Registration is now open for the Annual Meeting held in conjunction with the SBL/AAR Annual Meetings in San Antonio, Texas, November 18-21, 2016. You can save on the registration fee by joining IQSA and registering for the Annual Meetings as an Affiliate Member! Register through the SBL website HERE. The membership fees for IQSA are $25, $50, and $75 depending on the level. To become an IQSA member click HERE. We hope you’ll join us and meet us in San Antonio!
Calls for papers is now closed.
The full schedule of the IQSA Annual Meeting is now available! Please see below.
Linguistic, Literary, and Thematic Perspectives on the Qur’anic Corpus
Theme: Rhetoric of Persuasion in the Qur’anic Discourse
Friday 18 November
1:00-3:30 p.m.
Room: 007D (River Level) – Convention Center (CC)
Andrew C. Smith, Brigham Young University: Deliberate Alternation of Time: Verbal Enallage or Iltifat as Rhetorical Poetics in Surat al-Qamar (25 min)
Matthew Kuiper, University of Notre Dame: Da’wa in the Qur’an and the Qur’an as Persuasive Da’wa (25 min)
Karen Bauer, The Institute of Ismaili Studies: Emotional Rhetoric and Qur’anic Persuasion (25 min)
Anne-Sylvie Boisliveau, Sorbonne Université (Paris): Sharing Its Inner Feelings with the Audience: Persuasive Features of the Qur’anic Voice (25 min)
Gabriel Said Reynolds, University of Notre Dame: God of Mercy and Vengeance (25 min)
Discussion (25 min)
Presidential Address
Friday 18 November
4:00-5:15 p.m.
Room: Lone Star B (2nd Level) – Grand Hyatt (GH)
Emran El-Badawi, University of Houston, Presiding
Farid Esack, University of Johannesburg: “These are my Daughters”: Lot and His Offer – A Lover/Scholar Reflects on one of the Qur’an’s More Awkward Moments
Shari Lowin, Stonehill College, Respondent
IQSA Reception
Friday 18 November
5:15-6:30 p.m.
Room: Lone Star A (2nd Level) – Grand Hyatt (GH)
Film screening: Jesus and Islam
Friday 18 November
6:30-8:30 p.m.
Room: Lone Star B (2nd Level) – Grand Hyatt (GH)
Qur’anic Studies: Methodology and Hermeneutics
Theme: The Qur’an as a Violent Text?
Saturday 19 November
9:00-11:30 a.m.
Room: Grand A (3rd Level) – Marriott Rivercenter (MRC)
Farid Esack, University of Johannesburg, Presiding
Hina Azam, University of Texas at Austin, Panelist
Gerald Hawting, School of Oriental and African Studies, Panelist
M. Issam Eido, Vanderbilt University, Panelist
Reuven Firestone, Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (California Branch), Panelist
Daniel Madigan, Georgetown University, Panelist
David Cook, Rice University, Panelist
Khalid Blankinship, Temple University, Panelist
Karen Bauer, The Institute of Ismaili Studies, Panelist
The Qur’an and the Biblical Tradition
Joint Session with SBL Qur’an and the Biblical Tradition
Theme: al-Kisai’s The Tales of the Prophets
Saturday 19 November
09:00-11:30 am.
