Our courses September courses start soon, be sure to apply in time

We are delighted to announce that the funding of the Leiden University Centre for the Study of Islam and Society (LUCIS) will be continued from 2018 until 2020!

Pre-Islamic Arabia was barren, barbaric, and isolated. At least, that's what many Arabic writers and historics argued. Ahmad Al-Jallad debunks this myth. For this, he received the Gratama Science Prize during the opening of the academic year.

Dear friends of the NVIC,

The NVIC and al-Azhar University signed a protocol for cooperation on the 23rd of September 2018. The protocol formalizes cooperation between al-Azhar as the oldest Islamic university and the Dutch and Flemish universities in the scope of humanities and Islamic and Arabic studies. The NVIC will act…

Dear friends of the NVIC,

NVIC is pleased to welcome Christine Kamel as our new receptionist. Christine will briefly introduce herself: "My name is Christine Kamel. I live in Cairo, Egypt. I studied Pharmacy at an Egyptian University (Ain Shams), class 2010. I worked as a Research & Development Pharmacist in a Pharmaceutical…

Commenting live on the Italian TV RaiNews 24, Marina Calculli (LIAS) suggested to view the recent escalation between the United States and Iran as the result of domestic and regional constraints on both countries.

The Van Vollenhoven Institute for Law, Governance and Development and Benghazi Centre for Law and Society Studies, Benghazi University have released their final report, in English and Arabic, on Assessing Legislation for Libya’s Reconstruction.

Professor Petra Sijpesteijn has been elected as an International Fellow of the British Academy, a prestigious recognition that highlights her exceptional contributions to the study of early Islamic history.

We are delighted to welcome Elisabeth Faber as our new intern for the Fall semester 2022.

On 14 and 15 November, the LUCIS Annual Conference takes place in Leiden. Scholars from diverse backgrounds will come together to share their research on all branches of Shiʿi Islam.

From Amsterdam to Tokyo: on or around 26 November Cleveringa meetings will be taking place at more than 40 locations throughout the world. The meetings are organised by the Leiden University Fund (LUF) to commemorate the protest speech given by Professor Cleveringa and to foster relations with alumni…

Starting 1 January 2024, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran have officially joined the BRICS trade bloc, as confirmed by South Africa's Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor.

NASA is offering to buy lunar samples collected by companies for a token sum primarily to set a precedent for space resource rights on the moon. However, there is not international consensus on the U.S. position on the rights to extracted resources.

Leiden University is a centre of migration research, bringing together historians, economists, lawyers, political scientists and anthropologists. They conduct research on who migrates and why, and the impact on societies. They analyse government policy, the role of media and how societies respond to…

Leiden Asia Departments

The Leiden Political Economy Group (L-PEG) is a multi-disciplinary network of scholars with a research interest in (comparative / global) political economy based at Leiden University. Our members belong to various institutes and faculties across Leiden University, and from other universities across…

Greek papyrology is the science that is concerned with deciphering and studying all texts written in Greek on papyrus. Papyrus was the writing material of antiquity and was made from strips of the papyrus plant stuck together.

Conference, Workshop

After the advent of Islam in the 7th century C.E., the strategic geographical position of Tarsus (its proximity to the sea and to the mountain pass leading to inland Anatolia) made this town the de facto capital of the thughur, a historical and geographical term created by Muslim geographers qualifying…

On this page you will find more information about the selected projects of the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Fund for 2023.

Issues such as climate change, the depletion of natural resources or social inequality are too complex to be addressed from a single scientific discipline or by a single country. Leiden University has the expertise to bring the resolution of these enormous problems a small step closer.

With ongoing protests across Iran, many are asking whether the regime is on the brink of collapse. Three Leiden experts share their perspectives.

During this programme you will acquire in-depth knowledge of one of eight world regions by studying its politics, economy, history and culture, and a local language. You will gain the ability to place regional developments in a global context, providing a strong preparation for the labour market in…

Lecture, Leiden Yemeni Studies Lecture Series

Steven Verburg wins the 2022 Hugo Weiland Prize for best thesis in Central European Studies; Caroline Schep and Anneke Romijnders awarded “Honorable Mentions” for their thesis work.

Several of the most important manuscript collections in the Leiden University Libraries (UBL) Special Collections, comprising 443 extremely rare and often unique volumes, have been made available in Open Access via Digital Collections. The available manuscript collections include the private collections…

Dr. Bakhtiyar Babadjanov is the first Erasmus Fellow within the Erasmus Mobility Plus Project between Leiden University and the Tashkent State Institute of Oriental Studies, in particular the Al-Biruni Centre of Oriental Manuscripts. The two-year project (2016-2018) envisages exchange of teaching staff…

From October 1-3, 2017, the 24th Annual International Law and Religion Symposium was held at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, USA. The Symposium was attended by 100 participants, from 50 different countries, while interpretation at the venue was available in 11 languages (Arabic, French, Italian,…

Starting in September 2017, two new English-taught bachelor’s programmes will be offered by Leiden University’s Faculty of Humanities: Arts, Media and Society and Philosophy: Global and Comparative Perspectives. People looking to get a taste of the programmes can partake in the ‘online experience’:…

With the What's Next? series we hope to inspire current Media Technology MSc students, show the variety of paths taken after the studies, and bring together alumni. Editions of the series are generally organized around a particular theme by Media Technology MSc students themselves, and followed by social…

Dear friends of the institute,

Over 200 people paid their first visit to the new Middle Eastern Library on a special open evening. As well as exploring the library, they got to see exhibitions, speed lectures and premieres about Leiden University’s Middle Eastern collections.

On 19 April, several mosque organisations criticized the way in which the Dutch intelligence service wrote the annual report about increasing 'anti-democratic' tendencies in after-school lessons in Islam and Arabic. Constant Hijzen, assistant professor of Intelligence Studies at the Institute of Security…

Leiden University won three prizes at the International Criminal Court (ICC) Moot Court Competition – English edition. The final round was held on 27 June 2022 in Courtroom I of the ICC in The Hague (the Netherlands). Due to current COVID-19 related restrictions, it was a hybrid hearing with judges…

Katharina Natter of the Institute of Political Science has been awarded the 2025 IMR Book Review Award for her book on migration politics in Morocco and Tunisia.