Arabistiek en Islamkunde / Arabic and Islamic Studies UGent

16/10/2026

How did premodern Muslim scholars navigate knowledge across disciplines long before "interdisciplinarity" became a buzzword?

During a recent visit to UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, Prof. Islam Dayeh delivered a lecture titled “Writing a History of Knowledge in the Islamic Tradition: Knowledge Across Disciplines.” Bringing together graduate students and scholars from diverse fields, the discussion explored the interconnected nature of knowledge production in the Islamic scholarly tradition and the ways in which disciplines such as law, medicine, philosophy and hadith informed one another.

Focusing on the figure of the polymath, Prof. Dayeh examined how premodern Muslim scholars cultivated expertise across multiple fields and mobilized this breadth of knowledge to address complex intellectual and societal questions. The lecture drew on insights from his ERC-funded project, KNOW: Polymathy and Interdisciplinarity in Premodern Islamic Epistemic Cultures, which investigates how scholars between 1200 and 1800 CE navigated, connected, and transformed different disciplines of knowledge.

The event sparked a lively discussion on Islamic intellectual history, the history of knowledge, and the continued relevance of interdisciplinary approaches in contemporary scholarship. It also opened conversations about future academic collaboration and exchange between Ghent University and UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta.

🔗 More information about the presentation: https://uin-suka.ac.id/en/show/berita/3273-1/tracing-the-interdisciplinary-threads-of-the-islamic-tradition-uin-sunan-kalijaga-hosts-prof-islam-dayeh

🔗 More information about the KNOW project: https://erc-know.ugent.be/en

Many thanks to UIN Sunan Kalijaga, the Graduate Student Family (KMP), and all participants for the engaging discussions and warm hospitality.

15/10/2026

We are proud to announce that our colleague Noa Jacobs-Latreche has published a new article examining friendship as a central dimension of urban everyday life. Drawing on ethnographic research in Cairo, the article combines friendship-based fieldwork and mental mapping to explore how relationships shape the ways people experience and move through the city. Introducing the concept of "landscapes of friendship," the study offers a new framework for understanding how friendships are lived, sustained, and navigated across the multiple and unequal spaces of large cities.

Read the full article here: https://articles.everydaylifejournal.uk/articles/research-articles/following-friends-finding-the-field/

15/10/2026

𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐡𝐃 𝐅𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

Are you planning a PhD in Arabic, Islamic, or Middle East Studies? CAIMES at Ghent University is inviting expressions of interest from outstanding candidates who wish to apply for an FWO PhD Fellowship.

We particularly welcome research proposals related to:
• Middle Eastern history, including Egypt, Palestine, historical Syria, and the Ottoman Empire
• Anthropology of the Middle East, with interests such as love, identity, gender, sexuality, materiality, and modernity
• Art history, visual studies, and material culture in Islamic contexts
• Languages, cultures, archives, manuscripts, epigraphy, historiography, and other source materials relevant to the region

We also welcome projects focusing on Islam in South Asia, Central Asia, and the Indian Ocean world.

Selected candidates will receive mentorship and support in developing a competitive FWO application for the 2027 fellowship call.

📅 Deadline for expressions of interest: 2 November 2026 (09:00 CET)

Applicants should submit:
-A project description (max. 3 pages)
-MA coursework transcript
-CV (max. 2 pages)
-Writing sample (max. 15 pages)

For full details on eligibility, application materials, and the submission procedure, visit:

Research Fellowships The Arabic, Islamic and Middle East Studies program and Ghent University support applications in a wide-range of fellowships to pursue research at doctoral and postdoctoral levels. We are especially keen to support early career researchers pursuing doctoral and postdoctoral rese...

12/10/2026

What can hair tell us about identity, religion, gender, and social belonging?

At the conference Global Histories of Hair, c. 1500–2026 at the University of Lucerne, Prof. Lisa Franke joined researchers examining how hair has shaped and reflected relations of power, distinction, and inequality across the globe from the early modern period to the present day.

Her ERC project HAIR contributes a fresh perspective to these discussions by placing Muslim women's hair, rather than the headscarf, at the centre of analysis. Through research in Egypt, Lebanon, and the UAE, the project explores how women navigate changing expectations surrounding beauty, religiosity, and identity in their everyday lives.

