In Memory of Shahab Ahmed, 1966-2015
We were greatly honored to have Shahab Ahmed as an Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture Associate (2015-2016). He was a leading scholar in Islamic Studies, whose loss leaves a great void in the field. Shahab was a participant in the ongoing Török project, an AKPIA-sponsored publication focusing on a unique manuscript in the Oriental Collection of the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. As one of twenty distinguished scholars working on this collaborative publication project, Shahab presented his findings on “Books on Interpretations of the Qur’an and the Science of Qur’anic Recitation” at the Harvard University workshop called “The Ottoman Palace Library Inventory of 1502-3,” held in Cambridge on April 4-6, 2014. We are grateful to Shahab for his contribution to this project and hope that it will be regarded as an important and lasting part of his intellectual legacy. At Harvard, Shahab was a Junior Fellow, Society of Fellows (2000-2003); he subsequently became Associate Professor of Islamic Studies; and Lecturer on Law, and Research Fellow in Islamic Legal Studies at Harvard Law School (2014-15). As an AKPIA Associate, he was to have delivered a lecture on 28 April, 2016, titled "Some Exploratory Thoughts on Ottoman Islamic Aesthetics." We feel great sadness that we will not hear what he had planned to say. We will miss him greatly, and anticipate his forthcoming publication, What Is Islam? The Importance of Being Islamic (Princeton University Press). Shahab's memorial service was scheduled for Sunday, November 15, 2015, from 4 to 5:30 pm at Memorial Church at Harvard University, followed by a reception. A one-day workshop celebrating and discussing Shahab’s book took place at Harvard, on Friday, April 29, 2016. It will consist of two panels focusing on History/Islamic Studies/Law and on Religion/Anthropology/Art.
Left: Shahab Ahmed in Pakistan. Photo by Rehan Lashari, courtesy Nora Lessersohn. Right: Shahab Ahmed (middle table) deep in discussion with his colleagues Dimitri Gutas and Khaled Al Rouayhebat, at a luncheon during the MS. Török workshop at Harvard, April 5, 2014.
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More about his publication, What is Islam? The Importance of Being Islamic