SRINAGAR: Dr Ajaz Ahmad Lone, an Iqbal scholar and academic from Kashmir, has been selected for the Visiting Scholar Programme of the Centre for Islamic Studies (İSAM), Türkiye, where he will undertake research on Muslim modernity with a focus on Allama Muhammad Iqbal and Iranian thinker Ali Shariati.
Lone, who is associated with the Department of Sociology at Government Degree College Sopore, has been invited by İSAM to conduct research titled “Rethinking Muslim Modernity: Iqbal, Ali Shariati and the Reconstruction of Muslim Society.” His selection was formally communicated through an invitation letter dated September 23, 2026.
According to the letter, Lone’s application to the İSAM Visiting Scholar Programme was accepted and he has been invited to undertake the research at the institution from January 5 to February 5, 2027. During the month-long programme, İSAM will provide him accommodation at its guesthouse and access to paid lunch services, except on Sundays.
The research will centre on the ideas of Iqbal and Ali Shariati and their relevance to questions surrounding Muslim modernity and the reconstruction of Muslim society. For Lone, whose academic work focuses on Iqbal studies and Islamic sociology, the programme provides an opportunity to pursue his research in an institution dedicated to Islamic studies.
İSAM, formally the Centre for Islamic Studies under the Türkiye Diyanet Foundation, is located in Üsküdar, Istanbul. Its Visiting Scholar Programme provides researchers with access to its campus and library facilities. The programme information brochure states that visiting scholars can use the İSAM library and related services during their stay.
The programme, however, does not include transportation, cash scholarship support, health insurance or provision of a private office and equipment. Participants are required to have health insurance valid in Türkiye, while accommodation is provided at the İSAM guesthouse.
The institution has also asked Lone to submit a 1,000-word report after completion of the programme detailing his research activities, findings, academic conclusions and the contribution of the İSAM programme to his work. Any academic output arising from the research is also required to acknowledge İSAM’s support, with a copy to be shared with the institution.
The selection comes as an academic opportunity for a Kashmir-based scholar working at the intersection of Iqbal studies and sociology, with the proposed research bringing together the thought of two influential figures associated with debates on Muslim society, modernity and intellectual renewal.
