Graduate Research Workshop - May 28
You are invited to come hear from current PhD students about their ongoing work on gender and Arabic literature, translation and literary history.
Wednesday, May 28, 2025, 9am-12pm
Morrice Hall
Professor Michelle Hartman's interview on Arabic Translation and Social Change
Professor Michelle Hartman was recently interviewed in the Oman Daily’s 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 Oman Daily's cultural supplement website.
12th Annual MIISSC Symposium — April 24, 2025
The 12th Annual Symposium of the McGill Institute of Islamic Studies Student Council (MIISSC) was held on April 24, 2025, under the theme, 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, The Gender of Practical Knowledge: Marriage, Wage Labour, and Islamic Law in Postcolonial India.
For more details about the symposium, please visit the symposium website.
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’s Luce/American Council of Learned Societies Fellows in China Studies (Long Term). Her project is titled, “State and Popular Voices in China-Arab Solidarity Building, from 1949 to 1969: A Digital Humanities Project.”
Persian Calligraphy in Practice - April 5
Persian Calligraphy in Practice: A Hands-On Workshop
EERA Café
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 Café & Gallery, a cozy and artistic Persian café. 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 café.
It was a memorable and enriching afternoon and we’re looking forward to more experiences like this in the future!
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 – 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.
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)
Tickets are by donation. 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—including emergency response rooms, resistance committees, mutual aid groups, and independent labour and farmers’ unions—have 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’s Montreal members, Stefan Christoff, the World Islamic and Middle East Students Association at McGill University (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’ 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).
Photo: Anas Taleb with Dr. Veysel Şimşek, 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, “Decolonizing the Study of Islam in Africa” (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’s 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’s prestigious “Distinguished Africanist Award” in 2024 for his work uniting, transforming, and advancing the fields of African Studies and Islamic Studies.
Thursday, April 10
- Panel, “Travel, Study, and Piety & the Islamic Traditions of Africa”
- Birks SCR (noon)
- “The Transformation of the Pilgriamge Tradition in West Africa” (Prof. Ousmane Kane, Harvard University)
- “The Circulation of Praise: The Movement of Madih in the Bilad Al-Sudan” (Prof. Oludamini Ogunnaike, University of Virginia)
- “Migration & Education, Continuity & Change in the Muslim Black Atlantic” (Prof. Ayodeji Ogunnaike, McGill University)
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!
Rula Abisaab's Talk: Memorizing the Qur’an 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’an without Understanding
Dr Rula Abisaab, Institute of Islamic Studies
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
10:00-12:00
Leacock 738
Developing some ideas from her essay on the Old Women in Immanent Frame, Professor Rula Jurdi Abisaab will lead a discussion on the following article: 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’an" 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 – 9:00 p.m.
Morrice Hall
This event is co-sponsored by the Islamic Studies Library, the Institute of Islamic Studies, the McGill Institute of Islamic Studies’ Student Council (MIISSC), and the World Islamic and Middle East Studies’ Student Association (WIMESSA).
Open to the general public. All languages welcome!
A Look Back at Nowruz 1404 Celebration with the Persian Program
On this second day of Spring, let’s take a look back at this year’s Nowruz 1404 event (نوروز ۱۴۰۴) by the Persian program!
On March 11, the Persian program at the Institute brought together students, faculty, and friends form across McGill and Montreal to celebrate Nowruz (نوروز) and welcome the Persian new year with a beautiful Haftsin (هفت سین) table, live music performances, cultural presentations, and, of course, plenty of delicious Persian food and pastries.
Nowruz, meaning ‘New Day’ 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 McGill 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. نوروز مبارک!
Hope to see you for Nowruz 1405!
Ramadan Kareem!
Celebration (Event) of Nowruz 1404 (جشن نوروز ۱۴۰۴)
It’s that time of year again! Spring is around the corner and so is Nowruz (نوروز), the new year celebrated by Iranians and several other nations and ethnicities! Continuing a long-lasting tradition, the Persian program at McGill is, once again, holding a Nowruz celebration event.
Come learn about Nowruz, see our Haftsin (هفت سین) table, enjoy some music, play games, and have some Persian food and pastries! Join us for a glimpse of بهار (bahār, ‘Spring’ in Persian) on an ever-so-cold Montreal evening!
Time and place: Tuesday March 11th, 5:30 – 7:30 pm – 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 Funky Revolutions, where you can download the episode. Photos by Amru Salahuddien.
Congratulations to Khadijatu-Dimalya Ibrahim!
McGill's African Studies Program and the Institute of Islamic Studies salute Ms. Khadijatu-Dimalya Ibrahim, recipient of the McGill's Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec Memorial Award for her contribution to the Muslim community in McGill, Quebec and Canada. Ms. Ibrahim has demonstrated the central role of Africa to the tradition of Islam. For details, please consult the article in CityNews Montreal and the article in McGill Reporter.
“Khadijatu-Dimalya Ibrahim, who co-founded McGill’s Black Muslim Association in 2023, was recognized with the University’s Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec 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.” (McGill Reporter)
Persian Program’s ‘Field Trip’ to Cinema du Parc
As part of the Persian program, we organized a field trip to Cinema du Parc to watch آواز بوقلمون (Universal Language / Une langue Universelle) on January 29th. 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’s exciting to see a film like this, showcasing linguistic and cultural diversity while gaining international recognition—shortlisted 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’s 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 McGill.
An SSHRC sponsored event with support from Critical Media Lab McGill
Wed. Feb 12, 2025 – 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’ 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—how 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’s desires against powers that may seek to eradicate those desires altogether. Through the lens of anthropology, this talk examines how friendships—often full of personal secrets and intimacies—inform 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 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 – 2:30 pm-4:30 pm
Morrice Hall - 328
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Professor Michelle Hartman’s 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’s literature, war stories, and translation.
At Diwan Bookshop in Zamalek Michelle presented her recent co-translation (with Caline Nasrallah) of Asmaa Alatawna’s A Long Walk from Gaza in conversation with Cairo University Professor, Hoda Elsadda.
"Lyrical Language Learning," Behzad Borhan - February 1, 2025
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 register for the Zoom meeting.
Congratulations to Arteen Khachekyan!
Congratulations to MA student Arteen Khachekyan on receiving a 2025 SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship, for his project entitled, ”Jewish 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" has been featured in Jadaliyya.
Please see their interview on Jadaliyya's website.
Congratulations to Megan Martucci!
Congratulations to MA student Megan Martucci on successfully completing her MA thesis entitled: "When language abandons us: translating Adania Shibli’s Minor Detail into English, French, and Portuguese". 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."
Prashant Keshavmurthy's Recent Interview
Professor Prashant Keshavmurthy was interviewed by the Iranian magazine Khāne-yi ketāb va adabiyāt-e Irān (The House of Books and Literature of Iran) on the teaching of Persian literature outside Iran.
ion and violence that have been generated by neoliberal capitalism?