Sonic Relations: Devotion and Community in Turkey’s Eastern borderland
This event will be held at the Aga Khan Centre (AKC) near London King’s Cross, and streamed online via Zoom, at 17:00 BST.
The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) will host a book talk for Dr Stefan Williamson Fa’s Sonic Relations: Devotion and Community in Turkey’s Eastern Borderlands. This hybrid event will explore how sound shapes religious life and communal belonging among Twelver Shi‘i Muslims in Turkey and across connected regions.
What role does sound play in shaping religious life and communal belonging? How do practices such as vocal recitation, lament, and devotional poetry cultivate relationships among participants, as well as with the divine and unseen?
This book talk by Dr Williamson Fa introduces Sonic Relations: Devotion and Community in Turkey’s Eastern Borderlands (Indiana University Press, 2026). Drawing on long-term ethnographic research with Azeri-Turkish speaking Twelver Shi‘i communities, the presentation explores how sonic practices, such as the call to prayer, ritual lamentation, praise poetry, and mediated recordings, form the core of devotional life.
The talk examines how sound operates not simply as an expression of belief, but as a medium through which religious experience, affective ties, and collective identities are created and sustained. It also traces how these sonic practices travel across borders via media technologies and transnational networks linking Turkey with Iran, the Caucasus, and Western Europe.
The presentation will be followed by a discussion with Professor Rachel Harris and Dr Reza Masoudi-Nejad.
Research Associate
Dr Stefan Williamson Fa is a cultural anthropologist at the Centre of Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge.
He completed his PhD at University College London in 2019. His research focuses on Islam through auditory and culinary cultures, with particular attention to Shi‘i devotional practices across Turkey, the Caucasus and Iran. His current work explores Muslim foodways in the UK, including food provision, food-aid initiatives and their relationship to Islamic ethics and traditions of care.
Professor of Music
Professor Rachel Harris is Professor of Music at SOAS, University of London. Her research centres on China and Central Asia, and especially on Uyghur expressive culture. She has conducted fieldwork in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan over a period of twenty years. Her work focuses on intangible cultural heritage, music and Islam, soundscapes, state projects of territorialisation, and transnational flows of people and culture. She works in applied ways with performance and transmission projects, including concerts, workshops, and recording.
Research Associate
Dr Reza Masoudi-Nejad is Academic Visitor at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford, and Research Associate in the Department of Anthropology at SOAS, University of London. He is an urbanist with a cross-disciplinary background in architecture, urban studies, and anthropology. His research examines urban history and transformation, the spatial logic of crowds and protest, and Shiʿi rituals, particularly the spatial dynamics of Muharram processions in Iranian cities and Mumbai. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, spatial analysis, and historical research, he explores religious rituals and processions as integral to urban dynamics and negotiation.
Register: https://iis-ac-uk.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vGklidiIRXS_lQhj04SWsw#/registration
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 near London King’s Cross, and streamed online via Zoom, at 17:00 BST.The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) will host a book talk for Dr Stefan Williamson Fa’s Sonic Relations: Devotion and Community in Turkey’s Eastern Borderlands. This hybrid event will explore how sound shapes religious life and communal belonging among Twelver Shi‘i Muslims in Turkey and across connected regions.About the event What role does sound play in shaping religious life and communal belonging? How do practices such as vocal recitation, lament, and devotional poetry cultivate relationships among participants, as well as with the divine and unseen? This book talk by Dr Williamson Fa introduces Sonic Relations: Devotion and Community in Turkey’s Eastern Borderlands (Indiana University Press, 2026). Drawing on long-term ethnographic research with Azeri-Turkish speaking Twelver Shi‘i communities, the presentation explores how sonic practices, such as the call to prayer, ritual lamentation, praise poetry, and mediated recordings, form the core of devotional life. The talk examines how sound operates not simply as an expression of belief, but as a medium through which religious experience, affective ties, and collective identities are created and sustained. It also traces how these sonic practices travel across borders via media technologies and transnational networks linking Turkey with Iran, the Caucasus, and Western Europe. The presentation will be followed by a discussion with Professor Rachel Harris and Dr Reza Masoudi-Nejad. SpeakerDr Stefan Williamson FaResearch AssociateDr Stefan Williamson Fa is a cultural anthropologist at the Centre of Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge.He completed his PhD at University College London in 2019. His research focuses on Islam