Dr Zehra Kazmi gave an online lecture for the Centre for Studies of Plural Societies in Delhi. She explored how South Asian Muslim writing uses nostalgia and grief to challenge present-day politics.

In this episode of The Voices of History, veteran teachers from Ismaili communities answer what inspired them to become teachers. These stories span Kenya, Tanzania, Pakistan, Iran, and Syria, and more than six decades in the classroom.

Dr Hasan Al-Khoee explains the difference between the past and history, and how historians use fragments of surviving evidence, such as early Islamic texts, to understand what happened.

This set of studies covers the iconic citadel of Masyaf in Syria in the form of a short guidebook, sandwiched between two comprehensive and complementary websites on the wider built heritage of Syria.

These readings focus on Historic Cairo’s Khalifa District, compare Cairene and Damascene ritual practices in commemorating Imam Husayn, and finish with an Egyptian website compiling and highlighting multiple aspects of Egyptian architecture, past and present.

Read up on how light impacts the study of heritage, ranging from the evolution of mosque lamps, the ‘daylighting’ of water, and the representation and manifestation of light in a variety of sacred spaces across religious traditions.

These studies span an impressive database dedicated to Cairo, the city of Surt in Libya, and shrines linked to the Prophet Muhammad, Imam Ali, and their descendants. Altogether, they illustrate the different ways in which the historical memory of Muslims in different cultures, contexts, and times can be understood and preserved.

Watch recordings of Ismaili perspectives on the elements from Elemental, the two-day IIS conference on earth, water, air, fire and ether. Keynotes, panels and case studies are available online.