Join us for a book talk exploring the complex political legacy of post-Ottoman #Iraq and #Syria following their independence in the 1940s and 1950s. While parliamentary rule, political parties, and civil society flourished, emergency laws and military intervention challenged democratic governance. The discussion will examine how both countries navigated questions of citizenship, national development, and the balance of political power, and how these struggles to establish genuine sovereignty continue to resonate today. 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘂 𝗥𝗲𝘆 is currently a senior researcher at CNRS-EHESS and a fellow researcher at the Wits History Workshop in Johannesburg. 👉 Sponsored by: @abbasiprogram and @mideaststanford #AbbasiProgram #StanfordIslamicStudies #History

Join performance artist, translator, and musician 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗵 𝗟𝗶𝘇𝗮 𝗚𝗮𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗶 for a transcendent night of music and #poetry, featuring acclaimed translations of the 13th century mystic #Rumi and musical compositions sung in the original Persian. Accompanied by cellist 𝗜𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘃𝗶, Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗵𝘇𝗮𝗱 𝗜𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆, and percussionist 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗮𝘀 𝗞𝘂𝗻𝘇𝗹𝗶, Gafori creates a vibrant cross-cultural musical and poetic dialogue as Rumi’s words tenderly speak to us, ushering us into more loving and soulful realms of being. The translations are published in two volumes, 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥 and 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, by New York Review Books. 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗵 𝗟𝗶𝘇𝗮 𝗚𝗮𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗶 is a New York City-born translator, performance artist, writer and educator of Iranian descent. 👉 Sponsored by: Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies, @mideaststanford #AbbasiProgram #StanfordIslamicStudies #PersianPoetry

Join us for a talk by 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗮 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist author, examining a leading Islamic scholar and activist, amina wadud. Drawing on archival materials, she will discuss wadud’s journey as a Methodist preacher’s daughter who spearheaded civil rights movements on four continents. Critical to understanding wadud is her experience and ever-changing relationship to both #Islam and the United States. Now recognised as a leading theologian, wadud’s story and work have resulted in countless Muslim #women and queer people seeing their faith anew. #AbbasiProgram #StanfordIslamicStudies

👉 Sponsored by: @abbasiprogram, @mideaststanford, Program on Arab Reform and Development (@StanfordCDDRL) After close to 14 years of cruel struggle, the “eternal” #Assad regime was overthrown. #Syria came out of that eternity quite shapeless. This talk explores the trajectory of Syria from the beginning of the #revolution to the present day, and examines future possibilities. Yassin Al-Haj Saleh is a Syrian writer and translator, and an International Visiting Scholar at the Stanford Humanities Center. #AbbasiProgram #StanfordIslamicStudies

Join us for an interdisciplinary graduate workshop featuring student paper presentations on research in Art History, Department of Languages, Cultures, and Languages, History of Science, Ottoman History, and Religious Studies. Each presentation will be 15-20 minutes, followed by a 5-7 minute response from an assigned respondent. A Q&A discussion will take place after each presentation panel. 9:30-10:00 a.m.: Breakfast and opening remarks 10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Panel presentation I 12:30-1:30 p.m.: Lunch 1:30-3:00 p.m.: Panel presentation II 3:00-3:30 p.m.: Coffee/Pastries and Closing Remarks