2023-11-15-accounts - British Association For Islamic Studies

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Annual Report

November 2022 – December 2023

Overview

The past year has seen BRAIS deliver a highly success Annual Conference in London which attracted a large and diverse cohort of scholars and students from across the UK, Europe and beyond. The Association awarded its annual Prize in the Study of Islam and the Muslim World for the eighth time in 2023, with the winning submission by Dr Naz Yücel offering a superb analysis of property regimes in the late Ottoman period. As the financial year ends, BRAIS finds itself in very good financial health, with important decisions to be made about how best to spend-down its cash reserves. With membership numbers increasing across the year, we have every reason to feel ambitious as we look ahead to 2024 and beyond.

BRAIS 2023 at the Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations

We were delighted to host BRAIS 2023 at the Aga Khan University’s Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (ISMC) in London. The conference was particularly special as BRAIS was due to host its 2020 conference at the ISMC but we were forced to cancel due to the COVID19 pandemic. We were therefore gratified to re-establish our connections with colleagues at the ISMC and deliver the conference we had hoped to deliver three years ago.

The conference featured 32 panels showcasing cutting edge research across a wide variety of Islamic Studies sub-disciplines. We were also privileged to welcome Professor Sarah BowenSavant and her team from the ISMC’s ‘KITAB’ project and Professor Ousmane Kane of Harvard University who delivered two exceptional keynotes.

As part of BRAIS’s continued focus on Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion, BRAIS EDI Officer, Dr Alyaa Ebbiary, organised a special panel for early career academics offering essential advice on how to apply for research grants, find the right academic publisher and how best to build an academic CV that will help secure permeant employment in UK Higher Education. EDI continues to be a priority for BRAIS, and we look forward to building on this panel at our 2024 conference.

BRAIS would like to offer its sincere thanks to everyone who made the conference such a success. In particular, Professor Jonas Otterbeck who was our academic lead from the ISMC, and Mafe Galve and her extraordinary team of staff and volunteers who delivered the conference with such professionalism. Sincere thanks also to the many publishers who

www.brais.ac.uk • brais@ed.ac.uk The British Association for Islamic Studies is a Registered Charity: 1196378 Registered address: The Middle East Centre, St Antony's College, 68 Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX2 6JF Administrative address: The Alwaleed Centre, 16 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9LD

attended the publisher exhibition and, most importantly, the many scholars who presented their work, chaired a panel, or contributed in any way.

We are now excited to look ahead to BRAIS 2024 which will be hosted by the University of Leeds on Monday 20 and Tuesday 21 May 2024. We are thrilled to be welcoming Professor Tahera Qutbuddin (University of Oxford) and Professor Stefan Weber (Pergamon Museum, Berlin) to deliver our 2024 keynotes.

2023 BRAIS Prize in the Study of Islam and the Muslim World

2023 saw a significant change in the way the BRAIS Prize is organised and administered. Following seven years of partnership with De Gruyter, BRAIS Trustees made the decision to offer the Prize independently. This decision was made based on feedback from colleagues who had submitted manuscripts for the Prize in previous years. It was clear that being tied to a specific publisher was a barrier to many people who would otherwise wish to submit a manuscript. The insistence that all those who submit a manuscript must not approach other publishers whilst a decision was being made about the Prize was also a clear issue for many people.

BRAIS therefore offered the 2023 Prize independently and we were extremely pleased with the result. We received 19 submissions in total, more than double the number we received in 2022. The Prize Committee had the unenviable task of deciding the winner, and after much deliberation, the 2023 BRAIS Prize in the Study of Islam and the Muslim World was awarded to Dr Naz Yücel (George Washington University) for her submission ‘Sustaining the Empire: Transformation of Property Regime in the Late Ottoman Empire, 1876-1913’. The Committee also made two honourable mentions: Dr Dominik Krell (Universität Hamburg) ‘Islamic Law in Saudi Arabia: Concepts, Practices and Developments’ and Dr Meia Walravens (University of Antwerp) ‘Networked Diplomacy: Maḥmūd Gāwān’s Bahmani Sultanate and the Fifteenthcentury Islamic World.’

BRAIS would like to offer sincere thanks to De Gruyter who played a central role in establishing and evolving the Prize over a period of seven years. Under their sponsorship, the Prize has created an outstanding collection of monographs reflecting the diversity of Islamic Studies and showcasing exciting new academic talent from across our subject area.

Administering the Prize takes a tremendous amount of work and we would like to offer heartfelt thanks to the Prize Chair, Dr Saeko Yazaki, and the Prize Coordinator, Adam Ramadhan, who worked exceptionally hard to makes sure the process went smoothly. We would also like to thank the Prize Committee for their major contribution to the Prize, as well as all those scholars who kindly agreed to read and review our submissions. The Prize is a true team effort and we really cannot thank everyone enough for their commitment.

