Events

2025

• 2025.5.12Online version of Transmission of Sacredness in Islam: Prophet's Family, Saints' Descendants, and Holy Relics (SIAS Lectures 12), was published (in Japanese).
• 2025.5.12Online version of Catalogue of Southeast Asian Kitabs of Sophia University, Third and Expanded Edition (SIAS Occasional Paper 45) was published.
• 2025.4.21International Workshop "Japanese Visual Anthropology of Sufism and Related Subjects" was held on Sunday, December 8, 2024.
• 2025.4.2The list of fellows has been updated.
• 2025.3.17International Workshop was held, in collaboration with the Center for Islamic Area Studies of Kyoto University (KIAS), the Group of Society, Religions, and Laïcités of the French National Centre for Scientific Research (GSRL-CNRS), the Center for Kenan Rifai Center for Sufi Studies of Kyoto University and the Global Mediterranean at the Asian Cultures Research Institute (ACRI) of Toyo University at Toyo University Atami Training Center, on Thursday, February 20, and Friday, February 21, 2025.
• 2025.3.17Research Seminar on "Sufism and Saint Veneration" was held, in collaboration with the Center for Islamic Area Studies of Kyoto University (KIAS), the Center for Kenan Rifai Center for Sufi Studies of Kyoto University and the Global Mediterranean at the Asian Cultures Research Institute (ACRI) of Toyo University, on Wednesday, February 19, and Thursday, February 20, 2025 (in Japanese).
• 2025.1.22International Workshop will be held, in collaboration with the Kenan Rifai Center for Sufi Studies at Kyoto University, Center for Islamic Area Studies at Kyoto University, and Laïcités of the French National Centre for Scientific Research(GSRL-CNRS) at Toyo University Atami Training Center, on Thursday, February 20, and Friday, February 21, 2025.

2024

• 2024.12.23SIAS, together with the Institute of Asian, African, and Middle Eastern Studies, hosted a visit of teachers from Islamic schools to Sophia University, which was a part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Islamic School Teacher Invitaiton Program from the Southeast Asia on Thursday December 5, 2024.
• 2024.12.18Office of the Institute of Islamic Area Studies at Sophia University will be closed from Tuesday December 24, 2024 to Sunday January 5, 2025.
• 2024.10.18Online lectures on demand "The Lives of Muslim Migrants in Diverse Local Contexts" will be held jointly with the Kenan Rifai Center for Sufi Studies at Kyoto University, which offer lecture videos on Monday November 11 until Sunday December 1 (in Japanese). This is one of the programs of Sophia Open Research Weeks 2024.
• 2024.7.3The list of fellows has been updated.
• 2024.6.26Research seminar on "A Demos In-Becoming: Tunisia 2014-2024, Struggles and Resistance to Remake the 'Missing People'" will be held in collaboration with Establishing Research Networks on the studies of protest movements: focusing on the cases of the Middle East and its comparison with those in Asia on Friday July 19, 2024.
• 2024.5.29Online version of Sounds and Bodily Expressions in Sufism (SIAS Lectures 11) was published (in Japanese).
• 2024.5.29Online version of Islamic Learning of al-Azhar from the End of 19th Century to the Beginning of 20th Century (Translation of ‘L’enseignement, la doctrine et la vie dans les universités musulmanes d’Égypte’ by Pierre Arminjon, SIAS Occasional Paper 44) was published (in Japanese).
• 2024.5.29Hybrid research seminar on "Sufism and Saint Veneration" will be held in collaboration with the Kenan Rifai Center for Sufi Studies at Kyoto University on Sunday June 9, 2024 (in Japansese).
• 2024.5.10Online version of Land Inheritance, Notability and City Governance in the Middle East: Cases from Raqqa and Amman (SIAS Lectures 10) was published.
• 2024.4.19The list of fellows has been updated.
• 2024.2.13Guest Lecture of Ms. Marianne Aringberg LAANATZA (advisor of MENA.SE), "Arab Women Entrepreneurs: Challenges and Development," will be given on Thursday, February 22, 2024.
• 2024.2.1Guest Lecture of Prof. Michael LEEZENBERG (University of Amsterdam), "Kurdish Vernacular Literature in the Persianate Cosmopolitan: A Case Study in Early Modern Islamic Cultural History," will be given in collaboration with the University of Tokyo Centre for Middle Eastern Studies on Friday, February 16, 2024.
• 2024.1.31Guest Lecture of Prof. Michael LEEZENBERG (University of Amsterdam), "Post-party Leninism and Bonapartist Anarchism: Two Paradigms in 21st-Century Kurdish Politics," will be given in collaboration with the Institute of Asian, African, and Middle Eastern Studies on Wednesday February 14, 2024.
• 2024.1.31Guest Lecture of Prof. Michael LEEZENBERG (University of Amsterdam), "Naqshbandi-Wahhabi rivalry as a major force in the modernization of the Islamic world," will be given in collaboration with the Institute for Research in Humanities at Kyoto University and the Kenan Rifai Center for Sufi Studies at Kyoto University on Monday, on Monday February 12, 2024.
• 2024.1.12International workshop, "Muslim Piety as Economy: Markets and Mobilities," will be held in collaboration with JSPS-KAKENHI JP21H03719、JP22H03846 on Friday January 19, 2024.

