Mohammad A M Y A Alkhalifi

Mohammed Adel AlKhalifi is a PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at SOAS, University of London. His research, Islam, Modernity, and Urban Transformation in Kuwait City: Navigating Religious Identity in an Urbanizing Landscape, explores how state-driven urban development influences the negotiations and expressions of contemporary Islamic identities. 

Using a multi-site ethnographic approach that includes mosques, markets, and shopping centers, his project examines the tensions that arise as social actors interact with the changing urban landscape of Kuwait City. The study addresses three interrelated issues: the use of state-led development to create standardized religious spaces; the creation of citizenship hierarchies that shape the experiences of both Kuwaiti nationals and non-citizen migrant workers; and the commercialization of urban environments where consumer culture and religious practices are becoming increasingly intertwined. 

His research integrates knowledge from urban anthropology, Islamic studies, and spatial theories to contribute to larger discussions of religion and urbanism in the Gulf. His scholarly interests extend to broader debates on modernity, secularism, and postmodern critique, with particular engagement with the writings of Abdelwahab Elmessiri and the Frankfurt School. These intellectual traditions inform his analytical lens and support his critical examination of how global modernity intersects with Islamic worldviews across Gulf urban contexts.  Mohammed holds an MA in Social Anthropology from SOAS, where his dissertation, Islam and Modernity in the Context of Consumerism: An Ethnography of Avenues Mall, Kuwait, explored the relationship between consumer culture, modernity, and Islamic practice.

• Urban anthropology, with a focus on Gulf cities
• Islam, religious practice, and everyday ethics in urban contexts
• Modernity, secularism, and postmodern critique
• State-led urban planning and the production of religious space
• Consumerisim, malls ethnography, and commercial infrastructures in the Gulf