News

Dr Jalal Badakhchani, the scholar of Persian Ismaili literature of the Alamut period, passed away in London on 11 August 2026, aged 85. He taught the Institute's first generation of students, and made the writings of Nasir al-Din Tusi legible to modern readers.

Scholars of early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam gathered for a two-day conference convened by Dr Karen Bauer on emotional flourishing.

Professor Tashmin Khamis, an IIS Board of Governors member, has joined the Board of Directors of Academics Without Borders (AWB).

A new three-year Secondary Teacher Education Programme begins at IIS in September 2027, offering a fully funded route into teaching in Religious Education Centres worldwide. Applications opening soon.

IIS South Asian Studies Unit, with SAMA Arts Network and Indus Music, presented In Praise of Khusrau, an evening celebrating the poet and musician Amir Khusrau.

Students from the GPISH cohort 2027 visited Andalusia to explore Islamic architecture through immersive learning at historic sites including Cordoba, Madinat al-Zahra and Granada.

The IIS Digital Futures conference brought together international scholars, archivists and technologists to examine how Digital Humanities and AI are reshaping Islamic Studies.

Research supported by IIS was presented at the 2026 British Forum for Ethnomusicology, exploring the melodic traditions and living performance practices of the Kalām-i Mawlā.

Professor Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, Senior Research Fellow at IIS, has received the Avicenna Prize of the Royal Academy of Belgium in recognition of his distinguished contributions to Islamic intellectual history and Shiʿi studies.

IIS and ITREB Tanzania hosted a Book Talk in Dar es Salaam with Dr Shainool Jiwa in conversation with Dr Fatima Dhanani on Qur’anic interpretation, faith, identity, and the IIS Secondary Curriculum.