The Department of Middle East and North Africa, University of Lodz, Poland

The Institute of the Middle and Far East, Jagiellonian University, Poland

The Department for European Islam Studies, University of Warsaw, Poland

Khayrion, Bratislava, Slovakia

have the pleasure to invite you to participate in

the 9th International Symposium

“Politics and Society in the Islamic World”

Lodz, 21-23 October 2026

Planned as a joint initiative of the Department of Middle East and North Africa (University of Lodz), the Institute of the Middle and Far East (Jagiellonian University), the Department for European Islam Studies (University of Warsaw), and Khayrion (Bratislava), the 9th International Symposium “Politics and Society in the Islamic World” aims to provide an interdisciplinary forum for scholarly reflection on political, social, and cultural processes in societies shaped by Islam in the 20th and 21st centuries.

The Symposium departs from the assumption that research on the Islamic world remains of crucial importance not only in relation to the Middle East and North Africa, but also in the context of Muslim communities living beyond traditionally defined “Muslim-majority” regions. Contemporary political dynamics, global migration, transnational religious networks, and the growing visibility of Muslim diasporas in Europe and other parts of the world increasingly challenge territorially bounded and essentialist understandings of Islam and Muslim societies. As such, the conference seeks to bridge regional studies of the Middle East and the broader Islamic world with research on Islam in Europe and other diaspora contexts.

While fully recognizing the social, cultural, political, and theological diversity of Muslim societies, the Symposium encourages participants to critically reflect on the use of the “Muslim” and “Islamic” frameworks of analysis. These categories may be treated either as meaningful tools for scholarly inquiry or as concepts that require careful questioning and reconsideration. The relationship between “Islam” understood as a religious tradition and “Muslims” as social and political actors is often complex and contested, and remains a key issue in contemporary academic debates. The Symposium therefore welcomes contributions that examine how religious beliefs, discourses, and practices interact with politics, international relations, security, social change, identity formation, and power relations, both in Muslim-majority societies and in minority and diaspora contexts.

The Symposium invites researchers from a wide range of disciplines — including political science, international relations, sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, religious studies, and regional studies — who employ diverse theoretical approaches and methodological perspectives.

Proposed thematic areas include (but are not limited to):

1. Politics, governance, and religion in Muslim societies
2. International relations, geopolitics, and religious factors
3. State, civil society, and religion: dynamics of cooperation and contestation
4. Nationalism, citizenship, secularism, and religion
5. Religion and social movements, activism, and political mobilization
6. Religious practices, norms, and traditions and their impact on political and social interactions
7. Identity politics: religion, ethnicity, gender, and generation
8. Islam in Europe and beyond: Muslim diasporas, integration, and transnational ties
9. Global migration and the category of the “Muslim refugee”: analytical challenges and political implications
10. Religion and responses to humanitarian crises and conflicts
11. Religious perspectives on climate change, environmental protection, and sustainability
12. Islam, religion, and technological change (digital religion, media, AI, surveillance)
13. Security, radicalization, counterterrorism, and the politics of religious discourse
14. Comparative and transnational approaches to Islam and Muslim societies
15. Literature, cultural production, and narrative representations of Islam, politics, and society (including diasporic and postcolonial perspectives)

The above subjects are not restricted to any specific region; we invite case studies from across the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, South and Southeast Asia, Europe, and other global contexts. Contributions may adopt national, regional, comparative, or transnational perspectives and combine insights from multiple disciplines.

Important information:

Conference venue:

University of Lodz

Faculty of International and Political Studies

Narutowicza 59a Street, 90-127 Lodz, Poland

Applications for participation in the symposium should be sent via the online form forms.office.com/e/sCL3r3egMn

until May 31, 2026. In order to participate in the conference it is necessary to obtain feedback on the inclusion in a group of speakers and pay the non-refundable conference fee of 120 EURO until June 15, 2026. 

The account number: 47 1240 3028 1111 0011 6438 3996

(Title: KF26 Politics and society in the Islamic world, Name and Surname of the Participant)

Information on the transfer will be sent in a separate message to qualified participants.

The conference fee includes:

• conference materials
• 2 lunches, coffee breaks, dinner after the first day of the conference
• city tour
• publication of an article (in case of positive reviews)

The conference fee does not cover the cost of travel and accommodation (organizers provide assistance in finding accommodation if needed).

Conference language: English

The Committee of the Conference:

Andrzej Stopczyński Phd (Department of Middle East and North Africa, University of Lodz) Head of the Organizing Committee

Prof. Marek M. Dziekan (Department of Middle East and North Africa, University of Lodz) Head of the Department

Prof. Izabela Kończak (Department of Middle East and North Africa, University of Lodz)

Prof. Marta Woźniak-Bobińska (Department of Middle East and North Africa, University of Lodz)

Prof. Krzysztof Kościelniak (Institute of the Middle and Far East, Jagiellonian University in Krakow)

Prof. Przemysław Turek (Institute of the Middle and Far East, Jagiellonian University in Krakow)

Prof. Agata S. Nalborczyk (Department for European Islam Studies, University of Warsaw)

Krzysztof Zdulski PhD (Department of Middle East and North Africa, University of Lodz)

Ewa Linek PhD (Department of Middle East and North Africa, University of Lodz)

Agata Dąbrowska PhD (Department of Middle East and North Africa, University of Lodz)

Magdalena Pycińska PhD (Institute of the Middle and Far East, Jagiellonian University in Krakow)

Michał Lipa PhD  (Institute of the Middle and Far East, Jagiellonian University in Krakow)

Agata Karbowska PhD (Institute of the Middle and Far East, Jagiellonian University in Krakow)

Konrad Zasztowt PhD (Department for European Islam Studies, University of Warsaw)

Katarína Hildebrand PhD (Khayrion)

Bartosz Kurowski MA (Department of Middle East and North Africa, University of Lodz) I Secretary of the Conference

Jacek Małecki MA (Department of Middle East and North Africa, University of Lodz) II Secretary of the Conference

Łukasz Fraszka MA (Department of Middle East and North Africa, University of Lodz) III Secretary of the Conference

Contact: 

andrzej.stopczynski1@wsmip.uni.lodz.pl (Head of the Organizing Committee)

bartosz.kurowski@edu.uni.lodz.pl (I Secretary of the Conference)