December 12, 2012
Ali Abdel Razek’s Islam and the Foundations of Political Power -
A Progressive Voice
At the launch which was attended by Ambassador Saidullah Khan Dehlavi, Chairman, AKU Board of Trustees, Mr Firoz Rasul, AKU President and Mr Yusuf Keshavjee, AKU Trustee, Professor Filali-Ansary and Professor Azim Nanji of Stanford University shared their insight into Abdel Razek’s landmark essay which was first published in Egypt in 1927 under the title Islam wa usul al hukm.
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November 24, 2012
AKU-ISMC offers Short Course on Contemporary ‘Middle Eastern' Art for the first time
On 24 November 2012 the short course Collecting and Exhibiting Contemporary 'Middle Eastern' Art - Legacies, Challenges, Opportunities took place for the first time. This course has been newly developed to fit into the wide range of short courses and public lectures, extending the offering to Muslim art and architecture.
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September 27, 2012
A Timely Corrective to Common Perceptions of Islam and Muslims
There was an enthusiastic turnout at the book launch for Ethnographies of Islam: Ritual Performances and Everyday Practices, edited by Baudouin Dupret, Thomas Pierret, Paulo G.Pinto and Kathryn Spellman-Poots, held at AKU-ISMC on Thursday 27th September.
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July 18, 2012
Book Launch for Cosmopolitanisms in Muslim Contexts
On 18 July 2012, AKU-ISMC organised a book launch for Cosmopolitanisms in Muslim Contexts: Perspectives from the Past, edited by Dr Derryl MacLean and Sikeena Karmali Ahmed. The event was attended by academics and thought leaders from around Greater Vancouver, Canada.
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June 11, 2012
Alumnus presents at BRISMES conference hosted by LSE
Alumnus Mohammad Magout presented a paper at the annual BRISMES conference hosted by the London School of Economics. This year's conference entitled Change and Continuity in the Middle East was held on 11 June 2012.
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May 31, 2012
AKU-ISMC Celebrates MCA Book Launch in London, UK
Academics, students, diplomats and legal experts gathered in London, UK at the end of May, to celebrate the launch of Interpretations of Law & Ethics in Muslim Contexts, volume two of AKU-ISMC’s Muslim Civilisations Abstracts publications. The Muslim Civilisations Abstracts project was launched with the aim of promoting scholarship from regions under-represented in the present debates on the Muslim world.
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May 29, 2012
Current AKU-ISMC student publishes her first book
Serpil Akkaya, an AKU-ISMC student, recently published her first book, Sumerer, Hethiter und Trojaner – Urahnen der anatolischen Türken? (Sumerians, Hittites and Trojans – the earliest ancestors of Anatolian Turks?). The book is a revised edition of Akkaya’s PhD project undertaken at the University of Innsbruck, Austria.
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May 24, 2012
Bridging the Knowledge Gap: AKU-ISMC in the Press
Dr Aptin Khanbaghi, Project Team Leader for the Muslim Civilisations Abstracts initiative, recently spoke with the Gulf Times and the Jakarta Globe about the aims of the project in bridging the gaps of scholarship that exist between Muslim societies and about Muslim societies at a global level.
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March 29, 2012
AKU-ISMC student publishes in the Journal of Arabian Studies
Lindsey Stephenson, a current MA student in Muslim Cultures, has recently published an article in the Journal of Arabian Studies. “Women and the Malleability of the Kuwaiti Diwaniyya” is an extension of a paper Stephenson presented at the annual Gulf Studies Conference at Exeter in July 2011, and a product of ongoing field research begun during her Fulbright fellowship to Kuwait in 2007-2008.
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January 19, 2012
Panjwani speaks on implications of drawing on Islamic scholarship
Dr Farid Panjwani, faculty member at AKU-ISMC, recently spoke at a workshop organised by the Dubai campus of the Islamic Azad University of Iran. His paper was entitled “Potentials and limits of drawing educational implications from Islamic scholarship.”
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January 18, 2012
Asutay speaks on Islamic moral economy as a foundation of Islamic finance
On 18 January 2012, Dr Mehmet Asutay (Durham University) delivered the first of this year’s Public Lecture Series at AKU-ISMC entitled ’Islamic moral economy as a foundation of Islamic finance’. The lecture was well attended and included a global audience via an online webcast.
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November 23, 2011
Should there be faith-based schools in a pluralist society?
Britain has a long history of faith-based schools within the state system. However, there are increasingly powerful voices arguing against this for a variety of reasons. These arguments will be examined, by Professor Pring, in the context of a rapidly changing Britain and of an increasing secularisation of society.
