Literature in Persian Language Pedagogy with Professor Taraneh Sanei on December 6, 2025
The Elah茅 Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies in collaboration with The Department of Middle Eastern Studies and the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of Chicago jointly present
When Literature Is Accessible: 'Authentic' Materials, Language Awareness, and Teaching Persian in the Era of Internet and Social Media
Saturday, December 6, 1:00pm EST
Conveners: Professors Azita H. Taleghani &听Pouneh Shabani-Jadidi
Taraneh Sanei is the faculty lecturer and chair in the Persian language program at the Institute of Islamic Studies at 9I制作厂免费. She received her PhD in Linguistics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2021 and holds an MA degree in both Linguistics and TEFL/Applied Linguistics. Her research is focused on sociolinguistics of mobility and online communication, investigating online and offline meaning-making processes in migrant and non-migrant Iranian communities. Her career in language pedagogy, both Persian and English, spans more than a decade. Dr.听Sanei has published her select work in journals like Language in Society and International Multilingual Research Journal, and has presented in numerous multidisciplinary conferences such as American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL), Sociolinguistics Symposium, International Pragmatics Association (IprA), Middle East Studies Association (MESA), Language Policy and Planning (LPP), North American Conference on Iranian Linguistics (NACIL), etc.
MIISSC's Smith's Tea on November 20th
9I制作厂免费 Institute of Islamic Studies Students' Council (MIISSC) is inviting you to the the听Smith's Tea听gathering with Iranian snacks听.听
November 20, 5:30-7:00 pm
The Common Room, Morrice Hall 321
Translation, Politics, and Solidarity
Professor Michelle Hartman was in conversation with ArabLit and ArabLit Quarterly's Yasmeen Hanoosh in the latest "Between Two Arabic Translators" series topic. The discussion focused on how the conceptual framework of solidarity raises important questions about translation, what it means to share (or not share) political commitments with an author, and ways of making co-translation equitable. For the full conversation, please consult 听
Congratulations to Heather Porter!
Congratulations to IIS doctoral student Heather Porter on successfully defending her PhD thesis on November 13, 2025, "Writing Muslim Pasts, Building Muslim Futurisms: Challenging Liberal Narrations of Anti-Muslim Racism in Speculative Fiction". Her supervisor was Professor Michelle Hartman.
The Indonesian Delegation's Visit on November 5, 2025
Excerpts from the article, Indonesia is stepping up its campus diplomacy in Canada, which appeared in: Jakarta Globe:
"Indonesian Ambassador to Canada Muhsin Syihab recently visited some of the top universities in the country's eastern part, namely 9I制作厂免费 in Montr茅al and Qu茅bec's Universit茅 Laval. The trip also took place not long after President Prabowo Subianto and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's bilateral talks in late September.
9I制作厂免费 already has an existing partnership with Indonesia via its Institute of Islamic Studies. Three of Indonesia's religious affairs ministers -- HM Rasjidi (January-October 1946), Mukti Ali (1971-1978) and Nasaruddin Umar (incumbent) -- studied at 9I制作厂免费.
At 9I制作厂免费, Muhsin [Syihab]听met with the university's President, Deep Saini, Provost Christopher P Manfredi and Vice-President for Global Engagement, Anja Geitmann. The visit zeroed in on the opportunity for an academic and research collaboration.
"9I制作厂免费 is not just a partner, but a part of Indonesia's intellectual history. Three of the alumni have become our country's religious affairs minister. We encourage the revitalization of 9I制作厂免费's relationship with relevant parties in Indonesia," Muhsin听[Syihab] was quoted as saying in a press statement.
The university responded positively to the offer.
"Indonesia is an important and priority country for 9I制作厂免费 in its efforts to expand global cooperation. Representatives from 9I制作厂免费 will visit Indonesia in the near future," said Deep [Saini].
Provost Christopher [Manfredi] will even make a return visit to Jakarta to explore collaboration, including with the Foreign Affairs Ministry's policy strategy agency.
Muhsin [Syihab] also met with Khalid M Medani, the Director of IIS. The envoy also saw the expansive book collections at the IIS Library, which included Indonesian publications.
"IIS needs to empower its alumni in Indonesia to strengthen collaboration with various parties in Indonesia, considering that many of the institute's alumni currently hold strategic positions in Indonesia," Muhsin [Syihab] said.
Khalid [Medani] expressed IIS' interest in signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with other universities and institutions in Indonesia. The framework of such an agreement is expected to regulate important matters, including scholarships, academic seminars, joint program development, and interfaculty visits.
The Institute also highlighted the need for experts in Southeast Asian Islam. This is a field that Indonesia excels in. Not only does it fit the geographical category, but Indonesia is also the world's largest Muslim-majority country.
