“Islam in the Contemporary World” Conference, 1990

St Catherine’s College, Oxford, 18-28 August 1990

This residential seminar was organised by the Institute to address the broad challenges and choices offered by modernity to the Muslim world in general and the Ismaili community in particular. Lasting ten days, the seminar was designed to encourage questions and stimulate informed thinking on a broad range of issues significant to contemporary Islam, ranging from scripture, rationality and esoterism to the arts, human rights and economics. The audience was invited to participate actively in exploring ways and means of engaging creatively and critically with the modern world that are true to the Islamic tradition on the one hand, as well as adaptive to changing circumstances on the other.

Keynote SpeechDr. Aziz Esmail, Dean, The Institute of Ismaili Studies

Muslim Communities in Historical Perspective

Prof. William Graham, Professor of Religion, Harvard University

Scripture, Faith and Practice in Islam: a Comparative Perspective

Prof. William Graham, Professor of Religion, Harvard University

The Rational Tradition in Islam: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives

Prof. Muhsin Mahdi, James Richard Jewett Professor of Arabic, Harvard University

The Esoteric Tradition in Islam: Sh i‘i and Sunni Forms

Prof. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Professor of Religion, George Washington University

Religion and Modernity

Dr. Aziz Esmail, Dean, The Institute of Ismaili Studies

The Image of Islam in the West

Prof. Azim Nanji, Professor of Religion, University of Florida

Islam Yesterday and Tomorrow

Prof. Mohammed Arkoun, Professor of Islamic Thought, University of Paris, Sorbonne

Modernist Muslims in Indo-Pakistan

Dr. K. K. Aziz, Visiting Professor, The Institute of Ismaili Studies

The Span and Scope of the Sufi Tariqas Today

Dr. Rafique Keshavjee, Associate Dean, The Institute of Ismaili Studies

The Concept of State and Human Rights in Islam

Mr. S. S. Pirzada, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court, Pakistan

The Arts in Islam

Prof. Oleg Grabar, Aga Khan Professor of Islamic Art and Architecture, Harvard University

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture: Toward a Methodology for a Vision

Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director, Technical Department, Africa Region, World Bank

Economic Challenges and Some Muslim Responses

Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director, Technical Department, Africa Region, World Bank

Islam in Indonesia: Religion and Cultural Diversity

Dr. Nasir Tamara, Director of Research and Publicaions, SUMMA, Exellentia Institute, Jakarta

Mapping Ismailism: a Survey of the Evolution of Ismailism

Prof. Azim Nanji, Professor of Religion, University of Florida

The Contribution of Ismailism to Islam

Prof. Mohammed Arkoun, Professor of Islamic Thought, Sorbonne University

Religious Life and Conceptions: A Comparative Perspective on Ismailis Today

Dr. Rafique H. Keshavjee, Associate Dean, The Institute of Ismaili Studies

The Social and Constitutional Evolution of the Ismailis

Mr. Zaher Ahmed, Chairman, IPS Kenya

Self-understanding and Self-presentation among Ismailis Today

Mr. Shams Vellani, Executive Officer, The Institute of Ismaili Studies

The Imamat Institutions Today: Overview and a Look at the Horizon

Gerald Wilkinson, Head, Information Department, Aiglemont

Mohammed Keshavjee, Information Officer, Aiglemont

Panel Discussion on Ismaili Thought

Prof. Ali Asani, Associate Professor of Indo-Muslim Thought, Harvard University

Dr. Jalal Badakchani, Research Associate, The Institute of Ismaili Studies

Dr. Faqir M. Hunzai, Research Associate, The Institute of Ismaili Studies

Panel Discussion on the Contemporary Muslim World

Prof. Mohammed Artkoun, Professor of Islamic Thought, Sorbonne University

Prof. Housang Chahabi, Associate Professor of Government and Social Studies, Harvard University

Dr. Aziz Esmail, Dean, The Institute of Ismaili Studies

Dr. Ahmet Evin, Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Aiglemont

Prof. Bruce Lawrence, Professor of the History of Religions, Duke University

Dr. Iftikhar Malik, Senior Fellow, St. Antony’s College, Oxford University

Prof. Azim Nanji, Professor of Religion, University of Florida

Prof. Fred Stambouli, Department of Sociology, Tunis University