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November 22, 2011
Dr Jeff Tan presents at SOAS, University of London
In November 2011, AKU-ISMC faculty member Dr Jeff Tan spoke about “The Pitfalls of Water Privatisation: Failure and Reform in Malaysia,” at a Seminar organised by the Department of Development Studies at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), University of London.
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November 12, 2011
AKU offers CPD accredited courses - Engaging with Sharia: History and Contemporary Issues
On 12 and 19 November 2011 AKU-ISMC hosted a short course on sharia.
What is sharia? How has it evolved? Should it play any role in society? What are the key legal issues across various Muslim contexts? This thought-provoking, two-day course explored the historical evolution of Muslim legal traditions and traced their development to the varied approaches.
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September 5, 2011
Professor Filali-Ansary speaks at Oxford Conference
“Our Oxford workshop’s most interesting participant was Abdou Filali-Ansary, who offered a portrait of the Arab Spring filled with light and shadow. A Moroccan philosopher who successively directed the King Abdul-Aziz Foundation for Islamic Studies and Human Sciences in Casablanca and the Aga Khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations in London, Filali-Ansary has thought and written as profoundly as anyone about Muslims in the contemporary world.” – Mark Silk
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August 22, 2011
Joining Hands with Simon Fraser University, AKU-ISMC offers its fourth International Summer Programme
Once again, this year’s International Summer Programme which took place from 18-29 July 2011 in London, attracted participants from around the world including from Canada, Hungary, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Tajikistan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
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August 15, 2011
AKU-ISMC Faculty Awarded British Academy Grant
In June 2011, AKU-ISMC faculty member Professor Kathryn Spellman Poots was awarded a research grant from the British Academy, the UK’s national academy for the promotion of scholarship in the Humanities and Social Sciences, for her project, Young Shia Muslims in the UK.
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July 19, 2011
Professor Filali-Ansary addresses the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, D.C.
On July 19th, 2011, Abdou Filali-Ansary, Professor and founding Director of AKU-ISMC, gave a talk in Washington, D.C., entitled “Talking and Thinking about Politics in Contemporary Muslim Contexts.” The talk was organised by the National Endowment for Democracy, which publishes the Journal of Democracy on whose editorial board Professor Filali-Ansary sits.
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June 27, 2011
AKU-ISMC student, Lindsey Stephenson, publishes articles on Kuwait
Lindsey Stephenson, currently a first-year student on AKU-ISMC’s MA in Muslim Cultures, has recently published an article in the Middle East in London (April-May 2011, vol 7 no 8). Her article entitled “The battle for influence: women’s suffrage in Kuwait” reflects Lindsey’s earlier research on Kuwait. The article, for which Lindsey was commissioned to write based on her experiences living and conducting research in Kuwait, appears in an edition of the magazine which focuses on the Gulf States.
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May 5, 2011
Self-Referentiality in the Qur’an: Public Lecture by Professor Stefan Wild
On Thursday, 5 May 2011, AKU-ISMC was pleased to host a public lecture by Professor Stefan Wild. Entitled “Self-Referentiality in the Qur’an”, the talk examined the self-referential nature of the Qur’an and compared it to scriptures of other monotheistic religions, suggesting the Qur’an’s reflexive nature to be one of its unique features. The Professor also highlighted the relationship between this feature and the canonisation of the Qur’anic text.
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March 10, 2011
Transnational families and British law: The role of an expert witness
On Thursday, 10 March 2011, Dr Prakash Shah gave a public lecture at AKU-ISMC on the topic: “Transnational families and British law: The role of an expert witness.” Dr Shah’s talk examined how the British legal and immigration system deals with the question of transnational families and family unification.
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March 3, 2011
Pedagogy, Memory and Alterity: Conceptions of the Muslim World in European Textbooks
On Thursday, 3 March 2011, Dr Shiraz Thobani, Research Associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, gave a lecture at AKU-ISMC entitled “Pedagogy, Memory and Alterity: Conceptions of the Muslim World in European Textbooks.” The talk built on his work with European academic institutions seeking to develop educational programmes which approach Islam from humanistic, civilisational and cultural perspectives.
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February 12, 2011
AKU-ISMC Convocation 2011
The Aga Khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (AKU-ISMC) in the United Kingdom held its third convocation on 12 February 2011 at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University College of London, where 18 graduates received their MA in Muslim Cultures.
