John Abdallah NawasJohn Nawas is Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at the University of Leuven, Belgium. His research centers on the religio-political and social history of classical Islam, with a focus on the caliphate ad on religious scholars. With Monique Bernards he has co-edited Patronate and Patronage in Early and Classical Islam (Brill, 2005), and is the editor of 'Abbasid Studies II (2010). He was Assistant Editor of the Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an (2002-6), is an Executive Editor of the Encyclopaedia of Islam, 3rd edition (2010-), and is a Director of the School of Abbasid Studies. Read More Read Less