Meetings with Books Special Collections in the 21st Century. With a Tribute to Raymond Klibansky Illustrated Survey of Special Collections at McGill University Library and Archives

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The holiday season is upon us and the ISL will be closed as of 3pm today only to re-open its doors on the 5th of January 2015 at 9am. This has been another successful year for the ISL in terms of attendance (over 61,700 unique visitors), collection development (close to 3,000 items added including approximately 150 reference materials) and a number of additional activities (exhibitions, talks, information sessions, etc.). It’s been a busy year! Thank you for your support and enthusiasm in the ISL’s activities!

MeetingsOn a different note, a new publication has been released entitled: “Meetings with Books: Special Collections in the 21st Century. With a Tribute to Raymond Klibansky.  Illustrated Survey of Special Collections at McGill University Library and Archives.” This collaborative effort led by Drs. Jillian Tomm and Richard Virr of McGill’s RBSC provides an enlightening survey of the magnificent collections housed in RBSC. Included in those collections are many Islamic materials inclusive of Manuscripts (the image comes from the Dalāʼil al-khayrāt, RBD A6), Calligraphy, Lithographs and Rare Books. One is able to order a physical copy through contacting Dr. Tomm but there’s also an online open access version here.

Happy Holidays from the ISL’s staff and we look forward to seeing you in 2015!

 

The McGill Institute of Islamic Studies Tehran Branch publications now online!

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Housing a library, equipped with some of the most important manuscripts and reference materials of different Islamic Sciences, the Tehran Branch has produced over 200 volumes of major works by Islamic-Iranian scholars, many of which are accompanied by introductions and/or translations into foreign languages.

Over the course of the past two years, the Islamic Studies Library at McGill digitized the publications of the Tehran Branch which are now fully accessible on the Tehran Branch Publications webpage, and via the McGill Library catalogue system.

Political cartoons from the Arab Spring by Sudanese Cartoonist Khalid Albaih

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Born in Romania, raised in Sudan and Qatar where he is still based, Sudanese artist Khalid Albaih has been leaving his mark on Sudanese, Arab and global politics. His series of online political cartoons, known as Khartoon!, gained international attention during the Arab Spring, where they were turned into stencils and sprayed onto walls in Beirut and Cairo. His name is quickly becoming synonymous with political art in the Middle East and beyond; he has been featured in international media outlets, including the BBC and the New York Times, and exhibited in Doha, Cairo, London, New York, and now here in Montréal.

For a full interview of Khalid Albaih, you can go here.

Khalid Albaih is in Montreal this week (Nov.2-8) for a series of events, at McGill Institute of Islamic Studies and in other places. Come on, come all!

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Film screening – Sufi Soul: The Mystic Music of Islam

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On Wednesday, October 15th at 5:30 pm, in the Octagon Room, the Islamic Studies Library will screen Sufi Soul : the mystic music of Islam. The film will be folloed by a post-screening discussion with Dr. Pasha M. Khan, Chair
in Urdu Language and Culture, and professor at the Institute of Islamic Studies.

Come on, come all!

Sufi Soul imageSynopsis: With a dogmatic and fundamentalist view of Muslims increasingly predominant in the Western media, there has never been a more important time to show an alternative view of Islam. Sufism is the mystical dimension of Islam that preaches peace, tolerance and pluralism. And it encourages music, which is seen as a way of getting closer to God. Sufi music is literally some of the most ecstatic in the
world. This documentary by Simon Broughton looks at Sufism and its music in different
part of the Islamic world – Syria, Turkey, Pakistan and Morocco. It follows
the development of Sufism, reveals the views and beliefs of devotees, examines
the growing threat from fundamentalist Islam and includes fantastic performances
from some of the greatest Sufi musicians.

 

Cambridge Archive Editions Online

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Hi friends!

We currently have a 30 day trial of Cambridge Archives Edition Online. The trial runs from 1-31 October 2014. The CAE offers a plethora of primary sources in translation. From their website: “The collections of key documents are always made on specific and well-defined areas of research and each collection has the added value of arrangement into specific topics and document by document identification/description. The series of political reports focus on completeness and organisation of material previously unknown or scattered. Each collection is researched and edited by a professional researcher and sometimes also in cooperation with an academic specialist and presented in facsimile.”

Further information is here.

Access this incredible resource here.

Please let us know what you think!

 

Oxford Dictionaries: Arabic

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Hi friends!
We currently have a 30-day trial with this new online resource. From their website:

Oxford Dictionaries | Arabic is a new groundbreaking resource for those with an interest in the Arabic language. Structured by Oxford’s renowned language research and compiled by an international team of expert advisors, the dictionary is based on language as it’s used today. Oxford Dictionaries | Arabic contains the latest vocabulary in technology, business, media, and the arts in both languages to ensure you have the most up-to-date words at your fingertips.

Key Features Include:

  • Over 330,000 words, phrases, and translations
  • 70,000 real life example sentences
  • Vowels in all Arabic text
  • Fully searchable in Modern Standard Arabic and English
  • Regular word and content updates to ensure this resource is the most up to date bi-directional Arabic and English dictionary available
  • Incorporates extra content including tables of Arabic verbs, numbers, and dates
  • Modern and user-friendly design is optimized for use on a phone or tablet

Click here to explore: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/arabic/

Please let us know what you think.