Digital Commons Network^™

Alma Matters April - June 2026 Vol. 01 Issue 02, Aga Khan University Alumni Association

The Aga Khan University Newsletter and Magazine for Alumni (AKU-NAMA)

• Advancing Healthcare Through Global Collaboration
• AKU and Sindh Govt Launch Historic Nursing Partnership
• New Dean for Faculty of Arts and Sciences
• AKU Showcase Explores AI in Research for Global Impact
• Aga Khan University and LUMS Forge Strategic Partnership
• Alumni Affairs Launches ‘AKU Connect’ – A Mentorship Platform for Students
• The Power of Alumni Giving
• Gift Signing Ceremony with AKU MBBS Class of ‘05
• NEWS , HIGHLIGHTS AND UPDATES
• AKU ENTITIES

A Gift For The Emperor DawāʾIr Al-ʿUlūm Wa-Jadāwil Al-Ruqūm, A Mediaeval Graphic Encyclopaedia Of The 19th Century, Juan Acevedo, Inês Bénard Da Costa

Abdou Filali-Ansary Occasional Paper Series

The recent discovery of a 19th-century Arabic manuscript in the Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, initiated a period of intense collaboration between the Museum and the Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, culminating in the 2023–24 exhibition ‘Power of the Word V: Circles of Knowledge.’ The first part of this article describes the manuscript, while the second part looks at its contents, a striking visual encyclopaedia, mostly from Safavid sources, entitled Tuḥfat al-Khāqān: Dawāʾir al-ʿUlūm wa-Jadāwil al-Ruqūm (A Gift for the Emperor: Circles of Sciences and Tables of Numerals). Its sections range from cosmogony and alphanumeric cosmology to geography, geomancy and the …

From Doctrine To Practice: Shūrā-Centred Islamic Ethics For Sustainable Ecological Solutions, Fatima Dhanani, Cecilee Glaus Jones

Abdou Filali-Ansary Occasional Paper Series

This paper examines how Islamic ethics, when translated into lived practice, generate both moral frameworks and scalable solutions to pressing ecological challenges. Focusing on shūrā, tawḥīd, khilāfa, and taʿaddudiyya, and drawing on case studies of Stewardship Canada and the Aga Khan University’s Carbon Management Tool, the authors show how Islamic values move beyond doctrinal abstraction to guide institutional decision-making, programme design, and community engagement. More than treating ethics as fixed theological propositions, they frame them as negotiated, context-sensitive processes that align with ecological resilience, distributive justice, and economic viability.

Grounded in shūrā …

Based In Pakistan, A Global University For Muslims - Interview With The Aga Khan

University press releases and calendars

No abstract provided.

Research Nexus : Volume 28 - 2025, Office Of Research And Graduate Studies

Office of Research and Graduate Studies

• Researcher Spotlight
• Research Milestones & News
• Capacity Building Initiatives
• Upcoming Training & Webinars

Music, Poetry And Identity In Badakshan, Tajikistan: Singing And Sounding Community, Chorshanbe Goibnazarov

Music & Performance in Muslim Contexts

An illuminating account of Ismaili music, spiritual poetry and social change in Badakhshan.

In the riverine valleys of the Pamir Mountains of Tajik Badakhshan, a thriving millennium-old community of Nizari Ismaili Muslims created a unique spiritual culture in which the performance of music and poetry plays a central role. This book focuses on the central musical and poetic tradition of the Pamiri Ismailis, qasīda-khonī (also known as maddo), tracing its origins, evolution, delocalisation and relocation.

This book introduces readers to leading performers of qasīda-khonī and to the Ismaili gnosis that inspires its music and poetry.

• Based on six …

The Enduring Legacy Of The Habsburg Islam Policy: Muslim Communities In Central And Southeast Europe, Sevgi Adak, Thomas Schmidinger

Exploring Muslim Contexts

Examines contemporary legal and political structures governing Muslim communities in Central and Southeast Europe.

When Otto Habsburg – son of the last emperor of the Austria-Hungarian Empire Karl I – died in 2011, among those who prayed at the funeral was Mustafa Efendi Cerić, the Reis-ul-ulema of Bosnia and Herzegovina – the highest Islamic office in the country. This was to honour the long-lasting relationship between the bygone empire of the Catholic Habsburgs with Bosnian Muslims. The cornerstone of this relationship was the 1912 Islam Act (Islamgesetz) of the Habsburgs, which granted Islam legal recognition and incorporated it into …

The Beautiful Game On A Muslim Pitch: How Football And Religion Are Shaping Identity And Society, Aaron W. Hughes, Leif Stenberg

Exploring Muslim Contexts

Examines how football and religion act together to shape both identity and society in Muslim contexts.

