Georges Fahmi

Georges Fahmi has held research and academic positions at leading international institutions, including the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies in Florence, Chatham House in London, the Carnegie Middle East Centre in Beirut, and the Arab Forum for Alternatives (AFA) in Beirut and Cairo. He has also received research grants from international organizations such as the Danish Egyptian Institute for Dialogue in Cairo, the Arab Reform Initiative in Paris, and the  International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in Ottawa. His research focuses primarily on the relationship between religion, state, and society in the MENA region. His areas of expertise include radicalization and deradicalization, the political engagement of religious minorities, and the role of religion in migration and integration processes. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, obtained in 2013. Fahmi has a wide range of publications in English, French, and Arabic.

During his time at the Global Migration Institute, Fahmi will examine how religious institutions function within processes of immigrant reception and integration, particularly among religious minorities whose identities are simultaneously religious, ethnic, cultural, and transnational. 

Religious institutions serve as important hubs of social integration for newcomers while also reinforcing ethnic and religious boundaries. This dual function raises a central question for this research. For example, how do Coptic churches in Canada balance the objectives of facilitating integration into Canadian society and preserving a distinct Coptic identity? Do churches prioritize one of these objectives over the other, or are they able to pursue both simultaneously? Moreover, might these two objectives sometimes come into tension?

The research seeks to inform evidence-based migration policies bridging academic research and government practices. It will focus on the province of Ontario and will draw on semi-structured interviews with religious leaders serving in different cities across the province. These interviews will explore how church leaders understand their role in supporting newcomers, facilitating their integration into Canadian society, and maintaining the religious, cultural, and transnational dimensions of religious identity.