2015 Annual Meeting a Success

2015 Annual Meeting a Success

The IQSA Annual Meeting held last week in Atlanta, Georgia, was a great success, thanks to cutting-edge research presentations and record-breaking attendance. Held in conjunction with the Annual Meetings of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL)—the largest gathering of religious studies scholars in the world, our meeting brought together an international community of scholars to exchange fresh ideas on the interdisciplinary study of the Qur’an and to forge collaborations for advancing Qur’anic studies in the years to come.

AM 2015 program signThe 2015 meeting showcased the diversity of scholarly interests and approaches to the Qur’an, featuring papers on a variety of issues including rhyme in the Qur’anic text, violence in the Qur’anic milieu, and reader interactions with Qur’an manuscripts. In addition to the excellent research presentations and lively discussion, we also featured a roundtable discussion on “The Current State of Qur’anic Studies and Its Future,” in which leading experts addressed a range of key questions in the field, from sources and methods in Qur’anic scholarship to diversity and inclusion in the scholarly community. With over one hundred people in attendance, this discussion session truly reflected the importance and vitality of Qur’anic studies today.

IQSA is grateful to all the participants and attendees who contributed to the success of this year’s meeting. Please stay tuned for publication of the Presidential Address and Response papers, and keep an eye out for our Call for Papers for next year’s meeting in San Antonio!

© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2015. All rights reserved.

IQSA remains committed to providing resources and opportunities for continued collaboration among Qur’an scholars. To that end, we invite you to stay in touch with colleagues and friends by becoming a member of IQSA. Members enjoy a variety of benefits including access to the Review of Qur’anic Research, the Qur’an Seminar, and our member directory.

 

REMINDERS + NOW ONLINE – Program Book for Atlanta, Nov 20-23

Dear Friends,

We are now days away from the third Annual Meeting of the International Qur’anic Studies Association taking place in Atlanta, November 20-23. We are looking forward to another exciting meeting of scholars an friends. For a complete showcase of our events, participants and sponsors we are proud to present the official AM 2015 PROGRAM BOOK (PDF). Viewers are encouraged to further circulate the program book. (Viewers may alternately access the program book by visiting IQSAWEB.ORG >> Meetings >> Program Book AM 2015)

Please do not forget our first Panel, Presidential/Keynote Address and General Reception all taking place on Friday, Nov 20 (one day before the official start of AAR or SBL). Our Presidential/Keynote Address is on “Qurʾan and the Problematic of Prophecy,” and will be delivered by IQSA president prof. Reuven Firestone, with a Response by IQSA council member prof. Ebrahim Moosa at 4:00-5:15 pm in Marriott – M104 (Marquis Level). All Friday events are FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Furthermore, I invite all IQSA members to fulfill their duty as members by attending our Business Meeting, Sunday, Nov 22 at 11:30 am in Marriott – M105 (Marquis Level). This will be immediately followed by the Graduate Student Reception at noon in L504-L505 (Lobby Level) – Marriott. If you have not already please visit IQSAWEB.ORG in order to become a Member, subscribe to our Blog and join the private IQSA Discussion Group. Finally don’t forget to enjoy our new an improved video with Arabic subtitles!

On behalf of the Board of Directors, Standing Committees and our partners we would like to express our deepest gratitude to all friends of IQSA, and we look forward to seeing you this Friday.

Sincerely,

Emran El-Badawi, Executive Director

© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2015. All rights reserved.

IQSA Annual Meeting in Atlanta: Full Schedule Available Now!

The full schedule for the IQSA Annual Meeting 2015 in Atlanta is now available! To view the schedule, please visit the Annual Meeting 2015 page HERE.

The IQSA Annual Meeting in Atlanta is scheduled to take place 20-23 November 2015, in conjunction with the SBL/AAR Annual Meetings. Registration is open at the SBL page HERE. You can save up to $70 by joining IQSA and registering for the Annual Meetings as an Affiliate Member. If you are not yet an IQSA member, we encourage you to please join us HERE.

We look forward to an exciting meeting of members and friends in Atlanta!

© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2015. All rights reserved.

IQSA 2015 – Updates & Announcements

Dear Friends,

I trust this message finds you well, and for those of us nearing the end of our academic year I wish you all the best of luck. Since our meeting in San Diego, the International Qur’anic Studies Association (IQSA) has successfully completed a number of important activities, and we continue to develop the organization to better serve our members and fulfill our mission and vision. The purpose of this message is to inform about our recent activity.

New Homepage & Welcome Video

To serve you better our landing page on IQSAWEB.ORG is now simpler than ever. Visitors are given a warm welcome and introduction to IQSA by watching leading members of the community speak on VIDEO. Furthermore, the number on the page has been reduced to include only what is essential—enjoy!