29/09/2026

What a great day at the BASICS Annual Meeting!

The programme featured panels spanning anthropology, history and culture, Islamic studies, and politics and society, with presentations exploring topics ranging from displacement and social reproduction, urban governance and diplomacy in the medieval Middle East, and the study of classical Arabic texts, to Muslim political participation and artistic activism.

Thank you to all speakers, organisers, discussants, and attendees for contributing to such a stimulating atmosphere.

Curious to learn more about the panels and presentations? You can find the full programme here: https://www.middleeast.ugent.be/en/second-conference-of-the-belgian-network-for-the-study-of-islam-culture-and-society-25-09-26/

See you next year!

26/09/2026

On 24 September, we welcomed Prof. Sherene Seikaly (University of California, Santa Barbara) to our department for her lecture, On Time in Palestine. Thank you to Prof. Seikaly and all those who attended for an engaging and inspiring evening of discussion.

To learn more about her work, we recommend her book Men of Capital: Scarcity and Economy in Mandate Palestine, while keeping an eye out for her forthcoming publication, From Baltimore to Beirut: On the Question of Palestine.

25/09/2026

We are delighted to congratulate our colleague Dr. Mina Ibrahim on receiving a prestigious ERC Starting Grant for the project "The Glocal Public Syrian Archives: Reclaiming Popular Media for Memory and Justice Before and After the Fall of Assad ( )."

The project will explore how popular media and cultural memories can contribute to archival, documentation, and justice efforts across Syria and its diasporas, bringing together digital, archival, and ethnographic approaches.

At CAIMES, we are incredibly proud to see this important and timely research receive such well-deserved recognition. We warmly congratulate Mina and look forward to following the project's development in the years ahead.

21/09/2026

This year Prof. Sara Mondini and Prof. Islam Dayeh be co-organising the CAIMES Middle East Studies Research Seminar.

The seminar brings together scholars working across disciplines and approaches to discuss ongoing research on the Middle East and the wider Islamic world.

Here are the first appointments for the first semester:

📅 8 October 2026
Christopher Markiewicz (UGent)
Foundations of the Ottoman State: Waqf and Political Economy, 16th–18th centuries

📅 19 November 2026
Muhammed Niyas Ashraf (UGent)
What is South Kerala Islam? Archives, Actors and Histories

📅 26 November 2026
Angela Isoldi (UGent)
Waqf Economy and Power Networks in Fifteenth Century Cairo: l’Affaire al-Safti

All lectures will take place in
📍 Room 5.50, Blandijnberg 2, Ghent
🕓 16:00–18:00

The seminar is open to everyone — no prior knowledge of the region or its languages is required.

More appointments for the second semester will follow soon, along with further details and information about the seminar.

Looking forward to a great year of discussions, research and exchange!

Spread the word and join us! 📚✨

21/09/2026

On September 18, we met for the workshop "Academic research and artistic creation in Arab contexts: Reflecting on
means of knowledge production in postcolonial settings," with Leyla Dakhli and Samuli Schielke. It included participants from the UGent and from the coorganising institutions, the KASK and the UAntwerpen, as well as from the Sint-Luca Art School, the ULiège and even the Ez-Zituna University in Tunisia. We had a great conversation. To be continued.!

Academic research and artistic creation in Arab contexts: Reflecting on means of knowledge production in postcolonial settings (18/09/26) Manal Mahamid, excerpt from the exhibition Ana men hona, 2012 Academic research and artistic creation in Arab contexts: Reflecting on means of knowledge productio...

20/09/2026

🎉CAIMES congratulates Dr. Ophélie Mercier, who successfully defended her PhD in Middle East Studies.

📜Dissertation Title: ‘Becoming a stranger’ : Ambivalent familiarities and political subjectivation of Egyptian artists in Berlin” follows Egyptian artists navigating mobility, estrangement (ghurba), and creative practice between Egypt and Berlin.

Dr. Mercier’s doctoral research was supervised by Prof. Dr. Aymon Kreil.

More info and full abstract: https://www.middleeast.ugent.be/en/ophelie-mercier-becoming-a-stranger-doctoral-public-defence-18-09-26/

Congratulations, Dr. Mercier!