BRAIS Symposium 2026 Panel:

The Shadow of the Millet: Islamic Political Theology and the Afterlives of Ottoman Pluralism

BILDEV’s panel, “The Shadow of the Millet: Islamic Political Theology and the Afterlives of Ottoman Pluralism,” was presented at the BRAIS Symposium 2026, Islamic Studies Across Divides in an Era of Crisis and Global Injustice, as part of the project Muslim Political Ethics and Covenantal Pluralism: Reimagining Equality in the Late Ottoman Experience. Jointly hosted by the British Association for Islamic Studies and Boğaziçi University, the symposium took place on 24–25 January 2026 in Istanbul.

Owais Khan delivered the presentation on behalf of the project, led by Dr. Yakoob Ahmed of Istanbul University. Held on 24 January, the panel explored the political and intellectual legacies of Ottoman pluralism, examining historical Muslim approaches to communal coexistence and the relationship between Islamic political theology and modern pluralist thought. These discussions addressed the project’s central questions concerning equality, religious diversity, and political ethics in the late Ottoman experience.

The panel brought the project’s research into dialogue with scholars of Islamic studies, history, and political thought. It provided a forum for sharing emerging findings and discussing their relevance to contemporary debates on pluralism and governance.