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The Insight Interviews

The Insight Interviews

Written by: Shi'a Research Institute
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 An informative series of academic discussions, taking a deeper dive on a variety of unique topics. Brought to you by the Shi'a Research Institute in Toronto, Canada. shiaresearch.ca/insight-interviewsShi'a Research Institute
Episodes
  • Ep. 28 | Contemporary Shi‘ism and Shaykh Ahmad al-Waeli

    Ep. 28 | Contemporary Shi‘ism and Shaykh Ahmad al-Waeli
    Dec 28 2025
    An informative discussion with Dr. Sayed Ammar Nakshawani, on the life and times of the famous Iraqi scholar and lecturer, Dr. Shaykh Ahmad al-Waeli (d.2003).Dr. Sayed Ammar Nakshawani is an Islamic Lecturer, Scholar, Historian & Author. Sayed Ammar has previously held the role as Associate and Research Director at the Project on Shi’ism and Global Affairs at Harvard University and was the Inaugural Imam Ali Chair of Shi’a Studies at the Hartford Seminary. He also served as Visiting Scholar at Columbia University’s Middle East Institute and the Department of Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge. He obtained his doctorate from the University of Exeter where he published his dissertation on authority and leadership in early Islam. Dr. Nakshawani was appointed as a Special Representative to the United Nations promoting women’s rights initiatives, social development, and religious tolerance and is currently listed as one the World’s 500 most influential Muslims.Hosted by Dr. Vinay Khetia, this instalment in our series 'The Insight Interviews', promises to be an engaging conversation.The Insight Interviews:An informative series of academic discussions, taking a deeper dive on a variety of unique topics. Learn more at https://shiaresearch.ca/insight-interviewsView the series playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgu_sYFBPFVV5yBiwTU9snnvMmMlw41gpFollow us on:Instagram: https://instagram.com/ShiaResearchInsTwitter: https://twitter.com/ShiaResearchInsFacebok: https://facebook.com/ShiaResearchInsContribute to the Shi‘a Research Institute to help us continue creating high quality research and content:https://shiaresearch.ca/donate/
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    1 hr
  • Ep. 27 | Dr. Robert Gleave's Journey through Shi‘i Studies

    Ep. 27 | Dr. Robert Gleave's Journey through Shi‘i Studies
    Nov 30 2025
    An informative discussion with Dr. Robert Gleave (University of Exeter), on his career path, personal journey, and various impactful works.Robert Gleave is Professor of Arabic Studies in the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, UK. He researches the history of Shīʿī law, with a particular interest in legal hermeneutics. He has led international projects linked to these themes, and currently leads the SDIL project: Schooling and Deschooling Islamic Law, funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation. He is author of Inevitable Doubt: Two Shīʿī Theories of Jurisprudence (Brill, 2000), Scripturalist Islam: The History and Doctrines of the Akhbārī Shīʿī School (Brill, 2007) and Islam and Literalism: Literal Meaning in Interpretation in Islamic Legal Theory (EUP, 2012). His most recent collaborative publications are (with Kumail Rajani) Shi’ite Legal Theory: Sources and Commentaries (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press/Gibb Memorial Trust, 2023) and (with Omar Anchassi), Islamic Law in Context: A Primary Source Reader (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004).Hosted by Dr. Vinay Khetia, this instalment in our series 'The Insight Interviews', promises to be an engaging conversation.The Insight Interviews:An informative series of academic discussions, taking a deeper dive on a variety of unique topics. Learn more at https://shiaresearch.ca/insight-interviewsView the series playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgu_sYFBPFVV5yBiwTU9snnvMmMlw41gpFollow us on:Instagram: https://instagram.com/ShiaResearchInsTwitter: https://twitter.com/ShiaResearchInsFacebok: https://facebook.com/ShiaResearchInsContribute to the Shi‘a Research Institute to help us continue creating high quality research and content:https://shiaresearch.ca/donate/
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • Ep. 26 | Sufism and Philosophy in the Contemporary Shia Seminary

    Ep. 26 | Sufism and Philosophy in the Contemporary Shia Seminary
    Aug 31 2025
    An informative discussion with Dr. Seyed Amir Hossein Asghari (Indiana University Bloomington), on his book, ‘Sufism and Philosophy in the Contemporary Shia Seminary’.SeyedAmirHossein Asghari, Ph.D., is a scholar of Islamic thought whose work explores the intersections of religion, ethics, and culture, with a focus on Shia intellectual and Sufi traditions. He is the author of Sufism and Philosophy in the Contemporary Shia Seminary: Scholars and Mystics (Bloomsbury, 2025), which examines debates over reason, revelation, and spiritual authority in the modern Shia seminary. His current monograph, Natural Law and Interreligious Understanding: Islamic Context (forthcoming), develops a Qur’an-based account of innate and natural-universal moral knowledge to support interfaith collaboration. Dr. Asghari has taught at Indiana University, Butler University, and Baylor University, offering courses on Qur’anic studies, Islamic philosophy, and interreligious ethics, and participates in Shia–Jewish legal reasoning dialogues.Hosted by Dr. Vinay Khetia, this instalment in our series 'The Insight Interviews', promises to be an engaging conversation.The Insight Interviews:An informative series of academic discussions, taking a deeper dive on a variety of unique topics. Learn more at https://shiaresearch.ca/insight-interviewsView the series playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgu_sYFBPFVV5yBiwTU9snnvMmMlw41gpFollow us on:Instagram: https://instagram.com/ShiaResearchInsTwitter: https://twitter.com/ShiaResearchInsFacebok: https://facebook.com/ShiaResearchInsContribute to SRI to help us continue creating high quality research and content:https://shiaresearch.ca/donate/
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    1 hr and 15 mins
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