Room: Grand B (3rd Level) – Marriott Rivercenter (MRC)
John Kaltner, Rhodes College, Presiding
Marianna Klar, University of London: Textual stability in al-Kisa’i’s Shu‘ayb narrative (20 min)
Discussion (10 min)
Carol Bakhos, University of California-Los Angeles: Migrating Motifs: Villains in Jubilees and al-Kisa’i’s Tales of the Prophets (20 min)
Discussion (10 min)
John C. Reeves, University of North Carolina at Charlotte: Parascriptural Lore Pertaining to The Prophet Idris in the Tale Anthology of al-Kisa’i (20 min)
Discussion (10 min)
Cornelia Horn, Martin-Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg: Situating al-Kisa’i’s Role in the Development of Extra-Canonical Depictions of Jesus and Mary in the Christian Orient (20 min)
Discussion (10 min)
Helen Blatherwick, University of London: Literary Choices and Textual Silences in al-Kisa’i’s Accounts of the Annunciation and the Birth of Jesus (20 min)
Discussion (10 min)
IQSA Graduate Student Reception
Theme: Doctoral Dissertation ‘Lightning Talks”
Saturday 19 November
11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
Room: 849 E. Commerce St. 2nd Level
Rufino Dango, University of Notre Dame: Muhammad Asad, Interpreting the Qur’an for the Modern Mind
Maria Rodriguez, Catholic University of America: ‘What God Really Said’: The Function of the “Word of God” in Assyrian, Hebrew, Greek and Arabic Prophetic Literature
Andrew Smith, Brigham Young University: Prostration as Discourse: A Comparative Literary, Semiotic, and Ritual Analysis of the Action in the Qur’an and Hebrew Bible
The Qur’an: Manuscripts and Material Culture Joint Session with SBL New Testament Textual Criticism Theme: Comparative New Testament and Qur’anic Textual Criticism
Saturday 19 November
1:00-03:30 p.m.
Room: Texas D (4th Level) – Grand Hyatt (GH)
Juan Hernandez, Bethel University (Minnesota), Presiding
Sara Schulthess, University of Lausanne/Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, and Claire Clivaz, Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics: Studying an Arabic New Testament Manuscript (Vat. Ar. 13): So What? (30 min)
Michael Marx, Corpus Coranicum, Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities: The Development of the Orthography of the Qur’an in the Light of Early Manuscripts (30 min)
Stephen J. Davis, Yale University: Marginalia Arabica: Traces of Christian Scribes, Patrons, and Readers (30 min)
Daniel Brubaker, Rice University: Corrections Involving the Word rizq (Provision) in Early Qur’ans (30 min)
Jennifer Knust, Boston University, Respondent (10 min)
Nicolai Sinai, University of Oxford, Respondent (10 min)
The Qur’an and the Biblical Tradition
Joint Session with SBL Syriac Literature and Interpretations of Sacred Texts, AAR Middle Eastern Christianity
Theme: Christian-Muslim Relations
Saturday 19 November
4:00-06:30 p.m.
Room: Presidio A (3rd Level) – Grand Hyatt (GH)
Cornelia Horn, Martin-Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg, Presiding
Tina Shepardson, University of Tennessee, Knoxville: Persisting in Religious Truth: Reading John of Ephesus during the Rise of Islam (25 min)
David Cook, Rice University: Making the Transition between Apocalypse in Revelation to Revelation in Apocalypse (25 min)
Zachary Ugolnik, Columbia University: Divine (Reflexive) Speech in John of Dalyatha (d. c. 780 C.E.) and the Commentaries attributed to Ja‘far al-Sadiq (d. 148/765) (25 min)
Ashoor Yousif, University of Toronto: Patriarchate and Caliphate: Christian-Muslim Relations at the Highest Echelons of Early ‘Abbasid Society (25 min)
Cynthia Villagomez, Winston-Salem State University: Economic Justice, Economic Capital, and Religious Authority in the Church of the East in the Early Islamic Centuries (25 min)
George Kiraz, Princeton University: Petitioning the Patriarch: The Syriac Orthodox in the Late Ottoman Empire (25 min)
Linguistic, Literary, and Thematic Perspectives on the Qur’anic Corpus
Theme: Surat al-Nisa’ (Q 4)
Sunday 20 November
9:00-11:30 a.m.
