W.M. Watt Lecture In brief Date - 27 May 2024 Venue - Project Room 1.06, 50 George Square Speaker - Professor Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi (École Pratique des Hautes Études/PSL - Sorbonne) Title - Shi'i Islam: Doctrinal Foundations and Historical Developments Book your free ticket on Eventbrite W.M. Watt Lecture Arabic has been taught at the University of Edinburgh for over 260 years, and today our department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (IMES) is globally recognised as a leading centre in the field. From his appointment as Lecturer in Arabic in 1947, until his retirement as Professor in 1979, William Montgomery Watt made an outstanding contribution both to Islamic scholarship and to the development of IMES. The inaugural Watt Lecture was launched in November 2015 to mark the 50th anniversary of Watt's Inaugural Lecture as the first Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies in Scotland. The 2024 lecture We are delighted to welcome Professor Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi (École Pratique des Hautes Études/PSL - Sorbonne) to deliver the seventh annual W.M. Watt Lecture. Shi'i Islam: Doctrinal Foundations and Historical Developments by Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi The figure of the Guide (in its classic and not modern sense) is the axis around which Shi'ism revolves. The importance of this figure is illustrated in a double vision of the world: the dual vision marked by the dialectic of the manifest and the hidden, and the dualistic vision based on the opposition between knowledge and ignorance. These features make Shi'ism as it appears in its founding texts a profoundly mystical religion. However, in its historical development, Shi'ism has been marked by a constant tension between a mystical spirituality and the temptation for political power (the lecture mainly concerns Twelver Shi'ism). About the speaker Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi is a Professor at the École Pratique des Hautes Études/PSL (Sorbonne) and Chevalier in National French Order of Légion d’Honneur. He has been a member of the Advisory Board of the Societas Iranologica Europaea (2014-2024), a Scientific Consultant of the Encyclopaedia Iranica and Encyclopaedia Islamica, and a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS). As a member of the Ambrosian Academy and the scientific committees of numerous journals and reviews, he has written more than 200 books and articles. His titles include: The Divine Guide in Early Shi'ism (State University of New York Press, 1994) The Spirituality of Shii Islam (IIS, I.B. Tauris, 2013) The Silent Quran and the Speaking Quran (Columbia University Press, 2015) La Preuve de Dieu. La mystique shi'ite à travers l'œuvre de Kulaynī (Cerf, 2018) Ali, The Well-Guarded Secret (Brill, 2023) How to join This event is open to all, and free to attend. Tickets are available to reserve via Eventbrite. Book your free ticket on Eventbrite Previous lectures in the series Speaker Date Venue Theme Emerita Professor Carole Hillenbrand (University of Edinburgh) 1 November 2022 50 George Square and onlinen Mary, the mother of Jesus, in Islam Professor Paul Starkey (Durham University) 30 October 2019 David Hume Tower In Search of Identity: Faris al-Shidyaq and the 19th-Century Arabic Revival Dr Linda Komaroff (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) 28 November 2018 50 George Square Dining with the Sultan: Reflections on the Fine Art of Feasting at the Islamic Courts Professor Nur Masalha 2 November 2017 Playfair Library Powerful Symbols and the British-Zionist Alliance: From Balfour to the Nakba Professor Maribel Fierro (Spanish National Research Council, Spain) 4 November 2016 Old Medical School Charisma and Anti-Charisma in al-Andalus Professor Carole Hillenbrand 23 October 2015 Playfair Library Montgomery Watt: The Man and The Scholar Are you interested in studying Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies? We are internationally recognised as a leading institution for studying Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Middle Eastern Studies, offering both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. Find out more about Islamic and Middle Eastern studies at Edinburgh May 27 2024 17.00 - 20.00 W.M. Watt Lecture Join us in person for the W.M. Watt Lecture 2024 by Professor Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi (École Pratique des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales/PSL - Sorbonne). Project Room 1.06 50 George Square University of Edinburgh Edinburgh EH8 9LH Find the venue Book your free ticket on Eventbrite
