Speakers

Hussein Kalout

Associate, Project on Shi'ism and Global Affairs

Research Scholar at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES), Harvard University

Hussein Kalout is a Political Scientist, Professor of International Relations, Member of the Advisory Board of the Harvard International Review, and Research Scholar at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. Previously he was a Fellow at the Weatherhead...

Seyfeddin Kara

Marie Sklodowska-Curie Global Fellow, The University of Toronto

Dr Seyfeddin Kara is Marie Sklodowska-Curie Global Fellow at The University of Toronto. He was awarded a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Durham, the UK in 2015. He is a Board Member at the American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies...

Ayfer Karakaya-Stump

Associate Professor, William and Mary

Ayfer Karakaya-Stump is an associate professor of history at William and Mary. She holds a Ph.D. in History-Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University (2008). Karakaya-Stump is the author of The Kizilbash/Alevis in Ottoman Anatolia: Sufism, Politics...

Joshua Landis

Sandra Mackey Chair and Director of the Center for Middle East Studies and the Farzaneh Family Center for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies, University of Oklahoma

Joshua Landis is Sandra Mackey Chair and Director of the Center for Middle East Studies and the Farzaneh Family Center for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies at the University of Oklahoma in the Boren College of International Studies. He writes and manages...

Scott Lucas

Associate Professor, University of Arizona

Dr. Lucas is an associate professor of Islamic Studies. His research explores the creative process by which Sunni and Zaydi scholars composed works in the genres of law, hadith, and Qur’anic commentary during the classical period of Islamic civilization...

Amin Mawji

Diplomatic Representative, Aga Khan Development Network

Amin Mawji is the Diplomatic Representative of the Aga Khan Development Network in Uganda. He is a former President of the Shia Imami Ismaili National Council for the UK and a Founding Trustee of Freedom Declared Foundation, a UK Charity promoting freedom...

Orkhan Mir-Kasimov

Senior Research Fellow, The Institute of Ismaili Studies

Dr. Orkhan Mir-Kasimov is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS), London. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and teaches on the IIS graduate programmes (GPISH & STEP) . Previously, he lectured at the Ecole...

Gurdofarid Miskinzoda

Head of Shiʿi Studies Unit, The Institute of Ismaili Studies

Dr Gurdofarid Miskinzoda is the Head of Shiʿi Studies Unit (SSU) and Managing Editor of the Shiʿi Heritage Series in the Department of Academic Research and Publications (DARP) of The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. She also teaches on aspects of...

Payam Mohseni

Director, Project on Shi'ism and Global Affairs

Lecturer, Department of Government, Harvard University

Dr. Payam Mohseni is the Director of the Project on Shi'ism and Global Affairs at Harvard University's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and manages Visions, Harvard's premier online publication on all matters pertaining to global Shi'ism. He...

Eliton Pashaj

Bektashi Community of America

Dervish Eliton Pashaj holds a degree in theology from Bursa Uludağ University (Turkey). Originally from Albania, Dervish Eliton is currently the senior clergyman at the First Albanian-American Bektashi Teqe, which he has served for over ten years.

Sayed Ali Abbas Razawi

Associate, Project on Shi'ism and Global Affairs

Director-General and Chief Imam, Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society

Sayed Ali Abbas Razawi is a British scholar and religious leader with a research interest in Islamic philosophy, mysticism, and comparative religion. In particular, he focuses upon the concept of “love” theoretically and applies his insights as a...

Karen Ruffle

Associate Professor, University of Toronto

Karen Ruffle is Associate Professor in the Departments of Historical Studies and Study of Religion at the University of Toronto. She has widely published articles focusing on devotional texts, ritual practice, and Shiʿi material practices in South Asia...