2023

• 2023.12.20Office of the Institute of Islamic Area Studies at Sophia University will be closed from Saturday December 23, 2023 to Thursday January 4, 2024.
• 2023.11.16Online version of Sufism Today: Understanding Different Aspects of Mysticism (SIAS Lectures 9) was published (in Japanese).
• 2023.10.31Screening of Algerian Film "143 Sahara Street" will be held on Tuesday November 21, 2023, in collaboration with the Institute of Asian, African, and Middle Eastern Studies (in Arabic, Subtitles and Commentary in Japanese, Pre-registration is required). This is one of the programs of Sophia Open Research Weeks 2023.
• 2023.10.22On-demand lecture series "Transmission of Sacredness in Islam: Prophet’s Family, Saints’ Descendants, and Holy Relics" will be held jointly with the Kenan Rifai Center for Sufi Studies at Kyoto University, which offer two lecture videos on Monday November 13 and the other two on Monday November 20, until Sunday December 3 (in Japanese). This is one of the programs of Sophia Open Research Weeks 2023.
• 2023.11.21Research seminar on moderate Islam was held jointly with the Kenan Rifai Center for Sufi Studies at Kyoto University on Sunday November 12, 2023 (in Japansese)
• 2023.10.17SIAS, together with the Institute of Asian, African, and Middle Eastern Studies, hosted a visit of teachers from Islamic schools to Sophia University, which was a part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Islamic School Teacher Invitaiton Program from the Southeast Asia on Monday October 16, 2023.
• 2023.10.2SIAS will hold a hybrid research Workshop on Tuesday October 10, 2023 (in Japanese).
• 2023.10.31Internatinal workshop, "Sufism and Saint Veneration: Past and Present" was held on Friday September 1, 2023, in collaboration with the Kenan Rifai Center for Sufi Studies at Kyoto University, the Center for Islamic Area Studies at Kyoto University, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique(CNRS), and the Collège de France.
• 2023.10.11Internatinal workshop "Bridging Mystical Philosophy and Arts in Sufism: Poetry, Music and Sama’ Ritual" was held on Monday, August 28, 2023, in collaboration with the Kenan Rifai Center for Sufi Studies, Center for Islamic Area Studies at Kyoto University, and the Institute for Sufi Studies, Üsküdar University.
• 2023.7.19Online version of Anthropology of Saint Veneration in Islam and Christianity (SIAS Lectures 7), was published (in Japanese).
• 2023.6.20International Workshop "The Trends in Pro- and Anti-Sufi Movements" was held on Saturday, June 17, 2023 at Kyoto University, in collaboration with the Kenan Rifai Center for Sufi Studies at Kyoto University.
• 2023.6.1SIAS will sponsor a screening of the Uzbek ethnographic film "Guli Armug'on" on Saturday, Jul. 22, 2023 (this link takes you directly to an external site in Japanese).
• 2023.6.13Hybrid Seminar on "Moderate Islam" held on Sunday, June 11, 2023, in collaboration with the Kenan Rifai Center for Sufi Studies at Kyoto University (in Japanese).
• 2023.5.31Hybrid Research Lecture by Prof. Rachida Chih on Sunday June 11, 2023.
• 2023.4.25Research Seminar on "Mashriq Society and Politics" will be jointly held by The Institute of Islamic Area Studies and Kyoto Sangyo Univerisity on Thursday May 25.
• 2023.4.20Hybrid research Seminar on "Land Tenure, Inheritance, and Gender in Middle East" on Tuesday May 23, 2023.
• 2023.4.18Hybrid research Seminar on "Raqqa, Urban Society in Northern Syria" was held on Friday May 19, 2023.
• 2023.3.28Online version of Sixteen Year History of the Center for Islamic Studies at Sophia University: From 2006 to 2021 Academic Year (SIAS Working Paper 43) was published (in Japanese).
• 2023.2.18Two-day workshop was held, in collaboration with the Kenan Rifai Center for Sufi Studies at Kyoto University at Toyo University Atami Training Center, on Saturday, February 18, 2023.
• 2023.2.17Hybrid International Workshop was held, in collaboration with the Kenan Rifai Center for Sufi Studies at Kyoto University, Center for Islamic Area Studies at Kyoto University, and Laïcités of the French National Centre for Scientific Research(GSRL-CNRS) at Toyo University Atami Training Center, on Friday, February 17, 2023.
• 2023.2.15Hybrid Seminar on "Sufism and Saint Veneration" was held, in collaboration with JSPS-KAKENHI JP22H00034 and Heiwa Nakajima Foundation, Aids for the Academic Research in Asia Region "An Attempt of Moderate Islam to Counter the Islamism: Focusing on "Religious Moderation" Policy of Indonesia" on Wednesday, February 15, 2023 (in Japanese).
• 2023.1.23Workshop, "Food Problems in the Middle East and North Africa Today: The Cases of Tunisia, Lebanon, and Egypt," on Friday, February 10, 2023 (in Japanese).

