Centre of Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge

Centre of Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge
Name	Centre of Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge
Established	1986
Type	Research centre
City	Cambridge
Country	United Kingdom
Campus	University of Cambridge

Centre of Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge is an intercollegiate research centre within the University of Cambridge dedicated to the study of Islam and Muslim societies across historical and contemporary contexts. It supports postgraduate teaching, interdisciplinary research, and public engagement, connecting scholars associated with colleges such as Trinity College, Cambridge, St John's College, Cambridge, King's College, Cambridge, and Clare College, Cambridge. The centre collaborates with international institutions including Al-Azhar University, University of Oxford, Harvard University, and University of Edinburgh.

History

The centre was founded in 1986 during a period of expansion in area studies influenced by projects at School of Oriental and African Studies, Princeton University, and Columbia University. Early links were forged with scholars from SOAS, The British Library, and the Bodleian Library whose manuscript collections informed research on figures like Ibn Sina, Al-Ghazali, Ibn Khaldun, and Rumi. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s it responded to global events such as the Iran–Iraq War, the Gulf War (1990–1991), and the aftermath of the September 11 attacks by expanding work on contemporary politics, law and civil society in countries including Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Pakistan. The centre’s archival initiatives drew on partnerships with institutions like the Islamic Manuscript Association and collections related to Ottoman Empire, Mughal Empire, and Safavid dynasty histories.

Organisation and Governance

The centre operates under the aegis of the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge and coordinates with the Cambridge Classics Faculty and the Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge. Governance involves a steering committee composed of faculty fellows drawn from colleges including Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge and Pembroke College, Cambridge and external advisors from bodies such as the British Academy and the Leverhulme Trust. Funding streams have included grants from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, project support from the European Research Council, and philanthropic gifts similar to those received by centres at Yale University and University of Chicago.

Academic Programmes and Research

The centre supports postgraduate degrees affiliated with the Institute of Continuing Education, University of Cambridge and supervises doctoral work linked to topics such as Islamic law, Sufi orders, Qur'anic exegesis, and Islamic philosophy. Research clusters mirror global regions including North Africa, Levant, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, and thematic programmes address comparative studies involving texts like the Masnavi, Kitab al-Hidayah, and Al-Muqaddimah. Collaborative projects have examined legal pluralism in Morocco, gender and religious authority in Iran, and migration networks between Somalia and United Kingdom. The centre participates in joint initiatives with centres at Brown University, Leiden University, University of Toronto, and the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity.

Faculty and Notable Scholars

Faculty affiliates have included scholars specializing in medieval and modern periods such as experts on Ibn Rushd and Al-Farabi, social scientists who worked on topics related to Muhammad and Abu Bakr, historians engaging with archives on the Ottoman–Habsburg wars and British Raj, and specialists in jurisprudence with interests in the Maliki school, Hanafi school, Shafi'i school, and Hanbali school. Visiting fellows have come from institutions including Princeton, Yale, American University in Cairo, and Columbia University. Notable interlocutors have included recipients of awards like the King Faisal International Prize and members of committees at the Royal Asiatic Society and the Rothschild Foundation.

Publications and Conferences

The centre organises symposia, workshops, and lecture series featured alongside conferences at venues such as the Westminster Abbey lecture theatres and the Cambridge Union. It disseminates scholarship through edited volumes and working papers in collaboration with presses such as Cambridge University Press, Brill Publishers, Oxford University Press, and Routledge. Topics have ranged from medieval manuscript studies and editions of texts associated with Al-Biruni to contemporary studies of law, politics, and migration drawing on case studies from Nigeria, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Kosovo. Regular publication outlets include contributions to journals like Bulletin of British Orientalism, Journal of Islamic Studies, and edited series connected with the Cambridge Histories.

Outreach, Community Engagement, and Partnerships

The centre engages local and global audiences through public lectures, school programmes, and collaborative projects with cultural institutions such as the Fitzwilliam Museum, the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, and the National Trust. Partnerships extend to NGOs and policy institutes like Chatham House, The International Crisis Group, and Amnesty International for work on human rights and religious freedoms in states including Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and Libya. Educational outreach includes teacher-training linked to the National Curriculum (England), digitisation projects with the British Library, and exchange programmes with universities in Cairo, Istanbul, Tehran, and Kuala Lumpur.

Category:University of Cambridge