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

Call for Papers
Editor-in-chief: Dr., Professor Ruben Melkonyan, Dean of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, YSU
Publisher: Faculty of Oriental Studies, Yerevan State University, Armenia
ISSN: 1829-4340
Abstract Submission Deadline: April 1, 2025

The Editorial Board of the Journal of Oriental Studies (Արևելագիտության հարցեր; JOS) invites contributions of articles, research notes, and book reviews for the upcoming open-topic volume of the journal to be published in 2025․

Journal of Oriental Studies (JOS) is an interdisciplinary and interregional journal published by the Faculty of Oriental Studies, Yerevan State University. It has been published since 2006 and is the successor of the “Problems of Oriental Studies“, proceedings of the interuniversity scholarly articles and “Oriental Collection” (2004)  published by the Ministry of Higher and Vocational Secondary Education of the Armenian SSR (1983-2004). Research articles on diverse topics related to the fields of history, religion, linguistics, literature, archaeology, social and cultural anthropology of the Arabic Countries, Iran, Central Asia, Turkey (the Ottoman Empire), and the Caucasus, as well as Armenian Genocide and Diaspora Studies, are published.

Every article submitted to JOS has to pass a double-blind peer review process before being considered for publication. Before entering the peer review process, the submissions have to pass a first assessment round conducted by the editors aiming to determine whether the overall composition of the manuscript (topic, language, length) meets the journal’s requirements. If the article does not comply with the topics of the Journal, it is excluded from revision, and the author is being notified about it. The journal is edited by the Faculty of Oriental Studies of YSU.

Contributions for publication can be submitted via the journal’s website.

A typical article for the JOS should be between 25000-30000 symbols (including spaces). Publication languages are English and Russian.

No fee is charged to the authors for the articles to be published in the journal.

Please direct any questions about submissions to jos@ysu.am

For more details and information, please visit: Yerevan State University Journal System

In collaboration with the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter (UK), and Hanif Center for Religious Studies (Iran)

24 presentations, 17 in English and 7 in Persian, in 7 days

August 24th, 25th, 31st, and September 1st, 6th, 7th, and 8th From 11:30 to 18:00 BST (6:30 to 13:00 EDT)

A glimpse into recent scholarship on:

– Pre-Islamic and Early Islamic Arabian Peninsula and Medina

– Muhammad’s Biography and Sira

– Muhammad’s Family

– Muhammad’s Cultural Legacy in the Muslim Societies

– Muhammad in Non-Muslim Sources

Deadline for Early-Bird Registration: August 8th 

 Deadline for Registration: August 21st

for more information and registration, visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/690128281267

Venue: Tehran, Iran

This course has been organized by Tehran University in collaboration with Ahlul Bayt International University. The goals for this course can be; to try to explain Shia Studies, to address current Shia issues in the contemporary world, provide answers to questions the international scholars of this field might have.

This 5-day course will be presented in Shia Studies by experts of the field (along with Q & A sessions) and free discussion sessions along with the academic discussions as well as presentations by participants; a 5-day religious and cultural tour is another one of the merits of this course which, if you are inclined to partake in, will present an opportunity for you to visit historical, cultural and natural sights of Iran.

Topics

– History of Islam, Contemporary Iran and the Shia Seminary (howzeh)
– Introduction to Islamic Theology and its History
– Introduction to Dynamic Shia Fiqh (Shia Jurisprudence)
– The Position of Shia Scholars in Islamic Societies
– Introduction to Islamic Schools of Thought
– Logic in Shia Schools of Thought
– Etc.

Participants will attend pre-planned workshops and lectures presented in English. As certificate will be awarded to each participant upon successful completion and meeting program requirements.

More information on: https://abu.ac.ir/en/

Following the successful publication of the first issue of this journal in English, we plan to publish the second issue of the journal in the spring of 2020. Therefore, we ask Iranian history researchers to submit their scientific articles in English to this journal.

This journal welcomes the scientific articles of doctoral students along with their professors and the scientific articles of university professors and independent researchers in English on the history of post-Islamic Iran. Topics Articles can include history of culture, foreign policy and so on.

That said, any pieces that discuss other topics of Iranian history are also welcome. This can include Healthcare, roads and communication routes, beliefs, sciences, relations with other countries, historiography, art, architecture, etc. throughout the history of post-Islamic Iran. In short, submissions will not be limited in any way to solely discussion of one or more topics from the history of post-Islamic Iran.

More information and the full texts of the articles of this issue of the journal are available in free of charge on the journal’s website:  https://tuhistory.tabrizu.ac.ir/

Application Deadline: January 21, 2021

Platform: Harvard Extension School

Instructor: Ali S. Asani, Professor of Indo-Muslim and Islamic Religion and Cultures, Harvard University

The course is an introduction to the fundamental concepts of Islam and the role that religious ideas and institutions play in Muslim communities around the world. Its main concern is to develop an understanding of the manner in which diverse notions of religious and political authority have influenced Muslim societies politically, socially, and culturally. Through specific case studies of countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, the course considers the role played by ideologies such as jihad, colonialism, nationalism, secularism, and globalization in shaping the ways in which Muslims interpret and practice their faith today. The course briefly considers the contemporary situation of Muslim minorities in Europe and the United States. The course, offered on campus or online, allows those enrolled to engage with students from all over the world.

