Call for Papers
Date: January 24-25, 2026
Venue: Boğaziçi University, South Campus, Istanbul, Turkey
Abstract Submission Deadline: October 17, 2025 @ 5pm GMT
Organizers: The British Association for Islamic Studies (BRAIS), and Boğaziçi University Development Foundation (BUVAKIF)

The British Association for Islamic Studies is co-hosting a landmark international winter symposium at Boğaziçi University, Istanbul. The purpose of this symposium is to dissolve barriers in the Global Majority and transcend structural boundaries to academia often experienced by scholars in Europe and North America. As a means knowledge exchange, submissions from scholars who face economic constraints and structural barriers from attending the Annual International Conference are especially welcomed.

To expand knowledge exchange with Global Majority scholars and diversify Anglosphere academia, this unique Istanbul symposium facilitates exchange amid legalized genocide in Gaza, inequality, and academic silencing. Scholars globally, from all Islamic Studies disciplines, are invited to present research. Proposals for individual papers or whole panels are welcomed from senior, early-career, and non-academic experts.

Within the Symposium’s theme of Islamic Studies research during global crisis and injustice, Islamic Studies is broadly understood to include all topics and disciplinary approaches relating to the study of Islam and Muslim societies. This includes all time periods from the formative to the classical, and pre-modern to the contemporary. Subjects and approaches include, but are not limited to, the following suggested areas:

• Blackness, Islam and African Diaspora Studies
• Cultural Studies, Critique and Postcolonial Studies
• Decolonizing the Curriculum, including New Periodization and (Inter)Disciplinary Approaches
• Capitalism and Islamic Finance
• Climate Change, Islamic Approaches to Ecology and Environmental Humanities
• Ethics (Medical & Finance) and Islam
• Genocide Studies, Scholasticide and Epistemicide
• History of the Premodern Islamicate:
  • Arab/Ottoman/Persianate worlds
  • Indian Ocean, trans-Saharan, Mediterranean, and Atlantic trade and slavery
  • Genocide, migration, and diaspora formation
• Indigenous and Islamic Epistemologies
• Intellectual History, the History of Science, the History of Political Thought
• Islam and Muslims in the Media, Critical Film Studies
• Islamic liberation theology and theologies of resistance
• Islamophobia and Racism Studies
• Peacebuilding, Violence and Social Movements in the Muslim World
• Postcolonial Muslim Societies and Subaltern Studies
• Political Science, Sociology and Anthropology
• Religious praxis, family, and relationships in Muslim Societies
• Traditional Islamic Studies Fields, including:
  • Hadith Studies
  • Philosophy, Theology and Ethics
  • Qur’anic and Tafsir Studies
  • Sufism and Mysticism

Abstract Submission:

For individual papers, a 200-word abstract of the paper should be submitted along with your details using the form available via this link.

Panel Proposal Submission:

BRAIS particularly welcomes proposals for whole panels curated around certain themes or methodologies. Panels will ideally include four individual papers, but panels of three individual papers will also be considered. For panels, a 200-word outline of the theme of the panel, together with 200-word abstracts of each individual paper and the biography of each presenter should be submitted using the form available via this link.

Submission Deadline:

The deadline for paper and panel submissions has been extended to Friday 17 October 2025 at 5pm GMT.

If you have any questions, they might be addressed on FAQ page. For any other questions, please contact the BRAIS directly: brais@ed.ac.uk

In the spirit of inclusivity and transcending barriers to knowledge exchange, BRAIS will provide Fee Waivers to a number of scholars whose papers are accepted, based on structural financial disadvantage.

Important Dates:

• Abstract Submission Deadline: October 17, 2025
• Registration Start: November 5, 2025
• Bursary Application Deadline: November 30, 2025
• Symposium Presentation: January 25-26, 2025

More information at:  The British Association for Islamic Studies (BRAIS)

Call for Papers
Date: February 4-5, 2026
Venue: Global Studies Centre, Gulf University for Science and Technology, Kuwait
Proposal Submission Deadline: October 1, 2025

The new age of artificial intelligence (AI) presents many opportunities and challenges to methodology in all disciplines of Social Sciences and Humanities including in Middle Eastern and Islamic World Studies. AI technologies, such as data analysis, machine learning, and natural language processing, can uncover hidden patterns, automate repetitive tasks, and provide deeper insights into the topic of study.

