Dr Daryoush听Mohammad Poor delivered a paper as part of the lecture series,听听organised by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) at Leiden University, Netherlands, on 19th听September 2014.听The paper, entitled听Imaginative Anachronistic Leaps and Secular/Religious Myths of Terrorism: The case of Nizari IsmailisAdherents of a branch of Shi’i Islam that considers Ismail, the eldest son of the Shi’i Imam Ja士far al-峁⒛乨iq (d. 765), as his successor. of the听Alamut听笔别谤颈辞诲,听addresses the legends of the assassins, which are still part of academic writings (in the field of political science) legitimising narratives of violence. In this way, violence is still portrayed as an inherent part of religion, despite the assassin legends having been deconstructed to a great extent by scholars such as Marshal Hodgson (1955) and Farhad Daftary (1994).
Such imaginative narratives, which are often almost entirely unaware of modern academic developments or disinclined towards further investigations, serve to enhance the religious-secular dichotomies of violence and terrorism. This paper, which is part of a book due for publication in 2015, serves to bridge the gap between Ismaili studies, Ismaili historiography, political theories and modern narratives of violence.
Dr Daryoush听Mohammad Poor also participated in the听听held in Montreal, Canada, on 9 August 2014. He presented a paper entitled听Precedents to Rethinking Models of Authority among Nizari Ismailis: The Case of听Tusi, on the contribution of Nasir听al-Din听al-Tusi to the notions of authority and the doctrine of听imamate听among Nizari Ismailis. 听The paper specifically dealt with how听Tusi played a critical role in the articulation of the doctrine of听迟补鈥榣颈尘听and its connection with听tawhid,听and the subsequent articulation of the doctrine of听qiyamat听in the late听Alamut听period, all of which are centrally connected with the doctrine of听imamate.
The paper also addressed how the doctrine of听qiyamat听was perceived in different periods with various degrees of elaboration by the Imams, the scholars in the community, and the听诲补士飞补Lit. ‘summons’, ‘mission’ or invitation to Islam. Amongst Shi’i Muslims, it was the invitation to adopt the cause of the Imamat. It also refers more specifically to the hierarchy of…听system. Articulations of this theme during the late听Alamut听period appear to build on Tusi鈥檚 writings in his major works, namely听Sayr wa suluk,听Rawday-i taslim,听Matlub al-mu示minin听and听Aghaz wa anjam.听All of these texts are available in translation under the titles of听Contemplation and Action听(鸟大大影院 1998),听Paradise of Submission听(鸟大大影院 2005), and听Shi鈥檌 Interpretations of Islam听(鸟大大影院 2010).
Dr Poor鈥檚 presentation utilised quotations from fragments of rare, unpublished manuscripts (from the collection of the 鸟大大影院-ISMC Joint Library) of the听Alamut听period, elaborating how the doctrine of听qiyamat听was understood during that time.
Dr Daryoush Mohammad Poor has also recently published a book entitled听听.