IQSA Membership & AM Registration

To become an official MEMBER of IQSA for 2015, and to receive exclusive mmber benefits, please GO HERE (http://members.iqsaweb.org). There is a flat $25 membership fee for 2015. (Note that if you became an IQSA member in 2014 you need to sign up once again for 2015)

To attend/present in our 2015 annual meeting, taking place in Atlanta this November, you will need to REGISTER through the SBL website HERE (https://www.eiseverywhere.com/ereg/index.php?eventid=119829&categoryid=1021237&t=ccee0d3cfcb94900b333ce9916cb48fe). You will register as an “affiliate.”

Now Online: RQR and Membership Directory

Current IQSA members already have access to exclusive member benefits, namely:

* The Review of Qur’anic Research (ACTIVE)

* Membership Directory (ACTIVE)

Coming Soon: Qur’an Seminar, Job Board and JIQSA

Current and future members will soon have access to the following exclusive services and products as well:

* The interactive Qur’an Seminar website (2015)

* IQSA Job Board (2016)

* The Journal of the International Qur’anic Studies Association (2016)

2015 International Meeting (Yogyakarta, Indonesia)

Our much anticipated international meeting in Yogyakarta, Indonesia will take place August 4-7, 2015. We are very excited about this conference and the international scholarly exchange it will foster. We are also very pleased with the interest of our members and the public in attending this conference. For more information please GO HERE (https://iqsaweb.org/meetings/im2015)

2015 Annual Meeting (Atlanta, GA, USA)

The program for Atlanta is almost set and promises to be both informative as well as exciting. For more information please GO HERE (https://iqsaweb.org/meetings/) and do not forget to become a MEMBER and REGISTER (See above).

Be an IQSA citizen – nominate future officers

All IQSA members are encouraged to submit names of potential candidates for the following positions:

* President Elect for 2016

* IQSA Board Member

* Nominating Committee Member

Nominations should be sent to contact@iqsaweb.org. For more information please GO HERE (https://iqsaweb.org/2015/04/21/call-for-nominations)

Share your research – BLOG, RQR or JIQSA

If you or a colleague are currently undertaking research as a faculty member or post-doc, working on a new project as a graduate assistant or would like to share information about an upcoming Qur’an related conference, workshop or service, please consider writing a blog post for us. Your blog post will receive one to two thousand views in the first week! Blog posts in languages other than English are acceptable. Blog contributions should be sent to Dr. Vanessa Degifis (vdegifis@wayne.edu)

Scholarly reviews should be submitted to RQR and academic articles to JIQSA (See above).

Needed: Two Grad Student Assistants

We are seeking two graduate students assistants to help out with editorial and online assistance. This is a great opportunity for networking, professional development and hand-on experience. Learn more about these positions HERE (https://iqsaweb.org/2015/03/16/iqsa_jobs_grad_assts). Applications are welcome anytime but an initial review of applications will take place by June 1, 2015.

Social Media

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @IQSAWEB and Like us on Facebook, search “International Qur’anic Studies Association.”

Special Thanks

IQSA’s continued success is not possible without the dedication and skill of its officers and employees. I would especially like to thank Irfana Hussain, Vanessa DeGifis, Mun’im Sirry, Sean Anthony, Catherine Bronson, Mehdi Azaiez, Gabriel Reynolds, Nicolai Sinai as well as all unit chairs, Michael Pregill, Holger Zellentin and Missy Colee and her team at SBL.

Finally, please do not forget to join IQSA by becoming a MEMBER and REGISTERING for our 2015 Atlanta annual meeting by May 22, 2015. That’s one month away!

On behalf of the Board of Directors, Standing Committees and our partners I would like to express our deepest gratitude to all IQSA members and friends.

Sincerely,

Emran El-Badawi, Executive Director

Join IQSA and Save on Meeting Registration Rates! عضوية الجمعية مفتوحة الآن

atlantaparkskylineThe IQSA Annual Meeting in Atlanta, 20-23 November, will be held in conjunction with the SBL/AAR Annual Meetings. You could save up to $70 by joining IQSA and registering for the Annual Meetings as an Affiliate Member! Registration is now open on the SBL website here. Take advantage of an additional “super saver” discount by registering now through 21 May. We hope you’ll join us and meet us in Atlanta!

** PLEASE DO THE FOLLOWING **

(1) العضوية مجانية – To join our academic community today (for free!) simply submit a Membership Form here: http://members.iqsaweb.org/Join-Us

(2) التسجيل بسعر مخفض إلى ٢٢/٥/٢٠١٥ –  Annual Meeting Registration (Discounted until May 22, 2015) : 

https://www.eiseverywhere.com/ereg/index.php?eventid=119829&categoryid=1021237&t=ccee0d3cfcb94900b333ce9916cb48fe

© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2015. All rights reserved.

