About the Department

The Department of Middle East Studies at Bar-Ilan University focuses on the history, literature, religions, languages, politics, economics and cultures of the states and societies of the region. With courses on medieval and modern topics, as well as a new Masters program focused on Islamism in the digital and cyber age.

The department offers its large body of students (more than four hundred on average) a wide variety of foci and provides them with the means to cultivate expertise in specific areas with a view toward subsequent employment as researchers in government, intelligence, academia and business, as well as careers in business, teaching and the military. The department is staffed by a faculty of internationally renowned scholars who – despite their constantly expanding research pursuits – put students first, as well as a highly professional and solicitous administrative staff.

The future of the State of Israel is dependent, more than anything, upon a profound comprehension of the billion-and-a-half strong Muslim population that surrounds – and lives within – the country, and this is the place to develop that comprehension.