The Islamic College heartily congratulates the winners of the 2017-18 student awards!
Read more…
Monthly Lecture Series: Beauty in Sufism: The Teachings of Ruzbihan Baqli
Beauty in Sufism: The Teachings of Ruzbihan Baqli
Thursday 22 February 2018 – 6:00 pm
Monthly Lecture Series: Building the “Silk Road” From Below: Arab Traders Between East and West Asia
Thursday 22 February 2018 – 6:00 pm
Building the “Silk Road” From Below: Arab Traders Between East and West Asia Read more…
MA Distance Education Virtual Open Day
Are you considering the possibility of taking a university degree in Islamic Studies? Read more…
The Quran and the Spiritual Roots of the Environmental Crisis
The Quran and the Spiritual Roots of the Environmental Crisis
A Lecture by
Dr Reza Shah-Kazemi
Senior Research Associate, Institute of Ismaili Studies, London
Friday 27th of May 2022
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm (UK Time)
The Holy Quran helps to disclose the roots of the environmental crisis, while revealing ways
in which each individual can contribute to the resolution of the crisis, on the plane of moral and spiritual action.
Refreshments will be served.
This event is not a hybrid one and the lecture will not be streamed online.
Dr Shah-Kazemi’s lecture will begin at 6:30 pm and the Q&A will begin at 7:30 pm.
Founding editor of the Islamic World Report, Reza Shah-Kazemi studied International Relations and Politics at Sussex and Exeter Universities before obtaining his PhD in Comparative Religion from the University of Kent in 1994. He has authored and translated several works, including, Paths to Transcendence: According to Shankara, Ibn Arabi and Meister Eckhart (World Wisdom, 2006); Justice and Remembrance: Introducing the Spirituality of Imam ‘Ali (I. B. Tauris, in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies); Seeing God Everywhere: Quranic Perspectives on the Sanctity of Virgin Nature (Cambridge Central Mosque, 2019).
Formerly a Consultant to the Institute for Policy Research in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, Dr Shah-Kazemi is at present a Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, where he is editing the English translation and edition of the Great Islamic Encyclopaedia (from Persian).
FEE: None.
OPEN TO: All are welcome!
VENUE: 133 High Road, Willesden, London NW10 2SW (please walk down St. Andrews Road to the building past the carpark)
MORE INFORMATION: Contact 02084519993 or info@islamic-college.ac.uk
Book Launch: Essays on Shi‘ism and Iran by Hamid Algar

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81492642552?pwd=VmRQRnc5U0RoU1g1NS9kd1dxZ3JLdz09
Meeting ID: 814 9264 2552
Passcode: 337916
*** Discounts on the book available at the book launch! ***
Shi‘ism, Iran, and the Islamic Revolution are subjects fraught with political biases and ideological agendas; sometimes, even fiction is presented as fact. This lucid collection of writings demystifies these subjects. With some of these pieces written before the Revolution, they demonstrate the trajectory of Imam Khomeini from being an obscure scholar and mystic to appearing on the cover of Time magazine. They also show how the study of Shi‘ism in the academy evolved from being a niche subject to a discipline in its own right.
A pioneer in the study of Shi‘ism and contemporary Iran, Hamid Algar’s work is marked by precise attention to detail, a near-unparalleled grasp of languages, and a forthright honesty. Thus he offers scholarship, a key to understanding Shi‘ism, Iran, and the Revolution as relevant today as it was when the essays were first written. Rather than projecting Shi‘ism as a historical monolith, this book takes the reader on a journey through the developments in Shi‘ism in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, discussing the debates over religious authority and modern political technologies. Rooting the development of the Revolution in a broader historical context, it also offers biographies of key revolutionary figures and explores ideological challenges faced by the nascent Islamic Republic, such as matters of war and social justice. Throughout the book, mysticism and politics intertwine; not only does the characteristically Shi‘i form of mysticism– ‘irfan – figure heavily in this work, but some sections are devoted to the relationship between the Shi‘i Imams and the Sunni Sufi orders, as well as the place of Sufism in Shi‘ism. Lastly, Hamid Algar provides sound, thought-provoking analyses of contemporary scholarship in the study of Shi‘ism, including the works of Henry Corbin and Patricia Crone. This book contains something for anyone with an interest in history, Shi‘ism, Iran, or the Islamic Revolution.
* * *
Hamid Algar (1940-) is Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, where he served on the faculty of Near Eastern Studies for 45 years. His degree from Cambridge in Oriental Languages (Arabic and Persian) led him on a fascinating journey through the Islamic heritage and lands, both physically and metaphorically, in an era where Islam was scarcely known in the West. A prolific author, he has written not only on Shi‘ism and Iran but also the Naqshbandi Sufi order; the contemporary history of Turkey, the Balkans, and Afghanistan; and Arabic, Persian, and Turkish literature. He has lent his pen and deep command of languages to numerous translations, including Islam and Revolution, an early collection of Imam Khomeini’s speeches. One of the few Westerners to meet Imam Khomeini, Algar was able to meet with Khomeini a number of times, first in Paris, then in Qum and Tehran, and became well acquainted with his mode of thought. Vignettes of his travels, acquaintances, and studies appear in the introduction to the book.
Persian Language Short Course
Starting Date: 18th January 2021
Book Launch: Chronicles of the Martyrdom of Imam Husayn
There will also be a special video message from the author of the original work and Head of the Dar al-Hadith Institute, Ayatollah Muhammad Muhammadi Rayshahri.
THE ISLAMIC COLLEGE AWARDS 2016-17
The Islamic College heartily congratulates the winners of the 2016-17 student awards! Read more…