Kamal Soleimani, a scholar of Islamic and Middle Eastern history and politics, earned his PhD from Columbia University. Currently a professor-researcher at El Colegio de México, he has authored several books and nearly two dozen scholarly articles. His research examines minoritization, sovereignty, colonialism, and Islam's role in nationalism across the Middle East. His work has been published in leading academic journals, including Security Dialogue, Current Anthropology, British Journal of Sociology, and Nations and Nationalism.
Behrooz Shojai is a scholar of Middle Eastern and Kurdish Studies, specializing in linguistics, sociolinguistics, and language policy in the region. At Uppsala University, Sweden, his dissertation explored the intersection of sovereignty, language rights, and the coloniality of knowledge within the Kurdish context. A seasoned educator, he has taught at institutions across the Middle East and Europe. Shojai’s publications delve into Kurdish nation-building, language preservation, and sociolinguistic challenges in politically complex regions.