What are the origins of the Islamic Empire? And what was daily life like there? Two new Ted Ed animations answer these questions in simple language. Arabists Petra Sijpesteijn and Birte Kristiansen explain what the process of developing the videos was like.

Edmund Hayes gained his doctorate with honors from the department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago. He works on early Islamic history, in particular Shiʿi history, focusing on the intersection of intellectual developments and social and political dynamics. He…

From the very beginning, the Islam has known an oral tradition. It was only two hundred years ago that Muslims starting writing about the history of Islam, on rocks or other hard materials. Arabic epigraphy (study of inscriptions) turns out to be an essential tool in historical genealogy research. Abdullah…

‘Islam and Muslims are not something that happened to Europe; they are part of Europe. In fact, Islam is one the biggest constants in European history,’ argues Professor Maurits Berger in the new eight-part History of Islam in Europe podcast series of the Leiden University Faculty of Humanities.

My research revolves around philosophy, intellectual history and Islamic studies, and broad subjects surrounding the humanities i.e., philosophy of religions and worldviews, religious studies, hermeneutics, and ethics.

Maurits Berger's new English-language podcast, Matters of Humanities: History of Islam in Europe covers no fewer than thirteen centuries of history. In eight episodes, professor of Islam and the West Maurits Berger argues that the Islam and Muslims are an important part of European history: ‘That was…

I am interested in the decoloniality of Islamic studies, particularly in thinking through epistemic diversity in the study of Islam and Muslims in Europe. To that end, I am currently taking the Islamic idea of beauty (jamal) as starting point to reconceptualize Muslim subjectivity, studying how Muslims…

When discussing the history of Islam, the focus is almost always on the history of the Sunni majority. University Lecturer in the history of Islam, Edmund Hayes wants this to change. His new ERC-funded project , focuses on the development of the early Shia community.

Symposium

In the coming years, Asghar Seyed Gohrab receives an advanced European Research Council grant of two and a half million euros to spend on his research into non-conformism in Islam. ‘Hopefully I can use this to contribute something to society, to pass something on to future generations.’

In Indonesia, some Muslim preachers are TV stars with massive followings. Syahril Siddik studied how they operate and how their viewers react. On 9 November, he successfully defended his dissertation in Islamic Studies.

After the death of the Prophet Muhammad, the Islamic Empire expanded at a tremendous pace. Within a hundred years, it stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian subcontinent. How did such a rapidly conquered territory become one empire? Professor Petra Sijpesteijn has been awarded a Vici grant…

Conference

Islamic banking, freedom of religion, LGBTQ+ acceptance and education are topics that European Muslims find important for their future. These are the results of a survey by Professor of Islam and the West, Maurits Berger. The survey is the starting point of a citizen project in which Berger wants to…

It matters a lot whether a fatwa is given by a female or male Islamic scholar, discovered doctoral student Nor Ismah.

Marlou Schrover is Professor Emeritus of Economic and Social History.

Prof.dr. Maurits S. Berger, LLM (1964) is a lawyer and Arabist. He is professor of Islam and the West and holds the Sultan of Oman Chair for Oriental Studies at Leiden University, and is a senior research associate with the Clingendael Institute for International Relations in The Hague. He has worked…

The opening of Islamic primary schools has made an important contribution to the emancipation and integration of Muslims in the Netherlands. This is the conclusion of PhD candidate Bahaeddin Budak in his research into 25 years (1988-2013) of Islamic primary schools in the Netherlands. PhD defence on…

Marlisa den Hartog is university lecturer at the Institute for History

Anita van Dissel is a Senior University Lecturer at the Institute for History.

Rens Tacoma is a university lecturer at the Institute for History.

Anahita Arian is an assistant professor at the Institute of Political Science.

Festival, Study trip Greek and Roman History 2026

Dennie Oude Nijhuis is University Lecturer at the Institute for History.

Eileen van der Burgh is a PhD candidate at the Institute for History.

Willem Otterspeer is Professor Emeritus of University History (chair from 2002 to 2016).

Luuk de Ligt is a professor at the Institute for History.

Louis Sicking lectures medieval and early modern history at the Leiden University Institute for History and is Aemilius Papinianus professor of History of Public International Law, at VU University Amsterdam.

Randal Sheppard is University Lecturer at the Institute for History.

Ben Schoenmaker was Professor by special appointment of Military History from 2012 to 2024, on behalf of the Netherlands Defence Academy.

Lecture