On a bright Spring day, academics, students and policy makers gathered at the beautiful Clingendael Institute in the Hague for a study day on “The Political Relevance of Islamism in the Contemporary Middle East”. Once there, we were welcomed by Matteo Colombo, a research fellow at the Clingendael Institute, and Joas Wagemakers, academic director of…

Summer School 2025 Philology and Manuscripts from the Muslim World Date: 18 August – 29 August 2025 Costs: €600 Level: The course is meant for graduate students (MA and PhD) and researchers. Language: English. Non-native speakers are required to have a command of English equivalent to at least TOEFL 550. Scholarships: There are two scholarships to cover the tuition…

Gender norms in Muslim contexts are often associated with polygyny, repudiation and child marriage. In fact, since the negative stereotyping of Islam and Muslims intensified following 9/11, gender has consistently played a crucial role in the narratives about Islam and Muslims, with discourses of ‘repressed women’, ‘violent men’, and ‘generalised homophobia’ (Bracke & Hernandez Aguilar…