Upcoming Worldwide Events and Symposiums

8 November 2023

Inaugural Ibn ‘Arabi Lecture, Cambridge

The inaugural Ibn Arabi Lecture will be held in Cambridge, UK, on 8 November, 2023, at 5:00 pm UK time. Neil MacGregor will speak on “Faith in the Museum”.

About the Ibn Arabi Lecture series

This newly established Annual Lecture series at the Woolf Institute, Cambridge, has been endowed by Hilary Williams Papworth in memory of Bill Papworth. “It derives its inspiration from the universality of Ibn Arabi’s teaching, which naturally leads the student of his work towards an appreciation of the philosophical common ground underlying the triple tradition of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. His work also opens the door to an understanding of the commonality of the mystical traditions and the wider ecumenism.”

The lectures will not be about Ibn Arabi – speakers will be invited on the grounds that their work and thought animates, inspires or illuminates significant issues of our time.

Neil MacGregor

​Neil MacGregor began his career as a lecturer in the History of Art and Architecture at the University of Reading in 1975. Editor of the Burlington Magazine from 1981 until 1987, he masterminded its transfer from the Thompson’s Newspaper empire to an independent and charitable status. As Director of the National Gallery (1987-2002) he oversaw the opening of the Sainsbury Wing and a complete rehang of the collection. He became a household name in 2000 when he presented the BBC series with the same title as his exhibition Seeing Salvation, which examined images of Christ in Western Art. Neil MacGregor was Director of the British Museum from 2002 to 2015, and was Director of the Founding Directorate of the Humboldt Forum, Berlin, from 2015 to 2018.

About “Faith in the Museum”

European museums have long thought of themselves as secular civic spaces, heirs of the Enlightenment, and — especially in the French tradition — operating outside the religious realm. Yet the civic world they inhabit has changed radically in recent years. In many countries, religion is now politically centre-stage, and not only in India and Russia, Turkey and the United States. In a way unimaginable a generation ago, every European state now has to take a view on Islam. Everywhere, indigenous communities expect their beliefs to be respected in the display of their artefacts — or by a decision not to display them. What does this mean for museums? Can you show religious art without exploring the thought world which shaped it? Can you present objects of faith without, in some measure, endorsing the assumptions they embody?

Attending the lecture

The lecture will be held in Cambridge on Wednesday, 8 November 2023, at 17:00 GMT. The venue will either be the Woolf Institute, Westminster College, Madingley Road, or nearby St John’s Old Divinity School. Directions will be provided here when the venue is decided. Attendance is free, but it is necessary to register in advance, via Eventbrite. To register, please follow this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ibn-arabi-lecture-faith-in-the-museum-by-neil-macgregor-tickets-666847267127 [/].

8 November 2023

The Society Library at the Woolf Institute, Cambridge

In 2023 the Society reached an agreement with the Woolf Institute in Cambridge for over 1,000 books and journals from the Society’s library to be housed as a special collection in the Institute’s library on a multi-year loan. The Woolf Institute library is a beautiful purpose-built space in its building in the grounds of Westminster College, Cambridge. The Society will continue to maintain the collection.

The books will be listed in the iDiscover catalogue of Cambridge Libraries Collections, and will be automatically available to most current staff and students of the University of Cambridge, also to many other researchers. Except for a short period during its very early days, the Society’s library of printed works has occupied a room in the home of a member in the UK. It is hoped that this greatly increased accessibility will be a boon for the increasing number of people engaged with the works of Ibn Arabi

About The Woolf Institute

The Woolf Institute was founded by Dr Edward Kessler and Revd Professor Martin Forward in 1998. Their aim was to provide an academic framework and space in which people could tackle issues of religious difference constructively.

Beginning as the Centre for Jewish-Christian Relations, the Institute later expanded to include the Centre for the Study of Muslim-Jewish Relations, and the Centre for Policy and Public Education. In 2010, these Centres were amalgamated under the designation “Woolf Institute”, in honour of Harry, Lord Woolf, former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.

The Woolf Institute has recently completed a permanent new home in the grounds of Westminster College in the heart of Cambridge. “In a world marked by increasing division and instability, our new building is a much needed space to foster understanding and positive relations between communities in the UK and abroad.”

The Ibn Arabi Library at the Woolf Institute will be opened in a 90 minute event starting at 3:00 pm on Wednesday, 8 Nov 2023 – shortly before the Ibn Arabi Lecture, to be delivered by Neil MacGregor. If you would like to attend the opening, please register in advance through Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/opening-of-the-ibn-arabi-library-tickets-703265715687 [/]

New York , October 20-21, 2023

Translated Desires: Translation, Ibn Al-‘Arabi and the Multilingual Islamic Past

Speakers include: William Chittick (keynote), Sachiko Murata, Rosabel Ansari, Maria Dakake, Marlene DuBois, Ali Karjoo-Ravary, Atif Khalil, Amer Latif, Kazuyo Murata, Oludamini Ogunnaike, Muhammed Rustom,

More information to come.

31 December 2023

Young Writer Award 2023 – Prize of USD 1,500

• The author must be born on or after 31st December 1988.
• The essay must be in English, and not more than 9000 words in length (excluding any notes, references, bibliography and summary).
• It must be the original work of the person submitting it, and be unpublished at the time of entry,
• The submission must be prefaced by a short summary of between 100–150 words.
• The submission should include a bibliography and be page-numbered throughout. Citations and quo­tations must be fully referenced.
• The judges may request a short online viva with short-listed candidates before making their final decision.
• Previous entrants can enter again, but previous winners cannot.
• The Society has first rights on the publication of entries.

Further details can be found by downloading the Application  form.
Click here to download the full-size A4 poster, suitable for a notice board.

Looking forward in 2023

A listing of some future online and face-to-face events in 2023, taken from the Bulletin sent to Society members in December 2022. Check here for more details as they become available.

MIAS UK online events

• MIAS UK Annual Members’ Meeting: 7 October, 2023 (TBC)
• Matthew Melvin-Koushki – MIAS Online Seminar 3: 2 December, 2023

MIAS USA

• Symposium at Columbia University, New York, October 2023

18 February 2023 | Online event

Monthly lectures for Arabic speakers

The series of lectures in Arabic which began in November 2022 continues in May 2023 with a talk by Dr. Tawfiq bin Amer from Tunisia. The title of his lecture is, “Ibn ‘Arabi and the theory of knowledge.”

The lecture will be broadcast via the Zoom platform Saturday, May 20, 2023 at twelve noon Moroccan time, and will also be live on the YouTube channel.

For those wishing to attend this lecture on Zoom, it is free, but it will be necessary to register via this Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/2023-tickets-625109648787[/]   Please login 5 minutes before the lecture is due to begin.

Meeting ID: 834 8465 7052

Passcode: 000000

Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kb23I9qIRQ

A 12-month series of lectures

For more details of the series of lectures, please see the programme attached or their Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/arabicibnarabi

For further information please e-mail mias-as@nokshee.com.