During my time at AMI, I attended a workshop on Reason and Rationality in Islamic Law and Legal Theories organised by the AMI Department of Islamic Legal Studies, and another on Islamic Perspectives on Prophecy and Revelation jointly organised by the AMI Department of Islamic Philosophy and Theology and the Department of Religious Studies and Duke Islamic Studies Centre at Duke University. In addition, I delivered a seminar on Models of Revelation in the Islamic Tradition.

All of these workshops were intellectually stimulating, featuring highly knowledgeable participants from around the world who presented valuable papers. I greatly benefited from the thoughtful feedback and engaging discussions that followed, which significantly enriched my own work. The proceedings of AMI conferences are to be published by De Gruyter Brill, one of the world’s leading academic publishers in the humanities and social sciences, further reflecting the high scholarly standards of AMI’s academic activities.

One of the most remarkable aspects of AMI is its unique development. Established in 1993 primarily as a Twelver Shia hawza, it has steadily grown into an institution that, alongside its traditional seminary programme, now hosts six research departments devoted to various branches of Islamic studies. AMI thus offers a rare combination of the intellectual heritage of the Shia seminary tradition with rigorous modern scholarship. This hybrid model provides a dynamic and supportive platform for scholars—especially those interested in engaging Islamic traditions through contemporary approaches. The founders and members of AMI have accomplished truly remarkable work, and I sincerely hope that the Institute continues its steady process of development and progress in the years ahead.

In my own case, as someone working at the intersections of various branches of the Islamic intellectual tradition (including philosophy, kalam, and usul al-fiqh) and contemporary analytic philosophy, I found AMI’s academic environment both stimulating and motivating.

Beyond the academic activities, I was deeply impressed by the warm and welcoming atmosphere at AMI. The faculty, staff, and fellow scholars were consistently kind, generous, and supportive. Although my stay was relatively short, it proved to be both highly productive and personally enriching. I very much hope to have the opportunity to return to AMI in the future and to participate once again in its valuable and inspiring events.