Carool Kersten

Carool Kersten is a scholar of Islam and an expert on developments in the modern and contemporary Muslim world. He has written or edited thirteen books and is current working on number fourteen (because 13 is an unlucky number, so can't stop there)

Prof. Kersten is a Research Professor in Islamic Studies at the University of Leuven in Belgium. Specializing in the intellectual history of the modern Muslim world, he has also worked on Islamic political and legal thought, philosophy and literature. Aside from single-authored and (co-)edited books, he has also contributed nearly 100 book chapters, peer-reviewed articles and review essays.

Before joining KU Leuven, Kersten worked at King’s College London (2007-2022), lastly as Reader (Associate Professor) in the Study of Islam & the Muslim World. Before moving to London, he was a faculty member of the Centre for Graduate and International Studies at Payap University in Chiang Mai and Academic Director (Thailand) of an American Study Abroad Programme. Prior to his career as a scholarly researcher and tertiary educator, Kersten worked for fifteen years as a manager, consultant and translator in the corporate world, including more than a decade as an expatriate in the Persian Gulf States.