​The Centre for Islamic Knowledge (CIK) is dedicated to reviving the Islamic scholarly tradition, disseminating Islamic knowledge, and promoting Islamic intellectual inquiry.

Throughout 2025, CIK continued to expand its academic programs, scholarly initiatives, and global partnerships, bringing together scholars, students, and institutions committed to the study and renewal of Islamic thought. Through educational programs, research initiatives, conferences, seminars, and public lectures, CIK seeks to cultivate serious engagement with the Islamic scholarly tradition and to contribute to the development of a new generation of scholars and intellectual leaders.

The highlights presented on this page offer a brief overview of CIK’s work during the past year and reflect its ongoing efforts.

CIK in 2025 - Key Highlights

  • ​30+ international scholars engaged through lectures, seminars, conferences, and academic programs
  • Programs and scholarly initiatives delivered across North America, Europe, Türkiye, and Pakistan
  • Launch of the CIK Summer Academic Intensive at the historic Süleymaniye Madrasa in Istanbul
  • Continued development of the Advanced Diploma in Islamic Scholarship and Leadership (ADIL)
  • Relaunch of the Foundations Program in Islamic Studies
  • Launch of the Ihya’ Journal of Islamic Thought, an international interdisciplinary academic journal
  • Participation and co-hosting of the keynote panel at the British Association for Islamic Studies (BRAIS) Conference at the University of Cambridge
  • Co-hosting of the Vision 2050 Conference at SOAS, University of London
  • New strategic partnerships with leading institutions including Ibn Haldun University, the International Islamic University Islamabad, and the Markfield Institute of Higher Education
  • Continued expansion of initiatives such as CIK Talks, Gems from the Great Books of Islamic Civilization, and CIK Seminars

Academic Programs

A central pillar of the Centre for Islamic Knowledge’s work is the development of educational programs that cultivate serious engagement with the Islamic intellectual tradition while equipping students to address the intellectual and social challenges of the contemporary world.
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Through structured programs of study, CIK seeks to nurture a new generation of scholars, educators, and community leaders who are deeply grounded in the classical disciplines of Islamic scholarship while conversant with modern academic debates.

Advanced Diploma in Islamic Scholarship & Leadership (ADIL)

The Advanced Diploma in Islamic Scholarship & Leadership (ADIL) is the flagship academic program of the Centre for Islamic Knowledge. It is a pioneering program that combines fidelity to the Islamic scholarly tradition with academic rigor and a strong ethos of khidma (service) and leadership. It has been designed to prepare a new generation of Muslim thinkers, scholars, and community leaders who are rooted in tradition, responsive to context, and committed to serving the Umma.

By the end of the program, students will have acquired a robust set of intellectual, spiritual, and practical tools enabling them to contribute to the advancement of the Islamic intellectual enterprise, provide guidance in their communities, and take on roles of leadership at local, national, and global levels.

What sets ADIL apart is its ability to:

  • Bridge the classical tradition and contemporary realities.
  • Train students in both intellectual depth and leadership capacity.
  • Provide access to a network of leading scholars from diverse backgrounds.
  • Equip graduates with the tools to respond to modern ideological, social, and cultural challenges.

ADIL graduates will emerge as thoughtful, principled, and capable leaders - able to think globally, serve locally, and faithfully uphold the Islamic tradition in the modern world.​

The program brings together an international faculty of distinguished scholars, including:

  • Shaykh Zahid Abu Ghudda
  • Dr. Issam Eido (Vanderbilt University)
  • Dr. Akram Nadwi (Al-Salam Institute)
  • Dr. Ovamir Anjum (University of Toledo)
  • Dr. Suheil Laher​ ​ ​(Boston Islamic Seminary)
  • Dr. Necmettin Kizilkaya (Istanbul University)
  • Dr. Safaruk Chowdhury​ (Cambridge Muslim College)
  • Dr. Heba Raouf Ezzat ​ (Ibn Haldun University)
  • Dr. Kasim Kompuz (Marmara University)
  • Dr. Ramon Harvey (Cambridge Muslim College)
  • Dr. Salman Younas (Cambridge Muslim College)
  • Dr. Fella Lahmar (Hamad Bin Khalifa University)
  • Dr. Sharif El-Tobgui ​ (Brandeis University)
  • Dr. Khairudin Aljunied (National University of Singapore)
  • Dr. Sohaib Saeed​ ​ (Ibn ‘Ashur Centre for Quranic Studies)
  • Dr. Usaama al-Azami ​​ (Hamad Bin Khalifa University)
  • Dr. Mansur Ali (Cardiff University)
  • Shaykh Yousef Wahb (University of Chicago)
  • Dr. Ermin Sinanović (Center for Islam in the Contemporary World)
  • Dr. Nazif Muhtaroğlu​ (Brandeis University)
  • Dr. Nazir Khan​ (McMaster University)
  • Dr. Yakoob Ahmed​ ​(Istanbul University)
  • Ustadh Mohamud Awil Mohamed​ (University of Pennsylvania)
  • Ustadh Amir Abu Ghudda (Georgetown University)

By bringing together scholars working across traditional and academic settings, the ADIL program creates an environment where students can engage deeply with the Islamic intellectual tradition while participating in contemporary scholarly conversations.

