Laleh’s Institute
Mission
Our mission is to elevate and continue the work of its namesake, the renowned Iranian-American Scholar, Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar.
We plan to expand the reach of Dr. Bakhtiar’s pioneering vision by popularizing her work through blogs, social media posts, and academic papers. To cement her legacy for the future and reach wider audiences, we plan to apply data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) tools to her body of work. By incorporating Dr. Bakhtiar’s thoughts into modern technologies, we will help provide intellectual leadership in the space of Islamic spirituality with a particular focus on women.
Vision
As a women’s advocate, Laleh used her work to improve the lives of women. She paved the way for Muslims to walk boldly, uniting faith and knowledge. She fearlessly brought a powerful feminine perspective to fields of scholarship historically reserved for men. From her gender neutral translation of the Quran to her work advocating for moral healing, Dr. Bakhtiar has helped empower countless Muslims around the world.
We will continue her legacy of advocacy and community service by working to advance women’s scholarship and empowerment. We will help inspire women of all faiths and backgrounds to dream big, and help give them the tools they need to achieve those dreams.
History
Born in Tehran on July 29, 1938 and raised in America, Dr. Bakhtiar dedicated more than 50 years of her life to the study of the mystical or Sufi dimensions of Islam and to revisiting Islamic texts from a Muslim woman’s perspective, including her widely read 2007 translation of the Quran called The Sublime Quran. Dr. Bakhtiar was the Founder and President of the Institute of Traditional Psychoethics and Guidance founded in 1992 and Scholar-in Residence at Kazi Publications.
Staff
An experienced technology professional, Karim Ardalan brings years of experience running a successful web design agency to the Institute as its President and Board Member. Karim specializes in Information Technology, IT strategy, infrastructure, web services, and project management. Karim will help guide the Institute in fundraising and strategy. Karim founded his web design company MIS, Inc. in 1995 when he saw the potential of the World Wide Web. With experience in both design and development, Karim can bridge the gap between the creative and the technical. He has worked with hundreds of clients all over the world, helping them improve their websites and e-commerce strategy.
A global thinker, campus architect and creative thought leader, Mani Ardalan Farhadi’s experience spans three decades. Mani is a Senior Facilities Planner at Stanford University, School of Medicine, with prior experience at architectural firms in the Boston area and Silicon Valley. Her expertise is focused on planning educational environments, with a passion for designing from the inside-out via cultural and human-centered principles. She is vital in navigating interdisciplinary initiatives and building consensus. Mani has facilitated workshops, presented at conferences, recorded podcasts and authored articles.
A lifelong learner, she is a graduate of Wellesley College and Boston Architectural College with additional training in various professional and leadership categories. A community leader, Mani’s voluntary efforts have extended into a wide range of service. Mani co-founded BIBI (Banous in Building Industry) to advocate for Iranian-American professional women, and she mentors for WIA (Women in Architecture). Her former roles include School Board of Trustee and Chair of Bond Oversight Committee, receiving ‘Citizen Architect’ award. With her sister Davar and brother Karim, they serve together as Board Members of the Institute for Traditional Psychoethics to advance their late mother’s work.
Davar Ardalan is a journalist and tech entrepreneur focused on data equity, artificial intelligence and cultural storytelling. Davar is also the Founder of IVOW AI and National Geographic's executive producer of audio, where she oversees the award winning podcast series, "Overheard at National Geographic,” as well as other narrative storytelling podcasts in production. Prior to this, she was deputy director of the Presidential Innovation Fellowship Program in Washington D.C. and before that a veteran journalist at NPR News for two decades. In May 2014, Davar was the recipient of a United States Ellis Island Medal of Honor, for individual achievement and for promoting cultural unity. In early 2021, Ardalan and her siblings Karim Ardalan and Mani Ardalan Farhadi came together to preserve the wisdom and work of their late mother, Islamic scholar, Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar into 21-century voice technologies. Through Dr. Bakhtiar's non-profit, the Institute of Traditional Psychoethics and Guidance, they are preserving their mother's scholarship for the ages.
"For 14 centuries the translation and interpretation of the Quran has been the sole purview of men. Only men have been empowered to define the meaning and message of the Quran, and it is no coincidence that their interpretation has often been misogynist or worse. Laleh Bakhtiar's incredible achievement has changed all that. For the first time a woman has been able to reengage the scripture from a different point of view, thus producing a gender neutral translation that is far more consistent with the message and spirit of the Quran than any previous translation. "