Assistant professor in Islamic Studies @ Radboud, Nijmegen. Raised as a philosopher, now mostly working on contemporary Arab thought and intellectual and conceptual histories in Islam. Check out my book, it's free! https://shorturl.at/e0GFjhttps://bsky.app/profile/haraldviersen.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/haraldviersen.bsky.social/post/3mhaely2zjk22A brief reminder that you can still apply for the postdoc position on "Contemporary Arab Thought" until 22 March! This is your chance to work on this topic full-time for two years! https://www.ru.nl/en/working-at/job-opportunities/postdoc-position-contemporary-arab-thought17 Mar 2026 06:42 +0000at://did:plc:dotdoqgjshwirvf3r2ylpg2l/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhaely2zjk22https://bsky.app/profile/haraldviersen.bsky.social/post/3mf7fopatzs2vAre you a researcher focused on the Arab world? Join this two‑year postdoctoral research project to explore how shifting Arab politics and societies shape 21st‑century intellectual life within a dynamic, interdisciplinary international environment. https://www.ru.nl/en/working-at/job-opportunities/postdoc-position-contemporary-arab-thought19 Feb 2026 10:38 +0000at://did:plc:dotdoqgjshwirvf3r2ylpg2l/app.bsky.feed.post/3mf7fopatzs2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/haraldviersen.bsky.social/post/3mabvbe43m22rAt long last my article on Ahmad Amin's "The Book of Ethics" (Kitab al-Akhlaq) has been published. For those interested: https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/contributions/20/2/choc200201.xml?ArticleBodyColorStyles=full-text18 Dec 2025 19:17 +0000at://did:plc:dotdoqgjshwirvf3r2ylpg2l/app.bsky.feed.post/3mabvbe43m22rhttps://bsky.app/profile/haraldviersen.bsky.social/post/3m65m75kzhs2hIn response to and in support of an article recently published by Elizabeth Suzanne Kassab about the need to study the intellectual developments in the Arab worlds since 2011, I wrote an article in which I discuss two considerations regarding this project. https://www.resetdoc.org/story/shifting-arab-intellectual-scene-response-elizabeth-suzanne-kassab/21 Nov 2025 15:33 +0000at://did:plc:dotdoqgjshwirvf3r2ylpg2l/app.bsky.feed.post/3m65m75kzhs2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/haraldviersen.bsky.social/post/3m4e35hsmps2wI'm honored to have been interviewed by Youssef Madrari recently for the Arabic journal Awaser. In the interview we discuss my work on (contemporary) Arab intellectual history, as well as the state of Islamic studies in The Netherlands. You can find the entire issue at awaser.org, or pm me for a pdf https://awaser.org29 Oct 2025 18:26 +0000at://did:plc:dotdoqgjshwirvf3r2ylpg2l/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4e35hsmps2whttps://bsky.app/profile/haraldviersen.bsky.social/post/3lzo3zfdf4s2o"In een door Wagensveld aangespannen kort geding oordeelde de rechtbank dat de verbranding onder strikte voorwaarden toch mocht doorgaan. Zo moest het boek in het zand liggen en moesten er een brandblusser en branddeken aanwezig zijn om direct te kunnen ingrijpen." https://nos.nl/artikel/2583907-me-ingezet-na-koranverbranding-bij-azc-hoofddorp-tegenstanders-gooien-stenen-en-vuurwerk25 Sep 2025 13:53 +0000at://did:plc:dotdoqgjshwirvf3r2ylpg2l/app.bsky.feed.post/3lzo3zfdf4s2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/haraldviersen.bsky.social/post/3lyfbflpuuc2cI'm shocked, I tell you, shocked! [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Sep 2025 08:10 +0000at://did:plc:dotdoqgjshwirvf3r2ylpg2l/app.bsky.feed.post/3lyfbflpuuc2chttps://bsky.app/profile/haraldviersen.bsky.social/post/3lxhbksi2pk2jMisschien wat cru, zeker vanuit het perspectief van de wolf in kwestie, maar het zou interessant zijn om op den duur de evolutionaire gevolgen van een mogelijke afschietvergunning voor dit soort hoogspringende wolven na te gaan. https://nos.nl/artikel/2580209-wolf-springt-twintig-keer-over-wolfwerend-hek-en-doodt-tientallen-schapen28 Aug 2025 09:53 +0000at://did:plc:dotdoqgjshwirvf3r2ylpg2l/app.bsky.feed.post/3lxhbksi2pk2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/haraldviersen.bsky.social/post/3lwte45nsdk2hDeadpan