Call for Papers
Online Lecture Series Program
Date: Spring 2025
Venue: Online
Organizer: Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts Qatar, Doha, Qatar
Abstract Submission Deadline: January 15, 2025

This online lecture series explores how Muslims across diverse geographies and chronologies have engaged with the material legacies of ancient and pre-Islamic societies, from the beginning of the Islamic era to the present. They seek to examine the diverse ways in which Islamic communities, including scholars, and religious and political authorities, have valued and interacted with the material, visual, and ideological culture of past civilizations. The contributions will explore a range of issues, from the preservation and collection of antiquities to the complex dynamics of iconography and iconoclasm, the transfer of methods and ideas, providing a deeper understanding of how Muslims have understood and engaged with ancient legacies over time.

The organizers welcome papers from scholars at all levels of their careers that address, but are not limited to, the following themes:

• The Role of Ancient and Pre-Islamic Artifacts in Islamic Thought: How have material and immaterial remains, and the memory of ancient civilizations been preserved, studied, and integrated into Islamic intellectual traditions, from early Islamic historiography to modern archaeology?
• Iconography and Material Culture in Muslim Contexts: How have images, symbols, and material objects from ancient and pre-Islamic societies been interpreted, appropriated, or rejected in Islamic visual culture? What role does ancient iconography play in the making of Islamic art and architecture?
• Framing of Islamic Identity in Relationship to Dimensions of Antiquity: How have ancient histories, sites, and artifacts served to define and construct Islamic identity and historical consciousness?
• Islamic Archaeology and Heritage Preservation: A critical examination of the practices of collecting, preserving, and interpreting ancient material culture in Muslim-majority regions. How have these practices shifted over time, and what tensions exist between conservation, commercialization, and cultural preservation?
• The Destruction and Appropriation of Antiquities: How have Islamic movements—whether political, theological, or cultural—confronted the issue of destroying or preserving pre-Islamic material heritage? How can destruction be the basis for the creation of new forms and ideas? What are the implications of iconoclastic acts for broader cultural and religious narratives?
• The Politics of Collections and Museums: How have collections of antiquities in Islamic contexts shaped the understanding of ancient civilizations? What role have Islamic rulers, scholars, and institutions played in the creation and display of such collections? What tensions arise in the global circulation of these objects?
• Materiality and the Sacred: The significance of material objects, from relics to monuments, in creating connections between the past and the present in Muslim societies. How do material objects function as mediators of memory, spirituality, and historical continuity?

“Islam and Antiquity” aims to provide a multifaceted view of how Muslims have interacted with the legacies of the ancient world—seeing them not only as historical artifacts but as active agents in shaping Islamic intellectual and cultural life. In addition to this Spring 2025 online lecture series, They hope to develop a more lasting community of colleagues, the beginning of a research group that will provide the opportunity for interaction on an ongoing basis and in a multidisciplinary environment. They hope to organize physical meetings beyond these online lectures where They can discuss the subject in more depth. They are also thinking of an edited volume to disseminate their findings.

Submission Guidelines

• Abstracts (300-500 words) should be submitted by 15 January 2025.
• Presentations are expected to be delivered online twice a month between March and May 2025 with dates to be announced. Each paper should be 40 minutes in length with 20-30 min for discussion.
• Abstracts and inquiries should be sent to islamicartandantiquity@gmail.com.
• The organizers look forward to your contributions to this important and timely exploration of the intersections between material culture, history, and identity in the Islamic world.

Source: Architexturez South Asia

Date: February 20-23, 2023

Venue: Doha, Qatar

Abstract Submission Deadline: June 25, 2022

The Doha-based Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CILE) is pleased to invite scholars, academics and researchers to submit their research papers to a closed three-day Seminar on “Wilāya and Islamic Ethics” to be held in Doha on 20-23 February 2023. The Seminar will be convened by Dr. Mohammad Fadel, University of Toronto. The proceedings of the Seminar will be published as a special issue in the peer-reviewed and open-access Journal of Islamic Ethics or as an edited volume in the book-series Studies in Islamic Ethics, both published by Brill.

More information on: CILE Center

Venue: Doha, Qatar

The conference will be hosting international keynote speakers, scholars, academicians and researchers from different parts of the World to present their research findings and debate on the conference themes and issues which clearly and timely deserve our paramount attention.

CILE aims to contribute to the reform and renew the Islamic thought by developing a contemporary vision guided by the fundamental principles of the Holy Qur’an, Sunnah and the higher objectives of Islamic Shariah.

Source: The Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CILE)

Venue: Doha, Qatar

Organizers: Qatar Genome Program (QGP) in collaboration with the Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CILE)

Submission Deadline: March 10, 2018

In collaboration with the Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CILE), Qatar Genome Programme (QGP) will organize an international conference on the Policies, Regulations, and Bioethics of Genomic Research. This is a two-day conference which will take place in Doha, Qatar on 11-12 April 2018. The second day of the conference will be dedicated to the Islamic bioethical perspectives.

Scholars, academics and researchers are invited to submit their research papers on the three themes which will be addressed during the second day of the conference. Submitted papers will be reviewed and the selected papers will be part of a peer-reviewed publication project.

Authors whose papers are accepted for the conference will be offered the following:

– Joining the refereed publication plan of the proceedings of the conference.

– Translating the submitted papers into Arabic or English.

– Covering the travel and accommodation costs during the two days of the conference.

Submission

Those who are interested should send

(A) A brief biography (max. 500 words) outlining the applicant’s academic background, main research interests and key publications.

(B) Full paper (6000-7500 words), not later than 10 march 2018. We accept papers written in either Arabic or English. Please note that submissions received after this deadline can still be considered for the publication plan, but the authors will not be invited for the conference.

Submissions should be sent to submit@cilecenter.org. For any inquiries about this call-for-papers or about the accompanying Background Paper, please contact Dr. Mohammed Ghaly who directs the CILE research unit ‘Islam and Biomedical Ethics’.

As integral part of Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) and the College of Islamic Studies (CIS), the Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CILE) shall lead the reform and renewal of contemporary Fiqh, Islamic and ethical thought, and behavior by contributing a sustainable ethical framework for addressing contemporary challenges in Qatar and the World. Launched in January 2012, the Center specializes in Islamic legislation and ethics.

Source: Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CILE)