Tenth Annual International Conference on Shi‘i Studies
10 May 2025
8:30–9:00: Arrival and Registration
9:00–9:10: Opening remarks by Dr Mohammed Ali Ismail, Director of Research and Publications at The Islamic College
9:10–10:30: Keynote speech by Professor Tahera Qutbuddin, University of Oxford
10:30–11:45: Exploring Nahj al-Balāghah (1)
Seminar Room
Oliver Leaman (University of Kentucky, USA), The Nahj and the Qur’an, and What We Should Say about Discrepancies
George Warner (Institute of Ismaili Studies, UK), The Many Contexts of Nahj al-Balāghah
Room F12
Sara Abidi (The Islamic College, UK), Reviewing the Definitions of Intertextuality: The Extent of Influence of Nahj al-Balāghah on Khomeini’s Mystical and Ethical Ideas
Jalal Fairooz (The International University of Islamic Studies in London, UK), Leadership and Justice in Nahj al-Balāghah: A Timeless Framework for Governance
11:45–12:00: Break
12:00–1:00: Exploring Nahj al-Balāghah (2)
Seminar Room
Imran Aijaz (University of Michigan, USA), A Defence of Some Arguments for the Doctrine of Divine Simplicity (DDS) in the Nahj al-Balāghah
Shabbir Abbas (University of Arizona, USA), Mīrzā Ghālib in Servitude of ʿAlī (Bandagī-yi Bū-Turāb)
Room F12
Shahnaaz Alidina (Independent researcher, Canada), Faith and Neuroscience: The Impact of Spiritual Practices on Character Development based on Letter 31, Nahj al-Balāghah
Amani Saad (The Islamic College, UK), Unveiling the Historical Context of Imam ʿAlī’s Sermons
13:00–14:15: Lunch
14:15–15:45:
Jurisprudence and Authority – Seminar Room
Huzaifa Dokaji (State University of New York at Stony Brook, USA), Contesting Dominance: Leadership, Religious Authority, and Schism within Nigeria’s Shi‘i Community
Arman Syed (Al-Mahdi Institute, UK), Expansion of the Epistemic Framework of Ijtihad in Imāmī Uṣūl al-Fiqh: A Case for Compassionate Ijtihad
Ali Hussain Al-Hakim (The Islamic College, UK), The State Law and Modern Concepts and Tools Within Islamic Jurisprudence
Regional Studies – Room F12
Noor Zaidi (University of Maryland, USA), Finding Zaynab in Al-Rashīd
Figen Balamir (Igdir University, Turkey), Being Shi‘i in Turkey
Muhammad Nakhid, (Qum Seminary, Iran), The Early Roots of Shi‘ism in The Caribbean: An Investigative Study of its Founding and Development
Expressions of Faith – Room F13
Frank Gelli (Anglican Church, UK), The Muslim Detective
Malakeh Shahi (MetaSchool Berlin, Germany), From Metaverse to Meta Faith
Abdul-Razak Rakhis (Independent researcher, UK), Investigating Islamic (Twelver Imāmite) Spirituality and its Impact on Sports Coaching and its Potential Solution for Existing Shortcomings in this Practice
15:45-16:00 Student Awards – Seminar Room
16:00–16:15 Break
16:15–17:45:
Shi’i Scholarship – Seminar Room
Liyakat Takim (McMaster University, Canada), The Ḥawzah (Seminary) in Shi‘i History
Zahra Jafari (University of Exeter, UK), Akhbārī Scripturalism Revisited: Qur’an as a Source of Law in al-Shaykh Yūsuf al-Baḥrānī’s Doctrine
Makbul Rahim (Independent researcher, UK), Understanding the Thinking of Akhbārī and Uṣūlī Schools and Recent Trends of Qur’anists and Tafkīkīs
Theology and Spirituality – Room F12
Shuja Zaidi (Independent researcher, UK), Three Metanarrative Approaches to Religious Denialism in the Qur’an: Izutsu, Ṭabāṭabāʾī, and Waldman
Abbas Mirza (The Islamic College, UK), The Quintessential Reality of Practical Mysticism (ʿIrfān ʿAmalī) in Shi‘i Doctrines
17:45-18:00: Closing address by Dr Isa Jahangir, Principal of The Islamic College
18:00-18:30: Wrap-up
