久久久福利国产 is pleased to announce two new appointments within the Department of Academic Research and Publications and the Deparmement of Graduate Studies.
Following close to a year as Acting Head of the IIS Library,听Dr Omar Al铆-de-Unzaga听has been appointed Deputy Head of the Department of Academic Research and Publications. He will also continue to be Academic Coordinator of the Qur鈥檃nic Studies Unit, in addition to being the听IIS Scholarships听Coordinator. He is a听GPISH听Graduate (Class of 1997) and a recipient of the听IIS Doctoral Scholarship.
Dr Ali-de-Unzaga completed a PhD at the University of Cambridge on the use of the Qur’an in the听Epistles听of the Pure Brethren (Ikhwan al-Safa).听His thesis analyses the classical sources that dealt with the authorship, influence and criticism of the听Epistles听and provides a study on the exegesis of the听Epistles鈥听most quoted Qur鈥檃nic verses, as well as a discussion on the hermeneutical theory of the听Ikhwan al-Safa.
Dr Ali-de-Unzaga has taught a course at the University of Cambridge on the Ethics of the听Ikhwan al-Safa. He is currently preparing a publication under the working title: A听Philosophical Reading of Scripture: The听Qur鈥檃n听in the Epistles of the Pure Brethren,听as well as a critical edition of the Arabic text and an English translation of the Epistle on Character Traits (al-Risala fi鈥檒-Akhlaq) of the听Ikhwan al-Safa听for the IIS/OUP Brethren of Purity Series. He has also edited the volume听Fortresses of the Intellect:听Ismaili and Other Islamic Studies in Honour of Farhad Daftary听(2011).
On the occasion of his appointment he stated:
鈥淭he Department of Academic Research and Publications at the IIS is a unique place; I believe that in this department we can do wonderful things in the future by pushing ourselves to achieve even higher academic levels of scholarship. The better we manage our research, the better we will be able to promote knowledge. During my student years I was supported by the IIS and to be able to contribute back in the area of academic research, is a dream come true鈥.
Another GPISH Alumna (Class of 1998),听Dr Laila Halani, has been appointed Head of the Department of Graduate Studies which includes both the Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities (GPISH) and the听Secondary Teacher Education Programme (STEP). She has been with the IIS since 2007. Reflecting on her appointment she said:
鈥淚t is an honour to head the programme from which I graduated. As Head of Department, I can contribute to the vision and direction of both graduate programmes run by the IIS and create synergies between these two important enterprises aimed at developing leaders, scholars, educationists and teachers for the community and beyond.鈥
Prior to joining the IIS, Dr. Halani was a Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. She was awarded a D.Phil in Social and Cultural Anthropology at The University of Oxford in 2005. Dr. Halani teaches on both graduate programmes and her research interests include contemporary religious movements, the relationship between religious movements and development enterprises, gender and representation in Muslim contexts, and IsmailisAdherents of a branch of Shi’i Islam that considers Ismail, the eldest son of the Shi’i Imam Ja士far al-峁⒛乨iq (d. 765), as his successor. in modern times.
