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
