Lecture Series on the History and Culture of Central Asia (Summer Term 2024)The Dala’il al-Khayrat and its Central Asian ManuscriptsA lecture by Alexandre Papas, French National Centre for Scientific Research, Paris

14 May 2024

Photo: © Sinani

We are pleased to invite you to this terms second lecture of the series on the history and culture of the Zerafshan valley,  jointly organized by Prof. Dr. Stefan Heidemann, Department of Islamic Studies at the Asien-Afrika-Institut (Universität Hamburg), and Dr. Shovosil Ziyodov, director of İmam Bukhari International Scientific Research Center in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The second lecture will be held from Prof. Dr. Alexandre Papas, senior research fellow at the French National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris, professor at the Graduate School of History and Philology, director of the Center for Ottoman Studies at the Collège de France, and executive editor of the Journal of Sufi Studies.

• Subject: The Dala’il al-Khayrat and its Central Asian Manuscripts
• Date: May 14th, 2024, 13:00 CET
  
• Place: online via ZOOM.

 Abstract:
The Dala’il al-Khayrat (Proofs of Good Deeds) by the Moroccan Sufi Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Jazuli (d. 1465) is a long cycle of prayers in Arabic dedicated to the prophet Muhammad. As one of the most famous and widely circulated devotional texts throughout the Sunni world, it was read, studied and copied in Central Asia as early as the 18th century, and remained popular until the beginning of the 20th century.I will present several copies of manuscripts from Western and Eastern Turkestan, which feature fascinating calligraphy and illustrations. Preserved in various libraries and museum collections, these richly decorated manuscripts show Ottoman, Kashmiri, and Chinese influences in addition to regional specificities. The Dala’il played a key role not only in the religious history of Transoxiana but also in its cultural and intellectual history.

Profile of the lecturer:
Alexandre Papas is a historian of the Turko-Persian world and Islamic mysticism, from the 15th century to present. His last publications include Thus Spake the Dervish: Sufism, Language, and the Religious Margins in Central Asia (Brill, 2019); Tamerlane’s Central Asia (Belles Lettres, 2022, in French), and as editor, Sufi Institutions (Brill, 2020). He is senior research fellow at the French National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris, professor at the Graduate School of History and Philology, director of the Center for Ottoman Studies at the Collège de France, and executive editor of the Journal of Sufi Studies.

In order to participate, please click here or use the following Zoom credentials:
Meeting ID: 525 843 6902
Password: 12345

For the poster of the lecture in full size, click here!
For more information about the joint Lecture Series on the History and Culture of Central Asia, please see here.