However, these benefits also come with some significant ethical challenges such as concerns about data privacy, algorithmic bias, and human responsibility and accountability in the use and application of AI technologies. This research conference is focused on the use and application of AI in the methodology of all disciplines of Middle Eastern and Islamic World Studies broadly defined.

Overarching questions to be addressed include: What is the difference between the types of uses of AI: are some more acceptable than others? Are there some fields in which the use of AI presents huge opportunities and others in which it causes major issues? Can we speak of AI in terms of being a “net-good” in Middle Eastern and Islamic World Studies?

Conference themes include but are not limited to the following:

1. Opportunities/Challenges/Ethics in incorporating AI in the methodology of the Social Sciences and Humanities disciplines including in Islamic Philosophy, History, Religious Studies, Literature, Anthropology, Theology, Sociology, Communications.
2. Specific Social Sciences or Humanities research projects or applications with significant use of AI or other digital technologies in Middle Eastern and Islamic World Studies.
3. AI applications in religious law, textual commentary and prophetic traditions.
4. AI applications in the cultural heritage of the Middle East and Islamic World.

Confirmed Keynote Speakers

• David Wrisley, Professor of Digital Humanities, New York University Abu Dhabi
• Shoaib Malik, Lecturer in Science and Religion, University of Edinburgh

Limited travel funding may be available for graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and faculty from low-income countries and institutions. We aim to publish the revised papers as articles/chapters in either a refereed special issue of a journal or as an edited volume.

Individual Submissions: Individual proposals should include an abstract (250-word maximum), and the email, and the affiliation and short biography (max. 100 words) of presenter(s).

Email submissions to both Dr. Ismail Lala (Lala.I@gust.edu.kw) and Dr. Jennifer Lofkrantz (Lofkrantz.J@gust.edu.kw).

Papers will need to be completed prior to the research conference for pre-circulation. Date to be announced after acceptance of proposals.

Important Dates

Deadline for submission of proposals: October 1, 2025

Notification of acceptance: October 15, 2025

More information at: Gulf University for Science & Technology

Call for Papers
Theme: “Resilience and Innovation: Islamic Interdisciplinary Approaches to Global Challenges in the Post-Digital Age”
Date: March 24-25, 2026
Venue: Istanbul University, Turkey
Abstract Submission Deadline: January 20, 2026
Organizer: Faculty of Islamic Studies, Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara, Indonesia

The Faculty of Islamic Studies, Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara (UMSU), Invites all professors, researchers, students, practitioners, and other Islamic Studies and Sharia Economic enthusiasts to participate in the 8th International Seminar in Islamic Studies (INSIS), which will be held at Istanbul University, Turkey.

The main theme of the conference is “Resilience and Innovation: Islamic Interdisciplinary Approaches to Global Challenges in the Post-Digital Age”. Sub-themes include:

• Islamic Studies and Thoughts
• Economic Resilience and Innovation
• Transforming Education in the Digital Era
• Science and Engineering
• Linguistics and Global Communication
• Health Systems and Innovation
• Political Innovation and Resilience
• Governance and Digital Rights
• Sustainable Agricultural Innovation

Publication Opportunities

All accepted and presented paper will be published in the conference proceedings (with ISBN/e-ISBN). In addition, selected papers will be considered for publication in reputable journals indexed in SINTA and Copernicus, subject to the journals’ terms and conditions for acceptance.

More information at: https://insis.umsu.ac.id/

Call for Papers
The 54^th Annual Conference of the North American Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies (NAAIMS)
Theme: “Islam and AI: Challenges and opportunities”
Date: November 20, 2025
Venue: Online (via Zoom)
Abstract Submission Deadline: July 11, 2025
Cosponsored by: Department of Romance and Arabic Languages and Literature, University of Cincinnati, OH, USA
Program Chair: Professor Muhammad U. Faruque, University of Cincinnati

Today, artificial intelligence is revolutionizing research and content creation. The conference will explore the challenges, opportunities, and responsibilities presented by the rise of A.I. for Islamic and Muslim studies.

