Speakers for this event

• Wadah Khanfar

  Wadah Khanfar

  President of The Al Sharq Forum

  Wadah Khanfar is the President of the Al Sharq Forum and former Director General of the Al Jazeera Network. He is a board member of the International Crisis Group and Global Editors Network (GEN). Khanfar has been named as one of Foreign Policy’s Top 100 global thinkers of 2011 as well as one of Fast Company’s ‘Most Creative People in Business’ of the year.

  President of The Al Sharq Forum

• Galip Dalay

  Galip Dalay

  Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research

  Research director at Al Sharq Forum and senior associate fellow on Turkey and Kurdish Affairs at Al Jazeera Center for Studies. He previously worked as a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin and as a political researcher at SETA Foundation in Ankara. He is a regular contributor to German Marshall Fund of the United States’ on Turkey policy brief series, and a columnist for Middle East Eye.

  Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Stra...

• Jamal Khashoggi

  Jamal Khashoggi

  Saudi Arabian Dissident Journalist

  Jamal Khashoggi is a Saudi journalist, columnist, author, and general manager of the upcoming Al Arab News Channel. He previously served as a media aide to Prince Turki al Faisal while he was Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States. Khashoggi has written for various daily and weekly Arab newspapers, including Asharq al-Awsat, al-Majalla and al-Hayat, and was editor-in-chief of the Saudi-based al-Watan. He was a foreign correspondent in Afghanistan, Algeria, Kuwait, Sudan, and other Middle Eastern countries. He is also a political commentator for Saudi-based and international news channels.

  Saudi Arabian Dissident Journalist

• Basheer Nafi

  Basheer Nafi

  Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research

  Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Forum and Senior Research Fellow at Al Jazeera Centre for Studies. He writes weekly columns for Middle East eye. His research interests include Egypt, Iraq, Political Islam, and Middle Eastern Politics in general.

  Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Stra...

• Ali Laarayedh

  Ali Laarayedh

  Ali Laarayedh is the former Prime Minister of Tunisia, he served in the office of Prime Ministry from 2013 to 2014. Previosly, he was the Minister of Interior Affairs in Tunisia between 2011 and 2013.

• Cemil Aydin

  Cemil Aydin

  Professor of Middle Eastern History and Global History at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

  Cemil Aydin is a Professor of Middle Eastern History and Global History at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. His research and publications offer new ways to understand the historical roots of the contemporary world order by describing the process of imperial era conflicts and decolonization, especially from the perspective of non-Western actors of the Muslim world and East Asia. He studied at the Bogazici University, İstanbul University, and the University of Tokyo before receiving his Ph.D. in History and Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University in 2002. Cemil Aydin’s publications include his book on the Politics of Anti-Westernism in Asia (Columbia University Press, 2007), Regionen und Reiche in der politischen Geschichte des langen 19. Jahrhunderts (1750–1924)” (Region and Empire in the Political History of the Long 19th Century (1750–1924) in Geschichte Der Welt, 1750-1870: Wege Zur Modernen Welt (A History of the World, 1750-1870)“ (Beck Publishers, July 2016) pp: 35-253, and The Idea of the Muslim World: A Global Intellectual History (Harvard University Press, Forthcoming 2017 Spring)

  Professor of Middle Eastern History and ...

• David Hearst

  David Hearst

  Editor-in-Chief of the Middle East Eye

  David Hearst is the Editor-in-Chief of the Middle East Eye, an independent website based in London covering the Middle East in English and French. He writes a column for the Huffington Post’s “The World Post” section and appears as a commentator on the Middle East for Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera English, TRT, Alaraby TV, Russia Today, Masr Al-Aan TV. Prior to that, he was Chief Foreign Leader writer of The Guardian, Associate Foreign Editor, and Moscow Bureau Chief, European Correspondent, and Northern Ireland correspondent.

