Cambridge Muslim College was represented at the 2026 British Association for Islamic Studies (BRAIS) Annual Conference, held at the prestigious Aga Khan Centre in London on Monday, 18 May.
During the afternoon sessions, Cambridge Muslim College faculty members Dr Ramon Harvey and Dr Belal Alabbas participated in a high-profile panel dedicated to Dr Belal’s new book, Al-Bukhārī: Islam’s Foremost Traditionist, published by Edinburgh University Press.
The dedicated panel session brought together leading experts in the field of Islamic studies to engage with Dr Belal’s pioneering research, which bypasses centuries of hagiography to offer the first comprehensive critical biography of Imam al-Bukhārī.
The volume explores his life, extensive travels, and unique methods of hadith criticism, while crucially examining his unappreciated contributions to theology and legal theory where he directly challenged established authorities of his time.
University of Exeter Arabic Studies Professor Rob Gleave, chaired the session, guiding an in-depth academic dialogue that featured Dr Belal Alabbas participating as the author to present the volume’s core insights.
Fellow faculty member at Cambridge Muslim College and Academic Lead, Dr Ramon Harvey, served as a discussant, alongside guest discussants Professor Jon Hoover, Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Nottingham, and Dr Omar Anchassi, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bern. Both of whom contributed further expert analysis and perspectives to the discussion, which also involved a Q&A.
This exchange highlighted the college’s ongoing contributions to fostering deep, critical insights into classical Islamic scholarship within the contemporary academic landscape.