To understand how A.I. could have an impact on Islamic scholarship, one needs to review how the “authenticity” of religious knowledge was ensured through the decades-old process of the transmission of Islamic knowledge since the 7th century. This age-old transmission process (embodied in the isnads) preserved the historical background of Islamic scholarship and heritage. Could A.I. disrupt this mode of transmission? Could A.I. with its strength in language and unparalleled level of creativity become a religious authority and alter Islamic beliefs and practices?

If digitized data stored in A.I.’s database pertaining to ethnic and cultural knowledge of a people is inaccurate, could A.I. distort the history of a people for future generations? Also, if A.I.’s digitized data excludes historical aspects of a people’s culture, like religion and language, could the true history of that culture disappear or be distorted?

The organizers invite a diverse range of papers from professors in the humanities, and social and natural sciences. Some of the questions that papers may address include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Authenticity of Islamic Religious Authority: The Ulama vs A.I.
• Can the Development of A.I.’s Algorithms Be Monitored to Align with Islamic Moral Standards?
• Training A.I. in Classical Islamic Sources
• Rigor and Responsibility in Using A.I. for Research in Islamic and Muslim Studies
• Ensuring Accuracy in A.I. Generated Content about Islam and Muslims
• Opportunities and Challenges of Using A.I. as a Teaching Assistant in Islamic or Muslim Studies
• Assessing the Breadth, Depth and Accuracy of A.I.’s Knowledge about Islam
• Addressing Hegemony and Cultural Biases in A.I.
• I., Ethics and Morality

Abstracts must be submitted in MS Word (between 250-300 words) by July 11, 2025, to Layla Sein, NAAIMS Executive Director, at conferences@naaims.org. Abstracts will be evaluated according to the following criteria: clear data and methodology, and relevance and contribution to conference theme. Abstracts must include a title; author’s full name; contact information; and university position. Final papers must be submitted by October 20, 2025.

Online pre-registration is required for Panelists [Zoom link will be available on website].

More information at: North American Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies (NAAIMS)

Date: March 20, 2025
Venue: Online and The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, The University of Tokyo, welcomes all interested parties to the symposium “Libraries and Archival Practices in the Early Modern Eastern Islamic World,” whose organization it is supporting. Pre-registration is required for both on-site and online participation.

Libraries and archival practices played a pivotal role in shaping the intellectual, cultural, and religious landscapes of the pre-modern Islamic world. Since the early 21st century, substantial research on libraries and book culture, based on manuscripts and documentary sources, have emerged, particularly within the fields of Arabic and Turkish historical studies. However, comparable scholarship focusing on other regions of the Islamic world, notably Iran and India, remains relatively underexplored. This symposium aims to address this gap by bringing together scholars from the UK, Iran, Germany, and Japan to examine the complex histories of manuscript provenance, endowments, library cataloguing, and preservation in early modern Iran and India. Through these investigations, the symposium seeks to deepen our understanding of the cultural, intellectual, and religious dynamics of book culture in these regions and its broader significance within the Islamic world.

Lectures

• Four Centuries Later: Tracing Shah ʿAbbās’s Book Endowments to Ardabil in Istanbul
  Philip Bockholt (University of Münster)
• Shāh ʿAbbās I’s Manuscript Endowments and Shrine Practices: Early Kufic Qurʾāns Endowed to Mashhad and Ardabil
  Yui Kanda
• Barrasī-ye kohan-tarīn fehrest-hā-ye bejāmande az Kitābkhāne-ye Astān-e Qods-e Rażavī (in Persian)
  Elahe Mahbub (Organization of Libraries, Museums and Document Center, Astan Quds Razavi) and Behzad Nemati (The Islamic Research Foundation, Astan Quds Razavi)
• The Library of the Eighteenth Century Mughal Prince Acchai Sahib
  Andrew Peacock (University of St Andrews)

Chair

Kazuo Morimoto (Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia/Asian Research Library, The University of Tokyo)

Co-organized by: Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA), Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (Joint Research Project “Adaptation and Reorientation of Texts and its Actors in the Medieval and Early Modern Middle East” [Yui Kanda, Philip Bockholt, Kazuo Morimoto]; Core Research Project “Field Archiving of Memory: Dynamics of Cooperation within the Islamic Society”) and the Asian Research Library, The University of Tokyo.