2022

• 2022.12.8Online version of Islamic Learning of al-Azhar from the End of 19th Century to the Beginning of 20th Century: Annotated Translation of ‘L’enseignement, la doctrine et la vie dans les universités musulmanes d’Égypte’ by Pierre Arminjon (SIAS Working Paper 41, in Japanese) and Comparative Study of Southeast Asian Kitabs (7): Islamic Books and Learning in Thailand (SIAS Working Paper 42) were published.
• 2022.12.7The Institute of Islamic Area Studies will hold a high-flex seminar, "Interreligious Critical Discussions Toward Coexistence: An Initiative by Nahdlatul Ulama of Indonesia," on Wednesday, December 7, 2022.
• 2022.12.5The Institute of Islamic Area Studies will sponsor a screening of the Uzbek ethnographic film "Séance and Islam: The Eurasian Legacy as Told by the Bakhshi" on Sunday, Dec 25, 2022 (this link takes you directly to an external site in Japanese).
• 2022.11.3Online Symposium "Sounds and Body Expressions in Sufism" will be held via Zoom webinar. Please install the application on your device in advance.
• 2022.10.20Online Symposium "Sounds and Body Expressions in Sufism" will be held on Saturday, November 12, 2022 (part of Sophia Open Research Weeks 2022) in collaboration with the Center for Islamic Area Studies at Kyoto University (in Japanese).
• 2022.10.20Screening of the Moroccan film "Adam" will be held on Tuesday, November 22, 2022, in collaboration with the Institute of Asian, African, and Middle Eastern Studies and the Research Project on Islam and Gender [JSPS Research Project JP20H00085] (part of Sophia Open Research Weeks 2022) (in Japanese).
• 2022.9.5Sophia Research Organization invites applications for PD and RA positions for the academic year 2023. Please refer to the Sophia Bulletin Board and Loyola Bulletin Board for detailed application information and documents. If you are not a member of Sophia University, please contact the SIAS office. The deadline for submission of documents is Wednesday, September 21, 2022 at 17:00.
• 2022.7.31Online version of Diversification of Muslim Communities in Taiwan (SIAS Working Paper 36) was published (in Japanese).
• 2022.7.11Online version of Historical Developments and Contemporary Situations of Travel and Tourism in the Middle East (SIAS Working Paper 39) and The Idea of an Anthropology of Islam (SIAS Working Paper 40) were published (in Japanese).
• 2022.7.10SIAS, in collaboration with the Kyoto Center for Islamic Area Studies and the the Group of Society, Religions, and Laïcités of the French National Centre for Scientific Research (GSRL-CNRS), held a SIAS/KIAS-CNRS Joint Seminar on July 7, 2022 as an online meeting.
• 2022.7.9The Institute of Islamic Area Studies, Sophia University, in collaboration with the Project Watan and the Research Project on Islam and Gender, will hold "Kurdish Community in Japan: KARIHŌMEN: Living as a Kurd in Japan" on July 17
• 2022.6.29Online version of Thinking Through Asymmetries of Power in Global Knowledge Regimes: Examples From Japan and the Muslim World (SIAS Working Paper 37, in Japanese) and Muslims in the Globalizing World: Some Reflections on Japan (SIAS Working Paper 38) were published.
