Academic Advisors
Jere Bacharach
Emeritus Professor at the Department of History, University of Washington
Doris Behrens-Abouseif
Emeritus Professor at the Department of History of Art and Archaeology, SOAS, University of London
Diana Bozhilova
Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, New College of the Humanities
Marilyn Booth
Professor and Director of Research, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford
Rasheed El Enany
Emeritus Professor at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter
Khaled Fahmy
Professor of History, The American University in Cairo
Narguess Farzad
Senior Fellow in Persian Studies, SOAS, University of London
Leila Fawaz
Professor of Lebanese and Eastern Mediterranean Studies, Tufts University
Anthony Grayling
Philosopher and Author, Master of the New College of the Humanities, and a Supernumerary Fellow of St Anne’s College, Oxford
Nidhal Guessoum
Professor of Physics and Astronomy, American University of Sharjah
Carole Hillenbrand
Honorary Fellow, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, University of Edinburgh
Robert Hillenbrand
Honorary Fellow, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, University of Edinburgh
Salima Ikram
Distinguished University Professor of Egyptology, The American University in Cairo
Fatima El Issawi
Senior Lecturer in Journalism, Open Seminar Coordinator, University of Essex
Hugh N. Kennedy
Professor of Arabic History, SOAS, University of London
Trevor Marchand
Emeritus Professor, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, SOAS, University of London
Samia Mehrez
Professor and Director of Center for Translation Studies, The American University in Cairo
Mona Siddiqui
Professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies, University of Edinburgh
Eugene Rogan
Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History and Director of St Antony’s College Middle East Centre, University of Oxford
James Walters
Director of the LSE Faith Centre, Chaplain and Senior Lecturer in Practice, London School of Economics
Series Editors
Melanie Gibson
Art History
Melanie Gibson is Senior Editor of the Gingko Library Arts Series. After studying for a B.A. in Arabic at St. Anne’s College Oxford, she received her M.A. and Ph.D. from SOAS, University of London. Since 2005 she has lectured regularly at SOAS, the Courtauld Institute of Art and other academic institutions. Her publications focus on sculpture, ceramics and glass produced around the Islamic world.
Ali Ansari
Contemporary History and Politics
Ali Ansari is Professor of Iranian History at the University of St Andrews and the founding director of the university’s Institute for Iranian Studies. He is the author of numerous books including Confronting Iran: The Failure of American Foreign Policy and the Roots of Mistrust. He is the former Chair of the British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS) and an Associate Fellow at Chatham House.
Charles Melville
Persian Studies (in collaboration with British Institute of Persian Studies)
Charles Melville is Professor of Persian History at the University of Cambridge. He is a long-serving member of the Governing Council of British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS) and series editor for BIPS the series published by Gingko. Since 1999, he has been Director of the Shahnama Project, and since 2006 he has been President of The Islamic Manuscript Association (TIMA), both based in Cambridge.
Alison Ohta
Ottoman Studies (in collaboration with the Royal Asiatic Society’s Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt Series)
Dr Ohta is Director of the Royal Asiatic Society. She completed her thesis at SOAS, University of London, on Mamluk bindings, and has published and lectured extensively on the subject. She is the editor of the recent publication: Art, Trade and Culture in the Islamic World and Beyond.
Strategic Advisors
Asfa-Wossen Asserate
Dr Asfa-Wossen Asserate is an Ethiopian-German political analyst, a consultant for African and Middle-Eastern Affairs and best-selling author.
Abbas Hilmi
Prince Abbas Hilmi is an Egyptian and Imperial Ottoman prince and financial manager.
Tarek Osman
Tarek Osman is an author, essayist, and broadcaster focused on the Arab and Islamic worlds.
David Owen
Lord Owen was British Foreign Secretary from 1977 to 1979 and sits in the House of Lords as an independent social democrat.
Omar al-Qattan
Omar al-Qattan is a Palestinian Kuwaiti-British film director and producer. He established the Mosaic Rooms in London, a cultural space focused on the Arab World.
Bill Swainson
Bill Swainson is a publisher and editor with over forty year’s experience in independant and mainstream publishing, editing a wide range of writers.
Hassan bin Talal
HRH Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan is the founder and chairman of the West Asia-North Africa (WANA) Institute, a non-profit policy think tank based in Amman, Jordan.