More information on: Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia

Date: March 9, 2025 @ 2:00 PM
Venue: Tuke Hall, Regent’s University London, Inner Circle, Regent”s Park, London, NW1 4NS, UK

The Seminar to Commemorate the Martyrdom of Imam Ali (a.s.), which is being held on March 9, 2025, at Tuke Hall, Regent’s University London, welcomes all with an open invitation:

Lectures

• Developing Islamic AI: Balancing Mental Health Benefits and Theological Risks
  Speaker: Gulamabbas Lakha, Oxford University
  Gulamabbas Lakha takes a multi-disciplinary approach to research and teaching at Oxford. His doctorate in Psychiatry investigates mental health applications of Islamic concepts and practices, including empirical work on depression in the UK Muslim population. He serves as a tutor in Psychology of Religion and leads seminars on Neuroscience of Religious Experience, including supervising medical students and postgraduates. He also teaches Christian-Muslim relations and psychotherapy from Old Testament and Islamic psalms, having previously undertaken research on comparative neuroimaging of dhikr and secular mindfulness practices. His first degree in Economics & Econometrics was followed by the Chartered Financial Analyst programmer and subsequently founded an investment firm at which he serves as CEO. He later completed four master’s degrees, spanning Psychology and Neuroscience, Theology, Islamic Studies, History and Arabic. Following religious training over two decades, he was accredited as a Shaykh and has lectured on contemporary Islam for fifteen years.
• The Blunt Arrow and the Two-Pointed Sword: Encountering Imam Ali in Early Islamic Epic
  Speaker: Dr. George Warner, The Institute of Ismaili Studies
  Dr. George Warner is a scholar of Islamic studies specializing in Sunni-Shi’a relations, hadith, ritual, and devotional literature in Arabic and Persian. Having completed his BA and MPhil at the University of Cambridge, he received his PhD from SOAS University of London in 2017. He has previously held academic positions at Ruhr-Universität Bochum, SOAS and the University of Exeter, and is currently a research fellow at the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London. He has published widely on diverse aspects of Shi’i Islam and its history, including his first book, The Words of the Imams: al-Shaykh al-Saduq and the Development of Twelver Shi’i Hadith Literature, which was published by I. B. Tauris in 2021.

Chair

Professor Justin Jones
Justin Jones is Associate Professor in the Study of Religion in the Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Oxford, and specializes in South Asian Islam. His previous published research has focused upon Shi’i Islam in South Asia, including themes such as Shi’i clerical revivalism, religious writing and practice, martyrology, and Shi’i politics. He is the author of Shi’a Islam in Colonial India: Religion, Community and Sectarianism (Cambridge University Press, 2012), the editor of The Shi’a of South Asia: Religion, History and Politics (Cambridge University Press, 2014), as well as having written various articles and other publications in this field.

Please note there is no online registration. Attendees are kindly requested to arrive at the venue by 2:00 PM on Sunday, March 9, 2025.

This seminar is organized and sponsored by the Ahmed Family, in collaboration with the Muhammadi Trust. For inquiries, contact the Muhammadi Trust at +44 20 8452 1739.

Source: Shii News

Call for Papers
Date: November 5-8, 2025
Venue: Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
Abstract Submission Deadline: March 31, 2025

Islamic Archaeology as a discipline has experienced significant growth in both complexity and the diversity of themes over the past two decades. Following a long period of overlap between Islamic Archaeology and Art History in Middle Eastern and North African countries, the discipline has been revitalized in the 21st century through the adoption of new perspectives and expansion into new research areas. The materials studied and the researchers involved are globally dispersed, leading to the development of diverse perspectives and expectations rooted in various archaeological traditions. Now is an opportune time to explore this diversity within the discipline and identify common trends and shared interests.

The Islamic Archaeology Conference 2025 invites researchers and professionals from around the world to explore Islamic material culture in depth and analyze the historical narratives and syntheses contributed by the discipline. The organizing committee welcomes abstract submissions from scholars of all nationalities. Submissions from graduate students and early career researchers are especially encouraged. Abstracts will undergo peer review by an international committee of experts and will be accepted or rejected based solely on academic merit.

