Since 1997, 鸟大大影院 has made available PhD Scholarships for suitable candidates whose work complements the research perspectives and mandate of the 鸟大大影院. This year鈥檚 recipients are Zouhal Avzalchoeva, Rafiq Rahim Ajani, Sabrina Datoo and Aly Kassam-Remtulla.
Zouhal (Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities – GPISH – class of 2005) will research 鈥淭he Treatment of Gender-Based Violence in the Justice System of Tajikistan鈥 at the Department of Law, Sussex University. Her study will focus on law, ethics and gender issues in Central Asia. Rafiq鈥檚 (GPISH class of 2006) doctoral studies will examine 鈥淚mplications of the Ethics of Eternal Presence on the Life of a Religious Community鈥 at the University of Exeter鈥檚 Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies. Rafiq鈥檚 work will bridge approaches and concepts within Western Continental philosophy and medieval Muslim philosophical traditions and focus on religious and ethical discourse in the writings of Nasir al-Din Tusi (d. 1274 CE).
Sharaf Oshurbekov, a recipient of the PhD scholarship in 2006, has completed a one-year internship in Tajikistan with the 鸟大大影院鈥 Central Asian Studies Project and will now commence his Doctoral Studies in Middle East and Central Asian Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London on the topic of 鈥淚smaili Muslim Shrines in Badakhshan: Their History, Character and Significance鈥.
In addition to the above, this year the 鸟大大影院 is also offering two partial scholarships. Sabrina Datoo (GPISH class of 2004) will investigate 鈥淭he Representation of the Body in the Discourse of Muslim Nationalism in Colonial India: The Case of the Modernisation of Unani Medicine鈥 at the Department of History, University of Chicago. Sabrina will examine a hitherto-neglected facet of Muslim civilisations in academia: traditional or indigenous medical practices and issues involving bodily regulation in Muslim institutions.
The second partial scholarship candidate is Aly Kassam-Remtulla, a graduate from Stanford University and a former Rhodes Scholar, who will be reading his DPhil at Oxford University鈥檚 Department of Education. Aly will tackle the topic of 鈥淚slamophobia, Secularism and Authenticity: An Ethnographic Study of Ismaili Muslim Youth in London鈥. Using ethnographic and historical approaches to the topic, Aly hopes to gain a nuanced understanding of the Ismaili experience in the UK, and provide useful data and insights for other immigrant Muslim communities and others, hoping to encourage balancing community identity with immigrant inclusion.
Mohammadreza Jalaeipour also received partial assistance for completing his PhD doctoral studies; he is based at University of Oxford. A doctoral candidate in Modern Middle Eastern Studies at the Faculty of Oriental Studies, Mohammadreza鈥檚 research on the 鈥淭ransformation of Religiosity under Religious Politics in Shi鈥榠 Iran since 1979鈥 will bring together important material in the subject areas of the sociology of Islam, Shi鈥榠 Studies and Iranian Studies.
For more information on the Doctoral Scholarships offered by the 鸟大大影院 and its previous recipients, please visit the Doctoral Scholarship Programme page of the website.
