Poetry reading 25 January, 2014

Hi friends! In less than 2 weeks le Cénacle culturel Liban-Québec invites you for an Arabic poetry reading by current Director of the IIS, Prof. Rula Jurdi Abisaab. This will be followed by poems translated into English and French by Prof. Michelle Hartman of the IIS, Poet Nadine Ltaif and McGill Doctoral candidate Hadi Fakhoury. Oud musician, Mr. Isam Haddad will play some pieces of Arabic music.

The event will take place on Saturday, January 25th, 2014 from 5:00-7:00 at the Ballroom on the 3rd Floor of Thomson House, 3650 McTavish Street, Montreal, H3A 1Y2 Phone:(514)398-3756. (Between Pine Avenue and Dr. Penfield Avenue).
The Event is also supported by Nelson Publishing House.

Lecture: “Giving Voices to Women” featuring Cheikh Khaled Bentounès

The Islamic Studies Library is hosting a lecture featuring Cheikh Khaled Bentounes next Thursday (Sept. 19th), 5:30-7:30 p.m., in the Frank Dawson Adams Auditorium : 3450 University Street. For more information, see the Library website.

This lecture is presented by McGill Islamic Studies Library in conjunction with AISA Canada – Association Internationale Soufie Alawiyya au Canada and Pauline Librarie and is part of “The Sufi Alternative: A message for the 21st Century Conference held in Montreal September 14, 16, 17 and 19, 2013.

Please note that this lecture is free and will be held in French.

Résumé: « Le Coran affirme le principe d’égalité entre tous les êtres. De nombreux versets soulignent cette égalité hommes femmes, à commencer par la création du couple adamique issu d’un prototype unique» al nafs al wahida .

Donner la parole aujourd’hui aux femmes signifie encourager une relecture des textes fondamentaux de l’Islam pour une nouvelle compréhension dont la société musulmane a grandement besoin. (…)

Il appartient aux femmes de découvrir cet héritage, et de prendre l’initiative de relire les textes pour réclamer la place qui leur revient de droit. C’est une question qui concerne l’avenir de l’humanité toute entière. »

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Summary: “The Qur’an states the principle of equality among all beings. A great number of verses emphasize gender equality, starting with the creation of the Adamic couple from a single “Al Nafs al Wahida” prototype.

Giving voice to women today means encouraging a rereading of the fundamental texts of Islam for a new understanding, which the Muslim society so badly needs. (…)

It is up to women to discover this heritage and take the initiative to read the texts to demand their rightful place before the law. This is a fundamental issue for the future of humanity.”

Tehran Branch of the IIS

Dear friends:

The Institute will be hosting a luncheon with Dr. Mehdi Mohaghegh who will be representing the Tehran Branch of the Institute. He will be discussing, amongst other topics some of the publications produced by the Tehran Branch. Some of these have been digitized such as:

مجموعه سخنرانيها و مقالهها در باره فلسفه و عرفان اسلامي / Majmūʻah-ʼi sukhanrānīhā va maqālahʹhā dar bārah-ʼi falsafah va ʻirfān-i Islāmī and are freely available via McGill!Tehran