Religion and Society
Governing Diverse Communities: A Fatimid Illustration
The unfolding of the recent, people-led demonstrations across the Middle East brings to the fore the perennial question of what constitutes good governance and how the quest for good order is to be fulfilled. One way to respond to this question is to examine models of authority and leadership which Muslims themselves have crafted through the course of their millennial historical experience and to consider their relevance to the contemporary discourse on governance. This talk will focus on illustrating one such model which the Fatimid dynasty, the founders of Cairo, instituted upon their arrival in Egypt in 969 CE.
Dr Shainool Jiwa is the Head of the Department of Community Relations at The Institute of Ismaili Studies, UK. Prior to this, she was the Coordinator of the Qur’anic Studies Unit at The IIS from 2001 to 2004. Dr Jiwa is a specialist in Fatimid history having completed her Master’s degree from McGill University and her doctorate from the University of Edinburgh.
Dr. Jiwa has been involved with the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) since 1998 and has been their Chief Examiner for Islamic history since 2001. Prior to joining the Institute, Dr Jiwa worked as a counsellor and manager for Saheliya, a mental health project for Edinburgh’s ethnic minority women. She was appointed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1998 as a part-time Commissioner for the Mental Welfare Commission in Scotland, leading to a listing in Who’s Who in Scotland, where she has been noted since its 2000 publication.
