Annual Conference of the British Association for Islamic Studies
Monday 18th-Tuesday 19th May 2026
10 Handyside Street, London, N1C 4DN
Call for Papers and Panels: Submission deadline Monday 5 January 2026 5pm GMT
The British Association for Islamic Studies is delighted to announce that it will be returning to the Aga Khan Centre, London, for its 2026 Annual Conference on 18 & 19 May 2026 to be hosted by the Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (the Aga Khan University) and The Institute for Ismaili Studies.
We now invite proposals for individual papers, as well as whole panels, from senior and early-career scholars from Professor to PhD level, as well as colleagues from beyond the academic world who have specialist expertise or unique insights to share. This includes colleagues based in centres of further education, museums and traditional centres of religious learning, among others.
Islamic Studies is broadly understood to include all topics and disciplinary approaches relating to the study of Islam and Muslim societies, across all time periods from the formative to the classical, and pre-modern to the contemporary. You will find a list of suggested themes at the bottom of this page.
If you have any questions about BRAIS 2026, they might be answered on our FAQ page HERE. Otherwise, please do not hesitate to contact us: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
An Inclusive Conference
BRAIS is committed to the principles of equality and inclusivity, and welcomes papers from scholars of all backgrounds and identities. We will work hard to ensure that BRAIS 2026 is a welcoming environment where everyone feels valued and supported. We are mindful that many colleagues will have dependents, and your dependents are most welcome to attend along with you, free of charge.
Submitting Your Abstract
For individual papers, an abstract of up to 400 words should be submitted along with your details using the form available via the link below:
CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL HERE
Submitting Your Panel Proposal
BRAIS particularly welcomes proposals for whole panels curated around certain themes or methodologies. Panels will ideally include four individual papers, but panels of three individual papers will also be considered.
For panels, a 200-word outline of the theme of the panel, together with 200-word abstracts of each individual paper and the biography of each presenter should be submitted using the form available via the link below:
CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR PANEL
Submission Deadline
The deadline for paper and panel submissions is Monday 5 January 2026 at 5pm GMT.
Any Questions?
If you have any questions, please contact the Conference Committee on: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
BRAIS 2026 Suggested Themes
- Archives and Archival Studies
- Art, Architecture, Numismatics, Epigraphy and Material Culture
- Black Islam(s) and African Diaspora Studies
- Decolonising the Curriculum, including New Periodisations and (Inter)Disciplinary Approaches
- Digital Humanities in Islamic Studies
- Economy, Marketing and Finance
- Education and Pedagogy
- Environmental Humanities and Ecology
- Gender Studies
- Genocide Studies
- Hadith Studies
- History and Historiography
- Intellectual History and the History of Science
- Interreligious Relations and Comparative Studies
- Islam and Muslims in the Media: Print, Online and on Screen
- Islamic liberation theology and theologies of resistance
- Islamophobia and Racism Studies
- Law
- Libraries and Book Cultures
- Literature and Cultural Studies including Postcolonial Studies
- Manuscript Studies and Codicology
- Music
- Muslims in Asia
- Muslims in Britain/Europe/North America and other minority contexts
- Philosophy, Theology and Ethics
- Qur'anic and Tafsir Studies
- Scholasticide and Epistemicide
- Sociology, Anthropology and Political Science
- Sufism and Mysticism
We rely on our members and conference participants to help us expand the scope and nuance of our Annual Conference. In light of this, please do feel free to submit panel or paper proposals that are not represented in the above-mentioned themes.
Data Protection
All BRAIS 2026 paper and panel submissions will be managed by the Alwaleed Centre at the University of Edinburgh (BRAIS’s management hub). Your submission will be shared with two anonymous reviewers who will review your submission and return their verdicts. Your submission will be retained until the BRAIS 2026 conference has been delivered. At this point, all submissions will be permanently deleted from our records.