Hatem Elliesie

Hatem Elliesie is a Professor of Islamic Law at the Oriental Institute of Leipzig University since August 1, 2024. He is a Research Partner in the Department of Law and Social Anthropology at the Max Planck Institute for Social and Cultural Anthropology in Halle/Saale, having previously served as a Group Leader (2019–2024) and Junior Research Group Leader at Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (2020–2024). He has held acting professorships at the University of Münster (2017) and Leipzig University (2021–2024).

Research and Leadership: Elliesie specializes in Islamic Law, Law and Religion, Law in Africa, and Conflict Regulation in Plural Societies. He founded the Journal of Law & Islam and co-edits series on Law, Society and Islam, Studies on the Horn of Africa, and Law and Constitution in Africa. He leads the Law and Africa Initiative within Max Planck Law and chairs the Gesellschaft für Arabisches und Islamisches Recht (GAIR) and African Law Association.

Education and Expertise: He studied law in Mannheim, Oxford, Heidelberg, Hannover, and Berlin, with supplementary studies in Environmental Sciences, African and Oriental Studies, and Semitic Studies. His PhD in Semitic Studies (2009) and judicial service at Kammergericht Berlin (2012–2015) underpin his interdisciplinary legal and anthropological work.

Media and Public Engagement: Elliesie has been featured in Deutschlandfunk Kultur, ZDFheute Nachrichten, and Deutsche Welle discussing topics like Sharia in Africa, Parallel Justice, and Religious Identity. His research on clan crime and Shisha bars challenges stereotypes about Arab communities in Germany.