Leadership team
Professor of the Islamic Mediterranean, Head of Department
Professor of the History of the Mediterranean Islamicate World, Director of Business Engagement and Innovation
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Professor Maziyar Ghiabi
I am Associate Professor of Social Sciences; and the current Director for the Centre of Persian And Iranian Studies (CPIS) at the IAIS.
Email: M.Ghiabi@exeter.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Middle East Studies, Director of Education
Dr Allan Hassaniyan
Allan Hassaniyan is a senior lecturer in Middle East Studies at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies (IAIS) at the University of Exeter. Hassaniyan joined the University of Exeter in 2016 as a PhD student. In 2019-2020, Hassaniyan was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Kurdish Studies at the University of Exeter, and since 2020, he has been a lecturer in Middle East studies.
Email: A.Hassaniyan@exeter.ac.uk
Director of Impact, Imam Sajjad Chair in Shii Studies and Senior Lecturer
Dr Kumail Rajani
Kumail Rajani is the Imam Sajjad Chair in Shii Studies and Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter. Although his primary research focuses on the origins and development of hadith corpora, his interests extend to Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic law and legal theory, South Asian studies, Ismaili studies, and Shi‘i studies more broadly.
Email: K.Rajani@exeter.ac.uk
Director of Global Engagement
Dr Sabiha Allouche , Director of Student Experience
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Dr Sabiha Allouche
While being primarily situated within feminist and queer studies, my work engages with and speaks to critical security studies, migration and refugee studies, and the literature on desire and social mobility. I am particularly interested in the racialized, sexed and gendered logics that affect how we move through the world. I am dedicated to producing decolonized knowledge – a belief that I hold dearly and strive to implement in my teaching and research.
Email: S.Allouche@exeter.ac.uk
Dr Marc Valeri, PGT Coordinator
Dr Marc Valeri
Marc Valeri is Associate Professor in Political Economy of the Middle East. He holds a Master's Degree in Comparative Politics and a PhD in political science (2005) from Sciences Po Paris (France). The Director of Exeter's Centre for Gulf Studies for 11 years (2012-2023), his main areas of interest are the social, political and economic transformations in the Gulf monarchies.
Email: M.Valeri@exeter.ac.uk
Director of Research, Al Qasimi Professor in Islamic Studies
Professor Nahyan Fancy
Nahyan Fancy is the al-Qasimi Professor in Islamic Studies. His main area of research is science and medicine in pre-1500 Islamic societies, and their intersection with philosophy and religion.
Email: N.Fancy2@exeter.ac.uk
Senior Tutor (UG), Senior Lecturer in Arabic Studies
Abla Oudeh
Abla Oudeh Mahmoud is a senior lecture in Arabic studies, and Head of Languages at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, university of Exeter. Her primary responsibilities involve leading the langugae team, teaching advanced Arabic language, translation skills& techniques, developing teaching material and organizing activities for Maqam for Arabic Studies.
Email: A.Oudeh@exeter.ac.uk