More information on: Harvard University

Venue: Research Institute of Hawzah and University, Tehran & Qom, Iran

Conference Themes

– An introduction to pathologies of Ahlalbayt (AS) history studies in contemporary era

– Pathology of Ahlalbayt (AS) history studies in contemporary era: documents and sources

– Pathology of Ahlalbayt (AS) history studies in contemporary era: purposes and methodologies

– Pathology of Ahlalbayt (AS) history studies in contemporary era: basics and approaches

– Pathology of Ahlalbayt (AS) history studies in contemporary era: regional and international issues

Conference Website: http://ahlalbaytconf.rihu.ac.ir/en

Call for Papers

Date: May 20-22, 2021

Venue: Sivas, Turkey

Abstract Submission Deadline: August 31, 2020

Organizer: Faculty of Theology, Sivas Cumhuriyet University and Faculty of Humanities, Istanbul Medeniyet University

The Faculty of Theology at Sivas Cumhuriyet University and the Faculty of Humanities at Istanbul Medeniyet University collaborates for this international symposium on the life and works of Quṭb al-Dīn al-Shīrāzī (d. 710/1311), a polymath who is an important figure in the history of philosophy and science in the Islamic-Turkic civilization.

Al-Shīrāzī was born in Shīrāz, Iran in 1236 into a family of physicians. Due to his sufi father’s influence, he received an education on sufi tradition at an early age as well as traditional Islamic sciences. He was active in the Ilkhanid and Anatolian Seljuks periods, but his works made a huge impact on science and thought in the Ottoman period.

Al-Shīrāzī was one of the founding fathers of mathematical sciences in Anatolia. The Ottoman scholars followed his footsteps because of his importance on ijāzatnāmas and his treatises. He was practically a scholar of Anatolia and particularly of Sivas. His appointment of judgeship to Sivas and his lectures at Gökmedrese made him an important figure for the history of Sivas. Therefore, it is only natural to organise an international symposium in Sivas which will commemorate him and discuss his life and works as well as his impact on science, thought, and culture in Sivas.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to the following:

• Linguistics
• Logic
• Tafsīr
• Astronomy
• Mathematics
• Medicine
• Geography
• Philosophy
• Illuminationism
• Sufism
• Kalam
• Music
• Ethics and Political Theory
• Education and Educational Institutions in the age of Shīrāzī
• Libraries in the age of Shīrāzī
• Shīrāzī in the Manuscripts and Book Culture Studies
• The Commentaries (Shurūḥ, Ḥawāshī, Taʻlīqāt)
• Scholarly Networks and Ijāzatnāmas
• Urban Studies

Source: Sivas Cumhuriyet University

Venue: Tehran, Iran

Panel on: Population Dynamics and Policies in the Muslim World

Following the international conference on ‘Social Policy in the Islamic World’ in May 2018, Allameh Tabataba’i University (the largest public university specialized in humanities and social sciences in Iran) has the pleasure to announce the second conference on “Society and Culture in the Muslim World” (SCMW) to be held on 30-31 May 2020 in Tehran.

Enjoying active partnership of a wide range of national and international academic entities, the conference aims to provide a suitable platform for researchers from across the world interested in issues concerning Muslim societies and communities.

Therefore, the conference themes address a wide range of issues pertaining to society and culture from a multidisciplinary perspective and welcomes contributions from any academic discipline in arts, humanities and social sciences. You can submit your paper simultaneously to the SCMW International Journal and presenting it at the conference.

Conference Website: http://scmwconf.atu.ac.ir/

Date: February 4-5, 2020

Venue: Islamic Propagation Center, Shahid Rajaei St., Mashhad, Iran

Abstract Submission Deadline: January 6, 2020

Chairman: Hamidreza Ayatollahy

Globalization, along with the increasing growth of new communicative technologies and great possibilities for tourism in the world has brought a deeper consciousness about different cultures, thoughts, social behaviors, and religious attitudes; consequently, newer questions have arisen about the diversity of attitudes and beliefs among different societies. The most significant question which faces human minds is the relation between people’s selves, thoughts, cultures, and religions. To address this question various attempts have taken place to explain the human diversities; diversities among political approaches, cultural orientations, social relations and albeit, religious beliefs.

The 8th International Conference of Contemporary Philosophy of Religion intents to get engaged directly with this question. So, we invite thinkers and experts all over the world to offer their latest achievements and participate in facing this question.

Subject Matter: Religious Diversity

Basics:

• Description of Religious Diversity in the world
• Explanation of Religious Diversity in the world (and its epistemological, ontological and anthropological basis)
• Approaches in facing Religious Diversity

Issues:

• The definition of religion and the extent of Religious Diversity
• Religious Diversity and inter-religious dialogue
• Religious Diversity and epistemic obligation
• Religious Diversity and religious pluralism
• Religious Diversity and guidance and legitimacy
• Religious Diversity and the transcendental unity of religions
• Religious Diversity and peaceful coexistence
• Religious Diversity and tolerance and global peace
• Religious Diversity and global theology
• Religious Diversity and religious minorities
• Religious Diversity and politics
• Religious Diversity and mysticism
• Religious Diversity and futurology

Submissions:

Proposals of papers should consist of a title, a 300-350 word abstract, at least 3 keywords, and the author’s affiliation and email address. The proposal should be sent via email. The information is available here.

Deadline for submission of abstracts: extended until 6 January 2020

Deadline for Submission of Full Text of Speech (1500-2000 words): extended until 30 February 2020

Source: Iranian Association for Philosophy of Religion (IAPR)