Summer Academic Intensive — Istanbul

​One of the most significant initiatives of the year was CIK’s Summer Academic Intensive in Istanbul, hosted at the historic Suleymaniye Madrasa in collaboration with Ibn Haldun University.

​The faculty included leading scholars, who delivered intensive seminars in the following areas:
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The program brought together an international cohort of scholars and students for a rigorous program of seminars, discussions, and scholarly engagement.

The program provided a unique setting in which classical Islamic scholarship could be studied alongside contemporary intellectual and civilizational questions.

Foundations Program in Islamic Studies

Alongside its advanced academic initiatives, the Centre for Islamic Knowledge offers the Foundations Program in Islamic Studies, a structured curriculum introducing students to the core beliefs, sources, and intellectual heritage of Islam.

The program seeks to cultivate Muslims who are rooted in traditional Islamic knowledge, attentive to the realities of the modern world, and committed to serving the Umma with integrity and excellence.

Delivered as a two-year online curriculum, the program provides a systematic introduction to key areas of Islamic learning while encouraging reflection, ethical awareness, and a spirit of khidma (service).

Courses are taught by leading scholars including Dr. Safaruk Chowdhury, Dr. Mansur Ali, Dr. Haroon Sidat, Dr. Nazir Khan, Dr. Yakoob Ahmed, and Ustadh Amir Abu Ghudda, who guide students through the foundational disciplines of the Islamic scholarly tradition.

Advancing Islamic Scholarship in a Global Context

During 2025, CIK expanded its scholarly engagement across several major centers of intellectual life, including Cambridge, London, Istanbul, and Islamabad.

​Through conferences, academic programs, scholarly workshops, and research initiatives, CIK contributed to ongoing conversations about the future of Islamic intellectual life.

These initiatives brought together scholars and students from leading universities and traditional centers of learning across North America, Europe, and the Muslim world.

Cambridge — BRAIS Conference

In 2025, the Centre for Islamic Knowledge played a significant role at the 10th Annual Conference of the British Association for Islamic Studies (BRAIS) at the University of Cambridge, one of the leading academic gatherings in the field of Islamic studies.

CIK hosted the opening keynote panel, titled “The Khaldunian Dialectic: Between Power and Morality,” featuring Prof. Syed Farid Alatas and Prof. Recep Şentürk, which explored the continuing relevance of Ibn Khaldun’s ideas for understanding political authority, ethics, and civilizational development.

In addition to hosting the keynote panel, a number of scholars affiliated with CIK presented research papers at the conference, contributing to scholarly discussions across a wide range of areas within Islamic studies.

Presentations included:
  • Dr. Safaruk Chowdhury (Centre for Islamic Knowledge)
    The Qur’an’s Challenges (taḥaddī) in the Age of GPT: Can AI Pass the Test?
  • Dr. Nazir Khan (University of Nottingham)
    Ibn Taymiyya’s Theocentric Axiology
  • Mohamud Awil Mohamed (University of Pennsylvania)
    Sufi–Salafi Rivalries and the Construction of Authority in the Somali Diaspora
  • Dr. Mansur Ali (Cardiff University)
    Sherman Jackson’s “The Islamic Secular” between Ibāḥa Aṣliyya and Ẓāhiriyya
  • Dr. Haroon Sidat (Cardiff University)
    Angelic Ontology and the Deobandi Maslak: Tradition, Pedagogy and Adaptation in Modernity
  • Dr. Salman Younas (Cambridge Muslim College)
    The Ḥanafī School in the 3rd/9th Century: The Life, Career, and Contributions of ʿĪsā b. Abān
  • Dr. Usaama al-Azami (University of Oxford)
    Manufacturing Consent for Genocide: Western Media as Propaganda in the Gaza War
  • Dr. Ermin Sinanović (Shenandoah University)
    Decolonizing the Future: Insights from an Islamic Theology
  • Dr. Ramon Harvey (Cambridge Muslim College)
    Adopted Son of Samarqand: Abū Salama, “Māturīdism” and Popular Sunnī Ḥanafī Creed in 4th/10th Century Transoxiana

Together, these presentations reflect the breadth of scholarly work undertaken by researchers associated with CIK and its broader academic network. The conference demonstrated the growing presence of scholars associated with CIK within global academic conversations on Islamic thought.

