In recent years, researchers at the Institute Middle East and Muslim Societies (MOMuG) have established a number of distinct research foci, within which a wide range of research activities are being pursued. These research priorities are defined by a range of collaborative and individual projects; they encompass both independent and supervised research projects including dissertations and habilitation theses.
Starting from the pre-modern era, the historical scope of the projects carried out at the Institute extends right up to the present day. The regional focus is on the countries of the Middle East and North Africa, with particular emphasis on Egypt, the eastern Mediterranean region (including Turkey), the Gulf region and Iran. In all research areas, special attention is paid to working with original-language written and audiovisual sources in Arabic, Turkish and Persian.
In terms of content, researchers at MOMuG examine Islamic and Middle Eastern law in theory and practice, the history of slavery and labour, gender and sexuality in Islamic discourses, colonial and post-colonial history and theory, Middle Eastern philosophy, the history of social and state power, politics and the media in the region as well as the history of education.
