Mona Abaza

Mona Abaza is a Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology, and Egyptology at the American University in Cairo.

Abaza received her B.A in Political Science from the American University in Cairo, Egypt (1982), her M.A in Sociology from the University of Durham, UK (1986) and her Ph.D from the University of Bielefeld (1990). She is currently a visiting Professor of Islamology in the Department of Theology at Lund University. Abaza is the former Chair of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, Egyptology and Psychology at the American University in Cairo (2007-2009). Previously, she has been a visiting scholar in Singapore at the Institute for South East Asian Studies (ISEAS 1990-1992), Kuala Lumpur 1995-96, Paris (EHESS) 1994, Berlin (Fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg 1996-97), Leiden (IIAS, 2002-2003), Wassenaar (NIAS, 2006-2007) and Bellagio (Rockefeller Foundation 2005).

Research Interests:

Religious and cultural networks between the Middle East and Southeast Asia, the Hadhrami diaspora in Southeast Asia, and consumer culture and the art market in Egypt.

Recent Publications:

Twentieth Century Egyptian Art: The Private Collection of Sherwet Shafei, The American University Press, 2011.

The Changing Consumer Culture of Modern Egypt, Cairo’s Urban Reshaping, Brill/AUC Press, 2006.

Debates on Islam and Knowledge in Malaysia and Egypt, Shifting Worlds, Routledge Curzon Press, UK. 2002.

Islamic Education, Perceptions and Exchanges: Indonesian Students in Cairo, Cahier d'Archipel, 23. EHESS, Paris. 1994.

The Changing Image of Women in Rural Egypt, Cairo Papers in Social Science, The American University in Cairo, 1987.