2016 Year in Review & Happy 2017

2016 Year in Review & Happy 2017

It’s been a fruitful year for IQSA. In 2016 we furthered our work in the Review of Qur’anic Research (RQR), helped launch the the Qur’an Seminar Commentary,  and completed work on the first issue of the Journal of the International Qur’an Studies Association, now in design and production. We also welcomed hundreds of friends and colleagues from around the world to our  Annual Meeting in San Antonio. As the year winds to a close we reflect on our association’s achievements with gratitude to our members, contributors, and readers around the world. We also take this time to renew our dedication to providing valuable resources and opportunities for collaboration in Qur’anic studies in 2017.

2016 has also come with its challenges as well. We acknowledge the passing of renowned Qur’an scholars–and dear friends– during 2016. These include Ali Mabrouk as well as Andrew Rippin. The outpouring of support for the Andrew Rippin Best Paper Prize, and professor Rippin’s legacy has been unprecedented–thank you.

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The work of IQSA wouldn’t be possible without the active support of our members. So start your new year off right by joining or renewing your membership in IQSA! Three tiered membership remains in place for 2017 ($25, $50, $75), with students and select junior or international colleagues paying as little as US$25 (USD). We do our best to keep membership dues low while offering high quality, academic and professional member benefits. Your membership and support are what make this exchange possible–thank you.

To become a member, please click HERE, where you will be asked to fill out a membership form and pay the appropriate membership fees. After completing this process, you will receive login information to save for your records and use to access member benefits at any time. You can then create your own profile for our member directory.

Membership benefits for 2017 include:

We appreciate your membership!

U.S. taxpayers! Are you still looking to make an end-of-year tax deductible charitable donation? Consider supporting Qur’anic scholarship with a donation to IQSA. We are a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions. You can donate to IQSA online by clicking HERE.

Finally, please do not forget to follow our Blog, Twitter and Facebook accounts, and to join the private IQSA Discussion Group. Thanks for your support!

We wish you a very Happy Holidays! كل عام وأنتم بخير

© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2016. All rights reserved.

Arabs and Empires Before Islam

IQSA members – the final Review of Qur’anic Research for 2016 is up! In the latest installment of RQR, Dr. Ilkka Lindstedt reviews Arabs and Empires Before Islam (Greg Fisher, ed. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2015). With contributions by over 20 leading experts of pre-Islamic Arabia, it is a formidable achievement in the field of pre-Islamic Arabian studies. It presents the history of Arabia from antiquity to the 630s CE, taking into account the subject’s diversity and presenting a variety of source materials.

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Much importance is given to the surviving material evidence in the present volume. It provides, for example, interpretations of significant new inscriptions and reinterpretations of previously published ones, many of which have previously been dispersed in hard-to-access publications, and explains their worth for the study of history. It has been (and unfortunately still is) a common habit of Arabists to look first and foremost at the Arabic historiography of the Islamic era and other literary evidence when discussing pre-Islamic Arabia. This is probably a question of habit and training: Arabists and Islamicists usually know well, for example, the Arabic works of the ninth–tenth centuries by Ibn al-Kalbī (d. 206/821-22), Ibn Hishām (d. 218/833), and al-Ṭabarī (d. 310/923), but they are not aware of the magnitude of the surviving pre-Islamic Arabian epigraphic record (numbering almost 100,000 known items at the moment).

Not an IQSA member? Registration for the 2017 calendar year is open! Click HERE to sign up for benefits like access to the Review of Qur’anic Research and much more!

 

© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2016. All rights reserved.

IQSA–Defending Good Scholarship #GivingTuesday

Dear Friends,

For the past four years the International Qur’an Studies Association has made fostering Qur’anic scholarship its mission. The Qur’an is an integral part of world literature, and it has shaped and continues to shape the world in which we live. By giving to IQSA you are promoting and defending good scholarship, which in turn has positive ripple effects on high quality education, journalism, publishing and public engagement.

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IQSA is the only tax exempt 501(c)3 learned society exclusively dedicated to convening regular Qur’an conferences in North America and in Muslim majority countries around the world, as well as to publishing rigorous cutting edge scholarship on the Qur’an. Within four short years IQSA has convened five conferences (four in the USA and one in Indonesia); the first issue of the bilingual Journal of the International Qur’an Studies Association (JIQSA) is now in production; and two books are under review for publication in 2017-2018. IQSA members receive free access to JIQSA, the Review of Qur’an Research (RQR), the exclusive member directory (including world renowned Qur’an specialists) and PhD students and recent graduates gain valuable professional development experience.

Donate NOW

It goes without saying that the current political climate has made our task — especially critical scholarship and building bridges — more important than before. As academics, professionals and philanthropists we have a duty to support the Humanities and Social Sciences at a time when they are under threat. This also means we have the opportunity to bring about a much more intellectual discussion of the Qur’an when the public needs it most.

