Alwaleed Islamic Studies Program at Harvard University

05/26/2026

Eid Mubarak from the Alwaleed Program!

05/21/2026

The Alwaleed Bin Talal Undergraduate Thesis Prize in Islamic Studies recognizes Harvard College students who make original contributions to current scholarly discourse on Islam and Muslim societies, past and present.

After reviewing many excellent submissions, the Selection Committee has chosen Eva Frazier (Social Studies and EMR) as the winner of the 2026 Alwaleed Bin Talal Undergraduate Thesis Prize in Islamic Studies for her thesis, “Pacification and its Afterlives: Algeria in American Global War on Terror Doctrine.” In her ambitious and meticulously researched thesis, Eva draws on French and American archives, showing how U.S. officials adapted and expanded French counterinsurgency strategies from Algeria, especially through legal and medical institutions that rationalize neocolonial violence. Eva does excellent archival research and demonstrates a sophisticated grasp of theory and history.

The Committee also selected two honorable mentions, Dalal Hassane (History & Literature and NELC) for her thesis, “From Baghdad to Slemani: The Poetics of Rememory in The Co**se Washer and The Last Pomegranate Tree” and Kawsar Yasin (Anthropology and History) for her thesis, “Shelving East Turkistan: Gendered Archives of Resistance, Exile, and Possibility in Uyghur Istanbul.” Dalal’s thesis offers a nuanced comparative reading of a Kurdish and an Arabic novel and their treatment of the embodied experiences of dictatorship, war, and occupation in Iraq and Kurdistan. Kawsar conducts the first ethnographic study of Uyghur women in Istanbul and their role in constructing nationalist memory, narrating the history of the diaspora, creating archives of the past, translating key texts, and building religious institutions as acts of resistance and resilience.

Congratulations to Eva, Kawsar, Dalal, and all students who produced excellent Islamic studies research!

05/20/2026

We were honored to continue our series on Jewish-Muslim Interrelations with the Center for Jewish Studies () and to host Professor Jessica Marglin for her talk, “Power and Vulnerability in Middle Eastern and North African Jewish History.” Thank you to all who participated asked great questions! The recording is available on Vimeo (link in bio).

05/04/2026

In February 2026, David Roxburgh, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Professor of Islamic Art History and former Alwaleed Program interim director, was recognized as the top international scholar for outstanding achievements in the Humanities at the 16th Farabi International Award Festival. The award is given by the Iranian Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology in Tehran, Iran, for contributions in the Humanities and in Islamic Studies in both national and international sections. Recipients of the Farabi Award become members of Iran’s National Elites Foundation.

Congratulations, Professor Roxburgh!

05/01/2026

Thank you to all who participated in our Spring 2026 seminar!

Recordings of all spring talks are or will be available on Vimeo (link in bio).

04/30/2026

Thank you to all who attended the Fall 2025 Alwaleed Bin Talal Seminar in Islamic Studies!

Recordings of Professor Houssem Chachia’s and Professor Sebastian Günther’s talks are available on our Vimeo channel (link in bio).

04/29/2026

Adam Mestyan is a historian of the modern Middle East and the Ford Foundation Professor of Middle Eastern Studies in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard. His research and teaching focus on how globalization and war have shaped Arab societies and cultures—especially Egypt, Syria, and the Red Sea region—from the late Ottoman Empire to today. He is the author of Modern Arab Kingship - Remaking the Ottoman Political Order in the Interwar Middle East (Princeton, 2023); Primordial History, Print Capitalism, and Egyptology in Nineteenth-Century Cairo (Ifao, 2021); and Arab Patriotism: The Ideology and Culture of Power in Late Ottoman Egypt (Princeton, 2017).

The Guggenheim Foundation, established in 1925, offers Fellowships to exceptional individuals in pursuit of scholarship and the arts under the freest possible conditions.

Congratulations, Professor Mestyan!

04/28/2026

Professor Khaled El-Rouayheb was one of eight scholars from Harvard elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Professor El-Rouayheb is James Richard Jewett Professor of Arabic and Islamic Intellectual History in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Harvard College Professor, Affiliate of the Department of Philosophy, and Director of the Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Program.

Founded in 1780 by John Adams, John Hancock, and other scholar‑patriots and with early members that included George Washington, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences is both an honorary society and an independent research center. It honors excellence by electing members who discover, advance, and apply knowledge, and convenes leaders from every field to address pressing national and global issues. Through cross-disciplinary collaborations, members and other experts conduct reflective, independent, and pragmatic studies that inform public policy and serve the public good, fulfilling the Academy’s mission “to cultivate every art and science” that advances the interest and happiness of the people.

Congratulations, Professor El-Rouayheb!

03/02/2026

Congratulations to Professor Malika Zeghal, whose book was a finalist for the American Academy of Religion Award for the Study of Religion: Historical Studies!

09/02/2025

Dr. Armaan Siddiqi is the winner of the 2024 Alwaleed Bin Talal Dissertation Prize in Islamic Studies for her dissertation, “Portrait of a Moroccan ʿālim: Shaykh Muḥammad b. Jaʿfar al-Kattānī’s Life, Works, and World (1858 - 1927).” In this episode, Armaan talks about her research on al-Kattani, a traditionally-trained Moroccan Muslim scholar who came from a prominent family of scholars, Sufis, and descendants of the Prophet Muhammad. While scholarship on Islam in the late 19th and early 20th centuries has focused on the Muslim reformers and the Middle East, Armaan’s dissertation sheds light on the thought of a conservative scholar from the Maghrib, the “frontier” lands of Islam. Through an exploration of al-Kattani’s works including a hagiography, advice to the sultan, fatwa, travelogue, and theological tract, Armaan shows how a traditional Moroccan scholar navigates religion and politics on the eve of French colonization while remaining faithful to existing traditions and structures of authority.

08/21/2025

We’re excited to release our latest podcast episode with Dr. Armaan Siddiqi, “Portrait of a Moroccan ʿālim: Shaykh Muḥammad b. Jaʿfar al-Kattānī’s Life, Works, and World”!

Dr. Armaan Siddiqi is the winner of the 2024 Alwaleed Bin Talal Dissertation Prize in Islamic Studies for her dissertation, "Portrait of a Moroccan ʿālim: Shaykh Muḥammad b. Jaʿfar al-Kattānī’s Life, Works, and World (1858 - 1927)." In this episode, Armaan talks about her research on al-Kat...