Room: 007D (River Level) – Convention Center (CC)
Shawkat M. Toorawa, Yale University, Presiding
Joseph E. Lowry, University of Pennsylvania: Law and Literary Form in Surat al-Nisa’ with Reference to Surat al-Baqara and Surat al-Ma’ida (30 min)
Nicolai Sinai, University of Oxford: Adjudicatory Responses in Surat al-Nisa’ (30 min)
Hamza M. Zafer, University of Washington: Prophetic Authority, Universalism, and Equivalence in Q 4 (30 min)
Marianna Klar, SOAS, University of London: Lexicon and Structure in Surat al-Nisa’ (30 min)
Discussion (30 min)
The Qur’an and the Biblical Tradition
Joint Session with SBL Biblica Arabica: The Bible in Arabic Among Jews, Christians, and Muslims
Theme: The Arabic Bible and the Qur’an in the Jewish and Christian Tradition
Sunday 20 November
9:00-11:30 a.m.
Room: Presidio A (3rd Level) – Grand Hyatt (GH)
Ilana D. Sasson, Sacred Heart University, Presiding
Holger Zellentin, University of Nottingham, Presiding
Davida Charney, University of Texas at Austin: The Dilemmas of Defining Psalms as Prophecy for Rabbanites and Karaites (25 min)
Meir Bar Maymon, Tel Aviv University: Job: The First (Jewish) Subject and the Sovereignty of Yhwh Saadiah’s (25 min)
Marianus Hundhammer, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg: The Arabian Prophets of the Qur’an and the Bible: Remarks on Contextuality, Sources and Methods in Muslim Exegetical Traditions and Qur’anic Studies (25 min)
Roberto Tottoli, Universita di Napoli: Struggling with Meanings and Style: The Reception of Sura 18 in the Latin Translations in Medieval and Modern Europe (25 min)
Morgan Davis, Brigham Young University: The Bible as a Basis for a Comparative Analysis of the Qur’an and the Book of Mormon (25 min)
John Span, Faculté Jean Calvin, Aix en Provence: Christianized Qur’anic Hermeneutics: A Historical Overview and Critique (25 min)
IQSA Business Meeting – All IQSA members should attend
Sunday 20 November
11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Room: Texas C (4th Level) – Grand Hyatt (GH)
Qur’an Seminar Roundtable and Book Launch
Sunday 20 November
1:00-02:30 p.m.
Room: Texas C (4th Level) – Grand Hyatt (GH)
Mehdi Azaiez, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Panelist
Emran El-Badawi, University of Houston, Panelist Sidney Griffith, Catholic University of America, Panelist
Asma Hilali, Institute of Ismaili Studies
Daniel Madigan, Georgetown University, Panelist
Michael Pregill, Boston University, Panelist
Gabriel S. Reynolds, University of Notre Dame, Panelist
Shawkat Toorawa, Yale University, Panelist
The Qur’an: Manuscripts and Material Culture Panel 2
Sunday 20 November
1:00-03:30 p.m.
Room: Independence (3rd Level) – Grand Hyatt (GH)
Keith Small, London School of Theology, Presiding
Daniel Brubaker, Rice University: Qur’an Manuscript Treasures from the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha
Wasim Shiliwala, Princeton University: Islamic Law and Anomalous Readings of the Qur’an
Michael Marx, Corpus Coranicum: The Development of the Orthography of the Qur’an according to Manuscripts
Tobias Jocham, Corpus Coranicum: Carbon Dating of Qur’anic Manuscripts
Qur’an Seminar
Monday 21 November
09:00-11:30 a.m.
Room: 007D (River Level) – Convention Center (CC)
Mehdi Azaiez, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Presiding
Clare Wilde, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Presiding
Reuven Firestone, Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (California Branch), Panelist
Gabriel S. Reynolds, University of Notre Dame, Panelist
Emad Muhamad, Indiana University, Panelist
Andrew O’Connor, University of Notre Dame, Panelist
Emran El-Badawi, University of Houston, Panelist
Stephen Shoemaker, University of Oregon, Panelist
The Qur’an and Late Antiquity
Joint Session with Religious Competition in Late Antiquity
Theme: Violence and Belief Beyond the Qur’anic Milieu
Monday 21 November
09:00-11:30 a.m.
