نشریه مطالعات ایرانی اسلامی
سال سوم شماره 8 (بهار 1394)

The first Arabic translation of the Shahnameh was carried out in 7th Century A.H. by the orders of Isa Ayyubi. This prose and concise translation had not a significant impact on Arabic literature until the contemporary period. In this period, due to the endless efforts of some Arab critics and writers, including Dr. Abdul-Wahhab Azzam, who was fluent and expert in Persian language and had many researches about Shahnameh in Arabic, some contemporary Arab poets and writers were impressed by Ferdosi and took him as a model for their poetry. Of course, the stories of Shahnameh was not reflected so much in the works of Arab poets.

One of the Iran acquaintances of Sindh country, who could speak in different languages & leave a lot of valuable traces in different languages as a memorial, is Shams Al – olama khan Bahadour Mirza Ghelich Baig. He lived 77 years (1347-1270), and made huge collection in several Backgrounds of literature and culture especially Persian literature. This article introducts his traces & services.

Islamic Revolution of Iran, as an effective historical event in Middle East and Islamic countries, aroused the wonder and curiosity of many politicians, journalists, theorists of revolutions and researches in various countries. This resulted in the creation of "Islamic Revolution Studies" field as well as thousands of academic books and articles about the reasons of the victory of Islamic Revolution and its objectives, values, leadership, repercussion and achievements. Studies show that Japanese researchers have been interested in studying and understanding Islamic Revolution and have carried out noteworthy researches in this regard. Numerous books, articles and reports which have been published by Japanese researchers about Islamic Revolution of Iran imply that they have always paid great attention to this phenomenon.

The present article aims at answering to this question that why the domain of linguistic conflicts in Afghanistan has widened so much and has continued till the present time. The author focuses on Mahmud Tarzi's role in this regard, who is an Afghan writer, politician, intellectual and journalist. Soleimani considers the publication of Siraj-ul-akhbar as an effort to pave the way for the substitution of Pashto with Persian language. By mentioning various examples of this linguistic policy, the author introduces Tarzi as the theorist of language change and strict policies on Persian language. He shows that Tarzi uses forging terms and changing the truth to implement those policies. By doing so, Tarzi creates concepts which help the Pashtuns to create a bottleneck for Persian language.

On the occasion of the 600th year of the death of Hafez Abru, renowned historian and geographer of the 9th century, a special meeting was held in the Research Department of National Library and Archives of I.R. of Iran in order to probe into Hafez Abru's personality, works and thoughts. In this meeting, Dr. Gholam-Reza Amirkhani, Dr. Seyyed Sadeq Sajadi and Seyye Ali Al-e-Davood lectured on this great figure. The present article includes speeches as well as Q & As presented in the meeting.

Asuka has some links with Iran and has a peculiar concept, implication and place for researchers and lovers of Iranian and Japanese cultures. The first reports on the presence of Iranians or Iranian tribes in Japan are in close relationship with Asuka, where the signs of Iranian culture and its effects on Japanese culture many years ago can be observed. Prof. Ei'ichi Imoto, a graduate of linguistics at the Faculty of Literature, Kyoto University, who has also studied in The University of Tehran, wrote a book on the society of Iranians in Asuka. On the occasion of his death, the author of this article has given an account of this historical city as well as Prof. Imoto's personality, thoughts and works.

Throughout history, Iran and Iranians had great importance and attraction for many people in the region and around the world. In this article, the author makes an effort to elaborate why foreigners were interested to travel to Iran. In his opinion, seven factors are dominant in this regard: a curiosityprovoking Iran; an enchanting Iran; a civilized Iran; a safe and peaceful Iran; a beautiful Iran; a hospitable Iran and Iranian people.

Nikolay Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky (1828-1889), economist, historian, critic, writer, man of letters, virtuoso and theorist of new artistic theories, is one of the most brilliant thinkers and revolutionaries of Russia in 19th Century. He was familiar with Persian language and was under the influence of great Persian poets especially Ferdosi. Chernyshevsky has valuable works. Considering the great effect of Ferdosi on Chernyshevsky's thoughts and works and the creation of his revolutionary ideas, one of the prominent researchers, Vali Samad, spent several years of his life to investigate deeply into the life, works and thoughts of Chernyshevsky about Iran and Ferdosi's Shahnameh. Samad has published the findings of his studies as a book entitled: Ferdosi's Shahnameh and Chernyshevsky: The Place of Iranian Civilization in the History of Russian Culture. The present article explains Chernyshevsky's life, personality and works and introduces Samad's book.

