Terje Østebø

Terje Østebø is a Professor at the University of Florida with a joint appointment in the Department of Religion and the Center for African Studies. He previously served as founding director of the Center for Global Islamic Studies (2014–2017) and held an assistant professorship at NLA University College in Bergen, Norway. He earned his Ph.D. in the History of Religions from Stockholm University. His research focuses on Islam in contemporary Ethiopia, Islamic reformism, Salafism in Africa, and religion-politics intersections in the Horn of Africa, supported by six years of fieldwork in Ethiopia.

Østebø’s expertise includes teaching on Ethiopian history, Islamic studies, and inter-religious relations. He is fluent in Oromo and has advanced Amharic proficiency. His work advises policymakers on Horn of Africa issues, with notable contributions to USAID-commissioned reports on religion, conflict, and pandemic responses. He has authored/co-authored influential books, including Islam, Ethnicity, and Conflict in Ethiopia: The Bale Insurgency (2020) and Localising Salafism (2012), and edited volumes like the forthcoming Handbook on Islam in Africa.

His research trends emphasize religious pluralism challenges, Salafi movements, and the interplay between religion and state authority. Recent work addresses pandemic-era religious interpretations and Ethiopia’s ethno-religious conflicts. Grants and advisory roles reflect his engagement with policy-relevant scholarship. He collaborates with interdisciplinary teams and institutions like the Rift Valley Institute and African Security Brief.