DOHA: UCL Qatar recently hosted a two-day research workshop on ‘Islamic Pasts’ which examined the relationship between Islamic Studies within Heritage Studies to find new ways of understanding Islamic heritage.
The event was funded by Qatar National Research Fund Conference and Workshop Sponsorship Programme (CWSP) and supported by Texas A&M University at Qatar (Tamuq). It was attended by Dr Shahzad Bashir, Professor of Islamic Studies, Stanford University; Dr R Michael Feener, Associate Professor of History, National University of Singapore; Dr Trinidad Rico, Assistant Professor, Tamuq, and academics and professionals from UCL Qatar, Tamuq, Museum of Islamic Art, NYU Abu Dhabi and World Monuments Fund.
Scholars focused on historical narratives, material objects and trans-regional dialogues to better understand how people use and apply Islamic values when examining and interpreting cultural meanings behind material objects.
Dr Trinidad Rico said, “The management of Islamic values in heritage is a topic largely ignored, sidelined, or avoided in the heritage literature. There is some advice for the conservation, treatment and handling of Islamic objects, but this does not match the growing public interest in Muslim cultures worldwide that propels museums to consider how artefacts and sites should be curated in consideration of the specific context of Islam.”
The first day of the workshop was led by Dr Bashir who focused on different ways in which historical Islamic narratives are created and how understanding the purpose behind their creation allows for a broader interpretation of Islamic heritage.
Dr Feener led the second day which considered how narratives of the Islamic past are understood in different contexts of the Muslim world, from the Arab Middle East to Southeast Asia.
The Peninsula