Last Call: CFP Deadline MAR 5 & 2015 Membership Open

Dear friends and colleagues,

I trust this message finds you well. This is a quick reminder that the Call for Papers deadline for November Annual Meeting in Atlanta is this Thursday, March 5. I want to encourage you all to submit a title/abstract, and to do so right away, HERE: https://iqsaweb.org/meetings/am2015/. Finally, if you have not done so already, please become an IQSA Member for the 2015 calendar year HERE: https://iqsaweb.org/2015/03/02/membership_open_2015/ (Enjoy the VIDEO!)

Thank you for making IQSA a success. I hope to share more good news with you all soon.

Warm regards

–Emran

___________________________________________

Emran El-Badawi, PhD
Executive Director, International Qur’anic Studies Association

 

IQSA, SBL and AAR in the News

The success of IQSA’s annual meetings in San Diego, CA (2014) and Baltimore, MD (2013) have contributed positively to the tremendous work done every year by both the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) as well as the American Academy of Religion (AAR). For more information, please see the excerpts below from two articles in Publishers Weekly.

Topics being buzzed about by the religion academy included Islam, once again at the top of the list. The International Qur’anic Studies Association, which meets in conjunction with AAR/SBL and was established in 2012 as a group related to SBL, earlier this year became an independent learned society and has grown to 450 members. (2014)  

 

SEE FULL STORY HERE

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One of the most significant developments at this year’s AAR/SBL conference was the debut of the International Quranic Studies Association, which had its inaugural gathering as an affiliate scholars group and is co-directed by Emran El-Badawi, director of Arab studies at the University of Houston, and Gabriel Said Reynolds, professor of Islamic studies and theology at the University of Notre Dame. It’s an idea whose time clearly has come, and publishing about Islam LINK in general continues to flourish. (2013)

SEE FULL STORY HERE

© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2013. All rights reserved.

A Letter of Thanks to IQSA Members

Dear IQSA members and friends,

I hope this message reaches you well, and that you found our time together in San Diego, both enlightening as well as enjoyable. Like many of you, I had the pleasure of meeting old friends and making new ones. I speak for myself, council and all IQSA officers when I say that we are quite pleased with how the conference went. Our sessions were well attended, and the papers were engaging and thought provoking. Our current membership numbers over 450 from all around the world, and we had the pleasure of having over one hundred of them represented during the Friday sessions, especially the keynote lecture and reception. 50 people attended our first business meeting, at which prof. Farid Esack was unanimously voted president elect for 2015.

We are, furthermore, heartened and impressed by the enthusiasm for IQSA–both within North American and internationally. Participants and audience members came from around the globe, including Indonesia, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Australia, Europe and North America. This all bodes well for IQSA, not least because this is just our second annual meeting. The task of IQSA’s executive office is now to keep up with this growth and accommodate our members for many future meetings.

I am also happy to share with you that our success in San Diego played a significant role within the larger SBL / AAR conference, for the second year in a row. More on this and several other matters of business soon.

scholars in library_maqamat hariri

Please do not forget to tell your friends, colleagues and peers about us. IQSA members come from an incredibly diverse range of academic backgrounds, including Qur’anic Studies, Islamic Studies, Biblical Studies, Middle East Studies, textual studies, inter-religious studies, hermeneutics, studies on manuscripts or material culture, the hard sciences, and so on. There are numerous ways to stay connected with IQSA throughout the year, namely by:

* Becoming a member (http://membership.iqsaweb.org/Join.aspx)

* Subscribing to our blog (IQSAWEB.ORG)

* Joining the private IQSA Discussion Group

* Liking the “International Qur’anic Studies Association” on Facebook

* Following “@IQSAWEB” on Twitter

* Publishing with us!

   (a) If you have an outstanding article or book length manuscript

        (English, Arabic), please contact JIQSA@iqsaweb.org

See also our call for papers HERE

(https://iqsaweb.org/publications/call-for-papers-jiqsa/)

   (b) If you have a minor project you would like to share over our blog

        (any language), please contact vdegifis@wayne.edu

        (As many as one thousand people may read your post in one

         week)

Next, you may anticipate getting full access to the keynote paper by prof. Angelika Neuwirth and response by prof. Andrew Rippin. in December 2014. Soon after the New Year you should also receive news about Membership and Member Benefits for 2015. Current and past papers published by IQSA are available HERE (https://iqsaweb.org/publications/papers/) and program books are available HERE (https://iqsaweb.org/meetings/).

