Ismaili Special Collections
Dissemination of heritage materials
In the realisation of IIS’s vision to promote scholarship on the heritage of Ismaili communities and that of other Muslim groups, ISCU conducts educational and outreach programmes by organising conferences and offering specialised sessions to students, members of Ismaili communities and the general public in collaboration with other departments at the IIS. Items from the special collections regularly feature in the exhibitions curated at the Aga Khan Center (London) and through other platforms.
Educational programmes
Over the past 10 years, ISCU has delivered a range of educational and outreach programmes which include specialised sessions on heritage materials, their significance and contemporary relevance which are tailored to the needs of specific audiences. These have been delivered to a range of audiences including students, members of Ismaili communities and the general public. As part of this initiative, ISCU delivered a short course in 2022 on Heritage Preservation.
Islamic Heritage Past and Present
The ISCU Video Series was launched in 2023 as part of ISCU’s continuing initiatives to educate various audiences about the range of heritage material held at IIS along with facilitating access to these collections. The series aims to explore the historical significance of manuscripts and other heritage materials along with their contemporary relevance.
In the area of research, amongst other initiatives, ISCU has organised a symposium and a conference over the past few years.
Rethinking Texts and their Contexts in Muslim Societies
This interdisciplinary conference explored the diverse trajectories and contexts of texts in Muslim societies from oral cultures to the digital age.
Before the Printed Word: Texts, Scribes and Transmission
The symposium was the first of its kind organised by the IIS, brought together scholars who have either contributed directly to the manuscript analysis project or worked on the IIS manuscript repository or other similar manuscripts, to share their findings and insights.
Publications relating to heritage materials at IIS include manuscript catalogues and edited volumes.
Edited volume
Wafi A. Momin, Texts, Scribes and Transmission: Manuscript Cultures of the Ismaili Communities and Beyond. I.B. Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2022
Catalogue series
Catalogue Series on manuscripts includes five catalogues. See full list of Collections Catalogue Series here.
As part of its dissemination efforts, over the years the Ismaili Special Collections Unit has added a range of items on display, which reflect the diverse collections it houses. The following items are some of the examples displayed at the Aga Khan Centre.
Conservation and study of Ismaili intellectual heritage is of paramount importance to IIS. This short video provides an overview of IIS' manuscripts collections and its main priorities for their conservation and research.
ISCU has recently launched a series celebrating heritage collections and the stories behind them.