This book showcases how football and religion are becoming increasingly interlinked in Muslim contexts in order to interact with and influence both identity and society. The first part of the volume is devoted to issues of identity, showing how football aids in its construction, maintenance and subversion. The second part reveals the deep-rooted connections between football and political and religious establishments by demonstrating how these organisations frequently use the game to disseminate or propagate their larger messages.

Altogether, the contributors reveal how football has …

Being Muslim In European Football: Defining Spaces Of Muslimness, Leif Stenberg, Ridha Sheikh, Esen Kaya

Abdou Filali-Ansary Occasional Paper Series

This paper explores the intersection of football and Islam, looking especially at European contexts, and with particular focus on the experiences of Muslim footballers in the UK. By examining the stories of UK Premier League player Cheikhou Kouyaté and amateur footballer Yasmin Abdullahi in London, the paper investigates how these individuals navigate their Muslim identities in the context of their sporting careers. The paper reflects on the broader cultural and societal implications of Muslimness in football, considering how both Muslims and non-Muslims contribute to defining Islamic spaces within the sport. The research also touches on the evolving perceptions of Islam …

A Discourse On Madina Fāzila, Virtuous State, In Muslim Thought: An Overview Of Jalāl-Al-Dīn Muḥammad Davānī’S Aḵlāq-E-Jalālī, Nazim Aman-Hunzai, Muhammad Nazir, Faizeh Zehra Mirza

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This study focuses on Jālāl-al-Dīn Muḥammad Davānī (1426–1502) as an illustrative figure in Muslim political thought, who offered a comprehensive perspective on the characteristics of an ideal Muslim state. Drawing on Davānī’s magnum opus, Akhlaq-e-Jalālī, the study explores his ethical framework for understanding the interrelationship between the individual, the state, and society. This work remained among the most influential writings on Muslim ethics, particularly in the Indian context, and continued to shape Muslim intellectual discourseand educational curricula well into the late 20th century. Its enduring presence highlights its intellectual relevance and its capacity to inspire ongoing debates on Muslim ethics.This …

Islamic Themes In Us Hip-Hop Culture, Anders Ackfeldt

Music & Performance in Muslim Contexts

Explores how Islam is produced in American hip-hop culture by both Muslims and non-Muslims

Islam has been a part of hip-hop culture since it sprang from New York’s street culture in the 1970s. Today hip-hop has evolved into a global artform with a diversity of Muslim Islamic discourses expressed. Using tools from the field of social semiotics, this book examines how Islamic themes feature in US hip-hop culture, maintaining a particular awareness that both Muslims as well as non-Muslims participate in their production.

Anders Ackfeldt analyses a collection of lyrics, sounds and images to show how Islamic themes are featured …

The Aga Khan University Prospectus 2025, The Aga Khan University

The Aga Khan University Prospectuses and Brochures

• Message from the President
• Message from the Provost & Vice President, Academic
• About AKU
• Our Mission, Vision & Values
• Why AKU?

• Programmes of Study

  Undergraduate Programmes

• School of Nursing and Midwifery, East Africa
• School of Nursing and Midwifery, Pakistan
• Medical College, East Africa
• Medical College, Pakistan
• Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Pakistan
• Institute for Educational Development, Pakistan

• Graduate Programmes

• School of Nursing and Midwifery, East Africa
• School of Nursing and Midwifery, Pakistan
• Institute for Educational Development, East Africa
• Institute for Educational Development, Pakistan
• Medical College, East Africa
• Medical College, Pakistan
• Graduate School of Media and Communications, East Africa
• Institute for …

---

Go to article

Governance And Islam In East Africa: Muslims And The State In Kenya And Tanzania, Farouk Topan, Kai Kresse, Erin E. Stiles, Hassan Mwakimako

Exploring Muslim Contexts

Explores the relationship between Muslim communities and the State in East Africa in political, institutional and legal contexts

• Focuses on the relationship between Muslims and the State in Kenya and Tanzania
• Asks which factors, both within and outside the Muslim community, shape and affect this relationship in contemporary times
• Presents 13 case studies exploring governance issues within and across the categories of politics, institutions and law in Kenya and Tanzania
• Identifies cross-cutting issues of governance and Muslim communities which are relevant beyond East Africa

Recent studies of Muslims in Kenya and Tanzania have tended either to examine governance of Muslims …

Aku Libraries Annual Report - 2024, Office Of The University Librarian

Office of the University Librarian Reports

- Message by Peter Gatiti Associate Vice Provost & University Librarian

- Celebrating AKU Scholars

- AKU Author’s Day – 2024

- ISMC – London UK Writing People's Histories

- Author’s Day – Other events in Karachi

- Psychoanalytic Sociology: A New Theory of the Social Bond

- Secret Santa Book Exchange!