• 2022.6.4The Institute of Islamic Area Studies, Sophia University, in collaboration with the Institute of Asian Cultural Studies and the Research Project on Islam and Gender [JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP20H00085], will hold a screening of the Algerian film "Papicha" with a special commentary on June 20 (in Japanese).
• 2022.5.25Online version of Stragegies of Feeding States: Rethinking of Experiences in Post-war Japan, India, and Egypt (SIAS Lectures 8), was published (in Japanese).
• 2022.5.8Sophia University's Institute of Islamic Area Studies, in collaboration with the Institute of Global Concern, will hold "Understanding Kurdish Music: 'Voices' Resounding Across the Amphitheatre (Film Screening, Concert, and Conversation)." Part of the program has been changed (in Japanese)
• 2022.5.3SIAS will support "Islamic Week," a student project organized by SSIC (Sophia Student Integration Commons), starting with an "Iftar Party" on April 25, with a variety of events planned.
• 2022.4.24Sophia University's Institute of Islamic Area Studies, in collaboration with the Institute of Global Concern, will host the one in a series of "Voices from the 'KURDs,''" a concert of traditional Kurdish music and a film screening, on May 22 (in Japanese)
• 2022.4.16The Institute's "Objectives, Activities, and History" and a list of the Institute's members are now available. (April 16, 2022)
• 2022.4.8Redelivery of all the online lectures of four (+one) lectures entitled "Sufism Today: Understanding Different Aspects of Mysticism" is now available until Tuesday, May 10, 2012 (in Japanese)
• The Institute of Islamic Area Studies was established as a research unit of the Permanent Research Division of the Sophia University Research Organization
• The Idea of an Anthropology of Islam, Comparative Study of Southeast Asian Kitabs (7): Islamic Books and Learning in Thailand, and Anthropology of Saint Veneration in Islam and Christianity (SIAS Working Paper 40, 42,and SIAS Lecture 7) were published on March 23, 2022 (in Japanese).
• Anthropology and History Research Group held a seminar on Sufism and Saint Veneration on Wednesday, March 23, 2022 (in Japanese)
• Redelivery of all the online lectures of four (+one) lectures entitled "Sufism Today: Understanding Different Aspects of Mysticism" as part of Sophia Open Research Weeks 2021 (from Friday, April 8 to Tuesday, May 10, 2021) (in Japanese).
• Anthropology and History Research Group held a SIAS/KIAS-CNRS Joint Seminar on March 18, 2021 as an online meeting.
• Thinking Through Asymmetries of Power in Global Knowledge Regimes: Examples From Japan and the Muslim World, Muslims in the Globalizing World: Some Reflections on Japan, and Historical Developments and Contemporary Situations of Travel and Tourism in the Middle East (SIAS Working Paper Series 37, 38,and 39) were published on March 17, 2022 (in Japanese).
• Stragegies of Feeding States: Rethinking of Experiences in Post-war Japan, India, and Egypt (SIAS Lectures 8), was published on February 25, 2022 (in Japanese).
• Anthropology and History Research Group held a seminar on Sufism and Saint Veneration on Friday, January 21, 2022 (in Japanese)
• Open seminar for Socio-Ecomony Research Group on Sunday, January 13, 2022 as an online meeting (in Japanese) .