ADVANCED MUSLIM POLITICAL THOUGHT & REALISM FOR MULTI-CIVILISATIONAL WORLD

[PLEASE NOTE - The course is BOTH in person ONSITE in London and for those who can not attend in person can purchase the LIVE ONLINE STREAMING ticket to watch it from their device and those coming in person, should you not decide to attend person on the day or half the day, you will still recieve a link to the live online streaming, irrespective but are encouraged to attend in person if you have registered for that ticket, as this helps with allows room allocation, respectively for fellow participants].

EARLY-BIRD SPECIAL OFFER BOOKING DEADLINE ENDs FRIDAY 2nd JANUARY 2026 after which spaces become limited and prices increase - REGISTER ONLINE and you will receive final instructions.

PAYMENT DETAILS - If do not wish to pay via Eventbrite using Paypal [to avoid extra charges], please email us directly to the following and we will send the bank details to make direct transfer. Please email us directly to [email protected] with the following:

Name of course:

Ticket type: Student or Professional or Online

Number of tickets:

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Once you have done this, we will send you the bank details to make transfer to.

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Islamic Courses presents:

PART ONE: ADVANCED MUSLIM POLITICAL THOUGHT AND REALISM FOR A MULTI-CIVILISATIONAL WORLD

Delivered by the team from The Center for Islam and Global Affairs [CIGA]*

Dates: Saturday 7th - Sunday 8th February 2026

Time: 9am - 6pm on BOTH days

Venue: Ebrahim College, 399–401 High Street, Stratford, London, E15 4QZ

This is PART ONE of a series of advanced workshops in classical Muslim political theory that excavates the buried tradition of Muslim political realism that flourished during the "last flowering" of Ittihad-i Islam (c. 1875-1950). Responding to the Ottoman Caliphate's collapse and Western hegemony, modern Muslim intellectuals engaged classical concepts of sovereignty (Imamah), political order (Nizam), and statecraft (Siyasa) to reconcile Islamic governance with modernity.

The course challenges the reduction of Ittihad-i Islam to "Pan-Islamism," revealing it as a sophisticated project reinterpreting foundational texts (al-Mawardi, al-Juwayni, Ibn Khaldun) to address freedom, representation, and international relations. We contrast this with the subsequent "long interregnum" of secular nationalism and Cold War Islamism, whose failures (post-2011 Arab Uprisings, Gaza 2023) underscore the urgent need to recover classical paradigms. Through primary sources and critical political theology, students will reconstruct core Muslim foundations of classical political theory: Jahiliya (political anarchy), Dairah al-Adl (circle of justice), Asabiyya (elite solidarity), and cyclical state dynamics. The goal is to reignite Muslim political ethics capable of informing a civilizational pole in today’s multipolar world, moving beyond reactionary ideologies toward a realist tradition grounded in prophetic state-building and balanced governance.

Learning Objectives: Master core concepts of classical Muslim political thought (Imamah, Siyasa, Jahiliya, Nizam); Reconstruct Muslim theories of sovereignty, constitutionalism, state formation/collapse; Develop fluency in comparing Muslim political theology with Western realism (Hobbes, Schmitt); Evaluate the relevance of classical paradigms for contemporary Muslim political revival.

Required Texts (Selections):

Course Reader: Key excerpts will be provided before class from al-Juwayni (Ghiyāth al-Umam), al-Mawardi (al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyya), Ibn Khaldun (Muqaddimah), Ibn al-Azraq (Bada’i al-Silk), Shah Waliullah (Hujjatullah al-Baligha), al-Turtushi (Siraj al-Muluk) & Secondary Source material

PART II will be confirmed upon completition of the first.

AUDIENCE: Because of the academic nature of the workshop, it will only be suited to post graduates, academics, policy makers, think-tank agencies, senior community Muslim thinkers, activists as well as Ulema and anyone interested in Muslim world international relations at a nuanced and advanced level of discourse in view to policy reform and decision making and processes.

*The Centre for Islam and Global Affairs [CIGA] is a premiere research independent non-profit institute in Istanbul, Turkey, affiliated with the Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University. Through its departments such as the Islam and Muslim Societies Studies (IMSS), Geopolitical and Strategic Studies (GPSS), Islamophobia and Muslim Minorities Studies (IMMS), it focusses on high-quality research, policy analysis and recommendations, public education concerning global issues affecting the Muslim world, covering topics from geopolitics to human rights, leading discussions and events for policymakers and the public, and its future relations with world powers based on shared principles, common interests, and mutual respect.

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All welcome, limited spaces, pre-registration required!

DEADLINE FOR BOOKINGS APPLY after which prices increase

For more information call/tel: 07956735301 or email: [email protected]

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* Please note, time and resources have been set aside to ensure the programme runs in a smooth and professional manner for the maximum benefit of participants and thus unless the programme has been postponed or cancelled, there are NO REFUNDS as part of the terms and condition policy.

*Lunch and refreshments can be purchased at cafe's or restaurant's near to the venue and NOT included in ticket price.

*The course is BOTH in person ONSITE in London and for those who can not attend in person can purchase the LIVE ONLINE STREAMING ticket to watch it from their device and those coming in person, should decide not to attend person on the day or half the day, you will still recieve a link to the live online streaming, irrespective but are encouraged to attend in person if you have registered for that ticket, as this helps with allows room allocation, respectively for fellow participants

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