The topuniversities.com website puts 9I制作厂免费 in the 27th place globally, and the first in Canada. 9I制作厂免费 currently has two MoUs with the University of Indonesia and the health center RSAB Harapan Kita."
Dr Setrag Manoukian Nominated for the David Thompson Award
Professor Setrag Manoukian was nominated for the 2025 David Thomson Award for Graduate Supervision and Teaching. To read his presentation and excerpts from letters of recommendation, please consult Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies' Supervision page.
December 7, 2025 Annual Sufi Whirling Dervish Ceremony and Concert for Hz Mevlana Rumi
Sheb-i Arus The Wedding Night
Annual Sufi Whirling Dervish Ceremony and Concert for Hz Mevlana Rumi
Love enters my heart and I break into pieces
Each piece shows the way of love
- Hz Mevlana Rumi, ghazal 2126
Each December, a festival takes place in the city of Konya, Turkey to celebrate Sheb-i Arus - 鈥淭he Wedding Night." It commemorates the passing of Sufi mystic, philosopher and poet Hz. Mevlana Jalal ad-Din Rumi (1207-1273). In honour of this year鈥檚 752nd anniversary, we present Sheb-i Arus: the essential Mevlevi ceremony of sacred poetry, live music and Sufi whirling or Sema (Sama in Persian). Sema is an active meditation, the dance of the planets and a symbol of peace. Local semazens will present the ceremony in Mevlevi and Rifa'i-Marufi Sufi traditions guided by Semazenbashi Raqib Brian Burke from Coast Salish BC. The ceremony will be followed by Sema Space where everyone is invited to participate in the continued ritual. Ashk Olsun
MUSIC BY Amir Amiri (santur), Saeed Kamjoo (kamancheh), Elham Manouchehri (tar & voice), Omar Abou-afach (violin), Joseph Khoury (percussion)
LIMITED TICKETS AT THE DOOR -听No one turned away from lack of funds
| Wheelchair accessible | No shoes
CO-SPONSORED BY 9I制作厂免费 Institute of Islamic Studies
PRESENTED BY Sema Space Espace Sema
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Sheb-i Arus La nuit de noces
C茅r茅monie annuelle des derviches tourneurs soufis et concert en l'honneur de Hz Mevlana Rumi
L'amour me perce le c艙ur et je me casse en mille morceaux
Chaque morceau montre le chemin vers l'amour
- Hz Mevlana Rumi, ghazal 2126
Chaque ann茅e en d茅cembre, un festival a lieu dans la ville de Konya, en Turquie, pour c茅l茅brer Sheb-i Arus, 芦 la nuit de noces 禄. Il comm茅more la mort du mystique soufi, philosophe et po猫te Hz. Mevlana Jalal ad-Din Rumi (1207-1273). En l'honneur du 752e anniversaire cette ann茅e, nous pr茅sentons Sheb-i Arus : la c茅r茅monie Mevlevi essentielle de po茅sie sacr茅e, de musique en direct et de m茅ditation giratoire soufie ou Sema (Sama en persan). Le Sema est une m茅ditation active, la danse des plan猫tes et un symbole de paix. Des semazens locaux pr茅senteront la c茅r茅monie selon les traditions soufies Mevlevi et Rifa'i-Marufi, guid茅s par Semazenbashi Raqib Brian Burke, de Coast Salish BC. La c茅r茅monie sera suivie de l'Espace Sema, o霉 les spectateurs seront invit茅s 脿 participer 脿 la poursuite du rituel. Ashk Olsun
AVEC LA MUSIQUE DE Amir Amiri (santur), Saeed Kamjoo (kemancheh), Elham Manouchehri (tar & voix), Omar Abou-afach (violon), Joseph Khoury (percussion)
BILLETS EN NOMBRE LIMIT脡 脌 L'ENTR脡E -听Personne ne sera refus茅 pour manque de moyens financiers
| Acc猫s pour les fauteuils roulants | Pas de chaussures
Une production de
CO-PARRAIN脡 PAR l'Institut d'茅tudes islamiques de l'Universit茅 9I制作厂免费
UNE PR脡SENTATION DE Sema Space Espace Sema
November 17 Lecture by Prof Jonathan Glassser
The Department of Jewish Studies and the Institute of Islamic Studies invite you to a lecture by Jonathan Glasser (William and Mary College) on:
More than Friends: Muslim-Jewish Intimacy in Algerian Music
Monday, 17 November 2025
4:00 PM, Leacock 232 (RSVP required)
Music is a major site for remembering the Jewish presence in Algeria, and in many ways works against dominant discourses of Muslim鈥揓ewish conflict and Jewish outsider status. But digging deeper uncovers multiple ways to read Muslim鈥揓ewish intimacy around music, some of which edge into rivalry, hierarchy, and difference. This talk weighs these multiple interpretations, drawing on historical archives and contemporary memory in Algeria and in France.
