Every year, the Aga Khan Centre opens its doors for visitors as part of the Open House festival. Please check the Open House website to see when tickets for pre-booked tours will become available.

The Annual Graduate Conference 2026 is a platform hosted by The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) to showcase emerging student-led research.

This year’s conference explores the diverse ways Muslim lives are shaped by continuity and change. Presentations span themes including ritual, migration, identity, education, digital media, ethics, spirituality, and cultural heritage.

The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) welcomes Dr Christophe Bernasconi to the Aga Khan Centre on Tuesday 13 October 2026. Dr Bernasconi is Secretary General of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH).

Dr Bernasconi will deliver the lecture “Towards a New Global Multilateralism: Greater Inclusivity and Mutual Respect”. The afternoon also marks the global launch of Contemporary Trends in Sharia: Critical Debates in Historical Contexts, co-authored by Dr Hadi Enayat and Dr Mohamed M. Keshavjee, with a foreword by Dr Bernasconi.

For some 150 years (909–1050s), Sicily formed a part of the Fatimid empire. It was ruled through appointed governors and independent emirs from the Kalbid family, until the political turmoil of the mid-11th century, which paved the way for the Norman conquest. While the Normans ended Muslim rule in Sicily, they emulated the Fatimids’ practices and symbols of authority. Yet the role of the Fatimids in the history of Muslim Sicily has remained obscure due to the scarcity of written sources and material remains from the period.

This international gathering brings together scholars, artists and practitioners to explore dance, music, movement and performance traditions across the Middle East, North Africa, Central and South Asia and Muslim contexts in Southeast Asia. The 2026 symposium focuses on the relationship between music, dance, movement and spirituality in Muslim contexts, examining how embodied and musical practices shape religious experience, artistic expression, cultural identity and communal life.