Omar Farahat is a PhD student at Columbia University, studying early Islamic legal and ethical theories and their place in the modern world. Prior to joining Columbia, he studied law at Cairo University, Paris 1 (Sorbonne) and Harvard Law School, and practiced law for several years. As a researcher and human rights advocate, he examined and documented violations of civil and political rights in Egypt under Hosni Mubarak. After the latter’s ouster in February 2011, Omar wrote several articles analyzing the events of the Egyptian revolution and co-authored a book discussing Egypt’s post-revolutionary constitutional predicaments in light of its constitutional history.