- IED’s Baatein Kitab Ki – In conversation with Senator (r) Javed Jabbar

- Conversation with Dr. Iftikhar Salahuddin

- Recent Best Practices in Publishing

- Library news from around our Campuses

- RFID Technology in AKU Libraries

- Information Literacy

- Conferences & Workshops

- Book Launches …

A Female Court Historian Inside A Neo-Fatimid Treasury Of Books, Walid Ghali

Faculty & Staff Publications

In the field of manuscript studies, each manuscript is a unique object, and every folio has a story that can be told! A narrative can be deciphered from the scribe’s handwritten notes or corrections to the author’s signature and ownership statements. Reading the Neo-Fatimid Treasury of Books, you will feel immersed in an esoteric journey inside the manuscript library of the Alawi Bohra community, one of the remaining reserves of Arabic manuscripts on Ismailism. In this book, Akerman plays a significant role in an interwoven story of a small Muslim community from Gujarat and their living tradition of book repositories. …

Aku Research 2023, Office Of Research And Graduate Studies

Office of Research and Graduate Studies

- 40 years of research excellence

- Pioneering study to address adversity and brain development

- Multi-gene testing recommended for hereditary breast cancer

- IED builds support for teacher licensing in Pakistan

- Grading system developed by AKU-EB adopted in Pakistan

- One-quarter of health workers in Kenyan study show signs of depression

- The politics of the veil in interwar Turkey

- The state of East Africa’s news media: Confident under pressure

- Drug-resistant fungal infections raise alarm

- Researchers identify low-cost interventions for reducing malnutrition in Kenya

- Project tests feasibility of ultrasound scans in rural Kenya

- …

From Both Sides Now: Reflections On Recent Methodological Trends In The Study Of Islam, Aaron W. Hughes Prof

Abdou Filali-Ansary Occasional Paper Series

This is a set of critical reflections on the place and role of ‘theory and method’ within the context of the study of Islam, especially (but not solely) as carried out in the field of religious studies, over the course of roughly the last twenty years. The goal here is not to criticise, but instead to come at this issue of ‘theory and method’ in the study of Islam from a more mature perspective. At present in the field there is a diverse set of attempts to imagine ‘Islam’, not as a theological category that must be defended, but as …

Research Nexus : Volume 4 - 2023, Office Of Research And Graduate Studies

Office of Research and Graduate Studies

• Researcher Spotlight: Dr Farid Panjwani
• AKU Nairobi Hosts DataFest Africa 2023
• URC Funding Opportunities: When to Apply and How?
• ISMC Hosts International Conference to Promote Research in Islamic Studies
• mPareshan Scales Up in Sindh

(Dis)Locating Meaning: Toward A Hermeneutical Response In Education To Religiously Inspired Extremism, Farid Panjwani

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

A key epistemological assumption in the ideologies of many of the groups termed extremist is that there is an unmediated access to a Divine Will. Driven by this assumption, and facilitated by several other factors, a range of coercive actions (including violence) to force others into submission to the perceived Will of God are seen as justified by some of these groups. A consideration of how religion is discussed in various contexts, from seminaries and schools to media and policy discourses, shows that this assumption about unmediated access to Divine Will is widely shared and that most children grow up …

Old, New Or Digital Philology: Working Towards An Amalgamated Work Frame, Walid Ghali

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

Policy Analysis Of Girls’ Primary School Completion In Rural Sindh: Root Causes And Policy Recommendations Using Iiep Education Policy Toolbox, Sajid Ali, Aisha Naz Ansari, Mushtaq Ahmed, Zobia Israr Ahmed, Naveed Saleh Siddique, Naveed Ahmed Shaikh, Shazia Solangi, Mujeeb Rehman Khatri, Tauseef Lateef

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This report emerged from the policy analysis work produced as part of the course titled ‘Diagnostic tools for improving education policy planning’ by the IIEP-UNESCO with support from KIX. This course enabled us to explore diagnostic tools and their implications, specifically for developing countries, and helped the team unpack diagnostic tools and learn the history of their evolution. We further learned how the education management information system works and how data is essential for policy decisions. Finally, we engaged with real policy analysis using the IIEP Education Policy Toolbox. As a team, we chose to study the issue of girls’ …

Volume 10: Muslim Cultures Of The Indian Ocean : Diversity And Pluralism, Past And Present, Stephane Pradines, Farouk Topan

Exploring Muslim Contexts

Scholars are increasingly recognising the centrality of the Indian Ocean in the study of Muslim cultures.

