One of the customs of the Ismailis of Tajik Badakhshan is the performance of a specific genre of religious poetry, called madah. In madah, literally meaning praise, the veneration of 'Ali, the holy... Show moreOne of the customs of the Ismailis of Tajik Badakhshan is the performance of a specific genre of religious poetry, called madah. In madah, literally meaning praise, the veneration of 'Ali, the holy family of the Prophet Muhammad, the Ismaili imams, and the 11th century Ismaili poet-philosopher, Nasir-i Khusraw, is expressed in combination with mystical ideas common in Sufi poetry. Show less
Qur'anic studies, Ulum al-Qur'an, is a multi-disciplinary field of scholarship. Its development is necessarily governed by the progress achieved in social sciences in general and in linguistics,... Show moreQur'anic studies, Ulum al-Qur'an, is a multi-disciplinary field of scholarship. Its development is necessarily governed by the progress achieved in social sciences in general and in linguistics, semantics and hermeneutics in particular. The assumption underlying the idea of the symposium is that the long history as well as the well-established tradition of Qur'anic studies in Islamic culture have been under the great influence of modern political and cultural changes in the Muslim world. The twentieth century witnessed the emergence of almost a new world order, which affected all fields of knowledge. As for the Muslim world it has been a century of external as well as internal conflict. Show less
The Yezidis of Kurdistan have been called many things, most notoriously 'devil-worshippers,' a term used both by unsympathetic neighbours and fascinated Westerners. This sensational epithet is not... Show moreThe Yezidis of Kurdistan have been called many things, most notoriously 'devil-worshippers,' a term used both by unsympathetic neighbours and fascinated Westerners. This sensational epithet is not only deeply offensive to the Yezidis themselves, but quite simply wrong. Yezidism is not devil-worship, but something far more elusive, and interesting. Show less