SOAS, London — Vision 2050

In 2025, the Centre for Islamic Knowledge co-organized the Vision 2050 Conference at SOAS University of London, bringing together scholars and researchers to reflect on the long-term intellectual and civilizational challenges facing Muslim societies.

The conference formed part of CIK’s broader effort to cultivate spaces for long-term reflection on the intellectual renewal of the Muslim world.
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The conference explored a wide range of themes addressing the future of Islamic thought and leadership in the modern world, including:

  • Beyond Decolonial Studies
  • Islamic Philosophy and Kalam for 2050
  • Meta-Colonialism and the Future of Muslim Intellectual Life
  • Muslim Leadership: Navigating Between Authoritarianism and Ummatic Political Communitarianism
  • Contemporary Debates among Sufis, Salafis, and Islamists in the Digital Age

The conference brought together scholars from leading universities and research institutions, including:
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  • Prof. Syed Farid Alatas — National University of Singapore
  • Ustadh Yahya Birt — Ayaan Institute / Oxford University Press
  • Dr. Safaruk Chowdhury — Cambridge Muslim College / Ibn Rushd Centre of Excellence for Islamic Research
  • Dr. William Barylo — University of Warwick
  • Dr. Engy Moussa — University of Cambridge / Cambridge Muslim College
  • Dr. Sadek Hamid — University of Wales / UK Islamic Mission
  • Prof. Kasim Kompuz — Marmara University
  • Ustadh Amir Abu Ghudda — Georgetown University / Centre for Islamic Knowledge
  • Ustadh Mohamud Awil Mohamed​ - University of Pennsylvania / Centre for Islamic Knowledge

​Through conversations such as these, the conference sought to foster thoughtful reflection on the intellectual and institutional foundations needed to support the future development of Muslim societies.

Islamabad — Roundtable at the International Islamic University

CIK also expanded its engagement with academic institutions in the Muslim world through a scholarly roundtable hosted at the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI).

The roundtable, titled “Studying Islam in the Contemporary Context,” brought together scholars and students at the university’s Faisal Mosque Campus to reflect on the relationship between classical Islamic scholarship and contemporary academic approaches to Islamic studies.

The session was co-chaired by Ustadh Amir Abu Ghudda, Associate Editor of the Ihya’ Journal of Islamic Thought and Board Member of the Centre for Islamic Knowledge, and Prof. Dr. Muhammad Akram, Director-General of the Sharīʿah Academy at IIUI.

Drawing upon his studies with leading scholars of the Muslim world as well as his doctoral research at Georgetown University, Ustadh Amir delivered a presentation exploring the challenges and opportunities involved in studying Islam in contemporary intellectual contexts.
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This engagement reflects CIK’s commitment to building meaningful academic partnerships across the Muslim world.

CIK Seminars​

In addition to its academic programs and conferences, the Centre for Islamic Knowledge hosts CIK Seminars, which offer immersive and comprehensive instruction on crucial subjects within the Islamic intellectual tradition.

​These seminars are designed to provide participants with the opportunity to engage deeply with foundational ideas, texts, and debates under the guidance of globally recognized scholars. By bringing together students, researchers, and members of the wider community, CIK Seminars create spaces for sustained intellectual engagement and scholarly reflection.

Ibn Khaldun’s Muqaddimah

CIK hosted an advanced seminar on the intellectual legacy of Ibn Khaldun’s Muqaddimah delivered by Dr. Recep Şentürk, Dr. Farid al-Attas and hosted by Ustadh Yahya Birt.
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​Participants examined Ibn Khaldun’s analysis of civilization, political authority, and social change—ideas that continue to shape contemporary discussions in history, sociology, and political theory.
Imam Muslim: His Intellectual Life and Methodology in his Ṣaḥīḥ​
Another seminar examined the life and scholarly methodology of Imam Muslim, the renowned hadith scholar and compiler of Sahih Muslim.
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The seminar was delivered by Dr. Akram Nadwi, one of the leading contemporary scholars of hadith studies, and explored the methodological rigor through which early Muslim scholars preserved and transmitted the Prophetic tradition.

Public Intellectual Engagement
Throughout 2025, the CIK Talks series continued to serve as a platform for serious intellectual engagement with the Islamic scholarly tradition and contemporary questions facing Muslim societies. The series brought together leading scholars from major universities and research institutions to present their research and reflections on Islamic thought, law, ethics, and intellectual history. Each lecture was followed by a scholarly response and moderated discussion by Dr. Safaruk Chowdhury (Centre for Islamic Knowledge / Cambridge Muslim College), fostering deeper engagement with the themes presented.

