse. We invite studies on the physical modification of copper printing plates, the erasure and overwriting of toponomastic layers, the translation and adaptation of ancient geographical texts (such as Ptolemaic models or Islamic maritime manuals) across linguistic frontiers, and the cartographic erasure of sacred indigenous landscapes through the systematic overwriting of colonial administrative grids.
- Material Cartography, Exploitation, and the Extraction Landscape: How maps served as primary instruments for resource extraction, tracking the material history of mining (e.g., Andean silver, European coal), timber management for naval fleets, and the layout of plantation complexes; the use of cadastral mapping to enforce taxation and evaluate the carrying capacity and ecological sustainability of subjected lands.
- The Epistemological Status of Marginal Cartographies and Vernacular Lore: Methodological reflections on how oral traditions, local navigational folklore, and vernacular climate knowledge left traces on formal map margins, travelogues, and geographical glossaries, serving as alternative archives of environmental shifts and community resilience against state-imposed spatial boundaries.
- Socio-Environmental Shocks, Crises, and Cartographic Evidence: The role of cartography in documenting, predicting, or reacting to ecological crises, such as major desertifications, coastal erosions, river diversions, locust plagues, and famines; how shifting borders in times of resource stress were recorded by military and civil engineers.
- Symbolic, Visual, and Cinematic Receptions of the Mapped Landscape: Representations of the grid, the compass rose, and the frontier in literature, iconography, and historical drama; the theatrical staging of territorial disputes; and the modern cinematic, media, or digital artistic engagement with historical maps, counter-mapping, and the visualisation of historical eco-trauma.
At the heart of the series lies the concept of borders, understood as dynamic, conflictual thresholds—whether geographic barriers, political dividers, imperial lines, or the lines drawn on parchment and paper separating the wild from the cultivated—that have historically mediated access to resources, triggered negotiation, and shaped the shared, entangled histories of global societies.
Topics of Interest
We welcome contributions from a wide range of academic disciplines, including:
- History of Cartography: The making, circulation, use, and preservation of maps, globes, and charts from antiquity to the 21st century.
- Philology, Textual Studies, and Toponymy: Philological analysis of maps, the translation of geographical texts, manuscript studies, and the rewriting of space through place-names.
- Environmental History and Historical Geography: Spatial history of landscape transformation, water management, climate impacts, and deforestation as evidenced through cartographic sources.
- Archaeology and Material Culture: Cartographic archaeology, the study of architectural reuse (spolia) as documented in early town plans, and the material culture of map-making instruments.
- Folklore, Anthropology, and Indigenous Studies: Counter-mapping, vernacular geographies, oral spatial traditions, and the anthropological analysis of community-based territory demarcation.
- Ancient and Medieval Spatial Studies: Classical geography, Roman land surveying (agrimensura), medieval world maps, Islamic cartography, and the visual reuse of ancient geographical paradigms.
- Colonial and Imperial Studies: Vice-royalties, maritime trade networks, boundary commissions, global extraction mapping, and the cartographic rewriting of indigenous spaces.
- Art History, Architecture, and Visual Culture: Map aesthetics, landscape iconography, architectural drawings, and the intersection between fine art and technical mapping.
- Media Studies, Cinema, and Digital Humanities: The representation of maps and frontiers in cinema and theatre, critical GIS, digital preservation of cartographic heritage, and the media history of spatial surveillance.
Seminar Format & Schedule
- Format: Online seminar via Zoom (Approx. 30-minute presentation followed by discussion). Scheduling will take international time zones into account as much as possible.
- Schedule: October 2026 – Summer 2027.
Submission Guidelines & Selection Rules Proposals must be submitted in English and include the following details:
- Title of the proposed paper.
- Abstract (250–300 words).
- Short biographical note (100–150 words).
- Institutional affiliation (if any) or independent scholar status.
- Contact email.
- Preferred months of availability (between October 2026 and Summer 2027).
⚠️ MANDATORY ABSTRACT CRITERIA: The abstract submitted MUST clearly explain how the proposed paper intends to address and integrate the central core topics of the series: Borders (confini) and Sustainability(sostenibilità) through the lens of cartographic history, map production, circulation, or spatial analysis. Proposals that fail to explicitly address this conceptual intersection will not be considered.
⚠️ CRITICAL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENT: All submission materials (title, abstract explaining the approach to borders and sustainability, bio, affiliation, and availability) MUST be compiled and submitted into a SINGLE file(either .doc, .docx, or .pdf). Multiple attachments will not be considered.
