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Long-Term Grant Proposals

Call for Long-Term Grant Proposals is Now Closed
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Background and Objectives
The International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) is dedicated to initiating, fostering, and supporting research in various areas of Islamic thought, with the aims of promoting renewal of Islamic thought and integrating diverse approaches in Islamic epistemologies with contemporary humanities and social sciences. IIIT supports the development of original ideas and methodologies that will advance the cause of renewal of Islamic thought and reform of Muslim societies and communities. The Institute encourages scholars to integrate Islamic value framework with their analyses of various socio-religious phenomena, and to query how their findings will advance human civilization.

Call for Grant Proposals
The International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) invites proposals from scholars and researchers interested in ‎conducting long-term (up to two years) research in one of the following priority subject areas for IIIT:

  1. Epistemology and decolonization of knowledge – Methodologies of integrating revealed knowledge (al-wahy) and human/social sciences; Revelation as a source of knowledge; reason and revelation; decolonization of knowledge and its impact on education; integration of knowledge as decolonization;  research methods in Islamic studies/thought.
  2. Renewal of Islamic Thought – Theoretical/methodological studies that would bring  new awareness of crucial issues related to the renewal of Islamic thought; developing theologies and methodologies to deal with major issues of our time (New Atheism, violence, gender and sexuality, environment, social and political organization, secularism); study of reform movements, their successes and failures; Qur’anic and Prophetic methodologies of societal reform; legal and constitutional reforms in Muslim societies: new directions in Islamic social, political, and/or economic thought.
  3. New Methodologies in the Study of the Qur’an and Sunnah (‘Ulum al-Qur’an and ‘Ulum al-Hadith) – Studies in modern logic, linguistics, and other areas that may yield new insights into the approaches to the Qur’an and Sunnah; textual criticism in hadith (naqd mutun al-hadith); new approaches to the tafsir; objectives (Maqasid) of the Qur’an; new directions in the study of the Qur’an and Hadith.
  4. Maqasid al-Shari‘ah, Ethics and Public Policy – The maqasidi discourse and its relationship with usul al-fiqh; how can the maqasidi approaches inform ethical considerations, public policy making and/or implementation?; what new insights into public policy making could be obtained by using the maqasidi theories and approaches?; uses and limits of the maqasidi discourses.
  5. Islamic philosophy, spirituality and literary criticism – Rethinking and reappropriation of Islamic philosophy; tazkiyah al-nafs; psychospiritual studies; technologies of the self; literature, literary criticism, and cultural production.
  6. Reform of Education – Theoretical works, case studies, ‘success’ stories, and other issues related to reform of all levels of education in Muslim states and societies; case studies on lessons learned from reform of education in non-Muslim states and societies; reform of curriculum and pedagogical practices.
  7. Social science studies – Priority is given to studies that integrate Islamic epistemologies with contemporary social sciences, or social studies that improve our understanding of various issues related to Muslim communities in the US and abroad.

Other topics in Islamic thought may be considered if the proposals display a high level of originality and a strong promise for delivering outstanding research.

Nature of the Study
IIIT welcomes proposals that include theoretical studies, historical and comparative studies, as well as case studies.

Award and Duration
IIIT would award individual grants of up to $25,000 for a two-year grant period. The grant will be disbursed in stages, upon periodic submission of progress reports, with final portion of the grant to be disbursed upon delivery of the manuscript. Funds can be used for research travel, fieldwork, and/or analysis writing. For collaborative projects, please name the principal investigator as well as the roles of other researchers in the proposal.

Outcome and Deliverables
The grant recipients are required to produce a book-length manuscript/monograph at the end of a two-year period. IIIT reserves first right of refusal to publish but an exception to this requirement could be made by a mutual agreement. The grantees would also be required to publish another one to two academic papers based on their proposed research. One of the papers needs to be submitted to AJISS (IIIT’s academic, peer-reviewed, journal) while others may be published in other academic journals.

Eligibility
Grant applicants should fulfill the following criteria:

  •   PhD/SJD/JDS holders in Islamic studies, law, arts, humanities, and/or social sciences
  •   Based in the US or Canada
  •   Excellent record of scholarly contributions
  •   Active participation in academic/scholarly communities and life

If you do not fulfill the above criteria, please do not apply for a grant. No exceptions will be made.

Seminars
The awardees will be invited to an annual seminar (for two years) at the IIIT office in Herndon, VA, dedicated to the discussion of their research and presentation of research progress. The seminars will be an opportunity for the grant recipients to network and provide feedback on other recipients’ work.

Submission of Proposals and Deadline
Please submit your proposals at grants@iiit.org. Completed applications must be submitted by Friday, Dec.9, 2016. Proposals submitted after 11:59 pm EST on Friday, Dec.9, 2016, will not be considered.

Application Materials
Full application contains the following:

  • Completed application form (available here)
  • Proposal Abstract (max.250 words)
  • Proposal (not longer than 10 pages, Times New Roman 12-point font, single-spaced), which includes: description of the project, timeline for completion, detailed budgetary outline along with budget justification narrative, how the project fits within IIIT research priorities, proposed outcome(s), and if the grantee is willing to publish with IIIT.
  • Bibliography (not longer than 2 pages)
  • Academic CV (5 pages max.)
  • Two samples of published work (a chapter from the book, an article, dissertation chapter etc.)
  • IRB approval letter (if applicable)

All items related to the application should be combined into a single PDF file. Shortlisted candidates may be interviewed via phone.

Any inquiries related to the application should be directed to Saulat Pervez at saulat@iiit.org