This volume explores the expanding and changing roles of these Muslim communities across the Indian Ocean World from the seventh century to the mediaeval period to the present day. The book goes beyond the usual focus on geographical sub-regions to highlight different aspects of interconnectivity in relation to Islam. By analysing textual and material evidence, the fifteen papers in this volume examine identities and diasporas, manuscripts and literature, as well as vernacular and religious architecture. It explores the networks and movements of peoples, ideas …

What Is Islamic Studies?: European And North American Approaches To A Contested Field, Leif Stenberg, Philip Wood

Books

Explores the vibrant, divided and evolving field of Islamic studies in Europe and North America
Covers topics ranging from gender and secularism to pop music and modern science

Discusses contemporary and historical approaches in Islamic Studies

Features contributions from leading scholars studying Islam and Muslims, including Shahzad Bashir, Hadi Enayat, Juliane Hammer, Aaron Hughes, Carool Kersten, Susanne Olsson and Jonas Otterbeck

Addresses the role of both Muslims and non-Muslims in the ongoing construction of Islam
The study of Islam and Muslims in Europe and North America has expanded greatly in recent decades, becoming a passionately debated and divided field. This …

Volume 9: What Is Islamic Studies?: European And North American Approaches To A Contested Field, Leif Stenberg, Philip Wood

Exploring Muslim Contexts

The study of Islam and Muslims in Europe and North America has expanded greatly in recent decades, becoming a passionately debated and divided field. This collection critically assesses the development of the field of Islamic Studies and its place in society. Featuring contributions from anthropologists, historians and scholars of religion, each chapter contains new empirical material and discusses approaches to the study of Islam, past and present.

Key Features

• Covers topics ranging from gender and secularism to pop music and modern science
• Discusses contemporary and historical approaches in Islamic Studies
• Features contributions from leading scholars studying Islam and Muslims, including …

Symposium: Can Intellectual History Be Done Otherwise?, Mohamed Arafa, Shahzad Bashir, Nader El-Bizri, Nauman Faizi, Lena H. Salaymeh

Faculty & Staff Publications

Using Shahzad Bashir’s open-access publication A New Vision for Islamic Pasts and Futures as a baseline, this symposium debates whether and how intellectual history can be done otherwise. Mohamed ‘Arafa follows Bashir’s invitation to explore the potential of open-ended historiographies when he thinks about the viability of a flexible method to interpret Sharī͑a. Nader El-Bizri interrogates whether the assemblage of personal experiential accounts offered by Bashir can be framed within the discourse of intellectual history at all. Nauman Faizi reads Bashir’s approach as a radical attempt to open up hermeneutical possibilities. Lena Salaymeh suggests that modern aesthetics can contribute to …

The Objectives Of Islamic Law: The Promises And Challenges Of The Maqāṣid Al-SharīʿA, Walid Ghali

Faculty & Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

The Awakening Of Islamic Pop Music, Jonas Otterbeck

Books

No abstract provided.

مقامات الأولياء والصالحين في الواحات Saints And Sufi Shrines In An Egyptian Oasis (Dakhla), Walid Ghali

Faculty & Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Information Seeking Behavior Of Undergraduate Students Of The University Of Karachi, Pakistan, Humera Ilhaq, Khushbakht Tousif

Libraries

Every person needs information to fulfill their personal, professional, educational, teaching and learning need of information. People have different information seeking behavior to acquire, organize, use and disseminate information. The aim of this study is to identify information seeking behavior, information sources and to know their searching preferences and determine behaviors of undergraduate students in information searching at University of Karachi, Pakistan.

In this study quantitative approach was applied. A survey method was used. A structured questionnaire was develop as a data collection tool. In the questionnaire two types of questions; (closed-ended and multiple choice questions) were developed. Sample size …

Finding The Object Of Study: Islamic Studies In Practice, Jonas Otterbeck

Faculty & Staff Publications

No abstract provided.