Selected lectures from the 2025 series included:

Prof. Khairudin Aljunied (National University of Singapore)
Contemplating Sufism: Dialogue and Tradition across Southeast Asia

Dr. Yasir Qadhi (Islamic Seminary of America)
Understanding Salafism: Seeking the Path of the Pious Predecessors

Dr. Mohammed Ghaly (Hamad Bin Khalifa University)
End-of-Life Care in the Islamic Moral Tradition

Dr. Necmettin Kızılkaya (Istanbul University)
Legal Maxims in Islamic Law: Concept, History and Application of Axioms of Juristic Accumulation

Dr. Suheil Laher (Boston Islamic Seminary)
Tawātur in Islamic Thought: Transmission, Certitude and Orthodoxy

Through the CIK Talks series, the Centre for Islamic Knowledge continues to cultivate a space where serious scholarship engages both the classical Islamic intellectual tradition and the pressing intellectual questions of the contemporary world.

​Ihya’ Journal of Islamic Thought

One of the most significant intellectual initiatives of the Centre for Islamic Knowledge in 2025 was the launch of the Ihya’ Journal of Islamic Thought.

Ihya’ Journal of Islamic Thought (“Ihya’”) is an international, interdisciplinary, and online open-access journal with the aim of promoting intellectual inquiry into topics of importance to Muslims around the world. Each issue relates to a distinct theme, approached from different disciplines.

Ihya’ strives to contribute to the Islamic intellectual enterprise by:

a) promoting research that advances knowledge of the Islamic sciences such as law (fiqh), ḥadīth, exegesis, theology, political and legal history, and related disciplines; and
b) investigating the contributions and effects of social, political, and intellectual developments in Muslim life and thought.

​The journal welcomes submissions from researchers across a wide range of fields, including the Traditional Islamic Sciences, Religious Studies, History, Social Sciences, Law, Philosophy, and Education, among others. It also invites opinion pieces from practitioners, policymakers, and other engaged thinkers.

Among the articles currently published on the journal website are:

Prof. Osman Bakar (International Islamic University Malaysia)
Arguing for Religious Values as the Foundation of Environmental Ethics: An Islamic Perspective

Luke Wilkinson (University of Cambridge)
The Place of Muhammad Iqbal in Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary Iranian Thought

​Dr. Safaruk Chowdhury (Cambridge Muslim College)
The Qur’ān and Arguments: An Examination of Najm al-Dīn al-Ṭūfī’s Dialectical Theory in ʿĀlam al-Jadhal fī ʿIlm al-Jadal

The journal also includes a Book Review section, featuring a review of Sherman Jackson’s The Islamic Secular and its implications for contemporary debates surrounding secularism and Islamic thought.

Building Global Academic Partnerships

A key dimension of the Centre for Islamic Knowledge’s work is the cultivation of meaningful partnerships with leading academic institutions across the Muslim world and beyond. Through these collaborations, CIK seeks to foster scholarly exchange, support joint research initiatives, and create opportunities for dialogue between scholars working in diverse intellectual and institutional contexts.
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These partnerships reflect CIK’s commitment to strengthening the global ecosystem of Islamic scholarship by building bridges between universities, research institutes, and centers of learning dedicated to the study of Islam.

Ibn Haldun University

International Islamic University Islamabad

In 2025, CIK signed a Letter of Intent for Institutional Collaboration with the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI), one of the leading institutions of higher learning in the Muslim world.

The agreement was formalized by Prof. Dr. Muhammad Akram, Director-General of the Sharīʿah Academy at IIUI, and Hassan Kazi, on behalf of CIK.

As part of this collaboration, CIK and IIUI co-hosted a scholarly roundtable titled “Studying Islam in the Contemporary Context” at the university’s Faisal Mosque Campus in Islamabad. The roundtable featured a presentation by Ustadh Amir Abu Ghudda, whose work engages both the classical Islamic scholarly tradition and contemporary academic debates.
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The partnership aims to support collaborative initiatives including joint research, academic workshops, conferences, publications, and scholarly exchange.

Markfield Institute of Higher Education (United Kingdom)

CIK also formalized a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Markfield Institute of Higher Education (MIHE) in the United Kingdom.

The agreement was signed by Dr. Zahid Parvez, Rector of MIHE, and Ustadh Amir Abu Ghudda on behalf of the Centre for Islamic Knowledge.
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Through this partnership, the two institutions aim to collaborate on a range of initiatives including joint research projects, international conferences, academic workshops, and capacity-building programs.
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This collaboration reflects a shared commitment to advancing rigorous scholarship and fostering the development of Islamic intellectual life in the contemporary world.