Q-SYMPOSIUM

WORCESTER COLLEGE | UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

Q-Symposium enables committed Q-Immersion workshop facilitators and CEI students to begin research on the Qur’an and produce a research paper of about 1500-3000 words under the guidance of Dr Ashraf.

The papers are presented at the annual Q-Symposium and it is hoped that these papers can then be developed into a more extensive thesis.

Each year, Dr Ashraf will also present a short paper based on his Oxford DPhil research: ‘A critical survey of the Qur’ānic qul verses and their literary function in selected polemical exchanges’.

Q-SYMPOSIUM 2025

Sunday 12 January 2025, 10.00 – 17.00

Worcester College, University of Oxford

Click here for abstracts to be presented this year and click on register to attend. The ticket price includes lunch.

OVERVIEW

أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ ۚ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِندِ غَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا۟ فِيهِ ٱخْتِلَـٰفًۭا كَثِيرًۭا

Will they not think about this Quran? If it had been from anyone other than God, they would have found much inconsistency in it. Q. 4:82

It is important for Muslims to not only passively study and engage with the Qur’an but also to actively write and contribute to it’s understanding.

For this purpose, CEI is pleased to introduce Q-Symposium, providing dedicated and committed CEI students with an opportunity to progress towards researching and writing about the Qur’an. Q-Symposium is a one-day programme in which Dr Ashraf along with selected CEI students will deliver presentations on different features in the Qur’an.

With a focus on surahs covered in past CEI programmes, these presentations will delve into the literary, linguistic and thematic features of the surahs to bring out a different dimension to our understanding of the word of God and to draw lessons from it.

AIMS

Q-Workshops and Q-Symposium aims to expose students to academic journals, tafsir and books that develop their ability to research the Qur’an and to:

– To critically think and synthesise the analysis and conclusions from multiple articles, tafsirs and books

– Present findings in written form, through a short research paper.

– The aim is not to necessarily develop novel and original ideas about the Qur’an.

– Develop the skills of conducting a literature review, engaging in Quranic literature and writing a short paper/research project.

METHODOLOGY

Students will be able to work closely with Dr Ashraf through a series of facilitated workshops to develop a methodological approach from a previous academic article covered during any of the previous five Q-Immersion events.

Each participant will be required to select the article, synthesize its core methodology and then apply that to a different surah in the Qur’an studied at CEI, with an aim to extract further lessons and insights.

LONDON SHORT COURSE:

Starts 13.01.25: Registration for the new 'Road to Ramadan 2025' short course is now open, click on London Short Course for full course details and to register.

Q-SYMPOSIUM:

starts 12.01.25: Registration for the new ‘Q-Symposium 2025’ day course is now open, click on for full course details. Click on register to join.

KID’S ACADEMY:

Registration for term 2, beginning on 11th January 2025, at Hazelwick School is open. Click on Kids’ Academy for full details and to register.

Q-CONNECT:

The Next Session is 14 January 2025. We will continue on Juzz Amma, focusing on Suras al-Qadr (Q. 97) and al-Bayyina (Q. 98). Registration for this online Zoom course is open.

Welcome:

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