IQSA was founded by a generous grant from the Henry Luce Foundation, and is now funded through the generous support of its members, partners and friends.

Donate NOW

Most gratefully,

Emran El-Badawi, Executive Director

© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2016. All rights reserved.

 

Journal of the International Qur’anic Studies Association مجلة الجمعية الدولية للدراسات القرآنية (Vol 1–2016)

COMING SOON…the Journal of the International Qur’anic Studies Association, Volume 1 (2016). See pricing and details below. Members will receive FREE online access to JIQSA.

JOIN TODAY!

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© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2016. All rights reserved.

REMINDERS + NOW ONLINE – Program Book for San Antonio, Nov 18-21

Dear Friends,

We are now days away from the fourth Annual Meeting of the International Qur’anic Studies Association taking place in San Antonio, November 18-21. We are looking forward to another exciting meeting of scholars and friends. For a complete showcase of our events, participants and sponsors we are proud to present the official AM 2016 PROGRAM BOOK (PDF). Viewers are encouraged to further circulate the program book. (Program Book link: https://iqsaweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/iqsa-programbook-2016.pdf)

Reminders — Please make sure to attend the following events or perform the needed duties outlined here:

  1. If you want to gain access to all IQSA session in San Antonio as well as our exclusive member benefits please RENEW your 2016 IQSA MEMBERSHIP immediately here (http://members.iqsaweb.org/Sys/Login). It is not too late!
  2. The FRIDAY sessions are FREE and OPEN to the PUBLIC. So do not forget to attend the AFTERNOON PANEL, KEYNOTE ADDRESS “‘These are my Daughters’: Lot and His Offer—A Lover/ Scholar Reflects on one of the Qurʾan’s More Awkward Moments”, RECEPTION & FILM SCREENING of “Jesus and Islam / Jésus et l’islam” all on Friday Nov 18. See program for details.
  3. On Saturday Nov 19 Graduate students should attend the Doctoral Dissertation “Lightning Talks” 11:45am-12:45am. See program for details. Only a handful of spots remain. RSVP now contact@iqsaweb.org
  4. On Sunday Nov 20 I call upon all IQSA members to fulfill their duty by attending our Business Meeting at 11:30am-12:15pm. See program for details.
  5. Finally, it will come as no surprise to any of us that the world’s political climate continues to change. Our work is now more important than ever. Please support IQSA and DONATE (http://members.iqsaweb.org/donate). Meanwhile do not forget to enjoy this VIDEO (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg-W3Asj3R8) and share accordingly — thank you.

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, 2016. All rights reserved.

IQSA Membership

The International Qur’anic Studies Association, IQSA, is committed to growing Qur’anic scholarship and creating a community where scholars can collaborate, network, and participate in lively discussions. To ensure IQSA’s continued growth, make a commitment and become a member. IQSA members enjoy exclusive access to Review of Qur’anic Research (RQR), Qur’an Seminar, membership directory, job board, the Journal of the International Qur’anic Studies Association (JIQSA), and more.

Share your ideas and scholarship by becoming a contributor to the IQSA Blog, contact Mehdy Shaddel (mehdyshaddel@gmail.com).

Please also consider supporting IQSA and its work through a tax-deductible contribution.

Russian orientalist S. Pissaref's 1905 facsimile edition of the famous Samarkand Qur’an (now Tashkent), attributed to the third caliph Uthman (r. 644-656 C.E.).

Russian orientalist S. Pissaref’s 1905 facsimile edition of the famous Samarkand Qur’an (now Tashkent), attributed to the third caliph Uthman (r. 644-656 C.E.).

Announcing International Qur’an Conference 2017

IM2017The second biennial international Qur’an conference of the International Qur’anic Studies Association (IQSA) will be held on July 4-6, 2017 in the Zarrouk Palace, Carthage, Tunisia, in collaboration with Beit al Hikma (The Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters, and Arts). For more information please see the announcement here.

IQSA is committed to growing Qur’anic scholarship and creating a community where scholars can collaborate, network, and participate in lively discussions. To ensure IQSA’s continued growth, make a commitment and become a member. IQSA members enjoy exclusive access to Review of Qur’anic Research (RQR), Qur’an Seminar, membership directory, job board, the Journal of the International Qur’anic Studies Association (JIQSA), and more.

Please also consider supporting IQSA and its work through a tax-deductible contribution.

IQSA 2015 Keynote Response Available Now

scholars in library_maqamat haririFollowing the success of the IQSA 2015 Annual Meeting in Atlanta, we were pleased to make available the Meeting’s presidential keynote paper by Professor Reuven Firestone, entitled “The Problematic of Prophecy.” Now available on our website is the response of Professor Ebrahim Moosa, who poses further questions about religious emergence: How does religion emerge from an environment or a substrate? How does a religion become known in the world? One key element in religious emergence is what we call prophecy. In part, prophecy is an ontological phenomenon: it is about becoming, emergence, proceeding in time. The phenomenon of prophecy plays a direct role in the formation and valorization of scriptures like the Qur’an. You can access the full text of Professor Moosa’s response paper HERE.

© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2016. All rights reserved.

Call for Papers: IQSA Annual Meeting 2016 Deadline Tonight

Reminder that the deadline for submitting your paper proposals for the IQSA Annual Meeting is tonight March 1st by 11:59 EST. Submit your proposal now! The Annual Meeting will be held in San Antonio, Texas, November 18-22, 2016.

Please find detailed calls for papers for each program unit HERE.

Read, Write, and Share Commentaries on Q Anfāl 8: 1-19

Photo by Habib M'henniThe Qurʾan Seminar invites you to add your own commentaries on a new selected passage of the Qur’an: Q 8:1-19. The Qurʾan Seminar, organized by IQSA, is dedicated to collaborative study of selected passages that are significant for understanding major themes and structures of the Qur’anic text. Contributors are encouraged to address the Qur’an directly and to not rely on classical exegesis as a lens through which to view the text. Of particular interest to the discussion are the following questions:

  • The structure of the Qur’an (its logical, rhetorical, and literary qualities, or naẓm)
  • The Qur’an’s intertextual relationships (with both Biblical and other literary traditions)
  • The Qur’an’s historical context in Late Antiquity

Access to Qur’an Seminar is open to IQSA members only. To become a member, click HERE. Once you are a member, you can access the Qur’an Seminar website:

  • Go to http://www.iqsa-quranseminar.org/home.html
  • Click on Log in / Sign up
  • As a member of IQSA, fulfill the required field under Have an account? Sign in and then, click on Login.
  • Click on “All passages selected”
  • Click on al-ˈanfāl 8, 1-19

The Qur’an Seminar website has two principal elements. First, the website includes a database of passages of the Qur’an with commentaries from a range of scholars. This database is meant to be a resource for students and specialists of the Qur’an alike. The commentaries may be quoted and referenced by citing the corresponding URL.

Second, the website includes an active forum in which additional Qur’anic passages are discussed. At regular intervals the material on the forum will be saved and moved to the database, and new passages will be presented for discussion on the forum. As a rule, the passages selected for discussion are meant to be long enough to raise a variety of questions for discussion, but short enough to lend that discussion coherence.

If you have any questions, please write to mehdi.azaiez@theo.kuleuven.be

We hope you will enjoy the content and consider contributing!

© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2016. All rights reserved.

Call for Papers: IQSA Annual Meeting 2016

The International Qur’anic Studies Association has opened its call for papers for its 2016 Annual Meeting, to be held in San Antonio, Texas, November 18-22, 2016. The Annual Meeting includes panels for each of IQSA’s five program units:

  • Linguistic, Literary, and Thematic Perspectives on the Qur’anic Corpus
  • Qur’an Seminar
  • Qur’anic Studies: Methodology and Hermeneutics
  • The Qur’an and the Biblical Tradition
  • The Qur’an: Manuscripts and Material Culture

Please find detailed calls for papers for each program unit HERE. The paper proposal submission deadline is March 2, 2016.

© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2016. All rights reserved.

Read, Write, and Share Commentaries on Qur’an 6:74-83

 

Photo by Habib M'henniThe Qurʾan Seminar invites you to add your own commentaries on a new selected passage of the Qur’an: Q. 6: 74-83. The Qurʾan Seminar, organized by IQSA, is dedicated to collaborative study of selected passages that are significant for understanding major themes and structures of the Qur’anic text. Contributors are encouraged to address the Qur’an directly and to not rely on classical exegesis as a lens through which to view the text. Of particular interest to the discussion are the following questions:

  • The structure of the Qur’an (its logical, rhetorical, and literary qualities, or naẓm)
  • The Qur’an’s intertextual relationships (with both Biblical and other literary traditions)
  • The Qur’an’s historical context in Late Antiquity

Access to Qur’an Seminar is open to IQSA members only. To become a member, click HERE. Once you are a member, you can access the Qur’an Seminar website:

The Qur’an Seminar website has two principal elements. First, the website includes a database of passages of the Qur’an with commentaries from a range of scholars. This database is meant to be a resource for students and specialists of the Qur’an alike. The commentaries may be quoted and referenced by citing the corresponding URL.

Second, the website includes an active forum in which additional Qur’anic passages are discussed. At regular intervals the material on the forum will be saved and moved to the database, and new passages will be presented for discussion on the forum. As a rule, the passages selected for discussion are meant to be long enough to raise a variety of questions for discussion, but short enough to lend that discussion coherence.

If you have any questions, please write to mehdi.azaiez@theo.kuleuven.be

We hope you will enjoy the content and consider contributing!

© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2016. All rights reserved.