Doris Behrens-Abouseif is an Emeritus Professor at the Department of the History of Art and Archaeology, School of Arts at SOAS. From 2000 – 2014 she held the Nasser D Khalili Chair of Islamic Art and Archaeology, SOAS and her list of publications covers a wide range of subjects from the early period to the 19th century. Her research focuses on the art and cultural history of Egypt and Syria, the history of Islamic architecture and decorative arts, urbanism, waqf (pious endowments), as well as the concepts of aesthetics and Orientalism