Ninth Annual International Conference on Shi‘i Studies
Saturday, 11 May 2024
9:00 – 18:30
The Islamic College, London, UK NW10 2SW
Provisional Programme
The Annual Conference on Shi‘i Studies offers an extensive platform for academics and scholars engaged in the study of Shi‘i Islam to present their latest research. This event encourages a dynamic exchange of ideas, facilitating in-depth discussions on Shi‘i thought, practices, and cultural heritage. By bringing together diverse perspectives, the conference aims to advance the academic discourse on Shi’i Studies.
Open to scholars, students, and all interested in Shi‘i Studies, the conference is public but requires prior registration for attendance.
8:30 – 9:00: Arrival
9:00 – 9:05: Introduction
Dr Mohammed Ali Ismail, Director of Research and Publications, The Islamic College, London, UK
9:05 – 9:45: Opening keynote
Professor Robert Gleave, University of Exeter, UK
9:45 – 11:15: Panel Session 1
Shi‘i Ritual and Popular Practice (Room F21)
Chair: Amina Inloes
Vinay Khetia (Shia Research Institute, Toronto, Canada), The Ritual Practice of Ziyārah and its Ontological Foundations in the Work of Avicenna
Maryam Omidi (The Islamic College, London, UK; The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, USA), Redemptive Eschatology in Christianity And Shi‘a Islam: A Brief Analysis of Eschatological Hope in Two Religious Traditions
Noor Zaidi (University of Maryland, Baltimore County, USA), Traces and Transfer: Life and Death in Wādī al-Salām
Biographical Studies (Room F12)
Chair: Saeid Sobhani
Zahra Azhar (Independent researcher, The Hague, Netherlands), Unveiling the Untold Exploring Female Narratives in Early Shi‘a Collective Biographies of the Imams
Huzaifa Dokaji (State University of New York at Stony Brook, USA), The Shi‘i Women of Northern Nigeria, 1994-2015
Makbul Rahim (Independent researcher, London, UK), From Wukalāʾ to Designated Deputies of the Twelfth Shi‘i Imam
11:15 – 11:30: Break
11:30 – 13:00: Panel Session 2
Mysticism and Esotericism (Room F21)
Chair: Hamid Tehrani
Amir Mohammad Hakimi Parsa (St Andrews University, Dundee, Scotland), Mysticism in the Formation of Shi‘i Statehood in Iran: From Ismāʿīl Ṣafavī to Rūḥullāh Khumaynī
Julia Katarina (The Islamic College, London, UK), ʿIlm al-Ghayb: The Mystical Imamate of the Walī of our Time
Antonio Torres Fernández (University of Alicante, Spain), The Shi‘i Isma‘ili Concept of Waṣiyyah: Exploring Esoteric Shari‘ah during the Alamūt Period
Science and Technology (Room F12)
Chair: Amir De Martino
Ali Hussain al-Hakim (Independent researcher, London, UK) and Zainab Al-Wasiti (Al-Mustansiriyyah University, Baghdad), An Islamic Medicine? An Epistemological Scrutiny and Historical Examination of Bīmāristāns in Baghdad in the First Abbasid Era
Adam Ient (Al-Mahdi Institute, Birmingham, UK), A Critique of ‘Modern Science’ from the Perspective of Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Malakeh Shahi (Metaschool, Berlin, Germany), Metaverse and Imaging Shi‘ism in a Virtual Reality: A Prolegomena to Any Future Shi‘i Studies
Fiqh and Doctrine (Room F11)
Chair: TBC
Maryam Bafgi (Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran) The Status of Expediency (Maṣlaḥah) in the Socio-Governmental Jurisprudence in the Shi‘i Paradigm
Fateme Najjarzadehgan (University of Tehran, Iran) and Fathullah Najjarzadehgan (University of Tehran, Iran), Revisiting Nushūz: Unveiling Diverse Perspectives through a Critical Analysis of Muslim Commentators, Towards an Alternative Interpretation
13:00 – 13:15: Student Awards
13:15 – 14:15: Lunch
14:15 – 15:00: Book Launch
Al-Asfa: A 17th-Century Shi‘i Exegesis of the Qur’an, by Mulla Muhsin Fayd Kashani, translated by Alexander Khaleeli
15:00 – 16:30: Panel Session 3
The Qur’an and Hadith (Room F21)
Chair: Mohammed Ali Ismail
Maryamossadat Moballegh (University of Colorado, Boulder, USA), The Probative Force (Ḥujjiyat) of Non-Renowned Reports (Akhbār Āḥād) in the Interpretation of the Qur’an
Liyakat Takim (McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada), Shi‘i Tafsīr in the Akhbārī Period
Saeid Sobhani (The Islamic College, London, UK) A Rebuttal to ʿAlī Dashtī’s Views on the Prophet Muḥammad and his Miracles
Shi‘i Scholars (Room F12)
Chair: Saeid Sobhani
Ali Alsayegh (Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, UK), Ayatollah Sistani’s Emotional Entrepreneurism During the Jihad Against ISIS 2014-2017
Seyed Jaafar Hosseini Milani (Independent researcher, London, UK), The Contribution of Grand Ayatollah Milani to the Development of the Mashhad Ḥawzah Islamic Studies Programme
16:30 – 16:45: Break
16:45 – 18:15: Panel Session 4
India and Mongolia (Room F21)
Chair: Amir De Martino
Imran Visram (University of Oxford, Oxford, UK), Vernacular Expressions of Shi‘ism in India
Abid Zaidi (University of Oxford, Oxford, UK), Shi‘i Revolution in the Shadow of the Nawab: Establishing a ‘Transnational Religious Economy’ between Post-Revolutionary Iran and Lucknow, India
Wu Hanqi (Inner Mongolia University, China), An Examination of Mongolian Tribal Genealogy Based on the Records of the Jāmiʿ al-Tawārīkh and the Tārīkh-e Waṣṣāf
On Human Nature and Knowing (Room F12)
Chair: Hamid Tehrani
Shahnaaz Alidina (Independent researcher, Richmond Hill, Canada), Cultivating Spiritual Morality: Integrating Social Emotional Intelligence in Early Childhood Education for Holistic Development
Tim Orr (Indiana University–Purdue University, Indianapolis, USA), A Critical Analysis of Abdulkarim Soroush’s Thought on Religious Knowledge
Husain Heriyanto (Paramadina University, Jakarta, Indonesia), Imam ‘Alī’s Teachings for Transcendent Anthroposophy
18:15 – 18:30: Closing Address
Dr Isa Jahangir, Principal, The Islamic College, London, UK
