Enrolment is now officially open for Persian Through the Mathnawi: Reading Rumi in the Original, the inaugural programme of Dr Colin Turner, Visiting Reader in Classical Islamic Thought and Persian Literature at The Classical Institute. The programme marks a significant addition to TCI’s growing study of the Classical languages and intellectual traditions, inviting students into a sustained engagement with one of the foundational works of the Persian literary tradition through guided reading in the original language. A trained historian and theologian, Dr Turner’s principal areas of interest are Muslim philosophy and theology, the anthropology of religion, and Islamic intellectual history, with a sustained scholarly focus on the life and works of the Ottoman scholar Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (1876–1960). Few contemporary Western scholars have engaged so deeply and consistently with the Nursian corpus, and Dr Turner is widely regarded as one of the leading authorities on Said Nursi’s thought. His scholarly output reflects this breadth of engagement. He is the author of the best-selling 'Islam: The Basics'. His monograph 'The Quran Revealed: A Critical Analysis of Said Nursi’s Epistles of Light' (Gerlach Press, 2013) offered the first comprehensive critical analysis of Nursi’s six-thousand-page work of Quranic exegesis, exploring themes ranging from Divine unity and causation to spirituality, prophethood, civilisation, and politics. His earlier study 'Islam Without Allah? The Rise of Religious Externalism in Safavid Iran' (Curzon Press, 2000) traced the theological developments that shaped Twelver Shiʿism in Safavid Iran, while 'Said Nursi' (Oxford University Press, 2009), co-authored with Hasan Horkuc, appeared in OUP’s Makers of Islamic Civilization series. Dr Turner completed a First Class BA in Oriental Studies encompassing Arabic, Persian, Islamic Studies, and anthropology at Durham University in 1982, followed by a PhD in Islamic Studies in 1989. His doctoral research examined clergy-state relations in the Safavid era, with particular reference to Allama Muhammad Baqir Majlisi. His most recent work includes a fresh English re-translation of Said Nursi’s Risale-i Nur directly from the original Ottoman Turkish. He is also the editor of Divine Revelation and Communication: Contemporary Muslim Theological Approaches (Gerlach Press), the inaugural volume in the IFMT’s “God-talk project”. He is currently writing a book on the cultural anthropology of “immortality longing”, with special reference to the Quran. Dr Turner’s appointment deepens the Institute’s commitment to the serious and sustained study of the seminal texts of the Classical world in their original languages, and we are honoured to welcome him to the wider intellectual life of TCI. ⟡ Programme begins Thursday 25 June 2026. Fortnightly | 8.00-9.30pm (UK Time) | Online attendance ⟡ Enrolment opens Monday 18 May 2026. Programme Overview: theclassicalinstitute.co.uk/…

🏛️The Classical Institute is pleased to announce the continuation of The Homeric Gods and Their First Philosophical Critics, the four-part seminar series led by Dr Simon Trépanier, Senior Lecturer in Classics at the University of Edinburgh. The forthcoming seminar ✦ Nature and the Gods Harmonised: Ionian Science in Heraclitus ✦ turns to Heraclitus’ attempt to reconcile Ionian scientific inquiry with inherited Greek conceptions of the Divine, examining his critique of popular religion, cosmic order, and the emergence of philosophical theology in early Greece. ⟡ Seminar Two at The Classical Institute ⟡ Saturday 13 June 2026 | 7–8pm (UK Time) ⟡ Delivered Online Only Further details and registration: theclassicalinstitute.co.uk/… #TheClassicalInstitute #Classics #AncientPhilosophy #GreekPhilosophy #ClassicalStudies #Heraclitus