Institute of Ismaili Studies
210 Euston Road
London NW1 2DA
United Kingdom
ABOUT
Dr Shainool Jiwa is the Head of Constituency Studies at The Institute of Ismaili Studies. Prior to this, she was the Head of the Department of Community Relations from 2005 to 2012. She was also the founding coordinator of the Qur’anic Studies Project at the IIS (2002-2005). Dr Jiwa is a specialist in Fatimid history, having completed her Master’s degree from McGill University and her doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. As a senior faculty member, Dr Jiwa teaches on the IIS graduate programmes (GPISH & STEP) and contributes to the development of the IIS Secondary Curriculum.
Dr Jiwa is a member of the Board of Governors for Edinburgh Napier University. She has been involved with the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) since 1998 and has been their Chief Examiner for Islamic History since 2001. Prior to joining the IIS, she worked as a counsellor and manager for Saheliya, a mental health project for Edinburgh’s ethnic minority women. She was appointed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1998 as a part-time Commissioner for the Mental Welfare Commission in Scotland, leading to a listing in Who’s Whoin Scotland, where she has been noted since its 2000 publication.
Dr Jiwa’s latest publication is titled: The Founder of Cairo: The Fatimid Imam-Caliph al-Muizz and his Era. This complements her earlier work titled Towards a Shi'i Mediterranean Empire, which she published in 2009. She has also contributed a chapter entitled Inclusive Governance: A Fatimid illustration to A Companion to the Muslim World. Dr Jiwa is currently working on a monograph on the life and times of the Fatimid Imam-Caliph al-‘Aziz billah.