  Editor-in-Chief of the Middle East Eye

• Ezzeddine Abdelmoula

  Ezzeddine Abdelmoula

  Manager of Research at Al Jazeera Centre for Studies

  Ezzeddine Abdelmoula is the Manager of Research at Al Jazeera Centre for Studies, Abdelmoula holds a PhD in politics from Exeter University, a Masters of International politics from SOAS and a Masters of political philosophy from La Sorbonne, Paris. He edited and translated books and contributed research papers and book chapters including “Al-Jazeera & Televised Revolution” in Routledge Handbook of the Arab Spring (2014). His recent book, “Al Jazeera and Democratization: the Rise of Arab Public Sphere” appeared in 2015

  Manager of Research at Al Jazeera Centre...

• Khalil Al-Anani

  Khalil Al-Anani

  Associate Professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies in Qatar

  ​Dr. Khalil al-Anani is an Associate Professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies in Qatar. He previously taught at Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, George Mason University, and Durham University. His research focuses on Comparative Politics, Democratization, Religion and Politics, Islamist Movements, Social Movements, Egyptian Politics, Identity Politics, and Arab Politics.

  Associate Professor at the Doha Institut...

• Omar Ashour

  Omar Ashour

  Senior Lecturer in Security Studies at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies of University of Exeter

  Omar Ashour is a Senior Lecturer in Security Studies at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies of University of Exeter and an Associate Fellow at Chatham House in London. He is currently working on a book analysing the military tactics and strategies of IS in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Egypt. He specializes in asymmetric armed conflict, Islamist movements, insurgency/counterinsurgency, terrorism studies, and democratization. He is a regular contributor to media outlets including the BBC, Al-Jazeera, Sky News, CNN, al-Arabiya and others and his op-eds are frequently published in many media outlets in seven languages, in over 40 countries. He previously served as a senior consultant for the United Nations on security sector reform, counter-terrorism, and de- radicalization issues. He is the author of The DeRadicalization of Jihadists: Transforming Armed Islamist Movements.

  Senior Lecturer in Security Studies at t...

• Omer Aslan

  Omer Aslan

  Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research

  Omer Aslan is an Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Forum, and a researcher at the Institute for Security Sciences at the Turkish National Police Academy (TNPA). He previously worked at the political research department of the Ankara-based SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research. He received his B.A. degree in political science from Bilkent University. After finishing MSc in International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science, he entered the Ph.D. program in political science at Bilkent University in 2010. Ömer is now a Ph.D. candidate at the same university, currently working on his dissertation in the field of civil-military relations. Among his publications are “A Turkish Muslim Between Islamism and Turkish Nationalism: Seyyid Ahmet Arvasi (1932–88)”, and “‘Unarmed’ we Intervene, Unnoticed we Remain: The Deviant Case of ‘February 28th Coup’ in Turkey “. Research Interests: Military and Politics in the Muslim World, External Actors and Military Coup d’états, Police and Politics.

  Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic R...

• Mohammad Affan

  Mohammad Affan

  Training Director at Al-Sharq Forum

  Mohammad Affan is the Training Director at Al-Sharq Forum. A medical doctor by training, Affan obtained his MA degree in Political Science from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at the American University of Cairo (2015). He also holds three post-graduate diplomas: One in “Civil Society and Human Rights”, from the Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences at Cairo University (2010), another one in Political Research and Studies from the Institute of Arab Research and Studies at the Arab League (2012), and the third diploma in Islamic Studies from the Higher Institute for Islamic Studies in Cairo (2012). Among his publications is his book titled: “Wahhabism and the Brotherhood: the conflict on the concept of the state and the legitimacy of power.” Affan is currently pursuing his PhD in the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the Exeter Univesity in the UK. His research interests include, Islamism, State-Theory, and Comparative MENA Studies.

  Training Director at Al-Sharq Forum

• Ismail Yaylaci

  Ismail Yaylaci

  Assistant professor at Istanbul Sehir University

  Ismail Yaylaci is an assistant professor at Istanbul Sehir University in the department of political science and international relations. He received his PhD from University of Minnesota Social Sciences Institute Political Science in 2014. His research interests are: international relations theory, critical social and political theory, Islamism, and Middle Eastern politics.

