International Institute for the Study of Islam

in the Modern World (ISIM)

http://www.isim.nl

TheInternational Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World (ISIM) was founded by the University of Amsterdam, Leiden University, and Utrecht University in 1998. In 2000 the Radboud University Nijmegen joined the ISIM. The ISIM emerged from the need to further interdisciplinary research on developments of great intellectual, social, and political importance in the Muslim world and among Muslim communities in the West. The ISIM sees its role as fundamentally attempting to offer new and critical perspectives on the ways in which questions about Islam and Muslims are framed in the public sphere.

The ISIM is a post-graduate institute and does not offer B.A. or M.A. courses in Islamic Studies. The individual ISIM Chairs, however, are involved in M.A. programmes at the participating universities. For more information about B.A. or M.A. courses, please check the websites of theUniversity of Amsterdam, Leiden University, Utrecht University, and the Radboud University Nijmegen.

The ISIM is funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (through NWO) and the participating universities. Additional funding for fellowships, meetings and outreach has been acquired from various sources, including NWO/WOTRO, ASSR, KNAW, and SSRC. The Rights at Home Project is financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The ISIM's research approaches are grounded in social and cultural science theory and methodology but attach great importance to solid knowledge of the languages concerned. They integrate the methodologies and accumulated insights of such disciplines as philology, literary criticism, Islamic studies, religious studies, history, legal studies, etc. The ISIM is not uniquely focused on one particular geographical area in the world of Islam. In the regional specializations of its staff, North Africa and the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, South and Southeast Asia, as well as the Muslim communities of the West are represented. Research programmes are comparative in that they are concerned with more than one region.
Special ISIM Chairs have been created at the four participating universities. The chair holders lead the various ISIM research programmes. The ISIM offers a range of fellowships within these research programmes. A highlight of the ISIM calendar is the Annual Lecture. Speakers so far have been Dale Eickelman, Gudrun Krämer, Talal Asad, Barbara Metcalf, Serif Mardin, and Abdulaziz Sachedina. Moreover, in order to further the development of the library collection on the modern Muslim world, the ISIM cooperates with the Leiden University Library in which a special ISIM section has been created.

Among the publications of the ISIM are the ISIM Review and the ISIM Papers Series. The ISIM Review contains articles by researchers from all over the world as well as ISIM and other academic news. The ISIM Papers contain lectures by leading scholars at various ISIM events.