Omar Ashour

Academic career

Dr Ashour obtained his PhD in Politics from McGill University (Canada). He was appointed Lecturer (Assistant Professor), subsequently promoted to Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Security Studies and Middle East Politics, at the Institute of Arab & Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter (2008-2018), before being appointed Professor of Security and Military Studies and the Founding Chair of the Critical Security Studies Programme at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies (Doha, Qatar).

He is the author of How ISIS Fights: Military Tactics in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Egypt (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2021) and The Deradicalization of Jihadists: Transforming Armed Islamist Movements (London, New York: Routledge, 2009). Ashour has published about de-radicalization, counter-narratives, and transitions to democracy.

Martial Arts

Ashour is a Taekwondo master and a kickboxer. He was a member of the Egyptian National Taekwondo team. His record includes a bronze medal in the World Junior Taekwondo Championship and a silver medal in Africa’s Taekwondo championship. He was the Egyptian national champion six times in the bantam and feather weight categories. He was also the two-times national champion in Chinese Kickboxing (Sanshou). In 2007, he joined the Canadian National Karate Team and won the Gold medal in the World Koshiki Karate Championship in the middle-weight category, defeating seven-times World Champion, Masamitsu Hisataka, via unanimous decision.

References

References

1. "Omar Ashour".
2. https://www.linkedin.com/in/omar-ashour-908a1367/?originalSubdomain=uk
3. "Omar Ashour {{!}} Al Jazeera News {{!}} Today's latest from Al Jazeera".
4. Ashour, Omar. (February 28, 2021). "How ISIS Fights: Military Tactics in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Egypt (Paperback, Hardback, Ebook)". Edinburgh University Press.
5. Ashour, Omar. (April 6, 2009). "The De-Radicalization of Jihadists: Transforming Armed Islamist Movements (Hardback)". Routledge.
6. (June 1, 2011). "Post-Jihadism: Libya and the Global Transformations of Armed Islamist Movements". Terrorism and Political Violence.
7. Ashour, Omar. (July 13, 2011). "BBC News – Egypt secularists and liberals afraid of democracy?". BBC.
8. https://exeter.academia.edu/OmarAshour
9. "The Official Taekwondo Hall Of Fame® – Ecuador – Egypt". Lacancha.com.
10. (August 2025). "TAEKWONDOHALLOFFAME.COM – Tae Kwon Do Hall Of Fame – Taekwondo Hall of Fame – TaeKwon-Do Hall of Fame – Taekwon-do Hall of Fame – taekwondo hall of fame – Mike Warren – Joe Hayes – Albert Cheeks & Others!". taekwondo hall of fame.
11. (September 24, 2007). "World Koshiki Karate Championships 2007 middle weight Div". YouTube.