Please submit your single-file proposal to: entangledhistories.seminars [@] outlook.com
Important Dates
- Deadline for abstracts: 31 August 2026
- Notification of acceptance: By 30 September 2026
Publication Opportunity A selection of the most significant contributions will be published in a special issue or in a dedicated edited volume with a major, world-leading academic publisher.
Contact Information
Organised by:
- Dr Maria Pia Ester Cristaldi (Üsküdar University)
- Dr Elisa Ramazzina (University of Insubria)
Under the patronage of:
The Faculty of Communication and the Master’s Programme in Media and Cultural Studies at Üsküdar University.
Contact Email
entangledhistories.seminars@outlook.com
URL
https://sites.google.com/view/entangledhistories/home
4. Cartorient,published by the Research Center on the Iranian World (CeRMI, CNRS, Paris), is pleased to share with you theAtlas of Iran in the Mid-Twentieth Century, which has recently been published online at CARTORIENT.
This cartographic study is the result of a collaboration between the Faculty of Geography of the University of Tehran and CeRMI, conducted by Bernard Hourcade, Abbas Rajaei, and Hossein Mansourian.
It constitutes the first comprehensive cartographic analysis of Iran based on data from the First national population census of Iran, conducted in 1956, at the detailed administrative scale of the 119 shahrestan(districts). The Atlas comprises 34 maps, accompanied by analytical commentaries in both French and English, depicting the social and economic characteristics of Iran during the 1930s–1950s. By providing a detailed picture of the country’s past, it offers valuable insights for a better understanding of contemporary Iran.
5. Reuters: How 5 weeks of war shattered some of Iran’s cherished monuments
6. Muslim Writing, Writing Muslimness in Europe: Transcultural Perspectives, edited by Carmen Zamorano Llena, Billy Gray, Carolina León Vegas, and Carles Magrinyà Badiella (Routledge, 2026)
- June 30, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. Lecture – “The Lives of Mughal Artists” by Yael Rice – July 23
Thursday July 23, at 6:30—7:30 pm (EST), Cheek Theater, VMFA:
“The Lives of Mughal Artists” by Yael Rice
The lives of the Mughal emperors often overshadow those of the many painters they employed. And yet it was precisely these individuals who helped to amplify and sustain Mughal dominance over the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries. In this richly illustrated talk, Dr. Yael Rice addresses the roles that Mughal manuscript paintings, murals, and designs for translation into other media played in broadcasting the imperial court’s and the artists’ own aspirations. Focusing on a number of the objects displayed in the VMFA exhibition India’s Great Mughals: Art, Power, and Opulence, Rice’s lecture considers the construction of Mughal sovereignty from an artist-centered lens.
To watch from the comfort of home, visit our livestream page.
URL
https://www.vmfa.museum/events/talk-the-lives-of-mughal-painters-8077
2. CSMBR Upcoming Lecture:
Staying Fresh in Early Byzantium
Scented Care Products in Aetius of Amida’s «Libri Medicinales»
Maciej Kokoszko
Zofia Rzeźnicka
07 July 2026 – 5 PM (CET)
The lecture will focus on a selection of recipes for body cleansers and powdered deodorants taken from Book VIII of Aetius of Amida’s medical encyclopaedia, Libri medicinales, which was written in the 6th century. As many of the formulas for these care products were borrowed by Aetius from earlier authors, primarily Titus Statilius Crito (active in the 2nd century AD), exploration of the transmission and adaptation of ancient medical knowledge during the early Byzantine period is also included.
This analysis aims to contextualise the topic by demonstrating the value of medical texts in social and economic historical research. Consequently, the speakers will discuss the gendered nature of Byzantine cosmetology.
Furthermore, the presentation will attempt to specify the social groups for whom these care products were intended. To this end, myrrh will serve as an indicator of social status, and the speakers will analyse factors such as its place of origin, varieties, supply routes, trade routes, and the types of preparations to which it was added in order to sketch a picture of the intended users of both myrrh-based and myrrh-free recipes. The issue of aromatic substance adulteration and substitution in the Byzantine Empire will also be discussed along the way.
Thus, the lecture will demonstrate how cosmetic recipes preserved in medical compilations can provide valuable evidence for reconstructing everyday life in the Byzantine world.
To register for this event, please click here.
