Muslim Lives in Transition: Annual Graduate Conference 2026

IIS graduate researchers presented 15 papers on continuity and change in Muslim lives, from education and diaspora to ritual and generative AI. Read about the conference.
Sixteen participants at the IIS Annual Graduate Conference 2026 standing in a row before a geometric lattice screen.

The Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya and its place in Ismaili thought

At Salaam Talks in Harrow, Dr Daryoush Mohammad Poor showed how Fatimid and Alamut scholars read the prayers of Imam Zayn al-Abidin, a Shia classic, long seen as belonging to Twelver Shia alone.
Dr Daryoush Mohammad Poor gestures with a pen as he speaks into a microphone at a lecture table.

Beyond the classroom: STEP explores faith and practice

STEP student-teachers explore faith, ethics, and practice through scholarship, reflection, and encounters with lived traditions. Discover how these experiences connect religious understanding with classroom-based learning.
STEP Cohort 18 group of around 25 people, standing and kneeling in two rows in a seminar room.

نبذة عنا

تأسس معهد الدراسات الإسماعيلية عام 1977، وهو مؤسسة للتعليم العالي والبحث والتدريس، تكرس جهودها للبحث العلمي والتعليم عالي الجودة في مجال الإسلام والمجتمعات الإسلامية، مع التركيز بشكل خاص على الدراسات الإسماعيلية والشيعية الأوسع نطاقًا، بما في ذلك سياقاتها التاريخية والجغرافية.

اكتشف أبحاثنا

تسعى الأبحاث في معهد الدراسات الإسماعيلية إلى الإسهام في مجال الدراسات الإسلامية عموماً، مع تركيز خاص على الدراسات الشيعية والإسماعيلية.

استكشف منشوراتنا

ينشر معهد الدراسات الإسماعيلية أعمال باحثيه، إلى جانب أعمال باحثين من المجتمع الأكاديمي خارج المعهد.

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Scholarly perspectives on women leading congregational prayer

Dr Karen Bauer explores Qur’anic evidence, early Muslim precedents, and juristic rulings on women leading mixed-gender prayer.

Karen Bauer at the Aga Khan Centre with geometric artwork in the background
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Understanding ginans and their literary and cultural significance

Dr Wafi Momin, Head of Ismaili Special Collections, pictured against a red and blue geometric backdrop.
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IIS Research on Central Asian Studies

The Central Asian Studies Unit at IIS presents 15 short videos on the Ismailis of Central Asia and Afghanistan. Dr Hakim Elnazarov and Dr Yahia Baiza explore their histories, rituals, manuscripts, oral traditions, and languages.

Safe: A speaker talks to camera in a studio, seated beside books including Russian Scholars on Ismailism.
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Understanding translations of the Qur’an

Dr Stephen Burge explores why there are so many different translations of the Qur’an, how to select a translation that closely reflects the original meaning, and the role of Arabic in understanding the Qur’anic text.

Dr Stephen Burge, smiling, in a blue blazer and red tie, standing before a red and blue geometric lattice artwork.