September 2025

Study Group: “The Struggle for Democracy in the Arab World” with Youssef Chahed and Hisham Kassem (Senior Fellows, Middle East Initiative), September 30, 2025

September 30, 2025

The Middle East Initiative at the Harvard Kennedy School is currently accepting applications for a not-for-credit lecture series offered by two of our Senior Fellows this semester: Dr. Youssef Chahed, former PM of Tunisia, and Hisham Kassem, former Egyptian publisher. The Struggle for Democracy in the Arab World Dr. Youssef Chahed, former Prime Minister of …

October 2025

Talk: “The Taliban Courts in Afghanistan, Waging War by Law,” Adam Baczko, October 9, 2025 @ 4:30pm

October 9, 2025 @ 16:30 - 17:30

Date and Time: Thursday, October 9 at 4:30pm Location: The Bowie-Vernon Room (K262), The Center for Government and International Studies (CGIS) Knafel Building Speaker: Adam Baczko (Research Associate Professor, CNRS, SciencesPo) Talk Title: “The Taliban Courts in Afghanistan, Waging War by Law” Discussant: Thomas Barfield, Ph.D. (Professor of Anthropology, Boston University)

Islamic Law Speaker Series: Rami Koujah (Harvard Law School), The Invention of Islamic Legal Personhood: Artifact to Ontology, October 14, 2025 @12:30pm

October 14, 2025 @ 12:30 - 13:30

TUE 14 OCT 2025 | 12.30-1.30p US EST | Zoom Islamic Law Speaker Series: Rami Koujah (Harvard Law School) The Invention of Islamic Legal Personhood: Artifact to Ontology (Harvard University Press) Dr. Rami Koujah (Harvard Law School) will present “The Invention of Islamic Legal Personhood: From Artifact to Ontology,” a chapter from his forthcoming book, Islamic Legal …

Call for Submissions: Journal of Islamic Law, October 15, 2025

October 15, 2025

The Journal of Islamic Law welcomes scholarship in Islamic law for its main publication as well as its dynamic forum, which features scholarly responses, debates, and new developments in Islamic law scholarship or at the intersection of Islamic law and data science. We seek articles of up to 15,000 words for the Journal of Islamic …

Workshop: Middle East Beyond Borders—Prof. Houssem Chachia (University of Tunis), “The Conquest of Tunis (1535): Memory, Defeat, and Celebration Across Cultures,” October 20, 2025 @6:15pm

October 20, 2025 @ 18:15 - 19:30

Prof. Houssem Chachia (Visiting Professor, NELC) will join us to share a paper titled “The Conquest of Tunis (1535): Memory, Defeat, and Celebration Across Cultures” on October 20th. Professor Jessica Marglin (Visiting Professor, NELC) will respond. We will be meeting from 6:15-7:30pm in the Finnegan Room (Barker 403) and dinner will be provided. See event flyer …

November 2025

Workshop: Middle East Beyond Borders—Ozkan Karabulut (Harvard University), “Scripturalization of the Alevi Mystical Poetry,” November 3, 2025 @6:15pm

November 3, 2025 @ 18:15 - 19:30

Ozkan Karabulut (PhD Candidate, HMES) will join us to share a chapter titled “Scripturalization of the Alevi Mystical Poetry” on November 3rd. We will be meeting from 6:15-7:30pm in the Finnegan Room (Barker 403) and dinner will be provided. See event flyer for more info and to RSVP. The Middle East Beyond Borders (MEBB) workshop aims …

Islamic Law Speaker Series: Youssef Belal (United Nations), “Thinking the World with Islamic Knowledges,” November 11, 2025 @12:30pm

November 11, 2025 @ 12:30 - 13:30

TUE 11 NOV 2025 | 12.30-1.30p US EST | Zoom Islamic Law Speaker Series :: Youssef Belal (United Nations) “Thinking the World with Islamic Knowledges” Youssef Belal (United Nations) will present “Thinking the World with Islamic Knowledges” from his book titled The Life of Shari’a: A Comparative Anthropology of Law (University of California Press, 2025). Is there a way to think …

Workshop: Middle East Beyond Borders—Cem Turkoz (Harvard University), “Ottoman Natural Philosophy in Seventeenth-Century Context: The Evolution of the Canon,” November 17, 2025 @6:15pm

November 17, 2025 @ 18:15 - 19:30

Cem Turkoz (PhD Candidate, NELC) will join us to share a chapter titled “Ottoman Natural Philosophy in Seventeenth-Century Context: The Evolution of the Canon” on November 17th. Efe Balıkçıoğlu (Associate, …

February 2026

Workshop: Middle East Beyond Borders—Chris Rominger, “Sea Changes: Trans-Mediterranean Lives and Networks at the Turn of the 20th Century,” February 9, 2026 @ 6:15pm

February 9 @ 18:15 - 19:30

Dr. Chris Rominger (Social Studies), “Sea Changes: Trans-Mediterranean Lives and Networks at the Turn of the 20th Century.” Professor Adam Mestyan (NELC) will respond. We will be meeting from 6:15-7:30pm …

Workshop: Middle East Beyond Borders—Giovanni DiRusso, “The Textual Tradition of the Arabic Apocalypse of Peter: Variance and Adaptation in a Christian Arabic Apocalypse,” February 23, 2026 @ 7:15pm

February 23 @ 19:15 - 20:30

Giovanni DiRusso (CSR), “The Textual Tradition of the Arabic Apocalypse of Peter: Variance and Adaptation in a Christian Arabic Apocalypse.” Oana Capatina (CSR) will respond. We will be meeting from 7:15-8:30pm in the Finnegan Room (Barker 403) and dinner will be provided. See event flyer for more info and to RSVP. The Middle East Beyond …

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