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
3. MARGARET S. GRAVES: Invisible Hands: Fabrication, Forgery, and the Art of Islamic Ceramics. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2026. 344 pp. ISBN 978 0 69127974 9
4. ‘Comparative Shari‘a: measuring support for Islamism cross-nationally’
Politics and Religion, June 2026
Sam Dunham, et al.
5. ‘Portuguese handheld firearms in Asia in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries’
Asian Studies, June 2026
Roger Le de Jesus, et al
6. ‘The waqf al-dashīshah of Mamluk sultan Qāʾitbāy’
T Ito
JRAS, 2026,
7. Treasures from the Golestan Film Studio
The Iran Heritage Foundation is delighted to announce the forthcoming release of Treasures from the Golestan Film Studio, a landmark box set showcasing the pioneering work of filmmaker, writer and cultural figure Ebrahim Golestan.
At its heart is Secrets of the Jinn Valley Treasure (1974), Golestan’s brilliantly inventive and sharply satirical masterpiece, newly restored in 4K through a collaboration between the IHF and the Cineteca di Bologna. Following its international premiere at the prestigious Il Cinema Ritrovato festival in June, the film will receive its first-ever home-video release this September as part of a major collection from Radiance Films.
The beautifully curated box set brings together some of the most important productions of Golestan Film Studio, including The House Is Black, the celebrated documentary directed by Forough Farrokhzad, alongside a wealth of newly commissioned supplementary material. Exclusive video introductions and visual essays provide fresh insight into the films and their enduring significance within Iranian and world cinema.
This release offers a rare opportunity to rediscover the artistic vision of Ebrahim Golestan and the extraordinary legacy of one of the most influential creative institutions in modern Iranian cultural history.
The box set is available to purchase here.
8. Beyond Rumi: Sufi Art and Practice – New Smithsonian Online Initiative
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art is proud to announce the launch of an exciting new online initiative, Beyond Rumi: Sufi Art and Practice.
Beyond Rumi introduces the complexity of Sufi Islam through a unique and accessible multimedia experience. Sufism, generally defined as Islamic mysticism, is a rich religious tradition that is remarkably diverse, dynamic, and complex but also amorphous. Its multisensory rituals have also continuously changed and evolved as traditions flourished—and sometimes vanished—across the Islamic world and beyond.
Use an interactive map to explore eight sites associated with Sufism from Morocco to Indonesia. Watch performances and presentations by scholars, listen to music, and delve into Sufism’s wide-ranging forms of artistic expression, from poetry to the visual arts and architecture.
Beyond Rumi is part of The Arts of Devotion, a six-year initiative at the National Museum of Asian Art dedicated to furthering civic discourse and understanding of religion. This initiative is made possible by Lilly Endowment Inc.
Citation:
Rettig, Simon, Massumeh Farhad, and Sana Mirza, Beyond Rumi: Sufi Art and Practice. Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Asian Art, 2026.
10.5479/si/NMAA/2026.0004
Contact Information
Freer Research Center
Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art
Contact Email
URL
https://beyondrumi.asia.si.edu/
9. HYBRID Seminar “Making Ancients Modern: Coptic Experts, Pharaonism, and the Search for Egyptian Origins” by Amy Fallas, CEDEJ, Cairo, 30 June 2026, 16:00 CET
In the journal for the Association of Coptic Art in 1935, Coptic doctor Georgy Sobhy endeavored to answer a burning question: did Muslims and Christians in Egypt share physiological characteristics with ancient Egyptians? This talk considers the work of Sobhy and other early 20th century Coptic profes-sionals and explores how their scholarly contributions informed sectarian notions of pharaonism and shaped circuits of knowledge production on Egyptian origins.
Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/3swknkdd
10. Conference “On the Orientalists’ Divan: Questions of Reflexivity from the 18th to the 21st Centuries”, Inalco, Paris,15-16 March 2027
The academic aim of this conference is to highlight the explicit and conscious relationship between the scholar and their subject of study, and to capture the reflexivity of Orientalists – that ‘close, intimate and entirely personal bond they maintain with their work’. Researchers are invited to catch Orientalists in the act of explaining, as historians, the link between the history we have made and the history that has made us.
Deadline for abstracts: 15 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3u2jeyd5
11. Postdoctoral Researcher (3 Years), Focus on Muslim Feminities in the UAE, HAIR Project, Ghent University
Qualification: Doctorate a relevant field (e.g. Arabic Studies, Islamic Studies, Anthropology, Middle Eastern Studies, Gender Studies, Religious Studies, Cultural Studies or related disciplines) obtained max. 6 years ago. – Strong research including publications and/or a developing book project.