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January 21, 2011
Making an Impact in Education: Dr Panjwani Presents at IB Seminar
Dr Farid Panjwani, Assistant Professor at AKU-ISMC, joined educational professionals including curriculum developers and assessment experts of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Organisation for a one-day seminar aimed at extending and challenging the understanding of the nature of culture and its implications for the development of curriculum and assessment in the context of international education.
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November 12, 2010
AKU-ISMC in the News
The 12 November 2010 issue of the Khaleej Times, a daily English language newspaper published in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and covering regional and international news, featured a recent article about the Aga Khan University Institute of Muslim Civilisations (AKU-ISMC
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October 30, 2010
Dilemma and Decision: Ethnographic Filmmaking
Filmmaking is a difficult business. The dilemmas behind the making of ethnographic films were the focus of a colloquium held at Aga Khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (AKU-ISMC) from 29-30 October 2010. Films shot in locations around the world including Afghanistan, Botswana, India, and Guatemala, to name a few, were shown alongside unedited clips.
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October 29, 2010
Dr Arskal Salim presents at the Religion in Dispute Conference
On 29 October 2010, Dr Arskal Salim delivered a paper at the Conference on Religion in Dispute held by Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle, Germany. The paper was entitled ‘Saving Marriages after Triple ‘Talaq’ (divorce): Contested Norms and Practices in Aceh, Indonesia’.
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September 18, 2010
AKU-ISMC welcomes Class of 2012
AKU-ISMC is pleased to welcome a new cohort to its MA Programme. Students attended a week long orientation from 18th September, and have officially begun classes from the 27th onwards. Over the course of the two-year programme, students will study Muslim cultures as they have evolved over time, in all their historical and contemporary diversity.
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September 17, 2010
AKU-ISMC and SOAS Host 3rd Arabic Pasts Workshop
AKU-ISMC in collaboration with SOAS held a workshop entitled “Arabic Pasts: Histories and Historiography” on Friday 17 September. The workshop, held annually since 2008, brought together scholars for one day to discuss and debate major issues relating to recollections of the past in Arabic, and to chart out future projects.
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September 13, 2010
Research Fellows join AKU-ISMC
AKU-ISMC welcomed its 2010 Research Fellows on 13 September 2010; the two fellows will be based at the Institute for a period of one year. Dr Fauzia Ahmad will examine the changing nature of Muslim matrimonial practices in Britain while Dr Chloe Patton will focus on multiculturalism as a grammar of religiosity among young Australian Muslims.
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September 6, 2010
AKU-ISMC alumni publishes in Hamdard Islamicus
In its January to March 2010 issue, Hamdard Islamicus published an article written by AKU-ISMC alum, Nadia Amin Rehmani (Class of 2008) in Vol XXXIII No1. The article discusses the Qur’anic term Ummah as a fundamental concept within Islamic thought and examines its use in the Qur'an along with its multiple other meanings
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June 1, 2010
Dr. Mehtab Karim speaks on the Demography of Muslim Populations
On 1 June 2010, the Institute hosted a public lecture by Dr. Mehtab Karim, a Senior Research Fellow at the Pew Research Centre and a Professor at the School of Public Policy at George Mason University. Dr. Karim's lecture was entitled, "Demography of Muslim Countries: Fertility Transition and Youth Bulge".
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April 12, 2010
Graduation 2010
The second graduation ceremony of Aga Khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations took place on April 12, 2010. Held at the Brunei Gallery in London, the ceremony was attended by members of the university’s board of trustees, faculty and staff of the ISMC, students' families, as well as guests from the academic community in London.
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February 23, 2010
Tariq Rahman speaks on Language and Identity in South Asia
On 23 February, 2010 AKU-ISMC hosted a lecture by Tariq Rahman, a Distinguished National Professor of Sociolinguistic History and Director of the National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad.
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November 4, 2009
Workshop: Ethnographies of Islam: Describing Muslim Practices in Local Contexts
The importance of the ethnographic method increased in the last three decades as it spread beyond the boundaries of Anthropology into other social sciences, which gradually shifted their focus from the structural organization of social systems to the role of the people in producing and reproducing social processes through their everyday practices.
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October 22, 2009
Dr Kathryn Spellman Poots speaks at the House of Lords
Dr Kathryn Spellman Poots, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at The Aga Khan University, Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations will deliver a lecture at the House of Lords, Committee Room G, entitled ‘Gender and Identity in Muslim Contexts'.
