Ongoing projects

Multi-disciplinary Understanding of Legacy and Influence of Devotions (MULID): The Legacy of Sufism – A Study of Mulid Celebrations in Egypt

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Dr. Eslam ElBahlawan

Exploring the History of Mulid celebrations in Egypt

Mulid celebrations are vibrant expressions of Sufi devotion and Egypt’s rich cultural heritage. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions program, the MULID project will delve into the history of these celebrations, exploring their historical roots, spiritual dimensions, and contemporary relevance. By documenting poetry, storytelling, calligraphy, rituals, and dance, the project aims to capture the diverse meanings and practices associated with Mulids. It will also develop a comprehensive database of current Mulid practices in Egypt, contributing to the Islamic Cultural Archive and supporting future research and cultural preservation. The project will offer an in-depth analysis of the cultural and socio-political dimensions of Mulid celebrations.

Objective

The project aims to explore the history of Mulid celebrations, which are vibrant expressions of Sufi devotion and cultural heritage in Egypt. This project is novel in its approach, as it not only explores the historical and spiritual significance of Mulids but also examines the contemporary experiences and meanings that these celebrations hold for participants, through poetry, stories, calligraphy, readings, rituals, prayer, and dance. The project will also create a comprehensive database that documents contemporary Mulid practices in Egypt and contributes to the Islamic Cultural Archive (ICA) database, thereby supporting future research and cultural preservation efforts By applying qualitative research methods, including fieldwork, participant observation, and interviews. Also, to capture the diverse interpretations associated with Mulids, thus filling a significant gap in existing scholarship. The creation of a comprehensive database documenting the geographical distribution, Sufi affiliations, and traditions of the Mulid celebrations further adds to the project's innovative contributions. It provides a valuable resource for future research and cultural preservation efforts.

The multidisciplinary nature of the project is a key strength, integrating frameworks from social anthropology, religious studies, festival studies, and material religion. These frameworks will help analyse the cultural, spiritual, and socio-political dimensions of Mulid celebrations, ensuring a deeper understanding of these events. In addition, by contributing to digital archiving efforts and supporting the preservation of intangible cultural heritage, the project aligns with broader initiatives aimed at improving cultural accessibility and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration in the digital humanities. This approach ensures the project's relevance not only to scholarly audiences but also to broader cultural preservation initiatives, enriching the ICA database with valuable insights and data.

Publications:

• Review Essay: Ibn Khaldun on Sufism” in The Journal of Social Encounters (2025). https://doi.org/10.69755/2995-2212.1327. The essay presents a critical examination of Sufi thought and the legal-mystical synthesis in Ibn Khaldun’s works, thereby engaging with the project’s thematic interests.

Inscribing the Court: A Commented Critical Edition of the Corpus of Courtly Epigraphy of the Qaraquyunlu and Aqquyunlu Dynasties (15th Century CE)

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PD. Dr. Georg Leube

As my current main monographic research project, I'm working on a commented critical edition of the epigraphic corpus (some 60 inscriptions in Arabic, Persian, and Armenian) affiliated to the courts to the so-called 'Turkmen' dynasties of the Qaraquyunlu and Aqquyunlu in the 15th Century CE Middle East. This research project builds on a comprehensive evaluation of 'Turkmen' courtly representation from a relational-iconographic perspective in my Habilitation thesis. The analytical passages of this Habilitationsschrift have been published as Relational Iconography: Representational Culture at the Qaraquyunlu and Aqquyunlu Courts (853 / 1449 CE to 907 / 1501 CE) with Brill's Studies in Persian Cultural History in 2023. After closing the large arches of my iconographical interpretation of courtly culture, it's hugely enjoyable to focus in greater detail on the social, cultural, technological, administrative, material, and linguistic configurations that intersect in any given inscription. The combination of the various Islamic sources with the fascinating Armenian rememorative notes (hišatakaranner) and inscriptions in particular frequently enable the detailed reconstruction of the microhistorical context in which a particular inscription was commissioned. In this way, my critical edition approaches the extant parts of inscriptions as crucial interfaces in pre-industrial and current Islamicate societies, situated at the intersection of courtly representation with urban structure, fiscal administration, subaltern architectural patronage, and local templates of epigraphy and administration.