Expertise related to the Gulf region and/or the UAE. – Experience with ethnographic and/or qualitative research methods. – Excellent academic writing and communication skills in English. –Etc.
Deadline for applications: 31 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3rws92jk
12. Doctoral Fellow (4 Years), Focus on Muslim Feminities in Egypt, HAIR Project, Ghent University
Qualification: Master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g. Arabic Studies, Islamic Studies, Anthropology, Middle Eastern Studies, Gender Studies, Religious Studies, Cultural Studies or related disciplines). – Exceptional MA dissertation on an aspect of the contemporary Middle East. – Strong interest in gender, embodiment, literature and Muslim societies. – Excellent research and writing skills. – Excellent com-munication skills in Arabic (spoken and reading). – Excellent academic writing and communication skills in English. – Etc.
Deadline for applications: 31 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4uazmywz
13. Doctoral Fellow (4 Years), Focus on Muslim Feminities in Lebanon, HAIR Project, Ghent University
Qualification: Master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g. Arabic Studies, Islamic Studies, Anthropology, Middle Eastern Studies, Gender Studies, Religious Studies, Cultural Studies or related disciplines). – Exceptional MA dissertation on an aspect of the contemporary Middle East. – Strong interest in gender, embodiment, literature and Muslim societies. – Excellent research and writing skills. – Excellent com-munication skills in Arabic (spoken and reading). – Excellent academic writing and communication skills in English. – Etc.
Deadline for applications: 2026. [ed. – sic] Information: https://tinyurl.com/yuuxbnm7
14. Research Associate (1 Year +) in Cairo, Orient-Institut Beirut (OIB)
Only Egyptian nationals or other nationalities with a work permit for Egypt may be employed. Require-ments: MA in a subject relevant to the work of the OIB. – Research in the OIB’s academic areas. – Knowledge of the Egyptian academic and higher-education landscape. – Experience in academic or cultural management in Egypt. – Excellent written and spoken Arabic and English.
Deadline for applications: 31 August 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/bdxsf5a9
15. Visiting Professorship (1Year) in the Political Economy of the Middle East (Open Rank), American University of Beirut
We encourage applications from scholars trained in political science, economics or international affairs, with a specialization in Political Economy, Peace Studies, State-Building, and Post-Conflict Reconstruc-tion with demonstrated policy professional experience in the Middle East with and particularly the Le-vant/Mashriq.
Deadline for applications: 30 June 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/bdh3t3ch
16. Postdoctoral Scholar/Lecturer (2 Years), Bita Daryabari Fellow in Persian Language and Literature, University California Davis
Qualification: PhD within the humanities or humanistic social sciences field. – Persian serving as a primary research language and the applicant’s scholarship focusing on the Persianate world. – Strong and well-developed research program. – Ability to teach an undergraduate seminar in Persian language and literature.
Deadline for applications: 31 August 2026. Information: https://recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF07717
17. New Volume: “Muhammad Nejatullah Siddiqi: A Mujaddid and Pioneer of Islamic Economics and Finance”, Edited by Mohammad Ahmadullah Siddiqi & Imtiyaz Yusuf, Center for Islam in the Contemporary World, 18 June 2026, 448 Pages
Professor Mohammad Nejatullah Siddiqi (1931 – November 2022) was a pioneering thinker and devel-oper of the concept of Islamic Economics, Banking, and Finance in the modern age. The memorials and articles in the book highlight the lasting impact of Dr. Nejatullah Siddiqi’s pioneering works on the operations, development, and global growth of Islamic economics, banking, and finance, both in aca-demia and in the practical world of finance and commerce.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/mtafj3z5
18. New Book: “Religion and the Invisible World – Sanctity and Spiritual Transformation in Egypt from Pharaonic Times to the Present” by El-Sayed El-Aswad, American University in Cairo Press, 2 June 2026, 252 Pages
Drawing on forty years of research as an anthropologist, historian, and Egyptologist, the author shows how concepts of sacredness and invisibility have been core elements in the spiritual transformations in Egypt as embodied in the early pharaonic religion, Egyptian-Hellenistic religion, Christianity, and Islam, and how these practices of spirituality and cosmology cut across many divides of ethnicity, gender, region, religion, language, and social class.
Information and reading sample: https://aucpress.com/9781649033710/
- June 27, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
- June 26, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
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