Jonathan Glasser is Associate Professor of Anthropology at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He is the author of The Lost Paradise: Andalusi Music in Urban North Africa (University of Chicago Press, 2016), which won the L. Carl Brown Book Prize from the American Institute for Maghrib Studies and a Mahmoud Guettat International Prize in Musicology from the Tunisian Ministry of Cultural Affairs. His journal articles have appeared in the International Journal of Middle East Studies, American Ethnologist, Anthropological Quarterly, 贬别蝉辫茅谤颈蝉-罢补尘耻诲补, and Turath. Glasser recently completed a book manuscript titled More Than Friends: Muslim鈥揓ewish Intimacy in Algerian Music.
Congratulations to Professor Wisnovsky!
Congratulations to IIS Professor Robert Wisnovsky, who was recently awarded a four-year SSHRC Insight Grant for his research project entitled 鈥淭he modern rebirth of a medieval Arabic logic text: Muhammad 鈥楢bduh's (d. 1905) Glosses on S芒w卯's (d. ca. 1170) [Logical] Insights鈥�. Those interested in learning more about the topic can and which appeared earlier this year in the Tony Street Festschrift.
November 5, 2025 - Philippe Larochelle: International Law: A Requiem听
International Law: A Requiem
Philippe Larochelle, Lawyer, President of the International Criminal Court Bar Association
Wednesday, November 5, between 2:30-4:00, by Zoom. info.islamics [at] mcgill.ca (Email for the Zoom link).
The world has watched in horror as the foundations of international law have been shaken since October 7th. Renowned expert Philippe Larochelle cuts through the rhetoric to ask if this moment represents a terminal crisis for the global order, or a painful but necessary catharsis that could lead to its renewal. He will address the hard questions of sovereignty, institutional failure, and the path forward.
Philippe Larochelle is the founder of , a litigation boutique based in Montreal, Canada. Mr. Larochelle maintains an active practice in international criminal law since 2001, representing clients before the ICTR, the ICC and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. He has also assisted groups of victims, including before the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.
October 28 - Maia Tabet in Conversation with Rula Jurdi Abisaab and Michelle Hartman
The Institute of Islamic Studies invites you to a talk with Rula Jurdi Abissab, Michelle Hartman, and Maia Tabet on:
Translating Arab Women
Tuesday, October 28, 2025
4:00 PM, Morrice Hall 017
Maia Tabet is an Arabic-English literary translator with a background in editing and journalism. Born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1956, she was raised in Lebanon, India, and England. She studied philosophy and political science at the听American University of Beirut.听
Tabet is noted for her translation of two novels by the late Lebanese author听Elias Khoury:听Little Mountain听and听White Masks. The former was the first Khoury novel to appear in English translation (in 1989) while the second was nominated for the 2011 Saif Ghobash鈥揃anipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation and won the judges' commendation. She has co-translated, with Michael K. Scott, the controversial听Throwing Sparks听(Tarmee bi-Sharar) by Saudi writer听Abdo Khal, a novel that garnered the 2010听International Prize for Arabic Fiction听(IPAF), aka the Arabic Booker Prize.
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Congratulations to Prof Michelle Hartman and MA Alumna Caline Nasrallah!
Congratulations to Professor Michelle Hartman and IIS MA graduate Caline Nasrallah for their translation of A Long Walk from Gaza, by Asmaa Alatawna, being nominated for the Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation (2025).
September 25 Teaching Palestine Workshop
Presenters:
Nayrouz Abu Hatoum,听Associate Professor of Sociology & Anthropology at Concordia University, focusing on visual politics in Palestine, alternative imaginations, and settler-colonialism. Her ethnographic work examines the role of visual arts in expanding Palestinian imagination. She is a founding member of Insaniyyat: Society of Palestinian Anthropologists.
Michelle Hartman, Professor of Arabic Literature in the Institute of Islamic Studies at 9I制作厂免费, focusing on politics in literary texts by women, translation politics, and literature as resistance. She is also a literary translator and has translated more than a dozen novels by women authors from Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine from Arabic into English. Her most recent translation (co-translated with Caline Nasrallah) is Asmaa Alatawn's "A Long Walk from Gaza" (Interlink 2024).
Thursday, September 25, 2025, 3:30p.m.
Location: H1252, 12th floor - 1455 Blvd. De Maisonneuve Ouest, Montreal, Quebec H3G 1M8
Cookies and coffee will be served.