This project was generously supported by two travel grants of the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung (Az. 50.21.0.004AA, 2021–2022: Armenian and Iran, and Az. 50.23.0.021AA, 2023–2024: Azerbaijan and Turkey). Between Autumn 2022 and Autumn 2023, I have been fortunate to participate in the wonderful research environment of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, while working on my critical edition of 'Turkmen' courtly epigraphy. This period of my research was supported by a membership at the School for Historical Studies of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, which was complemented by a Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

I have so far published the following preparatory studies and preliminary investigations of Qaraquyunlu and Aqquyunlu epigraphy:

"Some thoughts on Uzun Ḥasans inscription in the masjid-i jāmiʿ of Iṣfahān: Gleichzeitigkeit des Ungleichzeitigen?," posted with DYNTRAN, June 2015. http://dyntran.hypotheses.org/259.

"Subordinary patronage under the Akkoyunlu: Uzun Ḥasan at Ushturjān," posted with DYNTRAN, November 2015. http://dyntran.hypotheses.org/776.

"Aqquyunlu Turkmen rulers facing the ruins of Takht-i Jamshid," 479-506 in Der Islam, 95, 2 (2018).

"Polemics on a Palimpsest: Intertextual jibes in the 15th Century Inscriptions in Persepolis / Takht-i Jamshīd," 267-290 in: Paleopersepolis: Environment, Landscape and Society in Ancient Fars (Oriens et Occidens 33), edd. Silvia Balatti, Hilmar Klinkott, and Josef Wiesehöfer, Stuttgart 2021.

Relational Iconography: Representational Culture at the Qara- and Aqquyunlu Courts (853 / 1449 CE to 907 / 1501 CE), Leiden et al. 2023 (Studies in Persian Cultural History 19).

"Two Qaraquyunlu and Aqquyunlu 'Turkmen' Decrees in the Great Mosque of Mardin," in press with Asiatische Studien – Études Asiatiques (2023?).

"Armenian Monastic Elites Harnessing the 'Turkmen' State? I: Layout, Text, and Textual Commentary of the Armenian Inscription at Arcowaber (1420 CE or earlier)," forthcoming in Iran and the Caucasus (2024).

"Armenian Monastic Elites Harnessing the 'Turkmen' State? II: Context, Date, and Function of the Armenian Inscription at Arcowaber (1420 CE or earlier)," forthcoming in Iran and the Caucasus (2025?).

Toward an Islamic Cultural Archive (ICA): Building a Collaborative Database of Islamic Learning in Africa

DFG, Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence, since August 2019

Bayreuth team:                      

• Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Seeseman
• Prof. Dr. Ulrich Rebstock
• Dr. Franz Kogelmann
• Prof. Dr. Britta Frede
• David Malluche, M.A.                

Other members:

• Prof. Dr. Hassan Ndzovu (Moi University, Kenia)
• Dr. Abdourahamane Seck (Université Gaston Berger, Senegal)
• Dr. Mohamed Mraja (Bomet College, Kenia)
• Dr. Fatimatou Abdel Wahhabe (Université Moderne, Mauretanien)
• Dr. Ramzi Ben Amara (Université Sousse, Tunesien)

The aim of this project is to collect data collaboratively about various aspects of "Islamic learning". The collaborative research team is bringing together a broad variety of perspectives reaching from every day Islam and festivities to informal and formalized settings of Islamic education. The team is creating synergies between various research interests by creating a joint cross-lingual database bringing together sources and research data from five African countries: Mauritania, Tunisia, Senegal, Kenya, and Tanzania. The database has been developed together with the digital team of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence as a trilingual working environment that allows entering data with Latin and Arabic script alike. The collection integrates various types of data and connects it beyond language barriers by using a standard data description in each language environment and meanwhile interconnecting it cross-lingual by a multi-layered expandable tagging taxonomy. Read more