Semiha Bekir

Semiha Bekir is Assistant Professor of Development and Education of Youth in Diverse Societies at Utrecht University. Her research examines cultural diversity in education, focusing on community-based initiatives, religious identity formation, and intercultural pedagogy.

Bekir's work investigates mosque education systems, parenting support in Muslim communities, and identity negotiation among Muslim youth. Her current projects analyze interventions countering polarization and mosque-based support for Turkish-Dutch families.

Publications include ethnographic studies of mosque pedagogies, analyses of identity negotiation among Turkish-Dutch youth, and explorations of eco-Islamic movements. She founded the Research Network on Islamic Pedagogies and Education (ISPED).

Bekir received the Emerging Scholar Award in 2017 for her contributions to understanding religion in society.