Mbaye Lo, Professor of the Practice of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and Director of the Duke Islamic Studies Center and Director of the Duke University Middle East Studies Center

Mbaye Lo is a political ethicist and Professor of the Practice of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and International Comparative Studies at Duke University. His scholarship examines the intersection of intellectual and social discourses in Arabic/Islamic and African cultures, with a particular focus on how institutional, political, and religious structures shape human agency and civil society. He is the author and editor of numerous books in English and Arabic, and his research has appeared widely in popular and peer-reviewed journals addressing political Islam, theories of civil society and governance, and West African Arabic literary traditions.

He holds a PhD from the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University, an MA in American History, and advanced degrees in classical Arabic language and literature from the International University of Africa and the Khartoum International Institute for Arabic Language. His academic contributions have earned national recognition, including fellowships from the National Humanities Center and the ACLS/Luce Program in Religion, Journalism & International Affairs. His co-authored book on Omar ibn Said won the American Academy of Religion Book Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion (Textual Studies). At Duke, his work has also been recognized through a Bass Connections fellowship, the Duke University Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award and DukeEngage Distinguished Program Director Award.

Contact Info:

Office Location:	2204 Erwin Road Room 231, Box 90414, Durham, NC 27708
Email Address:
Web Page:	https://sites.duke.edu/researchafrica/files/2021/01/CV-Mbaye-Lo-2020.pdf

Teaching (Fall 2026):

• AMES 190FS.01, AMES SPEC TOPICS-FOCUS PROGRAM Synopsis

  Class Bldg 229, TuTh 01:25 PM-02:40 PM

• AMES 220S.01, FROM AL-QAEDA TO BOKO HARAM Synopsis

  Perkins 087, F 01:40 PM-04:10 PM

  (also cross-listed as ICS 270S.01, PUBPOL 226S.01)

Office Hours:

Monday & Wednesday 2-5 pm

Education:

Ph.D.	Cleveland State University	2006
M.A.	Cleveland State University	1999
MA/ Arabic	Khartoum International Institute for Arabic Language.	1995
ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview tester
Full certification in Arabic
ABD	International University of Africa, Khartoum
MA/ History	Cleveland State University
BA/ Arabic Lang. & Literature	International University of Africa, Khartoum

Specialties:

Arabic

Research Interests:

Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), oral proficiency-based language teaching and testing. Areas of research include the sociology of Islam, Islamic militancy & theories of civil society, the development of Arabic language and culture in Africa.

Areas of Interest:

the sociology of Islam, Islamic militancy & theories of civil society, the development of Arabic language

Keywords:

Authority • Cyberspace • Islam • Middle East

Recent Publications   (More Publications)   (search)

1. Lo, M, Remembering Suḥaym: The Tragic Fate of Arabia's First African-Born Poet, Research Africa Reviews, vol. 9 no. 1 (April, 2025), pp. 1-18, Research Africa Reviews  [abs]
2. Kamara, M; Lo, M; Robinson, D, Sheikh Moussa Kamara’s Islamic Critique of Jihadists (January, 2023), pp. 1-141, ISBN 9781666933864  [abs]
3. Lo, M; Ernst, CW, I Cannot Write My Life Islam, Arabic, and Slavery in Omar Ibn Said's America (2023), ISBN 9781469674674  [abs]
4. Black Africans in Arabic Sources: A Critical Assessment of Method and Rhetoric, in The Palgrave Handbook of Islam in Africa (September, 2020), Springer Nature, ISBN 9783030457594  [abs]
5. Lo, M; Ernst, CW, The 1850’s Photographic Portrait of Omar Ibn Said: The Eloquence of Resilience, Muslim World, vol. 110 no. 3 (July, 2020), pp. 428-450 [doi]