CSI Special Event

Dear colleagues and students,

You are invited to attend a special event, hosted at the University of Exeter’s Institute of Arab & Islamic Studies, marking the launch of a new translation of the Holy Qur’an by Professor Bruce Lawrence and Professor M. A. Rafey Habib.

Islam’s founding text, rendered for the first time in flowing English verse.

This monumental feat of translation, the product of a ten-year-long collaboration between one of the most respected scholars in Islamic studies (Bruce B. Lawrence) and a poet and scholar of literature (M. A. R. Habib), The Qur'an: A Verse Translation offers readers the first rendering in English to echo, in accessible and fluent verse, the sonorous beauty of the Arabic original as well as the complex nuances of its meaning.

3.00-5.30PM in IAIS LT1, on Wednesday 6th March 2024 at the Institute of Arab & Islamic Studies (University of Exeter).

The translators will discuss their journey into the translation of the Qur’an, the dedication involved, going on to describe particular features of their work. There will be an opportunity for discussion and Q&A.

The event will also feature guest speaker Dr Musharraf Hussain (translator of The Majestic Qur’an: A Plain English Translation), who will present reflections on being a Qur’an translator: “Living with My Translation.”

Refreshments will be provided at the end.

Bruce B. Lawrence is the Marcus Family Humanities Professor of Religion Emeritus at Duke University and adjunct professor at the Alliance of Civilizations Institute, Ibn Haldun University, Istanbul. He was visiting scholar at the University of Exeter from 2018 to 2019. He is the author, co-author, or editor of sixteen books about Islam, including The Qur’an: A Biography (2007) and The Koran in English (2020).

M.A.R. Habib is a Distinguished Professor of English at Rutgers University. He has taught at the Gulf University for Science and Technology in Kuwait, and is currently Visiting Professor at the University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.  Among his many books include a volume of poetry, Shades of Islam: Poems for a New Century (2010) and A History of Literary Criticism: From Plato to the Present (2011).

Musharraf Hussain is a PhD holder and founder of Karimia Institute. He has studied in Pakistan and Egypt and since taught various subjects for a number of years. He is translator of the The Majestic Qur’an: A Plain English Translation and author of numerous books. A leading figure in the British Muslim community, he has been involved in many social, political and inter-faith activities.

All are welcome, we look forward to seeing you

 Dr Mustafa Baig

Lecturer in Islamic Studies
Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies
University of Exeter
Stocker Road, EX4 4ND (UK)

Email: m.baig@exeter.ac.uk
Tel: (+44) 01392 724845