September 24 Lecture by Husam Osman Mahjoub听
The Institute of Islamic Studies and the African Studies Program present:
Husam Osman Mahjoub, co-founder of Sudan Bukra Channel
Understanding Sudan鈥檚 War: Roots, Reality and Today鈥檚 Crisis
Meeting ID: 859 2318 1963
Passcode: 029063
Prof Alexander Jabbari's Lecture on September 30
The Institute of Islamic Studies invites you to a lecture by Professor Alexander Jabbari (University of Minnesota) on:
The Sacred Grammar of Persianate Islam
Tuesday, 30 September 2025
4:00 PM, Morrice Hall 017
Is Persian a worldly, cosmopolitan language or a sacred one? Why did it develop a formal grammatical tradition so late in its long history as a lingua franca when compared with other languages like Arabic or Sanskrit? In order to answer these and other questions, in this talk Alexander Jabbari examines the earliest formal grammar of Persian in the language: Minh膩j al- 峁琣濒补产 (Program of Study; ca. 1660), written by a Hui Muslim scholar in eastern China. Drawing as well on comparisons to other Persian works from Mughal India and the Ottoman empire, he explores the complex relationship between cosmopolitan and vernacular and between Persian and Islam.
Sarah Pinto: The Ethical Monster - September 15
The Old Women of Nishapur Initiative, the Department of Anthropology and the Institute of Islamic Studies invite you to the following lecture:
The Ethical Monster: Theorizing Ugliness and Gendered Political Subjects in India
Dr Sarah Pinto, Tufts University
Monday, September 15, 2025
12:30-2:00
Peterson Hall 108
The idea that the concept of "monster" is unevenly applied to women, men, and transgender people, with implications that enforce gender ideology, is among the many ways we have come to understand ethics and aesthetics as part of systems of power. In many cultural frames, the ugliness of the monster is integral to the very category, narratively explained as cause or consequence or moral failing. While the idea of the monster is widely discussed in feminist and social theory, as is the idea of beauty, far less explored is the idea of ugliness as a moral and political condition on its own terms, that is, other than as the imposition of a particular set of standards or gazes. Drawing on iterations of the narrative of Surpanakha, a monster (rakshasa) in the Indian epic Ramayana, as well as on Surpanakha's appearances in law and psychological literature on trauma, this paper asks what structural and moral positions are established through ugliness? I will argue that concepts of ugliness that emerge from this and similar narratives at once establish ugliness as punishment and render the ugly or defaced woman as a complex moral actor amid webs of relational demands, including the double binds of kinship and the body politic. Importantly, for Surpanakha, this happens by way of the ugly woman's position as agent in the social order of kinship, not as simply a subjectified victim of violence or impossible gender ideals. At the same time, it establishes the deeply gendered conditions of the very concept of agency.
Dr Sarah Pinto will also lead a discussion seminar with pre-circulated readings on Tuesday, September 16, between 9:30 - 11am, in Peterson Hall 116. Please write to setrag.manoukian [at] mcgill.ca (Dr Setrag Manoukian) for the readings.听
Publication by IIS Alumni Hadi Fakhoury and M. Fariduddin Attar
Congratulations to MA alumnus Hadi Fakhoury (editor) and PhD alumnus Farid Attar (contributor) on the release of the edited volume, , published by Palgrave Macmillan. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of Islamic Studies, Islamic Philosophy and Mysticism and Comparative Religion.
Graduate Research Workshop - May 28听
You are invited to come hear from current PhD students about their ongoing work on gender and Arabic literature, translation and literary history.听
Wednesday, May 28, 2025, 9am-12pm
Morrice Hall
Professor Michelle Hartman's interview听on Arabic Translation and Social Change
Professor Michelle Hartman was recently interviewed in the Oman Daily鈥檚 cultural supplement about her work as a translator, the importance of Arabic-English translation in the world today, translating works from and about Palestine, and how translation can make change in society. You can read it (in Arabic) on the .
12th Annual MIISSC Symposium 鈥� April 24, 2025
The 12th Annual Symposium of the 9I制作厂免费 Institute of Islamic Studies Student Council (MIISSC) was held on April 24, 2025, under the theme,听Gender, Knowledge, and Borders. The event attracted over 100 abstract submissions, from which 20 papers were selected through a rigorous review process.
The program featured four international panels held in a hybrid format, bringing together scholars from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds. We were honored to welcome Professor Katherine Lemons as the keynote speaker, who delivered a lecture titled,听The Gender of Practical Knowledge: Marriage, Wage Labour, and Islamic Law in Postcolonial India.
For more details about the symposium, please visit .
Congratulations, Professor Yang!
