Watch the short film screened at the event (in Persian).
Download the Persian Transcript with English Translation
On 26 June, a special event was hosted in Tehran, Iran, to honour the academic contributions of IIS Co-Director,聽Dr Farhad Daftary, to the study of Islamic and Ismaili studies. The event was organised by聽Bukhara聽(a prestigious Persian language academic journal) and the Centre of the Great Islamic Encyclopaedia. At the event, a Persian translation of Dr Daftary鈥檚 publication聽A History of Shi示i Islam聽was also launched. Academics, students, the general public, as well as some members of the Ismaili community were in attendance.
During the course of the event, various individuals paid homage to Dr Daftary. In his remarks, Ali Dehbashi, the Chief Editor and Publisher of聽BukharaA city in modern-day Uzbekistan, Central Asia, known for its Islamic artistic and architectural heritage., described him as the
most prominent historian of contemporary Shi士i Islam.
Mr Bujnordi, Director of the Centre of the Great Islamic Encyclopaedia shed light on the life of Dr Daftary and praised not only his academic achievements, but also his leadership and visionary approach to the study of Islam in general, and the history of Shi士i Islam in particular. He sincerely thanked Dr Daftary for the monumental English translation of the Great Islamic Encyclopaedia, published in a prestigious manner by Brill, under the title聽Encyclopaedia Islamica.
Mr T. Ettehadiyya, Director of Nashr-i Farzan-i Ruz – publisher of the Persian publication聽T膩r墨kh-i tashayyu士聽(A History of Shi示i Islam) – paid tribute to the pivotal role Dr Daftary has played in their long-standing partnership with the IIS and how this collaboration has resulted in twenty-one books by Dr Daftary and other scholars at the IIS, being published in the Persian language over the years.
Professor Ahmad Ali Muwa岣メ弗id from Tehran University gave the audience a detailed description of A History of Shi士i Islam,聽highlighting its relationship withThe 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.: Their History and Doctrines. Praising the style of authorship of both books, he added, that in our time, throughout the academic world and in relation to Shi士i history, Dr Daftary is a recognised authority.
Following on from the speeches, a short film was screened in which Dr Daftary further elaborated on his publication, whilst Dr Jalal Badakchani – a former Senior Associate at the IIS – was invited to read a special message of gratitude on behalf of Dr Daftary. In his message, Dr Daftary emphasised the role of the IIS in providing a better understanding of Shi鈥榠 Islam in the West, through its various research and publications programmes. He also highlighted the role of the IIS in deconstructing the myths and misrepresentations of the Ismailis.
