My current research examines "Islam" and "Europe" (with an emphasis on France) as co-constituting entities. Secularism, religious authority, political Islam and historical memory are at the centre of this ongoing project. In past work I addressed the social and economic history of late-Ottoman and mandate Syria. It explored the interconnectedness of French and British imperialism with the creation of national economies in the Middle East.

• 2006-2009 Post-Doctoral Fellow as part of Muslims in Europe, a project funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research, European University Viadrina, Frankfurt-Oder, Germany.
• 2003-2006 Post-Doctoral fellow, International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World (ISIM), Leiden, Netherlands.
• 2002 Ph.D. Imperialism and Industrialisation in Damascus, 1908-1939, University of Aix-en-Provence, France.
• 1995-1998 Islamic studies and Arabic, University of Aix-en-Provence, France.
• 1992-1995 Study of modern history and Islamic Studies, University of Hamburg, Germany.