W.M. Watt Lecture In brief Date - 27 May 2024 Venue - Project Room 1.06, 50 George Square Speaker - Professor Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi (École Pratique des Hautes Études/PSL - Sorbonne) Title - Shi'i Islam: Doctrinal Foundations and Historical Developments Book your free ticket on Eventbrite W.M. Watt Lecture Arabic has been taught at the University of Edinburgh for over 260 years, and today our department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (IMES) is globally recognised as a leading centre in the field. From his appointment as Lecturer in Arabic in 1947, until his retirement as Professor in 1979, William Montgomery Watt made an outstanding contribution both to Islamic scholarship and to the development of IMES. The inaugural Watt Lecture was launched in November 2015 to mark the 50th anniversary of Watt's Inaugural Lecture as the first Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies in Scotland. The 2024 lecture We are delighted to welcome Professor Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi (École Pratique des Hautes Études/PSL - Sorbonne) to deliver the seventh annual W.M. Watt Lecture. Shi'i Islam: Doctrinal Foundations and Historical Developments by Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi The figure of the Guide (in its classic and not modern sense) is the axis around which Shi'ism revolves. The importance of this figure is illustrated in a double vision of the world: the dual vision marked by the dialectic of the manifest and the hidden, and the dualistic vision based on the opposition between knowledge and ignorance. These features make Shi'ism as it appears in its founding texts a profoundly mystical religion. However, in its historical development, Shi'ism has been marked by a constant tension between a mystical spirituality and the temptation for political power (the lecture mainly concerns Twelver Shi'ism). About the speaker Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi is a Professor at the École Pratique des Hautes Études/PSL (Sorbonne) and Chevalier in National French Order of Légion d’Honneur. He has been a member of the Advisory Board of the Societas Iranologica Europaea (2014-2024), a Scientific Consultant of the Encyclopaedia Iranica and Encyclopaedia Islamica, and a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS). As a member of the Ambrosian Academy and the scientific committees of numerous journals and reviews, he has written more than 200 books and articles. His titles include: The Divine Guide in Early Shi'ism (State University of New York Press, 1994) The Spirituality of Shii Islam (IIS, I.B. Tauris, 2013) The Silent Quran and the Speaking Quran (Columbia University Press, 2015) La Preuve de Dieu. La mystique shi'ite à travers l'œuvre de Kulaynī (Cerf, 2018) Ali, The Well-Guarded Secret (Brill, 2023) How to join This event is open to all, and free to attend. Tickets are available to reserve via Eventbrite. Book your free ticket on Eventbrite Previous lectures in the series Speaker Date Venue Theme Emerita Professor Carole Hillenbrand (University of Edinburgh) 1 November 2022 50 George Square and onlinen Mary, the mother of Jesus, in Islam Professor Paul Starkey (Durham University) 30 October 2019 David Hume Tower In Search of Identity: Faris al-Shidyaq and the 19th-Century Arabic Revival Dr Linda Komaroff (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) 28 November 2018 50 George Square Dining with the Sultan: Reflections on the Fine Art of Feasting at the Islamic Courts Professor Nur Masalha 2 November 2017 Playfair Library Powerful Symbols and the British-Zionist Alliance: From Balfour to the Nakba Professor Maribel Fierro (Spanish National Research Council, Spain) 4 November 2016 Old Medical School Charisma and Anti-Charisma in al-Andalus Professor Carole Hillenbrand 23 October 2015 Playfair Library Montgomery Watt: The Man and The Scholar Are you interested in studying Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies? We are internationally recognised as a leading institution for studying Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Middle Eastern Studies, offering both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. Find out more about Islamic and Middle Eastern studies at Edinburgh May 27 2024 17.00 - 20.00 W.M. Watt Lecture Join us in person for the W.M. Watt Lecture 2024 by Professor Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi (École Pratique des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales/PSL - Sorbonne). Project Room 1.06 50 George Square University of Edinburgh Edinburgh EH8 9LH Find the venue Book your free ticket on Eventbrite
May 27 2024 17.00 - 20.00 W.M. Watt Lecture Join us in person for the W.M. Watt Lecture 2024 by Professor Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi (École Pratique des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales/PSL - Sorbonne).