  Assistant professor at Istanbul Sehir Un...

• Louay Safi

  Louay Safi

  Professor of political science

  Louay Safi is professor of Political Science and Islamic Philosophy at Hamad bin Khalifa University in Qatar and senior fellow at the Center for Muslim–Christian Understanding, Georgetown University. He is the co-founder and first chair of the Syrian American Council (2005-2011), and co-founder and former board member of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (1999-2007). He writes and lectures on issues relating to democracy, human rights, leadership, American Muslims, and Islam and the West.

  Professor of political science

• Tamer Badawi

  Tamer Badawi

  Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research

  Tamer Badawi is a Research Fellow at Al Sharq Forum. He received an M.A. in International Relations (with a major in International Political Economy) from Central European University in 2016 and a B.A. in Oriental Studies from Alexandria University in 2013. He is a regular contributor to Sada, an online publication managed by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He also contributes reports to the Doha-based Aljazeera Center for Studies. Research interests: The political economy of the Middle East, economic development in post-JCPOA Iran, and global energy market trends.

  Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic R...

• ZEYNEP KOÇ

  ZEYNEP KOÇ

  Research Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research

  Zeynep Coskun koç is a Research Fellow at Al Sharq Forum. Prior to joining Al Sharq, she was a Dr. Herchel Smith Fellow at the University of Cambridge conducting Economic and Anthropological research concerning the MENA region. Zeynep has an MPhil in Social Anthropology from the University of Cambridge and a B.A. from Williams College in Economics and Arabic Studies. Her research interests include Turkish Foreign Policy, Regional Kurdish Politics, Iraq, Energy Politics and Nationalism

  Research Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Re...

• Nabil Al Bukiri

  Nabil Al Bukiri

  Researcher and chairman of The Arabic Forum

  researcher and chairman of The Arabic Forum for Studies

  Researcher and chairman of The Arabic Fo...

• Abdulrahman Al Haj

  Abdulrahman Al Haj

  University professor&one founders of Syrian National Council (SNC).

  Abdulrahman Al Haj is a university professor. His research falls at the intersection of politics, religion and society. He published three books and many articles: "Rising of Shiites in Syria: 1919-2007", "State and Community: Aspirations of Religious groups in Syria: 2000-2010", "Political Discourse in the Qur'an: Power, Community and Values". Al-Haj is one of the founders of the Syrian National Council (SNC).

  University professor&one founders of Syr...

• Intissar Fakir

  Intissar Fakir

  fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for Int...

• Abdelwahab El-Affendi

  Abdelwahab El-Affendi

  Dean of the school of social Sciences and Humanities and professor of politics at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies

  dean of the school of social Sciences and Humanities and professor of politics at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies

  Dean of the school of social Sciences an...

• Seif al-Din Abdul Fattah

  Seif al-Din Abdul Fattah

  Professor of Islamic Sciences at Cairo University

  professor of Islamic Sciences at Cairo University

  Professor of Islamic Sciences at Cairo U...

• Abdulkader Tayob

  Abdulkader Tayob

  Professor of Islamic studies at the University of Cape Town

  Professor of Islamic studies at the Univ...

• Amgad Jerbil

  Amgad Jerbil

  Palestinian researcher in political science and international relations

  Palestinian researcher in political scie...

• Sam Heller

  Sam Heller

  Crisis Group senior analyst on non-state armed groups

  Crisis Group senior analyst on non-state...

• Bernard Rougier

  Bernard Rougier

  Director of the Centre d’Études et de Documentation Economiques

  Director of the Centre d’Études et de...

• Hussein El-Kazzaz

  Hussein El-Kazzaz

  Former senior leader in the Freedom and Justice Party

  Former senior leader in the Freedom and ...