Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Faculty of Oriental Studies Middle East and South Asia Department held a webinar with a well-known orientalist, Professor of the University of Michigan A.D. Knysh on “Academic Islamic Studies and Confessional Islamic Studies: rapprochement or mutual rejection?”.During the webinar, he made a comprehensive analysis of the books by the American religious scholar Aron Hughes "Situating Islam: The Past and Future of an Academic Discipline" published in 2008, "Theorizing Islam: Disciplanary Deconstruction and Reconstruction» published in 2014, as well as "Islam and Tyranny of Authenticity" published in 2015. He also discussed about those authors who agree and disagree with Aron Hughes.

Professor A.D. Knysh said that in recent years, especially after the events of September 11, 2011, there has been an increase in interest in Islamic studies. At the same time, he noted that there are certain difficulties in teaching Islamic studies and conducting research in this area. He emphasized that there is a significant difference between the study of this topic by a representative of this religion and the study of an outsider who is not a representative of Islam, but that good results can be achieved when the two sides work together.

Professor A.D. Knysh, a representative of the St. Petersburg Institute of Oriental Studies and as a professor at the University of Michigan, said it was important to be well-prepared in the discipline of Islamic studies, noting that knowing Arabic is not enough. We remind you that the work of Professor A.D. Knysh can be found at the following links https://islab.spbu.ru/participants/knysh-a-d/The webinar was attended by teachers and students of the Faculty of Oriental Studies and a number of specialists interested in Islamic studies, the study of the history of Islam and Sufism.