The conference will commence at 09.00 GMT on 20 May. Doors open at 08.00 GMT.
Devotion to the Prophet Muhammad and his family (often referred to as the鈥疉hl al-Bayt) is a pervasive and enduring part of Islamic piety, both in history and as the lived reality of millions of Muslims. While such devotions have often been sidelined as 鈥榥on-canonical鈥 or as the prerogative of sectarianised minorities, this conference sets out to take them seriously as an object of study, examining their pivotal role in Islamic thought and practice, and reflecting upon the due place of Ahl al-Bayt-centred devotions within the broader academic study of Islam.听听
Focussing on devotion to the Ahl al-Bayt as an immensely diverse phenomenon, expressed multifariously across different times and places, the conference brings together an international group of experts to share their research on the different facets and manifestations of Ahl al-Bayt-centred devotion, and to investigate the conceptual networks that connect them. Amongst other topics, the papers will explore devotion as expressed through narrative, material culture, music, architecture and ritual. A recurring concern, meanwhile, is the importance of devotional ideas and expressions in constructing different group identities and in mediating between them.听
The conference will close with a concert performed by the IIS student ensemble. Concert attendance will be included with conference registration.听
Schedule
8.30 – Registration
9.30 –听Director’s Welcome – Professor Zayn Kassam
9.35 –听Introduction – George Warner & Maria De Cillis
Contested Geographies: Iraq鈥檚 Great Shi士i Shrines Amidst the Ottoman鈥揝afavid Rivalry (1508鈥1648)鈥
May Farhat, Lebanese American University, Beirut
Shi士i Objectologies: Towards a Relational Theory of Shi士i Materiality鈥
Karen Ruffle, University of Toronto
The Reflection of 惭耻岣谤谤补尘First month of the Islamic lunar calendar, often referred to as the ‘month of mourning’ because of the death of Imam Husayn b. ‘Ali at the Battle of Karbala in 680. Rituals in Late Safavid Silk Textiles鈥
Mohamad Reza Ghiasian, University of Kashan (presenting author) and Mohammad Mashhadi Noushabadi, University of Kashan
11.30 – Health Break
12.00 – Panel 2: Reconstructing Early Devotion: Sources and Methods鈥
Chair: Gurdofarid Miskinzoda
鈥Scions of the Prophet Muhammad: The FatimidsMajor Muslim dynasty of Ismaili caliphs in North Africa (from 909) and later in Egypt (973鈥1171) More and their Veneration of the Ahl al-Bayt鈥
Shainool Jiwa, IIS
Listening with Longing: In Search of Early Shi士i Devotional Narrative鈥
George Warner, IIS
Maintaining Early Islamic Imperial Sovereignty in the Face of the Ahl al-Bayt鈥
Mohammed Allehbi, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies
13.30 – Lunch
14.30 – Aga KhanA title granted by the Shah of Persia to the then Ismaili Imam in 1818 and inherited by each of his successors to the Imamate. Centre tours
15.30 – Panel 3: Mapping Modern Devotion: Sources and Methods鈥
Chair: Fouad Marei
The Ahl al-Bayt in Recent Popular Literature from Khw膩razm/Uzbekistan鈥
Ingeborg Baldauf, Humboldt University Berlin (Emerita)
Aspects of Devotion to the Prophet鈥檚 Family among the IsmailisAdherents of a branch of Shi’i Islam that considers Ismail, the eldest son of the Shi’i Imam Ja士far al-峁⒛乨iq (d. 765), as his successor. of Badakhshan鈥
Nourmamadcho Nourmamadchoev, IIS
Devotion to the Prophet and His Family in 20th-century Bosnia and Herzegovina D啪enita Kari膰, University of Amsterdam
#AhlulBayt: Narratives of Devotion to the Prophet鈥檚 Family on Instagram鈥
Akif Tahiiev, Goethe University Frankfurt
9.30 – Panel 4: 骋颈苍腻苍蝉 and Ismaili Devotion鈥
Chair: Daryoush Mohammad Poor
