Article Prize

The Tokat Institute for Advanced Islamic Studies is pleased to announce its 2027 Article Prize competition. Authors are invited to submit original, English-language research articles on any aspect of Islamic thought.

Submissions should be sent by email to the Institute’s Director of Research, Professor Cyrus Zargar, at czargar@tokatinstitute.org no later than April 1, 2027. Articles will be evaluated by a committee of senior scholars in Islamic Studies, and the winning entry will receive a cash prize of $500.

Acceptance of the award is conditional upon the author submitting the article to Brill’s new journal, Islamic Intellectual Traditions, for publication, pending successful peer review.

2026 TIAIS Article Prize Winner

The Tokat Institute for Advanced Islamic Studies is delighted to announce Professor Raissa A. von Doetinchem de Rande of the University of Chicago Divinity School as the recipient of its 2026 Article Prize for her article, “Toward an Understanding of the Qur’anic Fiṭra: Establishing a Core Conception and Tracing Significant Shifts in Interpretations of Sura 30:30.”

Professor de Rande’s article explores fiṭra, a central ethical concept in the Quran referring to innate human nature. Moving beyond understandings of the concept as an inborn awareness of religious truths, the article traces the history of Muslim hermeneutics to demonstrate the significant diversity of meanings associated with this concept.

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