The Institute of Islamic Studies (IIS) congratulates IIS alumna Professor Peiyu Yang of George Mason University on being named one of this year鈥檚 . Her project is titled, 鈥淪tate and Popular Voices in China-Arab Solidarity Building, from 1949 to 1969: A Digital Humanities Project.鈥�
Persian Calligraphy in Practice - April 5
Persian Calligraphy in Practice: A Hands-On Workshop
EERA Caf茅
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Cultural learning is at the heart of the Persian program at the Institute, and our recent Calligraphy Workshop, organized and led by our very own expert Dr. Behzad Borhan, was a perfect chance for students to engage with the language and culture in a hands-on and meaningful way beyond the classroom.
On April 5, 2025, students in the Upper-Intermediate Persian course (ISLA 443D) took part in a special calligraphy workshop held at EERA Caf茅 & Gallery, a cozy and artistic Persian caf茅. In this cultural outing, students explored the art of Persian calligraphy, learning the basics of Nastaliq from Behzad and practicing under his supervision. They had the opportunity to use the traditional reed pens brought all the way from Iran, which they got to take home afterward as a memento of the day! They also enjoyed Persian drinks and pastries as they practiced and spent time together in the welcoming atmosphere of the caf茅.
It was a memorable and enriching afternoon and we鈥檙e looking forward to more experiences like this in the future!
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Old Women of Nishapur Roundtable on April 15
WHAT HAVE THE WOMEN OF NISHAPUR TOLD US?
Roundtable discussion with Katherine Lemons and Setrag Manoukian
1:30pm 鈥� 3pm, Room MOR 328 (Morrice Hall)
Katherine and Setrag will open the session reflecting retrospectively on the work of the initiative but also on their respective ongoing engagement with the Women of Nishapur.
Come to discuss what difference the women have made in your thinking ! Bring to the table your own understanding of what the women are (not) telling us.
Sponsored by: Department of Anthropology, Institute of Islamic Studies and SSHRC.听
Community Benefit for Sudan on April 27
Join us as we come together for an evening of poetry, community, and music to raise funds for the Sudan Solidarity Collective (SSC).
April 27
Doors open: 7:30 pm
Show starts at 8 pm
Venue: La Sala Rossa (4848 Blvd Saint - Laurent, Montreal QC H2T 2R6)
. The suggested donation is $10 - $50.
The Sudan Solidarity Collective (SSC) formed in response to the outbreak of a brutal war in Sudan. It seeks to resource grassroots civil society formations at the frontlines of relief efforts in those parts of Sudan that have been hardest hit by militarized state violence.
We are a volunteer group of students, professionals, activists, and community members from the Sudanese diaspora in Toronto who came together in response to the devastating war that broke out in April 2023. We are anti-war and pro-peace. We provide political education and awareness to the global community. Crucially, we work through a mutual aid structure to provide direct support to civilian-led collectives tirelessly working on the ground in Sudan.
These civilian-led organizations鈥攊ncluding emergency response rooms, resistance committees, mutual aid groups, and independent labour and farmers鈥� unions鈥攈ave been at the forefront of relief efforts on the ground. They provide clean water, medical supplies, communication infrastructure, community kitchens, reproductive health services, and evacuation assistance to those affected by the conflict. While imperial-backed military forces pillage and run the breadbasket of the world into the ground, these civilian volunteers are doing life-saving work and keeping the revolution alive.
The Sudan Solidarity Fund provides direct financial assistance to support these groups as they respond to the life-threatening consequences of war and continue their valuable work within the Sudanese civil society sphere.
This event is co-organized by SSC鈥檚 Montreal members, Stefan Christoff, the World Islamic and Middle East Students Association at 9I制作厂免费 (WIMESSA) & CKUT 90.3 FM. The event also includes the launch of a poetry collection for Sudan by WIMESSA and SSC. This event was made possible by the generous financial support of the Dean of Arts Development Fund (DADF).
Congratulations to Anas Taleb!
The Institute of Islamic Studies warmly congratulates Anas Taleb, a joint honours student in History and World Islamic and Middle East Studies. Anas has been awarded the Undergraduate Scholarship by the Ottoman Turkish Studies Association (OTSA), a competitive fellowship granted to one undergraduate student across North America every year. The fellowship intends to support students with an academic interest in Turkish Studies, whether it is Turkish language, history, or politics.
The fellowship will support Anas鈥� stay in Turkey for four weeks during the summer of 2025. We wish him a great time in Turkey!
