Sahar Khamis

Dr. Sahar Khamis is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is an expert on Arab and Muslim media, and the former Head of the Mass Communication and Information Science Department in Qatar University. Dr. Khamis holds a Ph.D. in Mass Media and Cultural Studies from the University of Manchester in England. She was a Non-Resident Scholar with MEI's Cyber Program in 2020-22 and was previously a Mellon Islamic Studies Initiative Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago. She is the co-author of the books “Islam Dot Com: Contemporary Islamic Discourses in Cyberspace” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009) and “Egyptian Revolution 2.0: Political Blogging, Civic Engagement and Citizen Journalism” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), and the co-editor of the book: “Arab Women’s Activism and Socio-Political Transformation: Unfinished Gendered Revolutions” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018). Additionally, she authored and co-authored numerous book chapters, journal articles and conference papers, regionally and internationally, in both English and Arabic. She is the recipient of a number of prestigious academic and professional awards, as well as a member of the editorial boards of several journals in the field of communication, in general, and the field of Arab and Muslim media, in particular. Dr. Khamis is a media commentator and analyst, a public speaker, a human rights commissioner in the Human Rights Commission in Montgomery County, Maryland, and a radio host, who presents a monthly radio show on “U.S. Arab Radio” (the first Arab-American radio station broadcasting in the U.S. and Canada).

Recent Talks

• Presenter at University of Oxford, St. Anthony’s College, Middle East Center in a webinar titled: “Counter-Revolutions Vs. Counter-Marginalization Movements: (Re)Visiting the Online Tug-of-War a Decade After the Arab Spring,” on March 5, 2021. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLO1m3uV5xY&list=PLS7m9yu7qHojfB0s7a7U3Aib0W-PKWFcT

Recent Interviews

Recent Publications

• Khamis, S. (2022). "Building Community and Boosting Solidarity amid the Covid19 Crisis: American Muslims' Responses," Maydan, December 2, 2022. Available at: https://themaydan.com/2022/12/imtf-building-community-and-boosting-solidarity-amid-the-covid-19-crisis-american-muslims-responses/
• Khamis, S. & Al-Jaber, K. (2022). "Counter Digital Revolution, Disinformation, and Journalistic Constraints in Arab Media," Journalism Research/Journalistik 3(5), December 2022. Available at: https://journalistik.online/en/paper-en/counter-digital-revolution-disinformation-and-journalistic-constraints-in-arab-media/
• Khamis, S. (2022). "When Tunisia Changed Its Laws to Protect Women, It Shook the Arab World," 360info, November 21, 2022. Available at: https://360info.org/when-tunisia-changed-its-laws-to-protect-women-it-shook-the-arab-world/
• Khamis, S. & El-Ibiary, R. (2022). "Egyptian Women Journalists’ Feminist Voices in a Shifting Digitalized Journalistic Field," Digital Journalism 10(7), 1238-1256, April 12, 2022. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21670811.2022.2039738 
• Khamis, S. & Fowler, R. (2022). "Taming the People: Comparing Protests and Populism in Arab and American Politics," Frontiers in Communication. 6:780317. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2021.780317/full
• Khamis, S. (2021). "Between Conflicts, Politics, and COVID-19: Challenges for Arab Journalists," Arab Center Washington DC, December 30, 2021. Available at: https://arabcenterdc.org/resource/between-conflicts-politics-and-covid-19-challenges-for-arab-journalists/
• Khamis, S. (2021). "No matter who's in the White House, Washington's grand strategy enshrines Egypt's status quo," The New Arab, December 15, 2021. Available at: https://english.alaraby.co.uk/opinion/washingtons-grand-strategy-enshrines-egypts-status-quo
• Khamis, S. (2021). "Agreements and Tensions in US-Egyptian Relations," Arab Center Washington DC, December 2, 2021. Available at: https://arabcenterdc.org/resource/agreements-and-tensions-in-us-egyptian-relations/?s=03
• Khamis, S. (2021). Expert interview with Arab Media & Society on March 10, 2021, titled: “Sahar Khamis on Shifting Tides for Arabs and Muslims in the U.S.” Available at: https://www.arabmediasociety.com/sahar-khamis-on-shifting-tides-for-arabs-and-muslims-in-the-us/
• Khamis, S. (2021). The unfinished gender equality revolution of the Arab Spring, The New Arab, March 8, 2021. Available at: https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/indepth/2021/3/8/the-unfinished-gender-equality-revolution-of-the-arab-spring
• Khamis, S. (2020). Media Use and Its Anomalies a Decade after the Arab Spring. Arab Center Washington DC. December 18, 2020. Available at: http://arabcenterdc.org/policy_analyses/media-use-and-its-anomalies-a-d…
• Khamis, S. and Eliza Campbell (2020). Info-Deficiency in an Infodemic: The Gender Digital Gap, Arab Women and the COVID-19 Pandemic. Arab Media & Society. September 27, 2020. Available at: https://www.arabmediasociety.com/info-deficiency-in-an-infodemic-the-gender-digital-gap-arab-women-and-the-covid-19-pandemic/ 
• Khamis, S. (2020). Egypt’s puzzling dilemma: Escalating challenges and obstructed mobilization, Arab Center Washington DC, February 20th, 2020. Available at: http://arabcenterdc.org/policy_analyses/egypts-puzzling-dilemma-escalating-challenges-and-obstructed-mobilization/
• Khamis, S. (2019). Arab women in the “Post-Arab Spring era:” Triumphs and tribulations, Inside Arabia, December 11th, 2019. Available at: https://insidearabia.com/arab-women-in-the-post-arab-spring-era-triumphs-and-tribulations/
• Khamis, S. (2019). The Twitter spy scandal: Context, parallels, threats and responsibilities, Gulf International Forum, December 9th, 2019. Available at: https://gulfif.org/the-twitter-spy-scandal-context-parallels-threats-and-responsibilities/ 
• Khamis, S. (2019). The Arab media landscape one year after Khashoggi: Louder opposition, more repression, and zero accountability, Inside Arabia, October 29th, 2019. Available at: https://insidearabia.com/the-arab-media-landscape-one-year-after-khashoggi-louder-opposition-more-repression-and-zero-accountability/
• Khamis, S. (2019). Whistleblowers, repression and regime panic will fuel Egypt’s next uprising, The New Arab, October 9th, 2019. Available at: https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/comment/2019/10/10/whistleblowers-repression-and-regime-panic-egypts-next-uprising
• Khamis, S. (2019). It is crucial to accept women’s right to be at the table, The News International, September 22nd, 2019. Available at: https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/568558-crucial-accept-womens-right-table
• Khamis, S. (2019). Morsi’s death: Conflicting narratives, escalating repression, deepening polarization, Arab Center Washington DC, June 25th, 2019. Available at:http://arabcenterdc.org/policy_analyses/morsis-death-conflicting-narratives-escalating-repression-deepening-polarization/
• Khamis, S. (2019). The many faces of Arab women’s activism, The New Arab, March 8th, 2019. Available at: https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/comment/2019/3/8/the-many-faces-of-arab-womens-activism