International Association for Islamic Studies

International Association for Islamic Studies
Name	International Association for Islamic Studies
Formation	20th century
Type	Learned society
Headquarters	International
Region served	Worldwide
Language	Arabic, English, French, Turkish, Persian
Leader title	President

International Association for Islamic Studies is a scholarly society dedicated to the study of Islam and Muslim societies, fostering comparative research across regions such as the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and North Africa. The association connects researchers working on topics related to classical texts like the Qur'an and the Hadith, historical figures such as Ibn Khaldun and Al-Ghazali, and modern movements including Pan-Islamism and Islamic modernism. It operates alongside institutions such as the British Institute of Persian Studies, Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, and the Institute of Ismaili Studies to support cross-institutional dialogue and publication.

History

The association emerged in the late 20th century amid growing interest from scholars at universities including University of Oxford, Harvard University, Al-Azhar University, University of Karachi, and University of Tehran. Early participants included specialists on topics linked to figures like Muhammad Iqbal, Sayyid Qutb, Rumi, and Ibn Sina, and institutions such as the School of Oriental and African Studies and the École Pratique des Hautes Études. Its formation followed international conferences at venues associated with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and collaborations with organizations like the American Oriental Society, the Middle East Studies Association of North America, and the International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World.

Mission and Objectives

The association's mission emphasizes comparative study of texts and contexts from sources such as the Mu'tazila and Ash'ari traditions, jurisprudential corpora including the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali schools, and sociopolitical phenomena linked to the Ottoman Empire, the Safavid dynasty, the Mughal Empire, and contemporary states like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Turkey. Objectives include promoting scholarship on legal codices such as the Majalla and the Sharia-related literature, advancing study of movements like Wahhabism, Sufism, and Salafism, and encouraging interdisciplinary engagement with centers like the Oriental Institute (Oxford), the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, and the Leiden University Centre for the Study of Islam and Society.

Membership and Governance

Membership comprises scholars affiliated with institutions such as Columbia University, Princeton University, University of Chicago, Yale University, Ecole Normale Supérieure, and regional universities including Cairo University and Bogazici University. Governance follows a council model with officers often drawn from faculties linked to the American University in Cairo, the University of Jordan, Tehran University, and the University of Malaya. Committees coordinate with bodies such as the International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies and the International Federation for Research in Women's History for program development, while advisory panels include experts who have worked on projects involving the British Library, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and the Library of Congress.

Conferences and Publications

The association convenes biennial conferences in cities including Cairo, Istanbul, Tehran, Jakarta, Delhi, London, and New York City', often in partnership with venues like the Royal Asiatic Society, the Institut du Monde Arabe, the Museum of Islamic Art (Doha), and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Proceedings and journals feature articles on topics such as medieval scholarship by Al-Farabi and Al-Bukhari, colonial encounters involving the British Raj and the French protectorate in Tunisia, and modern thinkers like Muhammad Abduh and Fazlur Rahman. Publications appear in series alongside presses such as Brill, Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Routledge, and E.J. Brill.

Research Activities and Collaborations

Research programs address manuscript studies connected to collections at the Al-Azhar Library, the Topkapi Palace Library, and the Bodleian Library, comparative legal history involving the Ottoman millet system, and intellectual networks spanning the Silk Road and the Indian Ocean. Collaborations include projects with the Max Planck Society, the European Research Council, the Ford Foundation, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Fieldwork often intersects with local archives, for example in Marrakesh, Basra, Kandahar, and Samarkand, and digital humanities initiatives link to consortia such as the Digital Public Library of America and the World Digital Library.

Awards and Recognitions

The association sponsors prizes and fellowships honoring scholarship on figures like Ibn Rushd, Al-Tabari, and Al-Mawardi, and on subjects including Islamic law, medieval philosophy, and modern reform movements. Awards have been presented in collaboration with institutions such as the British Academy, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Academia Europaea, and fellowships have enabled research at centers like the Institute for Advanced Study and the Bellagio Center (Rockefeller Foundation). Recipients frequently hail from departments at SOAS University of London, McGill University, and University of Michigan.

Category:Islamic studies organizations