The author of this article introduces and examines the book Iranologists and Persian Language written by Mohammad Rostami. Furthermore, he gives explanatory accounts about Oriental Studies, its various branches, Iranian Studies and its record in the last two centuries. Interview with Prof. Richard Foltz, a professor at the Department of Religion at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada on what is difference between Religion studies and Theology studies, investigation of Iranian Religions and the role of Iranians in unfolding of other religions. Interview with Prof. Richard Foltz on Islam and environment.

Around the world and in Islamic countries, most of those who are active in Islamic architecture and art are familiar with Prof. Oleg Grabar's works and are well-informed of his role in and contribution to the promotion and expansion of this branch of Islamic studies. However, most of these people are not so knowledgeable about the life, personality, traits of character and moral virtues of this famous historian and researcher on Islamic art. The author of the present article gives an accurate report about the life, character, research methodology, initiatives and academic achievements of Prof. Grabar in the field of Islamic art as well as his method of teaching and his ethical conduct.

Among numerous magnificent monuments of Islamic architecture, no monument has got the unique and high place of Grand Mosque of Isfahan in academic texts and to some extent in public opinion. The present article is an investigation on the different artistic aspects applied in the building, decoration, inscriptions and architecture of Jame Mosque of Isfahan.

Currently, American academic institutions that are specialized in teaching and research on religions, Islam, Oriental studies, Muslims, Islamic countries and Middle East can be placed in three areas of study: Oriental studies, regional studies and religious studies. The author argues about the situation of Islamic studies in these three areas and explains the diversity of their methods, approaches and findings.

Although Ethiopia is home to a considerable population of Muslims, there is not much information about their situation, works and writings of their religious and political leaders. The author presents a full report of Islamic studies in academic centers and of periodic conferences on Ethiopian studies in the last fifty years. He also introduces PhD. Thesis on Islam and Ethiopian Muslims carried out in the universities of Ethiopia and three European countries. These reports show that during the last two decades, the tendency to study Islam and Ethiopian Muslims has increased and every year a number of books and academic treatises are produced. In addition, the reader will find that Ethiopian indigenous writers have taken the place of Arab writers who wrote their books in Arabic language. At the end, the author comes to this conclusion that in the last two decades, academic Islamic studies on Islam and Ethiopian Muslims have increased inside and outside of Ethiopia.

Of the important sources of researchers to get knowledge about Iran and Iranians are the travelogues and writings of foreign merchants, travelers and politicians who have visited Iran or have settled in this country for a period of time. Among these, the travelogues written during the Qajar era are of great importance, because this period is concurrent with our contemporary history. Since, at that time, religion and religious traditions as well as the clergy class and religious rites were of considerable magnitude among different social classes and their personal and social life was influenced by religious beliefs, foreign researchers were interested in this issue and had written about it in their works. The author of this article discusses the situation and status of religious beliefs, religious places and religious rites as well as the role of the clergy in the society of Qajar period. For doing so, he relies on the writings of several European travelers such as Eugène Flandin, Heinrich Karl Brugsch, John Wishard, James Morier, Madam Karla Serna, Edward Brown, Henry-René D'allemagne, Ernest Orsel, Henry Beinder and Hugo Grothe.

The Philippines, with 100 million populations, has 12 million Muslims. Although the presence of Muslims dates back to six centuries ago, there is no detailed information about how Islam entered this country and about their status, thinking and culture. Today, the only available academic researches on the Philippine Muslims are students' dissertations of Islamic Institute of the Philippines State University. The author of this article lists the thesis of this institution from 1984 to 2011 and then analyzes the topics of students' interest. He also explains their reasons for choosing certain subjects and their focus on problems of Muslim in Mindanao region, the problems of Muslim women and independence movements.