Seminar with Dr Seyfeddin Kara

Dr Seyfeddin Kara is an Assistant Professor of Islamic Origins at the University of Groningen, Netherlands. He holds a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Durham, UK. Kara’s academic journey includes a prestigious Marie Sklodowska-Curie Global Fellowship, with research terms at the University of Toronto, the University of Lund, and the University of Göttingen. He has received over 350,000 Euros in grants from the European Union, Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and other funding bodies. Dr. Kara authored In Search of Ali ibn Abi Talib’s Codex: History and Traditions of the Earliest Copy of the Qur’an and is currently preparing a monograph on the Textual Integrity of the Qur’an.

In this talk, Dr. Seyfeddin Kara unveils a lesser-explored facet of Islamic history: the Shiʿi belief that Imam Ali, in the aftermath of the Prophet’s passing, meticulously compiled the complete copy of the Qur’an. While this perspective has remained overlooked in Western scholarly discourse, Dr. Kara conducted a comprehensive examination that delved into both Shiʿi and Sunni traditions surrounding this pivotal event. Through rigorous analysis and the tracing of the traditions’ historical roots, he brings to light a nuanced perspective on the early history of the Qur’an.