Paper submissions are invited on a wide range of topics related to the archaeology of the Islamic world across all periods:

• Archaeological Fieldwork: Recent archaeological results.
• Urban and Rural Landscapes: The organization and development of cities and rural settlements.
• Built Environments: Structures, water installations, and architectural elements.
• Burial and Off-Site Archaeology.
• Artifacts: Studies on ceramics, metalwork, glass, textiles, and other objects and raw materials.
• Trade, Exchange, and Networks.
• Cultural Interactions.
• Methodological and Theoretical Advances: New approaches and technologies in Islamic archaeology.

Pre-arranged panels focusing on well-defined themes in Islamic archaeology are also invited.

Submission Guidelines

Papers: A 150-250 word abstract outlining the research objectives, methodologies, and preliminary findings. Please note that each presentation should not exceed 20 minutes.

Panels: A 300-word abstract including:

• Introduction to the topic;
• The envisioned structure of the panel: the number of speakers and the length of presentations and discussions;
• Short information on the convener (the person submitting the proposal);
• Provisional list of participants.

Formats designed to foster a vigorous exchange of ideas are highly encouraged.

Abstracts should be submitted in Times New Roman, 12-point font, and include a title, the author’s name, and affiliations. The conference’s language is English.

Speakers Fees:

• Professionals: 25€
• Students: Free of charge

For questions and submissions please contact Karol Juchniewicz and Agnieszka Lic at isac2025@iksio.pan.pl.

Project funded from the state budget under Excellence Science II program granted by the Minister of Science of Poland.

More information on: architexturez.net

Call for Papers
Date: April 24-25, 2025
Venue: Online & George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
Abstract Submission Deadline (extended): February 3, 2025

The Annual Conference of the AbuSulayman Center for Global Islamic Studies will be held on the Fairfax, VA campus of George Mason University and in hybrid format on April 24-25, 2025. Exact conference dates along with the conference keynote speaker(s) will be announced in early January.

Over the past half-century, Muslim communities around the world have faced unprecedented levels of war and destruction. Apart from the immense human toll of conflicts spanning from sub saharan Africa, to the Middle East, or Central and South Asia sites of Islamic cultural patrimony have suffered a near constant stream of destruction. The systematic looting of treasured artifacts and archives and the physical destruction of civilizational sites of learning and commemoration have accelerated the immeasurable loss of historical memory. But can the restitution of such crimes also serve as a tool of reconciliation and restoration?

The AbuSulayman Center for Global Islamic Studies at George Mason University is calling for papers to address the phenomenon of cultural destruction with an eye to understanding the nature of such loss in places such as, but not limited to, Afghanistan, Bosnia, China, Gaza, India, Iraq, Lebanon, Mali, Myanmar, the Palestinian Territories, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen ; as well those efforts to redress the crimes of looting and to restore cultural patrimony as an act of reconciliation.

What are the means of assessing loss and addressing restitution of cultural patrimony? What role do international organizations like UNESCO, the Aga Khan Foundation, the International Association of Dealers in Ancient Art, or the Association of Art Museum Directors play in such efforts? What are the legal, historical, or geopolitical boundaries for government entities like the U.S. State Department or the European Commission in the regulation of stolen antiquities and cultural patrimony? What have local governmental departments of antiquities or cultural institutions done to resist, restore, or at times, accelerate such destruction?

The Center welcomes papers addressing any range of topics concerning the politics of patrimony, archival destruction, the international market for art and antiquities, or the political dimensions of cultural artifacts in Islamic history. Particular interest is accorded to papers that highlight

• Endangered or already compromised sites or archives of collective memory and learning in the Islamic world.
• Historical examples of cultural destruction (from the Mongol invasion to the colonial era) and their lasting imprint on Islamic heritage.
• Individual and communal efforts to preserve or salvage endangered manuscripts, artifacts, buildings, or other.
• The politics of nostalgia.
• Attempts at recovery and restoration.
• The politics of Western intervention in these matters, including the purchase of manuscripts and artifacts for private collections, academic study, or public exhibition.

Please email submissions to avacgis@gmu.edu before February 3, 2025 (extended dealine).Accepted papers will be notified in early February. Submissions should include a CV and an abstract of no more than 500 words. Applicants are requested to indicate if their submission would be eligible for possible inclusion in a collected volume. Selected candidates may also be invited to publish an abstract of their research in the online publication of the AbuSulayman Center, Maydan (www.themaydan.com). Limited funding will be available for participants unable to secure travel and lodging support from their home institutions. If you would like to request funding for participation please note “funding requested” at the top of your submission.

