Based in London, the Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (AKU-ISMC) aims to strengthen research and teaching about the heritage of Muslim societies, with specific attention to the challenges these societies face in contemporary settings.
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Based in London, the Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations …
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Students studying for AKU-ISMC's MA in Muslim Cultures relax in the Garden of Light on the 9th floor of the Aga Khan Centre in London.
AKU-ISMC / Jonathan Goldberg
Students studying for AKU-ISMC's MA in Muslim Cultures relax in the Garden of Light on the 9th floor of the …
AKU-ISMC / Jonathan Goldberg
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The Aga Khan University’s Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (AKU-ISMC) offers an interdisciplinary Master of Arts in Muslim Cultures that attracts scholars and students from around the world to its London campus. The Institute explores the diverse histories of Muslim societies, as well as new paths and possibilities in a time of change, challenge and opportunity.
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AKU-ISMC’s students come from over 20 countries
AKU-ISMC addresses fundamental challenges of the human condition as they are expressed across the diverse societies of the Muslim world and their diasporas.
Established by AKU in 2002, the Institute focuses on research, publications, graduate studies and outreach, and offers a Master of Arts in Muslim Cultures and seeks to occupy a vacant space in the discourse on the Muslim world. We promote scholarship that opens up new perspectives within Muslim societies on key issues such as tradition and modernity, religion and the state, pluralism and unity, and the nature of community in an era of global connection and change. As an international metropolis in which freedom of thought and expression are encouraged and protected, London was felt to be the ideal location for the Institute.
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AKU-ISMC offers a master’s programme, which can also be taken as part of a dual degree with Columbia University, as well as a wide range of short courses which are open to the public. We also offer a varied programme of public lectures, seminars and workshops, both online and restrictions permitting, in the Aga Khan Centre.
The master’s degree programme provides a transformative intellectual experience for students. They come from an array of countries, including Armenia, Austria, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, the UK and the USA.
The Institute’s goal is to graduate students who are confident critical thinkers and skilled communicators, able to ask tough questions, challenge norms and seek solutions; who can work across boundaries in a diverse world; and who are prepared to chart their own course, whether as academics, professionals or civil society leaders, in either the developing or the developed world.
Today, AKU-ISMC graduates are thriving in their countries of origin and abroad. While some are undertaking or have completed doctoral studies at institutions such as Harvard University, Princeton University and the University of Oxford, others have returned home to work in their communities, bringing new insights to bear on contemporary challenges.
AKU-ISMC aims to provide world-class academic research, guided by bravery and rigour, that impacts on future research and knowledge formation. AKU-ISMC research often endeavours to impact good governance and work against stereotyping, racism, and social and gender inequality, and instead promote diversity and plurality.