Dr Michael Axworthy, FRSA, FRAS (1962-2019)

It is with great regret that we announce the passing of our colleague and friend Michael Axworthy on 16 March 2019. Michael read History at Peterhouse, Cambridge before moving on to a successful career at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; he met his wife Sally while they were both working at the British Embassy in Bonn.

See the Daily Telegraph obituary here.

The Middle East’s Great Divide Is Not Sectarianism

The spectre of sectarianism haunts the Middle East. It is blamed for chaos, conflict, and extremism. It defines what is seen as the region’s principal fault line: Sunni versus Shiite. It has the power and elegance of a grand theory that seemingly explains all.

‘Mīr Dāmād (m. 1041/1631), philosophe et mujtahid
Autorité spirituelle et autorité juridique en Iran safavide shīʿite’,
Mathieu Terrier

Studia Islamica, 113/2 (2018)

Abstract
Studies on Twelver Shīʿism, particularly in the context of Safavid Iran (907-1134 / 1501-1722), are characterized by a dichotomy between the emphasis on law and that on philosophy, reflecting the duality between both the exoteric and esoteric dimensions of this religion. Based on this observation, this article presents a corpus of known and lesser known texts of Mīr Dāmād (d. 1041/1631), a philosophy master and super- mujtahid at the court of the Shāhs in Esfahan, in order to analyse the link between these two facets of his personality and shed some light on the relationship between legal and spiritual authorities in modern Shīʾism. The first part of this paper studies Mīr Dāmād’s portrait in the Shīʿi prosopographical sources. The second part deals with his legal works, notably his fatwās on Friday prayer and defensive jihād. The third part analyses the doxographic notice devoted to Mīr Dāmād by his former student Quṭb al-Dīn Ashkevarī (d. between 1088 and 1095 /1677 and 1684), which weaves legal, philosophical and mystical texts authored by his teacher. This study will show that in the view of Mīr Dāmād and his disciples, the temporal authority of the jurisconsult, during the period of Great Occultation, remained inseparable from the spiritual authority of the Gnostic (ʿārif), whose metaphysical knowledge was both rationally proven and mystically experienced.

South Asian Geopolitics: Saudi Arabia: 1 Iran: 0?

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi seemed to fine tune the officer’s statement by not mentioning Yemen in his remarks to the Saudi paper and limiting Pakistan’s commitment to the kingdom itself. “If anyone would create chaos in or attack the Kingdom, Pakistan would stand by its brethren Saudi Arabia,” Mr. Qureishi said.

Geopolitics, the black swan in Saudi-Indian relations – Firstpost

When Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi next week, the elephant in the room is likely to be what weighs more: the issues the two men agree on or the ones that divide them.

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Managing minefields: Saudi/UAE aid puts Pakistan-Iran relations on the spot

Pakistan is traversing minefields as it concludes agreements on investment, balance of payments support and delayed payment oil deliveries with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates worth USD$13 billion that are likely to fawn growing distrust in its relations with neighbouring Iran.

Indian Muslims: A rich hunting ground for Middle Eastern rivals

Iranian-Islamic Illumination Course: Islīmī Patterns

Anahita Alavi Date: 14 January 2019 Time: 6:30 PM Finishes: 18 March 2019 Time: 8:30 PM Venue: MBI Al Jaber Building, 21 Russell Square Room: MBI Al Jaber Seminar Room Type of Event: Workshop Please note that the course will commence on 14 January 2019 and not 7 January 2019 as previously advertised and that it will run until 18 March 2019 instead of 11 March 2019.

Christmas in Lebanon: ‘Jesus Isn’t Only for the Christians’

Lebanon Dispatch BEIRUT – The Iranian cultural attaché stepped up to the microphone on a stage flanked by banners bearing the faces of Iran’s two foremost religious authorities: Ayatollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic, and Ayatollah Khamenei, the current supreme leader.