‘In Pictures: Muslims worldwide mark Ashura
Worshippers mark the anniversary of the Battle of Karbala and mourn the death of Imam Hussein, the Prophet’s grandson.’
alJazeera
19.8.21

‘Afghanistan’s Shia are fearful in face of Taliban takeover
Historic victims of persecution treat militants’ promise of tolerance with caution.’
Financial Times
26.8.21
(Ed. note: This is behind a pay-wall.)

هل يستمر شهر العسل بين «طالبان» وطهران؟
الحركة الأفغانية تفتح «سدود هلمند» باتجاه إيران
Al-Jarida (Kuwait)
25-08-2021
وقبل أيام، زار مسؤول ميداني في «طالبان» أحد مجالس عاشوراء في هرات، واعتذر عن قيام عناصر غير منضبطة بإنزال رايات عاشورائية خلال إحياء الأقلية الشيعية لذكرى عاشوراء. ويعكس هذا تغييراً في سياسة الحركة.
A few days ago, a field official in the Taliban visited an Ashura gathering in Herat and apologized for the fact that undisciplined elements lowered Ashura banners while the Shi’i minority was commemorating this occasion. This reflected a change in the Movement’s policy.

The Safavid World
Rudi Matthee, ed.
Routledge, 2021

‘The Ottoman Chancery’s Role in Diplomacy with Iran’
S. Güngörürler
Itinerario, 2020, Vol.44 (3), p.572-590

‘The Historical Roles of Jihād in Sunnī-Shīʿī Relations’
D. Stewart,
The Journal of the Middle East and Africa Volume 12, 2021 – Issue 2

It is with deep sadness that the Institute for Ismaili Studies (IIS) announces the untimely loss of Dr Janis Esots, colleague and esteemed scholar.

An obituary can be found here:

https://www.iis.ac.uk/news/in-memoriam-janis-esots

‘Ṣadrā’s Use of Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī’s al-Mabāḥith al-mashriqiyya in the Asfār‘
C. Bonmariage
Oriens, 2020

Online Book Launch: Essays on Shi‘ism and Iran by Hamid Algar
Date: Wednesday, 30 June 2021
Time: 8:00-9:00 PM GMT (London time)
Join at:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81492642552?pwd=VmRQRnc5U0RoU1g1NS9kd1dxZ3JLdz09
Meeting ID: 814 9264 2552
Passcode: 337916

‘”Indian Money”, Intra-Shīʿī Polemics, and the Bohra and Khoja Pilgrimage Infrastructure in Iraq’s Shrine Cities, 1897–1932’
M. O’Sullivan
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 2021