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Toby Mayer’s session on, “Shahrastani’s ‘Standard Measure of Prophecy’ ( Mi’yar al-Nabuwwa): Applications to Scripture and Philosophy.” This presentation was followed by Dr.
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The second day of the meeting began with Dr. The day ended with the alumni attending a performance ( semā ) by the whirling dervish s of the Mevlavi Order. The alumni spent the rest of the day exploring historical and architectural heritage sites and museums, including: the richly decorated Karatay Medrese (built in 1251), and the Ince Minare (built in 1258), both former theological schools now housing a Ceramics Museum, and the Museum of Stone and Wooden Works respectively the Sircali Medrese (built in 1242), which now contains a museum of Seljuq and Ottoman antiquities the Sahib-i Ata mosque and the Konya Archeology Museum (opened in 1962), displaying items dating back to Neolithic, Old and Middle Bronze Age, Iron Age, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods. This was followed by Dr Orkhan Mir-Kasimov's session on, "Mysticism and Messianism in the Historical Evolution of Muslim Societies." Dr Mir-Kasimov's discussion and rationale for the continuation of the Prophetic impulse along with the introduction to his publication, "Words of Power - Hurufi Teachings between Shi'ism and Sufism in Medieval Islam," was thought-provoking. Lewisohn’s emphasis on the four modes of understanding religion, the principles of phenomenological approach and the approaches to esotericism, was particularly appealing to the audience. Leonard Lewisohn’s presentation on, “Esoteric Traditions in Islam: the Demarginalisation of Gnosis in the Islamic Intellectual Tradition.” Dr. The meeting commenced with a welcome address by the Chapter-Group President and Secretary, Parisa Sheralieva and Shadi Sharani, respectively. It also provided a conducive forum for alumni to meet and connect with each other across multiple graduating classes. The main purpose of the meeting was to bring IIS alumni together and re-expose them to concepts and intellectual discussions that permeated their studies at the IIS. The meeting was held from 28–30 March, 2015, in Konya, Turkey, the city where Mevlana Jalal ad- Din Muhammad Rumi, the famous 13 th century poet and Sufi mystic, is buried. “Esoteric Traditions in Islam: Past and Present Manifestations,” was the theme of the Annual General Meeting of the Asian Chapter Group of the IIS Alumni Association.