Dr. Mohammad Affan is the Director of Al Sharq Academia and a lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Ibn Haldun University, Istanbul. An Egyptian researcher and academic, Affan trained as a medical doctor before switching to political science. He received a PhD in Middle East Politics from the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter in 2020 and an MA in Comparative Politics from the American University in Cairo in 2015. In addition to his role at Al Sharq Academia, Dr. Affan is the Acting Director of Al Sharq Strategic Research and Coordinator of the Al Sharq Political Islam Program. His research interests include Islamism, democratization, and transnational politics in the MENA region. He has published extensively, including his Arabic-language thesis, “Wahhabism and Brotherhood: The Concept of the State and the Conflict over the Legitimacy of Power.” Affan also holds a postgraduate diploma in Civil Society and Human Rights from Cairo University, a diploma in Political Studies and Studies from the Institute of Arab Studies and Studies, and a diploma in Islamic Studies from the Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies in Cairo. His diverse academic background and leadership roles underscore his commitment to advancing the understanding of political dynamics in the Middle East and the broader Muslim world.