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October 9, 2009
Conference: Construction of Belief: Comparative Perspectives
On the 9 -10 October 2009, the AKU-ISMC will hold a conference entitled Construction of Belief: Comparative Perspectives. The conference, for invited academics, will honour the work and ideas of Professor Mohamed Arkoun, one of the most influential scholars of Muslim philosophy and history.
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May 25, 2009
AKU-ISMC faculty contribute to new book on Multiple Modernities in Muslim Societies
A book edited by Professor Modjtaba Sadria, Multiple Modernities in Muslim Societies, was published by IB Tauris in May 2009. The book, which also includes a chapter by Senior Instructor Farid Panjwani, is the result of a workshop held in 2008 by the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, with the aim of investigating the ‘tangible elements of modernity’.
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April 23, 2009
AKU-ISMC Faculty member presents lecture at Georgetown University
Dr Sarah Bowen Savant, Assistant Professor at AKU-ISMC presented the Robert S. Mason lecture at Georgetown University on 23 April. Her lecture, Remembering Founding Moments: The Case of Early Islamic Persia, explored work she has undertaken on tradition, memory, history and hermeneutics in the case of Iran to consider social functions of traditions about communities’ founding moments.
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April 15, 2009
AKU-ISMC students learn about the Aga Khan Trust for Culture
On 15 April, graduate students at AKU-ISMC participated in an information session about the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC). The session was led by Shiraz Alibhai (AKTC) and focused primarily on the Trusts’ Historic Cities Project; the Project is a collaborative initiative with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) School of Architecture and Planning.
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March 28, 2009
AKU-ISMC holds short course on Law in Muslim Contexts
AKU-ISMC held a two-day intermediate level short course, ‘Law in Muslim Contexts’, with the aim of providing participants with an understanding of the contemporary legal issues impacting Muslim societies.
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March 20, 2009
AKU-ISMC faculty members present paper at conference on Muslim youth
Farid Panjwani and Modjtaba Sadria presented a paper at a conference titled, ‘Muslim Youth: Challenges, Opportunities and Expectations’, that was jointly organised by the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (UK) and the University of Chester. The conference was held at the University of Chester over 20, 21 and 22 March 2009.
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March 12, 2009
AKU-ISMC Research Fellow speaks at International Workshop at French Parliament
AKU-ISMC Research Fellow Bakary Sambe spoke at an International Workshop at the French Parliament organised by University of Paris on 12 March entitled, ‘The Mediterranean Union: Building a space for knowledge’. The title of Sambe’s paper was The Mediterranean Union: What about Relations with Sub-Saharan Africa?
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March 10, 2009
Jeff Tan Presents Paper at Water Governance Conference
AKU-ISMC Assistant Professor Jeff Tan and Dr Kate Bayliss (School of Oriental and African Studies, SOAS) presented a paper, Water Governance: Beyond Tame Solutions for ‘Wicked’ Problems, at a conference on water governance held in London on 10 March.
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February 28, 2009
AKU-ISMC Holds Inaugural Graduation Ceremony
The 28th of February marked a significant institutional milestone for AKU-ISMC as it held its inaugural graduation ceremony. Eleven students were awarded their Master of Arts in Muslim Cultures at the ceremony, attended by members of the University’s Board of Trustees, AKU faculty and staff, students' families, donors, dignitaries and members of the diplomatic corp.
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February 27, 2009
A Discussion on Architecture and Modernity
On 27 and 28 February, a workshop for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) entitled Homogeneity of Representations was held in Vancouver. Organised by AKU-ISMC Professor Modjtaba Sadria, the Workshop was the second in the AKAA’s Knowledge Construction series.
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February 18, 2009
Inaugural Central Asia Study Group meeting held at AKU-ISMC
The inaugural meeting of the Central Asia Study Group, initiated and coordinated by Professor Modjtaba Sadria was held on 18 February 2009. The Group is intended as an inter-institutional, multi-disciplinary, collaborative group for academics, researchers, students, and others with an interest in Central Asia.
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December 4, 2008
First Research Fellowship Programme Seminar
On 4 December, AKU-ISMC held the inaugural Research Fellowship Programme Seminar for faculty and research staff of the Institute, to introduce its research fellows and their projects.
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October 13, 2008
MA students visit Sotheby’s and Christie’s
In October, MA students studying the material cultures course led by Professor Stefan Weber visited three auction exhibitions at Christie’s and Sotheby’s in London.
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October 9, 2008
International Summer Academy held in Istanbul
The Summer Academy was organised in collaboration with Boğaziçi University, 'Europe in the Middle East - The Middle East in Europe' (EUME), a joint research program of the the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
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