Jörg Matthias Determann's Blog, page 2

Children’s workshop at Al Thuraya Planetarium in Katara

May God reward you (جزاك الله خيراً), Rashid Ali Al Kubaisi, for inviting me to collaborate with you on the organization of a children’s workshop at Al Thuraya Planetarium in Katara as part of World Space Week. On October 6, 2025, I am very fortunate to give a presentation on “Space is for All” and read Khalifa and Amal Go to Space (خليفة وأمل في رحلة إلى الفضاء), a book by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre. Also part of the planning for this event are Asma Mohammed Al Khulaifi, Sara Al Tawil and Sheema Ibrahim Al-Sulaiti. Our collaboration is the product of a meeting that was organized by Margarita Zuniga and that also included Joshua Rodenberg, Erika Tsuchiya and Lejla Niksic. https://katara.net/en/whatson/events/...

LinkedIn workshop for students of VCUarts Qatar

Attention students of Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar! Our Libraries offer you an exclusive LinkedIn Workshop. I thank Jacqulyn Williams very much for inviting me to join her in leading this session in our Library Conference Room (106i) on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, between 12 and 1:30pm. Roshni Baker generously supported us in publicizing this training. I am privileged to pass on some of the wisdom from the best LinkedIn expert that I know, my wife Jeanne. A light lunch will be served during the workshop. To register, please complete our Google form by Thursday, September 25. A confirmation email will be sent to those students who have successfully registered. https://forms.gle/gxKzCwnJnCvaYzhA7

Colloquium on UFOs and UAP in the Muslim World

I am euphoric in my gratitude to Michael Cifone for inviting me to give a colloquium for the Society for UAP Studies. On October 3, 2025, I will explore UFOs and UAP in the Muslim World. Adam Dodd kindly arranged my talk. Byrad Yyelland big-heartedly proofread my synopsis. I also benefited from correspondence with Eric Halford of Rabdan Academy about the study of unidentified aerospace phenomena in the Gulf and the wider Middle East. Andreas Müller and Michael Bohlander generously helped me stay connected with the leadership of the society over the past years. Further information about this event on Google Meet is here: https://www.societyforuapstudies.org/...

Review of Tales of Khayaal

I am truly grateful to Peter Gould and Rehan Khan for featuring a testimonial of mine on the Tales of Khayaal website. My review is in the distinguished company of endorsements by Aqsa Khan, David Williamson, Lamya Tawfik, Mohammed Faris, Mostafa Allam, Qais Mekki, Sohale Sizar and Yusuf Jha. Pre-order the paperback edition of Arön on Amazon or get the free audiobook on Chaptrs. The release date is September 26, 2025. https://www.talesofkhayaal.com/reviews

Advising on Tales of Khayaal

I thank Peter Gould from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to serve as Advisor on Tales of Khayaal. As one of the early readers of book one, Arön, it has been a special honor for me to provide Peter, Rehan Khan and their colleagues at Gould Studio with feedback. The website of Tales of Khayaal is now live, providing a wealth of information and links. Start your journey into the realm of spiritual imagination here: https://www.talesofkhayaal.com/

New editor of the Review of Middle East Studies

As Associate Editor of the Review of Middle East Studies (RoMES), I will remain eternally grateful to our outgoing Editor, Heather Ferguson, for her services to our publication. I wish her the best of luck for her new role as Co-Editor of the International Journal of Middle East Studies (IJMES), which is also published by Cambridge University Press for the Middle East Studies Association. At the same time, I warmly welcome her successor, Hoda Yousef of Denison University, to the Editorial Board of RoMES. This transition is made easy through the dedicated work of our Managing Editor, Ghayde Ghraowi of Yale University. One of the last issues overseen by Heather (volume 58, number 1–2) was published online on August 25, 2025. Go to Cambridge Core: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journa...

New episode of Things Visible and Invisible

Go raibh maith agat and thank you again to Seán O’Quoi for hosting me on his show Things Visible and Invisible (TVI). Another one of our episodes premiered on August 28, 2025. It is entitled “How Islam Explains Aliens: UFOs, Jinn, and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life.” Our producer was Tancredi Foschini. Alfonso Delicana, the Head of Outreach at Soho Podcasts, kindly informed me about the release of our episode. He is now my point of contact after taking over from Joanne Suyat. Watch the show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wq06...

Publication of The Speculative Route

I wholeheartedly congratulate Merve Tabur and Sami Ahmad Khan on the publication of their edited book The Speculative Route: Futures from South and Southwest Asia and North Africa (Routledge, 2026). I thank both of them very much for the opportunity to write a blurb alongside Vandana Singh and Anil Menon. The Speculative Route adds to the growing list of titles within the series Studies in Global Genre Fiction edited by Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay and Taryne Jade Taylor. You can choose between paperback, hardback and eBook editions: https://www.routledge.com/The-Specula...

Andreas Müller reviews Islamic Theology and Extraterrestrial Life

Danke zum zweiten Mal and thank you for the second time to Andreas Müller for reviewing a book of mine on Grenzwissenschaft-Aktuell.de (GreWi). Today, he published an article about Shoaib Ahmed Malik’s and my edited volume Islamic Theology and Extraterrestrial Life (I.B. Tauris). He wrote that “this collection of texts, first published in hardcover in 2024, fills an important gap in the discussion about extraterrestrial life and the UFO phenomenon from an Islamic perspective.” I thank Samar Mohamed and DHL for getting a copy of the book from me in Doha to Andreas in Saarbrücken, Germany, in less than a week. https://www.grenzwissenschaft-aktuell...

Islamic Theology and Extraterrestrial Life released in paperback

It is with universal gratitude that I announce the release of the paperback edition of Shoaib Ahmed Malik’s and my edited volume Islamic Theology and Extraterrestrial Life by I.B. Tauris. The softcover edition was first mentioned in a contract Shoaib and I received three years ago. We will never forget Sophie Rudland and Yasmin Garcha’s crucial support at the time. Almudena Gutierrez, Christelle Chamouton, Liz Strudwick and Jennifer Roberts were also involved in the process of signing our agreement. This year, Raveena Jutley generously placed the order for my own copies. You can get yours directly from the Bloomsbury website: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/islamic...