Scholars in solidarity with Ismail Alexandrani
Ismail Alexandrani was detained by Egyptian authorities on November 30th as he was coming back to his country to visit his sick mother. Alexandrani is one of Egypt’s brightest young researchers, who has spent the last few years doing ground-breaking work on the marginalized areas of Egypt – a blind spot in academic studies of the country – as well as on political Islam. His articles have featured in numerous publications and have been presented in international academic conferences, and they have earned him awards and fellowships. In his work, he has constantly demonstrated a genuine intellectual independence. He is a well respected member of the academic community, and someone we personally enjoyed working with. Alexandrani’s arrest is a repression of free speech and should be condemned. We hope that he will be released promptly and return to his friends and to the research community.
First signatures
Francois Burgat, Research Director, CNRS (Centre National pour la Recherche Scientifique). Vincent Geisser, Research Director, CNRS. Alain Gresh, Le Monde Diplomatique. Miriam Catusse, Director of Contemporary Studies, IFPO (Institut Français du Proche–Orient). Claire Beaugrand, Researcher, IFPO. Nicolas Dot-Pouillard, Researcher, IFPO. Laurent Bonnefoy, Researcher, CERI/Sciences Po. Matthieu Rey, Researcher, College de France. Stéphane Lacroix, Associate Professor, Sciences Po. Mounia Bennani-Chraïbi, Professor, Lausanne University.
Ellen Lust, Professsor, Yale and Gottenberg. Gibert Achcar, SOAS. John Chalcraft, LSE. Asef Bayat, University of Illinois
Khaled Fahmy Professor, AUC. Rabab al Mahdi, Professor, AUC.