If you want to find out more about fellowships and other academic opportunities in Turkey, feel free to contact either Professor veysel.simsek [at] mcgill.ca (Veysel Simsek) or Professor aslihan.gurbuzel [at] mcgill.ca (Aslihan Gurbuzel).听
Photo: Anas Taleb with Dr. Veysel 艦im艧ek, Faculty Lecturer in Turkish
Islam in Africa featuring Professor Ousmane Kane
Join the School of Religious Studies, the African Studies Program, and the Institute of Islamic Studies for a series of events on Islam in Africa featuring Professor Ousmane Kane, Harvard Divinity School:
Tuesday, April 8
- Public Lecture, 鈥淒ecolonizing the Study of Islam in Africa鈥� (Prof. Ousmane Kane)
- Birks Chapel (3:30pm)
- Professor Ousmane Kane is the emeritus and inaugural Alwaleed bin Talal Professor of Contemporary Islamic Religion and Society at Harvard Divinity School and the world鈥檚 leading scholar of Islam in Africa. He is a specialist in the history of Islamic religious institutions and intellectual history in Africa and has published a number of groundbreaking publications on a range issues including migration, modernity, politics, Sufism, Islamic education and intellectual traditions, and, most recently, pilgrimage. Some of his most prominent books include: Muslim Modernity in Postcolonial Nigeria (2003), Non-Europhone Intellectuals (2012), Beyond Timbuktu: An Intellectual History of Muslim West Africa (2016), and Islamic Scholarship in Africa: New Directions and Global Contexts (2021). He was recently awarded the African Studies Association鈥檚 prestigious 鈥淒istinguished Africanist Award鈥� in 2024 for his work uniting, transforming, and advancing the fields of African Studies and Islamic Studies.
Thursday, April 10
- Panel, 鈥淭ravel, Study, and Piety & the Islamic Traditions of Africa鈥�
- Birks SCR (noon)
- 鈥淭he Transformation of the Pilgriamge Tradition in West Africa鈥� (Prof. Ousmane Kane, Harvard University)
- 鈥淭he Circulation of Praise: The Movement of Madih in the Bilad Al-Sudan鈥� (Prof. Oludamini Ogunnaike, University of Virginia)
- 鈥淢igration & Education, Continuity & Change in the Muslim Black Atlantic鈥� (Prof. Ayodeji Ogunnaike, 9I制作厂免费)
Friday, April 11
- Dialogic address on Interdisciplinarity, Religious Studies, Islamic Studies, and African Studies (Profs. Ousmane Kane, Oludamini Ogunnaike, & Ayodeji Ogunnaike)
- Octagon, Morrice Hall (1:30pm)
Join us for a public conversation between Professors Ousmane Kane and Oludamini Ogunnaike on the fields of religious studies, Islamic studies, and African studies, their experiences working in these fields, how the fields connect with each other, and where they are headed. The conversation will be moderated by Professor Ayodeji Ogunnaike, with time for audience engagement.
Eid Mubarak!
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Rula Abisaab's Talk:听Memorizing the Qur鈥檃n without Understanding - March 25
The Old Women of Nishapur Initiative and The Institute of Islamic Studies invite you to a public talk:
Memorizing the Qur鈥檃n without Understanding
Dr Rula Abisaab, Institute of Islamic Studies
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
10:00-12:00
Leacock 738
Developing some ideas from in Immanent Frame, Professor Rula Jurdi Abisaab will lead a discussion on the following article:听Gent, Bill, and Abdullah Muhammad. 2019. "Memorising and Reciting a Text without Understanding Its Meaning: A Multi-Faceted Consideration of This Practice with Particular Reference to the Qur鈥檃n" Religions 10, no. 7: 425.
We will read together some of its paragraphs, so bring a copy of the article with you, preferably a hard copy (no screens !).
Intersecting the specific modality of knowledge of the old women, memorization has also been a topic of discussion across academic groups on campus, in relation with new ways of teaching in the wake of AI and other current concerns (attention, slow reading, experience learning). This is a rare opportunity to think together about the practice of memorization, in relation to Islamic traditions and beyond.
Islamic Studies Poetry Night & Potluck Iftar on March 24
Join us on Monday, March 24, 2025, for a two-folded event involving
poetry and food! We will start with a poetry night in the Octagon room
(Morrice Hall, Islamic Studies Library) from 5 to 7 p.m. We will then
move to Morrice Hall 017 (Morrice Hall basement) for a potluck
Iftar (7-9 p.m.). Come prepared!
Monday, March 24 from 5:00 鈥� 9:00 p.m.
Morrice Hall
This event is co-sponsored by the Islamic Studies Library, the Institute of听Islamic Studies, the 9I制作厂免费 Institute of Islamic Studies鈥� Student Council听(MIISSC), and the World Islamic and Middle East Studies鈥� Student听Association (WIMESSA).
