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Join us at ICAIR this Ramadhan for a unique late-night seminar that shines a spotlight on the intersection between Islam and Hollywood, with a special focus on the Science Fiction genre. This event follows the release of the second instalment of the Dune film franchise in March 2024, providing a timely exploration of Islamic culture’s influence on and representation in contemporary cinema.
Join Professor Aun Hasan Ali for a virtual seminar on the relationship between the Qur'an and Hadith in Shi'i Islamic thought. Professor Ali will examine Imāmī discussions of classical literary theory as a critique of the belief in the so-called “primacy” of the Qur'an, and will argue that these discussions offer Muslims a useful approach to textuality because they preserve the sacredness of the Qur'an and the value of exegetical history.
The seminar was delivered by Dr Mohammad Reza Kalantari, Lecturer in International Relations of the Middle East and Director of the Centre for Islamic & West Asian Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London. Dr Kalantari’s research centres on the interplay of regional doctrines, elite ideologies, and political Islam. His latest book, The Clergy and the Modern Middle East: Shiʿi Political Activism in Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon (Bloomsbury, 2021), examines the role of Shiʿi clerics in contemporary politics. Through interviews with key figures, the book scrutinizes pivotal events like Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, the 2003 Iraq War, and the 2006 war in Lebanon.
The seminar was led by Aalima Fatemah Meghji, a graduate of the Islamic seminary. Aalima Meghji studied at Jamiat az-Zahra and completed the master’s program in Qur’anic Tafsir and Qur’anic Sciences with honours. She is currently an instructor at the Mizan Institute, leading the Sisters Department. Moreover, she has been teaching in a professional capacity for several years, previously serving as the Islamic Director at the Az-Zahraa Islamic Academy. Her current projects include a book on human evolution in the Shi’ite tradition, and her research interests include the principles of tafsir, Qur’anic hermeneutics, and women in the tradition.
Dr Seyfeddin Kara is an Assistant Professor of Islamic Origins at the University of Groningen, Netherlands. He holds a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Durham, UK. Kara's academic journey includes a prestigious Marie Sklodowska-Curie Global Fellowship, with research terms at the University of Toronto, the University of Lund, and the University of Göttingen.
Marking a significant moment in the intellectual landscape, the International Centre for Advanced Islamic Research (ICAIR) convened a thought-provoking seminar on the 12th of August 2023, in their offices at The WF House in Harefield, London, UK. This inaugural session, led by the senior Shi’i scholar Sayyid Muneer al-Khabbaz, encapsulated the spirit of scholarly inquiry.
