Latest News
19th December 2019
The Aga Khan Library, London, in collaboration with Bloomsbury Publishing has launched a Digital Collections website, showcasing manuscripts, artworks, rare books, out-of-print publications, photographs, and maps which have been produced in different periods and areas of the Muslim world. As the custodian of several research collections and the personal archive of the late Professor Mohammed Arkoun of acclaimed scholars, the Aga Khan Library has digitised over a hundred valuable books both for preservation purposes and to provide access to audiences around the world. The accessible format enables users to easily magnify text and flip through pages without affecting the source material. This represents a significant milestone in the services provided by the Aga Khan Library in promoting scholarship on Islam, past and present.
28th November 2019
Sub-Saharan Africa’s engagement with Muslims, the Qur’an and Islam stretches back over several millennia.
13th November 2019
To mark the advancement of Ismaili studies in the Russian Federation, an exhibition in memory of the great Russian scholar of modern Ismaili studies, Wladimir A. Ivanow, was held in St. Petersburg, Russia, on 11 October 2019.
29th October 2019
The Mughal dynasty is renowned for its great architecture and patronage of the arts. Perhaps more than any other Islamic dynasty, the Mughals made their passion for the arts and its aesthetic principles, a central part of their identity.
21st October 2019
The beginning of a new academic year is always an exciting time in the IIS calendar, particularly when our new intake of students arrive. We recently welcomed new students onto the Secondary Teacher Education Programme (STEP) and the Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities (GPISH) into our vibrant learning community. Arriving from across the globe, 29 students joined STEP from Canada, India, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and the USA, whilst 11 students from Canada, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan and the USA began GPISH.
18th October 2019
Wladimir A. Ivanow (1886–1970), the celebrated Russian academic who paved the way for modern scholarship on Ismaili and Iranian linguistic Studies was the inspiration behind many of the papers presented at the flagship conference entitled Intellectual Traditions of Ismailis and Sufis, held at the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Oriental Manuscripts in St Petersburg, on 10 - 11 October 2019.
18th October 2019
The second publication in the Institute’s new World of Islam series, Beyond the Mosque: Diverse Spaces of Muslim Worship, is a first person exploration of sacred spaces across the breadth of the Muslim world.
16th September 2019
In recent times, there have been a number of misunderstandings and misconceptions around Sharia or Islamic law in both the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds. Understanding Sharia: Islamic Law in a Globalised World is helping to bridge this knowledge gap and to make a positive contribution to the much-needed conversations on understanding the origins and evolution of sharia in the context of the history of the Muslim peoples.
22nd August 2019
Persian culture has had a long-standing engagement with the Qur’an since early classical times, and this has been visible in various forms from their poetry, calligraphy to Qur’anic exegesis.
8th August 2019
Alumni are our ambassadors, representing the values, principles and work of the IIS in their chosen fields; whether it be academia, development, law, arts and culture to name a few. In this new series of “In Conversation with IIS Alumni” we catch up with individual alumni to find out more about their current work.