Professor Gilles Kepel

Short Bio

Gilles Kepel, born in Paris in 1955, is a professor of sociology and one of the most profound experts on political Islam and radical Islamism. Kepel studied sociology, English and Arabic studies and earned two doctoral degrees in social and political science. In 1994 he was a visiting professor at New York University, and from 1995 to 1996 a visiting professor at Columbia University. Currently, Kepel is a professor at the Institut d'études politique de Paris, where he holds the chair for the Middle East and the Near East. He is also Visiting Professor of History and International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. For over three decades, Gilles Kepel has observed and explored the development of Muslim societies in the Middle East and Europe. He has published numerous books on religion and society, Islam and Europe, holy war and the radicalisation of Islam. His 2012 book "Les Banlieues de la République", based on a field study, shows the hopeless situation of young people in the banlieues of Paris, where the mass riots began in 2005. Gilles Kepel lives in Paris.