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. 