Al-Mahdi Institute

🔔 Call for Papers! "Who Cares? Care and Support Practitioners in Muslim Contexts" Across Muslim societies, countless individuals serve as chaplains, counsellors, carers, and community supporters, yet their voices and experiences often remain marginal in academic discussions. This conference seeks to centre their work — exploring how faith, ethics, and spirituality inform practices of care. Convened by Dr Muhammed Reza Tajri, this two-day international conference will: ✅ Examine the roles of Muslim care practitioners in contexts such as mental health, family support, and migration. ✅ Explore how Islamic theology, ethics, and spirituality shape frameworks of care and compassion. ✅ Bring together scholars and practitioners to reflect on lived experiences of support, resilience, and well-being. 📍 27–28th April 2026 at Al-Mahdi Institute 📅 Abstract Deadline: 12th January 2026 Selected papers will also be published in an edited volume with Brill. 🔗 Read more or submit an abstract: ami.is/msc-cfp #CallForPapers #IslamicStudies #MuslimContexts #FaithAndCare #Chaplaincy #MentalHealth #CommunityWellbeing #Ethics #AcademicConference #Research #AMI

📣 Call for Papers: "Ways of Knowing in Sufism: Epistemology, Authority, and Contemporary Implications" The Islamic mystical tradition offers a rich spectrum of epistemological insights: unveiling (kashf), tasting (dhawq), inspiration (ilhām), and dreams, as means of encountering divine reality. This conference invites scholars to interrogate the epistemic, theological, and social dimensions of such knowledge, both historically and in contemporary Muslim thought. Key questions include: ✅ Can experiential forms of knowledge serve as valid sources of theology or jurisprudence? ✅ How do gender, power, and modernity shape access to mystical knowledge? ✅ What is the relevance of Sufi epistemology in an age of reform and secular critique? 📍 1st - 2nd June 2026 at Al-Mahdi Institute 📝 Abstract Deadline: 6th February 2026 This conference is convened by Dr Zoheir Ali Esmail, and selected papers will be published in an edited volume by De Gruyter Brill. 🔗 Find out more or submit an abstract: ami.is/ims-cfp #Sufism #IslamicStudies #Epistemology #Mysticism #CallForPapers #Academic #Research #Conference #Sufi #Epistemology #WaysOfKnowing

🎙️ New Podcast by Thinking Islam! What Can Football Teach Us About Palestine? And how do sport, identity, and politics come together in the struggle for justice and belonging? ⚽🇵🇸 In this powerful episode, Dr Kholoud Al Ajarma, Palestinian anthropologist and award-winning filmmaker, joins Dr Muhammed Reza Tajri to discuss her research on pro-Palestinian activism among football fans in Scotland. She reflects on how football stadiums become spaces of resistance, solidarity, and hope, drawing connections between cultural expression, activism, and identity. From her upbringing in Palestinian refugee camps to her work uniting communities through art and culture, Dr Al-Ajarma offers a moving reflection on the enduring spirit of Palestine. ▶️ Watch the full podcast now: ami.is/ti9 🎧 Or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & more: ami.is/ti9-audio #ThinkingIslam #Podcast #Palestine #Football #Solidarity #Justice #Identity #Activism #Resistance #Islam #Culture #RefugeeVoices #Hope #SportsAndPolitics #ContemporaryIslam

🎙️ New Podcast by Thinking Islam! God’s Word or Muhammad’s? Revelation & Prophetic Experience with Dr. Abdolkarim Soroush In this episode, Dr. Abdolkarim Soroush joins Arman to explore one of the most challenging questions in modern Islamic thought: Is the Qur’an solely the word of God, or does it also reflect the creative imagination of the Prophet Muhammad (s)? 🤔 Drawing on his influential theory of the expansion and contraction of religious knowledge, Dr. Soroush examines how revelation might be understood in an age shaped by reason, science, and historical consciousness. Together, they discuss the evolving nature of prophetic experience, the concept of Kalam Muhammad, and how interpretation continues to unfold in the post-prophetic era. ▶️ Watch the full podcast now: ami.is/ti8 🎧 Or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & more: ami.is/ti8-audio #ThinkingIslam #Podcast #Quran #Revelation #Prophecy #Soroush #IslamicPhilosophy #Theology #IslamicThought #ReasonAndFaith #Spirituality #Religion #Philosophy #IslamicStudies #ContemporaryIslam

🎙️ New Podcast by Thinking Islam! Feeling Islam: An Emotional Journey of the Qur’an with Dr. Karen Bauer. In this episode, Dr. Karen Bauer joins Arman to explore a crucial but often overlooked question in Qur’anic studies: Does the Qur’an aim only to instruct the mind, or does it also seek to move the heart? 🤔 Drawing on her groundbreaking research on emotions in the Qur’an, Dr. Bauer examines how the text employs emotional rhetoric through fear, hope, love, and humility to shape moral action and human transformation. We discuss Prophetic vulnerability, the role of the heart as both perception and feeling, and the Qur’an’s non-linear narrative style that mirrors the complexity of lived experience. This wide-ranging conversation opens fresh pathways for rethinking scripture, not only as a rational discourse but as a deeply affective one that challenges modern categories of reason, emotion, and humanity. ▶️ Watch the full podcast: ami.is/ti7 🎧 Or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & more: ami.is/ti7-audio #new #thinkingislam #podcast #quran #emotions #islam #spirituality #faith #quranicstudies #islamicstudies #religion #emotional #emotionalintelligence #feelingislam

🔔 Call for Papers! 'Esoteric Currents and Intellectual Tensions: The Ghulāt in Formative Shīʿism' While the ghulāt never gained political dominance, their intellectual and esoteric currents profoundly shaped the cultural, theological, and mystical trajectories of early Shīʿism. Yet their role remains underexplored in academic discourse. This two-day international conference, convened by Dr Haidar Hoballah will: ✅ Re-examine the role of ghulāt in shaping Shīʿa hadith, theology, and politics. ✅Investigate whether prevailing narratives of ghuluww reflect historical reality. ✅Explore their influence on Qur’anic exegesis, kalām, and mystical traditions. 📍 9–10th February 2026 at Al-Mahdi Institute 📅 Abstract deadline: 3 November 2025 Selected papers will also be published in an edited volume in partnership with De Gruyter Brill. 🔗 Read more or submit an abstract here: ami.is/hh-cfp #CallForPapers #Shiism #IslamicStudies #Ghulat #Academic #Conference #Research #Hadith #History #Shiastudies