IIS Alumni Newsletter 2020

MESSAGES
2
CONTENTS
Message from the Co-Director 2
Message from the Alumni Relations
Coordinator 3
Alumni Chapter Group Leadership
for 2019 – 2020 3
Key Highlights from the Alumni Profile
Report 2019 – 2020 4
Annual General Meetings:
Sicily, Tajikistan, Canada 6
New IIS Graduates 8
Alumni Internships 2019 – 2020 9
Remembering Kutub Kassam 10
A Renewed Commitment to Life:
A Grounded-Theory Study of Suicide
Attempts in Badakhshan 11
Reflections on Architecture and History
in Zanzibar 12
Engaging the Minds of Tomorrow:
A Reflection on the STEP Camps
in Pakistan 13
Online Discussion Boards:
An Effective Classroom Pedagogical Tool 14
Alumni Publications in 2019 16
Publications, Papers and Presentations 17
MESSAGE FROM THE CO-DIRECTOR
Dear IIS Alumni
Being in the heart of London’s Knowledge Quarter
for over two years now, The Institute of Ismaili
Studies at the Aga Khan Centre has created an
inviting intellectual space for building new bridges
across geographies and beyond demographics to
respond to the needs of our audiences.
In 2019, we hosted several ground-breaking educational programmes.
The IIS Early Child Development Conference brought together
practitioners and coordinators from the global Ismaili community and
the Aga Khan Development Network to discuss approaches for a newly
developed, integrated curriculum framework. Our PhD Seminar provided
IIS alumni and others, many of whom are IIS doctoral scholarship
recipients, with a platform to connect with peers, present their research
and receive critical feedback on their work. We also hosted our annual
academic conference entitled Esoteric Cultures of Scripture that brought
together some of the foremost scholars to investigate the complex interplay
of scriptures that has shaped esoteric intellectual cultures and spiritualties.
Through our research and publications programmes, we have been
generating essential conversations about the diversity and pluralism of
lived Muslim traditions and the legacy of this rich heritage. Professor
Zulfikar Hirji (GPISH 1997 alumnus) published a newly edited volume in
the IIS Qur’anic Studies Series (QSS), Approaches to the Qur’an in
Sub-Saharan Africa. This publication presents the research of numerous
international scholars to open up new discourses about Islam in sub-Saharan
Africa through the examination of how Muslims in this geographical and
socio-cultural context have engaged with the Qur’an, particularly trends
in Qur’anic exegesis and the plurality of engagements that Muslims from
diverse communities of interpretation have with the Qur’an.
We recently launched the Aga Khan Library Digital Collections online
in collaboration with Bloomsbury Publishing to showcase manuscripts,
artwork, rare books, out-of-print publications, photographs, and maps
which have been produced in different periods and areas of the Muslim
world. This digital endeavour will enable international scholars, students
and other interested users to access a treasure trove of primary sources for
research and educational purposes. In addition, we have made available a
selection of IIS publications from our back catalogue as eBooks, which are
available to download from the IIS website. More titles will be available
online over the coming months.
I would like to take a moment to pause and remember as well as to publicly
recognise the valuable contribution of scholars and friends who are no longer
with us. Kutub Kassam faithfully served the IIS and the Ismaili Community
for more than forty years through his work on the religious education
curriculum and for many years as an Editor of many IIS publications.
Raficq S Abdulla, who has contributed much to the body of knowledge
on poetry, art and spirituality, had also published a work through the IIS
on Understanding Sharia: Islamic Law in a Globalised World, which was
co-written with Dr Mohamed Keshavjee. Professor Abbas Hamdani,
whose academic contributions ranged from the Fatimids to the Ikhwan
al-Safa, has made many rare manuscripts available for study through
the donation of his family collection to the Institute. The contributions of
Kutub Kassam, Raficq Abdulla, and Professor Abbas Hamdani to Ismaili
heritage and Islamic studies continue to live on through their writings and
our memories of them.
As we continue our journey in these unprecedented times, I would like to
express my heartfelt gratitude for your continuous generosity and support
to the work of the Institute towards academic excellence and service to the
global Ismaili community. We hope you and your loved ones are keeping
well and safe.
Dr Farhad Daftary