Feisal Farah

Feisal Farah has previously taught HIS295Y1Y, History of Africa. He was an instructor at the American University of Nigeria and is affiliated with the Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation (WISE) at the University of Hull and the Harriet Tubman Institute at York University. He has expertise in database building and is an expert on the Horn of Africa, particularly on contemporary Somalia-Kenya relations. His research interests focus on Africa, with particular emphasis on East Africa, British Colonialism, the Swahili Coast, the Horn of Africa, Slavery, Islam, and the African Diaspora in the Indian Ocean. Teaching in Yola, Adamawa State, near the epicenter of Boko Haram activities, expanded his research to include Boko Haram and comparative studies with groups like al-Shabaab. He was a co-applicant for an SSHRC funded project titled “Islamic Protest, Terrorism, and Security in Africa,” which began in 2018 through collaborative efforts among researchers from various institutions across Africa and North America. This project involved conferences held in both Africa and Canada, where scholars addressed violence driven by ideological and religious motivations within the modern global framework. Groups such as Boko Haram, al Shabaab, Al-Qaeda, and the Islamic State present significant challenges in understanding contemporary Islam, exacerbating disparities in economic and political development, and highlighting inequalities in the global order. The intersection of local contexts and international issues underscores the importance of public policies and national security measures. Unfortunately, these challenges are often viewed through religious perspectives, yielding dangerous implications for the perception of Islam and hindering efforts to foster multiculturalism and global harmony.

Publications

“The Metamorphosis of Slavery in Colonial Mombasa, 1907-1963” in Nadine Hunt and Olatunji Ojo (eds.), Slavery and Africa and the Caribbean: A History of Enslavement and Identity since the 18th century. London/New York: I.B. Tauris, pp. 121-143
“Mimicry and Mimesis: Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab and Quest for Legitimacy” in Melchisedek Chétima & Paul E. Lovejoy (eds.), 2024. Boko Haram, Islamic Protest, and National Security, Trenton: African World Press, pp. 137-149.