Al-Mahdi Institute Quarterly Update (April 2015 – June 2015)

Research Seminars:Seminars, allowing academics from leading institutions to discuss their findings with AMI faculty and students, held between April and June 2015 included;15th April – Dr Andrew Newman (University of Edinburgh)“Teaching Shi’ism in the Academy;
Practicalities and Pitfalls”13th May – Revd. Dr Richard Sudworth (Queens Foundation of Ecumenical Theological Studies)“Current
theological streams informing Christian understandings of law and ethics in relation to Islam”10th June – Dr David Cheetham (University of Birmingham)“Inter-religious
meetings and the spaces in between Islam”Taking our Research beyond AMI:The British
Association of Islamic Studies annual conference held 13-15th April involved presentations by Shaykh Mohammad Reza Tajri on ‘Assessing
Perceptions of Islamic Authority amongst British Shia Muslim Youth.’ and Dr Ali-reza Bhojani on ‘Moral
rationalism, Sharia and Human Rights’ 

Dr Ali-reza Bhojani was also invited to deliver a lecture on “Muslim
Futures: New Directions in Islamic Thought.” at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter. The discussion was part of a series of lectures and workshops on the theme of ‘New
Directions in Islamic Thought’