Open to the general public.听All languages welcome!
A Look Back at Nowruz 1404 Celebration with the Persian Program
On this second day of Spring, let鈥檚 take a look back at this year鈥檚 Nowruz 1404 event (賳賵乇賵夭 郾鄞郯鄞) by the Persian program!
On March 11, the Persian program at the Institute brought together students, faculty, and friends form across 9I制作厂免费 and Montreal to celebrate Nowruz (賳賵乇賵夭) and welcome the Persian new year with a beautiful Haftsin (賴賮鬲 爻蹖賳) table, live music performances, cultural presentations, and, of course, plenty of delicious Persian food and pastries.
Nowruz, meaning 鈥楴ew Day鈥� in Persian, marks the beginning of spring and the new year for Iranians and is also celebrated by many other peoples and countries, including Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
A heartfelt thank you to the 9I制作厂免费 graduate students and to our undergraduate students in the Persian program whose performances and contributions helped make this event so special. Your dedication and enthusiasm brought the spirit of Nowruz to life!
Thank you to everyone who joined us! Wishing you all a year filled with joy, growth, and new beginnings. 賳賵乇賵夭 賲亘丕乇讴!
Hope to see you for Nowruz 1405!
Ramadan Kareem!
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Celebration (Event) of Nowruz 1404 (噩卮賳 賳賵乇賵夭 郾鄞郯鄞)
It鈥檚 that time of year again! Spring is around the corner and so is Nowruz (賳賵乇賵夭), the new year celebrated by Iranians and several other nations and ethnicities! Continuing a long-lasting tradition, the Persian program at 9I制作厂免费 is, once again, holding a Nowruz celebration event.
Come learn about Nowruz, see our Haftsin (賴賮鬲 爻蹖賳) table, enjoy some music, play games, and have some Persian food and pastries! Join us for a glimpse of 亘賴丕乇 (产补丑补虅谤, 鈥楽pring鈥� in Persian) on an ever-so-cold Montreal evening!
Time and place: Tuesday March 11th, 5:30 鈥� 7:30 pm 鈥� McCall MacBain Arts Building 150
Institute Students Sarah Elobaid and Eman Elawad's Radio Interview on Sudan
On Feb. 1, 2025, radio and podcast host Stefan Christoff interviewed two Institute of Islamic Studies undergraduate students regarding the current violence in Sudan. Along with seasoned activists Duha Elmardi and Yaser Essa, Eman Elawad and WIMESSA President Sarah Elobaid spoke before a live audience at Casa Del Popolo in Montreal about the historical context of the violence in Sudan, the role of the Sudanese diaspora, and the role of art and poetry in Sudan activism. The program was broadcast on CKUT Radio's , where you can download the episode. Photos by Amru Salahuddien.
Congratulations to Khadijatu-Dimalya Ibrahim!
9I制作厂免费's African Studies Program and the Institute of Islamic Studies salute Ms. Khadijatu-Dimalya Ibrahim, recipient of the 9I制作厂免费's Centre Culturel Islamique de Qu茅bec Memorial Award for her contribution to the Muslim community in 9I制作厂免费, Quebec and Canada. Ms. Ibrahim has demonstrated the central role of Africa to the tradition of Islam. For details, please consult the article in 听and the article in听.
鈥淜hadijatu-Dimalya Ibrahim, who co-founded 9I制作厂免费鈥檚 Black Muslim Association in 2023, was recognized with the University鈥檚 Centre Culturel Islamique de Qu茅bec Memorial Award.
Established in 2018, the $3,000 award recognizes students who demonstrate a commitment to fostering the inclusion of Muslims within Quebec and Canadian society.鈥� (9I制作厂免费 Reporter)
Persian Program鈥檚 鈥楩ield Trip鈥� to Cinema du Parc
As part of the Persian program, we organized a field trip to Cinema du Parc to watch 丌賵丕夭 亘賵賯賱賲賵賳 (Universal Language / Une langue Universelle) on January 29th. 听This unique Canadian film blends Persian, English, and French in a surreal and thought-provoking story set between 1980s Tehran and Winnipeg.
A huge thank you to Dr. Behzad Borhan for the great recommendation! It鈥檚 exciting to see a film like this, showcasing linguistic and cultural diversity while gaining international recognition鈥攕hortlisted for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards and featured at Cannes 2024.
Even more exciting, we had the incredible opportunity to meet and talk with the film鈥檚 director, producer, and actors, gaining insight into the creative process and multilingual storytelling behind the film.
In the Persian program, learning extends beyond the classroom with cultural events, conversation sessions, and trips like this. Looking forward to more experiences like this in the future and thanks to all our students who came!