Room: Grand A (3rd Level) – Marriott Rivercenter (MRC)
Lily Vuong, Central Washington University, Presiding
Ra’anan Boustan and Karen Britt, University of California-Los Angeles: Blood on the Floor: Representations of Violence and Communal Self-fashioning in the Synagogue Mosaics at Huqoq (30 min)
Adam Gaiser, Florida State University: Kharijite Militancy from a Late Antique Perspective (20 min)
Nathan S. French, Miami University: ‘Our Monasticism is Jihad’: On Pursuing the Numinous in Borderlands Classical and Jihadi-Salafi (20 min)
Qur’anic Studies: Methodology and Hermeneutics
Theme: Emergent Hermeneutics
Monday 21 November
01:00-03:30 p.m.
Room: Grand B (3rd Level) – Marriott Rivercenter (MRC)
Farid Esack, University of Johannesburg, Presiding
Johanna Pink, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg: The Hermeneutics of Sources: Emergent Hermeneutics and the Tradition of Tafsir (25 min)
Banafsheh Madaninejad, Southwestern University: The Iranian Religious Intellectual Movement and the Hermeneutics of a “Changing Qur’an” (25 min)
Lailatul Fitriyah, University of Notre Dame and Bahram Naderil, Northwestern University: The People of Lut: Indonesian LGBTQ’s Reading on Qur’an 7: 80-84 (25 min)
Yusuf Rahman, Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Syarif Hidayatullah: Feminst Kiyai, K.H. Husein Muhammad: An Indonesian Interpretation on Gendered Verses in the Qur’an (25 min)
James Crossley, St Mary’s University, London: Tony Blair’s Liberal Qur’an (25 min)
The Qur’an and the Biblical Tradition
Theme: Late Antique Perspectives on Qur’anic Ontology and Law
Monday 21 November
01:00-03:30 p.m.
Room: 305 (3rd Level) – Convention Center (CC)
Cornelia Horn, Martin-Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg, Presiding
Holger Zellentin, University of Nottingham: The Noahide Covenant from the Bible to the Qur’an (30 min)
Tanner Lowe, Duke University: Sura 80, John 9 and a Hermeneutic of Disability (30 min)
David Bertaina, University of Illinois at Springfield: The Bodily Resurrection in the Qur’an and Sixth-Century Syriac Christian Literature (30 min)
George Archer, Georgetown University: Kun Fayakun: The Quran’s Command to “Be!” as a Refutation of Trinitarianism (30 min)
The Qur’an and Late Antiquity
Joint Session with Society for Ancient Mediterranean Religions Greco-Roman Religions, and SBL Student Advisory Board
Theme: Teaching Ancient Mediterranean Religions from Rome to Islam
Monday 21 November
04:00-06:30 p.m.
Room: 217B (2nd Level – West) – Convention Center (CC)
Annette Reed, University of Pennsylvania, Presiding
Richard S. Ascough , Queen’s University and Erin K. Vearncombe, Princeton University: Who Wins in a Fight, Cybele or Isis? Strategies for Learner-Centered Teaching on Ancient Mediterranean Religions (15 min)
Andrew Durdin, University of Chicago: The Ancient Romans and Their “Religion” (15 min)
Paul Robertson, Colby-Sawyer College: Teaching the Taxonomy of Social Phenomena: Categorizing and Comparing Religious Groups in the Ancient Mediterranean (15 min)
Greg Fisher, Carleton University: Silo Busting: Teaching the pre-Islamic Religious Landscape as a Roman Historical Problem (15 min)
Elizabeth DePalma Digeser, University of California-Santa Barbara: Cities and Empires: Integrating the Study of Early Islam within World and Mediterranean History (15 min)
Michael Pregill, Boston University: ‘We Have Made You Nations and Tribes…’: Teaching Islam in First Millennium Context (15 min)