On behalf of us all, I wish to thank our 2014 acting president Andrew Rippin, 2015 president Reuven Firestone, and congratulate as well as thank our 2015 president elect Farid Esack. Also special thanks go to Nicolai Sinai, Gabriel Reynolds, John Kutsko, Irfana Hussain, Vanessa DeGifis, Ryann Craig, Hakaya Productions and our friends at both SBL and AAR. I very much look forward to our meetings next year in Yogyakarta Indonesia (Aug, 2015) and Atlanta, GA (Nov, 2015).

Finally, thank you all for making IQSA a success!

Sincerely,

Emran El-Badawi, Executive Director

© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2013. All rights reserved.

NOW ONLINE – Program Book for San Diego, Nov 21-24

Dear Friends,

We are now days away from the second Annual Meeting of the International Qur’anic Studies Association taking place in San Diego, November 21-24. We are looking forward to another exciting meeting of scholars an friends. For a complete showcase of our events, participants and sponsors we are proud to present the official AM 2014 PROGRAM BOOK (PDF). Viewers are encouraged to further circulate the program book. (Viewers may alternately access the program book by visiting IQSAWEB.ORG >> Meetings >> Program Book AM 2014)

Please do not forget our first Panel, Keynote Lecture and Reception all taking place on Friday, Nov 21 (one day before the official start of AAR or SBL). Our Keynote Lecture is on “Qur’anic Studies and Historical-Critical Philology. The Qur’an’s Staging, Penetrating, and Eclipsing Biblical tradition,” and will be delivered by prof. Angelika Neuwirth, with a Response by IQSA president, prof. Andrew Rippin  at 4:00-5:15 pm in San Diego Convention Center (CC), Room 23 C (Upper level). All Friday events are FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Furthermore, I invite all IQSA members to fulfill their duty as members by attending our first ever Business Meeting, Sunday, Nov 23 at noon in the San Diego Convention Center (CC),  Room 24 C (Upper Level). Finally, if you have not already please visit IQSAWEB.ORG in order to become a Member for 2014, subscribe to our Blog and join the private IQSA Discussion Group.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, Standing Committees and our partners we would like to express our deepest gratitude to all friends of IQSA, and we look forward to seeing you this Friday.

Sincerely,

Emran El-Badawi, Executive Director

© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2013. All rights reserved.

NOW ONLINE – Program Book for Baltimore, Nov 22-24

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We are now days away from the first Annual Meeting of the International Qur’anic Studies Association taking place in Baltimore, November 22-24. This meeting is very special and would not have been possible without the help, partnership and collegiality of numerous friends. We are confident that you will find the scheduled panels both stimulating as well as enjoyable. For a complete showcase of our events, participants and sponsors we are proud to present the official AM 2013 PROGRAM BOOK. Viewers are encouraged to further circulate the program book.

(Viewers may alternately access the program book by visiting IQSAWEB.ORG >> Meetings >> Annual Meeting 2013 >> Program Book AM 2013)

Finally, do not forget our Qur’an Manuscript Panel and Inaugural Keynote Lecture followed by Reception all taking place on Friday, Nov 22 (one day before the official start of AAR or SBL). Our Keynote Lecture is on “Implausibility and Probability in Studies of Qur’anic Origins,” and will be delivered by prof. Aziz Al-Azmeh, with a Response by prof. Jane McAuliffe on Friday, 11/22/2013 at 4:30-5:45pm in Baltimore Convention Center, Rm 345. These events are all FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. To attend please RSVP HERE or send a message to contact@iqsaweb.org.

On behalf of the Directors, Steering Committee and our partners we would like to express our deepest gratitude to all friends of IQSA, and we look forward to seeing you on Friday.

Sincerely,

Emran El-Badawi

Gabriel Reynolds

Directors, International Qur’anic Studies Association

© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2013. All rights reserved.

A Quick Overview of the November Meeting

By Emran El-Badawi

IQSA held its first organizational meeting over two days on November 18-19, 2012, which coincided with the annual meetings of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) as well as the American Academy of Religion (AAR). The directors and steering committee had a fruitful discussion concerning the future of IQSA and put several plans into place for the short term. The details of the meeting will follow in a forthcoming blog post. We did, however, want to share with you a brief overview.

The main subjects discussed at the meeting were governance and membership; prospective plans for publication; the IQSAWEB online platform; national and international relationships; and finally the plan for our 2013 meeting.

IQSA will meet with SBL and AAR on November 23-26, 2013 in Baltimore, MD. The Baltimore meeting will consist of an inaugural keynote lecture and a small number of meeting sessions where papers will be presented. IQSA directors and members of the steering committee remain in dialogue with our partners at SBL and AAR especially, as we move forward. We hope to see you in November.

© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2012. All rights reserved.