More information on: AbuSulayman Center for Global Islamic Studies

Call for Papers
Date: July 24-25, 2025
Venue: Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
Abstract Submission Deadline: March 7, 2025
Organizer: Al-Mahdi Institute (AMI)

AMI’s Department of Islamic Philosophy and Theology invites submissions for its second international conference, titled ‘Islamic Perspectives on Prophecy and Revelation’ to be held on 24^th – 25^th July 2025 at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA. The deadline for abstract submissions is 7^th March 2025.

Together with the belief that there is only one God and that life here and now is a mere prelude to an eternal afterlife, the belief in prophecy is regarded as one of the fundamental tenets of Islam. Indeed, it is through the revelatory experiences of Muḥammad, as compiled and preserved in the Quran, that Muslims derive the fundamental articles of faith concerning the nature of God, the afterlife, the resurrection, and notions such as heaven and hell. Prophecy and revelation thus constitute the principal epistemological foundation of Islam. However, unlike other doctrinal issues like God and His attributes, monotheism, and the salvation of non-Muslims, the phenomenon of prophecy in Islam has not been sufficiently problematized or discussed in secondary literature in Western languages. This conference aims to shift the focus and methodology of studying prophecy in Islam from the historical study of the Prophet Muḥammad to the phenomenon of prophecy itself, thereby directing attention to the vast body of literature in Islam that investigates the philosophical dimensions of prophecy across different Islamic disciplines.

The Prophet was both the recipient of a personal revelation and the primary interpreter of that revelation’s contents. His experiences and subsequent teaching constitute one of, if not the main, sources of religious knowledge for Muslims. In Islamic philosophy, Muslim thinkers such as al-Fārābī, Avicenna, Suhrawardi, Averroes, and Mullā Ṣadrā argued for the necessity of prophecy in a multitude of ways, some of which are based on Platonic, Aristotelian, and Neoplatonic philosophical frameworks. The Islamic philosophical tradition, for example, contains extensive material on the nature of the rational soul and the existence of a so-called “holy faculty” (al-quwwa al-qudsiyya) that enables prophets to receive divine communication and perform miracles. Islamic philosophers also discussed the language of revelation extensively in disciplines such as logic and rhetoric, sometimes leading to controversial claims such as the view that the language of scripture was merely intended for the general masses and that the real, non-figurative meaning of these revelations could only be pursued through philosophy. Many of these topics were also discussed in the theological traditions of Islam. One topic in particular that had grave political consequences and was hotly contested by different Muslim factions was the question of whether or not the Quran, as the Word of God, is pre-eternal or created. The modality of God’s speech sparked passionate debates. In uṣūl al-fiqh, numerous discussions were undertaken concerning prophecy and revelation which today would be considered as topics within philosophy of language, philosophy of religion, theology, ethics, and epistemology. In the modern period, contemporary scholars of Islam have challenged traditional concepts and theories of prophecy by placing greater emphasis on the Prophet’s own subjectivity and contextual setting thereby challenging previously held notions about how revelation and scripture ought to be interpreted. To achieve a more holistic and nuanced understanding of prophecy in Islam, therefore, this conference explores the philosophical issues surrounding prophecy and revelation as these have been discussed in various Islamic disciplines.

The topic of prophecy and revelation in Islam is also of profound importance for modern people, particularly in an era where the relevance and interpretation of religious experiences are frequently questioned. This conference will address contemporary challenges and objections to the concepts of prophecy and revelation, particularly within the philosophy of religion. By engaging with modern critiques and philosophical dilemmas, the conference aims to provide deeper insights and responses to these issues, reaffirming the significance of prophetic experiences in a rapidly changing world. This dialogue is crucial for fostering a nuanced understanding of how these ancient concepts can be meaningfully integrated into modern thought and practice, helping to bridge the gap between traditional beliefs and contemporary intellectual concerns.