Sing a Song to Udho, the Messenger of God: Krishna and his Companions as the Ahl al-Bayt in Ismaili and Chisht墨 Sufi Hindi Poetry William Rees Hofmann, IIS
Poetry and Performance: The Devotional Life in Satpanth Ismaili 骋颈苍腻苍s Tazim Kassam, Syracuse University
P墨r Mu岣mmad and Sh膩h 士Al墨: The Teacher鈥揔ing in Satpanth Ismaili Literature Imran Visram, University of Oxford
FatimaDaughter of the Prophet Muhammad and his first wife, Khad墨ja bint Khuwaylid. Also wife of 士Al墨 b. Ab墨 峁乴ib and mother of al-岣san and al-岣sayn. Goes to a Wedding: Veneration through Humour in Women鈥檚 罢补士锄颈测补 of Qajar Iran Lucy Deacon, University of Fribourg
Acoustic Ahl al-Baytism: Rethinking Sectarian Boundaries through Sonic Devotional Practices
Stefan Williamson Fa, University of Cambridge
From Tribal Kinship to Covenantal Duty in 7th-Century Kufa: The 罢补飞飞腻产奴苍, al-Mukht膩r and Loyalty to the Ahl al-Bayt Hasan Al-Khoee, IIS
Du士膩示 Zaman al-Ghayba: An Instance of Messianic Devotional Literature in Twelver-Im膩m墨 Shi士ism Vinay Khetia, University of Toronto
13.30 – Lunch
14.30 – Special Lecture
鈥榃e are what we can remember鈥: Reflections on Siting (Ismaili) Heritage, Identity, and Devotion鈥
Fayaz Alibhai, IIS
15.30 – Health Break and Group Photo
16.00 – Panel 6: Storytelling and the Devotional Imagination Chair: Lucy Deacon
Where Shall I Send my Invitation? The Imams鈥 Succession in Ismaili Devotion Shafique Virani, University of Toronto
Unseen Devotion: A Family of Jinn and Imam Husayn Uzair Ibrahim, University of Exeter
Husayn, al-AzharA major mosque and institution of learning founded in Cairo by the Fatimid Imam-caliph al-Mu士izz (d. 975). and the Socialist Underpinnings of Modern Egyptian Devotional Literature Hawraa Al-Hassan, University of Cambridge
18.30 – Dinner for participants
9.00 – Panel 7: Scholarly Authority and the Regulation of Devotion鈥
Chair: Dagi Dagiev
Contesting Devotional Practices in Contemporary Twelver Shi士ism Oliver Scharbrodt, Lund University
Ahl al-Kis膩示 as a Source of Protection and Polemics: Li Khamsatun Devotional Poetry in the Pandemic Era
Siti Sarah Muwahidah, University of Edinburgh
Sunni Devotional Traditions Centred on the Ahl al-Bayt in Premodern Egypt: Mu岣mmad al-Sabb膩n鈥檚 Is士膩f al-R膩ghib墨n f墨 S墨rat al-Mu峁ａ弓af膩 wa-Fa岣嵞伿緄l Ahl Baytihi al-峁乭ir墨n (1185/1771) Rachida Chih, CNRS, Paris
10.30 – Health Break
11.00 – Panel 8: Defining, Debating and Revering the Ahl al-Bayt Between SunnisAdherents of the majority branch of Islam, Sunnism; from the term sunn墨 which means a follower of the sunna of the Prophet Muhammad. and Shi士is鈥
Chair: Maria De Cillis
Al-Na士墨m al-muq墨m in Context: A Mid-7th/13th-Century Man膩qib of the Prophet, Fatima, and the Twelve Imams Kazuo Morimoto, University of Tokyo
Sunni Sufi Devotion to the Ahl al-Bayt and Sunni鈥揝hi士i Relations between Dissociation and Rapprochement in Modern Iraq and Yemen
David Jordan, Ruhr University of Bochum
Seeing the Imam in his Luminous Form: 13th/19th-Century Shi士i Sufi Devotion to the Ahl al-Bayt between Doctrine and Practice
Alessandro Cancian, IIS
12.45 –听Closing Remarks – George Warner
13.00 – Lunch
16.30 – Concert
Photo: . Photograph by 鈥楢la Sadiqi Shams. Used with permission.
Please note that filming and photography may take place during the event, and be used across our website, newsletters and social media accounts. These could include broad shots of the audience and lecture theatre, speakers during the talk, and of audience members participating in Q&A.听听 听
Views expressed in this conference are those of the presenting scholars, not necessarily of IIS, the Ismaili community, or its leadership. Promotion of this event is not an explicit endorsement of the ideas presented.听
