Tariq Rahman speaks on Language and Identity in South Asia
February 2010

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. Professor Rahman is currently a Research Fellow at the Oxford Centre of Islamic Studies and has published a number of books on language, power and..More...

Kathryn Spellman-Poots speaks at the Centre for Academic Shia Studies
February 2010

On Monday, 15 February 2010, Dr. Kathryn Spellman-Poots delivered a lecture at the inaugural event for The Centre for Academic Shia Studies, held at the Al-Khoei Foundation. The lecture, entitled ‘Contesting Customs: Young Shi’a Muslims in Britain’ was based on her current research which examines Shia commemoration rituals in the UK. This research attempts to map out the Shia community in the UK..More...

Farid Panjwani, Senior Instructor at AKU-ISMC, recently attended a two-day consultation about faith schools in the UK at St. George’s House, Windsor Castle
November 2009

Titled, Faith Schools: Freedom of Choice or Recipe for Division – Their Impact on Education and Wider Society, the consultation’s aim was to appraise the place of faith schools in religiously diverse societies, evaluating recent research and arguments both in favour and against their contribution to social cohesion.More...

Workshop: Ethnographies of Islam: Describing Muslim Practices in Local Contexts
November 2009

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.  More...

AKU-ISMC hosted a major event to launch its 3 new series of academic publications
October 2009

On Thursday, 15th October 2009, the Aga Khan University, Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations hosted a major event to launch its 3 new series of academic publications. Held at the British Library in London, the event was well attended by people from various locations across the UK, along with several international visitors.More...

Dr Kathryn Spellman Poots speaks at the House of Lords
October 2009

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'. Organised by CMF Women, the lecture will take place on 22nd October 2009 at 6.00pm. More...

The AKU-ISMC is pleased to announce a two-day conference, entitled Construction of Belief: Comparative Perspectives which will be held on 9-10 October. The conference, for invited scholars, will honour the scholarship of Professor Mohammed Arkoun, one of the most distinguished and prolific scholars in the field of Islamic Studies.  More...

Summer Programme
Expressions of Diversity: A Contemporary Introduction to Muslim Cultures
August 2009

AKU-ISMC, in collaboration with the Simon Fraser University – The Centre for the Comparative Study of Muslim Societies and Cultures (SFU-CCSMSC), offered a two week Summer Programme, ‘Expressions of Diversity: A Contemporary Introduction to Muslim Cultures'. The course was held in London from
July 20 - 31, 2009. More...

Dr Bakary Sambe speaks at International Symposium in Morocco

June 2009

Dr Bakary Sambe, Research Fellow at AKU-ISMC, recently delivered a paper at an international symposium entitled ‘Cultural Interactions between Sub Saharan Africa and Morocco’. The symposium was held from 11 – 18 May 2009, at La Fondation des Arts Vivants and Hassan II University in Casablanca. More...

Reconsidering Dubai: New perspectives for cities in the Middle East?

June 2009

The roundtable workshop, Reconsidering Dubai: New perspectives for Cities in the Middle East? was held on 12 June 2009, as part of the Cities/Muslim Urbanities research initiative at AKU-ISMC. The workshop included presentations by seven leading academics and architects, who explored the current state of Dubai, and its future prospects. More...

Academic Publications Series announced by AKU-ISMC and Edinburgh University Press

June 2009

AKU-ISMC has announced three exciting academic publications series to be launched in October 2009, in collaboration with Edinburgh University Press (EUP). The three series will seek to create access to the contemporary thinking of the Muslim world, its intellectual debates and discussions, its dynamic processes of self scrutiny and the vibrancy of its cultural expressions. More...

Modjtaba Sadria speaks at Critical Geographies of Security workshop at Bristol University

June 2009

Professor Modjtaba Sadria participated in a workshop series titled, ‘Critical Geographies of Security’ at Bristol University on 3 June 2009. Organised by the Critical States of Security Network within the Department of Politics, the particular workshop was entitled Beyond Neo-liberalism? South-South Realignments and New Agendas for Political Research: Brazil, Iran, Russia, India, Dubai, China, Vietnam. More...

Rationality and Irrationality in the Art of Islam

May 2009

Eminent London-based artist, Dr Ahmed Moustafa, conducted a presentation at AKU-ISMC on 27 May 2009 during which he exhibited some of his artwork to the audience. The presentation detailed his research into the science of Arabic penmanship and letter shapes, and the roles they play in the structural morphology of Islam. More...