Talk by Marie Rask Bjerre Odgaard: "When She Arrives: On friendship, singular encounters, and being an anthropologist like a friend." - February 12, 2025.
The Old Women of Nishapur Initiative: gender, knowledge, religion. Department of Anthropology and Institute of Islamic Studies 9I制作厂免费.
An SSHRC sponsored event with support from Critical Media Lab 9I制作厂免费
Wed. Feb 12, 2025 鈥� 12:30 pm
Peterson Hall - 116
The Beautiful friend shows up unexpectedly and a worlding can begin. In this talk, we move from making friends on a quiet street in Denmark to friendships in Jordan and finally to friendship and the possibility of transformative solidarity in anthropology. When invisible, affective gestures are captured ethnographically in all their singularity, can we be an anthropologist like a friend? One primary ethical demand in friendship is that you do not tell your friends鈥� secrets, no matter what. When this demand is translated into being an anthropologist like a friend, it often leads to seemingly endless discussions about how to tell the story of what emerges in-between鈥攈ow to make that story both an expression of a relationship and a more general view of the world, without becoming a tell-tale, and how to best honor your friend鈥檚 desires against powers that may seek to eradicate those desires altogether. Through the lens of anthropology, this talk examines how friendships鈥攐ften full of personal secrets and intimacies鈥攊nform and complicate our positionalities and the purpose of the work we do. As illuminated by Leela Gandhi's work on radical possibility and the politics of friendship (2006), the talk considers the productive and at times frustrating tension between relational ethics of trust and intimacy, professional responsibility, and the potential for a radical politics of friendship that resists colonial narratives and embraces unfinished relations and transformative solidarity.
Marie Rask Bjerre Odgaard听will also offer a discussion seminar on her research on family and queerness in Jordan, we will read one of her chapters and discuss it with her. Write to setrag.manoukian [at] mcgill.ca to receive the pdf.
Tue. Feb 11, 2025 鈥� 2:30 pm-4:30 pm
Morrice Hall - 328
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Professor Michelle Hartman鈥檚 work featured at talks in Cairo
Professor Michelle Hartman presented her work at several talks in Cairo, Egypt in January. AT KMT House she was in conversation with Professor Magda Hasabelnaby of Ain Shams University about women鈥檚 literature, war stories, and translation.
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At Diwan Bookshop in Zamalek Michelle presented her recent co-translation (with Caline Nasrallah) of Asmaa Alatawna鈥檚 A Long Walk from Gaza in conversation with Cairo University Professor, Hoda Elsadda.
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"Lyrical Language Learning," Behzad Borhan - February 1, 2025
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IIS PhD Student, Behzad Borhan, will give a lecture at University of Toronto, on Saturday, February 1.
"Lyrical Language Learning: A Multisensory Approach to Teaching Persian Language through Literature and Music"
For more information, please听.
Congratulations to Arteen Khachekyan!
Congratulations to MA student Arteen Khachekyan on receiving a 2025 SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship, for his project entitled, 鈥滼ewish Philosophy in Medieval Baghdad: A Study of Ibn Kammuna's Ethics in an Interfaith Context". His supervisor is Professor Robert Wisnovsky.
What the War Left Behind featured in Jadaliyya
Professors Malek Abisaab and Michelle Hartman's latest book, "Women's War Stories: Women's Stories of Resistance and Struggle in Lebanon"听has been featured in Jadaliyya.
Please see their interview听.
Congratulations to Megan Martucci!
Congratulations to MA student Megan Martucci on successfully completing her MA thesis entitled: "When language abandons us: translating Adania Shibli鈥檚 Minor Detail into English, French, and Portuguese".听 Her supervisor was Professor Michelle Hartman.
Talk by Mahdi Tourage - January 23, 2025
"Misogyny, Racism and the Limits of Mystical Knowledge in Rumi's Poetry"
We are pleased to invite you to the forthcoming Institute of Islamic Studies Lecture Series event for Winter 2025, which will maintain its emphasis on Sufi Studies.
Like all of our events, it is free and open to the public. All are welcome.
Thursday, January 23
Morrice Hall 017
2:30 - 4:00
Congratulations to Prof Prashant Keshavmurthy!
Professor Prashant Keshavmurthy has received an Internal Social Sciences and Humanities Development (SSHD) Grant for his project, forthcoming as a bilingual facing page translation with Brill, "Producing the first critical edition of Amir Khusraw's The Nine Skies."听
Prashant Keshavmurthy's Recent Interview
Professor Prashant Keshavmurthy was interviewed by the Iranian magazine Kh膩ne-yi ket膩b va adabiy膩t-e Ir膩n (The House of Books and Literature of Iran) on .