Sayed Yaqoob Emad

Sayed Yaqoob Emad is a fourth-year PhD student in the Department of History at SOAS University of London, specialising in the intersections of History, International Relations, Law, and Politics. 

With a strong commitment to multilingual and cross-cultural research, Sayed’s work is defined by a deep engagement with archival studies and qualitative data collection. Their doctoral research focuses on the evolving politics of Islamic charities, demonstrating an ability to connect historical narratives to contemporary global issues. Fluent in five languages—Dari/Persian, Pashto, English, Turkish, and Urdu—with intermediate reading proficiency in Arabic and German, Sayed Yaqoob brings exceptional linguistic skills to their academic work. This multilingual expertise has enabled them to conduct extensive research across diverse cultural and historical contexts, ensuring a nuanced and comprehensive approach to their scholarly inquiry. 

Sayed’s academic background includes an MSc in Global Politics from Birkbeck College, University of London, a BA in International Relations from Bilkent University in Turkiye, and the completion of advanced courses at the University of Oxford. Their secondary education was completed at Afghan High School in Kabul, Afghanistan, grounding their scholarly pursuits in a rich cultural heritage. Alongside their research, Sayed has developed a strong teaching portfolio. They have served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for modules such as International Politics of the Middle East and Globalisation and Global Governance at SOAS. 

In addition, Sayed Yaqoob collaborated with Dr. James Caron on The Afghanistan Wars module, enriching their experience in interdisciplinary teaching. Beyond academia, Sayed Yaqoob has held roles as a Research Consultant, contributing to a landmark study of Afghanistan’s Sikh community alongside scholars from the University of Sussex, Copenhagen University, and the University of Cambridge. Their work has involved conducting interviews, archival research, and producing multidisciplinary analyses. Committed to community engagement and leadership, Sayed Yaqoob founded and chaired the Global Youth Forum and the Global Afghan Forum, organisations dedicated to promoting education, peacebuilding, and human rights, particularly for Afghan women and children. They have also served as an advisor to Leicester City's Afghan Community and remain active in international youth organisations such as Junior Chamber International. Sayed Yaqoob’s research interests span Islamic charities, Every-day Islam, cultural identity, and political transformations in the Afghanistan. 

His future goals include fostering greater public engagement with historical research, bridging academic and non-academic audiences through innovative, accessible approaches to scholarship.

This is the first full-scale research into Islamic charities in Afghanistan, despite the vast literature on modern Afghan social movements generally. No secondary material exists as yet. Therefore the first aim is simply to write a history of one charity and therefore contribute to the literature.  Insofar as the JI is among the largest NGO complexes in the country, and one of the most organized social movements, this will be of interest to the policy community as well; and one of the aims has been to inform policy toward Afghanistan in the ongoing delicate situation.  The project is a thematically-organized history of the Jamiet Islah association in Afghanistan, the country’s largest Islamic charity. I am researching the JI’s interventions in education, politics, society, economy, and individual/social life. I am particularly interested in the senses of selfhood and subjectivity that these interventions produce, between Islamist and neoliberal moral paradigms; but I am equally interested in the ways that charities have been part of Afghans’ everyday survival across various periods of war.