of the Day @politico.com20 Aug 2025 11:45 +0000at://did:plc:dotdoqgjshwirvf3r2ylpg2l/app.bsky.feed.post/3lwte45nsdk2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/haraldviersen.bsky.social/post/3lszximtq722wIn the words of Alisdair Macintyre: "Facts, like telescopes and wigs for gentlemen, were a seventeenth-century invention." Perhaps, like wigs for gentleman, facts will also turn out to be a passing fancy. The question then would be what takes their place. [contains quote post or other embedded content]03 Jul 2025 05:08 +0000at://did:plc:dotdoqgjshwirvf3r2ylpg2l/app.bsky.feed.post/3lszximtq722whttps://bsky.app/profile/haraldviersen.bsky.social/post/3lpm7yvluzc25إلى أتباعي الناطقين بالعربية: قمت بترجمة قصيدة هولندية بقلم الشاعرة المعاصرة البارعةLieke Marsman إلى العربية. أتمنى أنكم تستمتعون بهذه المحاولة الأولى في الترجمة شعرية ولا تتردد في أن ترسلوني نصائحكم اللغاوية! https://www.linkedin.com/posts/harald-viersen-b37a3778_%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%8A-activity-7330589415498469376-41wO?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAABCG4JsBKBnTVyEoU-faO4WdhdR-CU1VVwQ20 May 2025 13:47 +0000at://did:plc:dotdoqgjshwirvf3r2ylpg2l/app.bsky.feed.post/3lpm7yvluzc25https://bsky.app/profile/haraldviersen.bsky.social/post/3lnut5ntnhc2iI'm rather new to fatherhood, about 3 weeks now. Over this period, one question has continued to perplex me, so maybe a more experienced parent can help out here: Why does newborn clothing have pockets? What are infants supposed to put in them? Their wallets? Car keys? A a spare pacifier?28 Apr 2025 13:01 +0000at://did:plc:dotdoqgjshwirvf3r2ylpg2l/app.bsky.feed.post/3lnut5ntnhc2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/haraldviersen.bsky.social/post/3lmwx2fevgk2eRecently I had the honor of being interviewed on Saudi TV together with the marvelous @desicusters.bsky.social. In t "Book and Turning Point" the presenter Saad Albazei discusses different aspects of "Orientalism" and we were on to cover the Dutch orientalist discussion. https://youtu.be/hSy2GbrV5WY?si=7CPtRwTunnHxBsNu16 Apr 2025 15:51 +0000at://did:plc:dotdoqgjshwirvf3r2ylpg2l/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmwx2fevgk2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/haraldviersen.bsky.social/post/3llvxxrgumk2fThis is one is for speakers of Turkish: I was asked to write an introduction to the Moroccan philosopher ِAbd al-Rahman Taha for the Turkish magazine Sabah Ülkesi. They did an excellent translating it into Turkish and you can check it out on their website: https://www.sabahulkesi.com/2025/04/01/taha-abdurrahman-kimdir-kisa-bir-giris/03 Apr 2025 13:09 +0000at://did:plc:dotdoqgjshwirvf3r2ylpg2l/app.bsky.feed.post/3llvxxrgumk2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/haraldviersen.bsky.social/post/3lkinnlyxck2tA question for speakers of English and/or Dutch: In Dutch we have the verb "africhten," which refers to the type of training that is given to, say, dogs to teach them obedience. In English, the closest equivalent I've found is "to break [a horse]." But that's too particular. Any alternative?16 Mar 2025 12:35 +0000at://did:plc:dotdoqgjshwirvf3r2ylpg2l/app.bsky.feed.post/3lkinnlyxck2thttps://bsky.app/profile/haraldviersen.bsky.social/post/3lkeebvzi7k2qIs it just me/my area of study, or has Google Scholar become practically unusable due to its capture by decidedly mediocre publications from Indonesia and Malaysia? For context: https://fulcrum.sg/hidden-costs-of-academic-dishonesty-learning-from-indonesia/14 Mar 2025 19:36 +0000at://did:plc:dotdoqgjshwirvf3r2ylpg2l/app.bsky.feed.post/3lkeebvzi7k2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/haraldviersen.bsky.social/post/3lj6esmylps2nSome good news coming out of Dutch academia for once. A new position has opened up at our faculty for historians of philosophy. The add specifically mentions acquaintance with Arabic as an important criterion! https://www.ru.nl/en/working-at/job-opportunities/assistant-professor-history-of-philosophy?trk=feed_main-feed-card_feed-article-content27 Feb 2025 17:05 +0000at://did:plc:dotdoqgjshwirvf3r2ylpg2l/app.bsky.feed.post/3lj6esmylps2n