Dr. Omar Anchassi

Research Associate (SNSF project TraSIS)

Fachbereich Mittlerer Osten und muslimische Gesellschaften

E-Mail
omar.anchassi@unibe.ch
Office
S 126
Postal Address
University of Bern
Department of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies SACS
Lerchenweg 36
3012 Bern
Consultation Hour
By appointment.

Academic Career

  • Dec. 2022–present: Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Bern on the SSC-funded Trajectories of Slavery in Islamicate Societies (TraSIS) project

  • Mar. 2022–Nov. 2022: Postdoctoral Research Officer at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies (KFCRIS) in Riyadh

  • Sept. 2021–Feb. 2022: Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Exeter on the ERC-funded Law, Authority and Learning in Imāmī Shīʿī Islam (LAWALISI) project

  • Sept. 2018–Aug. 2021: Early Career Fellow in Islamic Studies, University of Edinburgh

  • Oct. 2016–Aug. 2018: Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Exeter on the HERA-funded Understanding Sharīʿa: Past Perfect, Imperfect Present (USPPIP) project

Education

  • 2016: PhD in History, University of London

  • 2012: MA Intellectual History, University of London

  • 2010: BA English Literature and History (joint honours), University of London

Service

  • 2018–2025: Member of the Award Committee of the BRAIS Prize in Islamic Studies

  • 2018–2021: Treasurer of the British Association for Islamic Studies (BRAIS)

Current research

Dr Omar Anchassi is an Islamicist with wide-ranging interests in premodern and modern Islamic intellectual history, including but not limited to the history of science (especially astronomy), Islamic law, theology, and Qurʾānic studies. He is part of the SNSF-financed research project TraSIS (PI Prof. Dr Serena Tolino, 2022–2026). 

His contribution to TraSIS focuses on the historical development of the legal categories of the umm al-walad, mukātaba and kafāla in non-Sunnī juristic thought. In addition to his research for TraSIS, Omar has recently (Jan. 2026) submitted a habilitation thesis exploring Muslim debates on the structure and configuration of the cosmos in the longue durée.

Research interest

  • Islamic law and legal theory

  • History of science (particularly astronomy)

  • Islamic theology

  • Qurʾānic Studies (particularly tafsīr)

Publications

Click here to view the publications of Omar Anchassi.