brochure 2012 - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas

Mission and Vision
In a world in which borders increase in significance – be they cultural or
religious, political or economic–academic research has the power to demonstrate
that intellectual movements disregard any such border and
that symbiosis is the norm rather than the exception. This held true
for intellectual movements in one of today’s hottest conflict areas, the
Middle East, cradle of the three monotheistic religions and for more
than two millenia home to major strands of human culture. If we
wish to establish lasting peaceful relations between leading cultures, religions
and political entities, we require above all knowledge about our
own intellectual heritage, about that of others, and about the ways
they intersect. Such knowledge will not only foster mutual respect,
but it will also prevent the spread of ideologically distorted perceptions of
one another. An open mind in research, a readiness to widen the scope of
scholarly investigation, and a willingness to share its results with a wider
audience contribute significantly to the shaping of a public opinion
that is less biased and more refined.
Departing from the customary academic approach with its (often
exclusive) focus on either Muslim, Jewish or Christian authors and their
writings, the Research Unit Intellectual History of the Islamicate
World at Freie Universität Berlin (formally established in 2011 and exclusively
funded through third-party funding) is unique in its threedimensional
appreciation of the region’s intellectual history. With
its specific approach it strives to contribute to a peaceful atmosphere
between Muslims and non-Muslims both in the Muslim world and in
the global context. Its members are committed to groundbreaking research
in a variety of aspects of the intellectual history of the Islamicate
world in the medieval, pre-modern and early modern periods. The results
of their efforts are communicated not only to the scholarly community
worldwide but also to a wider public in East and West.
The various activities and projects that are now under the umbrella
of the Research Unit have been funded since 2003 by a variety of foundations
and institutions, among them the German-Israeli Foundation
(GIF) (2003–06), the Fritz Thyssen Foundation (2005–07, 2010–11), the
Gerda Henkel Foundation (2005, 2006–07, 2008), the Rothschild Foundation
(Yad ha-nadiv) (2006), the European Science Foundation (ESF)
(2007), the European Research Council (ERC) (2008–13), the German
Foreign Office (2009–11), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
with the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) (2010–13), and
the Einstein Foundation (2010–15).
The Team
♦
The team working at the Research Unit Intellectual History of the
Islamicate World at Freie Universität Berlin not only studies the centuries-old
intellectual symbiosis between Islam, Judaism and Christianity,
it also reflects that symbiosis. The team is international and multireligious,
with an almost equal number of Muslims and non-Muslims,
comprising scholars from various Western countries and from the Middle
East. While all are leading experts in several disciplines of Islamic Studies,
some are also specialized in Christian and Jewish Arabic literature
with proficiency in related languages such as Syriac and Aramaic,
Coptic, Judaeo-Arabic, Hebrew and Persian. Close cooperation among
the staff and the associated team members and an interdisciplinary approach
characterize the work of the Research Unit.
To achieve the maximum outreach within the scholarly community
and the wider public, the team members publish regularly in a variety
of languages – English, French, German, Arabic, Persian and Hebrew –
on the internet,1 in peer-reviewed journals and in well-established
book series, both in the West and in the Islamic world. Moreover, the
director of the Research Unit is editor-in-chief of the journal Intellectual
History of the Islamicate World, published by Brill, Leiden, that has
recently been launched.2 The Research Unit also publishes three book
series in cooperation with leading academic institutions in Iran.3 The aim
is to publish critical editions of important, previously unedited texts and
facsimile editions of particularly valuable manuscripts in the field of the
intellectual history of the Islamicate world and Muslim history. Sixteen
volumes have been published since 2006; another four volumes are currently
in press. Research results and ongoing projects are regularly announced
through the page of the Research Unit,4 its individual members’
homepages and through the various social networks.5 In addition to
publications for an academic audience, the Research Unit is also addressing
a wider audience, through a bi-annual Newsletter (in German),6 a
monthly eNewsletter (English and German) and by organizing regularly
public events aimed at the general public.
Staff
♦
Dr. Hassan Ansari (Research Associate 2005–07, Senior Research Associate
2009–13), PhD Paris 2009 (Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes)7
Josephine Gehlhar (Student Assistant since 2009)
Dr. Katja Maria Jung (coordinator of the Research Unit since 2012), PhD
1 E.g., http://ansari.kateban.com/.
2 www.brill.com/ihiw.
3 Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Mysticism. Facsimiles and Editions (since 2006, edited in
cooperation with the Iranian Institute of Philosophy, Tehran); Classical Muslim Heritage Series
(since 2011, edited in cooperation with Mīrāth-e maktūb, Tehran); Muslim History and Heritage
Series (since 2011, edited in cooperation with Markaz-i Dā‘irat al-ma‘ārif-i buzurg-i islāmī, Teheran).
4 http://www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/e/islamwiss/institut/Intellectual_History_in_the_Islamicate_
World/index.html.
5 http://www.facebook.com/\#!/pages/Rediscovering-Theological-Rationalism-in-the-Medieval-
World-of-Islam/144710522241165; http://www.facebook.com/pages/Research-Unit-Intellectual-
History-of-the-Islamicate-World/120655678037693; http://fu-berlin.academia.edu/Departments/
Research_Unit_Intellectual_History_of_the_Islamicate_World_Institut_f%C3%BCr_
Islamwissenschaft
6 Cf. http://www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/e/islamwiss/Intellectual_History_in_the_Islamicate_World/
Newsletter/index.html.
7 http://ansari.kateban.com/.
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