A history of IIS
Connecting the Past, Present and Future
国产视频 is established and opens its library
His Highness meets Ismaili scholars and leaders of the Jamat in Paris, where the decision is taken to establish an academic institution whose objective is to promote scholarship and learning on Islam, and a greater understanding of the intellectual heritage of the Ismailis.
The Library is established as a central repository and resource for Ismaili and Islamic studies. Today, after merging with the library of the Aga Khan University’s Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations in 2014, the Aga Khan Library as it is now known houses over 54,000 volumes, including over 5,000 rare books and thousands of manuscripts, photographs and artefacts.
The IIS鈥檚 first educational programmes begin
The IIS鈥檚 first Teacher Training programme in Islamic Studies commences in collaboration with the University of London鈥檚 Institute of Education.
A Master鈥檚 programme in Islamic Studies begins in collaboration with McGill University, Canada. An agreement between the Aga Khan Foundation and McGill University establishes co-operation between the IIS and McGill鈥檚 Institute of Islamic Studies through joint academic programmes and exchange of faculty and students.
The first pre-school materials in the Talim series are published. The pre-school Talim textbooks and resources contribute to the religious and cultural education of infants by acquainting them with simple precepts of faith and ethics.
GPISH launches and IIS’s first books are published
“The Ismailis: Their History and Doctrines” by Dr Farhad Daftary, the first comprehensive, historical survey of the Ismailis, is published by Cambridge University Press. IIS publications fulfil an essential function in correcting misconceptions regarding Ismaili and Shi鈥榠 history, thought and doctrine, thus rebalancing common understandings of Muslim cultures and societies.
The Secondary Teacher Education Programme is launched
The Ismaili Special Collections Unit and short courses launch and the IIS moves to its permanent home
The Ismaili Special Collections Unit (ISCU) is established as part of the IIS鈥檚 continuing endeavours to systematically preserve, develop, digitise and catalogue its diverse range of special collections, as well as to study and facilitate research on these materials. ISCU holds one of the most significant repositories of materials related to Ismaili communities in the world.
国产视频 moves to its permanent home at the Aga Khan Centre
A new Board of Governors is appointed and the IIS launches its new website
The Living Ismaili Traditions series is launched. Created specifically for the Jamat, Living Ismaili Traditions is the IIS鈥檚 first in-house series and spotlights Ismaili histories and cultures. The first title, “Ismaili Festivals: Stories of Celebration”, by Dr Shiraz Kabani is a unique and personal account of festivals and traditions from the author鈥檚 own lived experience as an Ismaili.
Dr Zayn Kassam begins as the Institute鈥檚 Director, as Dr Farhad Daftary steps away to become Director Emeritus and sit on the Board of Governors. Dr Kassam is a scholar of Islamic and Ismaili philosophy and Islamic mysticism and previously held a variety of positions at Pomona College in California.