ISRME Research Support
The Institute for the Study of Religion in the Middle East (ISRME) supports individual researchers pursuing projects focused on minority, emergent or endangered religious communities in the Middle East, Turkey or Pakistan and the relations between such communities and majority religious traditions. ISRME research support is offered, in accordance with the core mission of the Institute, to advance scholarship on Middle Eastern religious communities, to better disseminate such scholarship, and to encourage connections between scholars and institutions working in this field.
Instructions and Eligibility Criteria
Extraordinary and persistent challenges faced by many minority religious communities in the region make this a critical time to support scholars and to disseminate knowledge about minority religious communities. We welcome proposals from any discipline relevant to the understanding of such religious communities, and we are especially eager to support interdisciplinary work. Proposals must involve fieldwork in the MENA region, Turkey or Pakistan and must engage scholars and institutions in the region.
The amount we can offer is contingent on funding for the program. Our support is intended to fund direct costs for field research incurred or anticipated in 2025 or 2026. We expect most grants to be $1500 or less.
Applicants must have demonstrated significant experience and scholarly engagement with minority religious communities, and should expect to do fieldwork in the region in 2025 or 2026. Students engaged in doctoral research are especially encouraged to apply.
How to Apply:
Applicants should apply by completing the online Application for Research Support. Supporting documents should include (1) a brief cover letter summarizing the request, (2) the applicant’s c.v., and (3) a research proposal of no more than two pages including details of expenses for which support is required. There is no application deadline. Applications will be considered as they are received, and grants will be awarded when funding is available. Ordinarily we will make a determination within six weeks of receiving a completed application. We will not acknowledge incomplete or ineligible applications.
Supported Projects
The Islamization of Coptic Theology towards women in Egypt
The Emergence of New Protestant Churches in Türkiye
The Latin Catholic Church at risk: the appropriation and conversion of ecclesiastical properties during the post-Tanẓimāt and Republican eras
National Pasts and Religious Futures: Turkish Protestants and the Negotiation of Christianity in Uncertain Times
Changing Religious Landscape: Jordan 2018
Christian Formation and Modes of Belonging among Turkish Protestants
Sharing Abraham? Narrative Worldview, Biblical and Qur’anic Interpretation, & Comparative Theology in Turkey
While Abraham is often seen as a common starting point for dialogue among monotheistic faith communities, many approaches to “Abrahamic dialogue” do not grapple with the Abrahamic texts of Genesis and the Qur’an in enough detail for meaningful comparison. This work introduces a model for comparing particular Biblical and Qur’anic narratives, along with their use by Christians and Muslims respectively. Bristow builds on the tight connection between narrative and worldview to enable theological comparison…
Qur’anists
Since the late Nineteenth Century the idea that the Qurʾan should serve as the sole source of Islamic faith and practice has been articulated by a variety of Muslim thinkers in a variety of places. The idea itself is easily summarized: If the Qurʾan stands alone as the pure revelation of God, perfect and incomparable both in origins and transmission, then it must be the exclusive source of guidance for the faith and…
They That Remain: Syrian and Iraqi Christian Communities amid the Syria Conflict and the Rise of the Islamic State
The past decade has inaugurated a devastating new reality for the Christian minorities of Iraq and Syria. The survival of these vulnerable communities has bee jeopardized by a deadly triad composed of the security vacuum resulting from the U.S.-led war in Iraq, Islamist violence, and the consequences of despotic power. This chapter presents the current status of Christian communites in Iraq and Syria, providing brief historical background and then focusing on the…
Endangered Iraqi Religious Communities
As the Islamic State has advanced in Northern Iraq, the on-going destruction of Christian communities in Mosul has been widely publicized. Recent advances by the ID into Kurdish territory now endanger another ancient religious community, the Yazidis. In this post on Syria Comment, Matthew Barber, whose research on the Yazidis is partially supported by the ISRME, details the humanitarian tragedy and cultural destruction unfolding in the Yazidi homelands. Below is a link to…