through auditory and culinary cultures, with particular attention to Shi‘i devotional practices across Turkey, the Caucasus and Iran. His current work explores Muslim foodways in the UK, including food provision, food-aid initiatives and their relationship to Islamic ethics and traditions of care.DiscussantsProfessor Rachel HarrisProfessor of MusicProfessor Rachel Harris is Professor of Music at SOAS, University of London. Her research centres on China and Central Asia, and especially on Uyghur expressive culture. She has conducted fieldwork in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan over a period of twenty years. Her work focuses on intangible cultural heritage, music and Islam, soundscapes, state projects of territorialisation, and transnational flows of people and culture. She works in applied ways with performance and transmission projects, including concerts, workshops, and recording.Dr Reza Masoudi-NejadResearch AssociateDr Reza Masoudi-Nejad is Academic Visitor at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford, and Research Associate in the Department of Anthropology at SOAS, University of London. He is an urbanist with a cross-disciplinary background in architecture, urban studies, and anthropology. His research examines urban history and transformation, the spatial logic of crowds and protest, and Shiʿi rituals, particularly the spatial dynamics of Muharram processions in Iranian cities and Mumbai. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, spatial analysis, and historical research, he explores religious rituals and processions as integral to urban dynamics and negotiation. Register: https://iis-ac-uk.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vGklidiIRXS_lQhj04SWsw#/registration &source=https://dmluoj0wft2i7.cloudfront.net/thumbnails/media_slide_16x9/cdn/images/6a1ec302b476c.jpg "LinkedIn")
 near London King’s Cross, and streamed online via Zoom, at 17:00 BST.The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) will host a book talk for Dr Stefan Williamson Fa’s Sonic Relations: Devotion and Community in Turkey’s Eastern Borderlands. This hybrid event will explore how sound shapes religious life and communal belonging among Twelver Shi‘i Muslims in Turkey and across connected regions.About the event What role does sound play in shaping religious life and communal belonging? How do practices such as vocal recitation, lament, and devotional poetry cultivate relationships among participants, as well as with the divine and unseen? This book talk by Dr Williamson Fa introduces Sonic Relations: Devotion and Community in Turkey’s Eastern Borderlands (Indiana University Press, 2026). Drawing on long-term ethnographic research with Azeri-Turkish speaking Twelver Shi‘i communities, the presentation explores how sonic practices, such as the call to prayer, ritual lamentation, praise poetry, and mediated recordings, form the core of devotional life. The talk examines how sound operates not simply as an expression of belief, but as a medium through which religious experience, affective ties, and collective identities are created and sustained. It also traces how these sonic practices travel across borders via media technologies and transnational networks linking Turkey with Iran, the Caucasus, and Western Europe. The presentation will be followed by a discussion with Professor Rachel Harris and Dr Reza Masoudi-Nejad. SpeakerDr Stefan Williamson FaResearch AssociateDr Stefan Williamson Fa is a cultural anthropologist at the Centre of Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge.He completed his PhD at University College London in 2019. His research focuses on Islam through auditory and culinary cultures, with particular attention to Shi‘i devotional practices across Turkey, the Caucasus and Iran. His current work explores Muslim foodways in the UK, including food provision, food-aid initiatives and their relationship to Islamic ethics and traditions of care.DiscussantsProfessor Rachel HarrisProfessor of MusicProfessor Rachel Harris is Professor of Music at SOAS, University of London. Her research centres on China and Central Asia, and especially on Uyghur expressive culture. She has conducted fieldwork in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan over a period of twenty years. Her work focuses on intangible cultural heritage, music and Islam, soundscapes, state projects of territorialisation, and transnational flows of people and culture. She works in applied ways with performance and transmission projects, including concerts, workshops, and recording.Dr Reza Masoudi-NejadResearch AssociateDr Reza Masoudi-Nejad is Academic Visitor at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford, and Research Associate in the Department of Anthropology at SOAS, University of London. He is an urbanist with a cross-disciplinary background in architecture, urban studies, and anthropology. His research examines urban history and transformation, the spatial logic of crowds and protest, and Shiʿi rituals, particularly the spatial dynamics of Muharram processions in Iranian cities and Mumbai. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, spatial analysis, and historical research, he explores religious rituals and processions as integral to urban dynamics and negotiation. Register: https://iis-ac-uk.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vGklidiIRXS_lQhj04SWsw#/registration "Facebook")