Statement of Solidarity with the People of Palestine

Although this was a very positive year for BRAIS, 2023 was marked by devastating violence in the Middle East. As the attack on Gaza escalated through October, BRAIS Trustees made the decision to issue a statement of solidarity with the people of Palestine. The statement was an

important response to an unprecedented event, and Trustees stand by their intervention. Trustees are mindful that some BRAIS members may not have agreed with aspects of the statement, but this is precisely why it was issued on behalf of the Trustee alone, not the Association as a whole. We plan to open a discussion about this intervention at our AGM and would be very grateful to hear the thoughts of our membership.

Governance

BRAIS is managed by a team of six Trustees who are appointed via a vote of the membership. The current BRAIS Trustees are as follows:

Chair: Dr Fozia Bora (University of Leeds)
Treasurer: Dr Haroon Sidat (Cardiff University)
Secretary: Mr Tom Lea (University of Edinburgh)
Equality and Diversity Officer: Dr Alyaa Ebbiary (Durham University and Lancaster University)
Communications Officer: Dr Usaama Al-Azami (University of Oxford)
Events Officer: Dr Jaan Islam (University of Oxford)

All Trustees have agreed to continue in their roles into next year, so there will be no vote for new Officers at the next AGM.

BRAIS Council

BRAIS Trustees would like to express their sincere thanks to the BRAIS Council who have continued to offer essential advice and support over the past year. We are very happy to have welcomed two new members to the Council this year: Dr Shainool Jiwa (The Institute of Ismaili Studies) and Dr Hadiza Kere Abdulrahman (Bishop Grosseteste University). This means we now have 17 members of the BRAIS Council in total.

Membership

The success of our 2023 Annual Conference meant that we saw a rise in memberships across the year which is very positive. Current membership numbers are as follows:

Full Members	101
Associate Members	69
Student Members	121
	291

This represents an increase of 36 members as compared to last year. However, these numbers are constantly changing depending on how many members decide to remain part of BRAIS once their membership is due for renewal.

Finance

2022-23 was the second year for BRAIS as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). As per our responsibility to the Charity Regulator, we have produced a formal Statement of Accounts which also features last year’s headline financial data, allowing us to compare financial performance year-on-year. A draft of this year’s Statement of Accounts has been circulated to all members and will be available on the Charity Commission’s website in due course. BRAIS’s financial year-end is 15 November, and our opening and closing cash reserves for 2022-2023 are as follows:

Cash reserves as of 16 November 2022: £32,191 Cash reserves as of 15 November 2023: £31,666

See Statement of Accounts for further detail regarding all receipts and payments.

Report prepared by Thomas Lea Secretary - British Association for Islamic Studies January 2024

	British Association for Islamic Studies 1	British Association for Islamic Studies 1	British Association for Islamic Studies 1	196378	CC16a
	For the period from	Period start date 11/6/2022	To	Period end date 11/15/2023

Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts Membershipsubscriptions 5,589 2022 Conference delegate fees 12,820 2022 Confernece Publisher Exhibition income 3,030 21,439 - - Sub total 21,439 Total receipts 21,439 A3 Payments 2022 Conference Facilities/staff 1,199 Confernecepromotion(social media) 293 Conference equipment 211 2022 Conference Catering 5,484 2022 Confernece Keynote Expenses 2,526 2022 Conference Bursaries 950 Trustee Expenses (conference and away day) 2,192 Council Dinner 823 Projects Coordinator fee 2,866 Bank charges 71 BRAIS-De Gruyter Prize Honoraria 600 BRAIS-De Gruyter Prize Coordinator 500 TRS-UK Subscription 250 Alwaleed Centre Management Fee 4,000 Sub total 21,964 - - Sub total - Total payments 21,964 Net of receipts/(payments) - 525 A5 Transfers between funds - A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end 31,666 Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ *Sub total*(Gross income for AR) A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)		to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Restricted funds	to the nearest £ Endowment funds	Total funds to the nearest £ - - 21,439 21,439 1,199 293 211 5,484 2,526 950 2,192 823 2,866 71 600 500 250 4,000 21,964 - - - -	Last year to the nearest £
			- - - -


					19,080

			- - -	-
				-	-
				21,439	-

			-	21,439	19,080

			- - - - - - - -	1,199
				293
				211
				5,484
				2,526
				950
				2,192
				823
				2,866
				71
				600
				500
				250
				4,000
				21,964	21,207

			- - -	-
				-
				-	-

			-		21,207

		-	- - - -		- 2,127
		-		-	-
		-			34,318
		-			32,191

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Categories B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B3 Investment assets B5 Liabilities B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees	Details Details Details Details Details 2023 BRAIS Prize Honorarium still to pay Signature *Total cash funds* (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s))	to nearest £ to nearest £ 32,192 - - - - - 31,666 - OK OK to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - Unrestricted 1,000 - - - - Print Name Haroon Sidat Thomas Lea Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional)	to nearest £ Endowment funds
			-
			-
			-
			-
			OK
			to nearest £ Endowment funds
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			-
			-
			-
			-
			Current value (optional)
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			Current value (optional)
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			When due (optional)






			Date of approval
		Haroon Sidat	26/07/204
		Thomas Lea	7/26/2024