Asef Bayat New ISIM Academic Director

Asef Bayat joins the ISIM as Academic Director and the ISIM Chair at Leiden University from the American University in Cairo, Egypt, where he worked as professor of sociology and Middle East Studies. He brings to the ISIM and Leiden his vast experience in the study of contemporary Muslim societies from sociohistorical and political perspectives, with social movements and social change as his central focus. Bayat's own life trajectories, educational background, professional experience, research interests, and international connections complement the scholarly areas, approach, and objectives that the ISIM pursues