IIS Alumni Newsletter 2011

Messages
Message from the Co-Director
The past year has been
one of both change and
continued accomplishment
at the IIS. Many of these
changes and developments
will have implications
for our alumni. As we
have become increasingly
aware, the pool of IIS
alumni continues to grow
and expand. We are eager to respond to this growth
by efforts to include alumni more actively in IIS
programmes and activities.
Among recent changes was the decision by Professor
Karim H. Karim to leave his position as Co-Director
of the Institute in June 2011 in order to return to
teaching and research at Carleton University in
Ottawa. Professor Karim will be much missed by
staff, students and alumni. We wish him all the best
in his future endeavours. A search for his successor is
actively underway.
The expansion of the alumni pool was high on the
agenda at the meeting of the Central Executive
Committee of the Alumni Association held on 16th
November 2011 which led to a lively discussion.
Various proposals were discussed to meet the growing
need for representation and enhanced involvement
from the many far-flung alumni groups around the
world. These proposals will be pursued and discussed
at the local level in coming months.
Among major developments within the IIS was the
adoption of a Strategic Plan for the years 2011 to
2025. The Plan has now been accepted by the Board
and it will now guide the programmes of the IIS
going forward. An overview of the Strategic Plan will
be provided to alumni at the annual Chapter Group
meetings. Its importance lies in the fact that it will
be possible to provide a clear course of action and a
carefully constructed road-plan for the next fourteen
years and will be of great help to the Institute and its
alumni as we face the future.
The Department of Research and Publications
continued to publish important new works, including
several editions of Ismaili texts and translations. For
example, the fifth volume in the Institute’s edition and
translation of the Epistles of the Brethren of Purity—the
Rasa’il of the Ikhwan al-Safa’—appeared in 2011. This
is a major project comprising 17 volumes which aims
to make a masterpiece of Arabic literature widely
available in readable translations and reliable textual
editions. A fourth volume of An Anthology of Philosophy
in Persia will also appear by the end of 2011. This too
is a major publishing project and like the Epistles
has as its purpose to make outstanding works from
the Ismaili and broader Shia heritage available to
readers in translations that are at once accurate and
accessible.
Five years ago, the IIS Library received a major
donation; this was the Hamdani Collection of Ismaili
Manuscripts, one of the most important collections of
Ismaili manuscripts in private hands. The collection,
handed down over the centuries within the Hamdani
family, has now been catalogued and a handsome
volume, prepared by Professor François de Blois was
published by I. B. Tauris in October.
The Institute has launched a series of monthly
lectures on ongoing work by our scholars. The series,
initially suggested by Professor Karim, has been well
attended with excellent presentations on a variety
of topics of Ismaili interest and lively question and
answer sessions. IIS alumni who live in London or are
passing through are most welcome at these lectures
which offer an insight into the current work of our
scholars and a stimulating overview of some of the
treasures of Ismaili culture.
The STEP and GPISH programmes have been
extremely successful during the past year. The most
recent GPISH graduation was held in October. We
continue to attract outstanding students in both
programmes. That success is, of course, part of the
dynamic growth of our alumni pool.
In 2011, five alumni grants were awarded for research
and field work as well as attendance at conferences.
These grants have become an important way for
alumni to continue their involvement in scholarly
activity and to contribute to the larger mission of the
IIS. We encourage our alumni to take advantage of
these grants as they have in past years.
It is our firm conviction that IIS alumni have a crucial
role to play in the future programmes and projects of
the Institute. You are a vital part of our endeavours.
We are grateful for your enthusiastic support and urge
you to become even more actively involved in the
work of the Institute. We look forward to working
with you in the coming year.
Dr. Farhad Daftary