I am a social anthropologist and specialist in Islamic studies. My main research interests include the structure and function of transnational Muslim networks and the sociopolitical dynamics of Islamic movements and religious authority in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
I worked on Salafism in Lebanon and its transnational ramifications in the Arabian Gulf and Europe. I also closely followed Salafi groups in Kuwait and their involvement in the country’s parliamentary politics and transnational networking activities. While staying in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore, I developed an interest in the dynamics of Muslim societies in the Southeast Asian region and the role of transnational networks in the social and political transformation of Southeast Asian Muslim communities.
Between 2020 and 2022, I worked on a Marie Curie project funded by the European Union. This research inquired into how transnational Muslim networks and charities based in the Middle East and Malaysia have transformed the religious identity, leadership, and infrastructure of Cambodia’s Muslim minorities.
Currently, I am working on various projects that include post-Salafi transformations in the Southeast Asian region, the competition between traditional Islam and Salafism, and the evolution of transnational networks between South Thailand’s pondok milieu and the Middle East.