Renata
Pepicelli
Principal Investigator
She teaches Islamic Studies and Contemporary History of the Arab World at the University of Pisa. Her research focuses on Islam, gender, feminisms, social movements, and radicalization. Her publications include Né Oriente né Occidente. Vivere in un mondo nuovo (il Mulino, 2025) e I femminismi nelle società musulmane. Genealogie, correnti, prospettive (Carocci, forthcoming).
Minoo Mirshahvalad
Researcher
She is a postdoc researcher at the University of Pisa. Sociologist and anthropologist of religion, she studied Shia Islam in countries of origin (Iran and Iraq) and in diasporic contexts, including Italy and the UK. She has extensive publications on Islamic leadership and the transformations of Islam in Europe.
Odetta Pizzingrilli
Researcher
She is a postdoc researcher at the University of Pisa. Her research focuses on statelessness, minorities, and minoritization processes in the SWANA region, particularly Jordan and Kuwait. She is the author of the book Identity Building in Jordan and Kuwait: The Strategy of Inclusion and Exclusion (Palgrave, 2024).
Guendalina Simoncini
Researcher
She is a postdoc researcher at the University of Pisa, with expertise in terrorism and counterterrorism, with a particular focus on gender dynamics in the SWANA region. She is the author of the book Counterterrorism in Transition: Post-2011 Tunisian Democracy and the War on Terror (Palgrave, 2024).
Silvia
Abbà
Researcher
She is a researcher at the Univerisity of Pisa. Alongside her research in gender studies, she draws on expertise gained in the field of international cooperation in the SWANA region, particularly in conflict and post-conflict contexts. She is the author of the book Il mio posto è ovunque. Voci di donne per un altro Iraq (Astarte, 2023).
Francesca
Brugnola
Researcher
She is a researcher at the University of Pisa and PhD candidate in Gender Studies (University of Bari “Aldo Moro” – Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies of Pisa). Her areas of interest include Islamic feminism, women’s religious authority in the Muslim world, and representations of the body in Islamic contexts.
Marta
Scialdone
Researcher
She is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pisa. She holds a PhD in History of Religions. Her research has focused on the Bahá’í communities in Italy and Tunisia. Her academic interests include religious minorities, cultural heritage (tangible and intangible), shared religious places and cultural sustainability.
Ali
Al hmood
PhD Candidate
He is a PhD candidate at the University of Pisa. His research addresses minors and radicalisation in Islamic contexts, across ideological apparatuses, social practices and the construction of identity. He authored a peer reviewed article, analyses for the NAD Observatory, and a study for the Bayan Center in Baghdad.
Eleonora
Del Core
PhD Candidate
She is a PhD candidate at the University of Pisa. Her research focuses on women and radicalisation in Islamic contexts, examining Islamic sources, normative constructions and social practices. She translated contributions from Arabic for the volume Ho ancora le mani per scrivere. Testimonianze del genocidio a Gaza (Edizioni Q, 2025).
Maria Olimpia Squillaci
Technical Consultant
She is technical consultant for the LIMBO project. Having spent her academic career working alongside minority and marginalised language communities, Olimpia is now social project manager at the DoMani co-operative and language adviser for the ‘Preservation and Learning of the Greco-Calabrian Language’ project.