Born and raised in Morocco, I was trained as a social anthropologist at École normale supérieure de Paris and the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS). I also defended my PhD at the latter (2021). I am currently a Chargé de recherches F.R.S-FNRS at Université libre de Bruxelles. Before that, I have been a postdoctoral researcher at KU Leuven's Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology (2021-2024). I was also a few years ago a visiting researcher at UC Berkeley's Department of Anthropology (2019).

My work revolves around the themes of collective consciousness, salvation, and the feeling of history. I am especially interested in how historical trials come to interplay with religious experience within Arab societies and communities. I have conducted fieldwork in Morocco, France, Belgium, Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, and Iraq.

My scholarship has appeared in various journals and edited volumes (see my publications here). I have recently published a book (at Éditions Amsterdam) that reflects the French public debate around the 'Muslim Question'. As of my dissertation, it will be published in 2026 at Éditions du Seuil.

I have two book projects for the years to come. First, an intellectual biography of the Palestinian poet Mahmood Darwish, that will be published at Éditions La Découverte. Second, a discussion of modern political ideologies in the Arab world through the religious notion of salvation.

In my free time, I like to dream of a life as a musician. You can contact me at hamza.esmili@ulb.be.
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