The Aga Khan University - United Kingdom

Based in the heart of London, Aga Khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations seeks to strengthen research and teaching about Muslim societies and cultures as they evolve to face a rapidly globalising world.

OVERVIEW

AKU-ISMC focuses on the challenges faced by Muslim cultures in the modern world. Its programmes take account of the diversity of cultures where Muslims have been, and continue to be, a significant constituency. The Institute’s approach to the study of Muslim civilisations is from within a construct of world cultures, thereby championing a wider analytical and comparative perspective vis a vis the cultural and intellectual histories of Muslim societies. Through its Academic Programmes, its Research and its Academic Publications, the Institute seeks to make a distinct contribution to the understanding of Muslim heritages and the emergence of new attitudes among Muslims and non-Muslims towards the concerns of contemporary societies.

ACADEMIC PROGRAMMES

MA in Muslim Cultures
The Institute’s flagship programme, the MA in Muslim Cultures, is a full-time, two-year course that uniquely uses the approaches of the humanities and social sciences as its key tools. Utilizing an interdisciplinary method ranging from philosophy and law to poetry and architecture, it locates the heritages of Muslims within the framework of world cultures. The programme includes an intensive language immersion, cultural excursions and fieldwork towards a 20,000 word dissertation – an early opportunity to contribute original scholarship!
The international student body hails from all corners of the world including Armenia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, South Africa, Syria, Tajikistan and Tunisia, reflecting the diversity of Muslim societies; and is guided by an equally diverse, dedicated faculty. Students study both historical and contemporary aspects of Muslim cultures, and undertake language immersion courses in Turkish, Persian or Arabic – a key element of the master’s programme.

Professional Programmes Unit

Since 2008, AKU-ISMC has been delivering general and customised short courses on Muslim cultures and civilisations through its Professional Programmes Unit. These courses are attended by people from a range of backgrounds including law, medicine, diplomacy, education, government, business and charities, both within the UK and from abroad.

Recent world events have reinforced the need for scholarly yet accessible information about Muslim cultures for people from all walks of life. The Institute remains committed to meeting this goal. With subject areas as diverse as history, literature, law, gender and philosophy, as well as addressing current debates about Muslim societies, the Professional Programmes Unit endeavours to provide an extensive range of courses to suit all levels of experience and interest.

The International Summer Programme has become one of the most well-known courses offered by AKU-ISMC. The summer programme brings together renowned faculty and a diverse, international, participant group for a vibrant two weeks of lectures, debates, discussions, film screenings and cultural events. A platform for exploring the rich historical and contemporary diversities within Muslim cultures, this programme is offered in partnership with the Centre for the Comparative Study of Muslim Societies and Cultures, Simon Fraser University. The location of the programme alternates each year between London and Vancouver and is now in its fifth year.

The Institute’s Continuing Professional Development courses and lectures are accredited by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Bar Standards Board. The programme content has been designed to address pertinent issues that will generate informed debate and discussion. These courses are also open to individuals outside the legal profession.

Film offers an excellent vehicle for engaging with themes and topics that transcend geographic boundaries and cultural stereotypes. In 2010 the Institute launched its Film Series which showcases feature films, independent documentaries and short films that address spiritual, social, legal and political themes in Muslim societies. Film screenings are followed by discussion sessions with academic staff, visiting scholars, and in some cases film directors.

The Institute’s Public and Lunchtime lectures seek to foster scholarly debate and discussion on the historical trajectories and contemporary challenges of Muslim civilisations and are delivered by invited specialist local and international speakers. These lectures are free of charge and open to the public.

The Institute frequently works with organisations to develop and offer customised courses that cater to specific organisational needs. The course titled Islam and Muslim Communities: Perspectives for Foreign Policy, was developed for professionals involved in foreign policy with topics including governance, democracy, human rights and gender. It has been conducted on numerous occasions for officials from European and North American governments. Another popular course is A Window into the Histories and Cultures of Muslim Societies developed specifically for educators and administrators, it combines pedagogical and thematic training.

AKU-ISMC regularly works with organisations across the globe to provide curricular advice and conduct workshops or training sessions, including among others, the International Baccalaureate (IB) and the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research.

COLLABORATIONS

Partnerships and linkages with institutions both in the UK and abroad serve to expand the reach of the Institute, both intellectually and geographically, as well as provide an opportunity for furthering the Institute’s objectives. It is currently engaged in collaborative initiatives across the globe with the Catholic University of Portugal; Institute of Ismaili Studies, UK; School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK; Simon Fraser University, Canada; the University of Texas, USA; Edinburgh University Press, UK; and Saqi Books, UK.
AKU-ISMC and the University of Texas at Austin’s College of Liberal Arts are collaborating on a Muslim Histories and Cultures Project. This is aimed at helping secondary school teachers in the state of Texas to develop a better understanding of Muslim civilisations and histories and to use this knowledge to create a more balanced curriculum within the Texas school system.

RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS

A facility for original academic research, AKU-ISMC is a hub for intellectual exchange and dialogue about and between Muslim societies and cultures. The Institute’s mandate, implemented in part by its publications programme is a unique attempt to respond to current trends of thought about Islam, Muslims and Muslim societies. Faculty and institutional research projects are oriented around three major research themes:

Understanding Processes of Social Change in Muslim Cultures and Societies
The Construction of Knowledge about Muslim Cultures and Societies
Governance and Law in Muslim Contexts.

Within these broad areas, the Institute facilitates and promotes research on a wide range of topics. Current research questions include: the changing role of law in Muslim societies; the creation of knowledge about Muslim societies; religious education and citizenship; gender; Muslims in Western contexts; development; and bioethics. These topics are addressed through academic enquiry, innovative thinking and the application of a range of research methodologies from the social sciences and humanities. Seminars and conferences are regularly organised by the Institute in keeping with its research interests.

Research Fellowship Programme

The Institute’s Research Fellowship Programme began in 2005. Through this Programme, the Institute seeks to bring together scholars from diverse geographical and academic backgrounds to explore issues of contemporary relevance to Muslim societies. To date, nine fellowships of six months or one year have been undertaken on a wide range of topics related to the Institute’s research themes.

Muslim Civilisations Abstracts

The Muslim Civilisations Abstracts (MCA) is an innovative research project that aims to catalogue and summarise published work relating to various aspects of Muslim civilisations. The MCA project is particularly interested in publications that are underrepresented in existing bibliographies and literature surveys. The purpose of the MCA is thus to widen both knowledge of, and access to, literature produced within various Muslim contexts.

To achieve this, the MCA seeks to:

make abstracts and reviews available online in multiple languages; and
create an online resource and reference tool for scholars, students and the wider public.

Governance Project
The project seeks to contribute to the significant governance challenges faced by Muslim societies today. The initiative provides a platform for intellectual interaction between different constituencies: academics, policy makers, constitutional experts, journalists, ulama, etc. It aims to understand governance processes both in theory and in practice, with a specific focus on the deep structural issues at the root of governance challenges in developing contexts.

Publications
Publications at AKU-ISMC focus on generating new ways of thinking about Muslim civilisations by bringing to the fore representative points of view from various Muslim contexts. The books therefore function as effective vehicles for disseminating alternative perspectives about Muslim societies from those prevailing in the larger academic community and mainstream media.

The Institute publishes three academic publication series in partnership with Edinburgh University Press in addition to producing individual volumes that illustrate the dynamism of scholarship taking place in Muslim contexts.

The first of the three series, In Translation: Modern Muslim Thinkers, seeks to broaden current debates about Muslim realities by bringing to light seminal works that have escaped the attention of scholars, media and civil society institutions. By identifying and translating into English important books and essays that offer critical and innovative thinking, the series introduces new perspectives to discussions about Muslim civilisations. Titles in the series include ‘Islam: Between Message and History’ and ‘Islam and the Foundations of Political Power’.

The second series, Exploring Muslim Contexts, addresses the salient and urgent issues faced by Muslim societies as they evolve in a rapidly globalising world. It brings together the scholarship of leading contemporary specialists from various academic fields, representing a wide range of theoretical and practical perspectives. Titles in the prolific series include ‘Development Models in Muslim Contexts: Chinese, 'Islamic' and Neo-Liberal Alternatives’; ‘The Challenge of Pluralism: Paradigms from Muslim Contexts’, ‘Ethnographies of Islam: Ritual Performances and Everyday Practices’ and ‘Cosmopolitanisms in Muslim Contexts’.

Finally, the Muslim Civilisations Abstracts series is an innovative reference catalogue that showcases the diversity of scholarship taking place in Muslim societies, whilst also making the plethora of existing scholarship accessible. Volumes in the series seek to create access to and reinforce communication between scholars and institutions where the sharing of knowledge and information has often been hindered due to language barriers. Consequently, both Muslim and non-Muslim societies can benefit from the rebalancing of the flow of information and a broader range of intellectual insight. Titles in this include ‘Encyclopaedias about Muslim Civilisations’ and ‘Interpretations of Law and Ethics in Muslim Contexts’.

AKU-ISMC also publishes individual books that do not fall within the three specified series. These titles include, ‘Organizing Knowledge: Encyclopaedic Activities in the Pre-Eighteenth Century Islamic World’, and ‘The Construction of Belief: Reflections on the Thought of Mohammed Arkoun’.