Applicants are invited to consider the proposals in the following areas:

• The Nature and Function of Prophecy in Islamic Thought
• The Nature and Function of Revelation in Islamic Thought
• Prophecy, Revelation, and Epistemology
• Prophecy, Revelation, and Philosophy of Language
• Prophecy, Revelation, and Philosophy of Religion
• Revelation, Unseen World, and Skeptical Theology
• Prophecy, Revelation, and Comparative Abrahamic Traditions
• Contemporary Issues and Challenges to Prophecy and Revelation

Shortlisted abstracts are expected to be developed into a full academic paper. The Al-Mahdi Institute has funds to cover the travel and accommodation costs of anyone that does not have access to their own funding. The proceedings of the workshop will be published in the form of an edited book in 2026. The language of the workshop (and published papers) will be English only. The workshop will run over two days, each having 6–8 papers, and includes lunch, refreshments, and dinner. Each paper should last no more than 20 minutes. All presenters are required to stay for the full two days.

The conference proceedings will be published by AMI Press, ensuring that the valuable insights and discussions from the event are accessible to a broader audience. The edited volume will be a collaborative effort, jointly edited by Professor Mohsen Kadivar and Dr. Wahid M. Amin. This publication will serve as a significant scholarly contribution, encapsulating the diverse perspectives and critical analyses presented during the conference, and furthering academic discourse on the themes of prophecy and revelation in Islam.

Schedule for Submissions

• Abstracts: The deadline for abstracts is Friday, 7 March 2025. Abstracts should be 300–500 words and should be submitted along with a CV (maximum 2 pages, with a listing of the applicant’s publications and recent work experience) in either MS Word or PDF format.
• Shortlisting Abstracts: Abstracts shortlisted for the workshop will be notified by Friday, 21 March 2025.
• Workshop: Selected abstracts will be invited for a two-day workshop on 24–25 July 2025 at Duke University, North Carolina, USA. The workshop co-ordinator will arrange travel and accommodation for you.
• Full papers: Final papers must be submitted by Friday, 9 January 2026. Papers should be presented in line with the house style of AMI Press and have a word count between 8,000–14,000 words maximum, excluding bibliography.
• Review: Authors should review the editors’ comments and recommendations and resubmit articles with appropriate changes. The outcome of the editors’ review will be communicated to authors by Friday, 27 February 2026.
• Copyediting: The copyeditor will edit your paper and standardise it to match the AMI Press house style. Your copyedited paper will be sent to you by Friday, 2 May 2026.
• Publication: The edited volume is scheduled for publication in December 2026.

Submission of Abstracts

An abstract of no more than 500 words should be submitted in the form of a MS Word document or PDF attached to prophecyandrevelation2025@almahdi.edu by 17:00 UK time, 7 March 2025. Applicants should submit a CV with a listing of publications and recent employment history.

Submission Process (Full Papers)

Full papers should be submitted in the form of a MS Word document no later than 17:00 UK time, 9 January 2026.

The first page of the manuscript should contain the following:

• The title
• The name(s) and institutional affiliation of the author(s)
• The address, telephone, and email address of the corresponding author(s)
• A bibliography
• 6 keywords.

Final submissions should be 8,000–14,000 words, excluding the bibliography, and written in accordance with the Chicago Manual of Style. Any specific conventions adopted by AMI Press will be communicated to authors in due course.

More information on: Al-Mahdi Institute (AMI)

Call for Papers
Stage I:
Date: June 18-20, 2025
Venue: King’s College London, London, UK

Stage II:
Date: October 16–17, 2025
Venue: Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA

Abstract Submission Deadline: February 1, 2025
Organizers: Dr. Jonny R. Lawrence (Cornell University) and Dr. Betty Rosen (King’s College London)

Much scholarship on classical Arabic-Islamic texts has been preoccupied with demarcating the “serious” from the “humorous.” In the former category fall complex poetic explorations of nostalgia or romantic torment, as well as works deemed primarily “religious” that have bearing on matters of the mind and soul. In the latter category, they find popular literature, works that, while usually intended to educate or produce moral realizations along with laughs, are comparatively less intellectually sophisticated. Biographical material, too, tends to be looked on as juxtaposing “serious” information (where a given author lived, their political and religious alignments, their scholarly credentials) with light and entertaining akhbār (anecdotes) the value of which is primarily to add humorous human interest touches to the “more substantial” scaffolding of a life story. However, when the organizers pierce into the tradition, these demarcations struggle to hold water: no text is either fundamentally humorous or fundamentally serious. What might it mean, instead, to take humor seriously as an intellectual and discursive medium?